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Yoga’s Relationship to Fibromyalgia

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

By Marlene Saxe

There have been many occasions after completing a yoga practice that I have heard the Statement “You know since I have been doing yoga my _____________ is so much better.” I have said it many times myself. Through the practice of yoga my knees don’t hurt and my balance is better. I am taller and stronger and more flexible than ever. I am much more aware of my surroundings and feel more peaceful in my daily life. I am far more comfortable with myself since I began yoga. Clearly yoga is the root of my wellbeing and I believe can be too many other people. It is doctor recommended for stress, arthritis, back pain, depression, and high blood pressure to name a few. People with fribromyalgia can use yoga to relieve their symptoms there by helping them manage their disorder.

Fibromyalgia is a painful disorder that is characterized by multiple tender points. These tender points are localized areas of soreness around the joints. Common spots can be found on the upper back, chest, neck, hips, elbows, and knees. The Mayo Clinic defines fibromyalgia as a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. The article goes on to say “While there is no cure for fibromyalgia, a variety of medications can help control symptoms. Exercise, relaxation and stress-reduction measures also help. Exercise, relaxation and stress reduction are all components of Yoga. So yoga is the answer, Right? Well let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The pain from fibromyalgia is similar to other disorders and it may not be constant. People with fibromyalgia have a lower threshold for pain because there is an increased sensitivity to pain signals in the brain. Fibromyalgia literally means muscle fiber pain. Some research says the brains of people with fibromyalgia change from repeated nerve stimulation. There is an abnormal increase in the level of a certain chemical or more accurately a mediator found in the spinal fluid of the fibromyalgia population. The brain’s pain receptors seem to have a memory of the pain and become more sensitive and over react to the neurotransmitter’s pain signals.

Another important finding for people with fibromyalgia is that this disease does not damage the joints, bones or the internal organs. And it does not progress to death. Knowing that can be reassuring, but it does not diminish the pain. Today doctors have more information about this disease, but many doctors do not know how to do the exam to diagnose it. In 1990, the American College of Rheumatology (ARC) established two criteria for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia; the first one is widespread pain lasting more than 3 months and the second one having at least 11 positive tender points — out of 18.

Typically blood tests are done to rule out any other underlying conditions that may also cause pain.

Currently treatment for fibromyalgia includes medications such as analgesics, antidepressants and anti-seizure drugs. Therapy for both physical and emotional support. Acupuncture although not used as much can be effective. Acupuncture a Chinese medicine is the insertion of fine needles into the skin at various depths. It has been interpreted to be a change in the blood flow and levels of neurotransmitters in the brain and spinal cord. Studies have been inconsistent in its effectiveness. Massage Therapy can help with stress and anxiety, relax muscles, and improve range of motion in joints.

Lifestyle changes play a critical rule in reducing symptoms and improving health. Changes include:

Reducing Stress both physical and emotional stress.

Developing Regular sleep habits and limiting daytime napping

Exercise regularly can often decrease symptoms

Pace yourself moderation is key

Maintain a healthy weight a well balance diet and limiting caffeine

Yoga and Tai Chi have been recommended to help control fibromyalgia symptoms. Slow movements, deep breathing and relaxation minimize the strain on muscles. Yoga and fibromyalgia are a great combination for stretching, strengthening and relaxation. Yoga can improve your outlook, improve your body and help you sleep. Of course not all yoga poses are good for persons with fibromyalgia. But there are many poses that can be done safely that can become a practice that can provide relief from pain.

There is a great deal of information on the internet that addresses chronic pain management. These articles all seem to have the same approach to yoga practice and fybromyalgia. Yoga practice begins with warming up muscles. Walk around get your yoga mat, a blanket, 2 blocks whatever you think you will need for your practice all the while you are warming up and getting your blood flowing. For persons with fybromyalgia gentle smooth movements combined with deep breathing slowly warm up the joints. These movements should feel good, if there is pain back off. Begin by rotating the joints clockwise they counter clockwise. A full body warm up includes toes, ankles, knees, legs, hips, trunk, arms, elbows wrists, each finger, each knuckle and the neck. This warm up has been shown to have wonderful effects. Doing this warm up for 10 minutes daily can improving circulation, increases range of motion and best of all this warm up can prevent pain from building up in muscle tissue. For example Mountain pose for good posture and alignment. Reaching for the Stars can energize and release tension. Forward bend can promote flexibility in the spine and Dancer’s Pose can help balance. All poses can be modified to accommodate anyone. Remember Gentle tension is best, don’t push knowing your tolerance is important. Take breaks, don’t over exert and always use proper body alignment. Arm and foot rolls can add strengthen arms and feet. Active breathing and an abdominal lift can stimulate digestive system and calm the central nervous system.

Other tips for persons with fibromyalgia practicing yoga. Try not to over do it. If you are tired one day don’t forgo your practice do the warm up and stick to restorative poses such as legs up the wall pose and seated forward bend. And don’t spear the props. Blocks, blankets and bolsters can be an asset. And second learn when to work through the discomfort of fibromyalgia verses a sharp pain that comes from compressing a joint or straining a ligament. This can make all the difference in sticking to a yoga practice and managing the symptoms of fibromyalgia. One article said the most important tip is don’t give up. Staying motivated can be a real challenge to people with fibromyalgia, but

Making a commitment and regular practice of yoga can be just what fibromyalgia suffers need. Lack of neither time nor ability should stand in the way. Physical and physiological benefits can be achieved in a regular 10 to 15 minute a day practice. A goal can be to practice for an hour, but fibromyalgia sufferers need to be realistic this is about their health. Not all yoga classes are suitable, peer presser may cause a person to over do it. Know that there are many modifications for yoga warm up, yoga poses and final relaxations otherwise known as Savasana.

Through my research I found Anita Murray who is a Professional Health Coach, Nutritionist and suffered from fibromyalgia. In addition to nutrition and vitamins Anita Murray recommends the practice of yoga. She suggested five things to concentrate on.

1. Breathing long deep breaths through the nose

2. Keeping eyes focused on one spot

3. The Alignment of your body

4. The sensations in your body

5. Tightened stomach and Kegal muscles

Beginning each yoga practice with a warm up and end with a relaxation. Some standing yoga postures Murray recommends are mountain pose, reach for the stars, half forward bends, modified dancer’s pose, arm/foot rolls, standing twists and abdominal lifts.

I asked three woman ages 38, 57 and 42 all diagnosed with fibromyalgia what it was like to have this disorder and how they manage their symptoms. They all complained of wide spread body pain, lack of energy, depression, sensitivity to light, temperature, sound and touch. All three women took medication, all had massage therapy although not regularly, none of the women had tried acupuncture, but all did some type of exercise. The 42 year old did yoga on 3 – 4 times a week at home. The 57 year old exercised 1 to 3 times a week at a gym primarily on the treadmill since the classes went too fast for her. Occasionally she liked the water class but had a hard time hearing the instructor. The 38 year old belonged to a gym. She used free weights and the elliptical machine when she felt up to it. She had attended a yoga class at the gym, but had a hard time fitting it into her schedule. All three women agreed when stretching and some exercise when part of their day felt better mentally and physically.

There are videos for beginners that are suitable for persons with fibromyalgia. A.M. P.M. Yoga for beginners and Kathy Smith New Yoga Basics for Beginners could be a great starting place. Chair yoga is also another alternative. Find a class, get a video ask a friend just get on the mat three times a week or better yet every day. Some days may be corpse pose, other days may be a warm up, but the important thing is to set aside time to regularly practice. Yoga is not a cure, but taking the time for slow-easy movement, meditation and deep breathing will calm the central nervous system and help manage the pain from fibromyalgia.

In conclusion, it is my opinion that people with fibromyalgia could better control their symptoms with a regular practice. If the yoga practice was presented in a way that would allow them complete freedom to participate in any way they are able. Yoga is not a competition it is as unfolding as a morning stretch and relaxing as the surrender before sleep. Yoga is a healing and uplifting gift for everyone.

Marlene Saxe is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Tags: certified yoga teacher, doing Yoga, fibromyalgia, teaches yoga classes, yoga's relationship
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Yoga and Its Relation to Health – An Overview

Saturday, October 15th, 2011

By Barbara J. Euser

Yoga is a complete system for improving the health of the body and the mind. Although many people begin to practice yoga for its physical benefits, they immediately begin to learn that yoga is much more than an exercise program. Yoga offers psychological benefits through the practice of the asanas and also through meditation, which may be part of all Yoga classes. Ultimately, Yoga moves beyond physical and mental health to include spiritual improvement and well-being. Yoga is so rich and complex that it is more correctly referred to as a way of life – a very healthy way of life.

On the physical side, yoga asanas are a gentle form of exercise that allows the gradual stretching of muscles: forward bends, back bends, twists and inversions from seated, standing and prone positions. The body itself provides resistance, so there is no need for additional equipment like the weights used in other exercise programs. Unlike the violent muscle movements advocated in other physical exercise programs, Yoga is non-violent and moderately paced. Bodies toned by yoga exercise are strong without overdeveloped muscles. They are supple from stretching in every direction.

Each of the asanas benefits one or more of the body’s systems: respiration, circulation, alimentation or elimination. As one performs the various asanas, circulation increases. Blood flows more freely throughout the entire body and circulatory problems may begin to correct themselves. If a practitioner has certain health issues, they can be addressed through the choice of asanas that are known to benefit that condition. For example, a number of asanas such as Knees to the Chest, Plough Posture (Halasana) and Child Posture aid digestion and help to correct constipation.

Yoga asanas can be done at any level from the most basic to the most advanced. As coordination and mobility increase and muscles become more flexible and supple, the practitioner can perform more difficult asanas. A number of asanas can be seen as a series of poses that move from less challenging to more challenging. For example, in Tree Pose (Vrksasana) at the easiest level, the hands are held in prayer position. Next, the hands are held over the head. Then Tree may become Toppling Tree as the practitioner becomes more stable moving about while balancing on one leg. From Shoulder Stand (Sarvangasana), one may drop one’s legs into Plough Position and move through several variations of Plough before returning to Shoulder Stand. Head Stand (Sirsasana) may be done with vertical legs, spread legs, horizontal legs, folded legs, legs in Lotus Position, and body twists.

