Archive for the ‘Yoga for Mental Health’ Category

By Dr. Rita Khanna

Emotions are either positive or negative. The positive emotions produce a generally beneficial effect on the nervous and endocrine systems, while the negative one disrupts these. The nervous and endocrine systems are thrown out of gear by negative emotions; this leads to various types of illness, which are sometimes quite serious, depending on the intensity and duration of the emotions in question.

A distinction must be drawn between positive and negative emotions. Positive emotions are confidence, hope, joy, gratitude, devotion, etc. – while negative emotions are rage, jealousy, despondency, fear, distress, envy, hatred, etc. It’s important to remember that the body and mind are intimately linked. The influence of mind over body is considerably greater than that of body over mind. It is the emotional aspect of mental activity which exercises the most powerful influence over the body – particularly the nervous and endocrine systems.

COMPLETE YOGIC RELAXATION

The thyroid and sexual glands are important among the endocrine glands. The sexual glands are easily influenced by the emotions. To control our emotions and dominate over our impulses, there are five highly useful exercises – based on Shavasna, Anulome Viloma Pranayama, Rhythmic Breathing, Interiorisation, and Meditation. They help soothe the mind, produce a beneficial effect on the entire organism, and revivify the nervous system.

1. SHAVASANA (COMPLETE YOGIC REAXATION POSTURE)

Lie supine – with the back, neck, and head in a straight line. Make sure the legs and arms are slightly spread apart, with the palms of the hands partially turned upwards. According to a would-be mother’s constitution, and during the later stages of pregnancy, it is advisable to place a small cushion under the head and one larger cushion each under the legs, making sure the feet are resting on the ground.

Body Parts

• Close the eyes and relax completely… look within and listen to the heart beat…relax the abdominal region… legs… thighs… knees… calves… ankles…feet…

• Relax the arms…shoulders…elbows…hands…fingers….

• Relax the neck….back of the neck…head…face…forehead…eyes….eyelids….nostrils… jaws….cheeks…

Major body Parts

• Relax the thoracic region…abdominal region…the legs…the arms…the back of the neck…i.e., the cervical region and the head.

Whole body

• Relax from head to toe…release each muscle…cell…nervous fiber…allow the weight of the body to lie on the ground… feel the body becoming lighter and lighter…

Attention on the Breath

Relax the mind by directing the attention to the breath…breathe slowly…deeply…regularly… without using any body force…allow the breath to come and go freely… stay with the breath…with each breath, feel that your entire being is filled with calm and well being…

A few points to remember

• While relaxing, one should leave aside the problems of the outside world and everyday life.

• It is important to remain consciously aware of deep relaxation. The relaxation of the body begins in the mind. If the attention wanders, it must be gently brought back, without forcing towards the breath.

• Shavasana is one of the best remedies against anxiety and all forms of nervous or emotional tension.

2. ANULOM-VILOMA (BREATHING THROUGH ALTERNATE NOSTRILS)

Sit in a comfortable position, steadily. Bring the palm of the right hand facing the face. Bend the first two fingers next to the thumb inside. Now put the right thumb on the right nostril – the last two fingers of the same hand should be used to press the left nostril. Remember, for the practice of this Pranayama, always start and finish the breathing from the left nostril.

TECHNIQUE

• Close the right nostril with the thumb, and breathe in through the left nostril – counting four heartbeats.

• Then, open the right nostril, while closing the left nostril, with the ring and little fingers, and breathe out through the right nostril – to the count of eight beats.

• Keeping the fingers in the same position, breathe in through the right nostril – counting four beats

• Now close the right nostril with the thumb, and breathe out through the left nostril to the count of eight beats.

• This completes one round of Anuloma-Viloma Pranayama.

• This exercise is to be performed three times a day – morning, noon, and evening – before meals and can be repeated up to seven times in a session.

• After a few weeks of regular practice, the counts can be increased to 5-10, 7-14, etc.

Anulom-Vilom Pranayama, if practiced regularly, is one of the best exercises for purifying the nervous system and bringing calmness to the mind. It regulates the secretion of hormones, revitalizes the nervous system, oxygenates the body, and ensures the correct functioning of the entire organism. It is particularly recommended for those suffering from anxiety and depression.

3. RHYTHMIC BREATHING WITH AUTO SUGGESTION

• This exercise is performed with the back upright, sitting either in Padmasana, Ardh Padmasana, or cross-legged posture. Keep your hands on the knees, in Gyan Mudra position. Close the eyes.

• Inhale, as in complete Yogic breathing – i.e., abdominal, middle chest, and upper-chest, or clavicular, mentally counting 6 heartbeats.

• Then, slowly exhale through the nostrils again – counting to 6 beats.

• Repeat the exercise several times.

• You can regulate the breathing with the help of words – suggesting positive things.

• With each respiration, say to yourself mentally – that I am a peaceful soul or just think of peace.

• Repeat them to yourself, rhythmically and harmoniously, during inhalation and exhalation, so that in the end, you identify with them.

• While concentrating on it, we attain perfect joy and inner peace.

Rhythmic breathing allows more oxygen into the body – relieves the aging of muscles- and helps to re-establish the equilibrium of the nervous and neuro-vegetal system. It also eliminates anxiety, by acting on the sympathetic nerve and the thalamus (interior region of the brain).

WHAT IS COMPLETE YOGIC BREAHTING?

In complete Yogic breathing, we combine all the three parts – abdominal, middle, and upper parts of the chest. It may be helpful to imagine a glass of water, when the water is poured into a glass; it fills the bottom, then the middle, then the top. When you pour it out, it goes out of the top, then the middle, then the bottom. The complete breath is also the same. The whole process of inhaling and exhaling should be done as one smooth, continuous movement – like a wave – and the time ratio of the breath, while inhaling and exhaling, should be equal. With a little patience and perseverance, the desired results will be achieved.

• In the first stages of learning, it is best to lie flat on the back with the eyes closed, relaxing the face and the body. Begin by observing the natural inhalation and exhalation of your breath, without changing anything. Just allow the body to breathe itself.

• Now begin to inhale deeply, through the nose, and allow the abdomen to rise, continue inhaling until you have expanded your chest, and finally, the upper portion of the lungs.

• While exhaling, reverse the process. Exhale deeply, through the nose, then the upper portion of the lungs, then the rib cage, and finally contract the abdomen.

• Continue for about ten breaths.

• This is the complete Yogic breath.

When we do breathing consciously, a much greater supply of oxygen is thus brought into the blood stream. This means that the vital organs, endocrine glands, nervous centers, and the body tissues are better nourished. We are filled with a feeling of mental and physical peace. The complete breath is not just deep breathing; it is the deepest possible breathing.

4. INTERIORISATION (DIRECTING ONE’S ATTENTION INWARD)

This exercise is performed with the back upright, sitting either in Padmasana, Ardh Padmasana, or cross-legged position – the back of the right hand resting in the palm of the left hand (right up, left down) on the lap. Close the eyes.

• Begin by regulating the breathing to relax the body and mind…

• Let go…

• Withdraw your mind from the outside world and take it inside…

• Allow the attention to remain centered on the depths of one’s inner being…

• Surrender to the moment and watch yourself as a silent witness…

• If thoughts come into mind, observe them…be a detached and passive observer…

• Feel that the thoughts are calming down…

• Move away from the thoughts…

• Only a light of consciousness is left within…

• Whatever is happening let it happen…

• Let go completely…

• Keep looking inside with awareness…

• Everything has become silent…

• To come back, take a few deeper breaths and gently open your eyes…

5. MEDITATION

• Begin breathing rhythmically for some time…

• Let go of any thoughts or distractions…

• Let the mind focus on feeling the breath move in… and out… of your body…

• It will help concentrate the mind and provide effective preparation for Meditation.

• Once a regular breathing pattern has been established, direct the attention towards the spiritual heart, located slightly to the right of the physical one…

• Feel the center of your chest warm – radiant, full of energy…

• See this energy as an emerald green light, radiating out from the center of your heart into the rest of your body…

• Feel it is the Soul of our Soul… the Essence of our being… the Source of our life…

• Stay with this visualization as long as you want.

• To come back, take a few deeper breaths and gently open your eyes…

While meditating on the self, we are detached from material constraints; we go beyond the limitation of the body, and we transcend our awareness of the ego. This brings us great mental tranquility and unfailing inner force. Then, you no longer feel depressed and negative.

Om Shanti

If you feel inspired by this article, feel free to publish it in your Newsletter or on your Website. Our humble request is to please include the Resource as follows: -

Courtesy: Dr. Rita Khanna’s Yogashaastra Studio.

A popular studio that helps you find natural solutions for complete health.

Mobile: + 919849772485

Ph:-91-40-65173344

Email: yogashaastra@gmail.com

Website: www.yogashaastra.in

Dr. Rita Khanna

Dr. Rita Khanna is a well-known name in the field of Yoga and Naturopathy. She was initiated into this discipline over 25 years ago by world famous Swami Adyatmananda of Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh (India).

She believes firmly that Yoga is a scientific process, which helps us to lead a healthy and disease-free life. She is also actively involved in practicing alternative medicines like Naturopathy. Over the years, she has been successfully practicing these therapies and providing succour to several chronic and terminally ill patients through Yoga, Diet and Naturopathy. She is also imparting Yoga Teachers Training.

At present, Dr. Rita Khanna is running a Yoga Studio in Secunderabad (Hyderabad, India).

