9 yoga for anger management

YOGA FOR
ANGER
MANAGEMENT

Published by
Swami Vivekananda Yoga Prakashana
#19, Eknath Bhavan, Gavipuram Circle, Kempegowda Nagar, Bengaluru - 560019
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E mail: svyasa@svyasa.org Web: www.svyasa.org

Contents
Ch.No. Title
1

INTRODUCTION

2

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF

THE VOCAL SYSTEM

3

CAUSES OF INJURY TO THE

VOCAL SYSTEM

4

VOCAL DISORDERS AND

VOICE DISORDERS

5

VOICE CULTURING

DEVELOPING MUSICAL TALENTS

6

VOICE CULTURE FOR

DEVELOPING ORATION

7

YOGA PRACTICES FOR

VOICE CULTURE

Page No.

Yoga for Anger Management | 7

INTRODUCTION
Anger is something that is inbuilt into our system. It appears
as if we cannot survive without anger. Is really anger necessary for survival? Yes. If there is going to be some enemy or
some danger or some attack, if you don’t invoke anger, then
you may not be able to run away from that danger. You may
not be able to fight with the enemy. You may not be able to
escape from danger. So ‘anger’ is something which is not always an enemy. Anger is nature’s protective mechanism to
help us cope up with dangerous situations where we need to
fight with the damaging or demanding situations. But are we
really using anger only in such situations where we really have
to fight? Are there situations in our life which really need anger? In the present day life style, there are several situations
probably 99 out of 100 situations where anger is unnecessary. Unnecessarily we get irritated starting from childhood
right up to the old age. We are becoming a slave to anger
and that is where the management of anger, handling anger,
understanding anger is required. What happens when we are
angry? Why is it so difficult
to handle our anger, is what
we should understand and
use these techniques that
you are going to learn here in
Yoga to manage anger. What
is the mechanism of anger?
What exactly is happening
Yoga in Education for Total Personality Development SERIES - 8

8 | Yoga for Anger Management

when we say that we are angry?
For this in Bhagavadgeeta, we
get a very nice shloka in which
Bhagavan Sri Krishna is talking
about the mechanism of how
we end ourselves into a loop of
anger thoughts which draws us
like a whirlpool. Imagine a person who is a great swimmer.
He got into a river to swim. He is enjoying the river. He is a
professional swimmer. He has got enormous capacity to swim.
He has enough muscle strength and he enters into an adventure of entering into a fierce river. He is still able to enjoy the
river. He enjoys swimming. After a few minutes of enjoying
that, he tries to go to the left side of the river where the river
is fiercer. He wants to be a little more adventurous. But he
does not know that this part of the river is pulling him into the
whirlpool. What is a whirlpool? Whirlpool is rewinding of the
speeded up flow of the river. In that whirlpool, however good a
swimmer he is, he is in the rewinding of the forced water flow
in that turbulence, going to be drawn. He is going to be killed.
This is exactly what happens in our mind, when we allow ourselves to get drawn by anger.
Let us take an example of how this builds up. For example, if
somebody has insulted you, somebody has hurt your feelings.
Then you get angry. What the sages want us to understand
is: when you are in that state of mind where you are terribly angry, because somebody has insulted you, please analyze
what is happening in your mind. What are the thoughts in
the mind? Mind is defined as a flow of sentences on the back-



ground of wakefulness. The wakeful screen on which the sentences
are repeating. This is the mind.
Mind is nothing but the thinking
apparatus. So in this thinking apparatus what are the thoughts?
Horrible fellow, useless fellow, he
has insulted me in front of everyone, I cannot tolerate this.
You heard the sound of these four sentences. It fells on your
ear and the ear amplified it, the sound went to the ear Cochlea
where the sound vibrations are getting converted into electrical activity. This electrical current goes to the brain and in the
brain, this sound is bombarding the electrical current and this
entire chain of events of thinking starts. So when the thinking process is going on in the mind, what are you doing? Horrible fellow, useless fellow, how could he insult me in front of
everyone. I just cannot tolerate this. Let me hurt him, these
sentences are rewinding very fast in the mind and that is what
we call as anger. This anger
is the one which perco lates
into the body, which percolates into the heart, percolates into our system
and makes your eyes
red, face red and the
whole body tenses up
and pushes the energy,
pushes the prana into an
arm, you want to go and
punch him. So the situation



occurs and the sound that comes from the
outside, interpreted in the brain and the brain
generates these four sentences only which are
rewinding at a fast speed. This repetition of
sentences pulls you like a whirlpool and you
get lost. That is why it is said ‘Kaama Krodha
udbhavam vegam’. The Udvega (speed) is the
one which we have to learn to understand and of course, how
to handle this? How to work on this? It is something that we
have to get trained.
Now, let us come to the understanding of what are the steps
in handling this vega? What are the steps of understanding
this phenomena called anger? How this unnecessary anger is
destructive? How this unnecessary anger, emotional surge is
making me get lost? How this unnecessary emotional surge of
repeated sentences in the mind is making me spoil my presence of mind? Behaving erratically, behaving anti-socially create problems both for myself and the business. Therefore let
us see what are all the steps in this progress of anger and
how we can handle this. How these techniques which we are
learning in these chapters are going to help us to handle this
anger? Please start applying these techniques in your day
to day situations and observe the result. Regular practice of
these techniques will help you to lessen the degree of anger,
lessen the speed of anger and start developing mastery over
anger and preventing you from getting this anger. Prevention
is better than cure. So first prevent getting angry by regular
daily 45 minutes practice of these techniques that you are
learning and start applying these at the moment, you get an-



gry. In the next Chapters we will see how you can apply these
techniques through this understanding and see that at that
moment when you are getting angry, you can get away from
this anger reaction.



