Teachings of Yoga for Health & Wellness

Teachings of Yoga

In ancient India the early Yogis were a group of mystics and scientists to whom the relationship between a mortal man and an immortal spirit was of great interest. They set about to find ways and means of uniting these two during the earthly life of man. They spent not decades but centuries in making their experiments with different methods of concentration, meditation and relaxation; with various breathing processes, postures and foods. When they finally succeeded in their experiments, they systematized the result of their findings and called it the science of Yoga. The aim of Yoga is to achieve reintegration of the individual consciousness with the cosmic consciousness.

H.H.Shri Kumarswamiji explains the ‘Teachings of Yoga’ in the below article.

Yoga has much to offer to you. It teaches you how to breathe correctly, correct breathing refreshes you both in body and mind. It teaches you how to relax completely, complete relaxation restores your vitality. It teaches you how to practise Asanas which, if properly done, protect you against cold, fever, constipation, headache and other troubles. It teaches you what to eat and what not to eat and judicious eating preserves your health. It teaches you how to meditate and meticulous meditation keeps your mind calm, collected and well balanced. Finally, it teaches you what to do in order to remain younger and live longer, regardless of your calendar age.

Man’s deep yearning for eternal youth is as old as the race. Goethe immortalized it in his Faust who bartered away his soul to Mephistopheles for the gift of undying youth. Goethe’s masterpiece touches a sympathetic cord in all, for there is a Faust in every one of us. Years of patient research and tons of gold bars have been spent by mankind throughout the ages, in its attempt to find a way to perpetuate youth and prolong the span of life. High priests and alchemists of ancient times as well as scientists and surgeons in our days have all been and still are engaged in the pursuit of discovering the mysterious fount of youth. So far the secret still eludes the grasp and the best we have been able to do is to create an illusion of youth through mechanical aids – false teeth, dyed hair, face-lift. But the real problem remains unsolved. Only the Yoga science has been able to achieve definite results in preserving the vigour and youth of the body.

Yoga is a system of physical, mental and spiritual training. It originated in India thousands of years ago. It is not a cult nor a creed but it is a method of self realization which starts with the purification of the body and ends with the unfoldment of the spirit. A Yogi is neither a priest nor an oracle but a man who has attained spiritual illumination. He can be a Hindu, a Christian, a Buddhist, a Hebrew, a Muslim or he may belong to no religion.

In ancient India the early Yogis were a group of mystics and scientists to whom the relationship between the mortal man and the immortal spirit was of great interest. They set about to find ways and means of uniting these two during the earthly life of man. They spent not decades but centuries in making their experiments with different methods of concentration, meditation and relaxation; with various breathing processes, postures and foods. When they finally succeeded in their experiments, they systematized the result of their findings and called it the science of Yoga. The aim of Yoga is to achieve reintegration of the individual consciousness with the cosmic consciousness.

Yoga pays particular care and attention to the purification of the body. It is often asked, why Yoga bestows so much attention on the body, when its aim is the spiritual union with the Divine. Yoga regards the body as a vehicle through which the spirit manifests itself. Just as a violinist takes care of his violin without which he would not be able to express his art, so a Yogi takes care of his body as the only instrument through which he can express his spiritual powers.

To keep the body fit and free of disease, it needs a certain amount of fresh air, rest and exercise. Why does the body need exercise? Because without exercise the body loses its elasticity and youthfulness, grows stiff and heavy, accumulates fat and toxins and rapidly gets old and worn out. Of course there are a number of exercises such as games, sports, walking, riding, swimming, dancing etc. Every form of exercise is good to a certain extent, but the ideal form of exercise is the practice of Yoga Asanas. They tone up the activities of the brain, glands, nerves, tissues and cells. They are both curative and recuperative in action. They are designed to bring the body into a condition where the healing forces of nature are able to do their work.

The first step to gain the stability of the body is to practise the Asanas. There are a number of Asanas and tradition speaks of 84 Asanas. One need not master all of them, but at least 12 of them are to be mastered. They are :

1) Shirshasan, 2) Sarwangasana, 3) Halasana, 4) Paschimothanasana, 5) Matsyasana, 6) Yogamudrasana, 7) Simhasana, 8) Bhujangasana,

9) Shalbhasana, 10) Dhanurasana, 11) Ardha-Matsyendrasana and 12) Shavasana.

