YOGA (English)

ASANA means: a position in which one feels comfortable.

'Stirasukhama'sanam: Asanas are a kind of exercise, by regular practice of which the body stays healthy and hardy and many diseases are cured.

Asanas were developed thousands of years ago by yogis who watched the jungle animals, how they moved, how they rested, how they instinctively cured themselves when sick. The yogis experimented with the different postures of the animals on their own bodies, feeling the subtle effects of these movements on their own organs and glands. Over centuries of experimentation, these postures were refined into a scientific system of thousands of exercises called “asanas”, many of which took the names of the animals which inspired them-cobra, lion, hare, flying bird, tortoise, and peacock.

These asanas or “comfortable postures”, are completely different from all other sorts of vigorous exercises like calisthenics. Strenuous exercises develop the muscles, and stimulate circulation, but they may cause fatigue, heart strain or muscle cramps.

Asanas, however, are slow, gradual movements which place no strain on the heart, and cause no fatigue or cramps. They gave the same benefits as strenuous exercises do–of stimulating circulation and increasing the supply of oxygen to the cells. These increased supplies of oxygen are mostly used up during strenuous exercise, whereas during the moderate exercise of asanas, energy is accumulated rather than spent. But the most important difference between asanas and other exercises is that asanas effect the internal organ, not only the skeletal muscles, thus they may be called “innercises” rather than exercises. And their most important inner effect is on the endocrine glands, which have powerful affect on the mind.

• YOGA, HORMONE AND CAKRA.

The endocrine glands secrete chemicals called HORMONES into the blood-stream, which have a great effect on both body and mind. All of the endocrine glands are related to the cakras or subtle energy centers located along the spine. The pineal gland is associated with the sahasra`ra cakra at the top of the head, the pituitari gland with the ajina cakra between the eyebrows, the thyroid gland with the visuddha cakra near the heart, the adrenal gland and pancreas with the manipura cakra at the navel, the ovaries in women and the testis in men with the svadhistana cakra, about 10 centimeters above the base of the spine, and the muladhara cakra at the base of the spine.

Over or under secretion of these endocrine gland can cause not only physical diseases but also many emotion and mental disturbances; negative emotions such as anxiety, hatred, anger and fear, which destroy health and peace of mind. The asana posture were design to put subtle pressure on the various glands of the body, which restores the proper secretion of hormones and gives emotional balance and mental peace.

Over the centuries, yogis have developed many physical and mental exercises, like meditation; designed to directly affect the pineal gland, to calm and introvert the mind and lead to higher consciousness. One of these is the Hare Pose or Shashaungasana which develops patience and mental peace, and also increases memory power.

The Thyroid gland in the neck controls the metabolic rate of the body and its energy level, and regulates growth. Under secretion of the hormone thyroxin can cause sluggish metabolism, mental dullness, obesity, and extreme sleepiness; one can sleep 12–14 hours a day! Thus a balanced secretion of the thyroid hormone is essential for the health of body and mind, and for this the yogis developed the Shoulder stand (Sarvaungasana) and Fish-Postures (Matsyamudra). In Shoulder stand pose the thyroid gland is squeezed by the pressure of the chin against the chest, and in the Fish pose it is stretched. As an American doctor, Dr. Steven Brena, explained, the combination of these two postures, alternated three times; squeezing and stretching, gives an effective massage to the thyroid gland. This increases the blood flow to it and balances its secretions, and thus improves its overall function. Since the thyroid gland is one of the controlling glands of the body, its proper functioning help maintain the good health of the whole body. For this reason the yogis called this pose “Sarvaungasana” or “whole-body asana”

(WARNING : this asana should never be performed by anyone who has high or low blood pressure, heart trouble, or any problem in the head.)

• MORE BENEFIT:

One of the most important benefit of yoga exercise is that they strengthen and tone up the spine. By twisting and bending the body in all different directions, asanas also limber the joints of the body, making them as flexible as a child’s. Even an old person who regularly practices yoga exercises will rarely suffer from arthritis and rheumatism, and will retain the flexibility of childhood. For example, Gomukasana or Cowshead Pose limbers all the joints and also concentrates the mind.

When our spinal column is flexible and strong, energy flows smoothly throughout our entire nervous system, but many of us have sedentary lives; we spent long hours sitting bend over our desks in office or school. This makes our spine curved, and may compress spinal nerves causing headache and backache. How many of you feel headache or backache or fatigue at the end of a long day at work?

Physical balance and mental balance are closely related. Depressed people usually walk with bent shoulders and curved back. This makes their back muscles strain and ache, which further increase their mental tension. Look at the statues of the ancient peoples; the Pharaohs, the Greek, the Hindu Divinities; and notice their perfect posture, they knew the importance of an erect position to express their human dignity.

• MASSAGE

The massage which we perform just after asanas is wonderful for the skin. The practice of asanas stimulates the sebaceous glands under the surface of the skin to secrete their natural oils, which are the most perfect skin balm for the human body. The massage rubs these beneficial oils back into the skin, thus keeping it soft and supple. To conserve these natural oils you should perform asanas away from sunlight, and you should not take the bath for 30 minutes after massage.

The massage also stimulates all the nerve endings at the surface of the body, thus stimulating the entire nervous system. The careful foot massage at the end is especially important, since many of the body’s nerves end in the feet, and massaging the feet stimulates the flow of nervous energy throughout the internal organs. The science of ”Reflexology” treats many internal disorders simply by careful foot massage. You can do the foot massage and tone up your nervous system whenever you are sitting relaxed at home, for example when you are watching television. Did any of you feel any tender or sore places foot massage?

• RELAXATION

After the massage, we do Deep Relaxation pose or Sa`va`sana, which literally means “Corpse Posture”. Yogis developed this pose by watching animals in deep sleep and hibernation. Doctors have found that during even a few minutes of this posture there is a rapid fall in blood pressure, and heart and breathing rate. Muscular tension drop even below the level of relaxation during sleep. This has been called the Relaxation Response, and it is exactly the opposite of the body’s response to stress. The whole body is reinvigorated in the shortest possible time, and many disease cause by stress, especially high blood pressure may be cured.