Contemplative Yoga Study

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Within the nine main styles of Yoga, from India, is one contemplative discipline, which requires us to witness life without personal attachment to outcome. This form of Yoga is known as “Jnana.” How can one really make a commitment to witnessing life without attachment?

There are monks and priests, who witness life without attachment, but it is difficult for the average person to study Holy Scriptures all day and be unattached to the material world. Would one have to become a monk, nun, or priest to truly practice Jnana Yoga?

Jnana is also called the “Yoga of Knowledge.” You do not have to become a monk, nun, or priest to pursue knowledge. However, your mind goes through a constant training exercise when practicing Jnana Yoga. The reason being – our perception of truth is subject to our past judgments, and training, up to this point in time.

Consider this list of questions, without becoming upset. Try to see both sides of the issue, without judgment. Notice how people become angered, if they firmly believe that one side of the issue is the only truth, and there should be no questions concerning these matters.

Is religion good for humanity?

Which religion is good for humanity?

Is national health care a good idea?

Is God male, female, or far beyond the limitations of gender?

Is democracy the best form of government at this time?

Is there one God, or are there many Gods?

Religion and politics are very “hot” issues, and they stir up strong feelings. This volatile mix of political and religious questions is not meant to excite anyone, but it will. The point to be made here is that the truth is hard to decipher when we cannot control our minds.

It is easy for the ego to run down a list and choose right or left on every issue. Humans have made war on each other over religion and politics for thousands of years. Yet, religion and politics have helped us advance as a species. The truth comes to us when we suppress the ego, and it takes constant discipline.

With the study of Jnana Yoga, one learns to understand one’s self. Jnana is not the only way to come to terms with one’s self, but it allows for inquiry into “Who are we?,” without going into a state of emotional turmoil. Training the mind to react logically, during real life situations, is a constant challenge. Jnana Yoga is one of many proven methods to discipline the mind.

© Copyright 2010 – 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

By Sanmari Steenkamp

All of us have suffered from anxiety at some point of our lives. We may still experience it from time to time. Anxiety can be described as a state of fear or worry without having a reason at times for this fear or worry. Mild anxiety is a normal condition, however when it reaches higher levels, it can become unhealthy and harmful to body and mind.

This essay will explore the effectiveness of yoga on anxiety. Severe anxiety may cause one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, breathing problems, palpitations, fatigue, restlessness, headaches, chest pains and digestive problems. Some of the most common anxiety disorders are panic disorder or panic attack – a sudden, lasting less than 30 minutes, episode filled with fear and discomfort causing sweating, trembling, breathing difficulties, and dizziness.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is mainly caused by unresolved traumatic events from the past, creates feelings of fearfulness and helplessness with nightmares, sleeping disturbances and flashbacks as some of the symptoms. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the repetition of thoughts related to fearful things and the repetition of certain behaviours in an attempt to relieve fears; phobia is an irrational fear of people, objects, situations, and other things and the main symptom an excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid the thing associated with the said fear.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in which an extreme and uncontrollable worry about common daily things like health and family as well as trivial things such as being on time, etc. Anxiety is commonly treated with psychotherapy and many times with anti-anxiety medication as well.

As from the 1970s, studies on the possible treatments for depression and anxiety included meditation and other stress-reduction techniques. Yoga, among others, even though it has become increasingly popular over the past decade, has received less attention in medical literature.

Studies have shown that by reducing perceived stress and anxiety, yoga appears to modulate stress response systems. In turn, the physiological arousal decreases – for example, reducing the heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and easing respiration. There is also evidence that yoga practices help increase heart rate variability, an indicator of the body’s ability to respond to stress more flexibly.

Yoga can serve as an aid in the healing of anxiety. It helps to develop a strong state of mind helping to overcome fears and anxiety. Because you move and breathe slowly when doing Yoga consciously, it aids to ease the body’s reaction to anxiety. Your heart rate lowers and your muscles relax.

By practicing Asanas (postures) to maintain a healthy nervous system, Pranayama (breathing) to obtain a better self-awareness and gain a more peaceful state of mind, and Meditation to increase concentration and focus of the mind can all lead to a healthy, anxiety-free lifestyle. Yoga promotes relaxation and emotional control. The fight or flight reflex leads to the body’s preparation to defend or flee when confronted by anxiety.

Stiffness and chronic muscle tension caused by chronic stress leads to worry and anxiousness. Yoga brings relaxation through the use of specific postures that stretch and relax the muscles and joints. Breathing can be used to produce a meditative state of mind. Yoga techniques promote relaxation, and teaches self-soothing and body awareness skills.

Some Asanas that help to reduce anxiety include the following:

•  The Corpse Pose – can be used to mentally separate yourself from your past

experiences and from any possible happenings, whether real or imagined, in the

future. Bring your awareness to the present.

• The Shoulderstand

Iyengar recommends the following yoga sequence to manage anxiety:

1. Tadasana Samasthithi – Standing Upright Pose

2. Tadasana Urdhva Hastasana – Mountain Pose, Raised Arm Pose

3. Uttanasana – Standing Forward Bend Pose

4. Prasarita Padottanasana – Spread Legs Pose

5. Adho Mukha Svanasana – Dog Stretch Pose

6. Salamba Sirsasana – Headstand Pose

7. Uttanasana – Standing Forward Bend Pose

8. Utthita Trikonasana – Extended Triangle Pose

9. Ardha Chandrasana – Half Moon Pose

10. Viparita Dandasana – Legs Up the Wall Pose

11. Ustrasana – Camel Pose

12.Virasana – Hero Pose

13. Adho Mukha Virasana – Downward Facing Hero Pose

14. Janu Sirsasana – Head-Knee Pose

15. Paschimottanasana – Seated Forward Bend

16. Upavista Konasana – Seated Wide Legged Straddle Pose

17. Baddhakonasana – Restrained Angle Pose

18. Supta Virasana – Supine Thunderbolt Pose

19. Setubandha Sarvangasana – Bridge Pose

20. Viparita Karani – Legs up the Wall Pose

21. Savasana – Corpse Pose

22. Ujjayi Pranayma – Victorious Breath

23. Viloma 2 Pranayama – Alternate Nostril Breath

Breathing is essential for good health, but few people realise that wrong breathing habits can lead to many problems such as fatigue, heart disease, cancer as well as anxiety. Cell health depends on sufficient air or oxygen supply. Because we breathe shallow as result of being too busy to breathe correctly, the body experiences stress which leads to anxiety.

Yoga breathing techniques can help to correct this incorrect breathing. Pranayamas for the reduction or anxiety can be explained in a bit more detail. Pranayamas are independent techniques of breathing used independently from the yoga postures.

The Victorius Breath or Ujjayi helps reduce anxiety and is done as follow: Sit in Padmasana or Lotus Pose and exhale fully through the mouth or the nostrils. This is the preparation to the Victorious Breath. Inhale through the nostrils slowly and continuously.

By partly closing the glottis, (the opening from the pharynx into the windpipe that modulates speech, the breath is made audible. The air thus enters more slowly due to the partial closure and causes a frictional sound that can be felt as well. Continue until the lungs feel full, although not too full.

Comfortably hold the breath for a few seconds as the glottis is closed. Now the air is continuously let out slowly and smoothly through both the nostrils until the lungs feel empty. As this is done the glottis is again partially closed and the frictional sound that is produced can be felt as well.

The Viloma Pranayama or Alternate-Nostril Breathing is done by sitting in Padmasana, inhaling through one nostril and exhale through the other alternatively, using the right thumb and index finger to close the alternate nostrils. Hold breath in between inhaling and exhaling as long as comfortable.

Over the past few decades, Yoga has become the preferred and prescribed method to reduce and eliminate anxiety and symptoms associated with anxiety. Studies (Boston University School of Medicine) have shown that practicing yoga regularly, brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels – the brain’s primary inhibitory neurotransmitter – may elevate.

The findings of this study suggests that yoga as a possible treatment for depression and anxiety and other disorders associated with low GABA levels, should be explored.

“Our findings clearly demonstrate that in experienced yoga practitioners, brain GABA levels increase after a session of yoga,” said lead author Chris Streeter, MD, an assistant professor of psychiatry and neurology at BUSM and a research associate at McLean Hospital.

Antidepressants work in part by boosting the GABA levels, also suggesting the possibility of yoga being used as a replacement for psycho-pharmacological treatment. Needless to say that the side-effects of Yoga are more flexibility, a better back and spine and better posture.

It is however advised that one should not only rely on Yoga to overcome anxiety but rather see it as a complimentary technique to those methods applied by doctors and psychologists and/or psychiatrists. However, as research is done more often in the modern world, Yoga may soon become the treatment of choice for anxiety disorders as well as all types of mental disorders. More and more people attempt to avoid medication due to the negative side-effects, and seek alternative ways to prevent and cure all kinds of illnesses.

REFERENCES

Holisticonline.com 18/04/09

www.mentalhelp.net.htm 20/02/09

ljpasion www.abc-of-yoga.com 2009

www.yogamiracles.com 2009

www.anxiety-and-depression-solutions.com nan little 2009

www.lifetwo.com

findarticles.com 10/10/09

health.msn.com 10/10/09

Sanmari Steenkamp is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in the Walvis Bay, Namibia area.