STEPS IN ANGER MANAGEMENT
Let us begin with a story. Once two friends, let us say Rama
and Shyama went to the teacher, a Guru in a very remote
Ashram and asked, Sir please give us Deeksha. Then Guru
asked, why do you children want Deeksha? They said, Sir, we
have to do Yoga by doing this Mantra Japa and Deeksha, we
will be able to get very good happiness. We can also get lot of
powers, so we want to learn, sir. Then the master said, OK.
You please go back home and come back after six months and
in these six months, you should not get angry for anything,
come back and that is the test for you to go on for this Deeksha. Rama and Shyama were very happy. They said, OK sir.
Nothing should make you angry. You should never get angry.
Go back home, be normal, be on your normal activities. When
you come back report to me, then I will give you Deeksha,
said the sage. So Rama and Shyama went. Rama went to his
village, Shyama returned to his village. Six months are over.
They both are going to meet their Guru. They met on the Tank
Bund. Hello, Hello how are
you, all that and then Rama
asked Shyama, Oh! Shyama
did you manage not to get anger for the last six months?
How was it? Yeah, I never
got angry, I have passed my
test. Then Shyama asked
Rama, have you not got anYoga in Education for Total Personality Development SERIES - 8


gry? How was it? I never got angry, said Rama. After some
time again Shyama asked Rama you never got angry for the
last six months? No. No anger. I never got angry, Rama replied. Rama asked Shyama you never got angry for the last
six months? Can you not remember even one single episode
where you got angry? Are you very sure? Shyama said, I never
got angry. One more step later, Rama asked Shyama again,
you never got angry for the last six months? Then Shyama
says, Yeah, how many times you are asking me? There came
the anger. So anger, if you think that you have mastered, it
comes back with double the force. So in Anger Management,
we have to be very conscious.
To recognize that I am
angry is a very important
step. So there are five steps
in our Anger Management.
The first step is when you
don’t even know that you
are an angry person. I had
a very good friend of mine.
Her father was an extremely angry person. When we are young every parent will be worried when the daughter comes home late in the evening. The
parents will be angry and shout at the girls. One day, I also
accompanied my friend to her home because, she was feeling
little scared. We both went and I was very close to her father.
We were having very good relationship. On reaching her house,
the father was very angry at the daughter. He was starting to
shout at her. Then I requested her father, Sir, it was nothing



wrong, we were sitting and studying. We were doing combined
studies and there is nothing wrong with your daughter. That
is why I have accompanied her. Her father started shouting at
me also. You people don’t understand. Then I said, sir, please
don’t get angry and shout. Reply was: Where am I getting
angry, I am not getting angry. You are the one who is irritating me more. I am not an angry person. I am not angry. He
started saying that I am not angry.
That is why, when a couple comes to me for counseling, if I
have to find out from somebody that he is an angry person, I
don’t ask him, are you an angry person? I will ask his or her
spouse, what do you think if he or she is an angry person? The
first thing is, we behave like animals. What is the animal like
response? Situation, anger, response. Situation: somebody
insults you, irritates you, provokes you or some frustration or
something else not happened in the way you want, then immediately we get an anger reaction and we get lost in that wave
because we express blast away. This is the first thing that we
do, we do not even know that I am lost in the whirlpool, I am
lost in the wave, I am lost in the speed of my mind, I am lost
in my anger response.
Then the second step is, we have been hearing here and there
that while reacting like this you are spoiling your relationship,
you are spoiling your job, you are spoiling your business. So
you start recognizing that OK I am an angry person, I must
reduce my anger. So you start becoming aware. So I want to
change myself is a very first step in our Anger Management.
That awareness that I can change, I want to change, I need to



change, is the first step. Otherwise most people do not even
think that they need to handle their anger. Only when they get
heart attack, when the doctor tells that you have to calm down
on your irritable nature, then you will start doing something
about it. So recognizing that I am an angry person, I want to
overcome that and this is harmful to me and harmful to the
society around, it is spoiling my relationship, so let me start
working on that, is the first step in the Anger Management.
Second step : Then comes a stage when we become aware
and we start holding our anger.
Third step. Recognizing and then starting to hold our anger
response. So situation is somebody has irritated you and immediately you produce a reaction. Then you say yah I should
not get angry. If I get angry now, my job is going to get spoiled.
So inside a counter thought comes. So mind, reaction, horrible fellow, useless fellow, terrible fellow, but inside efficacy,
diplomacy, wanting to change myself, my introspective suggestions say, stop, stop don’t show your anger. OK sir, yes
sir, fine sir, from outside you are showing your smiling face.
Inside you are boiling. This is the suppression of anger.
Then comes, the next
stage, which is more
important. See already
you have started developing that control; you
have started developing that mastery. This



mastery phase is what Patanjali calls as Chitta Vritti Nirodhaha. To control the mind is Yoga. So you have started controlling in the name of efficacy, in the name of growth, in the
name of diplomacy, in the name of successful productive Person. We have learnt to control this. But don’t you think in the
present day life style it is this progressive, successful, ambitious Type A personality person who is all the time on the go,
wanting to achieve things who is very highly provoked with
situation because there are too many situations where provocation leading to suppression happens repeatedly is the one
who gets affected. Outside you have to keep a very pleasant
diplomatic smile on your face. Isn’t this the one which is causing all the psycho-physiological problems? Problems of heart
attack, acidity, sleeplessness, joint pains, so many of these
modern diseases are all because of suppressed anger which is
a manifestation of some degree of control that we have already
developed. So let us see how Yoga offers techniques of not
suppressing nor expressing. Expressing is animal; suppression is human but is causing problems. So let us see how to
grow from this level to become masters of our mind so that
anger is no longer a botheration to you rather it helps you.
In the last two episodes we have understood how we have to
learn to move on from our instinctual behavior of responding
through speeded up repeated sentences in our mind in the
form of anger, response to demanding situations to becoming
aware that I should change and then move on and go ahead.
We also understood how suppression is not the right answer.
In suppression you are holding an anger loop, as repeating
of sentences. So every time you try to handle your anger, we



