Preface



I had been hearing about stress and stress related problems
for quite some time. I came across close friends and relatives
who always talked of negative things about life and looked
always burdened with some unknown problem. I could not realize
the gravity until I started having loss of concentration in 
my work myself due to petty disturbing instances. While trying
to figure out my problem, I suddenly recollected the instance
of my childhood where problems were solved only by looking at
those from a different angle. That instance is described in
Chapter 1 of this book.
Most of my career has been administrative and managerial. I 
have run my own business, worked for government department,
semi government company and private companies. I have lived
in 10 different states in India, each state having vastly
different culture. I have lived in Africa and presently I am
living in U.S.A.
I hold Ph.D. in 'Coordination Chemistry'. This complements my
capability to study, analyze and resolve a problem and then
present its solution in an organized and effective manner. My
expertise in managing stress is akin to anyone among the masses.
That I believe is a Big Plus because it makes my 
thinking, feeling, experiences, problems and solutions just
like those for anybody else. That also means that analysis
would be more effective and matching with the common person's
requirement. I don't care what medical experts or other
authorities on this subject say about medical treatments of 
this 'projected' complex problem. Yes, I call it 'projected'
because the vested interests in multi trillion medical industry
never support any treatment that does not take you to hospital.
How could they? They have to have customers to sell new drugs 
on the discovery of which they have spent lot of money.
I have experienced lot of vicissitudes in life. Following some
techniques from my past experiences and learning new techniques
to handle stress made me feel so stress free, and it was so 
simple that I felt an urge to share it with the world. It would
be worth my effort even if a few people could benefit from what
I have learnt. 
The instance quoted in the very first chapter of the book
basically conveys everything this book is about. The detailed 
instance covered therein mainly re-enforces the expression 'The
things change if you change the way you look at them'. 
There are a number of depressing things those affect every one
in day-to-day life. Everyone handles most of these problems
successfully without really being aware of doing so. But many
people don't handle the remaining problems in an organized way.
This book is an effort to help reader handle the day-to-day
problems without being stressed.
The book presents the reader with different scenarios with 
suggested approach. Potential sources of stress with related
scenarios are included for easy grasp. You would come across
a number of stress releasers those could help in a number of
different situations. While explaining various stress-releasers,
information about some important 'kriyas' of YOGA has been 
provided in detail. One chapter has been devoted to practical 
'Hands-On' procedure to follow for achieving the desired 
results.
There are lot of interesting one liners used in the book to 
effectively bring the point home. One could read first chapter
of this book under the link 'Chapter One' by visiting my website
'www.howibecamestressfree.com'.
Overall approach of this book is to help the reader minimize
his/her stress level by conscious effort to achieve a 
wonderfully relaxed life style.
I must acknowledge my gratitude to my parents who have been source
of my inspiration for main events of my life, including this 
book. I will be failing in my duty if I don't appreciate the 
cooperation I received from my wife, Asha Joshi, throughout this
endeavor.  My thanks are also due to Dr. Faik Nasser who was 
quite instrumental in bringing home many of the techniques 
described in this book. His contribution during discussions was
really amazing.
Finally, I must thank the publisher, I Universe, which made it 
possible for me to bring this book to you.
Sd/
Balram Joshi