"According to Ayurveda, the practice of yoga is a
very important, natural, preventive measure to ensure good health.
Ayurveda and yoga are sister sciences."
cited from "Ayurved: The
Science of Self-Healing", by Dr. Vasant Lad.
Dear Friends,
Yoga is a wonderful way to increase balance and harmony in our life.
Enjoy!
Mary.
Is Yoga something I should do?
Before I answer this, let me guess something! You are probably wondering this:
Can I gain the same benefits from Yoga as I might from an aerobics-type program?
Many people gravitate towards a yoga exercise program because it seems less strenuous than other exercise programs. Given the right instructor and routine, it can be less stressful than aerobics, and incidents of accidental, serious injury are less. Hence, Yoga is ideal for people who have certain limiting physical conditions, or who are no longer in the prime of their youth.
If I understand correctly, aerobics aims at increasing cardiovascular strength. Yoga exercise aims at increasing flexibility and stamina or endurance. This is not to say that a genuine 'yoga master' isn't strong, quite the contrary. Just that these two types of exercise approach perfecting the human body from different angles.
Hope this answers your question!
NOTE: Before you begin any exercise program, it is wise to seek professional medical advice. Check first with your doctor and if you can afford it, have a personal trainer.
I also strongly recommend you take a good look at the section on Ayurveda in this web-site. Determine what your body type is. And from there, you can learn what types of exercise are best suited for you: Ayurveda: Defining Body Types
If you already know your body type, read on!
The following is quoted from Deepak Chopra's "Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide."1
VATA-TYPE EXERCISE
Amount: Light
Type: Yoga, Dance, Walking, short hikes, Light bicycling
Vata types have bursts of energy but tire quickly. They excel at balancing and stretching exercises. Being light and lithe, they like yoga and walking, as long as these do not become too tiring. Because of their natural enthusiasm, Vata types also feel good doing bouncy dance aerobics to music. Any exercise that takes place indoors is good in winter, since Vata people are averse to the cold and do not have enough fat and muscle to protect them from the elements.
Everyone dominated by Vata must always be careful not to get carried away and push themselves too far. This is the primary caution for them, since Vata dosha typically starts with a bang but does not know its limits, particularly when out of balance. Half an hour of mild exercise a day is enough. If you are exhausted, trembling, dizzy, or on the verge of cramping, you have gone much too far. These are all signs of Vata imbalance.
PITTA-TYPE EXERCISE
Amount: Moderate
Type: Swimming, Hiking and Mountain Climbing, Brisk Walking or Jogging, Skiing
Pitta types tend to have more drive than endurance. They are good at all exercise in moderation. Because they like a challenge above all, Pittas enjoy skiing, hiking, mountain climbing, and other sports that bring a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.
Athletes in competitive sports must have a good deal of Pitta to give them a fighting spirit, but this is not the dosha for intense competition. Pittas hate to lose; this motivates them more than the satisfaction of winning. (Sports studies have shown this among professional tennis players, many of whom are notorious for Pitta-type anger.) Pittas will grimly make themselves run, job, or weight train but gain very little inner contentment from their efforts.
Probably you already know whether you are falling into this trap. If you stew over every bad shot on the golf course or want to drill your tennis opponent with the ball, give up these sports. If you chew yourself or anyone else out in any sport, walk away from it. Anyone who needs to kill somebody on the court is suffering from gross Pitta imbalance. Also, the start-stop rhythm of competition sports is not as good for your body as half and hour of continuous motion.
Walking briefly for half an hour a day will take the feistiness out of your system better than a competitive sport. Swimming is ever better--many Pitta types who drive themselves on the job find that a plunge in the pool at five o-clock cools them off and dissolves the day's tensions. Winter sports of all kinds also appeal to Pittas because they take to the cold better than Vata and Kapha types. Because they are stimulated visually. Pittas gain a large benefit from a leisurely stroll in the wood; it provides a change from their usual determined pace. The beauty of nature will sink deep into them when they pause long enough to experience it.