always find an excuse, and mind always says that look, you
have to be angry because this person has committed a mistake,
this person is at fault. The problem is outside. To shift from
there and say that although the person is at fault, although
the problem is outside, I need not get angry and start holding it, suppression starts happening and suppression leads to
many of the problems. So what is the next step then? Next
step or better way of handling our anger is to come out of this
speeded up loop of responses, speeded up sentences, horrible
fellow, and terrible fellow, useless fellow, I feel like smashing
up. This speed we have to reduce. So that is what we keep
saying that you please get angry, but get angry slowly. Horrible fellow…., useless fellow…, I feel like smashing you up…..
If you start repeating the sentences in your mind at a slow
rate, would you call it as anger? It is not anger at all. But how
do you do it? How can you do it? Is it really possible to slow
down the mind? See first step is to recognize that we were getting lost. I should not be angry is itself a great step and then
to be able to handle that violent upsurge of energy, violent
upsurge of prana that is coming up and hitting against your
head which is making you think that fast, how do I reduce that
speed? Yogic techniques say that when you have this anger
speed, a big surge of energy, big surge of vital energy, prana is
being drawn to the head region and it is bombarding against
your head region. So what you should do therefore is, first
shift the prana from the head region to the lower region and
spend away that prana. Instead of spending that big energy
in the form of horrible fellow, useless fellow and saying and
spoiling the situation, you shift it down and push it down,
spend away that prana in the form of fast breathing. What



you should be telling in your mind, my God I am so angry, it is
all so fast, let me push the prana go down, anger go down and
then get a little exhausted by doing that. If you have hypertension and all that, do it vigorously but with this awareness that
I am doing this fast breathing only to shift the prana from the
head region to the lower region of the body. Once I got terribly
angry with somebody who was insulting the organization and
I could not handle my anger. I tried doing this kapalabhati.
Then also, I could not manage. Then what I did was OK, let
me push my prana from the head region down to lower parts
of the body. So, I started jogging, I started pushing and then
after about 20 strokes, slow breathing, slow breathing and
then slow breathing one omkara, five times omkara and then
go back to the same situation, horrible fellow, useless fellow,
he is insulting every one. OK, if he is insulting, it is his opinion. Why should I get upset about it. When you create a space
in your mind by pushing the prana down, then you are able
to find space. What came out in that space was your inner
ability, your inner answer, your inner kshama, your inner stability, your inner confidence, your inner right answer saying
that OK that is his opinion let him have his opinion. If he is
misbehaving, why should I get so irritated and hurt my heart.
Let him do what he wants to do. But let me tackle it in a different way. Not by getting irritated, agitated or suppressing
my anger, but let me first handle my anger. If husband and
wife are having irritating dialogues then, first step is, to move
away from that place. I am reminded of Brahmakumaris who
say that when the couples take Deeksha, they are asked to
take an oath. What is the oath? As soon as the heat builds up
in the dialogue, one of you should move away from the room.



So when there are two hands only, there can be a clap. As
soon as the heat starts building up, one of you should move
out. This is an oath you are supposed to take when you want
Deeksha of a meditator. So move away from the situation. If
bombarding thought is still present, spend it away in the form
of prana being diverted to the lower regions of the body. Then
slow down, then calm down, then get the inner calmness.
I would like to tell you a story here in which you should
realize that if you don’t react
at all, how you can survive
in this world is a very common prashna, common question that many of you might
be facing. There was a village. At the outskirt of
a village there was a big
banyan tree. There lived
a Kala Nag, a black Cobra. It was a very angry,
very venomous Cobra.
If anybody passed that
way, immediately the cobra would hit and then kill the person. Once it so happened
that a Sage was walking that way and all the children of the
village ran behind him and said Sir, Swamiji don’t go this way.
There is a big Cobra, Kala Naga. It will kill you, don’t go that
way. Sage said, OK, never mind even if I get killed nothing will
happen and he walked. When he walked, the big cobra came.



It was about to hit. The sage then asked the Cobra, why is it
so angry? Why do you hit everybody who passes this way? If
you are hungry, you have to kill a frog. What are you going to
gain by killing people around you? They are not hurting you.
Then the Cobra said, sorry I agree, I understand, but I cannot control my anger, what should I do? Then Swamiji gave a
Deeksha Mantra to the Cobra and the Cobra started doing lot
of Mantra-Japa and chanting and all that and it became very
quiet. Sage walked out and all the children who were walking
said, vah, cobra is now chanting japa and the cobra was doing
japa, no anger, no hitting and no killing. Children came near,
held the cobra, touched the cobra and now it became so sober
that it could not even kill the frog for its survival. Children
held it and turned it around. So the Cobra was all wounded.
One day, the Sage came back. Sage saw that this Cobra was
in a very terrible shape, wounded, under nourished. The sage
asked what had happened. Then the cobra said, due to the
power of your Mantra, now I can’t even get a frog to eat. Then
the sage said something very important. Sage said to the Cobra, my dear Naga, I asked you not to bite, but did I ask you
not to hiss. So as a master of anger, you are not going to get
lost in the speeded up response in your mind, you are not going to be a slave to the anger. You can be a master. So you
can hiss when required, like a mother. When the child is not
doing the homework, what will the mother say? If you don’t do
your homework, I won’t allow you to see Cartoon. Is that going
to hurt the child? Is that going to produce a heart attack to
the mother? No. But if she is angry, really angry and shouts
at somebody, then she hurts herself. Therefore learn to hiss.
If you are a master of your anger, you can use anger as a mas-



ter, not as a slave. So the speed of the mind is required to be
kept under control. Switch off, when not required and switch
on when required is the trick of the Yoga and for that use some
physical practices, breathing practices, meditation practice,
chanting practice etc., let us learn to handle our anger.



