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How Yoga and Meditation Can Improve Your Quality Of Life
By OnTopic | October 11, 2008
It’s no secret that yoga and meditation go hand-in-hand. While some people use yoga merely to meet their fitness goals, many instructors emphasize the 5,000 year old spiritual teachings that are behind the movements, positions, stretches and breathing techniques. They argue that unless you subscribe to the basic principles of yoga, you will not achieve full balance and spiritual oneness.
One type of meditation yoga is called Sahaja yoga, meaning “spontaneously born within”. This form of yoga and meditation has been in practice in the US since the 1970s but borrows from ancient religion. Spiritual awakening is encouraged mainly through posture and breathing, relaxation techniques and visualizing energy flow. While some forms of fitness yoga stress physical movement, Sahaja emphasizes spirituality and teaching.
Students of this branch will study the three vertical energy channels within the human body: the sun channel (governing our thought processes), the parasympathetic / nervous system channel (governing our body processes) and the moon channel (governing our emotions). In addition to these three channels, millions of chakras (literally translated from Sanskrit to mean “wheels” or energy centers) are swirling around us, keeping the channels in motion. Chakras can vary from religion to religion, but Sahaja Yoga focuses on several in its yoga and meditation: the crown chakra (pituitary gland / consciousness), the third eye chakra (pineal gland / sleep and awakening), the throat chakra (thyroid / growth and maturity), the heart chakra (thymus / stress and wellbeing), the solar plexus chakra (pancreas / digestion and energy), the sacral chakra (groin / sexuality and reproduction) and the root chakra (adrenal gland / basic fight or flight instincts and kundalini awakening).
Another study is the Raja Yoga tradition (the “king” of yoga or “royal path”), which is heavily steeped in spirituality. Practitioners believe in a serious code based upon self-restraint, quietude, concentration, regulation of breathing, uniting body and mind through action, withdrawing from the senses and studying religious texts. Often retreats are offered (by places like the Margaret Austin Retreat Center in Texas or the Chopra Center in Carlsbad, California) to help students immerse themselves in a new way of thinking. Students will learn about the Eightfold Path and the seven chakras, in addition to yamas and niyamas (code of conduct and religious observances, respectively).
Yoga and meditation have been restoring energy and balance for thousands of years. For that tattooed man at Rikers Island prison, finding that much-coveted sense of spirituality has been his only relief from his physical captivity. For the mother of three, this hour of quietude has calmed her nerves and boosted her spirits. For the man with intermittent explosive anger disorder, his emotions are now subdued and connected with something larger than himself. For the cancer patient and the arthritic elderly, yoga and meditation has relieved pain that hundreds of harmful prescription medications could not. Miracles are happening everywhere, so why not get started today? More information can be found at SahajaYoga.org, Yoga.com and IAYT.org.
Practicing Yoga and Pilates is nothing new. Its been around for centuries but has enjoyed a revival of interest in the past few decades. It is not just naturalists, Buddhists or Hindus practicing, it is now a mainstream form of exercise and relaxation. If you do not have a regular workout program or even if you want a change of pace, Yoga may be what you need. You can look good and feel good quickly. Are you ready to begin learning this ancient art? Click here to read more: Yoga Accessories and at What Is Yoga also at Yoga Pants
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