Yoga Teacher Training Forum

Human health is physical, mental, emotional and also spiritual. If we look at the history of humanity we find that in ancient times the healer was able to cater for the needs of every individual from a physical as well as a psychological point of view. It was only in this century that the discipline of health was divided into the physical, psychological and spiritual aspects.

Therefore, the aspect of physical health is now dependent on professionals who deal specifically with the body. The aspect of mental health is now the area of people who have studied, to whatever extent, how the mind functions and how mental imbalances can be treated with the means that are available today. Most of the aspect of spiritual health has been assigned to people who are knowledgeable in that particular field.

I come into the category of a person who thinks that the most appropriate method to attain optimum health is the system and science of yoga. Yoga is not only a series of physical postures or meditative practices.

It is a lifestyle which can be lived by everyone, not necessarily those who are sannyasins, sadhus or renunciates. It is a form of understanding, of realizing our interactions in life, trying to improve them, trying to understand the needs of the body, the needs of the mind and also the needs of the spirit. This is the concept of a yogic lifestyle: living according to the laws of the body and the laws of nature.

There are two paths in life: one is pravritti and the other is nivritti. Pravritti is generally defined as involvement with the world. Nivritti is defined as not being influenced or affected by the world, making an effort to understand, to realize the universal, the spiritual, the cosmic consciousness. Pravritti and nivritti are different sides of the same coin.

Just as the spider's web is sticky on one side and normal on the other, in the same way, pravritti is the sticky side of the spider's web and nivritti is the free side. No matter whom we are when we become involved with the world we undergo the same stresses and tensions.

We experience the world of object in its full glory in the form of pain and pleasure, satisfaction and dissatisfaction and it is the natural tendency of the mind to think about those things which it has experienced. Once this thinking pattern is established, it depends on the attitude and also on the intensity of self-awareness as to how one can extricate oneself from the cycle of continuous thoughts.

There are two words in English that everyone is aware of: stress and tension. When our mind, our faculties, come in contact with a situation, the first thing that happens is that we begin to experience stress. The stress can be due to an emotional connection and disturbance, a rational, intellectual connection and disturbance, a physical connection, a physical isolation, a moral connection, a moral isolation anything can become the cause of stress.

When this contact between the mind and the experience happens, and when the mind is not alert, not aware, then it begins to revolve around that experience, thought, feeling, emotion, event. It begins to think about it continuously. The more you think the more you are bound by the gravity of that particular experience and become stressed.

When that stress intensifies it takes the form of tension, tightness. When that tension is not released and it takes greater hold in the expressions of our mind, then psychological problems are often experienced. This is the beginning of a psychological imbalance and problem, and it keeps on snowballing eventually including the decrease of our physical well being. When a tiny ball of snow begins to roll down the hill it becomes bigger and bigger.

Yoga says that there are certain methods to extricate yourself from the sticky side of the mind. In order to again harmonize and balance yourself, you need to develop certain qualities and aspects of your nature, beginning with the ability to release the tensions through the process of relaxation. Relaxation is a systematic approach to letting go of the accumulated blockages, not only in the mind but also in the body.

After you are able to relax physically, mentally and emotionally, you are instructed through yoga to develop personal awareness, in order to witness yourself interacting with the world, society, family, and with your own limitations, ambitions and aspirations.

Awareness is the result of leading a yogic lifestyle. Afterwards, with awareness, you have to develop a sense of positivity towards yourself. When positive expressions are developed through the practices of reflection, concentration and introspection, which in common language is known as meditation, then you are able to harmonize the inner personality. When you experience inner harmony your body will be able to focus more on the physical aspects of your yoga practice.

This has been the yogic approach to mind management. In the field of health the concepts of yoga for the management of our mind and physical practice are combined, then that becomes a very powerful tool to awaken the facilities of your entire being. I have known of psychiatrists in the United States who are actively using the techniques of yoga in their practices.

At the end of one psychology conference a college professor of mine attended it was decided by the psychiatrists who were participating and who are eminent heads in their fields, to train their patients in the practice of yoga nidra so that they could learn how to let go of their mental tensions. Today yoga nidra has become an integral part, an accepted technique, of psychotherapy in Europe. The same thing has happened in Australia.

When we start to discuss the positive effects of yoga on physical health it is understood that mental health must be achieved first or the participants of yoga practice will not reap the full benefits of their practice. It is vital to help maintain good health. Yoga creates heat in the body through breathing and movement. That heat burns up extra calories in food and reduces the likelihood of these being converted into fat.

Regular exercise makes you fit, gives a general sense of well-being, improves appetite and sleep and makes the heart and circulation, lungs and respiration work more efficiently. Exercise carried out for about 20 minutes three times a week is beneficial for the body.

Physical Fitness can be measured in various aspects such as your balance, stamina, strength and flexibility. It is often assessed by measuring heart rate after exercise. Fitness can also be measured in terms of the strength and flexibility of specific muscles, the proper breathing though yoga practice greatly increase oxygen flow to all muscle groups. Thus allowing the body to maintain muscle strength and flexibility. Optimal physical fitness requires both aerobic exercises, which can be found in Ashtanga practice and muscle - strengthening and flexibility exercises, which can found in Hatha.

The World Health Organization has defined health as a ' state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease'. Good health is a condition of physical and mental well being, free from disease, pain or defect that enables us to live our lives with choices and with vitality. When all the organs of your body function normally in relation to your age and gender, you are considered to be in good physical health.

The need to adopt a healthy life style, particularly with regard to diet and the taking of exercise, of which yoga is an integral part, is important to maintain good health. So, we are not here to talk about high concepts, but rather to see what the simple things are which we can adopt either in therapy or in our lifestyle to experience harmony in our minds.

Yoga offers these different possibilities through its systems of relaxation and concentration, asana and pranayama. I would definitely request my students to understand the principles of yoga by practicing yoga. I am sure that these sciences of yoga will provide a very good opportunity for the yogis to keep all aspect of their selves healthy.

The recommendations for asana practice to change our lives, including the stress response, are different in different traditions. A Yoga practice that focuses only on physical remedies is limited, for it deals only with physiology and not psychology. Similarly, a practice that is formed around moral precepts and exhortations to change ones lifestyle has distinct limitations, for behavior modification is not simple.

Thus, a combined practice of physical postures, breathing exercises and meditation in a sequence is the best compromise to meet the present day needs of the society. The results of these practices can be enhanced much more if one follows all the recommended restraints and observances in everyday life. These restraints and observances are the yamas and niyamas of classical Yoga.

The ethics and morality of the traditional texts help lay a groundwork for moderate, compassionate living, but behavior change is complex and ones personality is rooted in layers of unconscious conditioning. While it should be noted to all that Yoga is not a religion, but rather a complete lifestyle practice with many benefits to all aspects of a persons health.

The author of this work is unknown.