Natural Healing by YOGAInformation on the healing powers of YOGA.
Natural Healing by YOGA
Yoga consists of poses that help one to draw in energy by opening a chakra. They are also geared towards constricting or unleashing your internal organs, as well as harnessing energy. Yoga is a form of natural healing that emphasizes the collaboration of one’s body, mind and heart as it is practiced. Proponents of yoga claim that you will feel peaceful after a yoga session since your body will be naturally realigned – this, in turn, changes how you perceive life and your presence in the universe. Practicing real yoga will produce changes – in your body, your behavior, your mind, your health, your breathing patterns, your outlook and your attitudes. If you are serious about pursuing yoga, direct experience is the best teacher. The ways in which your body can function most efficiently will be revealed to you. In addition, you will be enlightened on how your unconscious and conscious mind may either benefit or imperil you – eventually, you will develop a deeper sort of wisdom. Basically, yoga is the journey of a yoga practitioner into himself in an attempt to discover and stir up his spiritual essence. The first type of yoga commonly practiced by Westerners is Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga is a component of Raja Yoga which generally teaches breathing and physical postures. Raja Yoga, which is founded on the Eight Limbs of Yoga as stated in the Yoga sutras, is generally practiced by members of religious or spiritual orders. Karma Yoga is devoted to spiritual practice that allows you to unify heart, mind and body by daily practices incorporated into your work and life. Bhakti Yoga is a devotional kind of yoga that offers chanting, perusal of scriptures and ways of worship. Jnana Yoga is also a form of yoga and concentrates on the capacity of man’s intelligence or the power of the mind. A Jnana Yogi believes that wisdom and intellect are essential so they should be united so that limitations may be overcome. A Jnana Yogi accepts other religions and philosophies since he acknowledges that possessing an open and rational mind is important if one is to know his spirit. Lastly there is Tantra Yoga. In Tantra Yoga, the follower relies on rituals so he can experience the sacredness of life. This branch of yoga is misunderstood because it incorporates sex in its practices. In reality, a Tantra Yogi should imbibe essential qualities such as truthfulness, cosmic love, dedication to his Guru, devotion, humility and purity. A posture in yoga is called an asana. Every posture is maintained for some time and is accompanied by controlled breathing. The proper way to conduct a yoga session is to start with a gentle posture or asana then continue to the more robust and demanding asanas. Pranayama is the term for controlled breathing. A complete yoga session encompasses postures for all parts of the body, as well as relaxation and meditation. The asanas in yoga may be postures done lying down, sitting up, and standing up. There are also asanas that require forward bends, twisting, back bending, and being upside down. Over 100 traditional poses (which may have just as many variations) can be categorized as either active or passive. The active poses are responsible for stimulating brain cells, toning endocrine glands and internal organs, as well as working out certain muscle and nerve groups. One engages in the passive poses mainly during periods of meditation, relaxation and pranayama. The whole body benefits when all the yoga asanas are employed. A regular practitioner of yoga finds that the discipline corrects systemic and postural complaints while keeping the whole body in tiptop shape. The most common form of yoga in the West (Hatha Yoga) has the following structural benefits: the vertebrae are re-aligned; flexibility is improved; and muscles and connective tissue are toughened. Simultaneously, your internal organs are revitalized; toxins and waste matter are emitted from your pulmonary, cardiovascular and lymphatic systems; your endocrine and nervous systems reach a state of equilibrium; and of course your brain cells are nurtured and invigorated. In the end, you gain in mental clarity and emotional stability, and have a feeling of general well-being. You stand to gain the most benefit from practicing an asana when you become trained in relaxation while doing a certain pose. Genuine relaxation is brought about by immersing yourself in a state of deep concentration. In this state, your mind concentrates only on your body – particularly the control of your breathing and bodily sensations such as the regular flexion and extension of various muscles in your body. In time and with practice, you will be able to focus this way during an entire yoga session. Breathing is important in yoga since our body is heavily dependent on breathing to provide nourishment to every cell. Though the average person relies on approximately just 1/7 of his overall lung capacity, we can be trained to surpass this through deep abdominal breathing and relying on certain pranayama practices. In the course of learning how to breath right, we are able to boost the critical flow of energy to different bodily organs, increase our immunity to illness, and even be healed of various maladies. The nervous system stands to benefit significantly when we learn to change how we breathe. This is because our brain cells consume 3x as much oxygen as our other body cells. When we control our breathing, we provide more oxygen to our brain cells. At the same time, we stimulate and improve the functions of our voluntary and autonomic nervous systems. In addition, our mind and emotions become more stable if we regularly practice pranayama. There are sometimes misconceptions regarding yoga – for example, some people believe yoga is a religion. It is not; rather it is a group of techniques that allow the practitioner to discover spirituality. Many followers of different religions (such as Jews, Christians, Buddhists and Muslims) are known to practice yoga now. Yoga is also mistakenly believed to be simply a set of fitness practices. This is partly correct but yoga is so much more than that. Yoga emphasizes fitness because a weak body prevents one from growing spiritually, but yoga also concentrates on the mental and spiritual aspects. You can stand to benefit from the practice of yoga since: a. through yoga, your body and mind can be relaxed even under extremely stressful conditions (breathing is regulated and cluttered thoughts are discarded) b. you can gain your desired weight (whether you are either underweight or overweight now) because yoga emphasizes maintaining balance and moderation in physical exertion and diet c. you become less susceptible to illness d. your energy level and productivity go up, particularly when you need it e. you achieve pure inner peace and self-actualization through practicing meditation.
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