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~ Sierra ~
AGENT OF JOY & INSPIRATION
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Posted: Tue Dec 25th, 2007 05:02 pm | 1st Post |
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Yoga - Introduction
Yoga provides one of the best means of self-improvement and attaining one's full potential. In the advanced stages of yoga, superconscious states are attained which result in a feeling of bliss, deep peace and the emergence of psychic powers.
Yoga was developed and perfected over the centuries by philosophers and mystics in India. It is basically a method by which we increase the body's supply of energy and remove any interference to the transmission of energy throughout the body. Yoga has specialized in this subject for thousands of years, and streamlined the methods to attain this aim.
These days, yoga classes are being held at most health and wellness centers across the United States. Along with meditation, it is probably one of the most popular alternative therapy. Many physicians, who are skeptical about the efficacy of alternative medicine, support yoga with a passion. There are many clinical studies that show the effectiveness of yoga. And the best part of it is that it is something that can be done in the comfort of your home. A few breathing exercises recommended by yoga will go a long way towards better health and relaxation.
A few months ago, I was talking to Rev. Fr. Philip Jacob of Indian Orthodox Church, Detroit, Michigan. The conversation got into alternative medicine and spiritual healing. Rev. Jacob remembered how his father used to practice alternative nostril breathing, a well known yoga pranayama practice, daily. According to his father, one does not have to do any other exercise to maintain health. A few months later, my sister-in-law, Susan Jacob M.D., who is a board certified pediatric allergist, was visiting us from Houston, Texas. She was searching my library for books about yoga. I asked her why she is looking for books on yoga. She replied, "It is very good. I want to start practicing yoga." Apparently, her cardiologist had recommended yoga. My neighbor and friend, Dr. Donti M.D., often attends out of town workshops on yoga to learn better because, "its effectiveness is well proven." Cleveland Clinic, a world renowned hospital in Cleveland, teaches yoga to patients (especially those who are undergoing cardiac rehabilitation.) These are examples of the far reach of yoga, it is popular with doctors, professionals (many of which do it for stress relief and relaxation) and with common people.
Practiced for more than 5000 years, yoga is one of the oldest forms of healing therapy. The amazing results of yoga are now being studied by scientists all over the world. Teams of doctors at the various yogic health centers in India, keep detailed records of patients treated with yoga for diabetes, respiratory ailments, digestive complaints and obesity. Now it is studied and accepted across the globe for its many healing and relaxation effects. Why Yoga?
Yoga works on the mind and the body at the same time, as well as exploiting their interdependence. No other system does this. Western psychology studies the mind, western exercise physiology studies the effect of exercise on the body, but there is no emphasis on the interrelationship of the mind and the body.
Yoga asanas (postures) and breathing deal with the physical body, but due to their effect on the brain, they also affect the mind.
All the wonders of modern science will not bring happiness, peace of mind, health or a long life. Although wonders have been achieved in our external environment – space travel, computers, etc.- our internal environment has been neglected. Thousands of years ago the ancient yogis turned their minds inwards and discovered their true nature. This allowed them to work out a system of body and breathing exercises which results in vitality, rejuvenation and peace of mind.
Why not enjoy the benefits of modern science, but also do yoga to enjoy the benefits of vitality, rejuvenation and peace of mind as well? Yes, you can have the cake and eat in too!
A Brief Philosophy Of Yoga
The yogis consider that we are all searching for happiness and that this is everybody's main goal. It's just that most people settle for the brief, watered-down version of temporary pleasures.
The yogis state that at some stage in our spiritual evolution over many lives we will become dissatisfied with brief, temporary pleasures and start our quest for eternal bliss. Methods to achieve this were developed and perfected by the yogis thousands of years ago. They consider that nature's laws are so designed that we must evolve. The main mechanism nature uses in the early stages is pain. When we find that relationships, money or alcohol, for example, do not produce happiness or a sense of purpose, we will start looking more deeply into life. Yoga waits patiently for you to reach this stage.
In the later stages of spiritual evolution, pain is no longer needed to spur us on. Each stage of progress produces such peace and happiness that this entices us to go to a higher level of happiness. Thus, instead of pain, reward becomes the prime mover. The above is a very brief indication of yoga philosophy, which is so comprehensive that it deals with every aspect of life and delves into the very nature of reality. It is obviously beyond the scope of this book.What is yoga?
In practice, yoga is an applied science of the mind and body. It comes from the Hindu vedas (scriptures). Practice and study of it help to bring about a natural balance of body and mind in which the state of health can manifest itself. Yoga itself does not create health; rather, it creates an internal environment that allows the individual to come to his own state of dynamic balance, or health. Basically, yoga teaches that a healthy person is a harmoniously integrated unit of body, mind and spirit. Therefore, good health requires a simple, natural diet, exercise in fresh air, a serene and untroubled mind and the awareness that main's deepest and highest self is identical with the spirit of God. As a result, to many devotees, yoga becomes a philosophy that offers instruction and insight into every aspect of life: the spiritual, the mental and the physical. Of course, because it is all-encompassing, people who want to pick and choose from its smorgasbord can do so without being disappointed. Yoga is equally satisfying as a physical therapy alone.
The Yoga System One basic assumption of the Yoga Sutras is that the body and the mind are part of one continuum of existence, the mind being more subtle than the body. This is the foundation of the yogic view of health. The interaction of body and mind is the central concern of the entire science. It is believed that as the body and mind are brought into balance and health, the individual will be able to perceive his true nature; this will allow life to be lived through him more freely and spontaneously.
