When you think of an orthodox criminal, the last person likely to cross your mind is a Yogi. This is due to the fact that Yogis are perceived to be an inactive calm person and a criminal on the other hand is perceived to be a very active, angry person. A Yogi and a criminal can only be equalled to South and North. Crime and Yoga are two words that never connect in real life hence the reason why we focus on the two in this article.
A typical Yoga class begins with a session of breathing in and out, an exercise that focuses on attaining maximum concentration on the act of breathing. Breathing in makes one aware of the life giving force which is extended to all parts of the body. On the other hand, exhaling the air profoundly and completely gives one relief. As simple as the act of breathing is, it allows one to focus all their attention on mental concentration.
Basically, just the act of focusing helps one clear away all impulsive and tempting thoughts of distractions that run through a criminal’s mind and which leads to crime. If a habitual criminal would take a moment and focus all his attention on his distracting thought, he will realize that it’s not the best thought hence withdraw from committing the crime.
Research shows that a lot of domestic violence cases are as a direct result of stress and strains in the relationship caused by arguments. If people can really focus all their attention and attain some degree of calmness, it would mean that people would never reach the point of argument, which will in turn translate to low rates of domestic violence.
Equally, all forms of violent crimes are as a result of tension building up, and the only alternative of the individual is to fling punches or pull a knife to release the tension. In light to this, if one could arm themselves with self calming tools, the rates of crime and violence would drastically drop.
However, Yoga does not apply to people who assume that the actions they are taking are as a result of lacking alternatives of releasing tension and stress. If a criminal feels unappreciated, threatened and disrespected, more often than not they strike out to get attention. These are a pre-meditated action, actions that are well calculated in the mind hence Yoga can never apply under such circumstances.
According to traditional teachings of Yoga from India, the basis of activities and exercises that form Yoga should feature the philosophy of how to interact with each other to be able to live full lives. The physical and mental health benefits of Yoga are only an icing of the cake about the whole process of Yoga that has been interpreted by the Western Worlds. It is believed that if criminals also apply the traditional interpretations of Yoga, crime rates will go down and even disappear.