BODILY REACTIONS WITH ANGER
Anger is an emotion which all of us are very familiar with.
Particularly in the city of Bangalore or in any of the other metropolitan cities of India, people are familiar with traffic jams.
So just imagine a scene like this. You are stuck in traffic jam.
You are in a hurry to go somewhere and someone comes across
the road in the wrong direction and you feel annoyed. Now
you have two choices. You can either go through all the experiences of anger and express anger or you may not go through
all the experiences of anger but express anger. What would be
the difference? In both cases if you express anger, the person
would get your message and he may make the necessary correction. If you yourself actually experience anger there are a
number of facts behind it and we will discuss here.
What really happens to our body when we are angry? In order to understand this, we have to go back in time millions of
years and think of all Stone Age man. Stone Age Man did not
face threats like crossing the road or angry boss or deadline.
Stone Age Man faced threats like facing a wild animal, may be
a fight with another Stone Age Man and his body has to gear
up over the challenges by either of the two ways i.e., fighting
or by fleeing from the situation by running away. Now in order
to fight or flee there are certain changes which occur in the
body. Just think what you would need to do to either fight or
flee. Well, you will require more Blood Sugar and more energy.
Blood Pressure has to go up to see that enough blood reaches


the muscles. The heart would have to pulsate very quickly
and at greater forces and of course, faster breathing and obviously breath-rate becomes more. Experiencing and expressing
anger are extremely dangerous for health. Then what is the
option? Many times people are trained not to express anger.
Imagine a totally different scene a person who is working in an
office and has a very annoying boss who blames him for everything that goes bad and this person who is in the office, has
been trained from childhood to please his parents, to please all
authority figures and then he talks very nicely to the boss every morning. He shows that he is very pleased with him. But
inside he is boiling with rage. Is this good for health? It is not.
In fact, such personalities have been called type “C” personality. The type “C” personality is a person who suppresses the
emotions repeatedly. If you suppress your emotions, it is not
going to be good for health. The disease which has been most
common with suppressed emotions is quite a serious disease
even today and that is Cancer. That is why we say, ‘anger’ is
such a powerful emotion.
So now let us see is it good to experience anger and run the
risk of developing diabetes or hypertension? Is it good to suppress anger and run the risk of developing the disease like
Cancer? Or is it better to do something else? Let us think
what that something else could be? For this, I am going to give
you yet another example and this is an example of a Manager
of a Company. Imagine that you have a very nice Manager. He
wants all his employees to be happy. He goes on holiday and
when he comes back from holiday, he finds that all of them are
totally laid back. Some of them have gone on leave, other peo-



ple are sitting around and talking something among them, still
others are sitting on the tables, on the desks, may be surfing
the net for something which is totally unconnected with their
job. He is a very nice Manager. He does not shout. He says
very gently, don’t do this. I expect you to work as well when I
am away as when I am there and he thinks his message has
gone home. Over the years the Manager goes on holiday again
and he returns from holiday and finds just exactly the same
scene. Now what should he do? He should ideally express
emotions, express anger. Why? If he expresses anger at this
time, the employees would get the message that they are doing
something wrong. If he continuously remains unconcerned
about it, then they would get wrong message. But what is the
key here? He should be able to express that he is angry but
not have any of those bad changes that occur in the body. His
blood sugar should not go up. He should not have any tension
in the muscles; his blood pressure should not go up. In other
words, Yoga will really help. Learn how to express anger when
we need to, but not really experience all the unpleasant consequences of anger. So there will be a deep peace within you and
the person is totally unperturbed. But he is expressing anger
effectively. Thus we see that anger can be experienced but one
may need to face bad consequences. Anger can be suppressed
but it has very bad consequences. Through Yoga training, we
can effectively learn to manage anger and learn yoga successfully so that we no longer experience anger, but only express it
as and when it is required in different situations. This will be
unfolded in the subsequent chapters.



YOGA FOR ANGER MANAGEMENT

A MOVE FROM LYMBIC BRAIN TO CEREBRAL CORTEX
As we all know anger is an emotion familiar to all of us and
quite obviously that it is generated in our brain. So let us look
at our brain and try to understand where and how anger is
generated and what we can do to our brain to reduce the anger
response, because in last chapter we saw how bad anger is for
us. Anger is an emotion which is experienced by almost all
species. What do I mean by that? You have more primitive life
forms like reptiles, you have a bird, you have a fish, you have
mammals, of course at the top of the scale, you have man and



all of them experience and express aggression and anger in
different forms.
In the brains of all living vertebrates there
are certain areas which can actually generate what is called
the aggression or anger response. So in other words when a
crocodile is provoked a part of the brain is activated and very
interestingly the identical part of the brain is activated when
a man is angry. So in other words whenever we are angry, we
are behaving just like a crocodile, or just like a shark, or just
like an eagle or any primitive, we call them living a primitive
form of life. But fortunately for man, there are not just these
sorts of most primitive areas of the brain which are located
in what is called emotional brain or the Limbic brain. There
is also something much more newly developed, much more
sophisticated called the cerebral cortex. Let us look briefly at
the Cerebral Cortex.
When we talk of a person being intelligent we say he has lot
of grey matter. We also talk a lot about white matter. Grey
matter refers to the nerve cells and we actually have in our
skulls about 1.4 Sq. Mtrs of grey matter that means nerve
cells. Imagine it like 1.5 Sq. Mtrs of cloth folded up inside our
skull and this constitutes what is called the Cerebral Cortex.
This thinking brain is really what makes man so different, so
special compared to a crocodile or a shark or even a Chimpanji
or a Gorilla. The thinking brain is what allows us to make
choices and as we saw in the last chapter, it is important to
be able to express anger sometimes but not go through all
the psychological feelings of anger and that choice whether to
express it or not and experience it or not can happen if we activate our thinking brain or cerebral cortex. Now the Cerebral



Cortex is essentially the main part of our brain immediately
below the skull. But among all parts below the skull which is
most important in dealing with our emotions? A part which
is most important is that which lies behind our forehead and
this is called the Frontal Cortex. Through a small story you
can understand its importance.
About 100 years ago, there was a person who was working
on a road. At that time working on roads was a very laborious process where people were to use Gunpowder and had
Steel Rods or the metal rods with which they had to break
stones. So this person was using Gunpowder and blasting the
rocks and in this process, something really terrible happened
to him, the metal rod went right through the forehead through
the skull. One would imagine that after a terrible accident like
that the person would die immediately. But that did not happen. This person continued to live for another twenty years.
But was he normal? The answer is no. He was drastically
altered. From a very peace loving, quiet and good citizen he
became extremely aggressive, abusive and the type of person
who would be easily arrested and be in Police custody. Why?
The part of the brain which lies immediately behind the skull,
the Frontal Cortex that is really vital to help us behave within
the norms laid down by the society that is damaged in his
case. This part is so vital that it has become commonly known
as the Character Cortex. Then how should we train our brain
to function more at the cortical level and less at the level of our
instincts or at the reptilian level? How then do we train the
part of the brain which is there in a shark or in a reptile and
how then do we cultivate the part of the brain which is pecu-



liar to human beings so that we can make choices when to get
angry or whether to get angry or not. Today we would see how
specific yoga techniques can help us to realize the possibility
of activating cortical areas so that intellect can overrule our
instinct and in this way we can control and regulate our anger
responses. This should be extremely good for us because it
is very common experience for all of us. Sometimes we say
something in an angry moment and later we regret it. How
nice it would be if we would have the choice before saying the
thing itself to decide whether we should say it or not? That is
why Yoga has such a big role to play.