By Dr. Rita Khanna

The cleansing and the seeding techniques are a part of Raja Yoga. In Yogic terms, the process of cleansing is called Shuddhi-Kriya or Shuddhikaran; and the process of seeding is called Beeeja-Dharan or Beeja-Mantra. Cleansing is a process of removing the thoughts causing disorders, notions, and erroneous perceptions from the mind. The seeding is a process of planting creative, constructive, and cherished ideas and thoughts in the mind. By the cleansing process, the mind is purified. By the process of seeding, the individual makes further positive gains. These techniques can be used by those who are mentally unwell, and also, by those who are already mentally healthy.

HOW TO PERFORM THESE TECHNIQUES

Both of these techniques are primarily concerned with the mind. Hence, in order to perform the steps of cleansing and seeding properly, an understanding of the mind is essential. So let me explain first certain peculiarities of the mind. The mind holds thoughts, which may be desirable or undesirable. Certain thoughts are held firmly by the mind. They do not fade out quickly, or easily, even when the individual has tried many times to get rid of them. A sick mind accumulates undesirable thoughts, beliefs – strange and peculiar notions – in the same way as a garbage bin. These undesirable thoughts may have been in the mind in the early childhood, and remained intact – even when the individual is fully grown. Many of these thoughts dominate the mind of the individual and prevent him from accomplishing anything new. The individual feels trapped and helpless because he cannot control them. They play a negative role in his life and destroy the health of the mind. Therefore, it is necessary to let go of all the old undesirable thoughts, in order to liberate the mind from its own entrapment.

GUIDELINES FOR USING THE TECHNIQUES

• People who cannot comprehend, and fully grasp the technique and process of this section, due to the present state of their mental health, are advised to seek the assistance of their family member or the help of some professionals dealing with mental health.

• For the healthy mind, the application of this technique does not create any problem. They can use it themselves; but they are advised to first read carefully, understand, and grasp all of the following four lessons before starting the actual practice. Just before using a particular lesson, they should read it once more. This would facilitate the application of the technique.

FIRST SESSION (PREPARATION)

• Turn off the light in the room. Lie down on your back on a carpeted floor… close your eyes until you are asked to open them… relax completely… let every part of your body rest loosely on the floor… make sure there is no tension anywhere….keep your breathing normal…

• Now, do deep breathing exercises for a while. In this deep breathing, there are deep, and prolonged, inhalations and exhalations. There is no retention of the breath. When you inhale your stomach should rise… when you exhale your stomach should come down… there is expansion and contraction of the abdominal muscles in this deep breathing exercises … one inhalation and one exhalation make one round…

• Practice this deep breathing for about ten rounds… then relax… let the whole body be loose… keep breathing normally… imagine you are going to sleep…

• After relaxing for about five minutes, become awake and alert – while keeping your eyes closed… now, direct your mental attention towards your toes… then mentally move slowly, and gently, upwards over the knee… the thighs… the spine… then the neck… now, move slowly towards the head area… stay there for a second…then move mentally into the area of the mind…enter the area of the mind and stay there…

• Now, try to mentally see the condition of the mind… visualize the complete whole…see it in detail, patiently… be quiet and attentive… see as much of the details of the mind as possible… what do you see there?…what does the mind see in your mind?… there is some accumulation of undesirable material… It might appear to you as a heap of garbage… or some waste paper… or cobwebs… covering the whole mental horizons…the mind seems to be loaded with filth and dirt… do you see it?… try to see it… try to see what is piled up there on the mental horizon in an undesirable way…locate and identify everything… stay on the spot for a few seconds…

• Visualization, for about ten seconds, is quite sufficient. Then, open your eyes slowly…inhale and exhale deeply – twice…remain lying on the floor, in a relaxed position, for a few seconds…then, slowly sit up.

ACTUAL TECHNIQUE OF THE CLEANSING PROCESS

After the visualization has been done, the cleansing process will begin by the mind itself. The mind here plays a dual role. It works as a patient – at the same time, it treats and corrects itself, as if a doctor’s mind is correcting the patient’s mind.

• Lie down on your back on a carpeted floor… close your eyes… let the body be completely relaxed… make sure there is no tension anywhere….keep your breathing normal…feel as if you are going to sleep… after you have relaxed for five minutes, become mentally alert…keep your eyes closed throughout this process… and follow the steps described below:

• Focus your mental attention towards your toes… direct your attention from the toes to the area of the thighs…then move mentally towards the waist…then over the spine…towards the neck…then move slowly towards the area of the head….now, move gently to the area of the mind…let the mental-eye visualize the existing condition of the mind for a few seconds… identify and locate the undesirable thoughts in the mind again, and consider them as dirt and filth… consider them, as if they are covering the surface of the mind like a cobweb…

• After visualizing the condition of the mind for a few seconds, prepare yourself for cleaning the filth and dirt from the mind… imagine that you are going to clean it with a brush and a piece of cloth…

• Now pick up the brush (mentally) in your right hand… start brushing and cleaning the filth with the brush, gently…imagine that you are breaking the cobwebs and collecting the filth from all the corners… after collecting it, imagine that you are throwing the garbage outside… throw it all out… keep doing this until you feel it is all out of the mind… You have completed the first round of cleansing…

• Now start the second round of cleansing… again, use the brush for cleaning every nook and corner of the mind… do not rush… work patiently at your ease… keep cleaning until you are fully satisfied… collect whatever filth is still left and throw it all out…

• After the brushing has been completed start the polishing… gently push the brush aside… pick up a fine piece of cloth in your right hand and begin polishing the whole area of the mind until it is shining and bright… do it slowly and gently… try to reach every nook and corner of the mind and make it shine all over…

• Now, begin a second round of polishing… see if any other area of the mind needs polishing… polish it to your full satisfaction… see that the whole area is neat… clean, decent, and free from dirt… then, withdraw your hand… put away the cleaning cloth… and relax…

• Breathe deeply twice…then open your eyes and remain lying on the floor in a relaxed condition for a while… then slowly sit up…then stand up slowly…now, you have completed the first session of cleansing the mind.

GUIDELINES

Once the cleansing of the mind has been done, it need not be repeated. However, in case you are not satisfied with your cleansing during the first session – repeat it after a gap of one or two days.

SECOND SESSION (SEEDING OR BEEJA-DHARAN)

Seeding should be held three or four days after the cleansing process of the mind. It can be done after two days, only; but do not delay it for more than seven days. To perform seeding properly, you first need to understand what is meant by seed.

MEANING OF SEED

A seed symbolizes and represents your desire. It is a crystallized form of your most cherished desires and wants. An individual may have many desires; but a few are more important than others. Out of these, select the most important desire and let us call it Desire Number One, the most dominant desire… then select the Desire Number Two…if you feel that there is something important, not covered under your desire one and two, then make one more desire and make it Desire Number Three… but it is not necessary to lengthen the list of desires… now, your most important desires have been identified and recognized. These three desires are the three seeds. As a seed sprouts, grows, becomes a tree, and begins to bear fruit, so is the case with your desire. When your desire, in the form of a seed, is implanted, it will sprout, grow, and then it will begin to bear fruit. The gradual development of the plant will be an indicator of the fulfillment of your desire.

PREPRATION FOR SEEDING THE MIND

• Lie down on your back on a carpeted floor… keep your eyes closed… breathe in a normal way…let every part of your body rest loosely on the floor… now, start breathing deeply…

• While breathing, you must make deep, and prolonged, inhalations and exhalations…your stomach should rise while inhaling… and go down while exhaling… there is expansion… and contraction… of the abdominal muscles in this deep breathing…

• Gently, bring your right hand onto the stomach… put your palm flat on the stomach, without exerting any pressure… the hand should just rest on the stomach… then inhale slowly but deeply… take in as much air as possible… while inhaling, let the stomach expand… your hand on the stomach will also rise as an indication of the upward expansion… after you have inhaled, pause for a second. ..then start exhaling slowly… the stomach will contract and come down… contract the stomach as much as possible… when the exhalation is complete, pause for a second… then start inhaling again as before… always remember to pause for a second, after each inhalation and exhalation… do ten rounds of this inhaling and exhaling… In this deep breathing, the mouth should remain closed throughout. Breathing should be done through the nostrils.

• After completing ten rounds of deep breathing, put your right hand on the floor. Let the body be completely relaxed. Feel as if you going to take a nap for a few seconds. Stay in this relaxed conditions for three to five minutes.

• When you have rested for about five minutes, get mentally alert. You are now going to do the seeding according to the method described below:

TECHNIQUE OF SEEDING THE MIND

• Remain lying on your back – on the carpeted floor… keep your eyes closed… focus your mental attention on your toes… move mentally upwards towards the knees… then towards the thighs… the spine… then the neck… then move into the area of the mind… let the mind see the mind…When you have entered the area of the mind, visualize clearly what has been done there during the previous session…

• Let the mind now see how neat, clean, and decent the mind appears, after the garbage and filth have been removed, and the whole area has been polished to shine brightly…the mind is free from the load of undesirable thoughts…there is now plenty of space in the mind for planting new thoughts…being free from what was undesirable…the mind is now ready to accept and hold what is given to it as new and desirable…

TECHNIQUE OF ACTUAL SEEDING

• Mentally pick up the seed, which represents your Desire Number One in your right hand…take it to the cleaned area of the mind… and plant it there…imagine you are putting it underneath the mental soil, and cover it up – as a seed is put in the soil and covered… when the seed is planted properly…withdraw your hand gently…

• Now pick up seed number two, which represents your Desire Number Two…take it into the area of the mind and plant it there at some distance from seed number one… put it underneath the mental soil properly… cover it up and then withdraw your hand…

• Then pick up the seed representing your Desire Number Three… take this seed into the area of the mind, and plant it at some distance from the two previously planted seeds…plant it properly…

• Now, see that all the three seeds, representing your three basic desires, have been planted properly…they are now rooted in the mind…let your mind see clearly how well the seeds have been planted there…feel the pleasure of doing something marvelous… unique…and new….this is the birth of a new idea and process in you… you are no longer the same person mentally… a big change has taken place in your mind…what was burdensome… undesirable… and filthy… has been discarded completely from the mind… what is pleasant… promising… and… rewarding… has been given place in the mind…let the mind feel the pleasure of this new event in your life…

• With these pleasant feelings… remain lying on the floor… in the same position for about one minute….then open your eyes slowly… Inhale and exhale deeply twice….now, sit up gradually….then get up, but make sure all your movements are slow for a few seconds…

GUIDELINES

• The seeding needs to be done only once. If you feel that the seeding was not done properly, during the second session, repeat it – after giving a gap of 24 hours before the third session. Your third session (protection and care) should be performed within a week – any time after two days of the second session.

