18/01.21
Yoga: the science of happiness
Yoga, as a way of life and a philosophy, can be practiced by anyone with an inclination to undertake it, for yoga belongs to humanity as a whole.
Pattabhi Jois
Take a deep breath and imagine yourself. You have just woken up in the morning and from the heart, a big smile appears on your face. You are thinking of the bright day ahead full of opportunities and surprises.
Imagine: you have found a renewed insight about life that makes your stomach overflowing with butterflies such is the excitement you feel.
Imagine: you are enjoying life at its fullest, testing moment by moment with peace of mind and loving feelings emanate from every cells of the body.
YOGA IS THE ANSWER!
We do know now, thanks to the Quantum physics theory, that the mind and the body are intrinsically connected. This finding has been the foundation of yoga practice for thousands of years and the breath is the link between the body/mind system.
The body lives in the physical plane while the mind belongs to the energetic field, since nobody could actually find where consciousness exactly resides. Yet, the mind plays a crucial part in the overall wellness of the body.
Nourishment, such as food is necessary for our survival, but the mind needs to be nourished as well if we want to maintain our mental wellbeing.
TO BREATHE IS NOURISHMENT.
Do you remember the old adagio “we are what we eat?” For nourishment, I intend everything that passes through the body, gets digested and assimilated, while what has been left over is finally expelled.
Oxygen is the primary sustainment of the body and mind, necessary for our survival. On average, a lack of oxygen of only 7 minutes leads to death for suffocation. Also, the first act we perform at birth is to Inhale, while at the end of life the very last is to Exhale. And what is more amazing, is the fact that we breathe, something like 20,000 breath for a day, without even realising it. It is an act that the body does without thinking.
To make breathing a conscious act is nourishing the body at its deepest level, the cellular, the atomic level, or the energetic body. Breath in yoga is considered the vital energy, called Prana, that flows into the body through our cells, the QI energy according to Chinese medicine.
Through yoga poses or asanas, yoga nourishes the body and mind together.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY, MIND AND SOULD BY PRACTICING YOGA
Asanas, in fact, make space into the body and the prana reaches deep down exactly where the current of energy has once stopped flowing or stacked, and open the nadis.
According to Ayurveda and the old Chinese medicine, this is the cause of all illness.
There are many asanas, each of them having a specific effect on different organs and bodily systems as well as contributing to general wellbeing.
Everyone can perform them safely, without limit of age, gender, or body type, although it is strictly recommended to seek the guidance of a yoga teacher to avoid misalignment that could lead to injuries.
Especially for beginners, it is important to start doing the right things rather than carrying on doing wrong postures.
YOGA IS FOOD FOR THE MIND
With the body becoming more flexible and fluid in its movements, the mind finds peace and rest from the unstoppable, repetitive thoughts that span from tasks to accomplish, to replay of past memories and conversations, self-judgment and judgments of others, resentment, and all the junk that refrain us to live a fulfilling life, simply because there is not focus on what we do. We think about rubbish.
YOGA GIVES THE MIND THE GIFT OF PEACE
However, there is a third dimension of our existence, which is often referred to as the astral plane, that comes to consciousness through yoga practice. It is the Spiritual dimension of our being, where feelings such as joy, love, contentment reside in.
Without doubt, the ultimate goal in life is to BE HAPPY. Yoga, nourishing both body and mind, opens us up to gratefulness and joy. Feelings. which are to be found in the above stratum of our existence, in the spiritual plane. However, is only when we radiate love from within, that we reach those feelings.
ONE
Oneness is when the heart and the mind are working together.
What hearts are drowned from, minds will act upon and the body will soon follow. However, to follow the heart is to be brave, audacious, nevertheless the mind is trained to keep us safe, thus creating a constant battle between the two.
Yoga trains the body to be healthy, the mind to be peaceful, the spirit to be resilient hence to find the courage to follow your dreams, to do what you love most, and be fulfilled. Because you love yourself, what you do and the life you are creating.
Nobody says it was easy, but if you want to change something start from changing your attitude.
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