Finding Calm In Chaos: Yogic Practices to Overcome Burnout

Nervousness which is the opposite of calmness, appears to be a simple ailment. But in reality, it has far-reaching consequences. Today, nervousness seems to be the world’s disease. -Paramhansa Yogananda

Paramhansa Yogananda wrote these words almost a hundred years ago and they still ring true, perhaps even louder today.

In the United States employee burnout costs companies $300 billion in lost productivity and contributes 120,000 excessive deaths annually that could potentially be avoided. These figures represent just a fraction of the alarming statistics stressing the critical importance of stress management and well-being.

Yogananda is not referring to nervousness as the tingling, jittery feeling one gets when one is about to speak to a crowd of people. He means the over-extending and excessive use of the nervous system to the point of exhaustion.

The main causes of nervousness are 1) long-continued over-activity; 2) excessive stimulation of the senses from physical over-indulgence; 3) and mental over-stimulation from chronic fear, anger, sorrow, hatred, jealousy, and discontent of similar harmful emotions. Any prolonged excitement disturbs the flow of life force through the nervous system. Nervousness can also be caused by a restless mind, which sends excess energy vibrating along the nerves. –Paramhansa Yogananda

Nervousness of this sort leaves us feeling overwhelmed, distracted, and exhausted. We feel that we don’t have enough time to do all the things we need to do and are constantly distracted by technological tools designed to keep us addicted. All in all, it’s a perfect recipe for roasting our nerves on the stove of restlessness.

Some companies try to implement new systems and productivity software to solve this problem and offer additional leave to their employees. Other organizations take a different approach by providing free food, video games, recreation, sports facilities, and flexible work schedules.

These methods are helpful and supportive, though their effect is only superficial. We need deeper solutions to eradicate nervousness. We need solutions that cater not only to our physical and psychological needs but also to the needs of the soul.

Below are some ways that can help return us to a state of joy and contentment.

Act From a Higher State of Awareness

The root of all nervousness is what Yogananda called “soul nervousness,” which can only be cured by meditation.

In soul nervousness, the soul is so identified with the body that it has forgotten its real nature. It thinks it is nothing but a bundle of sensations. The cure for soul nervousness lies in transferring your attention from this little cage of the body to the perception of the Infinite. –Paramhansa Yogananda

The more we break through the delusion that we are a bundle of flesh and bones, the easier it becomes to deal with feeling overwhelmed. In fact, in a state of superconsciousness there is no such state – for there is no past, no future, only the Eternal Now.

In one of his letters, Swami Kriyananda writes about Yogananda.

When organizational responsibilities threatened to take his mind from the Divine Mother, he never said, ‘Well, I will do this work first; it is more important. Later I shall think of God.’ ‘No work is possible,’ he wrote, ‘without the power to perform it borrowed from Thee.’ He would put everything aside to chant or meditate until his mind was firmly rooted in God. Only then would he return to his work. That is how he was able to accomplish such tremendous things in his life. He never acted from ego-consciousness.

In addition to daily meditation practice, have short intermittent periods during the day when you reconnect with your higher Self. When you act from that uplifted state of consciousness, then all goes well. When you act from a state of worry and anxiety, you create nothing but tension.

Make Inner Peace Your Priority

My ‘bottom line’ for many years has been not money, profit, or outer success of any kind, but inner peace. I’ve refused to allow myself to become so stressed as to sacrifice that true wealth. I’ve even deemed it better—and experience has borne me out—to leave important things undone if my peace might be undermined by giving them attention. For without it, I would be prone to err. From inner peace have come enlightened decisions. People’s expectations of me can never equal what God Himself expects: my peace in the thought of Him.” -Swami Kriyananda, in Living Wisely, Living Well

It is natural to think that the more we do, the more successful we will be. Yet, doing more does not always mean doing more things better. In our efforts to be productive, we try to do more in less time. However, we forget to ask ourselves a couple of basic questions – “Is this task worth devoting time and energy to? Am I sacrificing my inner peace by trying to do too much?” A lump of dough when spread out may cover a larger surface area but it becomes thinner and thinner – until it breaks (!).

We need to learn to invest energy wisely. Make a list of everything on your plate and separate the wheat (things you must do) from the chaff (things that you can eliminate). Then give all your energy to the things you must do. This way, you will make progress on the things that are important to you things without feeling burnt out.

Do One Thing at a Time

Doing one thing well is better than doing ten things poorly. If nervousness is the world’s disease, multitasking is the primary cause of it. Nayaswami Devi once said something that I have always remembered:

Multitasking is of the ego. When you are completely immersed in one thing, you rise above time. When you multitask, you are entangled in Maya. Maya, commonly thought of as a Sanskrit word for “delusion” or “Satan,” literally means “measurer.”

Maya creates the delusion of separateness where there is only Oneness. The way to break that delusion in daily life is to practice concentrating on one thing at a time.

When you free your mental energy from 100 different thoughts and concentrate on one thing, you make way for God to flow through you as new inspirations, ideas, and intuition.

Practice the Presence of God

During activity, try to be aware of God’s presence and His energy flowing through you. Success in holding on to God’s presence transforms exhaustion and feelings of being overwhelmed into joy and vital energy. But how might we do this?

First, feel His presence deeply in meditation. Reserve a time after your techniques to sit and enjoy joyful communion with Him. Then, carry that peace from your meditation into simple activities.

After you meditate, do not jump directly into frenetic activity — go for a walk, do the dishes, fold laundry, write in your journal or do something where your mind is free to think of God. Once this becomes a natural practice, you will be able to remember God at all other times as well.

Like all things, it will take practice. But remember this – self-discipline with spiritual practice ends ultimately in Bliss! For inspiration, you might enjoy reading the writings of Frank Laubach and Brother Lawrence.

Give It to God

We love to think that we are in control of our lives. The more we try to control situations and other people, the more stressed and disappointed we are. Realize that at the end of the day, it’s all His show. Don’t try to take over and sit in the Director’s chair!

Try your best to get closer to God – work with the thought of Him; work with concentration and enthusiasm. And when all is said and done, give it all back to Him. Swami Kriyananda found great freedom with this practice and urged us all to try for ourselves. Before you go to bed, he recommended that we build a mental bonfire and cast into it all desires and attachments.

God is our true Father, Mother, Friend, and Beloved. When we meditate on Him, work for Him, and share His joy with everyone else — nervousness ceases to exist, for we realize that we are His and He is always with us.

In His Loving Presence,
Shivendra