THIRD SESSION (PROTECTION AND CARE)

After having done the seeding properly, we now have to see that the seeds are well protected and get proper nourishment for their healthy growth. Special attention has to be given to protection of the seeds from, possibly, harmful elements. Various contradictory and opposing forces, or elements, are present in society, in nature, and in the universe. They may harm your new creation -intentionally or unintentionally. They might injure your freshly planted seeds, if you leave them unprotected. You are, therefore, advised to use the following techniques to protect the plants.

PREPRATION FOR PROTECTING THE PLANTS

• Lie down on the floor on your back…relax completely…let every part of your body be loose and unrestrained…keep the eyes closed….breathe normally… now, follow the technique of complete relaxation, as you have done during the second session…remain in this relaxed position for about five minutes…

• After relaxing for the desired period, be mentally alert and direct your mental attention towards your toes….move mentally towards the thighs… then towards the knees… the spine and the neck….then go to the areas of the head…stay there for a few seconds….now, move gently into the area of the mind….let the mind see the mind….stay there and watch attentively….what do you notice?… the mind appears to be transformed…the filth and undesirable material is gone… three seeds, representing your three important desires, are planted there….they are in a good shape….they are about to sprout… they appear to be in a healthy condition and are very pleasing to look at…

• Imagine that you are going to put a fence around the seeded plants in your mind….after this fence has been erected, the plants will be quite safe…no unfavorable and undesirable forces, or elements, will be able to intrude inside the fence….be mentally prepared… and… alert….draw a circle around the planted seeds in your mind… with your right index finger…..the circle will work as a fence…

• No disturbing elements on earth can come within the circle….the plants will remain safe therein….the seeds will sprout and grow properly…..they are soon going to become very strong and big….they will then be able to take care of themselves… now, you have to see that they continue to get proper nourishment for their healthy growth…

ACTUAL TECHNIQUE TO PROTECT THE PLANTS

• Visualize, mentally, that our plants are getting the due nourishment… there is a supply of enough light… air… and moisture…the condition of the soil is healthy… and… good… your plants are getting the right amount of all these nourishing properties – essential for their healthy growth… Feel the pleasure of this new development in you… something unique has taken shape… as the planted seeds grow and develop, you will see signs of fulfillment in days to come… now open your eyes slowly… breathe deeply -twice… remain lying on the floor for a few seconds… then get up slowly… the third session ends here.

GUIDLINES

• Once the steps of protection have been taken, they need not to be repeated.

• Do not tell others what you have done on the mental level. Keep it a secret until the plants are fully grown trees.

FOURTH SESSION (WEEDING AND GROWTH)

The fourth session should be held two weeks after the second session. The time gap is necessary to let the seeds germinate and grow. During this session, you are going to watch how the planted seeds are progressing and what needs to be done for their proper growth and development. It is just possible that some weeds may have also grown around the plants. The weeds need to be removed so that they do not stifle the growth of the plants.

PREPRATION FOR PULLING OUT WEEDS

• Lie down on the floor on your back…relax completely…let every part of your body be loose and unrestrained…keep the eyes closed….breathe normally… now – follow the technique of complete relaxation, as you have done during the second session….

• When the deep breathing is over, let the body be completely relaxed. Stay in this relaxed condition for about three minutes. Then, get mentally alert and ready.

ACTUAL TECHNIQUE FOR PULLING OUT WEEDS

• Focus your mental attention towards the area of the head… let the mind enter into the area of your mind… stay there… let the mind see the plants in detail…they are at some distance from one another and look healthy… try to see if there are weeds around those plants… these weeds must be uprooted and thrown out…

• Imagine that you are taking your right hand into the area of the mind… bring your right hand within the circle… pull out the weeds one by one… pull them out gradually and patiently… do not rush… keep picking them out until all are uprooted….collect them and throw them out…

• Enter the area of the mind again… and see that there is nothing left, except those three seeded plants inside the circle… make the whole area quite neat and clean… see that the roots of the plants are properly covered by the soil… now, the plants are free from the weeds… make the soil around the plants even and clean… then withdraw your hand from the circle, slowly… keep your eyes closed…

• Look at the plants again… now what do you see?… they are all healthy looking… they are quite safe and are growing nicely… there are no disturbing elements to obstruct their growth… they are getting proper nourishment.

• Let the mind see these aspects in detail… think of the pleasant development taking shape in your mind… feel the pleasure and happiness of visualizing these new developments. .. after visualizing the growth of the plants, and thinking of these pleasant developments for a minute or so, open your eyes slowly… breathe deeply twice… remain lying on the floor for a few seconds… then get up slowly… the fourth session is over.

SUGGESTIONS FOR ALL THE TECHNIQUES

• Your work from the first to the fourth session is not to be repeated unless extremely necessary. However, if you wish to repeat certain aspects of these four sessions – such as cleansing, nourishing, and protecting – do it only once or twice a year at the most.

• The work you learned, and practiced, during the four sessions, is enough to restore your normal mental health. In fact, for the restoration of your mental health, cleansing was enough. The practice of seeding was to strengthen your mental health and power.

• By the steps of cleansing, the disorders of the mind are removed, and by steps of seeding, you have gained strength – and at the same time, prevented further disorder. What you have gained, in terms of mental health and strength, need to be sustained by you. This – you can do by practicing meditation.

• If at a later date you have more desires, you need not repeat this process, if you are practicing meditation. The reason is that since your mind is already disciplined and trained, it is not difficult for the mind to hold any further new desires that you might have in the future. The process of meditation helps you accomplish the fulfillment of those new desires. Steps of meditation will be explained in the next article.

Om Shanti.

If you feel inspired by this article, feel free to publish it in your Newsletter or on your Website. Our humble request is to please include the Resource as follows: Courtesy: Dr. Rita Khanna’s Yogashaastra Studio. A popular studio that helps you find natural solutions for complete health.

Mobile: + 919849772485

Ph:-91-40-65173344

Email: yogashaastra@gmail.com

Website: www.yogashaastra.in

Dr. Rita Khanna

Dr. Rita Khanna is a well-known name in the field of Yoga and Naturopathy. She was initiated into this discipline over 25 years ago by world famous Swami Adyatmananda of Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh (India).

She believes firmly that Yoga is a scientific process, which helps us to lead a healthy and disease-free life. She is also actively involved in practicing alternative medicines like Naturopathy. Over the years, she has been successfully practicing these therapies and providing succour to several chronic and terminally ill patients through Yoga, Diet and Naturopathy. She is also imparting Yoga Teachers Training.

At present, Dr. Rita Khanna is running a Yoga Studio in Secunderabad (Hyderabad, India).

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

When one decides to become a Yoga teacher, designing lesson plans is part of the daily routine. When teaching Hatha Yoga, lesson plans may consist of a mix of techniques and their practical applications to daily life. There are many lessons we learn in life, but how often does the average person make practical use of them?

When you go to a public place, observe how people stand, sit, and walk. As a whole, do most people have good posture? This is a visual example of the practical application of asana toward real life situations. Some skeletal conditions are not preventable, but some conditions are due to years of poor posture and neglect.

How many ways can Yoga affect health? If you look at any person, Yoga can change mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health – for the best. Let’s look at how gratitude can create good health. Have you ever met someone who does not appreciate what they have?

Maybe this person has a good spouse, relationship, child, or friend; but he or she does not see the value of being loved. Taking good relationships for granted is a mistake many people make. When we take relationships for granted, we set a pattern of behavior in motion, which is unhealthy for us, and everyone we know.

Our mental, and emotional state of health, is something we should take control of when it is possible. There are specific mental and emotional conditions, which require professional help in coping with the situation. These are times when professional counseling is your best option. One example of this is: Coping with the death of someone who is very dear.

However, gratitude can help us with everything, including loss. When we are grateful for past and present relationships, we see the value of our connection to others. It is hard to deal with the loss of friends, family, and pets; but we should be grateful for the special times we had together.

When we carry this principle to the present, it makes living in this moment special. Showing gratitude, every day, will change the world around you. This is a form of Karma Yoga, because you create good feelings in others through your appreciation of them. There is a view that you are creating good feelings within yourself, as well.

Some people take the view that each positive action we take is, in fact, self-centered. Even if this were true, the alternatives of taking negative action, or no action, are not going to help relationships. Therefore, with your action of showing gratitude to others, you can change the world with positive energy.

When teaching others about the benefits of Yoga practice, we should always remember the practical applications of Yogic philosophy.

