Health Choices

Western Researchers are currently studying the healing effects of beta-endorphins released during yoga and meditation that may be curing people of everything from asthma, ADHD and high blood pressure to diabetes, multiple sclerosis and cancer. “Ayudervedic healing,” as it’s called, has been in practice for over 5,000 years but didn’t arrive in the United States until the 1970s. The healing is based on three areas — diet, herbs and meditation yoga — particularly “Sahaja Yoga.”

In recent years, Sahaja yoga and meditation has caught a lot of media attention for its alleged healing properties, as well as its use at Rikers Island prison in New York City to treat mentally disturbed criminals. It is believed that Sahaja yoga can instill a sense of deep spirituality and facilitates the release and circulation of beta-endorphins associated with wellness. The end goal of yoga meditation is a sense of inner awakening and union (sometimes referred to as “kundalini”).

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).

For more information on yoga and meditation, look up SahajaYoga.org for extensive information about the methods and philosophy behind the practice. For information on Raja Yoga, prospective students can run a studio search at Yoga.com. For therapeutic yoga, ask your doctor or go to IAYT.org and click on the “Find a Yoga Therapist” tab in the upper right hand corner.

Perhaps more than any other form of exercise, Yoga has been around the longest. Originating in India, this popular form of exercise has been practiced around the world. Why? The physical portion of the workout is very low-impact and can be performed by anyone of any age. The same cannot be said of kick boxing classes or Jazzercise. But there is more to Yoga than just working out the body. It is also a lifestyle that can bring clarity to the mind through spiritual exercises of meditation and concentration. Are you ready to begin your path to a healthy body and mind? Click here to find out more: Yoga Positions For Beginners and at Basic Yoga also at Yoga Moves