Many of the most difficult asanas are beyond the ability of those who have practiced for many years. The challenge never disappears. Although Yoga may prove endlessly challenging for the fit, it is also infinitely adaptable. Yoga can be adapted for practice with children, pregnant women and the aged. Yoga asanas may be adapted for people who have limited mobility, for example, people who are grossly overweight. They may begin a Yoga practice sitting in a chair. They may be able to do only the arm movements of the postures to begin with. They may use the chair to assist them with their balance in standing asanas. They may not be able to get up from being seated on the floor, but with aid of a chair to prop their legs on, they may be able to approximate some seated asanas. The success they achieve with these modified postures may inspire them to do more and eventually begin to tackle their most significant health issues. From children through adults, from pregnant women to those have impaired mobility to the aged, everyone benefits from the physical exercises including breath control. Yoga – like health – is a lifelong pursuit.

Breathing deeply and fully is one of the most basic elements of good health. Unfortunately, because breathing is accomplished automatically, unless people begin to practice yoga or meditation, they often remain unaware of how they breathe. The study of pranayama in yoga is critical to maintaining good health. Yoga increases our awareness of how we breathe. Once we become aware of how we breathe, we can begin to breathe consciously, aware of each inhale, each exhale and the pauses in between inhaling and exhaling. Yogis have determined that there is an ideal ratio for the phases of breathing. Exhalation should take twice as long as inhalation and the pause between inhalation and exhalation should be four times as long as inhalation. Thus the ideal ratio is 1:4:2. One is not expected to achieve this ratio instantly. As one begins to work with the breath, one can use a ratio of 1:2 for inhalation and retention, then move to 1:4. With exhalation the ratio can be 1:4:4 until one can manage 1:4:2. This way of breathing is far from the way we ordinarily breathe. It requires practice to fully breathe into the diaphragm, as most of us normally breathe into only the upper part of our lungs. We tend to ignore our diaphragms. Learning to breathe in Yoga is learning to breathe for the first time.

As people age and become less active, their breathing tends to become more and more shallow. If they do not exert themselves from time to time so that they have a reason to breathe deeply, their lungs are never fully inflated. The unused areas of the lungs become susceptible to disease and infections such as pneumonia. However, practitioners of yoga learn to breathe into the deepest parts of their lungs and keep oxygen flowing throughout the entire respiratory system.

Pranayama may be performed as a separate practice, or pranayama exercises may be included in a Yoga class. Additional pranayama exercises include breathing through one nostril, breathing in alternate nostrils, and breathing through alternate nostrils and retaining breath. After one does pranayama exercises, even though one returns to normal breathing, the element of increased awareness remains. If people can maintain healthy breathing habits, they can live fuller lives for a longer time.

Yoga advocates a healthy diet: fruit, nuts, grains, vegetables, pulses and milk products including butter, yogurt and cheese. The yoga diet does not include meat, poultry, fish, eggs or alcohol. According to Yoga, there are three categories of food. The food that Yogis consume is called Sattvic, or pure food. The category of food that contains meat, poultry, fish and eggs is called Rajasic. This category also contains spicy food and strong-flavored food. The third category of food is called Tamasic. This category includes foods that are rotten or overripe. This category is considered the worst category of food for people to consume. Unfortunately, for meat to become tender, it is often allowed to age, which is synonymous with beginning to rot. Eating meat in this case is not only Rajasic, it is Tamasic food.

If Yoga practitioners cannot become complete vegetarians, at least they can consciously limit the amount of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and alcohol they consume to a modest amount. Or they may consume small amounts of eggs and fresh fish and forego aged red meat. There are many possible compromises. Again, consciousness of our diet, like consciousness of breathing, enables us to control that aspect of our lives. Even in their diet Yoga practitioners are non-violent.Yoga practitioners are vegetarian because they believe it is a healthier diet and also because they abhor the violence of killing animals for food.

Because of their diet and breathing and exercise, yoga practitioners begin to appear differently. Their bodies respond to the physical demands of asanas, becoming thinner and more flexible. As they breathe deeply, they more fully oxygenate the blood that flows throughout their bodies and their skin looks healthier. Then physical changes connect to mental changes. The slow, thoughtful movements of yoga asanas promote a calming of the spirit. As our bodies adopt the rhythm of vinyasa – asana flow – and focus on pranayama – breathing – our minds become more centered. Calm, centered minds are better able to deal with the elements of stress we encounter in our daily lives.

The physical practice of Hatha Yoga leads naturally to the practice of Raja Yoga: meditation. A part of each yoga class can be devoted to meditation, either guided or unguided. As pranayama increases awareness of what is going on in our lungs, meditation increases awareness of what is going on in our minds. As we become aware of the incessant, unconnected thoughts streaming through our minds – the “monkey chatter” – we can learn to release those thoughts and, as a result, release our minds from the stress those thoughts cause.

When we practice Yoga meditation, we sit comfortably on the ground, legs crossed in a position we can maintain for the duration of the meditation. For some people this is the Easy Position, for others it may be Lotus (Padmasana) position. Those who are uncomfortable crossing their legs may sit with their legs folded underneath them in Thunderbolt position. Those who cannot sit on the ground can sit in a straight-backed chair with their feet flat on the ground. The important thing is to ground oneself – preferably in actual contact with the ground. The spine should be straight to allow energy to flow up and down unimpeded.

Yoga meditation requires concentration (Dharana), which may be on a point which one sees with one’s eyes, such as a candle flame or flower blossom in Trataka; on an audible sounds or series of sounds, as in Mantra meditation; or on a visual form such as a mandala in Yantra meditation. While we concentrate in meditation, our feelings of stress are suspended.

Some doctors believe that all physical illness arises from stress. According to Dr. Ben Johnson, “We’ve got a thousand different diagnoses and diseases out there. They’re just the weak link. They’re all the result of one thing: stress. If you put enough stress on the chain and you put enough stress on the system, then one of the links breaks.” As we relieve stress through meditation, we not only improve our mental health, we increase our potential for physical health. Yoga teaches us that our mental and physical systems are intrinsically linked: they are one.

The ultimate goal of yoga is to allow the practitioner to become one with God, Atman, Higher Consciousness, The Force. In that sense, physical and mental health are only by-products of the journey – but what valuable by-products they are!

Barbara J. Euser is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in Lakonia, Greece.

Tags: certified yoga teacher, practice yoga, teaches yoga, teaches yoga classes, ultimate goal of yoga, yoga and, yoga is
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YOGA AND ITS RELATION TO HEALTH

Saturday, March 26th, 2011

BY JANE POLLARD

There are many differing types of yoga, each has its own uniqueness, they all however have a tendency to overlap and fuse. The meaning of yoga is union, a coming together of mind, body and spirit. Many people today see yoga as a yuppie trend; however more and more people are awakening to yoga and the huge benefits it can bring to our lives and the lives of those living with us and around us.

The benefits of yoga act upon three elements, the physical, the mental and of course the spiritual. The benefits of yoga are endless and each person will experience differing benefits, depending on their age, anatomical makeup and level of experience, but one thing is certain, the list of benefits will go on and on.

Yoga bridges the sexes, religion and the age barriers and is open and available to all who embrace it, it is now widely available in private sessions, gyms and in halls and venues all over the world. The world that we live in today, is a far cry from the world our parents and grandparents experienced.

Today we live in a world of unrelenting commerce, finance, peer pressure and a race to achieve at all costs. Computers and mobile telephones, take over our lives, with e mails, social networking sites, computer games and large amounts of electronic chatter, numbing and dulling our senses, ability and creativity and blocking us from reaching our full potential as human beings.

At the same time, we are driven longer and harder by the fact we make ourselves available to disturbance wherever we are, by the fact we are now contactable 24/7/365 to anyone who wants us, via mobile telephone, texts and emails, when do we switch off, can we switch off? Even when we are on holiday, a trip we have planned months in advance, a trip to switch off, enjoy the fruits of our labour, this intrusion still exists, never really allowing a cut off point, a breathing space a time to relax and reflect.

People today can travel long distances to get to their place of work, adding to the already longer working day, driving now is so very stressful and equally, dangerous. The stress of driving can be felt by most of us, even those who travel relatively short distances. Competitiveness in every aspect of our lives is also a massive strain, to earn more money, to have a better car, a bigger house, a better job, this competitiveness and materialistic approach, eventually causes us to lose sight of why we are here, we lose our way.

The result of this stress and strain can be seen all around us, if we take the time to observe. Meltdown, nervous breakdowns, stress, anxiety, miscarriage, depression, compulsive nervous disorders, suicide, divorce. I believe each and every one of us have someone we know who has experienced one or more of the above and you will know how this has affected their life and the lives of the people they live with and know.

To combat the above, some people take drugs, prescription and illegal, they smoke excessively, drink themselves into oblivion, and gamble and it is a vicious and precarious downward spiral that seems too difficult to escape from. The effect this has on the body, is truly profound. It affects our adrenals, as we are permanently tuned in to fight or flight mode.

This in itself puts enormous strain on our heart and can cause heart attack or stroke. It can affect all of our vital organs, it affects our ability to think clearly and make logical decisions and choices and it affects our feeling of being alive and blocks our creativity. Our body is being controlled, not by us, but by external forces, alcohol, drugs etc. We are not in control; we cannot make proper choices and decisions, which further has sometimes, catastrophic outcomes.

Our life goes into free fall; we are out of control and can only watch in apathy. We are alive, but we are not living. Stress can seriously hamper our life and our life’s progress, tiring us out with illnesses and insomnia. The practice of yoga has truly positive effects on our life and those around us and this acts on a very deep level. The gentle stretching and sometimes challenging poses, allow our muscles to release deep seated tension that is being held there.

Yoga works on every muscle group, thus giving us much more flexibility and over time allows us to feel more power and strength in our limbs and allows a greater scope of flexibility and movement. This means that the spine is nourished and strengthened, allowing better posture. Age is often measured by the flexibility of the spine, so having a healthy flexible spine is indeed a great asset.