© 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

By DeVona Seymour

The benefits of yoga are now being recognized and welcomed in the West, but the benefits are not only physical; people who practice yoga regularly know that their quality of life improves on all levels: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

We are mostly concerned with the physical aspects of yoga, but those who practice the postures consistently will soon see other changes in their lives. Their sense of physical well-being will improve, along with feelings of stability, clarity, and a greater ability to concentrate. Yoga can lift your capacity to succeed in all other areas of your life: your work; study; sport; and relationships.

When you practice yoga regularly, you will find that it helps relieve depression and anxiety. It increases energy levels, controls weight, helps relieve arthritis, and keeps you flexible and energetic. Yoga also improves osteoporosis, circulation, digestion, and lowers blood pressure. It can replace the so-called buzzes of alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and other stimulants.

Yoga is a great way to tone and strengthen your body. You can practice yoga for the physical benefits alone and be very satisfied with the results; however, it has the potential to replace old, negative patterns with positive, life-affirming choices.

Yoga is an ancient practice that creates a sense of union in the body, mind, and spirit. At the physical level, yoga has proven to be extremely effective in increasing flexibility. Stretching the body in new ways will help it become more flexible. This in turn, brings greater range of motion to muscles and joints. Surprisingly, it has been found that the body, which may have been quite rigid, becomes very flexible, even in those parts that were not consciously worked on. This is because the yoga positions act upon parts of the body in an interrelated manner. When done together, they become harmonious in creating flexibility. Sometimes in yoga practice, someone cannot even touch their toes; however, the benefits of yoga include lengthening the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the body to help you become more flexible. The flexibility attained through yoga also makes one feel good and thus look good.

Many yoga poses require you to support the weight of your own body. These would include balancing on one leg, supporting yourself with your arms, and moving slowly in and out of poses. This increases strength and muscle tone. Some of the yoga poses build upper body strength. This is very important as people age, as are the postures that build strength in the lower back. Almost all the yoga poses build core strength in the abdominal muscles. When you have core strength, you will naturally sit and stand tall. Therefore, another benefit of increased flexibility and strength is better posture and increased body awareness. This awareness tells you when to adjust your posture.

Yoga is a practice that massages all the internal glands and organs of the body. This wholesome stimulation and massage of the organs is beneficial because it helps keep disease away, and forewarns us of an onset of disease or disorder. Since yoga gently stretches the muscles and joints, as well as massages the organs, it ensures the blood supply to various parts of the body. This helps to flush out toxins and provide nourishment to all parts of the body. This leads to benefits such as delayed ageing, energy, and zest for life.

Yoga benefits the mind by teaching you to focus and concentrate. This focus is internal—between your mind and your body. Since your state of mind is reflected in the way you breathe, by controlling the breath, you can learn to control your state of mind. Yoga breathing revitalizes the body, steadies the emotions, and creates clarity of mind. Learning to breathe correctly, using the diaphragm, is one of the most important exercises in yoga.

In yoga, the breath is known as “Prana”, or the universal life force energy within all of us. Yoga breathing techniques are known as “Pranayama” or practices that control the breath in order to create a state of inner peace. One of the greatest health benefits of yoga is stress reduction, and just learning how to breathe deeply can reduce or eliminate many symptoms triggered by stress.

The breath in yoga is seen as a bridge between the body and the mind. For example, during the yoga postures, if there is discomfort in a certain area, you can consciously exhale into that area and experience a release of tension. This makes it possible to relax more into the pose. You should learn to use the breath as a tool to create support for your movements and to release the whole body.

This quote by Gurutej Kauna in Fit Yoga magazine sums up the healthy benefit of yoga breathing. “People think we get energy from food and sleeping, but the breath is our most abundant source of energy. Breathing oxygenates the blood, improves circulation, and gets more oxygen into the muscles which allows them to function better. Even though life can be complicated, the solution could be using your breath, basic movements, and a heightened sense of awareness to balance the physical body and mind with the spirit.”

Another way that yoga calms the mind is through meditation. To meditate is to become aware of what is going on within you. The practice of meditation helps you stay centered regardless of your circumstances. Because meditating helps you to slow your breath, quiet your mind, and find peace, it can be beneficial physically, mentally, and emotionally. Some of the benefits of meditating are: it clears your mind for better sleep; refines your ability to focus on a goal or situation; slows your respiration for longer, deeper breaths; and boosts your immune system. Meditation is also beneficial mentally and emotionally by reducing anxiety and depression, by helping you detach emotionally, which helps you break unhealthy habits, by improving communication with yourself, and by helping you stay in the present moment instead of the past or future.

Remember this quote from Beth Shaw, author of the book Yogafit, “You are not seeking to find anything through the practice of meditation. Rather, it is through meditation that you are found. It’s a mistake to think that through meditation, you are trying to become somebody else. The true intent of yoga and meditation is to become the best possible version of yourself”.

Spiritually, yoga makes you aware of your body, your feelings, the world around you, and the needs of others. It promotes interdependence between mind, body, and spirit. It is beneficial because it helps you live the concept of “oneness”. Yoga becomes part of your spiritual life because it teaches “right” living in dealing with yourselves and others. Just by working on a difficult pose will teach you patience, forgiveness, and the value of gentleness.

In the true spirit of living, yoga plays a major role. It helps in developing and attaining personal values by reducing a variety of mental ills. Yoga enhances personal values by avoiding the element of fear from our lives. By practicing yoga, you gain control of your mind, and this results in the control of the thoughts and actions as well. Yoga controls the emotions of a person with the help of mental exercises. This helps a person achieve contentment.

Another spiritual benefit of yoga is that it makes an individual accept faith in life. It replaces pessimism, cynicism, and suspicion with an appreciation of life. Yoga helps a person to be at peace with himself and the world, and therefore attain poise, serenity, contentment, patience, and assurance.

The physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of yoga are extensive: stress relief, pain relief, better breathing, flexibility, balance, increased strength, weight management, improved circulation, cardiovascular conditioning, focusing on the present, and inner peace. What more could you want? Yoga is the answer for an improved quality of life—physically, mentally, and spiritually.

DeVona Seymour is studying to become a certified Yoga teacher.

By Dr. Rita Khanna

Addiction is a habit, for which we have no control, and become its slave. Addiction is a chronic but treatable brain disorder. Repeated use of drugs leads to addiction, which disrupts the well-balanced neuro-chemical systems in the brain, and severely alters the areas of the brain, which are critical to decision making, learning, memory, and behavioral control. 

INTOXICANTS and THEIR EFFECTS

• Barbiturates, methaqualone, glutethimide, chloral hydrate, and tranquilizers act to depress the nervous system; and therefore, affect our breathing and heart rate, as well as our thoughts and emotions.

• Amphetamines, cocaine, caffeine, and tobacco are stimulants. They suppress sleep and appetite and generally interfere with body rhythms.

• LSD, mushrooms, mescaline, marijuana, and other chemicals consist of synthetic and natural substances. Marijuana has hallucinogenic effects and can cause a psychotic break in predisposed individuals.

• Opium, heroin, morphine, codeine, and methadone come under the category of narcotics and opiates, and produce both psychological and physical addiction.

There is no end to this list. When the addict is not satisfied by all of these addictions, he goes on adding more and stronger items – ultimately getting scorpions and serpents giving stings on his tongue.

SYMPTOMS

• Changes in school performance – falling grades, skipping school, etc.

• Changes in peer group – hanging out with drug-using, antisocial friends

• Breaking rules at home, school, and society

• Extreme mood swings, depression, irritability, anger and negative attitude, sudden increase or decrease in activity level, withdrawal from family and keeping secrets

• Changes in physical appearance – weight loss, lack of cleanliness, strange smells, etc.

• Stammering, red, watery, glossy eyes or running nose (which are not due to allergies or cold), changes in eating and sleeping habits

• Lack of motivation or interest in activities, which teenagers usually enjoy (that is – sports, hobbies, etc)

• Lying, stealing, and hiding things, using street or drug languages, or possession of drug paraphernalia or items, cigarette smoking

• Spend thrift in money matters.

• In the surroundings of his residence, you will find empty bottles, aluminum foils, small pieces of cardboards, or metal tubes, empty match boxes, and injection syringes, etc.

CAUSES

• A weakening of willpower

• A lack of external, social and family support, love, affection, and not having an aim in life

• The curiosity to experiment with something new

• Bad company of friends who have wrong habits

• Illiterate people residing in cold regions

PSYCHIC ENERGY CENTERS

Ancient Indian Yogic texts describe Psychic energy centers (Chakras). This Psychic energy is translated into hormonal, physiologic, and ultimately, cellular changes throughout the body. Each major Chakra is associated with a major nerve plexus and a major endocrine gland. In a drug user, Prana (Life Force) is likely to be crystallized in Mooladhara and Swadhisthana Chakras. All the passions, complexes, anguish, and desires have their roots there. The ensuing Pranic imbalance creates energy fluctuations in the nervous system, which may be the cause of the visual and auditory hallucinations. If the energy of these two Chakras is not purified, freed and transformed by passage to the higher Chakras, the impulses and experiences, which guide a human being, will be influenced by the qualities of these two chakras.

RECOMMENDED PROGRAM

To treat dependency and addictions, the following program is recommended. It progresses from drug detox, to postures, to breath work, and to meditation.