Begin with Shirsasana and end with Shavasana. In Shavasana or corpse-pose, the whole body is relaxed. The hard floor is better for relaxation than a soft couch. The Yogis realized that no spiritual illumination could be attained by a person whose mind is restless and whose muscles are tense and rigid. A completely relaxed muscle discharge very little electricity. When the body is relaxed and the mind is at rest there is almost no dissipation of life-energy or Prana. From the observation of the behaviour of various animals, the Yogis found that cat serves as the best example of relaxation. Watch a cat and see how it stretches and yawns and how limp its body becomes when it rests. If you try to lift it up, it will hang lifelessly from your hand like a wet bath-towel. When you are tired and need a rest, try to imitate the cat and just lie relaxed on the carpet.

Some general instructions about the Asanas:

1. Yogasanas should be performed early in the morning in a well ventilated room.
2. The bowels must be cleared before starting the Asanas. It is not desirable to bathe immediately after the Asanas are performed; but a bath can be taken just before starting the Asanas.
3. The Asanas must always be done bare footed on a carpet or rug spread out on a hard and even surface. Clothing should be as light and loose as possible.
4. The beginners should practise simple Asanas, through practice the rest can be mastered.
5. For beginners 30 seconds should suffice for maintaining a particular Asana. Gradually the duration should be increased.
6. Throughout the performance of the Asanas breathing should be normal.

We do not pay any serious attention to breathing, the most important of all our bodily functions. It has never occurred to many of us that a great deal of our physical and mental troubles are due to the fact that we do not breathe correctly. Life and breath are synonymous. We live as long as we breathe. We start our life with the first breath and end it with the last breath. We never stop breathing whether we are awake or asleep. We can exist without food for weeks and without water for few days but without air we cannot exist even for a few minutes. Air is the most important nourishment for our blood. All the activities of the body from digestion to creative thinking depend upon the oxygen supply through breathing; yet we treat breathing with utter indifference. If there is a deficiency in the supply of oxygen, the process of ionization will be incomplete and the food is partially assimilated. Nearly 50 percent of delinquency in minors is due to oxygen starvation which is the result of shallow breathing and lack of fresh air.

The habit of shallow breathing is one of many unnatural habits that modern civilization has forced upon us. It has been proved that in the civilized world only babies breathe in a natural way. In order to enjoy good health a person needs approximately 60 deep breaths in a day. Shallow breathing is directly or indirectly responsible for a number of physical and mental diseases ranging from nervous disorders to common cold. To function properly the brain requires three times more oxygen than the rest of the body. If it does not get its due allotment, it extracts it from the body supply. That is why brainworkers often possess a poor physic and bad health. Deep breathing not only nourishes the whole system but also cleanses it.

We pay a dear price for having forgotten that we are an integral part of nature. In spite of all our inventions and achievements in the field of mechanics, we are not mere machines. If we are really anxious to keep physically fit and mentally alert, we should begin to reeducate ourselves in the ways of living as taught by Yoga.

Prana is not mere breath but it is cosmic energy. It is a life-giving principle which pervades the whole atmosphere. It is manifested in every form of existence – organic and inorganic. By breathing exercises it is possible to raise the degree of circulation of Prana in the body. The surplus of Prana is stored in the solar plexus which is the battery of the human body. We breathe better during night when we are asleep. The breath of a sleeping man is much deeper and is often accompanied by a mild, hissing sound. We must remember that we breathe through the pores of our skin, hence light cloths are to be worn at bed time.

The process of breathing is much more wide-spread than we generally suppose. We are told that the creation of the world began when the Creator breathed upon the waters. It has been proved that plants and metals also breathe. Astronomers tell us that even the sun breathes regularly, each breath taking eleven years and causing at its fullness the appearance of the sun’s spots upon the surface.