Feeling strong and flexible in the body, makes the individual confident and much healthier and younger, the feeling of a renewed energy and power to do more will flow through and make a positive difference to the life we lead. Yogic breathing allows us to breathe in a way that we have probably never been open to before. This deep breathing brings in rich oxygen to the lungs, expanding them to a new level and filling them with prana.

This in turn strengthens the nervous system and the brain assisting our health further. Breathing out very deeply and fully, detoxifies the stale air lying within the lungs and with each new deep breath, new clean rich oxygen, reaches new areas of our lungs, which is of such benefit to all parts of our body; it broadens the chest as well as improving the whole process of digestion.

The focus and awareness that yoga brings within those peaceful, deliberate, elegant movements, just us and our mat, that being at one, have a deeply spiritual and calming effect on the whole body, the muscles are stretched, the joints are lubricated, this in turn brings a new flexibility. Mobility and coordination becomes improved and this in turn alleviates stiffness and difficulty in movement.

Peace, relaxation, harmony and deep preparation and meditation, these focus the mind, allow clear thinking, lower the blood pressure and take the strain away from the heart. This then allows all of the organs in our body to go back to normal mode, instead of that dangerous and constant fight or flight mode. The relaxing meditation at the end of each session, allows the body to assimilate all of the changes that the yoga practice has brought about.

We relax, we let go completely, and we simply just be. The act of meditation can be considered as mental hygiene, so we should consider meditating during and outside of our Yoga practice, to ensure that we maximise the wonderful benefits this can bring into our lives, clearing out the masses of mental clutter we all carry with us. Over time with our yoga practice, we begin to make changes, it is almost like a metamorphosis, we stop smoking, perhaps even stop drinking, we begin naturally to eat and drink more healthily, we begin to assess our lives and often make radical changes to the way in which we live on a day to day basis.

Nature becomes more important, we can go out and fill our lungs with fresh clean air and notice the beauty that is all around us that possibly we have never even enjoyed or noticed before and whilst doing this and leaving all of the stress behind, we can achieve further exercise. Walking in nature is itself a form of meditation and so we will be doubling the effect of our stress relief and the benefits we get from this.

Many other changes will be made, often these are unconscious decisions, but they will be made, it is a new progression. Our lives become richer, much healthier; we will become less stressed, calmer and will be less likely to carry excess weight. We will enjoy a new level of flexibility, which in turn allows us to be more mobile and affords us new avenues of life, we did not have before. The benefits to us are, we will have more energy, feel younger and more alive, have new levels of alertness and creativity, again opening new channels, new directions, new doors open up to our lives.

We open ourselves up to 100% of the opportunities and possibilities that are all around us. We will automatically feel youthful and it will directly have an effect on our whole body from our face to our toes, a new spring in our step. We will cut down the risk of liver and kidney failure, heart attack and of course stroke. Yoga is now a great part of a great deal of people’s lives as a way of living. Yoga can be completed in the home, in the office as well as in the studio; you can meditate anywhere, except when driving of course. Yoga books, CDs and DVDs are in abundance, as are the differing types of yoga.

There are now dedicated magazines to inform and educate us as to all of the benefits that are available to all of us and keep us fresh with new ideas and inspirational stories of peoples’ real experiences with yoga. Yoga is now being introduced into senior homes and schools, which is so beneficial to all, young children can now be educated at a very young age, as to the health benefits yoga can bring and they can weave this into their lives into adulthood, passing on to their families a whole new cycle of awareness, creating a much more healthy and aware society.

In senior homes, it is giving a new purpose and focus to its residents and allowing them gently to feel and experience the benefits yoga practice can give, especially in terms of mobility and flexibility and this cannot be ignored. Yoga can bring a wealth of benefits into our life for our health both mind, body and spiritual health.

Knowledge is power and yoga gives us tremendous power as an individual and can pave the path for many, to spiritual enlightenment and pave the way for a whole new and enlightening experience. Yoga gives the body physical health from the inside out, and is a complete physical health package.

Jane Pollard is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in the Wirral, Merseyside, UK area.

Tags: benefits of yoga, certified yoga teacher, teaches yoga, teaches yoga classes, types of yoga, yoga is
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Yoga in History

Saturday, February 26th, 2011

By Irina Burlack

At times we said that history should have been left alone but in case of Yoga it is opposite; the history of Yoga must be remembered for the nature of Yoga and the beautiful past the Yoga to be fully appreciated. To fully understand the significance of Yoga we will start from the beginning when Yoga first was mentioned in the history, then relate to the five specific time periods that are significant to Yoga and the first mentioning of Pranayama. First, the meaning of Yoga can be introduced. Yoga is related to the study of the mind and the body; the Sanskrit meaning of Yoga was derived from the root word “yuj” that meant “to control,” “to unite” and “to yoke.” The direct translations of Yoga were such as “joining,” “uniting” and “conjunction”; another translations of the word Yoga were “contemplation” and absorption.” All the above mentioned translation fit in with the practice of Yoga; some of the meaning such as the contemplation is more associated with Raja Yoga, where through contemplation that the difference of prakti (nature) and purusha (pure consciousness) took place.

The known beginning of Yoga occured from prehistoric period and progressed out of the Ancient Indian asceticism, which could be explained as a form of living that took place when person denounced all of the physical possessions and devoted himself to the spiritual practice. Yoga was first set forth in the Yoga Sutras of Pantajali as the Hindu Philosophy. Pantajali was the gatherer of the historic collection of aphorisms in Yoga practice; Yoga Sutras were seen as the foundational scripture for Yoga. These Sutras were created on the Samkhya philosophy and they are seen as the actual practice, while the Samkhya is the theory. This is known to be the earliest school of Yoga and it came to be known by the retronym Raja Yoga to distinguish itself from the school that came to take place in later years.

One of the first clues for finding out more about Yoga came from the discovery of the steatite seals in Indus Valley Civilization that took place from 3300-1700 B.C. The steatite seal was actually soapstone formed from the massive variety of Talc. These steatite seals displayed figures that were in various postures of meditation-like; this meditation-like posture was seen as some sort of discipline rituals that suggested the start point of actual practice of Yoga according to the Indus archeologists. There were sixteen specific Yogi carvings that were devoted to the ritualistic discipline; the carvings suggest that the Yoga-like postures must have been practiced by the common people as well as the deities alike. Most known of the postures was named the Pashupati seal that is suspected to be the representation of “proto-Shiva” figure. Many scholars continue to support the connection between the progression of Yoga in later years and the carvings found in the Indus Valley.

The ancient practices were vaguely hinted in the Vedas; the ascetic practices are referenced in the Brahmanas that took place between 900 B.C.E. and 500 B.C.E., which were some of the early commentaries on the Vedas. An early mentioning of the meditation was made in the Upanishads, specifically in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, one of the earlier Upanishads, approximately 900 B.C.E. Some of the more specific and the main textual references to Yoga are introduced in the middle Upanishads, 400 B.C.E.; the Mahabharata including the Bhagavad Gita, 200 B.C.E.; also the previously mentioned Yoga Sutras of Pantajali, 200 BCE-300 C.E.

Specifically in the Maitrayaniya Upanishad, 200-300 B.C.E., yoga represented as the Shadanga Yoga, which is the uniting discipline of the six limbs as following: 1) breath control or Pranayama, 2) sensory inhibition or Pratyahara, 3) meditation or Dhyana, 4) concentration or Dharana, 5) examination or Tarka, and 6) ecstasy or Samadhi. In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the earliest Upanishad that was created approximately in 900 B.C.E., an early meditation reference is made; over all Yoga is referenced quite often in the Upanishads, many of which came about before the Pantajali’s Sutras. But the first actual term Yoga is used in middle Upanishad or Katha Upanishad, which is one of the most well-known of the Upanishads. This text was presents a dialogue between aspiring disciple and the Ruler of Death about the great and unknown “Heareafter”; this Upanishad suggests connection to Buddhist ideas.

Now we must examine the specific historic times of Yoga evolution. The five significant time periods of Yoga are Vedic Yoga, Pre-classic Yoga, Classic Yoga, Post-classic Yoga, and Modern Yoga time periods. The Vedas, which are the collection of hymns and rituals over 3000 years old, contain the oldest written history of Indian culture and yogic practice. Vedic Yoga is also called or known as the Archaic Yoga, centers around the idea of reconciling the visible and tangible material world with the invisible spiritual world through the practice of sacrificing. To perform these ritualistic practices, the people had to keep the mind on a high level concentration; such inner focus is the necessity to enhance the sensory and human ability and it is the root of Yoga practice.

Vedic prophets, who had gained insight on the origin of life and its existence and known as the Rishis, communicated the Vedic teaching to the religious elite as well as the common people. These prophets created hymns that centered on the knowledge and wisdom to the human beings and that had the possibility to higher the new level of understanding for the people. The creation of Vedas is the sacred scripture to Brahmanism, which is the basis for Hinduism and it marks the Vedic Yoga. Pre-classic Yoga period followed next, which spans about 200 years, until the year of 200. This time period revolved around the Upanishads, which is the collection of written records centered on meta-physical theory. Upanishads, like the Vedas, are known as enigmatic discovery; unlike the public exposure of Vedas, Upanishads were secret texts.

Approximately 200 scriptures pertained directly to Yoga practice and the complete connection between all things in the world. At this point Yoga began to evolve into a specific form that we know today. The idea of individual thought and belief began to take place, while the secret teaching from Upanishads spread from teachers to students or from gurus to yogis. About 500 B.C., the Bhagavad Gita, which is the most well-know work among all Hinduic and Yogic literature, was created during this time period. This is a story of a conversation that took place between the god of Hinduism, Krishna, and prince named Arjuna. The plot of the story took place in the battlefield; this location is often perceived as metaphor for various distractions of our turbulent world, which became the main basis for Yogic practice of meditation. The text told a story of how the Prince Arjuna had to seek advice on breaking the bonds that were placed on him by the material attractions of the world; he was seeking to set himself free from these bonds. Krishna gave Arjuna the direction to follow, which was through devotion or Bhakti Yoga; keen mind or Jhana Yoga; by separating from ego or karma Yoga; only then the moksha or the freedom from the bonds could be accomplished. Bhagavad Gita is a complex text that is needed to be studied in order to be understood.

