Breaking Free from Anger, Scarcity and Career Obsession

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I’ve turned 30. I’m living in Australia. I had a top 5% job, a supportive wife, and a loving family back in India. But despite all of this, I was unhappy and constantly dissatisfied with myself, my work, and my relationships.

It didn’t take much to upset me and make me angry. I constantly compared myself to those who had more. This scarcity mentality stemmed from my childhood when we didn’t have enough, and I felt deprived of money, attention, and love.

Over the last couple of years, I have tried several meditation apps and retreats (for relaxation), and they all brought some relief but nothing transforming.

Then at 31, I attended a 4-day meditation retreat and learned a Kriya Yoga technique. It was intense, and for the first time in my life, I experienced complete stillness.

I practiced this technique twice daily for the next 40 days and cut out caffeine and alcohol to enhance my spiritual development. Within that short period, I noticed a significant change in my mindset.

I became calmer and more accepting of my flaws and those of others. I took full responsibility for my life and started healing from past traumas.

I continued to practice this technique once daily for the next 6 months and experienced a radical shift in my entire being. It was like all the conditioning was erased from my mind.

My anger dissipated, and all the knowledge I had acquired until this point started to make sense. I could now easily feed new information to it and form new habits. I could focus my mind on anything and do it with ease.

I started to view the world from a place of love and kindness, and comparison no longer bothered me. Above all, it fixed my relationship with myself, my wife, and my family. My close ones were happy to see this new version of me.

But the most significant moment came when I was made redundant from my job last year, and I was not disturbed by it.

My career had been my top priority for 15 years, but with increased self-awareness, I decided not to chase the next fancy job and instead took a career break to explore my passions.

This led me to do some fantastic adventures like a Yoga teacher training course in Rishikesh, India, and starting to write online. I’ve made many new like-minded friends over these last 6 months.

At 32, Kriya Yoga has completely transformed my life, and my goal now is to share this wisdom and practice with anyone feeling lost or stuck in their life.

What is Kriya Yoga?

‘Kriya’ means inner activity, and ‘Yoga’ means the union of self and supreme consciousness. Kriya Yoga is a powerful form of yoga that involves breathing techniques, meditation, and physical exercises to achieve higher levels of consciousness.

This ancient practice originated in India and was popularized in the 20th century by the renowned spiritual leader Paramahansa Yogananda, the author of The Autobiography Of A Yogi.

Why is it effective in dealing with the active modern mind?

Kriya Yoga is particularly effective in dealing with the active modern mind because of its focus on raising the Pranic energy (life force).

It doesn’t use the mind to solve the problems of the mind.

We live in the age of information. But our minds are not trained to handle the amount of information we receive. This creates confusion and chaos in mind. The decision-making faculty of the mind, Buddhi (or intellect), finds it difficult to make sense of this information.

This practice is especially important in the modern world. People find it challenging to sit still and simply observe their thoughts. Because they are often distracted or bombarded with a constant stream of information.

How it healed me and transformed my life.

What does a typical Kriya Yoga practice look like?

A typical Kriya Yoga practice involves a combination of asanas (physical postures), pranayamas (breathing exercises), bandhas (energy locks), mudras (gestures), mantras (chanting), and dhyana (concentration).

Practitioners start by sitting in a comfortable cross-legged position. Then they perform deep breathing exercises to calm the mind and body. They then move on to a series of physical postures designed to stretch and strengthen the body. Finally, they conclude the practice with a period of deep meditation. During this they focus their attention on their breath or a particular mantra.

A unique aspect of this practice is that it doesn’t involve observing the thoughts — something most people struggle with while meditating.

Hi, I’m Harsh. I’m a meditation & yoga teacher and here to spread consciousness through words and practices.

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