Many people today talk about calming the nervous system through breathing techniques or physical exercises. While many of these methods can temporarily bring relaxation, Yoga offers proven ways to make a calm nervous system not just a temporary state, but a way of life.
In this post, you’ll discover the cornerstones of a fruitful yoga practice: what they are, what to be mindful of, and how to integrate them into your daily life so you can gradually adjust your lifestyle toward one of calm and peace.
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The Food
The first cornerstone is the food you put into your body every day.
Unless you clean up your diet and consume mainly life-affirming foods, your nervous system will repeatedly be subjected to unnecessary stress.
Yoga distinguishes between two types of stress:
1. Stress we cannot control – external events, circumstances.
2. Stress we can control – our choices, habits, and diet.
Food clearly belongs to the second category. You are responsible for what you give your body as fuel.
According to Yoga, foods that drain your energy or make your system acidic should be avoided. Examples include:
• Alcohol
• Meat
• Garlic, onion, chili
These foods can disrupt digestion, promote acidity, and even cause brain fog.
Instead, Yoga recommends a vegetarian diet based primarily on:
• Vegetables
• Nuts
• Certain grains
• Some dairy products
Once you adjust to a Yogic diet, you’ll notice profound changes: deeper calm, improved sleep, better health, a more vibrant body, and increased vitality. This is often the most important step in creating a sustainable state of peace.
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The Lifestyle
Hand in hand with diet goes your overall lifestyle.
To cultivate lasting calm, consider:
• Getting sufficient sleep
• Avoiding toxic environments and relationships
• Choosing simplicity and responsibility
• Practicing honesty, introspection, and non-violence
• Investing in personal growth
This cornerstone can be challenging. It may mean changing social circles, stepping outside your comfort zone, or making big decisions—such as quitting a toxic job or letting go of self-destructive habits.
But as you align your lifestyle with Yogic values, your inner guidance becomes stronger. Day by day, your inner truth reveals itself more clearly.
Implementing this cornerstone takes courage, but it leads directly toward self-realization and liberation.
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The Practice
Once diet and lifestyle are in place, you can build a solid foundation for Yogic practices like asanas, breathing techniques, kriyas, and locks.
These practices amplify and channel energy. That’s why preparing your body, mind, and soul first is so essential—just like preparing soil before planting a seed.
If you’re unsure where to start, Dhirendra Brahmachari’s “Preparations of the Body for the Higher Practices” (a series of 49 exercises) is highly recommended. This sequence works the entire body from head to toe, revealing strengths and imbalances while restoring equilibrium.
You can find all 49 exercises in:
👉 Kundalini Parampara: The Living Tradition of Kundalini Yoga by Reinhard Gammenthaler
👉 Online course Introduction to Kundalini Yoga
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The Cleansing Techniques
The fourth cornerstone consists of the Yogic cleansing techniques.
These powerful kriyas help:
• Remove blockages from the nervous system (Nadis)
• Activate energetic knots where nerves concentrate
• Accelerate preparation for deeper Yogic practices
While unconventional—and sometimes challenging for the modern Western mind—these techniques deliver tremendous benefits once mastered.
You can learn more in Reinhard Gammenthaler’s book
or in my online course
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Integrating the Four Cornerstones
By following these four cornerstones—food, lifestyle, practice, and cleansing techniques—you will gradually reach a state of inner calm and peace that is sustainable and unshakable.
When living in this mode, life’s challenges lose much of their power over you. You meet them with clarity, strength, and serenity.
This is not an “unfair advantage”—it is the deserved fruit of living consciously.
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An Invitation
If you want to go deeper and receive initiation into Yoga, I invite you to visit our Yoga Ashram in Portugal. Over the past years, I’ve been building this space to provide the best possible environment for those truly seeking to establish lasting peace.
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I hope this post has inspired you to explore these Yogic cornerstones for yourself. May it bring you peace, clarity, and courage on your path.