Classical Yoga period, eight-limbed Yoga, was introduced by the Patanjali’s Sutras. During this period Yoga was presented in a systematic and approachable structure; many yogis see this system as important source of Yogis understanding. Many Yoga practitioners at certain point of their study find this literature; many times this text is posted with commentaries for a better understanding. As previously mentioned, Patanjali thought that a person consists of two parts-matter and soul; the goal of Yoga practice was to free the soul from the material attachments in order to take its original, pure state. This view was many times perceived and described as philosophical dualism; this view created an interesting perspective because most of the Indian philosophy is non-dualistic.

The world was perceived as two different aspects of the same shapeless and pure but conscious existence. The many developed new schools and styles of Yoga during this period of time were known to be Post-classical Yoga that follower after the creation of Sutras. Unlike the Classical Yoga period, at this time Yoga was non-dualistic and integrated many Vedic traditions into the practice of Yoga. The past Yoginis concentrated much more on the aspect of studying the mind; they focused on the concentration and meditation and their goal was to leave their physical bodies for something high in energy, which was their shapeless form. But during the Post-classical period Yoginis turned their attention towards human body and the need to tune in to the energy of the body and they turned their presence to experiencing the body. The new generation Yoginis during the Post-classical period developed number of exercises foe the body to practice; they had also developed the connection between the exercises, breathing, and meditation, which they believed would have kept the body young and prolong the lifespan of the people, who practiced Yoga. The body was seen as the temple of the soul and there was no longer a need to leave the body to achieve the higher level of being. The Post-classical Yoga period created a path for Hatha Yoga, as it is practiced today, as well as Tantra Yoga, which is focused on divinity named Shakti.

The Modern Yoga period was seen to begun at Parliament of Religions in 1893, located in Chicago. Swami Vivekananda from India created a deep impression on the people that were present at this meeting; he introduced Yoga. Swami Vivekananda became one of the most-known people in the Parliament; he traveled throughout the US and presented speeches on Yoga practice. After his presence in US, there was a flood of many other Yoga gurus and teachers that came to US and opened schools of Yoga; the number of people in US, who loved Yoga increased continuously. Yoga gurus traveled to Europe but the connection between Yoga and the people there was not as strong as it was in US. Hatha Yoga came to blossom when a Russian Indra Devi, opened a Yoga Studio that was located in Hollywood, in the year of 1947. She sparked even greater passion for Yoga and she was famous for teaching movie starts as well as other people, who were interested in becoming certified Yoga instructors.

During 1950s, a book about Yoga being part of a sport exercises was written by Selvarajan Yesudian; this book was published in more than fourteen languages. This sparked the practice of Yoga by professional sport players, such as players on the NBA, athletes of Chicago Bulls. During the 1960s, Yoga gained even more reputation through television programs and the devotion of the Beatles star. Yoga was becoming a way of living and being, and not only a form of bodily exercise. Dalai Lama, who was awarded the Nobel Peace prize winner and was a Yogi from Tibet, has encouraged many people to take up the practice of Yoga. Today is another period for the development of Yoga and the Yoga practice continuous to gain more devotees, who attend workshops and classes to learn more about the fascinating practice of Yoga; it was said that 30 million people practice Yoga regularly. Yoga taught and continued to teach people that although we cannot always control the worldly problem but we can learn how to face them.

References:

http://yoga-central.net

http://abc-of-yoga.com

http://allaboutspirituality.com

http://yogabasics.com

http://americanyogaassociation.org

http://yogaweb.com

Irina Burlack is a certified Yoga Teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in the Gainesville, Georgia area.

Tags: certified yoga teacher, history of Yoga, practice of yoga, schools of yoga, teaches yoga classes, yoga in history
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Yoga: The Optimal Health System

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

By Justin Benson

In our Western society we are constantly being bombarded with being healthy, whether that is to be strong, thin, flexible, agile, faster, smarter or in any way better. However, though all these messages are constantly being thrown at us, we as a society are never really given a way to achieve this goal. Yes, we are offered different things from power drinks to keep us awake, drinks to make us lose weight, drinks to make us smarter, and more pills to fix any other growing problem. It is really at this point that it should be argued that these healthy things that our society wants from us are in no way impossible to achieve, but are rather simpler to fix than could have ever been imagined and that is why I am going to present the argument for “Yoga as the optimal health system for all”. I can hear some of the critics now, I am too young, old, inflexible or manly, too busy etc., but Yoga can deal with all these worries and anxieties and more. Yoga is no longer just an Eastern science, but a science that is now available to everyone from the young to the old; it offers meditation techniques to combat stress and high blood pressure, ways to stay physically fit and healthy, ways to stay mentally fit and able to face everyday challenges, and even rounds it off with the ultimate exercise which is a spiritual one. From everything mentioned above it is just as the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali says, “From contentment one gains supreme happiness” (Patanjali 2: 42) which is what Yoga can offer us all.

The young are one area that the world should take time to slow down and truly examine. Our family units usually have both caregivers working which does not allow for as much time for moral and ethical instruction, and because of this the young are turning to television, movies and video games for answers, and unfortunately, they are oftentimes coming to the horrible conclusion that the world is not a beautiful place but one to fear which in turn breeds aggression and hatred. These fears have become so great that we are now seeing children on drugs rarely given to the young some 20 years ago ranging from anti-depressants to more severe mood altering drugs. However, this does not have to be the case, and that is why Yoga is a great thing to teach to the young. In Patanjali’s Yoga sutra he writes, “By abiding in nonviolence, one’s presence creates an atmosphere in which hostility ceases” (Patanjali 2:35). With this statement alone the doubters of Yoga should really stop and reflect on his words. The youth of this world would no longer fear because of the peacefulness which surrounds them and which is generated by them, and what’s more is that when people view these young students, especially those their own age they are going to stop and wonder what it is that is going on, and by doing so they will further advance the science which is Yoga; which will in turn continue to create a world with fewer fears, anxieties and hatreds that lead to the overmedicating problems of today.

Perhaps there are some that would argue that it is solely the young that suffer these anxieties and fears. But if that were true we wouldn’t have the news we have or the wars that are still ongoing, and not to mention on a smaller scale the fear of losing our job, being overworked, overtired, filled with worries and anxieties that range from the simple to the extreme whatever they may be. Yoga again can help with all of this as well, and the first thing it can help with is poor alignment. So many people today spend a lot of time in front of a computer, television or some other form of entertainment that causes the body to slouch, and by doing so the body develops poor balance, poor health, all of which can lead to weight problems. Yoga can help with these problems as well by correcting poor body alignment and stiffness while at the same time giving the practitioner the added bonus of expelling old air from the lungs and filling you with new air or prana (life energy).

As for the fears, anxieties and worries Yoga will help with these as well. No, it will not dispel them, but it will allow one to step back, breathe evenly and accept the problem while not becoming overwhelmed by it which causes the muscles to tighten and chronic ailments to set in because of stress.

Imagine at this point that you have been practicing Yoga since you were young (and I hope this trend takes off) and now find yourself in old age. Unlike what you expected to happen you now find yourself with a “proper curvature… to increase its flexibility by stretching the anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments” (Swami Vishnu-devananda 55) because of Yoga. Yes, you are no longer the stereotypical old person who is hunched over; you, because of your long commitment to Yoga stand tall in old age- imagine it. What is even better than this is that Yoga has taught you how to breathe properly which in turn has led you to have fewer or no problems with illness which at one time would have been thought to be commonplace. Finally, if this were not enough, Yoga offers one of its greatest gems and that is the release from the fear of death, no Yoga cannot save you from death as great as Yoga may be, but it can offer something far greater, and that is through a stunning eye opener that allows the practitioner to understand the true meaning of the self which is the same as the universe which has no beginning or end.

Perhaps that last statement above was a lot to take in, so lets draw back down to a more worldly level which has to do with physical ailments. Our world, which as stated earlier, is moving at a speed that would make most of us get quite dizzy, and this dizziness as it were brings many ailments with it. Our society now faces an increase in high blood pressure both in the young and old, an increase in insomnia caused by excessive worries, nervous tensions that are being dealt with through drugs rather than eliminating the problem, an ever continuing of people smoking though most if not all people are aware of all the chemicals, diseases, and death that smoking causes, and of course links directly to the last ailment that is rising drastically which is asthma. This list of problems is just some of the things that Yoga can deal with and that is because of a thing Yogins call “prana” or life energy if you will. If people who suffered from any of the ailments above were to take up Yoga they would soon find a “renewal of the body cells, and that disease is unlikely to gain hold on a body whose every body cell is permeated with pranic energy” (James Hewitt 123). Due to the fact that Yoga teaches body alignment and proper breathing through pranayama, those who practice find themselves free from the fetters of worries and troubles and because of this not susceptible to the many if not all of the ailments listed above.

Linked to the physical ailments of course would be its opposite, physical well being to which Yoga is greatly concerned. First and foremost, as mentioned earlier Yoga teaches the practitioner to breathe properly, and maybe up to this point you thought you did, but the true way to breathe which most of us have forgotten is with a ratio of 1:2. This ratio for Yoga breathing Swami Vishnu-devananda explains is that by making the exhalation longer than the inhalation one “is to get maximum control over the lungs so that old foul air in the air sacs can be squeezed out” (Swami Vishnu-devananda 238).Furthermore James Hewitt argues that the Complete Yoga breath “vitalizes; removes phlegm; tones the nervous system; purifies and enriches the blood; improves appetite; aids digestion; broadens and strengthens the thorax; massages the abdominal organs; and makes consciousness lucid and alert” (91). With this type of breathing and exercise in place ones body is fit and able to withstand the ailments and pressures of society which of course leads us to our next examination which is one’s mental well being.

With the use of proper breathing as taught by Yoga, one now has the capabilities to withstand the tensions which are placed on the mind by constant or unnecessary worries and anxieties which only lead to physical tension as mentioned earlier. Once a person has been trained in Yoga which will lead one to breathe better, a practitioner will soon find themselves able to slowly become calm by controlling the breath in stressful situations which will it turn make one be, “able to feel a kind of floating sensation, as if one were as light as a feather (which allows for one to feel) peace and joy” (Swami Vishnu-devananda 203).