DRUG DETOX

Detoxification is a necessary part of overcoming drug abuse. It is vital in the recovery process because it helps the body break its addiction to the substance the person has been abusing. If an individual does not go through drug detox, he will continue to have a strong, physical craving for drugs; and the withdrawal symptoms will make it very difficult to stay away. Methods used in detoxification are: Yoga Asanas (postures), Sukshma Vyayam (gentle exercises), Pranayama, Bandhas, Mudras, Yoga Nidra, Meditation, Naturopathic Diet, Massage, Steam Bath, Jalneti, Enema, Wet and Mud Packs, Hip Bath, Spinal Bath, Hot Foot Bath, Full Body Dry Friction, Chest Pack, and Chromo Therapy (healing by using color and light). Individuals, who abuse drugs, will need to go through medically-supervised detoxification.

SHAVASANA FOR FIVE MINUTES

Lie down on the floor, with your legs comfortably apart, arms limp by your side. First, relax the entire physical body, part by part, mentally – then bring the awareness of the breath in the abdominal region -, expand the abdomen with each inhalation – and relax the abdomen with each exhalation. While doing these movements of the stomach, feel the body relaxing and the body becoming free from any kind of tension. Then, just observe the whole body, mentally, and feel if there is still any tensions in any part of the body… release it. By observing your breath, your thoughts are directed towards detecting and discarding any remnants of tension. Thoughts are regarded and then released. This is the birth of mindfulness.

ASANAS

In the early stages, do simple legs and arms exercises; shoulder rotations are also excellent. As the practitioner increases his energy levels, and physical strength, he can start with Kati- Chakrasana, Chakrasana, Dhanurasana, Paschimottanasana, Nauka Sanchalanasana, Vajrasana, Shashankasana, Ushtrasana (camel), Marjarisana (cat stretch), Tadasana, Trikonasana, and Surya Namaskara. The various movements loosen up the joints and give flexibility, balance, and strength to the body – thus aiding the detoxification process.

PRANAYAMA

Pranayama is a panacea for the health of the mind and the heart. Bhramari (humming bee breath), Sheetali, Ujjayi, Kapalbhati, Bhastrika, Nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), and abdominal breathing are all good in a progressive way.

• Bhramari (humming bee breath) is useful for mental stress. It increases inner calmness and can sooth the turbulent mind. A few rounds of Bhramari are good for those who have trouble going to sleep. This is very useful at the time of detoxification – when many addicts cannot sleep, due to withdrawal.

• Sheetali cools the mind and helps in preventing and reducing the intensity of panic attacks.

• Ujjayi balances the endocrine system and is very good for relaxation.

• Kapalbhati is useful in reducing the quantity of recurrent obsessive thoughts.

• Bhastrika removes the toxins.

• Nadi shodhana Pranayama is a crucial practice for mental clarity, alertness, balance, and purification of the Nadis.

While doing Pranayama, breathe in peacefully, and breathe out peacefully. With each inhalation, feel as if you are inhaling new power, light, knowledge, brightness, and there is development inside you. With each exhalation, feel as you are distributing happiness, composure, and divinity to the universe. Fill the universe with composed, healthy thoughts, health and composure will return to you thousand-fold. Even if one continues a routine of Pranayama, two to three times a day, for ten to fifteen minutes, for one continuous month, one can feel tremendous improvement in health.

BANDHAS

Once the energy and physical strength start increasing, Bandhas can be started. These are energy block removers. They compress organs and endocrine glands, affecting secretion and direction of flow. Bandhas increase stamina, strengthen the abdominal and lumbar muscles, and massage the abdominal organs, increasing circulation to these areas. This massage works well on the liver, an important major organ for detoxification.

YOGA NIDRA

The practice of Yoga Nidra, which is a simple and indirect method to contact the pre-conscious and unconscious mind, is a practical and easily applicable technique. It allows the body to heal and to rest completely. Yoga Nidra gives time to step back and gain a wider picture of what is going on. Proceed systematically and very gradually; initially start with breath awareness, breath counting, and rotation of consciousness around the body. To see one’s condition, introduce positive visualizations, but keep them simple, realistic, practical, and grounded – which contain self-recovery images which are linked with a Sankalpa (resolve). Sankalpa is the most useful and important part of the practice, which is directed towards an improvement in physical balance. Always discover your own Sankalpa. Experience that you are fully composed and healthy. After a few practices, one will feel better; have more physical energy with improved digestion and sleep, and a reduced level of anxiety.

DO’S & DON’T’S OF VISUALIZATION

• Choose those which relate to reality and are linked with everyday life. One can use visualizations, connected with the sequence of Asanas performed, or which were likely to improve the functioning of the physiological systems and organs; i.e., those directed towards the attainment of a definite practical objective. In general, keep the visualizations very simple.

• Avoid suggesting any visualization that causes the practitioner to `fly away’ and stimulate vivid memories. Avoid visualizations, like walking on rainbows, sitting by crystal lakes, etc. However, under the influence of certain drugs, you actually visualize certain things like that, so the association with that type of visualization would be drugs, a drug-induced experience. We want to avoid any association between Yoga and taking drugs, therefore, we try to keep the visualizations very grounded and practical.

A SMALL VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUE

For example, first go back through the day – from the morning up to the present. Then go back another day. When you have the confidence of the practitioner, you can go further back, like one week, one month, one year, and so on. It is quite important to go back to childhood. Recall is a useful technique for showing that there was a time before drugs were used, that the stage of using was just a middle stage, a period in their life, and did not last forever. It is quite useful for bringing up memories which people, who have been using drugs, didn’t recall before – just to acknowledge “Yes, I did this.” -without guilt. It is very beneficial to clear out these mental images. If a cloud moves in, the sun gets covered. There is no reason to think that the brightness of the sun has reduced. Try this method two to three times in a day; you will surely attain complete composure and health.

JAPA SADHANA

Remember the name of any God in which you have complete faith, while you move about, walk, sit, and get up. God means peace, composure, beauty, and happiness. Peace and happiness are your aims in life. Remember that name which would fill you with peace and composure in your internal consciousness. Forget the past. Do not worry about the future. Observe God every¬where in the planes with green grass extending on long distances in green fields, in the high trees reaching the skies, beautiful streams, open sky, sunrise, sunset, the chirping of the birds – your sickness will run away. Open your heart before God. Oh God, I belong to you, you are mine, let anything that is good for me happen. Remember God in your quiet and peaceful mind. God is inside you. You are also pure; you are intelligence incarnate. Feel this and you will inhabit new life.

AJAPA JAPA PRACTICE FOR 30 MINUTES

Sit in a meditative posture, keeping the eyes closed. If you feel you can’t keep the eyes closed, wear eye patches so that you can stay in that relaxed state of mind only. Any visual stimulation affects the state of relaxation in the brain. Ajapa Japa is a practice in which the deepening of concentration, and internalization of awareness, takes place. Begin by witnessing the flow of the natural breathing of the nasal passage. Be aware of the cool sensation within the nostrils at the time of inhalation, and the warm sensation within the nostrils at the time of exhalation. Concentration on the temperature of the air going in and out of the nostrils helps to balance the activities of the two brain hemispheres.

The flow in the right nostril stimulates the left hemisphere, and the flow in the left nostril stimulates the right hemisphere. The right nostril is the location of Pingala Nadi, the source of heat and vitality, and the left nostril is the location of Ida Nadi, the source of coolness and tranquility. Therefore, if we were able to merge the mind with the experience of breathing, and the temperature of the breath, it would be possible to induce changes in the patterns of the brain waves. This can be achieved through concentration, and awareness of the fact, that one is breathing in and out, and observing the temperature of the breath.

After observing the breath in the nostrils, become aware of the movement of the breath in the frontal passage between the nose and the navel.

Normally, when we breathe in, the air goes down into the lungs and when we breathe out, the air comes up out of the lungs. However, in the practice of Ajapa Japa, we reverse the awareness factor, so at the time of inhalation, imagine the breath was ascending from the navel to the nostrils, and at the time of exhalation, that the breath was descending from the nostrils to the navel.

This practice internalizes your attention and awareness so deeply – that there would come a time when you would stop hearing the noises outside – though ears are not blocked. By keeping the eyes closed, or by wearing eye patches, there would be visual deprivation, and by observing the flow of the breath, there would be auditory deprivation.

Then start repeating the mantra So Ham with the breath. So represents the sound of inhalation and Ham represents the sound of exhalation. The mantra has the effect of making the mind more focused, tranquil, and peaceful. After practicing mantra repetition with the breath, for five to seven minutes, the practice of Ajapa Japa ends. Then chant Om verbally for five minutes, still keeping your eyes closed. This ends the thirty minute practice of Ajapa Japa. Now, you can very slowly open the eyes.

HOW THESE TECHNIQUES HELP

Apart from damaging the central nervous system, drugs also suppress the immune response because of the hyper stimulation of the glands of the adrenal cortex. Situations of stress and continuous reactions, of the fight or flight mechanism, bring about excessive production of adrenalin and noradrenalin hormones and reduced production of corticosteroid hormones. The immune system can be re-conditioned by relaxation techniques, which help in stimulating the thymus gland. Just one session of relaxation, combined with regular physical exercise, can increase the production of killer cells and of endogenous opioides.

CONCLUSION

Yoga is undoubtedly one of the best methods of inner awakening – being relatively safe and well charted. It generates willpower and vitality, which can alter the mental state of desiring and craving. All the Yoga techniques work on self-acceptance. It is quite necessary to shower love, goodwill, and patience – until the addict does not make conscious efforts to do so. Yoga might represent the possibility of tripping the switch in the right direction. As spring follows the winter slowly and adorns the whole world, same way, Yogic treatment instills new consciousness, new enthusiasm, fullness, will power, and creates an irrepressible desire to live life fully.

