Grow…like a plant

My teacher Vikas, shared a beautiful gardening analogy to help us understand the value of Pranayama and Meditation better:

There are 3 things needed for a plant to grow well:

1. The quality of the soil should be very good
2. The soil needs to be prepared and ploughed well
3. The quality of the seed you sow should be high

With those 3 things in place, you’ve created a strong foundation for the plant to grow well.

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What’s the parallel for our own growth?

We need 3 things as well:

1. Highly positive thoughts of Abundance (high-quality seeds)
2. A calm and pure mind (high-quality soil)
3. A focused mind (well ploughed soil)

And how do we get those 3 things? With a combination of:

1. Positive mantra
2. Pranayama
3. Meditation

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1. Positive Mantras

Vikas suggests the following examples:

1. Abundance: “Day by day, in every way, I’m magnetizing most and more of holistic abundance in my life”
2. Peaceful progress: “Day by day, in every way, we’re inspiring most and more people through our peaceful progress”
3. Consistent action: “Day by day, in every way, I’m actualizing and maximizing my potential”

[Original source of these above mantras: https://www.infinitheism.com/mahatria/]

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2. Pranayama

Nadi Shuddhi pranayama is an effective method to calm and purify the mind. It cleanses the nervous system.

As you practice regularly, you’ll notice a gradual absence of negative thoughts with Nadi Shuddhi.

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3. Meditation

The goal here is simple – repeat your chosen mantra silently.

When your mind wanders, bring your focus back gently to the mantra.

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Putting it all together

There are multiple ways to do this:

1. Chanting silently along with Pranayama: As you inhale, silently say a mantra. As you hold your breath, say a mantra. As you exhale, say a mantra.
2. Chant the mantra during silence intervals: Do a few rounds of Nadi Shodan. And then say the mantra silently while sitting still in silence. Repeat.
3. Or do both 🙂

Personally, this is what I do (based on my teacher’s recommendation):

1. While inhaling, I chant the “Abundance” mantra
2. When retaining my breath, I chant the “Peaceful progress” mantra
3. While exhaling, I chat the “Consistent action” mantra

I practice the above for 12 rounds times a day. One round of Nadi Shuddhi is inhalation and exhalation on both nostrils.

That’s it. You’ll notice a positive shift in your thoughts, words, and actions in a few months.

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Each of us is gifted with an acre of diamonds: our own minds. But the diamonds aren’t shiny. They’re rough.

Once we accept the responsibility to cut and polish those diamonds, our lives will be filled with the abundance we seek.