Yoga, Natural Healing and Daily Treasures

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

We might hear: Hatha Yoga can be applied toward healing, without a mat or a visit to the local ashram, but how can this be? What daily treasures are we missing out on, and how can Yoga be applied toward healing outside of our practice time?

The time we spend practicing Yoga is “practice time for life.” We should enjoy every minute of it. Too many people do not take the time to enjoy what they are doing, when they are doing it. This is why the benefits of Yoga take a little time before they become obvious.

However, the practice of Yoga is only part of the “big picture.” The application of Yogic principles, to our lifestyle, is a major key to better health. The following are events in our daily lives, for which we should make time:

1. Make the most of your time at work. Many people dread work, because the tasks have become mundane, or they feel the work is beneath them. This can happen when a person has more potential than their job allows. Some employers would prefer employees to refrain from making suggestions.

Friends may advise you to leave a job you dislike, but what about your paycheck, and what about your family? The solution is to realize what work is. Work is the cost of success. Work is not your identity – it is a combination of tasks we perform to get from one point to the next.

We could compare work to traveling, because we are trying to get somewhere by working. However, we can control the quality of the journey by doing our personal best with each task. If your work is having a negative effect on your health, the logical solution is to find another job.

2. Make time for laughter. Laughing stimulates the immune system. Adults tend to neglect laughing, but it is vital because of the health benefits. Laughing activates T-cells (antibiotics that are naturally produced within your body). Laughter also decreases pain by releasing endorphins.

3. Make time for playing. While it is important to work and study – it is also important to let your inner child be entertained. Any sport or game, that releases the mind from the daily burdens of worrying and taking life so serious, is worth your time. Life is too short to forget about playing.

4. Make time for prayer. It is easy to have a distorted view of life when so much bad news is easily accessible. Yet, worship allows each of us to clarify our vision. The path of reverence allows us to see.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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Discover the Benefits of Yoga Meditation Practice

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

What is more valuable to you – a trained body or a trained mind?  Most people would think about this for a second and decide that physical appearance, through training the body, is more important to them.  In Hatha Yoga, we can easily see the number of students who pursue physical mastery through asana practice.

Not everyone feels asana is the “Holy Grail” of Yoga, but physical prowess is still an attraction.  However, for one to pursue physical mastery over mental mastery, one must feel that his or her mental health is going along just fine.  If this were so, why are so many people experiencing chronic stress, anxiety, panic disorder, depression, and a variety of mental disorders?

Meditation may not be the solution to all the mental ailments humankind experiences, but it sure can help.  Many Western medical doctors recommend meditation as an adjunct therapy.  Many counselors, psychiatrists, and psychologists, also recommend Yoga to stabilize the mind.

The most common reason why Yoga students want to learn meditation is to relax the mind when needed.  To relieve the mind and body of negative nervous energy is the result of a complete Hatha Yoga practice.  In other words: Physical exercises (asanas), alone, will not produce optimum results for holistic health.

Asanas will help purge negative energy from the body and mind, up to a limited point.  This is the reason why Maharishi Patanjali mentions eight limbs in the Yoga Sutras.  He mentions Yoga as a way of life and higher levels of concentrated meditation.  He does mention asana, but it is just one of the eight limbs.

The last four of the eight limbs – Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi, are concerned with meditation and preparation for it.  Therefore, the value and benefits of daily practice, go much further than the skin’s surface.

What are the benefits of meditation?  Meditation is the most natural of today’s methods to bring the mind under control.  Prescribed drugs, alcohol, and illegal drugs are often used or abused, with the goal of relaxing the mind.  Based on the cost of chemical addictions, people will pay a high price, in many ways, to relax their minds.  Meditation does not have negative side effects.

In comparison to many forms of therapy, meditation is extremely cost effective.  An intermediate practitioner will have no difficulty practicing alone.  A few asanas and pranayama (Yogic breathing) techniques will aid to relax the body before a meditation sessions.  The end result is a focused and relaxed mind, which is prepared for daily tasks.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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