Man must contain a definite amount of air to counteract the law of gravitation which pulls him to the earth. At sea level the pressure is about 16 pounds per square inch. This must be equalized by the intake of air. That is why the lungs never empty all the air they contain. Their total capacity is said to be 250 cubic inches but they only empty 150 so that there always remains 100 cubic inches of air within them. To cleanse and refresh lungs, prolonged exhalation or Rechaka is the most efficacious.

Generally man breathes from 13 to 15 times per minute. If the rate of breathing is changed to 24 per minute, the breathing then becomes so quick that one does not feel pain. That is why in the heat of battle terrible wounds can be received without feeling them at all. Many great feats are accomplished under the stress of excitement. Martial music is designed to quicken the breath and the emotions, so is the colour red on flag and uniform. By quickening the breath the body loses its power of self-protection and injures itself. Benefits will accrue from slow breathing. By slowing the breath to 10 per minute, one does not feel excited or irritable. If the breathing is reduced to 5 per minute the brain becomes clear and ready for work. If the breathing is reduced to 3 per minute inspiration wells out from within. Yogis are able to suspend the breathing altogether and allow themselves to enter into trance. Slow, deep and gentle breathing will cure insomnia, blood-pressure, brain fatigue and bad temper.

Correct eating, next to correct breathing, is essential for keeping a man in good health and good spirits. Of course, there is no revelation in statement. Almost everyone knows it but hardly any one practises it. Why does Yoga pay so much importance to food chemistry and dietetics? The reason is this, human blood is basic or alkaline and this alkalinity of blood is due to the presence in it of mineral salts. Whenever there is an increase in acidity caused by the development of acidic toxins, there will be maladjustment in the system and the balance between acidity and alkalinity will be upset and this imbalance calls for or invites diseases. The maintenance of the alkalinity of the blood is of vital importance to health. Unhealthy food leads to an increase in the acidity of blood while healthy food leads to an increase of the alkalinity, and it is the presence of alkalinity that leads to the longevity of life. Hence unhealthy food is to be eliminated from the dietetics.

Food processed and refined until it becomes denatured contains but little nutrition and is rich in acid-forming materials. Meat and some other acid food have a tendency to putrefy in the intestines and to produce gases which congest the blood stream. Fruits and vegetables are rich in mineral salts and such a diet helps to increase alkalinity in the blood.

Organic mineral salts are the corner stones of all nutrition, for they regulate the acid-alkaline balance in the tissues and blood streams and are essential for bone and teeth formation. There is also clinical proof that people who live more on healthy foods, that is on fruits, vegetables and milk suffer less from senility and degenerative diseases in old age.

Once there was a high praise of proteins but now it is realized that proteins are the danger line foods which should be used sparingly, because they are stimulants and acid forming. It is now known that carbohydrates and sugars are the chief heat and energy producers.

No discussion on food can be considered complete without the mention of fasting. Fasting is not a crank but a cure for physical and mental disorders. When fasting is undertaken for the cure of disease we try to follow the nature’s way to health. No animal eats when it is sick, only man does so. When one eats too much their digestive, assimilative and other metabolic processes are overworked. Here fasting is necessary because in fasting the body consumes those substances which are least essential for maintaining the functional order within the organism. During the complete fast the body oxidizes or reconverts all kinds of accumulations including mucous and fat. Short fasts may be undertaken at intervals. In conclusion let me repeat that if you really want to feel well, eat less. Do not eat fried food. Do not eat a great variety of food within one meal. Do not forget that to digest properly you require sufficient amount of oxygen. Hence take deep breaths.

The next important problem is the attitude of Yoga towards sex. Most people have a mistaken notion that Yoga advocates suppression of sex, imposes asceticism upon its followers and consequently has nothing to say in that respect. On the contrary the science of Yoga treats the question of sex much more thoroughly than any other system.

