Physical and mental therapy is one of Yoga's most important achievements. What makes it so powerful and effective is the fact that it works on the holistic principles of harmony and unification. Yoga has succeeded as an alternative form of therapy in diseases such as asthma, diabetes, blood pressure, arthritis, digestive disorders and other ailments of a chronic and constitutional nature where modern science has not. According to medical scientists, Yoga therapy is successful because of the balance created in the nervous and endocrine systems and organs of the body.
For most people, however, Yoga is simply a means of maintaining health and well-being in an increasingly stressful society. Yoga asanas remove the physical discomfort accumulated during a day at the office sitting in a chair, hunched over a desk. Relaxation techniques help maximise the effectiveness of ever-diminishing time off. In an age of mobile phones, laptops and twenty four hour shopping, Yogic practices make great personal and even business sense.
Beyond the needs of individuals, the underlying principles of Yoga provide a real tool to combat social malaise. At a time when the world seems to be at a loss, rejecting past values without being able to establish new ones, Yoga provides a means for people to find their own way of connecting with their true selves.
In this respect, Yoga is far from simply being physical exercise; rather, it is an aid to establish a new way of life which embraces both inner and outer realities. However, this way of life is an experience which cannot be understood intellectually and will only become living knowledge through practice and experience.
INTRODUCTION TO YOGASANA (Yoga postures)
In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali there is a concise definition of Yogasanas: "Sthiram sukam aasanam", meaning 'that position which is comfortable and steady'. In this context, asanas are practiced to develop the ability to sit comfortably in one position for an extended period of time, an ability necessary for meditation. Raja Yoga equates Yoga asana to the stable sitting position.
The Hatha Yogis, however, found that certain specific body positions, asanas, open the energy channels and psychic centres. They found that developing control of the body through these practices enabled them to control the mind and energy. Yoga asanas became tools to higher awareness, providing the stable foundation necessary for the exploration of the body, breath, mind and higher states.
In the Yogic scriptures it is said that there were originally 8,400,000 asanas, which represent the 8,400,000 incarnations every individuals must pass through before attaining liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Down through the ages the great Rishis and Yogis modified and reduced the number of asanas to the few hundred known today. Through their practice, it is possible to side-step the karmic process and by pass many evolutionary stages in one life time. Of these few hundred, only the eight-four most useful are discussed in detail.
ANIMAL POSTURES
Through observation, the Rishis understood how animals live in harmony with their environment and with their own bodies. The understood, through experience, the effects of a particular posture and how the hormonal secretions could be stimulated and controlled by it. For example, by imitating the rabbit or hare in Shashankasana (Child pose) they could influence the flow of adrenaline responsible for the 'fight or flight' mechanism. Through imitating animal postures, the Rishis found they could maintain health and meet the challenges of nature for themselves.
YOGA ASANAS AND PRANA
Prana, vital energy which corresponds to Ki or Chi in Chinese medicine, pervades the whole body, following flowing channels, called Nadis which are responsible for maintaining all individual cellular activity. Stiffness of the body is due to blocked Prana and a subsequent accumulation of toxins. When Prana begins to flow, the toxins are removed from the system ensuring the health of the whole body. As the body becomes supple, postures which seemed impossible become easy to perform, and steadiness and grace of movement develop. When the quantum of Prana is increased to a great degree, the body moves into certain postures by itself and asanas, Mudras, and Pranayamas occur spontaneously.
YOGA ASANAS AND THE BODY-MIND CONNECTION
The mind and the body are not separate entities although there is a tendency to think and act as though they are. The gross form of the mind is the body and the subtle form of the body is the mind. The practice of Yoga Asana integrates and harmonises the two. Both the body and the mind harbour tensions or knots. Every mental knot has a corresponding physical muscular knot and vice versa. The aim of Yoga Asana is to release these knots.
Asanas release mental tensions by dealing with them on the physical level, acting somato-psychically, through the body to the mind. For example, emotional tensions and suppression can tighten up and block the smooth functioning of the lungs, diaphragm and breathing process, contributing to a very debilitating illness in the form of asthma.
Muscular knots can occur anywhere in the body: tightness of the neck as cervical spondylitis, the face as neuralgia, etc. A well chosen set of asanas, combined with Pranayama, meditation and Yoga nidra, is most effective in eliminating these knots, tackling them from both the mental and physical levels. The result is the release of dormant energy; the body becomes full of gravity and strength, the mind becomes light, creative, joyful and balanced.
Yoga asanas work first and foremost on the health of the spine. The spinal column contains the central nervous system, the communication system of the body, supporting the health of the whole body. If the flexibility and strength of the spine is maintained with proper exercise, circulation is intensified, the nerves are assured of a supply of nutrients and oxygen, and the body retains its youthful condition.
Moreover, Yoga asanas activate pressure points which when stimulated; increase the flow of Prana (life force or vital energy) in the body. They massage the internal organs resulting in improved functioning. Since asanas are always practised in conjunction with deep breathing, accompanied by relaxation and concentration, they help to develop mental concentration. The restless mind is withdrawn from the sense objects of the world, turns inward and is stilled.
Regular practice of Yoga maintains the physical body in an optimum condition and promotes health even in an unhealthy body. Through Yoga practice, the dormant energy potential is released and experienced as increased confidence in all areas of life.
YOGASANA AND EXERCISE
Yoga Asanas have often been thought of as a form of exercise. They are not exercises, but techniques which place the physical body in positions that cultivate awareness, relaxation, concentration and meditation. Part of this process is the development of good physical health by stretching, massaging and stimulating the Pranic channels and internal organs.
Although Yoga is not exercise it is complementary to exercise. Exercise imposes a beneficial stress on the body. Without it the muscles waste, the bones become weak, the capacity to absorb oxygen decreases, insulin insensitivity can occur, and the ability to meet the physical demands of sudden activity is lost.
There are several differences in the way Yoga and exercise affect body mechanisms. When Yoga asanas are performed, respiration and metabolic rates slow down, the consumption of oxygen and body temperature drop. During exercise, however, the breath and metabolism speed up, oxygen consumption rises, and the body gets hot. Yoga postures tend to arrest catabolism. Whereas exercise promotes it. In addition, Yoga asanas are designed to have specific effects on the glands and internal organs, and to alter electrochemical activity in the nervous system
|
