Is Yoga a religion, a philosophy, a way of life, a way of physically exercising the body, a way to relax your body, a way to quiet-en your mind, a way to nourish your soul, a way of new thinking, a way to heal yourself, or a way to keep yourself healthy. Or is it just the ultimate cool fad that is the in-thing to talk about? The later statement should be just left as unanswered but the first question, with all answers are definitely true.
Before I say anymore, Yoga, Pranayama and Meditation techniques have been scientifically validated at Harvard Medical School and some other leading American, European and Indian medical institutions. So this should be enough to quiet-en all the disbelievers.
To an uninitiated it is hard to believe, and to someone having some positive impression, it is a subset of the all the above mentioned, and most probably more so at the grosser level. But to an advance practitioner of Yoga, it is a thing that can only be experienced. The journey for which has barely begun for me, but magically some insights and experiences have come to me, which I wanted to share with the rest of the folks. Hence I am penning down my thoughts.
Yoga may be a way to achieve many amazing powers though promised by Patanjali. I do not know about it but I know some amazing things that can be done, which an average person would not believe. For example, people who do Kung Fu, Karate, and Kalari, an ancient Indian Martial Art from Kerala, from which Kung Fu and Karate has derived, use a form of Pranayama, breath control, along with Dharna, a single pointed focus and meditation, to channel-ize their energies in their strikes.
Budhhist Monk Budhhi Raja, went to China in 500 AD, and established the temple of Shaolin, where he developed Kung Fu to defend himself from attacks from the soldiers of the local King. This was based on Kalari but adapted to local situation. One should go and see a Kung Fu Show by the Shaolin Temple Monks, or tricks performed by the Kerela Kalari Folks, then they would realize that some of things they do are really amazing and supernatural. I saw one in San Jose in 1998 much before I became a Yoga Practitioner and a Yoga Teacher.
In Discovery Channel, many years back, there was a show, where US Cops, were learning Karate combined with Karali techniques. There was this frail looking woman, and three cops were holding her, one from back and two from the sides. The fourth cop would come then and strike her with a long wooden rod on her stomach and then on her neck - needless to say that it was with a lot of force. First the demonstration came on her stomach, and she was all smiling during the blow and nothing happened to her. This was not surprising as I could also stand this since my boxing days in school. The trick is to tighten the stomach muscles and hold the breath, which is also part of Pranayama. The second demonstration came on her neck. The moment the blow was struck, she was all fine, and in a flash, she all collapsed and crumpled on the floor. I was shocked and so were the other participants. Then the most amazing thing happened. The next second she was all smiling, standing, and when repeatedly asked if she was OK, she kept answering positively that she was all fine. I still do not know what trick she used!
Acupressure and Acupuncture also go back to Yoga and have the same principles. In fact the other use of Karali is in treatment of patients, and is a lost science of Ayurveda. It is like the Touch Healing you see in some church gatherings on Television.
For me learning Yoga was a necessity to help my son, who had a head injury and had lost 1/3 brain from three places. At that time, as if there was a divine intervention, I got a visit from a swami in Coimbatore Ayurveda Dharamshala, where I was staying for 8 weeks to get my son treated, after some of his 5 surgeries, along with my daughter. I only knew naught of Yoga and Pranayama was a strange world that did not make any sense to me. There a swami passed by our cottage and I approached him just to see any new knowledge and guidance could be derived from the meeting to heal my son. He asked his assistant to teach us Pranayama, and the same evening she came but to be frank, I did not learn anything and my children also came with blank memory of the short training they had.
The same trip, while visiting my mother in Kanpur, I went to my neighbor’s house and their his daughter, whom I had seen as a little baby when I was in IIT, showed me a book. This book was on Pranic Healing by a western educated doctor from Los Angles who was talking about Chakras, subtle energy centers located over Nervous Plexus centers, where the nerves come, meet and depart like a hub, with Sanskrit like names. For me this was a first introduction to the subject and most intriguing but to a desperate seeker of knowledge to get some help to cure and recover his son, this was a skeptical window to some hope. He was using Pranic Healing in the hospital in LA and validated that it was helping his patients and this knowledge was shared among his colleagues. Kundalini Yoga has this aspect of focus on Chakras, and has also been recorded by modern medicine to be a phenomenon which they can not understand. Actually Pranic Healing was kind of used by me in recovery of my son during his Coma, inspired by some mythological stories of Shiva, a Mughal king's story on recovery of his son when all doctors had given up, and hearing some talk by Dr. Deepak Chopra the night before in the US when on the same day in India he would fall. In hind sight, Positive Thinking, Invoking the Divine Mind, Controlling of Pranas, Mass Prayers and Touch Healing are all connected and the same. Harvard University did publish a research on affect of Mass Prayers on sick and dying patients. Now there are many medical doctors all over the world who have turned to Pranic Healing, Yoga and Meditation to help the sicks. In fact Acupressure and Acupuncture is also connected with all this, as also mentioned before when discussing on Yoga.
Yoga is not a miracle and I am yet to experience a lot of benefits, but whatever I have experienced is good enough for me to talk about. I have been able to almost cure an auto immune disease which is incurable by Western Medicine, and I tried Radiation, Chemo, and many Ayurvedic treatments.
People often say, Yoga is not as good as some weight bearing exercises or some cardio-vascular aerobic exercises, which is not true. Yoga, has: (1) Stretching, (2) Weigh Bearing, (3) Cardio-Vascular/Aerobic, (4) Asans for Acu Pressure/Acu Puncture, (5) Breath Mastery and (6) Mental Meditation. Instead of going to a gymnasium and doing things on expensive machines, in Yoga one makes the body a machine and does exercise with all the benefits derived from the machine, but much more and with more meaningful benefits. Please mind Yoga is not there to build a body like Schwarzenegger!
The difference between Yoga and any western exercises is like the difference between a "love making" and "mechanical sex". Between and during doing Yoga, one is also meditating and relaxing.
The only draw back of Yoga is that it takes a long time but is very rewarding and relaxing. It is like being forced to take a vacation and rejuvenating yourself. Then one can incorporate some of the Pranayama techniques during other activities, and while sitting and just before sleeping!
So Yoga can help in the following things:
a. Weight Loss
b. Stress Management
c. Calming of Mind
d. Depression and Anxiety Disorders.
e. Back Problems, Spondylosis, and Nerve Pinching Issues
f. Muscle Aches
g. Joint Pains
h. Arthritis
i. Toning of Body
j. Blood Pressure
k. Auto Immune Disorders
l. Skin Diseases
m. Improve Running Stamina and Speed
n. Improve Swimming Stamina and Speed
o. External and Internal Massage of Organs
p. Improve Meditation - Dharna
q. Transcending of Mind - Dhyana
r. Anti-ageing and slowing of Ageing Process
s. Increased production of Endorphins - a morphine like neuro transmitter in the body for the felling of wellness and well being.
t. Improved Eye Sight
u. Singing
v. Apnea,
w. Insomnia
x. Flexibility
y. Respiratory Disorders and Infections
z. Improve Immunity
A. Cholesterol Reduction
B. Respiratory Infections and Disorders, like Cold, Influenza, Tuberculosis, Asthma and Bronchitis.
C. Straightening of Spinal Chord helping Posture and Height.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