HOW YOGA WORKS
FOR ANGER MANAGEMENT
In the last two Chapters we have seen that why anger is a
natural phenomena and a natural emotion that has several
bad consequences. You have also seen that there are certain
parts of the brain which can help us to regulate our control
when we want to get angry and whether we should get angry or
not. Now we will look at different Yoga practices and see how
through the practice of yoga we can gradually calm down the
mind and regulate our anger responses. For those of you who
are familiar with yoga practices, you would know that there
are several practices. There are Yoga Postures called Āsanas.
There are cleansing practices called Kriyās and there are voluntarily regulated breathing practices called Prāṇāyāmās and
Meditation. I am going to tell you a bit about the philosophy
of yoga. The scientific research about how each of these practices (with one or two examples of each) help us in regulating
anger.
Let us take physical postures to begin with. Anyone who
has started practicing yoga, you may remember as a first time
practitioner in doing yoga posture your body tends to rebel.
There are certain muscles which are never used for example,
when we bend forward and try to touch our toes and those
muscles send the signal to the brain that they have been
stretched and this message is indeed almost like a message



of pain. Now what one gradually has to learn to do is to
regulate this message so that
we do not experience it again
but you gradually learn to
comfort the pain, discomfort
into the feeling of calmness,
into the feeling of tranquility. So even though the muscle is
telling you straighten up I don’t want to be pressed in this
way, you gradually train the muscle to be relaxed in that position and in so doing the muscle sends message to the brain
that you are relaxed. So it is like a cycle. The muscle which
is being unduly strained in a particular posture sends a message to the brain but the brain does not respond and this is
the whole essence of yoga postures, yoga āsanas, learning to
relax even when you experience discomfort. This of course not
extreme discomfort and that is why this is so important that
we practice Postures under the guidance of a Yoga Guru so
that you can get to know the important difference between the
postures in which you actually experience discomfort which
can be harmful and postures in which you actually experience
discomfort but which you are able to bear and is harmless.
Now we move on to the next set of practices which are voluntary regulated breathing Prāṇāyāmās. There are a number of
practices which are useful in regulating breathing and in particular three of them need to be mentioned which help people to
reduce blood pressure and probably reduce anger. Definitely
these practices reduce blood pressure. These are Alternative
Nostril Breathing called Nadishuddhi Prāṇāyāma or Anuloma-



viloma Prāṇāyāma. There is also breathing
only through the left nostril which has been
called Chandra Anuloma Viloma Prānāyāma
and the third one is Bhramari where a person breathes out with a humming Sound like
a honey bee. Meditation is trickier. If a person is very angry and he closes the eyes and
attempts to meditate, such a person is likely
to have angry thoughts rushing around him.
Fortunately there is something such people
can do and that is a very special technique
called cyclic meditation. It is actually developed in Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research
Foundation, by the founder director of this institution, Dr. H
R Nagendra. This technique actually consists of cycles of Supine rest when a person lying flat and a few yoga postures.
They are not just trying to relax, in between there is something
they are doing to keep themselves busy and this technique
is very ideal for people who are highly stressed, who are very
anxious, people who are very angry. We have seen remarkable benefits of this in terms of reduced physiological stress,
the blood pressure going down, less oxygen consumed. Stress
level also reduces at the same time this technique is extremely
wonderful because people preserve their levels of awareness.
In other words we don’t want to be so relaxed that you cannot
do your job. Cyclic meditation is a wonderful blend, where
there is deep relaxation but alertness is preserved. We have
been using it for a number of stress management programmes
in various companies. In fact the most recent research that
shows not just that cyclic meditation reduces stress in the day



time in the research paper (it is shortly to appear in medical
science monitor), we have shown that the practice of cyclic
medication twice in the day increases what is called deep sleep
or slow wave sleep in the night. There are lots of reasons here
why one should practice āsanas? Why one should practice
prāṇāyāma techniques particularly the three that are mentioned above; special emphasis being on cyclic meditation.
But apart from these practices there is a certain philosophical approach which is needed in yoga. Equally important is
the practice of physical postures, voluntary regulated breathing. Meditation is the philosophical component. Yoga cannot
be considered in isolation as only physical postures or only
breathing or only meditation. We need to have a certain attitude of mind for yoga to be complete. Yoga is after all a way
of life and I hope this will take you effectively into the practice
session and we can benefit a lot by yoga practice. Practicing
postures breathing techniques, meditation and all that at the
back drop of certain philosophical bent of mind.



ANGER MANAGEMENT
SHAKTHI VIKASAHA
• Anguli Shakthi Vikasaha
• Bhujabhanda Shakthi Vikasaha
• Jangha Shakthi Vikasaha
• Pindalini Shakthi Vikasaha
• Bhujaìgäsana and parvathasana
• Kaponi Shakthi Vikasaha
YOGÄSANAS
• Trikoëäsana
• Virabhathrasana 1
• Virabhathrasana I1
• Vrabhathrasana I1I
• Makaräsana
• Veerasana
BREATHING PRACTICES
• Dog breathing
• Rabbit breathing
PRÄËÄYÄMA
• Candra anuloma viloma
• Nädi Suddhi
• Stitali



• Nädi Suddhi with kumbhka
• Candra anuloma viloma
KRIYÄS
• Kapala Bhati – left nostril
BANDHAS AND MUDRÄS
• Uttiyäna Bandha
• Sästänga Namaskära Mudrä
• Agnisara
• Janusirasasana with jalantharbhanda
MEDITATION
(Examine the raise and growth of emotions)



YOGA PRACTICES
FOR ANGER MANAGEMENT
ANGULI SAKTI VIKÁSAKA (Fingers)
Sthiti: Tádásana
PRACTICE
• With exhalation, throw out your
arms in front, keeping them parallel to the ground at shoulder
level.
• Simultaneously give the fingers of
both arms the shape of the hood
of a cobra.
• Now, stiffen the entire length of
the arms from the shoulder joints
to the finger tips as much as you
can so that they start trembling.
• Inhaling bring the palms to chest.
• Repeat 10 times.
Note
• Tighten the arms until they start trembling.

