Train the mind for inner wellbeing with yoga

There is a sense of complete calm and almost total silence on entering the Brahma Kumari Raja Yoga Centre.

Except for the sound of footsteps and visitors being greeted, the centre speaks from the start of its mission of offering a path to inner peace for Kenyans worn down by change and challenges. The tranquillity is powerful.

Funded by donations alone, and with no charges for its services, the centre, now being recommended by doctors and part of a growing movement to help people thrive through inner wellbeing, is drawing a surge of new visitors intent on finding an escape from a city of noise, into an oasis of calm and silence and specialising in stress relief.

The centre itself is modest, but striking. Past the reception, low tan chairs sit on a polished, white marble-like floor.

Dark wooden walls separate the offices, library and meditation room from the central sitting area.

For a very large, but returnable deposit of $1,500, visitors can check books out of the library including titles such as Stress Free Living, Meditation for Extremely Busy People and Visions for a Better World.  But reading in situ is for free.

Upstairs, the centre makes its biggest statements, with a stage and seating area, a display presentation for new visitors and a meditation room housed inside a giant lotus flower.

Combining the energy of reflection that one feels in a church and the feeling of learning in a university library, the Brahma Kumari Raja Yoga Centre is an antidote from the moment of entry. 

And as it turns out, this is the type of feeling the Brahma Kumaris are trying to cultivate.

The centre representative, Pratibha Patel, points out that “we are all going through the same thing…climate change, recession…is everywhere… (so are) natural calamities. There is anxiety, stress, fear…(and people) are looking for guidance.”

For many, the need for direction goes beyond a simple wish.

According to the Director of Mental Health Services, Dr David Kiima, “depression in many is manifesting itself in apathy and poor job performance, resulting in an increased burden on the community and the financial system.

If left untreated in the vulnerable it can lead to family dysfunction, ill-health and, for some, a “fiddle while Rome burns” mentality, which means taking to the bars and clubs after work instead of tackling the problem.

Research also shows people with anxiety “are at increased risk of alcoholism, heart disease and high blood pressure, and it has also been linked to increased incidence of gastrointestinal problems, arthritis, migraine, allergies, thyroid disease and chronic respiratory disorders such as asthma.

According to WebMD, some 43 per cent of adults are actually made sick bystress - with between 75 and 90 per cent of all doctor’s visits caused by stress-related ailments.”