Since we are now physically well and mentally well, that only leaves us now to become spiritually well as it were. As mentioned earlier death happens to us all, and even the notion of it scares most people so much that we find our culture saying things like “if I die” and “I don’t want to die” in both statements there is a certain error as it were; first of all it is not a question of “if” and secondly you do not have a choice. Perhaps this sounds a bit harsh but in fact what must be pointed out is a very interesting argument from a Yoga standpoint and that is that “man has become prey to all evil emotions of the mind by identifying himself with the body and mind, and the only sure way to free himself from its clutches is by asserting his real nature, that is, ‘I am pure consciousness or self’. This identification with the self completes the process of relaxation” (Swami Vishnu-devanada 203). How could a person at this point not find perfect peace as stated by Vishnu-devananda, for if you can accept his argument then you come to realize that you are immortal, that death is nothing to be feared but the wearing away of the body, and that whatever higher power you acknowledge, you are it.

Yoga, as argued is the best and optimal health system for all and is exactly as Patanjali put forward so long ago, “ Yoga pose is mastered by relaxation of effort, lessening the tendency for restless breathing, and promoting an identification of oneself as living within the infinite breath of life” (2:47).

Namaste

Justin Benson is a certified Yoga teacher. He teaches Yoga classes in the Lewisporte, Newfoundland area.

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YOGA AND THE HEALTH OF OUR SPINES

Monday, November 29th, 2010

By Serena Morris

The spine is made up from 33 ring like bones also known as the vertebrae and they attach to the sternum and ribs to form the thorax. This boney cage protects the delicate organs within the chest and abdomen, and the vertebrae protects the delicate nerves and vessels. The spine itself has 4 gentle curves that ensure resilience and ensure a stable centre of gravity.

They consist of;

7 Cervical vertebrae C1-C7

12 Thoracic vertebrae T1-T12

5 Lumbar vertebrae L1-L5

5 fused vertebrae form the sacrum

4 fused bones form the coccyx

Each section of the spine differs to adjust to the different demands placed upon them.

C1 consists of a ring of bone and C2 a peg like shaped bone to permit the nodding of the head and side to side no like response.

C3-C6 are classed as typical cervical vertebrae and have two winged shaped processes, holes which allows arteries to pass carrying precious blood to the brain.

C7 is different and has a large spinal process which can be felt at the base of the neck and can be easily identified as the last moving bone felt in the nodding of the head.

The thoracic vertebrae are considered larger and stronger than the cervical vertebrae. In addition to this the spinal processes of T1 and T2 are long, laterally flattened and directed inferiorly. In contrast T11 and T12 are shorter, broader and directed to the posterior. In comparison to the cervical vertebrae the thoracic has longer and larger transverse processes. The main difference however is that they articulate with the ribs. The movement of the thoracic vertebrae are limited by thin inter vertebral discs and the attachments to the ribs. The lumbar vertebrae is the largest and strongest because of the amount of weight supported by the vertebrae increases towards the inferior end of the backbone. Their projections are short and thick and directed medially. The spinal processes of the lumbar are quadrilateral in shape, and are thick and broard and well adapted for the attachment of the large back muscles. The lumbar allows flexion, extension and lateral flexion of the spine.

The sacrum consists of 5 fused vertebrae. The inter vertebral discs are replaced by bone. The sacrum joins with the Ilium of the hip bone at the auricular surface forming the sacro- iliac joint. The coccyx consists of 4 tiny individual bones. The first being the most developed.

Between the C2 to the sacrum there is protection between the vertebrae in the form of inter vertebral discs that have a outer fibrous ring consisting of fibro cartilage called the annulus fibrous, and a inner, soft, pulpy, highly elastic substance. The discs form strong joints, permit movement and absorb shock. Under compression they flatten and bulge from the intervertebral spaces. These discs are prone to partial or full prolapsed also known as herniated disc. This most often occurs in the lumbar region due to weight and it being the region of most flexing and bending.

Ligaments between the spinal processes of the back stabilize and hold the vertebrae in alignment during movement. The posterior longitudinal ligament extends from the epistophues to the sacrum. All of the discs and edges of the vertebrae connect to this ligament.

The flexibility of the spine lessens around 30 and declines to 40 until 60 and over. This is greatly due to the tightening of ligaments.

There are also 8 pairs of cranial nerves C1-C8

12 pair of thoracic nerves T1-T12

5 pair of lumbar nerves L1-L5

5 pair of sacral nerves S1-S5

1 pair of coccygeal nerves

These nerves run throughout the spine through the vertebral canal which is the hole in the centre of each vertebrae surrounded by a sheath which makes up the spinal cord. The nerves emerge at regular interval along the spine. Along with the brain these nerves make up the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

The nervous systems operate by sending signals to and from the brain, feeding all parts of the body with action or commands for the smooth function and maintaining homeostasis.

The muscles of the back and neck including those of the erector Spinae group, Splenius muscles, Scalene muscles, transversospinalis muscles, Rectus abdominis, external olbliques, quadrates lumborum, and internal oblique muscles all play a role in the movement of the spine and so their condition and amount of tension present affects the alignment of the spine.

Abnormalities of the spine include;

Kyphosis, this is an extreme curvature of the thoracic vertebrae creating a stoop or rounded back.

Lordosis is an extreme curvature of the lumbar vertebrae creating a concave in the lumbar region or sway back as it is often known. Typically the person seems more rounded at the stomach and buttocks protrude.

Scoliosis is where there is a lateral shaped curvature to the spine creating an S shape to the spine and thus creating uneven posture and various stress points along the spine. The shoulders often look uneven and also the hips.

In western medicine and today s modern world back pain is one of the largest problems causing a loss of attendance in the work place in addition to the cost of supplying pain killers or anti-inflammatory medication or anti-depressants as a remedy to ease the pain, and however also mask the real reason why the pain is present. We have already looked at the physical structure of the spine and so we can see the reason behind discomfort and pain due to abnormalities of the spine or in deed injuries caused to the spine, discs, surrounding ligaments and muscles.

However a high percentage of back pain is simply unexplainable by the western doctor and often put down to stress by at least those who do not connect the physical and emotional and mental and spiritual links and they prescribe the medications I mentioned previously often with undesirable side effects often occurring as a result.

From an eastern point of view the spine is seen much more than just the physical wonder that it is. Of course the ancient sages of thousands of years gone by knew from observation of the spines importance to health and longevity, and each and every posture or Asana takes into account the alignment of the spine. The spine being the main trunk of the body comes into play with all Asanas, and special attention is paid in keeping the spine, head and neck in an erect line. During a series of postures the spine is taken through flexion, extension, hyper-extension, twists and rotations creating strength and suppleness throughout.

The spine is encouraged to lift high from the hips during standing postures such as Warrior and Tree creating space between the vertebrae of the spine alleviating pressure upon the protective discs providing support against injury and pain. The rolling up of the thigh muscles or quadriceps allows the lower spine to naturally lift. It is of great importance in yoga to ground the feet and legs to provide a firm and stable foundation for a straight and erect spine. Regular practise of yoga often brings the spine into alignment curing disharmonies caused by pinched nerves with it.

In Downward dog the spine receives a wonderful stretch and extension.

During postures such as Cobra and Locust the lower back muscles are toned and strengthened again providing support against injury and pain. The abdominal muscles play also a very important role working antagonistic with the back muscles and in yoga the abdominal muscles are strengthened constantly especially with the practice of Recti isolation and lateral abdominal rolling, and Kapalabhati.

In Postures such as Cat and cow and spinal rocking the spine receives a massage. The nerves receive stimulation and tonifying benefits, whilst limbering all the muscles of the back

The practice of back bends help prevent kyphosis and valuable for those who spend much time in their work place forward bending. Supported back bends often provide relief from cold flu and fatigue, high blood pressure, menstrual cramps and lower back pain.

Twists such as reversed warriors, spinal twists in supine or seated activate the spine and surrounding muscles. They encourage circulation to the spine and nerve tissues.

Seated postures such as bound angle posture and lotus increase strength and flexibility, and lengthening of the lower spine and surrounding muscles as well as limbering the hips.

Inversions such as headstand and shoulder stand help reverse the effects of gravity and increase the circulation towards the upper spine and neck and head.

Persons with injury to their backs performing gentle and regular yoga no longer live in constant pain and learn to strengthen around injuries enjoying once again a level of healthy flexibility.

As I mentioned before from an eastern view not only is the spine seen as a physical importance but also they take the Astral energy of the spine into account.

There are 7 energy chakras or wheels that are located energetically along the line of the spine and head. These wheels of energy are fed with prana the life force needed for our every action and thought. The chakras are affected by physical, emotional and mental issues and thoughts so when out of balance affect the person on all levels. The spinal cord is represented energetically by the Sushumna Nadi. Either side of this channel lies the Ida and Pingala Nadis which all together are considered to be the three most important of over 72.000 of the Nadis within the energy of the body. The Ida and Pingala carry energy up and down entwining around the Sushumna Nadi and they correspond in the physical by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. They end and open into nostrils.

We can now see why the yoga breathing is considered beneficial to the spine and nervous system as insufficient prana would create a deficiency in the sushumna channel or the chakras. In turn this may create disharmony of the body or mind.

Through the regular practice of Asanas the chakras are activated, and through Pranayama breathing the body and energy of the body is richly nourished with Prana and along side through meditation and chanting the chakras are focused on and brought into perfect balance creating union of body an mind. As the yogi trains and brings the chakras in to balance it brings a rise from the Kundalini energy. This is represented by a coiled snake and lays dormant in the root chakra, through the disciplines I mentioned before this psychic energy raises piercing the centre of each chakra eventually reaching the crown where it is thought to bring Samadi, or pure consciousness, a connection with the supreme spirit, enlightenment or union with god. This brings a calmness and peace to the individual as they realize they are as one. Many ego issues disappear taking with it the stress involved in the mind and body.

