Mindfulness musings

Lockdown woes unlock the treasury of meditative practices worldwide. Krishnaraj Iyengar shares an unconventional take on calmness practices

STOP! That’s world-renowned spiritual guru Dr Deepak Chopra’s mantra for instant stress relief. The expansion of the magical four-letter word is Stop, Take three deep breaths and smile, Observe your bodily sensations, and Proceed with compassion. “Panic is sudden, uncontrollable anxiety which comes from a feeling of helplessness and unpredictability that you’re not in control,” Dr Chopra believes. Panic, he says, leads to irrational, unpredictable, and unhelpful behaviour. ‘Isolation’ and ‘confinement’ indeed sound gruesomely depressive.

Like a Covid-19 survivor optimistically opined, “It’s nowhere like the confinement terrorists are placed in.” However, being isolated does take a toll on many and while time-tested meditation practices like observing the breath, deep breathing and mantra meditation work wonders, befriending the environment, revelling in fine fragrances or immersing the spirit in soulful melody can incredibly transport you to deeper levels of calm.

As many absorb themselves in nature and the stillness around while homebound, living in the moment with grateful hearts, the words of legendary Persian poet Omar Khayyam come to mind: “In the blossom springtime, if a damsel heavenly, were to bring me a goblet in a verdant field, it’s blasphemous to many, but even a dog is better than I if I then seek paradise!”

Embodying mindfulness and bliss, here are a few simplistic, non-traditional paths to the abode of inner solace.

Cloud capers

Adhering to Prime Minister Modi’s Lakshman rekha can be tough. However, the good old terrace can be a place of spiritual joy. Spending evenings staring at the boundless sky can put the distraught mind at ease.

Observing nature’s own artistry in the complex cloud formations and visually following the outline of each cloud as you breathe deeply can be childlike fun. Sometimes acquiring the shape of a valentine heart, often a smile among other fascinating shapes, clouds change form rapidly and even pass into the horizon, reminding us that even troubled times, despite their magnitude, change and eventually vanish.

Stargazing, an intriguing art in itself can make hours seem like a breeze. Watching the trees that eternally stood outside your window remind you of their stability and centeredness despite weathering many a storm.

Bird ballads

“With the countrywide lockdown, nature is here to reclaim what we’ve plundered. Just look out of your window and you will realise rare birds have appeared that we’ve never seen before,” smiles an eminent Mumbai-based surgeon. Cuckoos and coppersmiths take the stage in symphonic synergy, their unique rhythmicity and sonorousness resounding in the stillness. The yogis of old too, have prescribed observing and listening to the sounds around you, and with nature’s own winged concerto serenading you…voilà!

Fitness fiesta

Home workouts can bring tremendous focus and inspire you to push limits. With callisthenics and isometrics keeping you in shape, neuro-muscular coordination can make exercising spiritually rejuvenating. Being mindful of the increase in energy flowing throughout the body during warm-up, visualising each muscle being worked out and the increasing blood flow to it, focusing on breathing during concentric and eccentric movements and relaxing each part of your body from toe upwards during cool-downs like the yogic Shavaasana will bathe you in endorphins, making each workout spiritually satisfying.

Scent solace

Among the most sublime friends of the five senses are scents. While many of them store fond memories, many bring instant tranquillity.

The ancient rishis burnt agar, guggul and sandalwood during spiritual rituals to enhance their peace experience. Observing a fragrance, the picture it paints on the mind’s screen, following its unfolding and being mindful of the feelings of exhilaration and satisfaction they cause, is purely meditative.

Oud, vetiver, patchouli, jatamansi, frankincense calm the senses and fight depression. Labdanum, woody and spicy notes rev up energy levels.

Your favourite perfume, a homely agarbatti or even the scent of fresh flowers and foliage can do the trick.

Learning a new musical skill brings out the
child in you

Melodious magic

Be it mama’s self-composed lullaby, a nursery rhyme or Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, music has the power to heal and calm the frayed nerves.

Although the intent of a composer or composition may not be to bring
restfulness per se, music, especially classical, has the inherent powers to relax.

“I meditate on Beethoven’s music, but Beethoven didn’t compose that music for me to meditate on,” Hindustani legend Pandit Nikhil Ghosh once said while addressing a Western audience.

Certain instruments like the flute and its versions possess the power to instantly ease the senses. Be it Pandit Pannalal Ghosh’s Bansuri, Dr N Ramani’s Carnatic Venu or the Turkish Ney, they’re soaked in peace.

Western Classical music’s
meditative overtures

Creative connotations

Learning a new language online, or an instrument, or even to sing, can form fresh neural pathways in the brain. Sans professional motives, just having fun with acquiring a new creative skill enhances childlike nuances in one’s personality.

Mindfully engaging in household chores you’ve never done and seeking joy in cleaning up your space can be an inner cleanser. Dabbling with your favourite cocktail or even painting, no matter how messy and clumsy, is a rendezvous with your innate and latent genius. Expressing your heart’s visions can be deeply fulfilling. After all, your originality is the blueprint of your creativity!