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Yoga: What is Ahimsa and How to Practice It in Everyday Life?

Violence, war, and many potential contradictory threats are becoming increasingly essential issues in our daily life. Does the more society develop, people, are more likely to use violence to solve problems? How do people get rid of obsessions and the terrible consequences that violence brings to us?

Source: http://www.jayayogastudio.com/blog/2018/11/6/ahimsa

We have been seeking the answer to this question for a long time. Until now, there is no suitable answer to that question. It is easy to see that the violence will be resolved and erased by kindness and generosity. In other words, the answer to renouncing violence is nonviolent practice. To discover more about this, we can find in the ancient Indian religions to see the origin of Ahimsa or nonviolence, not killing - the core ideology in Indian religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

What is Ahimsa?

Ahimsa in Sanskrit means harmlessness, also known as evil, violence does not occur in actions, words, and thoughts. Ahimsa is the complete disappearance of force in all human spiritual and physical life. This is the most fundamental principle of Jainism. Why is it the most basic principle? Why only obey the law of harm that humans cannot escape from samsara? Jainism generally shares the same beliefs about karma, reincarnation, and liberation. Time repeated into a circle is compared with the rotation of human life birth, aging, sickness, and death.

The object that Ahimsa aims to not only stop between humans and humans but also towards animals, plants, and tiny living microorganisms invisible to the naked eye, or maybe there is life. In addition to the strict vegetarian precepts, the purpose of Ahimsa is to minimize the number of organisms that are near or dead.

How to Practice Ahimsa in Our Daily Life

To practice Ahimsa in our lives, we must first identify the damaging factors in our daily actions and reactions. Pay attention to the negative thoughts you often think about, the behaviors that are not good for yourself and others. From this, we know which actions are useful to promote and which bad practices should be eliminated.

Ahimsa practice begins with forgiving yourself for something you have done, forgiving those who have made us sad. Our thoughts and emotions play such a significant role in our overall health. Finding your inner peace through Ahimsa will allow us to find peace in life. If you can remove all the harmful and violent thoughts out of your mind, you can now start being a right Ahimsa practitioner.

1. Eat healthily

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We are what we eat. Our body is a temple that needs to be nourished and loved. For our bodies to fully develop, we must remove all aspects of violence from our way of life, including our food. We should know and understand what we are eating and where it comes from. It's best to practice a vegan diet because it doesn't kill animals and helps protect the environment.

Besides, you should also avoid drinking alcohol, coffee, smoking, smoking, or addictive substance like marijuana, cocaine. You should avoid overeating, eating too spicy food, eating in a hurry, eating while you are under stress and just watching TV or arguing while eating. These are all things considered harmful to the body and mind.

2. Make sure you don't skip your meal and sleep

Soure: https://www.tribuneindia.com/

When people are hungry or sleep-deprived, it can harm your body and mind. for the day's activities and body growth process, helping the brain systematically rearrange information, establish and strengthen the brain's long-term memory capacity. This is essential for the body to grow and adapt to the environment. In the absence of sleep, the sympathetic nervous system is more active, blood vessels contract, blood pressure rises, putting more pressure on the heart. Moreover, when you sleep less, your body needs more insulin to maintain normal blood glucose levels, which hurts blood vessels and the heart. The tired body makes it easy to think and misbehave. In addition to psychological factors, the cause of skipping breakfast is also an issue associated with anger. Some studies show that when you are hungry, serotonin levels in the body will decrease, making you feel angry or uncomfortable quickly.

3. Be calm while driving

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When driving on the way home and you get in a traffic jam, it makes you feel uncomfortable. You may have negative actions and words towards others, such as honking repeatedly and cursing people in traffic. You should know that it is not good behavior. Controlling your attitude while driving will give you a poised, relaxed manner and also make you feel more comfortable while in a traffic jam.

4. Care for our Mother Earth

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Nowadays, human health is increasingly affected by the severe degradation of the environment and ecosystem. Environmental pollution and destruction of the natural environment have a direct impact on human rights enjoyment. Human needs are to improve the quality of life, ensure the right to live in a clean environment and ensure environmental health. To practice Ahimsa, we also need to care about the environment - our Mother Earth. First of all, we should do practical actions such as:

· Turn off the lights when we do not use

· Use water economically

· Limit the use of plastic packaging

· Dispose of garbage at the prescribed place and classify garbage

· Try to make use of recyclable things

5. Practice Meditation

Source: https://www.mindful.org/how-to-meditate/

Meditation often brings benefits to individuals who practice regularly and daily. Meditation helps people calm, such as wanting to quell disturbances in mind, better understand themselves, find peace of mind and feel the surrounding life, meditate deeply in thought, or strengthen trying to believe.

6. What you do matters today

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Let every day you live is a happy day. Life is a series of difficulties and troubles. However, keeping a positive attitude, acting sweet, and polite will make you a better person in the eyes of the people around you. Don't forget to greet your family before going to work, smile at your colleagues. Don't forget to thank the one who helped you, and don't regret your apologies if you upset someone.



Work cited:

Michael (Mukunda Chandradas). "Observing the Practice of Ahimsa." Your Wellness Yogi, 28 Mar. 2019, yourwellnessyogi.com/observing-the-practice-of-ahimsa.

"What Is Ahimsa and How to Practice It in Everyday Life." Gaia, www.gaia.com/article/practice-ahimsa-everyday-life.

"Ahimsa: 10 Ways to Practice Non-Violence In Your Daily Life." Art of Living (United States), www.artofliving.org/us-en/ahimsa-10-ways-practice-non-violence-your-daily-life.

"3 Ways to Practice Ahimsa in Your Daily Life." Peaceful Dumpling, 17 May 2016, www.peacefuldumpling.com/ways-to-practice-ahimsa-in-your-daily-life.

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