In all we can see from both a western perspective the physical needs for the health of our spines and the western remedies of medications or physiotherapy applied, and from the eastern perspective for the need for physical and the emotional and spiritual care of our spines, and the remedies being a regular yoga practice with the use of meditation and relaxation and Pranayama breathing, everything being natural and preventative as well as healing leaving you to live a long and flexible and happy life.

Serena Morris is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in Alicante, Spain.

Tags: certified yoga teacher, practice of Asanas, regular yoga practice, teaches yoga classes, The spine is, yoga breathing, yoga practice
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Yoga and Menopause

Saturday, November 20th, 2010

By: Peggy Gantz

I write this essay from my perspective of going through peri-menopause, and how yoga has helped me approach this period in my life, to help me tolerate the many changes I am experiencing. In fact, the opportunity to research how yoga has affected this certain aspect in my life has come at a very good time since my body, mind and spirit are completely changing. I have also noticed many challenges while practicing my Vinyasa yoga and other physical activities, which have been explained through my research.

About a year ago I knew that menopause was just around the corner for me and that a visit to my doctor was in order. I also felt it was time to start researching on-line and buying books to study and understand what it is exactly that I’m experiencing. I wanted to know what will be happening to me and my body in the years to come. Through my research, I have learned that living a yoga lifestyle will help and enhance my transition through this stage in life.

To begin the research, I made a visit to my doctor and told him about the changes that I am going through such as hot flashes, fewer periods, mood swings, anxiety, exhaustion and inability to get a good night’s sleep. Of course he tells me that I’m going through peri-menopause and if my symptoms get worse he will prescribe Hormone Replacement Therapy. I was very apprehensive with the idea of having some chemical derivative controlling my body. I was hopeful that there would be a more natural solution to easing my symptoms. This is when I started looking in other directions and while reading an article in one of my magazines an advertisement appeared, telling me that there is help with peri-menopause, menopause and post menopausal symptoms. Yoga! Why, I had been practicing yoga for a couple of years and I knew it had a lot of benefits for me, but I never thought about in regards to menopause and certainly never heard it mentioned in any of my yoga classes. Now that I look back at the symptoms I have, it explains why sometimes I feel shaky in some poses and anxious in others, and in between all of that – hot flashes! Who would have thought that yoga could help me?

One of the main things I have discovered from my research is how important the endocrine glands (hormone producing) are to menopausal women. I knew the endocrine glands were important to all of us but now for me I find the information extremely valuable and have a new perspective regarding its function relative to my body. The adrenal glands I find the most interesting are the ones which are related to my mood swings, and mental and physical exhaustion, also the ones that cause me to be stressed out because of my symptoms. What I understand about the adrenal glands is they can partially takeover the production of estrogen when the ovaries decrease their production of androgenic hormones, which helps to keep my body functioning properly while I go through menopause. If my adrenal glands are depleted the symptoms I already have could get a lot worse and I would not have any energy. This is where yoga is helpful for allowing me to find balance in mind, body and spirit, to retain energy and to reduce the severity of my symptoms, while my hormones continue to change.

Dr. Krishna Raman MD quotes: “If the adrenal gland is well massaged every day by asanas, such changes will not occur: The health of the individual cells of the gland is toned up by yoga. Stimulation of the glands provides greater energy than before. Standing poses invigorate the glands. Inversions recharge the adrenals. Twisting asanas are invaluable for rinsing the adrenal glands. Backbends squeeze the adrenals. Forward bends soothe the overdrive. Half Halasana relieves the overdrive. Energy levels depend principally on healthy endocrine and nervous function. Yoga interacts in these areas by stabilizing the inner vital life force in the body.”

From my research on yoga and the benefits I take from it, I find there are quite a few poses that should be used to reduce my symptoms. Restorative yoga is especially important along with meditation. There are three main poses that are mentioned in almost every article, Supported Bridge, Supported lying down bound angle pose and Supported legs up the wall pose. These are the poses menopausal women should practice daily. So, I researched each of these pose’s to find out the benefits of them.

Supported Bridge:

- Reduces anxiety, fatigue, backaches, headache, and stress

- Relieves tension in the chest and front body for better breathing

- Calms the brain and helps alleviate stress and mild depression

- Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause

Supported lying down bound angle pose:

- Relieves tension and constriction in the abdomen, uterus and vagina.

- Reduce Fatigue

- Relieves Headaches

- Relieves digestive problems

Supported Legs up the wall:

- Reduces Anxiety

- Relieves digestion problems

- Relieves Headaches, mild depression, Insomnia, migraine

- Relieves menstrual cramps, Premenstrual syndrome, menopause

- Urinary disorders, varicose veins

Supported Legs up the wall can also initiate reflexes that lower nerve input to the adrenal glands, slow the heart rate, slow the brain waves, relax blood vessels and decrease the amount of norepinephrine circulating in the bloodstream.

As I did my research on these three poses I found that not only can I soothe my endocrine glands, but I can minimize my menopause symptoms by doing them and I can use the poses to clear my mind and open my chest and lungs to allow for a better practice of pranayama. There are so many other poses that I came across that have many benefits for the menopausal woman that I’m looking forward to trying out a new sequence for myself at home.

As I have stated, additional yoga practices of relaxation, meditation and breathing are vital to relieving menopausal symptoms. I need to take the time to find a relaxing position and use yoga breathing techniques to focus and clear my mind. As, for the breathing awareness, I would suggest using the alternate nostril breathing technique. This simple technique can be done almost anywhere and anytime. Begin by placing your right thumb over the right nostril thus, closing it off, then inhale through the left nostril (I like to do this to a four count or whatever is comfortable to each person) and immediately close the left nostril with your right ring finger and little finger and at the same time remove your thumb from the right nostril and exhale through this nostril and do this for a little longer (8 count) than the four count. This completes a half round. Inhale through the right nostril to the count of four seconds. Close the right nostril with your right thumb and exhale through the left nostril for a little longer count and this will complete one full round. The benefits for this alternate nostril breathing will produce optimal functioning of both sides of the brain. It is known to balance a person because both sides of the brain are functioning correctly. Yogis have been doing this technique for thousands of years and have found that it is the best way to calm the mind and nervous system.

In addition to various breathing techniques I have also started using meditation as a method to find calmness in my body and mind. By sitting comfortably on a bolster or on my mat, either in easy pose or hero poses in a quiet room without distractions, I meditate either on an object or by simply focusing on my breath. I sometimes try one first and if that doesn’t get my focus, I try another way. It all depends what is going on with my mind and body at the time to see which meditation is the best for me. When I focus on an object I look at it for several moments and close my eyes and see the object in my mind’s eye for as long as I have the image visible to me. I like to stay in this meditation for as long as I can to get the full benefits of it. I usually can walk away with much less anxiety and a change in my mood to be a happier and calmer person. This is a big difference from my anxious, stressful and frustrating feelings I experience from peri-menopause.

Now that I have written this essay and reflect on what I wrote, regarding my new journey through menopause I find that it is okay to relax more if I’m tired and take what time is needed to find peace and calmness in my mind and body. Also, I need to learn to listen to my body during this time and pay attention to what it needs. I’m thinking that if I hadn’t started yoga a few years back, would my menopausal symptoms be worse? I believe that is the case. So I am very happy to have found yoga and make it a part of my daily life. I will use this new information from my research more actively to continue relieving my menopausal symptoms.

Sources:

Yoga Journal

The Complete Book of Yoga, James Hewitt

Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause, Suza Francina

www.thesecretsofyoga.com

www.Meditationexpert.com

www.holisticonline.com

Peggy Gantz is a certified Vinyasa Yoga teacher. She teaches classes in the Sherrill, Iowa area.

Tags: by yoga, certified yoga teacher, menopausal women, restorative yoga, teaches yoga, teaches yoga classes, vinyasa yoga, yoga and menopause, yoga interacts
Posted in Yoga for Women | No Comments »

Practicing Yoga – Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

By Tiffany Stone

As a yoga instructor, the phrase, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is essential for practicing safe and healing yoga. Once we understand that no two human skeletons are alike, our practice becomes freer and non-competitive. We understand that it is impossible to look or feel the same in a pose as the person next to us. The frustration which can sometimes be present in our practice when we hope to achieve a specific appearance in a pose dissipates because we realize our unique make up gives us a unique experience in yoga, as unique as our finger print. Understanding the principles of compression; tension; proportion; and orientation is what helps us understand how our individual skeletons impact our yoga practice. With these principles in mind, it makes for a much more peaceful experience as both teacher and student.

I know for myself, there have been many times in my practice where I have literally felt stopped in a pose, as though nothing could be done for me to move deeper. I can only assume that others have experienced a similar feeling and have asked these same questions, “Why can’t I go further in this pose?”, “Am I not practicing yoga enough or doing it right?” “Why can the person next to me do this pose so much better than me?” Without the knowledge of compression, this feeling of being stopped in a posture can be exasperating, all-consuming, very distracting and for some people it can be the reason they leave yoga altogether. So what is compression? It is bone pressing on bone, or tissue pressing on tissue. No amount of yoga can change compression. As a teacher, compression offers a possible explanation to why a student may not be in a pose “correctly”. It is possible the student has misunderstood the instructions, but it is also very possible that he/she is making adjustments in his/her body to avoid painful or limiting feelings of compression. If a teacher ignores the possibility of compression it can lead to injury, either by unsafe hands on adjustments or encouraging students to be in poses in ways that do not suit his/her skeleton. It is also important to understand that just because we have reached compression within a pose, it does not mean we have reached the end, physically we may have, but emotionally and energetically it continues.

If the restriction a person experiences in a posture is not compression, then it is tension. Tension is the stretching of muscles and connective tissue. Yoga can heal and transform feelings of tension. The challenge is to not resist the stretch or be forceful in the deepening of the stretch. With compression, it is felt in the bones or tissue pressing on to tissue, whereas tension is felt in the muscles. For example in seated forward bend, a person may feel resistance in the hamstrings, this would be tension. An example of compression in this pose would be if as the person bent forward he/she became stopped because the tissue of the abdomen pressed on to the tissue of the thighs. As a teacher, asking questions to find out whether or not a person is experiencing tension or compression is crucial in determining how to proceed. Questions like: “Where in your body do you feel the challenge of this pose and what does it feel like?”, “Have you ever been able to move deeper in to this pose than you are today?”, “I see you have made adjustments to be in this pose, how does this help you feel more comfortable?” With the answers to these questions not only do you find out the root cause for resistance, you also empower the student to become more aware of his/her own body and the messages being given.

