IMPROVE Your PERSONALITY

improve your personality WITH YOGA. In fact Yoga helps to Leverage your personality.

A whole body of research indicates that the damage stress inflicts on the body is not restricted to only ulcers and heart disease, but also extends to the loss of immune function and memory. in the short term, stress is damaging, but over time it turns destructive - in the adrenal glands the cortex secretes cortisol which becomes toxic to brain cells, potentially damaging cognitive ability and increasing fatigue, anger and depression. the immune system gets weakened due to repeated suppression of disease-fighting cells, decreases in blood flow leave mucous lining vulnerable to ulcers, and the elevated blood pressure and heart rate damage elasticity of blood vessels. the above stress syndrome is not exclusive to executives in the corporate sector - it increasingly affects young women married in a joint family and school-going children too. the body of research on stress also confirms, based on empirical evidence, that both yoga and meditation are proven stress busters. the six personality types identified by american psychologist j.l.holland still constitute the most widely used vocational guidance test in the world. the conventional personality - people who are conforming, methodical, conscientious and efficient - tending to be inhibited and not wanting to stand out from the crowd suit occupations such as receptionists, accountants etc. the social type, who like people and enjoy mixing with them, make very good teachers, counsellors/therapists and management consultants. then there are the investigative personality - analytical, complex, curious and precise - usually researchers; the artistic personality - deeply nonconformist and original; the down-to-earth realistic personality - natural and genuine, usually pilots and engineers; and the enterprising personality, very self- confident and outgoing who are optimistic and inspire confidence in others. there is a persistent belief that we fall in one or two of the above personality types, but people do not realise that personalities can grow to include a balance of all the six. jung referred to this growth process as "individuation", and associated it with life's spiritual dimension. danah zohar evolves a model of spiritual quotient (sq) based on the six petals of a lotus and its centre, corresponding to the seven chakras described by the hinduism's kundalini yoga, as an aid to the process of individuation. in the mid-1990s, daniel goleman popularised the "emotional quotient" (eq) - a degree of emotional intelligence, awareness of one's own and other people's feelings such as empathy, compassion, motivation, and the ability to respond to pain or pleasure appropriately. his hypothesis was that for an effective use of iq, eq is a necessity - "it is not iq, but emotional intelligence that matters". danah zohar extended the concept to conclude that the spiritual intelligence is the basic foundation for an effective eq and iq. yoga and meditation can contribute to developing a balanced personality, enhancing one's emotional intelligence and managing stress. yoga refers to the union with the "all pervading power" as well as to an attainment of inner harmony between mind, body, emotions and the spirit, and the outer balance between social, material, career and family related aspects in an individual. meditation is a process of attaining "thoughtless awareness" and not the often mistaken notion of a mental process of developing "concentration". according to the upanishads , meditation is the route to the highest knowledge (spiritual knowledge) when self-realisation, which is integration of inner self or spirit into the cosmic spirit, occurs. if stress is to be managed, our intelligence is to be leveraged and additional personality traits are to be developed, one needs a practical system that allows you to achieve all these without changing your living style - it is not feasible for everyone to lead a stress-free life or search for self-knowledge in the himalayas. sahaja yoga founded by mataji sri nirmala devi is one such system that lets you have the first encounter with the reality (self-realisation) in a simple practical, consistent manner, without requiring any change in one's style of living.
(A good article in Indiatimes spiritual)