KAPHA-TYPE EXERCISE
Amount: Moderately heavy
Type: Weight training, Running, Aerobics, Rowing, and Dance
Kapha types have strong, steady energy but often lack agility. They generally are good at all exercises and become better when they become more limber and balanced. Because of their physical strength, Kaphas excel at endurance sports--they have the natural build for a long run or distance rowing. The combination of Pitta and Kapha gives determination and endurance. This is a common prakriti among professional baseball and football players.
Pushing the blood through their veins feels good to Kaphas, which is why they take to weight training in gyms and health clubs. It is good to combine this with exercise that gets the circulation going; bringing up a good sweat (without exhaustion) will clear out Kapha congestion. Many Kaphas have excess fat and water that need to be pushed out. Being a cold dosha, Kapha resents it if you go out into the cold and damp to run or row. In winter, Kapha types should stay indoors and stick with aerobics or calisthenics.
Many women do not like gyms; for them, dance classes provide an alternative. Most Kaphas do not have a ballet dancer's build, but they feel much better about their natural shape, which tends to be stocky, once they gain the poise and balance that dance training instills. A few brave Kapha men, even with linebacker physiques, take up dance and find that they love it for this reason--they do not feel as if they are lumbering anymore.
NOTE: A few general precautions apply to all body types. Do not exercise:
Along with moderation, the key to balanced exercise is regularity.
1Chopra, Deepak, M.D. Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide. New York: Harmony Books, 1990
Skip introduction (history) and go on to the next topic.
Back to
top INTRODUCTION TO YOGA
Isn't Yoga just a series of physical
postures?
Actually, no. Yoga is a series of different practices to perfect body,
mind, and spirit.
When we think of 'Yoga' here in the 'West', we usually imagine
pretzel-like body postures, postures that only the most flexible can
perform while others struggle on the mats to touch their toes or other
body parts! But Yoga is actually far more than this. And it offers greater
benefits than increased physical flexibility.
In the next section, I will offer a discussion on the history and
philosophy of Yoga, and then I will outline various yoga postures and
their benefits--hopefully creating a quick reference guide of symptoms and
yogic posture relief. But for now, allow me to give a brief (!)
explanation and history into what Yoga really is.
YOGA BACKGROUND
The word 'Yoga' is a Sanskrit word meaning "Union". (Sometimes
translated as "Perfect Harmony"). Not does it refer to a balanced state of
perfect mind and body integration, the essential goal of Yoga practice is
to live 200% of life. Life in completeness as we were meant to live. Human
life has two aspects, the inner, unmanifest, unchanging, pure field of
Being, and the outer, ever-changing field of activity and
experience.2
The application of yoga allows one become a fully, self-actualized
human being (to coin Maslow's terms) or in other words, fully enlightened.
And it does so by providing direct experience. Most of us just think of
the various physical exercises as being Yoga. But in truth, Yoga is a very
broad science. It is a practical science of life which lays open to direct
experience not only the field of absolute Being, but all the different
levels of manifest creation as well. Where did Yoga Come From?
Our understanding of "Yoga" today today stems from Patanjali's Yoga
Sutras, which was written roughly 4th Century B.C. In Patanjali's
treatise, he outlines 8 limbs of Yoga (the exercises we think of are only
a small branch of this work). For hundreds of years, these different limbs
of Yoga have been mistakenly regarded as different steps in the
development of the state of Yoga, or perfect union. However, each limb is
intended to create the state of Yoga in the sphere of life to which it
relates. With the continuous practice of all these limbs, or means,
the state of Yoga grows simultaneously in all the eight
spheres of life, eventually becoming permanent. Further, the 8th limb
(samadhi), which has often been thought of as akin to a martial arts black
belt -- only achievable after years of practice and mastery at the lower
levels--is actually the one that can most quickly speed the development of
all the others.
I've had enough philosophy for one
day!
Okay, you can skip the following . . . but I haven't posted any more
yet, so come back in a week and check! What are these 8 limbs or spheres of
Yoga?