Compression and tension are not the only reasons yoga poses look different from one person to another, proportion is another cause. Length and width of a person’s body and all of its parts has an enormous impact on the yoga practice. The proportion we have can serve us really well in one pose and possibly make things more challenging in another pose. As both student and teacher, we need to slow down and really understand the body proportions we are dealing with. In doing so we can understand why this person finds a particular pose difficult or even impossible. Once it is determined that proportion is the cause, poses can be altered or props can be used. With the right modifications, all of a sudden a pose that was once resented or feared becomes more open and healing.

It is also important to analyze the orientation involved in the pose; where is one body part relative to another or are we working with or against gravity? Changing the orientation of a posture can dramatically change the experience of the pose. Often times we need to think outside of the box and find new ways of being in poses where individual needs can be met. What if a person would experience a better back bend if he or she wasn’t working against gravity, as it happens in cobra? As a teacher, it would be worth asking the question what do I hope the student will achieve or receive from this pose and can I offer a different pose which would be more suitable for him/her while offering similar benefits?

To practice yoga with the belief that there is only one right way to do each pose or that a room full of yogis should all look the same is to practice completely outside of reality. The reality is that no two humans are created alike and for this reason no two people doing a yoga pose would look exactly alike or experience the pose in the same way. Most yoga poses are complex, with many muscles and joints involved. It takes careful analysis to determine if compression, tension, proportion or orientation is the reason behind the resistance or challenges a person may be encountering. Once the cause(s) has been determined a person can better understand his/her own body and any limitations it may present and begin to practice with an open heart and acceptance. Yoga teaches us about living in the moment and about accepting ourselves exactly as we are.

Tiffany Stone teaches Yoga classes in Ennismore, Ontario, Canada.

www.healingstonestudio.com

Tags: amount of yoga, experience in yoga, healing yoga, leave yoga, safe yoga, teach yoga, teach yoga classes, teaches yoga, teaches yoga classes, yoga instructor
Posted in Hatha Yoga Physical Assisting, Yoga Anatomy | 4 Comments »

The Yogic Path Paves the Way to a Healthy Ecosystem

Friday, September 17th, 2010

By Rita Burlingame

For five thousand years, the practitioners of Yoga have experienced and documented marked improvements in all areas of physical and mental health. In the past decade, clinical research has demonstrated Yoga to be an effective tool by which to maintain and improve health, and even a means by which to rid the body of disease (Barrett 76). Both science and history have illustrated the effectiveness of Yoga as a path to complete fitness and perfect function of the human body. However humanity has entered an age of abundant population, our actions yield global consequences. We are in search of a system by which to improve the health not only of the human population, but also of every living thing on this Earth. In this essay I will explore both the practice and theory of Yoga and its relationship to the health of the individual body and the global ecosystem.

Yoga asanas are a physical program to promote health of the total organism. While popular physical culture promotes only building of the musculature, the asanas develop and strengthen the outer body, tone the internal organs and strengthen mental faculties (Swami Vishnu-devananda 46). By the expansion and compression of the entire system of joints, and exercise of all musculature in the body; asanas benefit the muscles, nerves, and endocrine system. Yoga is a whole body hygiene that keeps the body functioning in perfect equilibrium (Hewitt 165).

Recently, with the invention of modern medicine, the maintenance of health has been reduced to a disease and treatment model. Yoga takes a step back and looks at health as a complete system that must be meticulously cared for to maintain optimal functioning. When the body is cared for and the asanas are used as a physical hygiene, the body is able to ward off the diseases and slow the aging process. Yoga is also an effective treatment for many physical conditions that modern medicine reduces to treatment with medications. Various asanas and regular practice can cure ailments from asthma, to diabetes, to thyroid imbalance (Hewitt 367-368). Jennifer Barrett gives her prescription for good health in ‘The Healing Power of Yoga’, she says “people want a cure for the healthcare system… if we used Yoga as regularly as we used our toothbrushes, people would be physically and emotionally healthier” (76).

When we chose to prevent and cure these diseases without medication we are benefiting our individual health and also the collective health. When we look at our health from a holistic perspective, we begin to see the health of humanity from a ‘whole-istic’ perspective. The pharmaceutical industry has tremendous cumulative affects on our health and also the health of our environment. As we begin to take better care of our bodies through diet and exercise, our needs for prescription drugs should be reduced to zero, other than in the most severe and rare circumstances. The overuse of over the counter medications and prescription drugs affects the health of the population and damages the ecosystem. Drugs are metabolized through the body and released back into water supply through our waste, this contaminates the ground water with various hormones and other chemicals (Focazio 205). The perceived high need for medications would not exist if we, as a society, would take better care to use the health science of Yoga as preventative medicine.

Physical fitness is just one of the ways that Yoga helps to improve the organism. Yoga is also rich with ethical guidelines for the practitioner. The first limb of the eightfold path is the Yamas, five ethical rules to serve as guidelines for our interactions with the world (Palkhivala 1-2). The five Yamas are Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (not stealing), Brahmacharya (control over impulses) and Aparigraha (non-covetousness).
This first of these five Yamas is Ahimsa, which means non-violence. Traditionally Ahimsa has been applied to our interactions with other people, but when we broaden the definition to all sentient beings, a vegetarian lifestyle is the only viable option. The vegetarian practices non-violence toward animals, as he does not believe it is necessary or ethical to kill for food.

Additionally, on a planet that’s clean water resources are dwindling, it is irresponsible to consume meat, a food that is considered in many countries to be a luxury item. In the current industrial agricultural system, it takes less than two hundred and fifty gallons of water to produce one pound of the following foods; potatoes, wheat, corn, rice, and soybeans. Comparatively, it requires an astounding twelve thousand gallons of water to produce just one pound of beef (Pimentel). Swami Vishnu-devananda puts it simply as he poetically states “the natural appetite is nature’s instinct in the animal kingdom to protect its life upon the earth” (Swami Vishnu-devananda 210).

The next two Yamas, Satya and Asteya, work together; truthfulness and not stealing. Fast food companies and the meat industry would like us to believe that eating meat is healthy, that without meat our bodies will not receive proper protein or nourishment. This simply is not true, the vegetarian diet is able to provide a human with all necessary vitamins and minerals better than the diet of a meat consumer (Hewitt 152-162).

Stealing comes from the belief that we cannot create what we need. “We steal because we misperceive the Universe as lacking abundance, or we think that there is not enough for everyone and that we will not receive in proportion to our giving” (Palkhivala 2). In addition to stealing flesh from the animals and fish from the sea, Man steals oil from the ground and coal from the mountain tops because we do not believe that what we already have on Earth is enough abundance to sustain human kind. The Yogi knows that he mustn’t take what he cannot replace, not stealing from man also means not stealing from the Earth which we all must share. As we progress on the Yogic path, over consumption becomes unapealling.

Brahmacharya means to control one’s impulses, this is something that Western and consumerist cultures struggle with. For the human race to become sustainable we must learn to control our impulses to make unnecessary purchases, to throw an item away without thinking of its ultimate destination, and to pollute. Brahmacharya as impulse control also means to cease acting without thinking. If a person stops to think how their purchase of certain goods directly supports slave labor or rainforest destruction, would they still make that impulsive purchase?

The ultimate goal of Yoga is to find union with the divine by the cultivation of mindfulness. However the journey is just as sweet as the destination, an early benefit of the Yoga of meditation is that it produces mental tranquility. When the brain is functioning in a tranquil state one feels relaxed. A relaxed mind is more likely to make mindful decisions, rather than hasty emotion driven choices (Hewitt 13). When we are able to clearly examine the full impact of our choices, we will choose the ones that create good Karma.

The last of the five Yamas is Aparigraha, non-covetousness. Many of the ecological problems we are now facing were created by greed. Large corporations are producing the most goods they can for the lowest production cost; this means the most toxic products, the cheapest labor and the least regard for environmental destruction (Robbins 209-10).

Westerners have become so entangled in the consumerist system and socialized to define themselves by what they own that the mass production and global shipment of products has risen to a level that is unsustainable. The Yogi does not covet what he does not need, and hence lives simply and sustainably. The austere life of the Yogi is the most ecologically sound way to live. The Yogi lives by the Yamas and abstains from harming the planet, from killing the animals that live upon it, and from stealing from our one and only planet. The Yogi does not participate in the corporate consumerist society, which is directly responsible for the destruction of the ecosystems of Earth (Robbins 210).

The only way for us to begin the rebuilding of our planet is for those in who are knowingly or unknowingly participating in the system of destruction to develop compassion. It is not sufficient for those who have been participating in the system to act or react from guilt. To heal the planet we must act through love, compassion and gratitude (Eisenstein). Compassion is the feeling of love for all sentient beings, as we develop compassion for all life it becomes impossible to ignore how the consumerism and greed affect the planet and people.

The Yoga of meditation and the practice of Karma Yoga build a sense of compassion in the individual. Jhana, the Yoga of knowledge teaches that actions must not contradict reason. We will begin to think of “nature not as some wilderness ‘out there’ that needs protecting, but as trees, streams, and living beings that share the same prana that enlivens us” (Swami Veda Bharati 12). Western society has become dangerously entrenched in the idea of the separate self. We must practice the Yoga of knowledge and meditation to reveal that we are all one. Union can only be achieved by cultivating the mind, body and spirit through Yoga. As we make progress toward the ultimate union with the divine, the separate self is dissolved.

The ethics of Yoga affect our food and consumption choices just as the practice of Yoga asanas increases our physical health. The health of each and every individual also relates to the collective health of the environment. As we perfect our health through physical hygiene and diet rather than through the ingestion of pharmaceuticals, the water supply will no longer be polluted by these chemicals. As we chose to limit our consumption to need rather than greed, our environment will no longer be polluted with industrial waste. Just as human health affects the environment, the health of the environment affects humans through the ground water supply, air quality and food quality. As each human becomes healthier, the entire population becomes collectively healthier. It is only through ethical and mindful choices that we will begin the healing of our planet.

