Bangalore: We are happy to share that Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will teach the secrets to a happy, dynamic and stress-free life through the Happiness Program to over 1 lakh people from August 18th to 20th.
“Stress is too much to do, too little time and no energy,” says Gurudev, "But, what you can do is increase your energy. Pranayama (breathing exercises), meditation and Sudarshan Kriya gives you more energy for the day and makes you more productive.”
The cornerstone of the Happiness Program is the Sudarshan Kriya™, a powerful rhythmic breathing technique cognized by Gurudev. This unique breathing technique eliminates stress, fatigue and negative emotions such as anger, frustration, and depression, leaving one calm yet energized, focused yet relaxed.
Using the gift of technology, the program will be a virtual gathering with participants joining in from over 2,100 web locations connecting cities and towns from Shillong to Mumbai and Jammu to Chennai, among many others, to learn the secrets to happiness. The Art of Living teachers and volunteers will be available at all web locations where the Happiness Program will be telecast live.
The entire country is set to join the wave of happiness, including 5 states from the North-East, the Naxal belt in Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, premier institutes such as IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur, and the flood-hit Gujarat.
Apart from the webcast, about 3,000 participants will travel to the scenic Art of Living International Center in Bengaluru to be part of the Program from across the country.
Over the last 35 years, this technique has brought together people from various walks of life, backgrounds and religion – farmers, doctors, homemakers, militants, IT professionals, war veterans, youth, businessmen, lawyers among others, connecting humanity through the power of breath.
“As a freelance photographer, being creative, you have to be clear of any inhibitions," says Pankaj Anand from Mumbai. "Only a settled frame of mind can be creative. Creativity dawns as a by-product of breathing, meditation, and spirituality,” he adds.
Apart from the powerful breathing techniques, Yoga, Pranayama, and meditation, the program will also have interactive wisdom sessions that provide practical life tools to handle any difficult or stressful situation in life. At the end of the program, people are known to experience a peaceful, stable, joyful state of mind and a sense of connection with everyone around.
According to a vast body of research on the effects of Sudarshan Kriya™, including work done at prestigious medical institutes like AIIMS and NIMHANS, regular practice of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) has the following benefits both at the mental as well as physical level:
- Reduced heart rate and blood pressure
- Significant reductions in anxiety, including a 71% to 73% response rate and 41% remission rate in individuals for whom medication and psychotherapy treatments had failed
- Patients with depression who learned SKY experienced a 68-73% remission rate within one month
- 3x more time spent in deep restful stages of sleep
- Improved immune cell counts in 12 weeks (Natural Killer Cells)
- Improved respiratory function: where respiration rate dropped by 5% in 1 week and 15% in 12 weeks and lung (vital) capacity increased
More information about the Happiness Program can be found here.