BHUJA BHANDA SAKTI VIKÁSAKA (Arms)
Sthiti: Tádásana



PRACTICE
• Make fists of your hands with
the thumbs tucked in.
• Bend the elbows and raise the
forearms till they are parallel to
the ground (forming 90o with
the upper arm), and the fists
facing each other.
• Now, push both the right arm
forwards forcefully and vigorously to the level of the shoulder with exhalation.
• Then, pull it back to the starting position with inhalation.
• Repeat with left hand. Repeat for 10 times.
• Repeat the same thing with both hands together.
• Repeat twenty times.
Note
• When pushed forward, the arms should be parallel to the
ground and palms facing up.
• When pulled back, the elbows must not go back beyond the
body (i.e., the starting position).

JANGHA SAKTI VIKÁSAKA (THIGHS)
Sthiti: Tádásana
Variation 1:
• Stretch out the arms straight in front at shoulder height,



•

•
•
•

palms facing downwards.
While inhaling bend your knees gradually till your thighs come parallel to the
ground.
Hold the breath and maintain this position.
Come up while exhaling.
Repeat 5 times.

Note
• The knees must be together throughout
the practice.
• You must not raise the heels or toes from the ground at any
time during the practice.
• If you find it difficult to hold the breath, you can do it with
normal breathing initially for a few days.
• Keep the arms parallel to the ground all through.
• Keep the back, neck and head as erect as possible.

Variation 2:
• Stretch out the arms straight in front
at shoulder height, palms facing downwards.
• While inhaling bend your knees gradually till you come to squating.
• Hold the breath and maintain this position.
• Come up while exhaling.
• Repeat 5 times.



Note
• The knees must be together throughout the practice.
• You must not raise the heels or toes from the ground at any
• If you find it difficult to hold the breath, you can do it with
normal breathing initially for a few days.
• Keep the arms parallel to the ground all through.
• Keep the back, neck and head as erect as possible.

Variation 3:
• Inhaling jump spread your legs away come on toes, raise
the hands up bring them close together above the head. ( No
clapping )
• Exhaling bring the legs together and drop the hands come
down to tadasana.

Variation 4:
• Exhaling jump spread
your legs away come on
toes, raise the hands
up bring them close together above the head.
( No clapping )
• Inhaling bring the legs
together and drop the
hands come down to
Tadasana.


Variation5:
• Stretch the hands on both sides of the body at the shoulder
level horizontally. Exhaling, bend the knees and spreading
the knees with maximum separation come down raising the
heels, heels together.( Do not sit on the heels).
• Inhaling come up.

PINDALI SAKTIVIKÁSAKA (CALVES)
Sthiti: Tádásana
PRACTICE:
• Clench the fists and stretch your
arms forward at shoulder height.
• While inhaling, squat and go
down as far as you can.
• Holding your breath, stand up
while your arms describe one
full circle in the style of rowing a
boat.
• On completion of the circle, the
arms should be held before the chest, fists
touching each other.
• Then exhale sharply while pulling the arms
slightly backward and expanding the chest.
• Repeat ten times.
Note
• Maintain balance of the body throughout the practice.



• The knees should remain close to each other all through.
• The feet should remain on the ground all through.

BHUJANGASANA AND PARVATASANA
Sthiti: Prone Sthiti
PRACTICE:
• Place the palms at the level
of the last rib bones. Elbows
close to the body. Tuck the
toes. Inhaling, raise the
head, chest, abdomen up
making the back concave
and the only parts of the
body touching the ground
are palms and toes.
• This is Bhujangasana position.
• While exhaling raise the
hips up bring the head
down coming into inverted
V pose. In this position palms and foot touch the ground.
This is Parvatasana position.
• Repeat to go into bhujangasana position with inhalation and
Parvatasana position with exhalation.

KAPHONI SAKTI VIKÁSAKA (Elbows)
Sthiti: Tádásana


PRACTICE
• Stretch the arms straight down beside the body, palms facing upward.
• Inhale, bend the arms at the elbows
• Exhaling, stretch them straight.
• Repeat twenty times.
Note
• The upper arms should remain stationary.
• The fists must come up to the level of the shoulders but
should not touch the shoulders and then down straight.
• The fists must, not touch the thighs when they come
down.

YOGASANAS

TRIKONÁSANA
Sthiti: Tádásana


PRACTICE
• While inhaling, take the right leg away from the left by
about a meter and raise both the hands simultenously till
they reach the horizontal position.
• Slowly bend to the right side until the right hand reaches
the right foot. The left arm is straight up, in line with the
right hand. Palms face forward. Stretch up the left arm and
see along the fingers.
• Maintain for about one minute with normal breathing.
• Return slowly to Sthiti.
• Repeat on the left side.
Benefits
Helps in preventing flat foot, strengthens the Calf and thigh
muscles, corrects curvatures of back, strengthens the waist
muscles and makes the spine flexible.
Limitations


People who have undergone recent abdominal surgery , slip
disc or sciatica may avoid this posture.

VIRABHADRASANA-1:
Sthiti: Tadasana
PRACTICE:
Stand in Tadasana. Raise both the
arms and adopt namaskar above
the head. Take the right leg away
from the left by about one meter.
Turn the right foot rightway by 90
Degrees. Bending the right leg at
the knee bring the right thigh parallel to the ground making 90 Degrees angle at right knee. Slightly
turn the left foot towards right side.
Look up at the palms. Maintain the
posture for half minute. Come out
the same way.
Benefits:
Relieves the stiffness in shoulders and back, tones up the ankles and knees and cures stiffness of the neck. It also reduces
the fat around the hips.

