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WHAT IS YOGA?
YOGA is one of the six fundamental systems of Indian thought, known as dársanas or points of view. Yoga provides us with a ¨special way of seeing¨ things. (1)
In the ¨Yoga Sutra¨ written down by Patanjali 2,300 to 2,500 years ago, yoga is presented as a practical discipline. The maestro T.K.V. Desikachar remarks on this text, ¨The final objective is to create a stable mind and a healthy body.¨ (2)
The word yoga in Sanskrit means yug - union. When we do the exercises - asanas - we unite our body, mind, senses and breath in harmony. Says maestro B.K.S Iyengar ¨We must create a marriage between the awareness of the body and that of the mind. When the two parties do not cooperate, it leads to a sense of fragmentation and disease.¨ (3)
Another meaning of yug is to orientate the mind in only one direction. By means of yogic techniques, we can reach a meditative state in which the mind is quiet and clear at the same time, like a calm and sparkling sea in the early hours of the morning.
Traditionally in India, the health benefits of yoga are recognized as: preventive – rakshana; therapeutic – cikitsha; an aid to personal development – shikshana; a better use of our energy - shakti and a tool to spiritual development - adiatmika.
ASANAS– yogic physical exercises - work the whole body, culminating in relaxation. The dynamic exercises prepare for the static poses. As we progress, these asanas look less familiar. Holding ourselves in unusual positions increases our proprioception (the capacity to feel what your body is doing and where it is in space). As a result, our balance and general stability improve too.
Yoga practice benefits muscles and bones
Asanas strengthen the muscles and make them flexible at the same time. These isometric exercises improve endurance and multiply the red muscle fibres, providing a rejuvenating effect. The standing and other weight-bearing poses can increase bone density (4) - good protection against osteoporosis. Yoga poses realign the body, which, due to gravity and bad posture, becomes asymmetrical over the years. An improved symmetry helps prevent and /or relieve tensions, pains and degeneration of the joints.
Regular practice smoothes away muscular and emotional tensions, allowing a more relaxed attitude inside and out of the yoga studio. Endorphines (natural analgesics) in the blood increase, which relieves pain and improves emotional wellbeing.
Yoga works internally
Yoga benefits our internal organs. For example: the heart is strengthened. Certain asanas help to regulate hormone secretion.There is a healthy stimulation of the digestive and excretory systems, the blood and the lymphatic (immune) circulation. (5 y 6). Asanas put a massage-like pressure on certain internal areas. B.K.S. Iyengar contends that ¨squeezing out the old, stale blood or lymphatic fluids and soaking the area with fresh, oxygenated blood or fluids, yoga helps the body to utilize the nutrients it needs.¨ (7)
PRANAYAMA – yogic breathing exercises – practised separate from or together with asanas, slows down and deepens the way we breathe, increasing our lung capacity. Every slower and deeper inhalation brings more oxygen to the cells. Every longer exhalation has a more efficient cleansing and relaxation effect. We end up feeling more energetic in a more serene manner.
Pranayama practice separate from or together with asanas stimulates the parasympathetic. This part of the autonomous nervous system is responsible for relief of stress and anxiety and for general recovery, comprising what Doctor Herbert Benson M.D., founding president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute calls ¨the relaxation response¨. (8)
In this way our emotional wellbeing is improved, consequently strengthening our immune system and promoting general health. (9)
Yoga contributes to inner peace
Yoga practice lets us enjoy an intimate space, free from external pressures in which we are able to listen to our heart, get to know ourselves better and tune into our intuitive self.
(1)¨Yoga – Conversaciones sobre Teoría y Práctica¨ by T.K.V: Desikachar. Page 15. Editorial Viniyoga.
(2)¨Yoga-Sutra de Patanjali¨T.V.K. Desikachar. Edición EDAF, page 20.
(3)Article from Yoga Journal, Oct 2005, from the new book ¨Light on Life¨ by B.K.S. Iyengar, 2005.
(4)According to article by Phil Catalfo, ¨Yoga Helps Build Bone¨, Yoga Journal, June 2001, p112. Based on a study conducted by Professor Steven A. Hawkins and Faculty Yoga Teacher, Bee Beckman, of the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at California State University, Los Angeles, USA. In ¨Yoga and Osteoporosis¨ compiled by Trisha Lamb, International Association of Yoga Therapists, this above mentioned study is included, along with another one with similar results - ¨Pilot Study of Bikram Yoga for Building Bone Density¨ by Travis Ligget, Space Station Biological Research Project, NASA. USA. (http://brp.arc.nasa.gov/.)
(5 & 8)¨Count on Yoga¨ article by Doctor Timothy McCall M.D. Yoga Journal, Jan/Feb 2005 p 96-159.
(6) ¨Biomechanics of Yoga¨ by Doctor Krishna Raman. (www.medicineau.net.au/columns/yoga/biomech.htm)
(7)Good to the Bone¨ by Linda Sparrowe. Article: (www.yogajournal.com/health/535/cfm).
(9)¨Cómo influyen las emociones en la salud¨ page 1. by Daniel Goleman (www.yogakai.com/goleman.htm)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
¨Anatomy of Yoga¨ by H. David Coulter. Editorial: Body and Breath.
¨Dr Yoga¨ by Nirmala Heriza. Editorial: Penguin.
¨El Libro del Yoga y de la Salud para la Mujer¨ by Linda Sparrowe and Patricia Walden. Editorial: Luz de Oriente.
¨El Yoga y la Salud¨ by Mira Mehta. Editorial: Tutor.
¨Emociones Destructivas¨ by Daniel Goleman. Editorial: Kairos.
¨Inteligencia Emocional¨ by Daniel Goleman; Editorial: Kairos.
¨La Luz del Yoga¨ by B.K.S. Iyengar. Editorial: Kairos.
¨Light on Life¨ by B.K.S. Iyengar. Editorial: Rodale.
¨The Heart of Yoga¨by T.K.V. Desikachar. Editorial: Inner Traditions International.
¨Yoga and Medical Science¨ by Dr Krishna Raman. Editorial: East-West Books (Madras).
PRECAUTIONARY NOTE: THIS IS NOT A MEDICAL TEXT, BUT A COMPENDIUM OF REMARKS CONCERNING THE DEFINITION AND BENEFITS OF YOGA ON THE HUMAN BODY, MIND AND EMOTIONS TAKEN FROM THE ABOVE MENTIONED PUBLICATIONS.
