Sampikkhae appagamappaenam (Sanskrit — Samprekseta atmanamatmana) : This aphorism from the Jaina canon Dasaveaiiyam forms the basic principle of this system of meditation, propounded by His Holiness Acharya Mahaprajna, a great thinker, philosopher and saint of today. It simply means: ‘See you thyself — perceive and realize the most subtle aspects of consciousness by your conscious mind. Hence ‘to see’ is the fundamental principle of this meditation process. Preksha means to ‘perceive carefully and profoundly’. The name Preksha dhyan (Preksha meditation) was therefore assigned to this system. It is basically not the concentration of ‘thought’ but is the concentration of ‘perception’
Preksha Yoga: Components of Preksha Meditation
Preksha meditation is an uncomplicated easy-to-learn technique of meditation. It comprises the following constituents’.
• Kayotsarga (Total relaxation)
• Antaryatra (Internal trip)
• Shwas Preksha (Perception of breathing)
• Sharira Preksha (Perception of body)
• Chaitanya Kendra Preksha (Perception of psychic)
• Leshyadhyan (Perception of psychic colours)
• Bhawana (Auto suggestion)
• Anupreksha (Contemplation)
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Preksha Yoga: Yoga and Health
Yoga is a complete science of health, which deals with the understanding of the adequate functioning of all systems of our body and appropriate coordination between them, along with the healthy functioning of our mind. It differs from the western medicine in the sense that this system deals basically with the disease, its diagnosis and treatment. The techniques of yoga are designed in such a way that they not only maintain but also enhance the potentiality of body parts, which yield good health, vitality, disease-free and lasting youthfulness.
Preksha Yoga: Yoga and Common Ailments
It has been said by the Indian yogis that ‘life is the self. In its true nature, the self is shining, perfect, spotlessly pure and without sin. But when it took on material form — a body — it acquired the sin of matter, the sin of the world. The self, this eternal spring of life, in complete equilibrium and perfect harmony, uniformly radiates the energy of life into the body. If a person’s consciousness is developed equally in every direction, even if on a low level, life energy will flow uniformly into his body.
Preksha Yoga: Therapeutic Basis of Yoga
Yoga has established its worth, since thousands of years, in elevating the status of spiritual aspects and health. But its utility in the treatment of various diseases and disorders is yet to be established. Basically, yoga is not a therapy, but for the last couple of decades, on the basis of the outcome of several scientific and medical studies, it has been emphasised that yogic exercises are quite useful in the treatment of many diseases. Also, it works as complementary and co-therapy measure in association with medicinal therapy. Yogic exercises are effective in the health recovery, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, in the patient suffering from various systemic psychosomatic disorders / diseases in three ways, as mentioned below:
Preksha Yoga: Therapeutic Basis of Preksha Meditation
Therapeutic thinking is another aspect of yoga therapy. The effect of emotions and urges on human action is stronger than that of theoretical knowledge. The effect of emotion can be subjugated by self-discipline and self-mastery. Since the obstruction to self-mastery lies deeper than conscious mind, in order to attain it one must tap the power that lies deeper in the subconscious. Fortunately, to make the effort to perform this difficult task is inherent in all people. Therapeutic thinking is a process of catharsis, which purges the psychological distortions.
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Preksha Yoga: Nutrition and Yogic Diet
Diet plays a very important role in the successful practice of yoga. There is a saying, “the healthy man satisfies his hunger when he eats, the sick man satisfies his appetite.” In fact “we are what we eat” — this statement is very true in more than one sense. Food is of course necessary for our physical well being, but it exerts an equal effect on our mental state. Since the outcome of mental process has direct bearing on our physical health, we cannot take it (diet) as an instrument affecting physical health only.
In the recent times people are becoming more conscious about their diet and dietary habits. Modern food items like hamburgers, pizzas, jams, jellies, cola-drinks, chocolates, ice-creams, noodles etc. have gained excessive popularity due to publicity through media. It has been publicised through electronic media that such foods are much more convenient, economic, easy to -procure and have so-called nutritive value too. In addition to that, canned, refined, frozen, artificially flavoured fast foods are becoming much popular among all the categories of people.
Preksha Yoga: Yogic Exercises for Head, Eyes, Ears and Mouth Cavity
For Head
• Stand in erect and straight posture.
• Keep both the feet together. Keep both the arms hanging down and touching the thighs.
Concentrate on forehead with eyeballs upwards. Contract and relax the muscles of forehead alternately. Repeat this 3 times.
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Preksha Yoga: Yogic Exercises for Neck, Shoulders, Arms and Chest
For Neck
Stage-1
• Turn the neck backward so as to look at the sky.
• Bring down the neck so that the chin touches the clavicle.
• Repeat this process three times.
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Preksha Yoga: Yogic Exercises for Waist, Ankle and Toes, Knees and Spinal Cord
For WaistStage-I
• Maintain the erect posture.
• Raise both hands upwards with forceful streching while inhaling.
• Now bend forward and try to touch the knees by forehead; the fingers of hands should touch the toes of the feet, while exhaling.
• Now return to the erect position with hand raised upward, while inhaling, and then bend backward.
• Do it thrice gently, slowly and carefully.
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