By Rachael Comeau
Yoga has gained immense popularity due to the short-term as well as the long -term benefits that it provides. There are many reasons why people incorporate Yoga into their daily lives. The issues of longevity and quality of life are 2 very popular reasons. The desire to live a longer life is the reason behind many of our activities as we pay attention to health and good life in many forms, all having more or less a hidden agenda, that of living longer and healthier. Longevity and quality of life are strongly related to one another. The quality of life being the ( intensity of life experience) is a qualitive progression of longevity.
In normal circumstances for most people they pay more attention to longevity, not being as much aware on the issue of quality. This is truly and totally not the case in Yoga. For in Yoga, the main issue is the quality of life experience that also attracts longevity as a component as the quality of life. Yoga sees longevity as a component, or more exactly as a result as Yoga practice. The fact that the Yogic discipline allows the body to function better and the mind to be under one’s own control has to lead to a longer span of life. But, Yoga is primarily about the quality of life.
From a Yogic perspective, the issue of quality of life has to be seen from both material and spiritual angles. The material angle can be simplified by considering it as an expression of the spiritual perspective. The spiritual side of quality of life takes credit for the material side that becomes just the right attitude towards material things. The spiritual side of quality of life has to be seen from the body and mind perspective. The body issue is essential as harmonizing the body becomes a solid foundation for addressing the issues of the mind that becomes the tool of extension for which we experience the world. Yoga recommends that the body needs to cleansed of impurities and toxins. The belief is that having toxins and impurities in the body alters the perception to a certain degree. It is the quality of the perception that gives to some fact the quality of life. This is the reason Yoga pays great attention towards the body as a vehicle to sense, feel, experience and host mind experiences. From a Yoga point of view, it is essential that the experience of awareness is the focus and end point of the practice. The quality of life is determined by the level of awareness. For some people who have experienced it; Yoga is in some form
The experience of awareness or experience of being alert. Awareness is a gradual process, as your Yoga practices becomes refined and you become more alert towards the environment, the world as whole, all being connected as one energy, and towards one’s own person. Having this awareness can also be described as a transcendent experience. Although we may reach different conscious states, they are mental states, therefore brain states.
Yoga claims that this enhanced quality of life adds to and is connected to the longevity of life, along with a multilevel degree of perception. We might ask “ What is a multi degree of perception”? Yoga explains it in simple words as “ Being able to be aware of more than one thing at a time”. Achieving these levels in Yoga practice not only increase awareness, but this awareness also produces the connection between mind, body, and spirit creating not only a better quality of life but a long life as well. Longevity is not measured by the span of life, but by the quality of the experiences.
As we move on a Yoga path with a goal for longevity, quality of life and awareness, a goal for balance and understanding of what life is and where we are going, the path can sometimes become challenging and complicated. Practicing Yoga which means( the union of the mind, body, breath and spirit), is currently approached in many different ways but all ending in the same result with a sense of awareness, and a long life of supreme quality. Yoga is meant to be a tool to make our life simpler in the end by strengthening the body, the nerves, the mind, and altering the consciousness in a way that life becomes something we can accept, appreciate and flow with it. This tool helps us live as householders in society, and the world at large, serving the family and community in a Yogic way.
Yoga as a physical practice alone can give us the strength and discipline to find and maintain our center, which helps us learn focus and stay focused. Yoga as a mental practice can vastly help us eliminate the baggage in our lives. Life feels simpler for having the discipline and taking the time out to clear the physical and mental cobwebs with mantra and breath. This can also result in a high quality of life, a healthier life, and removing ourselves from the world , meaning being in the world but not of it. Seeing all others as an equal manifestation of life with kindness and compassion are simple and helpful concepts in Yoga. After all, is not a life of simplicity ultimately a life of contentment? So if it is Yoga that gives you peace, give to yourself on a regular basis.
