Yoga and You

Think about the story a body might tell about a lifetime, without words. Maybe the story would unfold like a wave of sensation through a vast sea of infinitely colored feelings and absences. Or, from the outside, it might rush by like a silent film with time through the course and cycles of the birthmark, the circumcision, the haircut, the surgical wound, the expansion, the transformation, and the decay. Without qualifying words, rational explanations, or spinning dialogues, the body might tell a bare story, stripped down towards the truth of where it has been and what has been its course. In this loud world of external existence, I find myself wanting, somehow, to keep remembering that we keep forgetting to tell these beautiful stories. We can’t hear them any way, we think, as we ramble on to the drugstore for our prescriptions. Words cannot reach the place where these stories are born. And we tell this to the doctor when he asks for the fifth sample of blood, and we give it. Words cannot reach these places and yet, the stories unfold in unfathomable shapes--like the shape of one’s life. “Perfecting the body," "the body as a temple," and even the "immortality" of the inner or subtle body are seen as part of the know-how of enlightenment. Yoga becomes one of the most evident examples of it within the tantric movement, in which the yogi makes the body the locus and tool for the liberation of itself. This is clearly consistent with Dillon's "refining the body." The chartings of the internal landscapes of the subtle body and its dynamics are brought to the foreground, and, at the time of death, it is said that the gross body is left behind as if it were an external shell, allowing the subtle, or more luminous body to continue.

The word ‘yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit word yuj, meaning to bind, join, yoke, or attach “all the powers of the body, mind and soul to God”. Traditionally, the Eastern form of yoga is a disciplined practice that utilizes breath, asana, and the visual imagery of the chakra system in order to connect with God.

The Yoga of Embodiment is a practice that is deeply rooted in the pioneering work of Authentic Movement. Based on the assumption that the mind and body are in constant reciprocal interaction, Authentic Movement forges a union between images born of the unconscious and the body, as the receptacle of experience. It is like this: when a child develops the courage to slide down the playground slide, she wants to know that someone will be there to catch her when she lands. Without faith that a loving parent will be there when she falls, the child may resist the ride. In a similar manner, the ritual of yoga may substantiate the knowledge that love, and community, will be there as a support during the courageous journey of self-exploration, revelation, and descent.

Today the phenomenon of excess weight gain is common, thanks to the sedentary lifestyles, liberal food intake, more sodas and more chocolates. Not just children but also young adults prefer TV than playing outdoors, and elders sit down on sofas and watch their favorite shows for hours without going outside for a stroll. These are many more such reasons are resulting in weight gain and eventually obesity. Yoga is the only solution which has no after-effects, not like

those weight loss programs which claim to decrease your butts and ultimately lead to harmful effects. However, because the Eastern conception of God, and of the body, is entirely different from the understanding born of Western culture, it would be silly to presume that yoga, as practiced in the Eastern tradition would move us toward consciousness. Rather, for the sake of consciousness, Western culture must develop a practice of yoga that emanates from its own cultural history. With the growing interest in Eastern forms of yoga in the West, it has become evident that Western culture is hungering to acknowledge, include, and recognize the container of the physical body. However, Westerners will not achieve the desired goal of ‘yoking’ body to spirit if it continues to understand “yoga” literally, as it has understood disease literally. What happens is that thousands of Americans can be seen hurrying to yoga classes, quarreling over floor space, and working for hours to achieve the perfect pose. Instead of using the imagination to understand the meaning and message of yoga, Westerners are understanding the practice in a literal way. The Eastern sages knew about the relationship of symbols to the body. We can see it in the description of the chakras.

Starting with Yoga

With Yoga practice losing weight is simple yet challenging, because in order to lose weight one has to burn the calories each day than what he or she consumes. Said simply it means you have to eat less, and do physical exercise more. Only Yoga has the power to challenge the body's muscles and the tissues to perform the Yoga chores. It is easy but it needs your will power, like eat few calories, drop the sugar containing items like candy, soda, ice-cream, chocolates etc.

Although you might get distracted times and again but the mental benefits of Yoga and its mediation effects will help you with continuing your Yoga practice. Yoga will be like your mentor throughout, it will slow down your mental activities to help you not to get distracted with the urge to eat more. Yoga asanas or physical exercises are a great way to burn calories, strengthen your bones and tissues. Yoga's extremely proper postures and age old techniques will help you relax more effectively, while its stress reducing effects will help you shed your fat and your weight. You will very soon mark the physical changes, as you will start to sweat and burn your fat, you will feel looser and thus relaxed and you will feel lighter and hence more comfortable and stress-free.

First of all schedule a routine, set a specific time and a place for Yoga asanas. The best time according to Yoga gurus are dawn and dusk, because the rising of the sun and its setting charges the body with unseen energy. In case you are not comfortable with dawn or dusk, find another time which suits you the best, but whatever time you set down, go ahead and practice timely and regularly. Keep in mind never to practice Yoga after eating. It is better that your stomach is empty. It is better to start Yoga after one hour of eating snacks or after 2 hours of a meal. Drink water, before and after Yoga but not in-between the practice session.

Yoga is unlike those exercise and work-outs that you do in gym or clubs. No heavy weights, no rush. Yoga is more spiritual than physical. It connects the mind with the body slowly that you gain control over mind. Breathing is an important part of Yoga, so always concentrate on your breathing, breathe slowly but fully. Leave all the tension apart once you start Yoga, unnecessary tension may produce negative thoughts. And remember patience is the key.

The asanas of Yoga for making the abdomen tight:

Tree pose, Dog pose, Swinging lotus pose, Bridge pose Squat and rise pose.

Yoga asanas for making the chest tight:

Triangle pose, Back pose, Cobra pose, Wind releasing pose, Lumbar wheel pose

Yoga asanas for butt and thigh:

Sun salute, Triangle pose, Angle pose, Celibacy pose, Wind releasing pose, Butterfly pose.

Pranayama or breathing practice:

Inhale and blow abdomen, expand the chest. Relax chest and abdomen and exhale.

Yoga Meditation

Breath slowly and put all your attention to it.