VIRABHADRASANA-2:
Sthiti: Tadasana



PRACTICE:
Stand
in
Tadasana.
Raise both the arms and
stretch them to the sides
at the shoulder level parallel to the ground. Take
the right leg away from
the left by about one
meter. Turn the right
foot rightway by 90 Degrees. Turn the body to
the right side. Bending
the right leg at the knee bring the right thigh parallel to the
ground making 90 Degrees angle at right knee. Slightly turn
the left foot towards right side. Look at the right palm. Maintain the posture for half minute. Come out the same way.
Benefits:
Leg muscles become shapely and stronger. It relieves crams
in the calf and thigh muscles. Brings elasticity to the leg and
back muscles and also tones the abdominal organs.

VIRABHADRASANA-3:
Sthiti: Tadasana
PRACTICE:
Stand in Tadasana. Raise both the arms and adopt namaskar
above the head. Take the right leg away from the left by about
one meter. Turn the right foot rightway by 90 Degrees. Bend-



ing the right leg at the knee bring the right thigh parallel to the
ground making 90 Degrees angle at right knee. Slightly turn
the left foot towards right side. Inhale, raise the left leg up simultaneously straightening the right leg at the knee, bringing
the front part of the body parallel to the ground. In this position, the whole body weight on the right leg and the rest of the
body perpendicular to this leg and is parallel to the ground.
Maintain with balance for half minute and return.
Benefits:
Balances the body. Balances the mind. Tones the abdominal
organs. Makes the leg muscles strong.

MAKARASANA:
Sthiti: Supine sthiti
PRACTICE:
• Lie down on the abdomen. Legs apart,
heels
inwards.
Right palm on the
left shoulder, left



palm on the right shoulder. Chin on the cross of both the
hands.
• Gives nice relaxation. Normalizes the Blood Pressure.

VEERASANA:
Vira means a hero, warrior, champion. This sitting posture is
done by keeping the knees together, spreading the feet and
resting them by the side of the hips. The pose is good for meditation and pranayama.
Technique
• Kneel on the floor. Keep the knees together and spread the
feet about 18 inches apart.
• Rest the buttocks on the floor, but not the body on the feet.
The feet are kept by the side of the thighs, the inner side
of each calf touching the outer side of its respective thigh.
Keep the toes pointing back and touching the floor. Keep
the wrists on the knees, palms facing up, and join the tips of
the thumbs and forefingers. Keep the other fingers extended. Stretch the back
erect.
• Stay in this position
as long as you can,
with deep breathing.
• Then rest the palms
on the knees for a
while.
• Now interlock the
fingers and stretch
the arm straight over


•
•
•
•
•

the head, palms up.
Stay in this position for a minute with deep breathing.
Exhale, release the finger lock, place the palms on the soles,
bend forward and rest the chin on the knees.
Stay in this position for a minute with normal breathing.
Inhale, raise the trunk up, bring the feet forward and relax.
If you find it difficult to perform the pose as described
above, try placing the feet one above the other and rest the
buttocks on them. Gradually move the toes further apart,
separate the feet and bring them to rest outside the thighs.
Then, in time the buttocks will rest properly on the floor and
the body will not rest on the feet.

Effects
• The pose cures rheumatic pains in the knees and gout, and
is also good for flat feet. Due to the stretching of the ankles
and the feet, proper arches will be formed. This, however,
takes a long time and requires daily practice of the pose for
a few minutes for several months. Those suffering from pain
in the heels or growth of calcaneal spurs there will get relief
and the spurs will gradually disappear.
• The pose can even be done immediately after food and will
relieve heaviness in the stomach.

BREATHING PRACTICES
DOG BREATHING
Sthiti: Dandasana
PRACTICE


• Fold the right leg at the knee
and sit on the right heel.
• Fold the left leg also at the knee
sit on both heels.
• Place the palms of the hands on
the ground beside the knees.
• Make the spine slightly concave
and fix the gaze straight ahead.
• The mouth is opened wide,
the tongue is pushed out to its
maximum. Practice rapid, forceful inhalation and exhalation,
expanding and contracting the
abdomen vigorously.
• Repeat the practice for 30 seconds.
• Relax in Sasáñkásana.
• Feel the automatic stoppage of breath. It helps to reduce the
rush of anger. It helps to throw away the anger. The inner
rush of energy is now governed. Relax.
Note
Since this dynamic nature of practice is a form of hyperventilation, epileptics and high blood pressure patients should
avoid it.

RABBIT BREATHING
Sthiti: Dandasana
PRACTICE


• Fold the right leg at the knee and
sit on the right heel.
• Fold the left leg also at the knee
sit on both heels.
• Keeping the knees together, bend
forward and rest the forearms on
the floor, keeping the elbows by
the side of the knees and palms
flat on the ground.
• Maintain the head at a distance of
one hand length from the ground
to chin. Open your mouth partially. Protrude the tongue partially. Touch the lower lip resting on the lower set of teeth.
• Gaze at a point about 2 feet on the ground in front of you.
• Pant quickly like a rabbit, using only the upper part of the
chest. Feel the air moving beautifully in and out of the lungs.
Feel the expansion and contraction of the chest muscles.
• Continue for 20 to 40 breaths.
• Close your mouth and relax in Sasankásana. Stretch your
hands forward with the forehead resting on the ground. Feel
the relaxation of chest and thorax. Allow your breath to return to normal.
Note
• Breathe rapidly through the mouth only, using the thoracic
muscles.
• Make sure that the abdomen presses on your thighs, preventing any abdominal movement.
• Do not drop your head on to the floor.



