Yoga is Union of our individual self with the larger Cosmic self. Yoga is Balance, reaching a point of aware acceptance. And we attain it through our physical self or the body.
Breathing or Pranayama, Organized and structured physical postures called Asanas, Deep aware relaxation or Yoga nidra, Mantra Chanting, Meditation, these form the essential components of Yogic practice.
Swami Satchidananda lineage I come from teaches this as a easy, compact, and best practice of Yoga and highly advises that Yoga is practised with no expectations or competitiveness.
Yoga in Pop culture is more about the Body and getting ourselves to do those head stands, hand stands, twists, turns and all those postures that look impossible, the oh-so-tight spandex apparel line, green shakes, commercially capitalizing the timeless practice. A closer look and subtle observation will help us see the truth: it’s the breath and higher energies that move the body.
Pic courtesy- Theformfitness
Now on to breath: What is the breath. Science tells us we inhale Oxygen and exhale Carbondioxide. Well, there is more to breath, we inhale the Life force known as Prana along with O2. In a future post I will tell you in detail about Prana.
I have dabbled with yoga for many years but it’s only since I started my AF journey at the end of 2017 that it’s been in my life more consistently. When I came back from the retreat recently, recognising that I had neglected yoga for a few months I set myself a 40 day challenge to do yoga or meditate every day in an attempt to embed the habit. I’ve missed 2 days so far out of 30. Some days it has been really difficult to get myself onto the mat and I’ve literally only been there for 5 minutes. More recently I’ve found myself prioritising it and looking forward to that time.
In his wonderful book, The body holds the score, Bessel van de Kolk talks about how trauma is held in our bodies and nervous systems, and people need more than talking therapy to help with that. It’s like the body’s smoke alarm is set to be triggered at any hint of danger, leading to over reactions, stress and catastrophising all over the place. Their research has confirmed what the yogis already knew; yoga calms it all down; encouraging balance between the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) rather than the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight). It is also said in yoga circles that we hold emotional pain in our hips in particular; a result of those muscles contracting whenever our stress response is triggered. Sitting at desks and in cars for long periods doesn’t help either.
I’ve had tight hips as long as I’ve been aware of such things; particularly on the left. Years of running and riding and not stretching – the folly of youth! Yoga has helped ease it but I often have pain in that area, particularly as I fall asleep. I’ve been doing a lot of hip stretches in my yoga routine these last few weeks. When I wrote my last post about getting in touch with the origins of my depression; I didn’t say that whilst the memories flooded me as I was going to sleep my hip was throbbing intensely – not super painful but intense. I wrote the blog and the next night I dreamt that my mum died. It was now, not the past, and all I did in the dream was cry buckets of tears. Since that night I have not felt depressed in the same heavy, unmotivated way; and my hip is looser and the pain has gone pretty much. I’ve felt extremely grateful to my unconscious that it took care of the weeping so I didn’t have to in the day!
New Delhi, March 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) We are the generation of “good vibes” and the moment we realize we arent getting good vibes from the people around us, or the surroundings, we prefer to move away from it. As human being we also have our own internal energies within our bodies. We all thrive on energy in spite of being brainwashed with the convenient methods of healing, we fail to recognize, acknowledge and embrace the energy within us. Our internal energy is an alternate for medicines, says Dr Shyam Nidugala, Chief Medical Officer, Nimba Nature Cure
By embracing the energy sources within us, we can purify and filter those energies that bring a feeling of positivity and give us the power to heal ourselves and others, she notes. She explains how energy can be healed through Reiki, Pranic and Hypnotherapy
If you haven’t jumped on the yoga craze yet, make 2020 the year you find out what you’re missing. From better strength and posture to gaining flexibility and calming the mind, yoga has all the benefits. Those who like to sweat usually go for an Ashtanga or hot yoga class, yet some others prefer a gentler practice. For a slow-paced class to de-stress and revitalize, try these four yoga styles.
1. Hatha
Those who are looking for a calming practice can certainly find it in Hatha yoga. The classes mainly focus on basic yoga poses, so Hatha is great for a beginner.
During Hatha, you’ll learn about pranayama, which means breathing techniques and asanas which refer to yoga postures. Essentially, it is breath control
Hatha is about achieving harmony between the energies of the sun and the moon, in spiritual terms. After a few weeks you’ll have all the basic poses down and will be ready for a more advanced class, if you wish to do so.
2. Kundalini
Kundalini yoga borrows many of its postures from Hatha, so the two are very similar in a physical sense. The difference is that Kundali generally uses more meditation, and chanting mantras with a strong focus on kundalini energy.
This recently added to my library. And I’m glad I did.
When we eat, can we feed the soul as well as the body? Can a diet have an impact on spirituality? Spiritual Nutrition empowers readers to develop personal diets that are appropriate to their lifestyles and spiritual practices. Drawing on 14 years of clinical experience and research, Dr. Gabriel Cousens discusses nutritional issues that can help answer these questions, including raw vs. cooked food; high vs. low protein; the concepts of assimilation and fasting; alkaline–acid balance; attitudes about food; nutrients, energy, and structure building.