The one thing that is constant in this world is change. This accelerated life most people experience depreciates the quality and longevity of people seemingly younger and younger every year. People approach Yoga because they desire change. Yoga is a living process that changes moment by moment, watching when we eat, what we eat, when we walk, how we walk, what we say and how we say it. All of these things must be present in us to change and effect the quality and longevity of our lives. So remembering to be of flexible mind, looking for answers in life and through Yoga practice learning to go with the flow, remember that change is constant, so as we evolve, so does our practice, constantly improving our lives. Yoga is a way to teach us to concentrate the mind, to transform our thoughts, patterns and habits. The mind controls the entire human presence, and the way one progresses to get out of the cycle of misfortune and improve the quality of our life is to master the control of the mind. Our problem is that we lack the ability to concentrate. Yoga teaches us to control the mind and transform our self through practice. Helping us to become strong yet supple. Because the practice is so physical, and the mind once again plays an important part. You must have time to be by yourself, where there is nobody else, and work with yourself in practice. Sometimes we make all kinds of changes in hopes to transform our lives, improving the quality of our lives. We change our jobs, our looks, our diets, our spouse, our location, only to find our deep rooted unsettled issues are still present. In order to transform our lives through Yoga, it is helpful to alter our old ways of thinking and being. Often we are forced to transform our lives through loss, pain, or fear. Yoga can help us reach deep within to help us draw the lesson and learning. Yoga can and will is open transform all areas of our lives. Yoga teaches us to look for those unusual experiences, big or small, as they make us remember the wonder of life and each other.
Yoga is a unique science, and is the most complete approach to a healthy, long, high quality lifestyle. It urges us to explore and challenge our minds, our bodies and the very nature of our beings. Yoga is perhaps the only discipline through which an individual can truly experience inner harmony. Yoga is perhaps the only discipline that brings about an overall personality, separating us from the world of other people who have no definition. Not living under the control of the ego. Yoga leaves on feeling confident, energetic and motivated. It creates the perfect balance in all of our systems of the body. It tones the nervous system, releases anxiety, and promotes inner well being and harmony. Yoga strengthens the immune system, and helps to develop concentration, focus and mental flexibility. In our daily lives, it helps to develop awareness about the effects of the world around us, and Yoga provides us with the tools to mage it. It’s benefits extend from the home and the work place, to every aspect our daily lives. Regular practice of Yoga is proven to bring improved health in mind and body, higher energy levels and increased productivity. Yoga helps us come out of the vicious circles we create that are abundant in our daily scheduled lifestyles. Yoga teaches us to be humble, kind and giving to others. This most importantly makes us happier, healthier, and fitter. A better human being to others is undoubtedly the most high calling and most vital requirement of our times. If this can be accomplished not only through us but others, think of how enormous the magnitude the quality of so many peoples lives would become.
We hear that Yogis live a very long life to an very old age. Not only do Yogis live long but they live with excellent health. The quality of their life is great resulted from the Yogic lifestyle. There are many known benefits to the regular practice of Yoga which help to minimize many of the problems associated with a poor quality lifestyle. Yoga helps with stress, anxiety and depression, aiding in the maintenance of mental and physical health. The diet of a Yogi, (a vegetarian diet) can improve the quality and longevity of ones life as well. It has been shown that vegetarians live longer, have less heart disease, and lower rates of cancer. Yoga practice is a natural and healthy way to achieve many benefits of a long happy life without any associated risks, and aid in this manner the slowing of the aging process.
We need to realize there are healthy ways to regulate our lifestyles from this crazy world. Regulation is the key word here for the well being of the human personality and man kind. Yoga says there are certain methods to extricate yourself from the sticky part of the mind. In order to harmonize and balance yourself and the quality of your life, you need to develop certain qualities and aspects of your nature, beginning with the ability to release the tensions through the process of relaxation. It helps to remove blockages not only in the mind but also in the body. After you have adapted to Yoga and are able to relax physically, mentally, and emotionally, you are instructed through your Yoga practice to develop personal awareness. Awareness is the result of leading the Yogic lifestyle also developing a sense of positivism towards yourself and the world around you. This all resulting again in the goal for longevity, quality of life, and awareness.
Rachael Comeau is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in the Big Bear Lake, California area.