About the Book
The term stress has found everyday usages in our vocabulary/parlance and is increasingly becoming a topic for discussion at various platforms and as yet, a clear-cut definition for this phenomenon remains elusive. A practical definition explains stress as when the problem presented by everyday life exceeds your resources for coping with them you feel stressed. The text has been divided into two parts-1.Stress and 2. Meditation.
Table of Contents:
Preface v, Acknowledgement xiv, PART I : STRESS, Chapter 1: Understanding Stress 3, What is Stress? 3, StressA New Age Phenomenon 4, Causes of Stress 5, Ego (individualism/materialism) 13, Recognizing Stress 15, Behavioural Symptoms 15, Cognitive Symptoms 16, Emotional Symptoms 17, Physical Symptoms 17, Chapter 2 : The Psychology and Physiology, of Stress 19, Type-A Personalities and Type-B Personalities 19, Bodys Response to Stress 22, Effects of Excessive Stress on the Body 23, Functioning of Brain 25, The Stress Axis 29, Stress-related Ailments 31, Chapter 3 : Managing Stress 33, A Practical Model for Managing Stress 33, How Much Stress is Beneficial 34, How Stress is Produced 35, The External Stressors 37, Internal Conditioning or Mind Set 40, 1. Beliefs, Preferences and Opinions 40, 2. Value System and Morality 41, 3. Priorities 41, 4. Social Expectation 41, 5. Sense of Duty and Perfectionism 41, 6. Communication Skill 41, 7. Materialistic Expectations 41, 8. Self-Esteems 41, What Influences Internal Conditioning 42, 1. Parents 42, 2. Family 42, 3. Society 42, 4. Educational Institutions 42, 5. Friends and Colleagues 42, 6. Religion and Spiritual Training 43, 7. Physical Appearance 43, 8. Media and Literature 43, 9. Financial Resources and Status 43, 10. Personal Experiences 43, Chapter 4 : Dealing with Stress 45, Anticipating Stress 45, External StressorsA Reality of Life 45, Changing the Internal Conditioning 50, Change with Society 50, Theory of Anekant 51, Mutual Gain 52, AnekantTheory of Multiple View Points 53, Story of the Elephant and Three Blind Men 53, Releasing Stress 54, Contents x, Dealing with Acute and Chronic Stress 54, Using Communication Skills to Cut, Down Stress 57, Time Management 59, A Happy and Healthy Marriage 62, Dealing with Difficult People 64, Food Habits Suitable for Better Stress 66, Guidelines for a Healthy Diet 67, Sex and Stress Management 69, Chapter 5 : Some other Stress Management, Techniques 71, Hobbies and Pastimes 71, Physical Activities 73, Alternative Medicines or Therapies 74, Other Special Techniques 75, SAAOLThe Science And Art Of Living 75, Stress and Immune SystemPsycho-Neuro, Immunology 77, Tracking Stress Management Skills 80, PART II : MEDITATION, Chapter 6 : Introduction to Meditation: An Overview 85, What is Meditation? 85, Effects of Meditation on the Body 86, Chapter 7 : A Lifestyle Called Yoga 89, Yoga as Lifestyle 93, Meditation and Yoga! The Historical, Background 90, The Cause of Loss of Popularity of Yoga and Meditation in the Past 91, xi Contents, Rise in the Popularity of Yoga-meditation, Again 93, The Eight-Step Process of Yoga Meditation 94, Chapter 8: The Process of Meditation 99, Different kinds of Meditation 99, Themes of Meditation 102, Preparations for Meditation 103, Postures for Doing Meditation 104, SankalpPledge Just Before Meditation 110, Putting Meditation to Practice 111, Chapter 9 : Making Meditation more Effective 113, Health Rejuvenating Exercises Accessory, to Meditation 113, Some more Asanas 119, Pranayama (Nadi-Shodhan Pranayama) 120, Tools to Enhance Meditation 120, Chapter 10: The Scientific Perspective 127, Modern Medicines Interpretation of Meditation 127, Blood Pressure 127, Cardiovascular Capacity 127, Respiratory Rate 128, Minute Ventilations and Spriometric , Changes 129, Skin Resistance 129, Temperature Changes 129, EMG or Electromyography 129, Metabolic Rate 130, ECG Recording 130, Cholesterol 130, Catecholamines 130, Blood Sugar 131, Contents xii, EEG or Electroencephalography 131, Psychological Testing 131, Electrical Changes in the Brain During Meditation 131, The Rational and the Emotional Brain 132, Kundalini 136, Chapter 11: The Preksha Meditation System 137, Constituents of Preksha Meditation System 139, Kayotsarg or Progressive Mascular, Relaxation 140, The Techniques 140, The Pledge 141, Leshya MeditationMeditating on Colour 142, Meditation on a Positive thought: Anupreksha 143, Bibliography 147, Index 149
About the Author :
MD,is a consultant cardiologist and cardiac rehabilitation expert who is also the founder and director of Saaol Heart Center in Delhi. Dr. Chhajer is a pioneer in treatment of coronary heart disease by a combination of lifestyle modification, and medical drugs. He advocates yoga, meditation, stress management, exercises, diet modification as asubstitute of bypass surgery and angioplasty. His workshops are held regularly in all the major metro cities.