Yoga found long ago that the sex energies are closely connected with a most potent electric energy in our body which it calls Kundalini. This dormant power can be awakened by means of certain Yogic processes. When aroused, Kundalini unlocks forces so great that unless a man is physically fit and mentally sound, they play havoc with him. Yoga has devised certain ways of directing the sex energies into psychic channels and transmuting them into finer forces. That is why a Yogi is anxious to preserve and augment his sex energy; without this transmutation the whole process of asceticism becomes absurd. If the sex energies are neither transmuted nor used up in their normal way or in healthy activities, their suppression often produces mental and emotional disorders. It is a well known fact that sex repression often results in sadism, masochism, extreme cruelty and other abnormalities. It is to the credit of Yoga that it has devised ways of overcoming these abnormalities and of releasing the sex energies through psychic channels. The fact that Yoga has laid down rules on sex hygiene for married people proves itself that Yoga does not impose celibacy on all its followers, but it stresses the necessity of practising a few simple postures to conserve the sex energy. They are Shirshasana (headstand), Sarvangasana (shoulder-stand), Halasana (the plough pose). The headstand by stimulating the pituitary gland regulates the functioning of the sex glands. The two postures Sarvangasana and Halasana stimulate the thyroid and gonads and have a rejuvenating effects upon the glands and the entire system. Along with these three Asanas the Ashvini Mudra is to be practised. This Mudra consists of alternative contractions and relaxations of the anus. The Ashvini Mudra massages and tones up the sex organs and sends to them an extra supply of blood. This Mudra and these three Asanas have been known for centuries to act as restorers and strengtheners of man’s vital powers.

Man is a thinking being and a thought is a force to be reckoned with. Of course thoughts have great power, not the scattered, indefinite, fleeting kind but thoughts that are one-pointed, definite, persistent and well defined. The capacity to think consistently has to be developed. We can be well or ill, happy or unhappy depending upon the way that we think. A person who always thinks that no good will ever come out of anything he does, constantly defeats his own purpose. He becomes so negative that he takes a sort of grim delight in being right about his persistent failure. It is very difficult to convince such a person that his frustration is of his own making and is but a result of his negative thinking. Positive thoughts have exactly the same power as negative ones and work the opposite way.

Many a one speaks of culture; what is culture? Culture means cultivation of mind. It is the nature of the human mind to follow the line of least resistance, but to raise it to the level of receiving what is desirable and to the level of radiating the divinity that is already within man is indeed a glorious task. To cultivate the mind along the lines of truth, love and non-violence is true culture. Culture really aims at developing the positive qualities such as love, compassion, forgiveness and non-violence. Mental forces like the molecular, have their opposite poles or modes of action. Where the negative pole is, there also is the positive; where ignorance is present, wisdom also is possible; where passion abounds, peace awaits; where there is much suffering, much bliss is also near. Sorrow is the negation of joy, sin is the opposite of virtue, evil is the denial of good. The one thing needful therefore is the turning round from the negative to the positive, the transformation of passional forces into moral powers.

Meditation is a means of achieving this transformation. In meditation the object may be an abstract concept like love, goodness, compassion, forgiveness or it may be a concrete image. Yogis often compare the mind to a lake. When agitated and restless it is unable to reflect the sky. Only when it is calm and undisturbed, it is able to mirror the sky. Likewise only a calm and poised mind can reflect the image of man’s true nature. Then only he will understand that the positive thoughts and positive qualities constitute the true purpose of life. The final aim of meditation is to gain a vision of truth, to realize the oneness with all life and to enjoy peace and bliss.

Yoga advocates the following process of meditation: relax your body, sit comfortably in the lotus pose, keep your spine erect and your chest a little spread out, throw the weight of your whole body to the ground. Concentrate on your breath and breathe deeply. Exhale fully and inhale deeply a few times. Let the mind follow breath and listen to its sound. If you listen attentively you will be able to hear the Sohum. So when the breath flows in, Hum when the breath flows out. It may be difficult in the beginning to hear it, but as the attention gets drawn inward, you will hear the breath repeating it. You need not repeat it yourselves. Just listen to that and you will be able to hear a humming musical note within you. This is the part of cosmic vibration, by concentrating on this inner vibration you will be in tune with the cosmic sound. Then you are able to feel peace and bliss. By remaining in this state you can send out peace vibrations that travel abroad and influence other minds. In this state of silence you will forget all differences and become one with all life.

OM SHANTI | OM SHANTI | OM SHANTIHI