As the Yogi practices meditation and perfection on the way to divine yolking he becomes gradually more aware that he is connected to all things. To be one with the divine is to become one with all. The desire to love, cherish and give to the life on this planet will grow from the realization that we are not separate from any part of the vastness of nature. To heal our planet we must first heal ourselves, let us take the first step by sharing the knowledge of Yoga.

Bibliography

Barrett, Jennifer. “The Healing Power of Yoga.” Yoga Journal May 2010: 76.

Eisenstein, Charles. “Rituals for Lover Earth.” Reality Sandwich. Jonathan Phillips.
9 October 2010. Psyche Feature. <http://www.realitysandwich.com/rituals_lover_earth>.

Focazio, Michael J. with Dana W. Kolpin, Kimberlee K. Barnes, Edward T. Furlong,
Michael T. Meyer, Steven D. Zaugg, Larry B. Barber and Michael E. Thurman. “A national reconnaissance for pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater contaminants in the United States — II) Untreated drinking water sources.” Science of the Total Environment. 402:2-3 (2008) 201-216.

Hewitt, James. The Complete Yoga Book. Schocken Books: New York, 1977.

Palkhivala, Aadil. “Teaching the Yamas in Asana Class.” Yoga Journal. Andrea
Kowalski. 28 February 2009. Yoga Journal for Teachers. 10 August 2010. <http://www.yogajournal.com/for_teachers/984>.

Pimentel, David. Ecological Integrity: Integrating Environment, Conservation and
Health. Island Press: Washington DC, 2001.

Robbins, Richard. Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism. Prentice Hall: 2010.

Swami Veda Bharati. “Sustainable Spirit.” Yoga Journal May 2010: 12-16.

Swami Vishnu-devananda. The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga. New York: Three
Rivers Press, 1988.

Rita Burlingame is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches classes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Tags: certified yoga teacher, eightfold path, five yamas, healing yoga, power of yoga, practitioners of yoga, teach yoga classes, teaches yoga classes, the yogic path, yogic path
Posted in Yoga for Health | 4 Comments »

Yoga as a Health Practice

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

By Sabrina Smith

Yoga has been revered for centuries by many countries of Asia for its ability to heal and promote health and wellness. Some of the countries have derived medical practices that revolve around the key concept of yoga: balancing the mind body and spirit to achieve their goal of health and wellness. India, one of the Asian countries that has been at the heart of yoga for many years, developed the practice of Ayurveda. Yoga and Yogic practices such as meditation, and postures are key to its medicines. Aside from this form of traditional medicine Yoga has been proven to be very beneficial in modern day, curing such ailments like depression, decreasing the risk of heart attacks, stimulating irregular bowls and creating healthy eating habits, helping to release your body from addiction, as well as promote a healthy physical, mental and emotional body.

Ayurveda has been very much a common medicinal practice in India working hand in hand with yoga and it has most recently been made popular by Deepak Chopra, M.D. Chopra explains the methodology of Ayurveda, and its view of the human body as a quantum mechanical device, that is not easily fixed through the prescription of magic pills. But can return back to a balanced state once the body’s energies begin to function in harmony. He explains Ayurveda uses Yogic techniques of mediation to heal the emotional issues such as depression. In his book Perfect Health, Chopra tells a story of a young man whose parents had divorced causing him to fall into a deep depression. When he went off to college the symptoms worsened, causing him to suffer from blindingly severe headaches, acute pain, dizziness and vomiting. He dropped out of college before the end of the first semester, his father sent him to see a therapist that prescribed him an array anti-depressants. But nothing worked very good or for very long. After a few years of dealing with the depression and thoughts of suicide he had heard about meditation from a friend. The young man began to employ the techniques he learned. He began to find the place deep down inside of him where the headaches and the depression did not dwell. Through continued meditation his small island of awareness slowly became larger, and slowly he began to see his true self that had been hidden underneath the depression and pain (Chopra, 160-63).

The yogic practice of meditation can also reduce the risk of heart attack among those who suffer from borderline hypertension, and high cholesterol. A study conducted at Harvard medical School in 1974 studied twenty-two hypertensive patients. The study showed that the average reading dropped from150/94 to 141/88 it was enough to bring the diastolic pressure (the bottom number) down from borderline to a normal range. However the systolic pressure (the top number) was not lowered enough to be considered normal. However any elevation in blood pressure for an extended period of time can take years off one’s life. So, one might consider the experiment a success (Chopra, 164). Similar experiments to this one have been done regarding patience with high-cholesterol.

Meditation has been used in a study done by two researchers in Israel, M.J. Cooper and M.M. Aygen showed that employing meditation could lower cholesterol. The researchers took a group of 23 patients with elevated cholesterol, twelve were taught meditation and eleven were not. At the end of eleven months they screened their cholesterol again. The twelve that meditated dropped their levels from an average of 255 to an average 225 (the expectable number in the U.S. is 200). This same team did the same study with patience that had normal cholesterol numbers as well. The study showed that cholesterol could be lowered in people who had a normal cholesterol number (Chopra, 164-165). The mind is a powerful device in Yoga and meditation is a showcase of its power at work. However it is not the only device that is activated through yogic practices.

The postures used in Yogic practice as well as the Yogic diet can help to stimulate irregular bowels. Yogic postures give a gentle message to the abdominal viscera, postures like the cat and the plow help to correct constipation, aid in digestion and bowel action (Hewitt, 222 & 244). In regards to the yogic diet, “overeating and underrating are alike detrimental to success in Yoga. A Yogic rule is that one should finish a meal feeling that a little more could have been taken,” (Hewitt, 398). A Yogic diet is considered lacto-vegetarian, not eating meat for ethical as well as health reasons. The yogic diet is further broken down in smaller food groups.

There are particular food groups in the Yogic diet that are considered to influence the human personality, sattvic “pure” food, rajasic “stimulating” food, and “tamasic” impure food. The “pure” foods consist of milk, butter fruits, vegetables and grains. “Stimulating” foods are foods that are stimulating to the nervous system like, spicy, strong tasting foods, meat, fish eggs and alcohol. “Impure” foods are foods that have been putrefied, overripe, rotten or impure in some way (Hewitt 154.) Much of the modern diet consists of these “impure” foods, especially for those who consume meat and processed food.

Have you ever wondered how come meat is not hard and stiff due to rigor mortis, it becomes tender again due to putrefaction, or the decaying process. Much of all food that comes pre-packaged will fall into the category of “impure” due to the additives and preservatives that grace the ingredient list.

According to the Bhagavad-Gita these “impure foods make a person dull and lazy. Their thinking capacity diminishes and they sink almost to the level of animals or bushmen. They have no high ideals or purpose in life; on a physical side, they suffer from chronic ailments of the body,” (Swami Vishnu-devananda, 209). Throughout the practice Yoga one opens themselves up to a new level of awareness in regards to what they put in their body and how it affects them.

“Pure” foods are said to bring purity and calmness to the mind and are soothing and nourishing to the body. Rajasic or “stimulating” foods arouse the animal passion in man and brings a restless state of mind (Swami Vishnu-Devananda, 209).

Beyond the food that we put in our body there are substances that are not only physically harmful to our bodies but are very detrimental to our Being. For instance drugs and the addiction that accompanies them, ranging from nicotine to narcotics cause not only physical harm but disrupt the chemical patterns in bodies. For many, addiction is a hard pattern to break free from. Addiction is like when you manually over ride a program to make it do something out side of its memory. The body has a memory of how the body is suppose to work in a healthy pattern, but the addictive pattern has taken over. Yoga can be used to help restore and remind the body of what the healthy pattern is. When one begins to practice yoga they begin to open up the chakras in the body, freeing up the energy flow within the body. Yogic postures that are specific to the particular chakra where the addiction is held can be extremely helpful in freeing the body from the addictive pattern. For instance if the addiction rest in the Root Chakra or Muladahar, one would want to practice an asana that would ground them, consisting of seated postures, supine, as well as prone. It is good to have a well rounded set of asana’s so that the chakras do not become over or under stimulated but when you have areas that need focus it is good to give them the attention that they need.

This attention does not only have to be in the form of the physical asana, as mentioned before the mind is a very powerful device and through meditation addictions pattern can be broken as well. This can happen unintentionally. A study done in 1972, by physiologist Robert Keith Wallace, showed that a group of 1,860 mostly college students that began to practice meditation decreased their drug use significantly. After twenty-one months of practicing their drug dependency in the areas of narcotics, barbiturates, hallucinogens, marijuana and amphetamines decreased so much that most had stopped using all together. Marijuana was still used by about twelve percent and all the others ranged from one to four percent of users. The most interesting part is that they were not part of a rehabilitation program, they were not asked to quit, and the researcher did not follow their progress, nor reward them for abstaining (Chopra, 201-202). It was the mediators’ body coming back into sync, and no longer being part of the addictive pattern.

Yoga as a whole promotes a healthy lifestyle. Yoga makes you more aware of what you are putting in to your body, how you are. Whether you are exercising or not exercising, healthy and un-healthy habits that you have developed in your life, or habits that you hope to develop. Yoga can be used to encourage healing within the body whether it is physical, mental or emotional. This is often through meditation but not limited to meditation. Yogic postures and diet play an integral part in Yoga as a “health practice.”

Work Cited

Chopra, Deepak M.D. “Perfect Health.” New York, Three Rivers Press; 2000.

Hewitt, James. “The Complete Book of Yoga.” New York, Schocken Books; 1977.

Vishnu-Devananda, Swami. “The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga.” New York,

Three Rivers Press; 1988.

Sabrina Smith is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches classes in the Oakley, California area.

Tags: book of yoga, certified yoga teacher, practice yoga, teach yoga, teach yoga class, teaches yoga class, teaches yoga classes, yoga as, yoga has, Yoga Health, yoga teacher
Posted in yoga for depression, Yoga for Emotional Health, Yoga for Health, Yoga for Mental Health, Yoga for Physical Health | 1 Comment »

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