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Yoga cannot simply be only a physical exercise.
Many people in the West still believe that they are not good enough to practice yoga or that yoga isn’t suitable for them. There are some wrong assumptions of several kinds that people harbour about yoga practice.
Yoga can be beneficial for everyone regardless of his or her age. It improves the whole psychosomatic balance of the body. This shift brings about not only an improvement in physical health but also the improvement of the mental processes. The entire system is harmonized and the quality of one’s life improves. Yogic practice has been thoroughly examined through the centuries and is the most effective form of mental hygiene. It not only strengthens our body but also increases our resistance to stress. This is because practicing yoga induces a relaxed state with which a sufficient experience can be turned into a permanent state of one’s body and mind.
The old Rishis and Yogis were fully aware of the connection between the physical body and the mind. That is why yoga cannot simply be only a physical exercise.
The practicing of yoga is in no way maintaining drastic restrictions. It is a slow, gradual and kind way of developing the inner intelligence of our body. When the practice begins to yield its positive effects, the intelligence on its own begins to take over the command and spontaneously amends all negative habits. The first requirement is only for the food that we eat to be light and well digestible. This is where Ayurveda comes in, for it helps a person recognize, what food is good for him or her according to his or her constitution and state of health.
The old Rishis and Yogis were fully aware of the connection between the physical body and the mind. That is why yoga cannot simply be only a physical exercise. A mind that is filled with hate or anger triggers cascades of harmful physical reactions in the body. The negative effects cannot be harmonized by any type of physical exercise, but only by calming and controlling the mind. The first two steps of the eightfold path of yoga, yama and niyama, provide an invaluable service; they allow us to systematically study which thoughts, attitudes and deeds are harmful to us. A person enters into an adventurous process of self study through the practice of yama and niyama. Not only it is the process of self rejuvenation awakened inside one’s self, but the individual is geared towards the highest goal of yoga! Ayurvedic psychology leads a person who shows willingness to internal change through similar steps.
No wise and experienced teacher of yoga insists on his pupils to go beyond the limits of pain during practice. He does not ‘push’ them into any position and does not correct them by force. The physical perfection of Yogic postures is not the goal of yoga. Furthermore, the key to gaining flexibility is not physical overstraining, but breathing and correct movement of prana throughout the body. When guided properly, the flexibility of the body establishes itself after a period of time. Throughout the time of my experience I have seen a number of unbelievable cases, where the flexibility of eighty year olds improved immensely after several months of practicing yoga. Being overweight is also not an obstacle for making a beginning with yoga for it is not the performance of physical abilities but the experience of inner peace that counts.
Yoga is not a panacea. It is unsuitable for those suffering from acute illnesses. Yoga, practiced by people of deeper mental instability creates more harm than good. Ayurveda has an unsubstitutable role in chronic diseases where guidance of an experienced and sincere teacher is necessary.
Being afraid of yoga and its effects only shows the presence of ignorance. The root cause of this fear may lie in lack of information about what yoga is. It can also be the misunderstanding of the true meaning of one’s own religion that makes people fearful and suspicious of other paths. It can also be the result of a preceding unfortunate experience. Do not allow yourselves to become discouraged when you come upon a teacher or school of yoga that does not satisfy you. Seek sincerely and whole heartedly with an open and discriminative mind and the true path of yoga shall be revealed to you.
The reason for the interconnectedness of yoga and Ayurveda is expressed beautifully by an old Indian saying; “One, who pursues material desires (bhogi) sooner or later, becomes a patient (rogi). One begins to suffer through one’s own illness and suffering gradually lead to the recognition of the true values. During this process of transformation one becomes a Yogi.”
However, to me this saying expresses something very meaningful - that yoga does not begin or end somewhere behind the closed doors of yoga centres. Yoga is life itself and we all carry it in our own hearts. In the core of our being we all have a desire for everlasting happiness. This desire guides us according to our abilities and experience towards the unity with the true current of life. This unity is called Yoga. Our steering towards it is called yoga. Ayurveda serves us as a light that enables us to avoid the difficult pitfalls material life brings along our path.
Every expression of goodness we show to the others is yoga. Yoga is nothing that would belong to only a few chosen individuals. Yoga is not the patent of Hinduism, even though many would like to portray it that way. Sri Shankara and Vivekananda were devoted only to the Truth and its realization, not to religion. Yoga takes place in the hearts of those who understand the depth of the teachings of Christ as well as in the hearts of those who praise the name of Krishna. Yoga is in the teachings of the Dalai Lama and in the words of Mohammed. Yoga is the connection that leads to unity. Only division and enclosure is not yoga. If we stop saying ‘I’ and ‘mine’ and begin to live in the awareness of ‘we all’, we begin to realize yoga.
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Titled as “Roving Ambassador of Ayurveda”, belongs to the first generation of Ayurvedic practitioners and teachers who have pioneered the way for Ayurveda's recognition as a mainstream system of medicine.
Born and raised in Paris, she has always been looking at the horizon. The city that nourished her, it was her trampoline for courageous free flight around this planet. It’s inspiring to keep up with her.