If you feel inspired by this article, feel free to publish it in your Newsletter or on your Website. Our humble request is to please include the Resource as follows: Courtesy: Dr. Rita Khanna’s Yogashaastra Studio. A popular studio that helps you find natural solutions for complete health.

Mobile: + 919849772485

Ph:-91-40-65173344

Email: yogashaastra@gmail.com

Website: www.yogashaastra.in

Dr. Rita Khanna

Dr. Rita Khanna is a well-known name in the field of Yoga and Naturopathy. She was initiated into this discipline over 25 years ago by world famous Swami Adyatmananda of Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh(India).

She believes firmly that Yoga is a scientific process, which helps us to lead a healthy and disease-free life. She is also actively involved in practicing alternative medicines like Naturopathy. Over the years, she has been successfully practicing these therapies and providing succour to several chronic and terminally ill patients through Yoga, Diet and Naturopathy. She is also imparting Yoga Teachers Training.

At present, Dr. Rita Khanna is running a Yoga Studio in Secunderabad (Hyderabad, India).

By Karen Scully

I began my yoga practice about 10 years ago with an incredible teacher, Julie Wright. I was in my early 40’s, and had been a runner for many years. I developed calcium deposits on my left thigh which caused great pain after my runs, to the point of crying while trying to go to sleep. When my doctor informed me that I had to stop running, I spent the next year looking for some form of exercise that I could do the rest of my life and would give me the “highs” of running along with the benefits – mainly weight loss. That was also when my doctor informed me I was in my early 40’s and should find a form of exercise I could do for a lifetime.

So I practiced yoga almost daily for about two years. I took mainly power yoga classes, some Bikram, some meditative. I was amazed at how strong and limber a 43 year old could be. Through different injuries that were a result of my job as a personal trainer, I turned to yoga to cure my aches, pains and depression at no longer being the young thing I thought I was. So my yoga experience grew out of a need to find health through exercise and that is what my focus is on – health for all through yoga, but specifically for the “mature adult.”

The one thing I have run into with active older adults is the need for yoga for therapeutic reasons, be it physical or mental. One of the incredible things about practicing yoga is that yoga strengthens all different areas of the body: heart, lungs, muscles, cardiovascular and nervous system. Yoga can also improve our digestive systems, send oxygen to all our different systems to bring them to a healthier state, and helps our psychological well-being. All of these are a like a jewel found in one place for a person needing to remain healthy for life. Another thing I find with active older adults is stress caused by either injury or physical conditions plaguing them, such as diabetes, etc., and the stress leads to depression. It is like a vicious cycle: injury or poor health leads to stress leads to depression leads to stress leads to poor health and so on.

Studies have shown that people who practice yoga recover from surgery faster, reduce symptoms of diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, just to name a few. Why is that? Is it that yoga helps to reduce stress? Is it because the breathing sends healing energy through the body? Is it because their muscles and bones move more easily because of the asanas? Is it because you become more toxin free because of the twisting poses? Does meditation play a part? It’s because of all of these things, which is why yoga is perfect for anyone but specifically for the active older adult. And since no two people are alike – everyone has different strengths and weaknesses and different degrees of health, we have different types of yoga available for everyone.

Let’s begin with breathing, the most important part of ayoga practice. We are taught different types of breathing in yoga to help us in our asana practice and in our meditation. But anyone knows just from having to go in for, say, a big test and slowing their heart by taking deep, slow breaths that you can indeed rule your heartbeats and in turn, rule your blood pressure by slow, deep breathing. We take oxygen into our lungs that is transmitted into our bloodstream and carried to our muscles to increase our ability to exercise and stretch without muscle fatigue. Proper breathing techniques can relax a person immediately and anywhere and we know that because of studies done regarding shifting the balance of the nervous system to the parasympathetic side causing the relaxing to begin almost immediately. We know that relaxing muscles can help chronic pain, most commonly found in older adults from either physical illness or treatments used to help with their illness. So breathing is an essential part of anyone’s yoga practice, and it will be discussed again.

Yoga is a great stress reducer. Stress can come from lots of different things: daily work, issues with income/health, poor muscle alignment, chronic pain. As a matter of fact, arthritis and back pain are the two most common forms of pain, exacerbated by stress, found in older adults. Stress makes our muscles more likely to go into spasm, causing more pain/more stress. Stress can interfere with our deep sleep, essential for health, and common older adults. Lack of sleep increases pain. It is another vicious cycle. A regular yoga practice can help relax muscles, relieve stress and relieve pain.

Older adults also tend to slump, especially in their upper spines, causing muscle fatigue around their upper back and necks, ultimately causing pain. If continued, either due to sitting for hours watching TV or on their computers, or by the beginnings of arthritis or bone loss, their bones can slowly start to fuse in this manner so they can no longer stand straight. That’s why you see lots of older people stooped over from the middle of the back up. That is what happened to my father. Regular use of different asanas to strengthen our upper backs, using something like locust pose or cobra pose, can help strengthen these muscles and relieve the stress in the upper back, in turn relieving the pain.

Yoga also helps a person differentiate between whether they are feeling pain or are suffering. Pain can cause suffering but it is important for a person to know the difference and the difference is mostly a matter of the mind. This is where meditation comes in. Generally an active older adult cannot avoid pain, but they can control how much the “suffer” from pain. Studies have been done to show that long-term meditation can change the “wiring” of the brain in beneficial ways. Meditation activates the left prefrontal cortex which has been associated with greater levels of happiness. Personal happiness has a great deal to do with a person’s pain and suffering from the pain. Also, studies have shown that meditation can help reduce the pain signals from the thalamus to the higher brain centers where our brain interprets pain. Meditation is a huge part of biofeedback which has been shown to greatly help with a person’s pain. And where does our meditation always begin – proper breathing.

Studies have also shown that the vibrations we use, the Oms or the chanting (here we are back to breathing properly) helps to regulate the inhalations and exhalations we do. Regulating our inhalations/exhalations will regulate our involuntary muscle control, such as our heartbeats and blood pressure. Also, chanting helps us to redirect our thinking away from the pain we feel, giving a release, even for a short time, to our brain interpretation of pain, and we can learn to lengthen these periods of not necessarily removal of pain but ceasing to think out pain, thus teaching our bodies to do/think what we wish instead of the other way around. This has been found to be really helpful in older adults dealing with things such as fibromyalgia or even chemotherapy.

Older adults also seem to become depressed more easily than younger adults. Maybe our kids are grown and gone, we are unable to participate in golf or tennis the way we did due to illness or injury, whatever – depression is a huge problem in older adults. Many doctors want to treat depression with anti-anxiety drugs but yoga really leans toward a loftier goal. Yoga wants to quiet a restless mind, put us in touch with our deeper purpose in life, give us an inner source of calm and joy. Does this mean that older adults should not follow their doctor’s instructions and just do yoga? No. But it does mean we can incorporate the two to help a person to become well again, both in body and in spirit. And as we get older, we are less worried about our bodies than we are about our spirit.

If a person is physically able to do the sun salutations, these truly do bring energy into our bodies. Deep inhalations breathe energy into our bodies, and vigorous poses, such as the sun salutations or balance poses actually keep us from thinking about what may be our problems because we are too busy just trying to do the poses. The most important thing for people we work with who we know are suffering from depression is to not worry too much about their alignment (as long as we know they are not hurting themselves) but to just focus on their movement and breath. This keeps their mind focused. While they are focusing on the various movements and breathing, their body is taking in essential energy, stress relief, relaxation to help them combat depression. It works for everyone, no matter what their age but is particularly useful in older adults. Good poses for them are, along with the sun salutations are back bends because sending blood to their brains helps. It is always better to get quickly into the poses with persons who are depressed instead of focusing too much on relaxation or meditation because sometimes they can sink deeper into their depression and dark thoughts. It is also important to remember when you are doing their relaxation or savasana to keep their eyes open because closing their eyes causes them to focus inward and can lead to dark thoughts which are counterproductive to our practice.

We also understand that chanting and other devotional practices associated with yoga can help because they go directly to our emotions, again stimulating the left prefrontal cortex that is associated with calmness, happiness and emotional resiliency. Learning to bypass our bad thoughts and emotions through these practices can help us better deal with the emotional ups and downs of our lives.

Yoga also stresses a mind/body connection that some people think is elusive but yogis believe is essential. A good example of mind/body connection is does our mouth water when we think of apple pie? Does it elicit a good mood – a mood of contentment? On another level, are we so caught up in thinking of our problems that we cannot sleep? Are we so stressed about the difficulties we face as older adults that we develop an ulcer? Our physical bodies can affect our state of mind. We can’t walk as well as we used to so we become depressed. We take a hot bath to relax and relieve stress. Certain backbend poses can elicit a state of happiness in us. We can use different poses in yoga to make ourselves feel a certain way, and we can direct those poses specific to the older adult.

We need to remember to work on proper alignment, being careful to avoid poses that could cause problems with people with osteoporosis such as twists, lateral flexion and spinal flexion. We move gently through our poses incorporating spinal stabilization poses in every class, we feature poses that are comfortable and steady and encourage rest whenever necessary, we are cognizant of problems associated with older adults such as heart or blood pressure problems, and we urge the use of props, including chairs or walls for balance.

