By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500
How can Yoga turn your life around? Where do you start? If you are a Yoga student, a steady practice is a good start. If you teach Yoga classes, and have students in need of help, where should they start? At least some of us see a need for a starting point, which is an early form of self-awareness.
In making a decision to change our lives, we need to know our perceived limitations. This viewpoint of limitations may not be based upon reality. Sometimes, a limitation is only a projection of our self-image. In other words: If I have low self-worth – are my thoughts about myself realistic?
The answer is: No; if I have a poor self-image, my thoughts would be limited by a negative mindset. In turn, a negative mindset blames everyone for everything. In such a case, nobody ever does anything right. Many complainers have poor self-esteem. Instead of designing a plan for the future, and searching for answers, it is easier to sit around and complain.
One more point about perceived limits: If your thoughts are based upon pure reality and logic, these thoughts will change with time. Any form of thinking is subject to change because it evolves with each life experience.
Therefore, when you design a plan to make a lifestyle change, you want to know yourself first. Any changes to the world around us must come from within – first.
Yoga allows the mind to find its natural balance. This Yogic state of balance may occur in the physical body first.
These subtle, physical changes, within the body, may be noticed if one practices Hatha Yoga (Union through Physical Self-Mastery). This is an early step for contemporary Yogis. People easily believe what they see when they notice physical changes in their own bodies.
The more subtle changes that occur within one’s mental, emotional, or spiritual health, take more time and patience to develop. Hatha Yoga practice may be considered the ultimate answer to physical mastery, but it is only a stepping stone on a path toward happiness.
For many of us, our biggest step is training the mind to become our best ally. Self-induced negativity is one of the greatest setbacks to humankind. Sometimes, whole countries and cultures believe they are worthless.
This state of cultural worthlessness occurs when a society’s leadership promotes pessimistic thought. Whether or not we live in a free society, the answer is to re-program our thinking toward a path of progress. Every form of Yoga contains methods for positive thinking.
© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
FREE Yoga Report. FREE Yoga Newsletter. FREE Yoga Videos. Free Podcasts. Bonus: Free Yoga e-Book, “Yoga in Practice.”
FREE CONTENT: If you are a Yoga Teacher, Yoga studio, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles). Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul
Tags: hatha yoga, how can yoga, how yoga can, yoga, yoga can, yoga classes, yoga student, yogis
Going thru the article, I am reminded of my entry to Yoga. Though I had an exposure to Yoga while doing my Diploma in Naturopathy in Bangalore India in 92-95, yet the intensive inclination and focus started in 2005 when after a grievous accident while riding a 2 wheeler inbangalore , a running bus hit me from behind and I was immobile with himarthrosis of the left knee and a fracture at ankle in the right knee. After the operation, I started with my regular Naturopathy lifestyle and after 1-2 months started practicing yoga in the open park near my house going with the support of a stick and mother. Then I joined YIC- a teachers training course for 3 months- from a renowned university-Sri Vivekananda Yoga University and improved marvellously and the taste of it made me join Master’s course with them and there is no looking back. At 55 years of age, I am very healthy visiting my children at U S, attending to lots of my work without any problem and getting closer to my SELF. Unfortunately I had another accident on 20th April 2009 which made me undergo plastic surgery. I care not because Yoga is thre with me. Hardly I was on to bed for a week and then started with practicing Yoga and Naturopathy as a wy life. There is absolutely no looking back. Now I travel a lot and again I am here in US visiting my children. I did a research on Diabetology while doing my Masters. I am interested in doing some research program doing on cancer patients as with my experience with Cancer patients, Yoga really gives them a great lifestyle, understandiability, smile on their face, assertion and courage. They have treadtheir path to health and ar happily living. There is no nee to be distressed. As body can and only be overhauled from inside by the owner himself alone, a cocerted attention gives the real joy of life.
I appreciated the article very much.