Yoga Teacher Training Forum

The cleansing programs embraced by Yoga are designed to stop disease and avoid many of the common ailments. They go far beyond what we in the West would consider as normal hygiene. Yoga teaches us how to keep ourselves healthy by regularly removing toxins from our body. By making an effort to keep our channels open, we allow our bodies to function freely.

Concentration on our breathing opens up a new avenue of thinking and health in our lives. It makes us aware of things such as air quality, the effects of air pollution, tobacco smoke and cigarette smoking. Breathing heals us and also enables us to heal others through control and intention. All diseases can be destroyed at the root by regulating the Prana; this is the secret knowledge of healing.

Prana also gives us a path between our physical body and the Divine, using our breathing as a means to reach God. Mental turmoil can be relieved by concentrating on the breath for just a few minutes. Proper breathing connects the body to its battery, the solar plexus, allowing us to control the release of Prana. The main purpose of the breathing exercises is to increase the consumption of oxygen with the minimum of physical exertion under conditions favourable to the storage of oxygen. There is a reciprocal relationship between respiration and the mental state. Elevated oxygen levels equal heightened moods and mental clarity.

Yoga aims to achieve and keep our health and to lead us into higher states of being and vitality. Modern medicine is largely a science of disease and treatment. Yoga teachings are based on an intricate and precise understanding of the healthy functioning of the body and mind. It is a way for us to maintain ourselves. Yoga works systematically on all parts of the body to keep them functioning in balance and in perfect condition. Much of our illness and loss of vitality arises from the long-term running down of the body systems, due to under-use and under-stimulation of vital functions. Exercise is now seen as necessary. Yoga stimulates circulation, down to the cellular level, so tissues are nourished, wastes removed, vital organs restored to full efficiency, and health restored. By following the guidelines, we have a road map to well-being.