By Nighean Hardie
Yoga is one of India’s wonderful gifts to mankind and although its origins are ancient, its methods and purposes are still relevant today, relying not on cultural background, faith or deity, but simply of the individual and the benefits each person receives from practising. Yoga has become important in the lives of many contemporary Westerners, sometimes as a way of improving the health and fitness of the body and Hatha yoga, a limb of yoga that emphasises strenuous and persistent effort, encourages awareness of the body. Coming back to the body draws the mind back to the present. Then, the worries drop away and there are no more “shoulds’ or “musts”. One of the reasons yoga is so refreshing is that, even if only for an instant, there is only the reality of the present moment. Each time you come to the present moment, you drop a certain amount of baggage. You may pick it up again thereafter, but the point is that you have practiced letting it go. Eventually you will be able to reduce the stress more often and for longer periods of time. In this respect, yoga is like life training. Its practice is a fabulous tool for transformation.
Yoga is an extremely powerful way of strengthening the body. One of its many valuable qualities is that it builds up a store of physical health through the practice of asanas, keeping the body cleansed and fit; exercise is essential for the speedy removal of toxins and for keeping blood circulation and all internal processes functioning smoothly. Hatha yoga in particular, is ideally suited to modern Westerners. Its structure is such that it starts with the very basics of how we experience existence – the physical body – and works inward. Increasingly, we fail to use our bodies enough or we have lifestyles that abuse them. Most of us suffer from back or joint pain at some stage, and many aspects of modern life – for example, sitting down for long periods of time to drive, watch television or work at a computer – place strains upon the body for which it is ill-prepared. We use medication to mask pain without bothering to establish its underlying cause. The flexibility and sensitivity that we had as children is lost as we gradually shut down our innate awareness of our bodies.
The physical benefits of yoga include increased strength, suppleness and stamina. Unlike many sports and fitness routines, yoga works on all the body’s muscles – this avoids overtraining specific muscle groups, a practice which can lead to injuries. Yoga enhances your balance, posture, agility and grace. It also cleanses and conditions internal systems and enhances bodily processes, such as digestion. Standing poses increase metabolism and also strengthen and tone the muscles, build endurance and warm the body. The exercises not only boost the body’s metabolism but also normalise the hormonal imbalances in the body to ensure good health and a glowing skin. The malfunctioning of the endocrine glands that regulate your metabolism could lead to stress, premature aging and other diseases and whilst this continues to affect many people throughout the world – especially in western countries – a healthy metabolism keeps the body and mind in perfect balance. The twisting and compressing of the yoga postures massage the endocrine and abdominal organs, regulating their function, improving local circulation and cleansing them of old stagnant toxins.
Yoga can help to alleviate or eliminate specific physical symptoms or ailments, such as PMS, headache, back ache, stress, insomnia, asthma and irritable bowl syndrome. Under the guidance of a specialist teacher, yoga can aid the management of or recovery from more serious conditions, such as cancer, HIV, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and other degenerative diseases.
It must always be remembered it does not matter what kind of shape your body is in when you start your practice: just having a body – being alive – is sufficient qualifications for doing yoga.
The ancient yogic philosophy states that there are physical, mental and spiritual sheaths of existence. The body tends to develop certain illnesses and disorders due to the imbalance in these sheaths. Yoga practice is associated with physical, emotional and ultimately, spiritual benefits. You may notice some benefits, such as increased flexibility and calm, early on in your practice, while others may appear more slowly as you cultivate a new awareness of your body and mind.
Having dealt with the physical side of life, yoga turns to the mental. Here different breathing exercises or techniques quieten the mind and brain, offering inner peace and an ability to face upheavals and deal with problems. An emphasis on breathing techniques helps you to breathe better – deeper and more fully – even when you are not practising yoga. This leads to clarity and stillness of mind, which in turn leads to improved concentration. You may also find that yoga helps to reduce anxiety, emotional tension and mood swings. One of the most profound benefits of yoga is stress management. Studies have shown that anxiety and stress levels can be reduced effectively through meditation, which also has a remarkable healing effect on the physical body. Imagine a stressful day at work or at home. The fast-paced environment requires you to be constantly worrying about the next thing. With yoga, you can benefit from relaxed breathing with a reasonable degree of control. Such activity allows your body and muscles to relax and think about peaceful thoughts, diverting your focus on stress. Even flexing activities could help a stressed person by loosening the tight muscles. Often when someone is stressed, the muscles are as well.
Practicing asana provides a way of physically and mentally unwinding to help focus the mind in preparation for meditation. Some people benefit greatly from this kind of preparation, while others may find that a moving meditation suits them best – some styles such as Astanga Vinyasa incorporate meditation into posture practice. The movement of the body provides a tool for concentrating the mind.
Throughout history and in all cultures, people have sought ways to go beyond the limitations of habitual living and discover more about themselves and the nature of reality. Meditation means “to become familiar with” and is a way of exploring the inner self. In our busy lives where the senses tend to be drawn outward, meditation is a good opportunity to turn inward on a journey of discovery. Meditation can be used to help us relax and cope with stress. It slows down the mind and balances the emotions. People use meditation for healing. It can also assist in problem solving by leading us to insights, which may range from the spiritually significant to the mundane. It can take us to higher states of awareness, peace and clarity. Sometimes people experience visions or feelings of bliss, vitality and an increased sensory awareness. Some have a sense of connecting with a higher aspect of themselves or with the divine. Ultimately, mediation is a personal pursuit and once a regular practice has been established many find the benefits are far beyond those they expected.
In terms of “specialist” yoga; prenatal yoga can help lower a mother’s anxiety, increase oxygen, improve circulation and create a bonding experience with the baby prior to birth. Many prenatal yoga classes incorporate chanting into their sessions: sound is powerful and studies have shown that babies learn to recognize and respond to voices in the womb with many pregnancy experts advising talking to your baby daily to increase early bonding for both mother and child. Studies on prenatal yoga have shown it improves birth weight, decreases preterm labour, and decreases IUGR (isolated intrauterine growth retardation) either in isolation or associated with PIH (pregnancy-induced hypertension).
In India itself, the home of yoga, some children begin yoga from the age of five. The benefits of improved health, fitness and concentration are well documented, and now many forward-thinking schools in the West are beginning to teach yoga to children. This practice has been shown to enhance self-confidence, self-reliance, self-discipline, academic performance and the ability to cope with stressful situations, such as exams. By teaching self awareness, self control, and concentration, yoga can also help to manage children who have been diagnosed with ADHD – attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. It has also been used with some success to help children with Downs Syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism.
Finally, yoga is a personal path of discovery for each of us. Its particular and unique relevance to each person will become apparent as you begin your practice. On the physical level, as in life, being off balance doesn’t feel good. Feeling as though you might topple over at any time is neither safe nor comfortable. One of the reasons yoga has grown dramatically in popularity is that it helps people feel harmonious, integrated and complete. As you learn about your centre in a yoga pose, you practice finding your centre in other areas of your life. In fact, dealing with a posture can train you to better deal with life events. The strengthening, purifying and energizing practices of yoga can lead you back to a more complete awareness of your self and can be practiced by everyone in order to stay healthy, calm and disease free.
Nighean Hardie is a Certified Yoga Teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in Barnet, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
Tags: a limb of yoga, benefits of yoga, hatha yoga, prenatal yoga, the gift of yoga, yoga and health, yoga enhances