Pranayama

CANDRA ANULOMA VILOMA PRÁÏÁYÁMA
Sthiti: Dandasana
PRACTICE
• Adopt Násika Mudrá with your right
hand.
• Close the right nostril with the tip of
the thumb.
• Inhale and exhale slowly through
the left nostril (Candra Nádi) only.
• Keep the right nostril closed all the
• One cycle of inhalation and exhalation forms one round.
• Practice nine rounds.
• This practice helps to deel with all
the energy imbalances which is the
root cause for anger. Allow the mind
to calm down.
Note
• Time taken for exhalation should be
longer than inhalation.
• Anxiety patients may practice this Práïáyáma 27 rounds
before breakfast, lunch, dinner and before sleep (4 times a
day).

NÁDISUDDHI PRÁNÁYÁMA
Sthiti: Dandasana


PRACTICE
• Sit in any meditative
posture.
• Adopt Násika Mudrá.
• Close the right nostril
with the right thumb
and exhale completely
through the (left) nostril. Then inhale deeply
through the same left
nostril.
• Close the left nostril
with your ring and little finger of the Násiká
Mudrá, release the right
nostril. Now exhale slowly and completely through the right
nostril.
• Inhale deeply through the same (right) nostril. Then close
the right nostril and exhale through the left nostril. This is
one round of Nádiùuddhi práïáyáma.
• Repeat nine rounds.
Note
• This practice helps to maintain balance between Nádis.
• If you feel headache, heaviness of the head, giddiness, uneasiness etc.
• it means you are exerting much pressure on the lungs.
• The first symptoms of correct practice is the feeling of freshness, energy and lightness of the body and mind.
Benefits
Physical :


It promotes balance between the two nostrils apart from
cleansing the nasal tract. It increases the vitality. Metabolic
rate decreases as in case of all other Práïáyáma practices. It
increases the digestive fire and appetite.
Therapeutic :
It lowers the levels of stress and anxiety by harmonising the
práïas. It is beneficial in respiratory disorders such as Bronchial asthma, Nasal allergy, Bronchitis etc.
Spiritual :
It induces tranquility, clarity of thought and concentration.
It clears pranic blockages and balances Ida and Pingala
nádis,causing Shuúumna nádi to flow which leads to deep
states of meditation and spiritual awakening. It helps to maintain Brahmacharya which is a pre-requisite for spiritual progress.
Limitations
No Limitations.

SITALI PRÁNÁYÁMA
Sthiti: Dandasana
PRACTICE
• Place the palms resting on the thighs.
• Stretchthe tongue forward partly out of the
mouth and fold it so as to resemble the beak
of a crow.
• Slowly suck in the air through the beak
and feel the jet of cool air passing down the


•

•
•
•

throat into the lungs.
Slowly exhale through the nostrils, feeling the movement of
warm air all the way up from the lungs through the throat
and the nasal passages.
This completes one round of Sitali Pránáyáma.
Repeat nine rounds.
This helps to throw away anger. There is washing away
of CO2. Cleansing takes place. Activates right brain. The
breath stops automatically. Allow it. This helps to reduce
anger.

Kriyas

• Kapalabhati-left nostril: Close the right nostril with the
thumb with Nasika Mudra.
• Exhale vigorously by flapping the abdomen though left nostril. Inhalation is passive.

Bandhas and mudras

Uddiyána Bandha and Agnisára
Sthiti: Tádásana
PRACTICE
• Stand with the legs 2 to 3 feet apart, bend
forwards slightly from the waist and place
the palms on the thighs with the arms
straight.
• Make yourself quite comfortable in this position.



Stage I: Uddiyána Bandha
• Exhale completely through the mouth by vigorously contracting the abdominal muscles.
• Simultaneously press the hands against the thighs, tighten
the arms, shoulders, neck muscles and lift up the ribs.
• As a result of this, the diaphragm automatically rises up,
producing a concave depression of the abdomen. The abdominal wall gets sucked in as if to press the spine.
• Hold this condition as long as comfortable.
• Then inhaling slowly release the abdominal muscles and
return to the upright position.
• Rest for a while and then go for the next round.
• Repeat 5 rounds.

Stage II: Agnisára
• In the position of Uddiyána Bandha, move the abdominal
wall in and out vigorously like a pump as many times as you
can (while holding the breath in exhalation). This movement
of the abdominal wall is done through mock inhalations &
exhalations i.e., it seems as if one is inhaling and exhaling
whereas it is not so.
• Then stop the movement of the abdominal wall, release the
bandha and while inhaling come up to Tádásana and relax.
• Repeat a few times.
Benefits
• Helps in deeling with our anger.
• It massages the abdomen, stimulating the associated nerves,
strengthening the muscles and encouraging optimum health


of the abdominal organs.
• It improves blood circulation to the whole trunk area and
strengthens all the internal organs.
• It is a panacea for many abdominal & stomach ailments including constipation, indigestion, and diabetes.

JÁNU SIRSÁSANA WITH JALANDHARA BANDHA:
Sthiti: Dandásana
PRACTICE
• Bend the right leg along the ground, placing the heel against
the perineum and the sole touching the inner side of the left
thigh.
• Place the palms by the side of buttocks keeping the spine
erect.
• While inhaling raise the arms above the head.



• While exhaling slowly bend forward and hook the big toe of
the left foot with the index fingers. Press both the thumbs on
the big toe.
• In the final position try to touch the forehead to the knee.
The elbow joints touch the ground. Adopt Jalandhara Bandha. Hold the breath.
• Then release Jalandhara Bandha, while inhaling return to
the starting position. Relax in
Sithila Dandásana.
• Repeat the same practice with the left leg.
Note
• The knee of the bent leg should be on the floor.
• Do not bend the straight leg while in the final position.
• Bend forward and try to touch forehead to the knee as far as
comfortable.
• In the final position keep the back muscles relaxed and use
the arm muscles to hold the toe for maintaining the position.

MEDITATION
Examine the raise and growth of emotion:
Sit in any meditative posture and close the eyes.
Observe the changes going on in the body. Breath in the
whole body gets energized. Breath out the whole body feels
the lightness. Recall an incident in which you are very angry.
Energy has gone up. Slowly breath out with slow exhalation.
Inhale see the energy rushing up. Exhale and feel the relax-



ation. Emotions are coming up and emotions are dissolving
into silence. Feel the movement of the energy pattern. Smile
on the face. As you exhale whole body getting relaxed.


9 yoga for anger management

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