To maintain a sense of tranquillity in everyday lives try qigong, tai chi and yoga in India. Each technique has physical, mental and spiritual benefits.

Tai Chi
Often called meditation in motion, tai chi is a series of slow continuous moves, all of which emanate from the center of the body. "Working from your physical center is sort of a metaphor for learning to be more centered and balanced in life," explains Nikki Winston, a tai chi teacher at the Golden Door, a spa in Escondido, California. Some students seek out tai chi as a system of self-defense. Though touted as nonaggressive, it is considered highly potent, requiring only a small amount of individual strength to take on the mightiest opponent. Tai chi moves often imitate animals and other forces in nature. "Watching and learning from nature can help you simplify life," says Winston.

THREE TREASURES
(1) Stand tall with your feet shoulder width apart, your arms relaxed at your sides. Imagine that waves in the ocean are moving your arms up and down.
(2) Flow with the rhythm as you let the waves move you for several seconds.
(3) Next lift one arm above your head toward the sky, and drop the other arm toward the earth.
(4) After bringing your arms together in front of you, switch sides. Repeat a dozen times.

HELPFUL HINTS
Wear comfortable clothing, and do the exercises in your bare feet. None are complex or rigorous, but trust that their power is subtle. Remember to relax, go slow and breathe deeply through each exercise.

Qigong
Qigong (also known as chi kung) is based on the idea that an energy force--chi means "energy"--circulates through our bodies, protecting them and keeping our minds at peace. "It's when the chi is blocked and the body becomes imbalanced that problems arise," says Effie Poy Yew Chow, Ph.D., R.N., president of the East West Academy of Healing Arts/Qigong Institute in San Francisco and Vancouver.
AWAKENING THE CHI
(1) Place your hands in front of you, and stretch out your fingertips.
(2) Rub your palms together so that the natural curves move against each other and create heat.
(3) Separate your palms by about an inch, and see if you can feel a sort of resistance--the chi--between your hands. Move your hands apart and together to get a sense of harnessing the chi.

Yoga
Yoga also takes cues from nature. Many of the poses mimic the stretching and strengthening movements of animals. But their true aim, as practiced by traditionalists, is to allow you to develop spiritually. Yoga raises your consciousness about your own body's ability to take action rather than just react to the things around you. It can help you become less fearful and more self-confident."

FORWARD BEND
(1) Stand with feet about hip width apart. Raise your arms above your head, then clasp your elbows with your hands.
(2) Inhale, exhale and slowly roll down from the hips, lowering your elbows as close to the floor as comfortably possible.
(3) Keep knees straight, and concentrate on pulling thigh muscles upward to get a greater stretch. Hold for 15 breaths, or longer if comfortable; exhale and slowly roll up.