Yoga and Personality Development

 

Yoga and Personality Development

There are various dimensions of personality. These dimensions are related to physical, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual aspects of our behaviour. For a holistic personality development, yoga plays an important role. 

Yogic practices are found effective for development of all dimensions of personality. Following are the relation of the various domains of personality and its relation with yoga.

• Yoga and Physical Dimension of Personality: 

Physical dimension is related to our body. It means that all organs and systems of our body should be properly developed and function. It implies a healthy body without any disease. 

Yogic practices like asana, pranayama, and bandha play a beneficial role in physical development of children. There is a series of asanas and pranayamas which help to improve the functioning of the body. 

• Yoga and Emotional Dimension of Personality: 

Yogic practices are effective for development of emotional dimension related to our feelings, attitudes and emotions. There are two kinds of emotions : positive and negative. For example love, kindness are positive emotions, while anger and fear (exam phobia) are negative emotions. Similarly, our feelings and attitudes may be positive and negative. For emotional development, positive feelings, attitudes and emotions should be developed and negative ones should be controlled, as the negative attitudes and emotions work as a mental block for the development of personality. Yoga plays a critical role in development of positive emotions. It brings emotional stability. It helps to control negative emotions. 

Yogic practices such as yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara and meditation help in emotional management. For example, the principle of non-violence will protect us from negative emotions and develop positive feelings of love and kindness. Similarly, other principles of yama and niyama will help to develop positive emotions and attitudes in our personal and social life and therefore help in the management of emotions. 

• Yoga and Intellectual Dimension of Personality: 

Intellectual development is related to the development of our mental abilities and processes such as critical thinking, memory, perception, decision making, imagination, creativity, etc. Development of this dimension is very important as it enables us to learn new things and acquire knowledge and skills.

Yogic practices such as asana, pranayama, dharana, dhyana (meditation) help to develop concentration, memory and thereby help in intellectual development. 

• Yoga and Social Dimension of Personality: 

Primary socialization, probably the most important aspect of the personality development takes place during infancy, usually within the family. By responding to the approval and disapproval of parents and grandparents and imitating their examples, the child learns the language and many of the basic behaviour patterns of her/his society. The process of socialization is not limited to childhood, but continues throughout life and teach the growing child and adolescent about the norms and rules of the society in which she/he lives . Some key elements of this process include respect for others, listening carefully to other persons, being interested in them, and voicing your thoughts and feelings politely, honestly and clearly so that you can be easily heard and understood. 

Principles of yama include these key elements and are very important as these help us in the betterment of our relationships with our friends, parents, teachers and others. 

• Yoga and Spiritual Dimension of Personality: 

This dimension is related to the development of values. It is also concerned with self-actualization which is related to recognizing one’s potential and developing them to the maximum. Proper development of this dimension helps the person to realize one’s true identity. 

For spiritual development, yama, niyama, pratyahara and dhyana (meditation) are helpful. Yama and niyama help to develop our moral values while pranayama, and meditation help us to realize our true self. Introspection is very effective for the development of ‘self’.

After understanding all these perspectives, it can be understood that Yoga helps in total integrated personality development. In order to achieve the perfect harmonious state of mind and body, yoga must not only be used as a therapy but it must be adopted as a way of life.

Sources: 

Krithika A Ramaswami

BNYS Scholar at The School of Yoga and Naturopathic Medicine,

S-VYASA University, Bengaluru.

NCERT, Yoga and Personality Development.