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Hinduism provides many practices to quiet the mind & guide our life. Here young women sit for meditation, holding their japa beads beneath their shawl as they chant the mantras given by their guru.<\/em>\u00a7<\/a><\/p>\n SHUTTERSTOCK<\/small>\u00a7<\/a><\/p>\n T<\/samp><\/span>here are three dimensions to our being: physical, emotional\/intellectual and spiritual. All three need attention for optimum health. Exercise strengthens our physical body. Learning and practicing self control expands and enhances our emotional\/mental capacity. Through\u00a0sadhana,<\/em>\u00a0spiritual practice, we exercise our spiritual nature by taking time to experience it. Most of the time we are so wrapped up in our outer nature that we are hardly aware of our deep, glorious inner reality. This can go on life after life, as many people only begin to think of greater realities when nearing the point of death. We give time to our spiritual nature by performing religious activities, ideally as a daily vigil or spiritual exercise. During this quiet time alone we focus on life\u2019s inner purpose, which is to make spiritual progress. Puja, japa, scriptural study, hatha yoga and meditation are all forms of sadhana. Some sadhanas are yearly, such as going on pilgrimage. Some may be assigned by the guru as a one-time practice. A popular sadhana is chanting \u201cAUM\u201d 108 times each day. The ten-minute spiritual workout is becoming popular in today\u2019s busy world. These times of quiet retreat from life\u2019s hustle and bustle are underrated, their benefits overlooked. Sadhana builds willpower, faith and confidence in oneself and in God, Gods and guru. It harnesses our instinctive-intellectual nature, allowing unfoldment into the superconscious realizations and innate abilities of the soul. Gurudeva noted: \u201cThrough sadhana we learn to control the energies of the body and nerve system, and we experience that through the control of the breath the mind becomes peaceful. Sadhana is practiced in the home, in the forest, by a flowing river, under a favorite tree, in the temple, in gurukulas or wherever a pure, serene atmosphere can be found.\u201d Yogaswami directed his devotees to follow the\u00a0sadhana marga,<\/em>\u00a0the path of religious effort, all through life.\u00a7<\/a><\/p>\n