Very simply:
1. Yama - our behavior towards our environment (Skip
indepth explanation and return to top) A more indepth explanation lies below:
THE 8 SPHERES (LIMBS) OF YOGA:
1. The sphere of creation which lies outside us, but is influenced
by our thoughts and actions An individual, living the state of Yoga, naturally displays these 5
qualities:
a. Truthfulness (satya) 2. The Sphere of the Individual's Body and Nervous System The state of Yoga is found established in the field of the body and
nervous system when an individual's life is naturally upheld by these 5
rules of life:
a. Purification (shaucha). 3. The Sphere of Posture (Asana)
The state of Yoga is found established in the sphere of the limbs of
the body when there is perfect functioning of all the limbs in good
coordination with each other. In this state, the body maintains a state of
restful alertness, and capable of remaining in a steady posture for any
length of time.
4. The Sphere of Breath (Pranayama, breathing exercises)
All five breaths are steady in the state of Yoga. The five different
breaths are defined as:
a. Prana: governs inhalation and swallowing; 5. The sphere of life which lies between the senses and their objects
(Pratyahara)
The state of Yoga in this sphere refers to a state of complete
self-sufficiency on the part of the senses so that they are not projecting
outwards towards their objects. Yoga here means retirement from the field
of the objects of the senses.
6. The sphere of life that lies between the senses and the mind
(Dharana) The state of Yoga in this sphere is marked by the withdrawal of
the mind from the realm of the senses. Yoga here means retirement from the
realm of the senses.
7. The sphere of life that lies between the mind and Being (Dhyana--the
practice of meditation) The state of Yoga in this sphere is marked by the
refining of the mental impulses until the most refined state of mental
activity gets transcended. Yoga here means retirement from the field of
thoughts.
8. Transcendental Consciousness (Samadhi)
The state of Yoga in this sphere is experienced as the Transcendent,
uninvolved with anything.
I feel it is important to point out at this stage that all these are
limbs of yoga. An adept (or student) practices these different limbs not
to escape life, but in order to experience greater fullness in life:
greater health, happiness, and prosperity. This is a natural result of
Yoga, because in experiencing more of our true essence, we bring it forth
into our daily activities. Much in the same way that an archer pulls back
an arrow on his bow, in order to let it fly further forward.
It is in alternating the two experiences, of retiring and then acting,
that one becomes fully enlightened.
2'Reality' has two aspects: the manifest creation we see and
experience all around us, and the unmanifest--the source from whence all
creation arises. Quantum Physics refers to this unmanifest aspect of
reality as the vacuum state, Taoists call it the Tao, etc. It is known by
many different names, in many different cultures. For simplicities sake, I
shall refer to the unmanifest aspect of life as pure Being.
3A state of the individual where the life-force is always
found directed upwards.
I wish to acknowledge the following sources for the above information:
The Yoga of Herbs, by Dr. Vasant Lad and David Frawley. Lotus
Press: New Mexico. p. 18 (for the explanation of the different pranas);
and Next Topic:
Yoga Asanas (postures) and their benefits
2. Niyama - our
behavior towards ourselves
3. Asana - the practice of physical
exercises
4. Pranayama - the practice of breathing exercises
5.
Pratyahara - withdrawal of our senses from the stimulation of the
environment
6. Dharana - withdrawal of our mind from the field of the
senses
7. Dhyana - meditation, the experience of refinement of thought
towards the cessation of thought
8. Samadhi - "steady intellect", mind
is completely absorbed in the silent, transcendental state of Being
Yama: The five qualities of observance
for right action:
b. Non-violence (ahimsa).
c.
Non-covetousness (asteya).
d. Celibacy3 (brahmacharya).
e. Non-acceptance of others' possessions (aparigraha).
Niyama:
The five guidelines for right living:
b. Contentment (santosha).
c.
Austerity (tapas).
d. Study (svadhaya).
e. Devotion to God
(Ishvara-pranidhana).
b. Apana: governs all
downward discharges of feces, urine, semen, menstrual fluid and the fetus
c. Vyana: governs the circulatory system and the movement of joins and
muscles
d. Udana: governs speech, energy, will, effort, memory,
exhalation
e. Samana: governs the digestive system
Tranquil Space
Yoga
and last but more certainly not least, Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi On The Bhagavad-Gita: A New Translation And Commentary Chapters
1-6. Penguin Books: New York. Appendix.
(I would strongly
encourage you to start with this text first before delving headlong into
the actual Yoga Sutras.)
