Yoga and
Ayurveda
are considered to be
sister sciences
for healing and rejuvenation on all levels of
our being. Traditional Ayurveda focuses more on
the treatment side of this process (Chikitsa)
for body and mind, while traditional Yoga aims
more at self-development and Self-realization
(Sadhana).
We
practice and teach "
Hatha
Yoga." The most popular form of yoga,
Hatha emphasizes health and well-being through
breathing exercises, special postures (called
Asanas), and concentration.
Gorakhnath, a Hindu master Yogi who lived about
1000 AD, created many of its primary breathing
exercises and postures, including the famous lotus
position. What most people simply refer to as
"Yoga" is, in fact, Hatha yoga.
Yoga is mainly made up of different
Asanas
or body postures; each scientifically prescribed
to stretch and exercise and stimulates some part
of the body or the other. The primary purpose
of Asanas is to bring balance and harmony to the
five basic elements of that govern the body. It
is the balance of these elements that ensures
good health and well being. Based on a deep understanding
of humans and their position in the world, Yoga
was the first system evolved in the world to recognise
the interaction and connection between body and
mind.
Yoga is not a question of merely sitting in a
prescribed position or closing one's eyes. Yoga
cannot provide any quick fix solutions. Instead
it provides a cultivation of an attitude and an
approach to life; a philosophy not only to be
imbibed but also to be lived; an attitude more
than a substitute to action.
Yoga exercises have a
strengthening effect
on the nervous system through its non-tiring
physiological activities that bring about poise
of body and mind. Unlike the normal workouts that
concentrate more on the inflation of the muscles,
Yoga takes care of every little part of
the anatomy.
Yogic Asanas accelerate blood circulation in the
body and Pranayama abates carbon dioxide content
ensuring sound health. Yoga provides all-round
benefits to a human being which includes Increasing
Flexibility , Increasing lubrication of the joints,
ligaments and tendons, Massaging of ALL Organs
of the Body, Complete Detoxification, Excellent
toning of the muscles.
Indeed, Yoga has traversed a long distance from
the hermitages of the old sages to the cities
of modern person. A way of life that has been
evolved as a system that goes beyond the personality
complex to achieve absolute liberation of the
spirit from the material substance of life.
Scientists today ascertain that the intrinsic
organic health of a human being is of prime importance
along with the outer development of the body.
This was realised thousands of years ago by the
ancient Indian Yogis. The practice of Yoga has
a substantial foundation in science.
In addition to Yoga, meditation is also a significant
therapy in Ayurveda and is an effective tool of
rejuvenation and de-stressing.