In addition, Cousens shares his new dietary system of “spiritual nutrition” that is based on the relationship that the color of the food has to corresponding colors of the human chakra system, hence, the “rainbow diet.” For true nourishment, he strongly promotes the connection of diet to meditation, fellowship, wisdom, and love.
Gabriel Cousens is the author of seven internationally acclaimed books including Spiritual Nutrition and Creating Peace by Being Peace. Known worldwide as a spiritual teacher and the leading expert in live, plant-source nutrition, Dr. Cousens functions as a holistic physician, psychiatrist, family therapist, and cutting edge researcher on healing diabetes naturally.
He holds an M.D. from Columbia Medical School, a doctorate in homeopathy, and diplomas in Ayurveda, clinical acupuncture, and holistic medicine. His multi-cultural background as an ordained rabbi, an acknowledged yogi, and a four-year Native American sundancer, adds insight to his “whole-person enlightenment” teachings.
Dr. Cousens is the founder and director of the Tree of Life Foundation and the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center, an innovative holistic retreat center for the renewal of body, mind, and spirit, based in Patagonia, Arizona. In his book, There Is A Cure For Diabetes, Dr. Cousens presents his rejuvenation center’s program for reversing diabetes naturally.
The definition of resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.
Some people may be naturally resilient to blows that life serves them and some not so much, but resilience is the secret to dealing with chronic illness.
Many chronic conditions are not always bad, they relapse or are managed.
As any chronic disease ebbs and flows, so do those that suffer from it.
Their capacity to ebb and flow with the disease defines the outcome of any diagnosis- may that be lupus, fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Kidney Disease, etc. That capacity is resilience.
To understand resilience a little better though and understand why some people fair better than others when dealing with chronic illness, we must understand the biological process of stress.
Stress is good!
Acute, short term stress is a natural process, also known as “fight or flight” response. Our bodies are built to direct resources to the right processes and help us act upon what is perceived stressful in order to fight it or run away from it.
The term “Yoga” is derived from the Sanskrit word “Yuj”, meaning, “to unite”, or “to join”. It brings a perfect harmony between the mind as well as body. We can also say that it is the union of the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness. The ultimate aim is to attain self-realization, or “moksha”. Then, a person will be free from all his fears and sufferings and he will attain his ultimate freedom. A person who does yoga is a “Yogi”.
Lord Shiva is the first yogi or “Adiyogi”. According to history, Lord Shiva poured his knowledge to the seven sages, who in turn took it to different parts of the world. Agastya, one of the seven sages brought it to India, from where it took its full expression. Further, Maharishi Pathanjali organized yoga in a certain format. This is called as Yoga Sutras. “Sutra” means thread. Yoga sutras contain 196 sutras which explain all about the spiritual journey of yoga. According to the Sutras of Pathanjali “Yoga is the calming down of the fluctuations/patterns of consciousness”.
Kundalini: “Kundalini” is the “life force energy”, that is, the energy coiled at the base of the spine. This type is all about unlocking the energy present at the base of the spine to relieve stress and negativity. It includes a series of breathing and warm-up exercises along with some challenging poses.
Vinyasa: This is “Flow Yoga”. Here, the poses are in co-ordination with the breath, that is, in a continuous flow.
With the current pandemic, many of us have been spending more time indoors and most likely experiencing more stress and tension than usual. Starting off your morning with a few easy and simple stretches can be one way to ease into the day, relieve a little bit of that stress, and do something good for your body.
Below are a few great resources that share simple morning stretches that require no equipment
I have dabbled with yoga for many years but it’s only since I started my AF journey at the end of 2017 that it’s been in my life more consistently. When I came back from the retreat recently, recognising that I had neglected yoga for a few months I set myself a 40 day challenge to do yoga or meditate every day in an attempt to embed the habit. Ive missed 2 days so far out of 30. Some days it has been really difficult to get myself onto the mat and I’ve literally only been there for 5 minutes. More recently I’ve found myself prioritising it and looking forward to that time.
In his wonderful book, The body holds the score, Bessel van de Kolk talks about how trauma is held in our bodies and nervous systems, and people need more than talking therapy to help with that. It’s like the body’s smoke alarm is set to be triggered at any hint of danger, leading to over reactions, stress and catastrophising all over the place. Their research has confirmed w
Not only does yoga strengthen your muscles but it also increases your flexibility. Another perk: Stretching and breathing deeply during yoga helps to reduce stress hormones that contribute to belly fat,
since yoga reduces stress levels, it also has the potential to improve your overall eating habits (less stress eating!), encouraging weight loss.
Indeed, a November 2016 Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research study shows that men lost fat when they committed to a 14-week yoga program. The people in the study practiced yoga five days a week for 90 minutes — but don’t worry, every little bit counts.
Inspired Life 