Dear Friends,
Namaste!
In the discussions to follow, we shall see an example of how we can incorporate most of the principles we have discussed into our daily routine.
By no means, this routine is the only or the most ideal Yogic routine. It is only an illustration, a guideline, and we will do well to customize this to our individual circumstances, needs and indeed wants!
The important thing is to minimize compromising the basic concepts. Therefore, we will not only chart out the daily activities and their suggested timings, but also discuss the underlying principles that apply. This will give us the ability to tweak the activities and their timings without sacrificing the basic concepts and hence the benefits that we stand to gain by implementing those in our own way.
So here is the suggested daily routine for the aspiring Yogis:
5:55 am - Wake-up
5:55 am to 6:00 am - Meditate while lying in bed
6:00 am to 6:15 am - Brush teeth, empty bowels and bladder
6:15 am to 6:20 am - Drink a cup of hot water
6:20 am to 6:30 am - Have a light snack
6:30 am to 7:30 am - Practise Ashtanga Yoga
7:30 am to 8:00 am - Bathe; Get ready
8:00 am to 8:15 am - Self study
8:15 am to 8:30 am - Read newspapers etc.
8:30 am to 8:45 am - Have breakfast
8:45 am to 10:45 am - Work
10:45 am to 11:00 am - Take a small break; Have a light snack (optional)
11:00 am to 1:00 pm - Work
1:00 pm to 1:30 pm - Have lunch
1:30 pm to 3:30 pm - Work
3:30 pm to 3:45 pm - Take a small break; Have a light snack (optional)
3:45 pm to 5:45 pm - Work
5:45 pm to 6:00 pm - Have a light snack
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Work
8:00 pm to 8:30 pm - Have dinner
8:30 pm to 9:45 pm - Relax; Pursue a hobby; Socialize
9:45 pm to 9:50 pm - Drink a cup of milk
9:50 pm to 9:55 pm - Brush teeth
9:55 pm to 10:00 pm - Get into bed; Meditate
10:00 pm to 5:55 am - Sleep
Before we start drilling down into the rationale behind the sequence and timing of above activities, let us see the foundation, i.e. the core activities, on which this routine is based. We must not skip or compromise these core activities although we may tweak the sequence and timings of these and the other peripheral activities in our routine.
These core activities, without any one of which a routine would not qualify to be called a Yogic routine, are as follows:
1. Meditate
This is the most important activity in our routine without which it is practically impossible for an aspirant to maintain equilibrium of intellect, mind and body.
We can practise any form of meditation that works for us. We have seen how to ‘Play the Watchman’. Or we can try mantra meditation (“Naam Smaran”). Or breath meditation. Or sense meditation which is to focus on the input being brought in by one of our senses (such as a particular smell or sound or touch or taste or vision). Or we can meditate on a positive and benevolent thought about and for self, near and dear ones, friends, acquaintances or indeed an enemy!
It does not matter which particular meditation method we adopt. The important thing is to meditate!
We will examine all these techniques in more detail when we discuss limb 7 of Ashtanga Yoga, viz., “Dhyan” (Meditation).
2. Exercise
No substitute to good old workout! To conquer mind and intellect, we must conquer our body first. For, although subtle rules over gross, to conquer the subtle, we must be able to conquer gross first. We should be able to touch our toes first before we set out to find our soul!
Again, we can either perform only Sun Salutations (“Surya Namaskar”) or Power Yoga or any other routine. The important thing is to sweat it out for up to an hour every day.
3. Work
Duty first! Nothing works like work. We have discussed at a superficial level how to do the right thing in the right place at the right time!
We will discuss the principles of “Karma Yoga” in much greater depth later but for now, suffice to say that we must*earn every meal*!
4. Learn
Knowledge is power. Learn something new, something useful every day! It does not have to be rocket science always. Even a small piece of knowledge will make us wiser.
Stopping learning is stopping to grow, halting the beautiful journey that evolution is. Hence learning something new should become an integral part of our daily routine.
Ciao...
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