CLICK HERE NOW and lose weight and feel better the all natural way!
No obligations, click here to see if it's right for you!
Posts Tagged ‘Physical Aspect’
January 18th, 2012 | 
Author: I read a newspaper article today. This alone is surprising as I have an acute aversion to current events – I find their reality disruptive to mine. But this morning, as I sat waiting for my coffee to percolate, the newspaper was the only thing within reach. With careful ambivalence, I paged lazily through it (looking mostly at the ads).
An article with the word “yoga” in it soon caught my eye, however, and recklessly I began reading.
It turns out that yoga is starting to be used rather extensively as a form of psychological therapy. The article outlined a new, unorthodox, and potentially ill-conceived plan by the US Army to include yoga training for their soldiers on the front lines in an effort to combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
This radical movement was inspired by Posing Warriors, a particularly successful yoga program originally intended to help Vietnam veterans suffering from PTSD. Since its inception, the program has grown to include veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan as well.
So, with the increasing incidence of soldier suicides, the army has turned to yoga. And already arrangements are being made with a yoga instructor in Iraq.
Now I get to editorialize.
As good an idea as this may seem to be, it sounds downright silly to me. Whomever is in charge has missed the point of yoga. One of its first and most important tenets is a principle of no harm. It seems to me that, as a practice, yoga is conceptually and psychologically at odds with the soldier mentality – so much so as to make the two mutually exclusive. Simply put, the violence required of the military profession does not accommodate the successful practice of yoga. Practiced this way, it will become a meaningless waste of time and serve only to confuse rather than enlighten.
Well, that’s my two cents. And I’ve since remembered why I rabidly avoid the newspaper.
Posted in 
Tags: 
Keeping your back safe from injury is important. Maintaining a healthy spine is paramount not only for proper yoga poses but also for overall general health! Check out this video on proper spinal health.
Top 5 Myths About Yoga:
1. Yoga is a Form of Physical Exercise:
This is perhaps the most common view of yoga. That it is a form of physical exercise. This certainly needs to be clarified and I am going to provide some details about true yoga practice in order to do this.
Yoga is actually has 8 parts to it, with the physical aspect being just 1. These 8 parts, include yoga dos, yoga don’ts, physical exercises (asana), breathing exercises, sense control, concentration, meditation and divine union.
So you can see from above that although the physical aspect of yoga, which is called asana, is an important part of yoga, yoga as a whole is certainly more that just a series of postures and movements. Yoga is essentially a spiritual science whose objective is to still the mind of thoughts, so that the truth of Oneness hidden behind the waves of the mind can be clearly seen and embraced.
2. Yoga is a Religion:
The other extreme and incorrect view on yoga is that is it a religion. Commonly yoga is considered part of Hindu religion, but yoga is not a religion. It is a time tested spiritual science with the goal of revealing the true nature of reality. As indicated above, yoga practice is a step by step process with the end goal of calming down the thought waves in our mind and thus prevent them from distorting the truth.
3. To Practice Yoga You Must be Vegetarian:
There is a notion floating around that in order to practice yoga you must not eat meat and be a vegetarian. This is not true. Although there are tremendous benefits to being vegetarian and this is being more and more validated by the mainstream medical community, there is no requirement of vegetarianism in order to practice yoga.
One point I would like to add here is that, vegetarianism is consistent with the non-violence which yoga advocates and it certainly would be to your benefit to reduce meat intake, nevertheless, you don’t have to be vegetarian in order to be a great yogi.
4. You Need to be Initiated by a Guru:
I have also come across this notion that many believe you need to be initiated and have a guru in order to learn and practice yoga. This is not true. According to yoga, the true guru is within and although it would be to your benefit to learn yoga from an accomplished teacher, this is not a requirement.
5. You Have to be Flexible to do Yoga:
Not so. No doubt yoga will improve your flexibility, along with your strength, balance and overall health, but in order to practice yoga you do not have to be flexible. Yoga is designed to be practiced by all.
Different bodies have different degrees of flexibility and in this case one size does not fit all. For most of the complex yoga posture which require great flexibility to do, there are plenty of modifications which allow you to get the same benefits for those who are less flexible. In fact one of the original reasons I took up yoga because I was not flexible and wanted to improve this aspect of my physical dimension.
Summary:
So there you have the top 5 myths about yoga. Essentially, what these myths do is prevent people from taking up this wonderful science. So if you feel you will have to change faiths, find gurus, stop eating meat or are too inflexible to take up yoga practice, you are wrong. Don’t pass up the wonderful opportunity to learn and practice this amazing science, which helps you discover your true divine and eternal nature.
By: Anmol Mehta
About the Author:
Anmol Mehta is modern Yoga & Meditation master. His massive Guided Zen Meditation blog offers the ultimate Meditation Techniques Guide and free Yoga to Detox & Cleanse Your Body.