How often do we experience anger daily? What does anger do to us? Do we feel good after an outburst or do we feel exhausted?

Speak when you are angry, and you will make the best speech you’ll ever regret. – Ambrose Bierce

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal… you are the one who gets burnt. – Buddha

Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored. – Mark Twain

Anybody can become angry–that is easy, but to be angry with the right person… is not easy. – Aristotle

For every minute you are angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Swami Sivananda said that anger was the deadliest internal enemy–a destructive fire that burns peace, wisdom and spiritual progress. He taught that it originates from unchecked desires and ego, leading to delusion and the loss of reason.

Sometimes it is difficult for us to curb or control our anger. We become consumed with it and it destroys our sense of reason.

We must attempt to become self-aware. Once we do that, we tend to become less reactive. We think about the other person and not ourselves. The outcome is that the feeling of anger is reduced and we find that we can look at events dispassionately. It is like viewing anger from the Ajna Chakra.

We know that we are upset but we let our Ida nadi take over. It is possible to do this even when one is enraged. Become conscious of the breath flowing in and out of the left nostril (Ida nadi). Count backwards. You will observe that you become rational.

You also need to breathe in and out of the right nostril (Pingala nadi) 27 times. Now breathe in and out of both nostrils, visualize the breath going to the eyebrow center and it then descends through both nostrils. This is triangular breathing (Trikuti sadhana). You will be surprised as to how effective this practice of Anuloma Viloma is.

What is important is that when you become angry, you are aware and therefore you can learn to change your behavior, through the practice of Anuloma Viloma.

Aim Hrim Klim