I have talked about asanas but I haven’t really covered the benefits of practicing yoga poses. Let’s take Big Toe pose – just a simple folding over of the body and holding your big toes. It, of course, benefits the low back. It also calms our brain to help relieve stress and anxiety, stimulates our liver and kidneys, stretches our hamstrings and calves, strengthens our thighs, improves digestion and helps relieve symptoms of menopause, headaches and insomnia. Next let’s take a look at a high lunge. It focuses on our ankles, calves, thighs, groin, abdomen, chest, shoulders, armpits and neck. It also helps with sciatica, heart problems and blood pressure problems. Warrior I focuses on the same as a high lunge, but also incorporates the lungs. It also strengthens the shoulders, arms and muscles of the back along with strengthening the thighs, calves and ankles. So even though I glossed over the poses a little, it would be exhaustive and take up the whole essay to discuss the benefits of each pose. Every pose strengthens, stretches and relaxes.

The purification we achieve from our twisting asanas help keep our systems working as God intended. As we wring our out visceral organs and the toxins are released into our bloodstreams, we flush them with water. Any twisting asana helps our bodies purify themselves.

Lastly, yoga also teaches us that the more we think something, the more likely we are to do it again. Our habits become deeper with more repetition. So our negative thinking or our self-flagellating inner dialogue may fuel depression. And the more an active older person sits alone or is inactive, the more they fuel their depression. So if we’re going to have a habit in our old age, let it be yoga. Let it be breathing properly, strength through asanas, meditation and purification through yoga. Let it be health in our mature years through yoga.

Karen Scully teaches Power and Hatha Yoga classes in Dallas, Texas.

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.

By Brittany Mott

The phone is ringing; coworkers are waiting at her desk with questions and paperwork; her to-do list is a million items long; no matter what she does she feels as though she will never be able to make a dent or any difference at all; she begins feeling as though she is suffocating in the 4×4 cubical; the phone is still ringing. Before she faces just one more thing that could possibly send her over the edge into a panic attack, she closes her eyes and indulges in a long inhalation…1…2…3…4…exhalation…1…2…3…4. A much calmer office worker suddenly feels as though she can take on the world.

What happened in this scenario? What caused this sudden change of attitude and emotion from the brink of a panic attack to the confidence and strength to take on more? The purpose of this paper is to delve into the following topics that will explain a powerful circle: 1) The effect of the mind on the body 2) The effect of the body on the mind and 3) Yoga: a healthy mind and body.

The first perspective we will look at is the effect of the mind on the body. You might say, “This is obvious. The mind makes our muscles move, which makes our bodies do what we want them to do.” But it goes much deeper than that. The mind has so many tools at its command that most people take for granted. How often does a person consider that each breath taken into the lungs carries oxygen to the bloodstream which in turn circulates the precious oxygen to each necessary part of the body including billions of cells and then expels the unwanted carbon dioxide when they exhale? It is time to realize that our minds have the ability to take control of powerful tools, such as breath for example. Our minds have the ability to ease pain in any part of the body by simply thinking about that part of the body. A simple test to prove this is to place a hand on a table and sit very still. Concentrate fully on the thumb and within a few moments, you will begin to feel it throbbing. Imagine the combination of thinking of a pained body part and sending healing breath to it at the same time?

The human mind has the ability to do this. However, this ability can be crippled by the mind itself. Negativity can invade, blocking impulses from being properly transmitted between the central-nervous system and the brain. When this happens, there are a number of consequences as a result. The brain cannot interpret impulses correctly, and this affects the functioning of the brain and body, leaving a person susceptible to disease and emotional distress. On the other hand, positivity can take over and have the opposite effect, enriching life with an increased life span, freedom from depression, greater resistance to the common cold, better psychological and physical well-being, reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and better coping skills during hardships and times of stress.

Study after study has proven the effects of negative and positive thinking on the body. A prime example is a person who is in a good mood, feeling perfectly healthy and someone comes up to them and gives them devastating news. The immediate reaction after shock could be a number of things: nausea, lightheadedness, weakness, pain, etc. An example of the other side of the coin is a person who is feeling sick or down and out and someone comes up and tells them something happy or funny. It will make the person laugh and that person will without a doubt feel some relief. One can easily see the effect of the mind on the body. One of the healthiest first steps that a person can take is using the mind to decide that he or she will think positively, opening the doors to health.

Yoga offers the opportunity to allow a person to step away from the hustle and bustle of daily life, to sit quietly, to move thoughtfully through a series of asanas, allowing the mind to use the tools it has been given to cleanse and revitalize the body. In twisting, one can literally wring tension from the center of the body, massaging the internal organs and promoting their healthy function of digestion and elimination. In balancing, one can regain confidence, develop strength, increase stamina and unite the mind and body working together to hold the body in place. In backbends, one can warm the system, rebelling against the constant forward activity that the body undergoes day in and day out for hours at a time, opening the chest to allow for better breathing. In inversions, one can defy the usual gravitational force, increasing the blood supply to organs that do not usually partake in the supply that lower extremities enjoy most of the time.

The second perspective to discuss is the effect of the body on the mind. It takes only a few moments to look around at those around us and see for ourselves. Those who take care of their bodies are healthier. And those that are healthier are happier. Virgil, a Roman Poet said, “The greatest wealth is health.” It does not matter how much money and how many possessions a person may have, if that person is not healthy, that person is not truly happy because they cannot fully enjoy the greatest material gift given to a human: life. Disease causes physical pain and as a result, causes emotional pain. Thoughts of “Why me?” and “I will never be able to do what I once could” and “never” and “quit” bombard the mind. One can easily see how the physical health can affect the mental health. But what steps can be taken to move toward a healthy body?

The first step to a healthy body is to start feeding it healthful foods, foods that do not hinder the bodily functions, but rather fuel them. Have you ever eaten a bag of chips, pure grease and salt, and felt like a zombie afterward? You don’t want to do anything, think anything, and everything just annoys you? The Sivananda Companion to Yoga states that “We are what we eat….Food is of course necessary for our physical well-being. But as well as this it also has a subtle effect on our minds, since the essence of food forms the mind.” How can the mind function properly when the body is drowned with tamasic (impure) food? The purest foods that can feed the body are the sattvic foods such as cereals, wholegrain breads, fresh fruits and vegetables, pure fruit juices, milk, butter and cheese, legumes, nuts, seeds, honey and herb teas (listed from the Sivananda Companion to Yoga). This is the diet of a yogi.

The second step to a healthy body, leading to a healthier mind, is to work the muscles and joints. Every part of the anatomy is intricately connected and if they are not worked now and then, connections fail, nerves are damaged, etc. Think of a broken leg. After 6 weeks of being trapped and useless inside a cast. Upon the removal of the cast, the muscles in the leg are almost comical in their diminished size. But after a few short days, the muscles are restored after light use. And then after much time, the muscles are as good, if not stronger, than they were before.

The same concept can be applied to yoga practice. Starting out as a somewhat broken structure, with consistent attention, care and practice, the body can be brought to a healthiness incomparable with what it was before. Yoga is the perfect solution for working each and every portion of the body by its innumerable combinations of postures and series. And in final relaxation, the yogi can feel a balance and peace of body as well as the mind. There is no other exercise in this age that allows more opportunity in one hour or even in fifteen minutes of sun salutations to work and lubricate every particle of the body.

The final perspective to look at is Yoga: a healthy mind and body. Yogis can hurt themselves with imbalance. Yogis that are trying to prove something to everyone but themselves prove nothing and hurt themselves. They want to see who can twist the most or bend the furthest. Their minds are in the wrong place. This will result only in a dissatisfied feeling after practice. The other extreme is when the yogis are not paying attention and let their minds wander, resulting in zero mastery of the body and possibly injury from pushing too far without realizing, or not pushing their edges enough.

There are many different types of yoga. Some of the types focus primarily on the mind, such as Raja, in which meditation is the bulk or all of the practice. Some types focus primarily on the body, such at Hatha, in which the bulk of the practice is in holding postures in order to build strength. No matter what type of yoga a person may choose, it is important that there be a balance between mental and physical work and mastery. Is that not what yoga is all about? The word yoga means “unity”. All of the yogas intertwine in one way or another. For instance, Hatha yoga requires the mastery of the body. But how do we master the body, but by our minds willing us to hold a posture? And how would Raja yoga be possible if the body were not trained to remain still, which is a work of the body itself, just a different fashion?

Returning to the scenario of the office worker, we now see what happened when the deep breath was taken. It was a connection of the mind and body. The mind telling the body, “You need to calm down.” And the body responding with a deep inhalation of oxygen, shooting energy straight to the brain, empowering the worker to take on more. The more a person practices yoga, the more natural it will become to take the yoga “off the the mat” and into the world to face challenges. If practiced correctly, yoga will naturally increase the yogi’s desire to treat the body more healthfully by feeding it with wholesome foods and moving it with purpose.

In conclusion, Healthy Mind=Healthy Body. Healthy Body=Healthy Mind. One cannot be without the other, so both must have care and attention. The perfect solution to giving special care and attention to both is Yoga: Healthy Mind and Body.

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health Organization, 1948).

A nursery rhyme said it well:

The best six doctors anywhere

And no one can deny it

Are sunshine, water, rest, and air

Exercise and diet.

These six will gladly you attend

If only you are willing

Your mind they’ll ease

Your will they’ll mend

And charge you not a shilling.

Wayne Fields, What the River Knows, 1990

Brittany Mott is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in the Clinton Township, Michigan area.