Yoga-For Holistic Healing

Yoga
Alternative Therapy

The word "Yoga" is derived from the Sanskrit word "yuj" which means "to unite or integrate." Yoga is about the union of a person’s own consciousness and the universal consciousness. Ancient Yogis had a belief that in order for man to be in harmony with himself and his environment, he has to integrate the body, the mind, and the spirit.

For these three to be integrated, emotion, action, and intelligence must be in balance.

Yoga Philosophy It also outlines eight limbs of yoga: the yamas (restraints), niyamas (observances), asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (control over senses), dharana (concentration), dhyan (meditation), and samadhi (absorption). As we explore these eight limbs, we begin by refining our behavior in the outer world, and then we focus inwardly until we reach Samadhi (liberation, enlightenment).

Six Branches of Yoga: Hatha Yoga (Yoga of Postures), Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of Devotion), Raja Yoga (Yoga of Self-Control), Jnana Yoga (Yoga of the Mind), Karma Yoga (Yoga of Service), and Tantra Yoga (Yoga of Rituals).

Most popular form practiced today is Hatha Yoga. Most people today practice the third limb of Yoga, the Asanas. The Asanas are a program of physical postures designed to purify the body and provide the physical strength and stamina required for long periods of meditation.

Yoga Therapy Yoga therapy is the healing process through following any one or more limbs of Yoga. This process cultivates body/mind integration and a sense of harmony with life. It promotes the innate healing resources of the body, helping restore the proper functioning of the various bodily systems.

Yoga therapists are experienced yoga teachers, who have proper understanding of body mechanisms and the application of yoga to medical conditions. Yoga Therapy can be practised in conjunction with any medical treatments, and also in tandem with other complementary therapies. No prior experience of yoga is necessary before starting.

Yoga and Misconceptions There are still a lot of misconceptions about Yoga; for instance, Yoga being a religion, a form of exercise or that one has to be vegetarian to practice Yoga. These beliefs are either baseless or partially true.

Yoga Benefits Medical researches provide increasing evidence that Yoga therapy is effective.

In conditions such as anxiety, low back pain, arthritis, hypertension, heart conditions, hyperventilation, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, Yoga therapy is particularly beneficial.

Yoga therapy can also promote positive health for pregnancy and childbirth, mothers and babies, children, reproductive health in women and men, and the elderly.