Yoga first attempts to reach the mind, where health begins, for mental choices strongly affect the health of the body. Choices of food, types of exercise, which thoughts to think, etc. all affect the body. As practiced traditionally in India, yoga includes a set of ethical imperatives and moral precepts, including diet, exercise, and meditative aspects. In the West, yoga focuses primarily on postures (gentle stretching exercises), breathing exercises, and meditation. Yoga is frequently used in Western medicine to enhance health and treat chronic disease as well as stress.
Yoga therapy begins with relaxation. Living in an age of anxiety, we are often unconscious of our tensions. We are often depressed, tired, and an easy victim of diseases. There are a number of reasons for our stressful life. Often it is lack of rest, anxiety, tension and fatigue. These are constantly draining our health energies continuously. Thus, the first priority is to get us into a relaxed state. Yoga employs asanas, pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation and/or visualization.Asanas (postures): Postures are gentle stretching movements designed to help balance the mind and body. The yoga postures are designed to rejuvenate the brain, spine, glands and internal organs. They work by increasing the blood and prana supply to these areas and by stimulating them with a gentle squeezing action
The asanas were designed with economy of time and effort in mind. Most of them work on more than one aspect of the body at the same time. For example, the twist asana benefits the spine, adrenal glands, liver, pancreas and kidneys.
The yoga asanas produce their beneficial effect on the organs and glands in three ways.:
 The position of the asana causes an increase in blood circulation to the specific target organ or gland.
The position of the asana often produces a slight squeezing of the organ or gland. This has the effect of massaging the organ or gland and stimulating it.
Deep breathing and visualizing the target area sends an extra supply of prana to the area.
Pranayama: Pranayamas are specially developed breathing techniques. Yoga breathing produces a huge storage of energy in the solar plexus area. This will cause the body to radiate vitality and, if any sickness is developing, the body can call upon some of this energy reserve to combat the disease.
Yoga breathing also improves brain function (intelligence and memory), as well as increasing the elimination of toxins from the system.
The total effect of yoga asanas and breathing is to produce a state of high vitality and rejuvenation.
Concentration/Meditation practices: The benefits of the postures are greater if you concentrate the healing action where it is needed. You can incorporate a variety of affirmations, meditation/concentration practices and visualization. Meditation and concentration is covered in detail elsewhere. Many times focusing on an object or sound (like clicking of a clock) can help us concentrate and leave our distracting thoughts away.
An affirmation is a declaratory statement of yourself. They are inner-self conditioners. Our inner mind will believe everything we say with conviction and emotional force. It take some persistent repetitions to get the desired result. Typical affirmations that can be used are:
 I am at my desired weight (for dieters)
My lungs are pure and clean (for smokers who want to get out of the habit)
I feel continuously alert, vital and useful (general), etc.
Even more powerful technique than affirmation is visualization. Here, we show our subconscious mind a picture of what we are talking about. Forming such picture inside your mind is called visualization.
To be effective, visualization should involve all senses, not just sight. Imagine the state or thing we want. How does it feel when we have it? What will you be with it? What does it feel? What does it look like? How does it sound? How does it taste? How does it smell? For healing therapy, visualize the state without the condition. For example, for those trying to lose weight, visualize yourself in the desired weight and physical condition and imagine the life in the new state.
In other words, you should mentally see the affected area as it receives fresh blood circulation, oxygen and physical massage. A diabetic should visualize the healing energies flowing into the pancreas, near the stomach. A rheumatic can concentrate on the release of synovial fluid. Synovial fluid is a lubricant and also disperses waste matter which can cause stiffness at joints.
Thus, most effective yoga therapy involves a three-pronged attack. When you practice yoga postures, you are strengthening the body. When you control your breathing, you are creating a chemical and emotional balance. And when you concentrate your mind on affirmations, you are practicing the power of prayer. But when all three approaches are synthesized, you are entering the most powerful mystery of healing: the basic harmony of life.
Yoga's View Of Disease
Yoga considers that most diseases are due to insufficient life force, either in the body as a whole, or a blockage of life force to one part of the body. This leads to a lowered body resistance or immunity to disease.
Those practicing yoga have learned many centuries ago that most diseases are due to reduced immunity. Medical science is gradually coming to the same conclusion.
When the whole body has lowered life force, the result is a lowered vitality level, poor health and susceptibility to infection. No infections would occur if the body's life force is high enough to fight off the infection. Pathogens (bacteria, viruses and so on) are a normal part of life and will only cause trouble when the body's resistance is too low to keep them in check.
The best way to increase the general life force of the body is by good nutrition, sufficient deep steep, a positive mental attitude and yoga.
A blockage of life force to one part of the body, such as the thyroid gland, is usually caused by a slight misalignment of a vertebra which impinges on the nerve that travels to that particular organ. This causes an interference to the life force (nerve impulses) to the organ. As a result, the organ not functioning at its optimum level. If the spinal misalignment is not corrected, the organ may develop pathology. It is much more difficult to correct at this stage.
The ancient yogis were well aware of the importance of the spine in relation to disease, since most of their asanas or postures were designed to make the spine more flexible to prevent spinal misalignments. Some of the asanas will even correct minor spinal misalignments.
The spine is so important for a high vitality level, good health and the correction of many health conditions that a whole science of healing has been developed to correct spinal misalignments. In fact, chiropractic is now the second largest healing profession after medicine and the fastest growing healing profession in the world.
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~Sierra~
http://www.iam-iam-iam.com
http://www.divinedolphin.com
LIVE A LIFE OF LOVE, LIGHT & LAUGHTER!
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