Ginger Garner, Guest Writer Waking Times This is the second part to Can Yoga Be Used as Medicine? that discusses how you can talk with your doctor or therapist about yoga as medicine. Year after year, I hear the same story when new patients come to me: “I got hurt doing yoga at a studio or at …
Ginger Garner, Guest Writer Waking Times Can Yoga Be Used as Medicine? The short answer is yes. The reality is yoga is not usually used as medicine. Using yoga as medicine can be tedious and laborious (trust me), requiring constant review of the scientific literature in order to make it safe and effective. More often …
Colette Barry, Contributing Writer Waking Times “Yoga is a part of everyone’s life.” – Anonymous Although this quote might raise a few question marks and force the reader to ponder over its authenticity, I can still confidently repeat it again: “Yoga is a part of everyone’s life.” To understand this further, we shall look at …
Colette Barry, Contributing Writer Waking Times Yoga is possible for anybody who really wants it. Yoga is universal – But don’t approach yoga with a business mind looking for worldly gain – Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois Planet Earth, a peaceful and comforting nest for several hundreds of thousands of living species for the past several …
Colette Barry, Contributing Writer Waking Times Did you know studies suggest that a lack of sleep puts you at an increased risk of suffering from Obesity and Type-2 diabetes? Feeling alarmed at the mention of these two depressing illnesses? The more sleepless nights you spent tossing in bed the easier it becomes for the ageing …
Colette Barry, Contributing Writer Waking Times “The blind cannot see and the deaf cannot hear. Does this mean that what they cannot see or hear does not exist” – Yogarahasya No one could have described the incomprehensible sensation of tranquility and harmony rooting from yoga, better than the wise words of Yogarahasya. While many of …
Colette Barry Waking Times “Love yourself—accept yourself—forgive yourself—and be good to yourself, because without you the rest of us are without a source of many wonderful things.” ~Leo F. Buscaglia When was the last time you stood in front of the mirror sharing feelings of contentment? Ever wondered why in this fast-paced life we often …
Colette Barry, Contributing Writer Waking Times With the woes of cancer cases taking its toll, people are diverting their attention towards a holistic approach of healing. The worst part of cancer is the not the deadly disease itself, but the distress and debilitating fatigue rooting from the treatments. The never ending visits to the hospital, …
Colette Barry, Contributing Writer Waking Times There’s no doubting that fact and most of our efforts are directed towards achieving that state of ultimate happiness, where everything is bright, cheery, and downright wonderful. But while living a lightening-paced busy life, we set up hurdles for our mind which obscure us from relishing the freedom in …
Colette Barry, Contributing Writer Waking Times If you are of the opinion that yoga is about poses alone, think again! Yoga is about connecting with your inner self; it’s about exploration of endless possibilities that exist within us and experiencing them. It is more about living active, inspired, and healthy while connecting with those around …
Colette Barry, Contributing Writer Waking Times Is your child affected with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Do they often show lack of attention to important matters, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, hyperactivity, and low self esteem? Well, if your answer is in the affirmative, get your child enrolled for a yoga program and help change their lives …
Editor’s Note: Yoga is without doubt one of the most transformational and life enhancing practices that one can do to find peace of mind and health in this crazy world. Unfortunately, however, Yoga classes have become prohibitively expensive for many in some areas, and are hard to find in other areas. Today, Waking Times is …
Michael Auryn Waking Times Nearly one in five Americans suffers from an anxiety disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Stress and stress-related diseases have skyrocketed since the industrial revolution, with stress being a daily reality for most Americans. Those with anxiety disorders are at higher risk for coronary heart disease, heart …
Up until a few years ago, Yoga for me was a series of twists, bends and undulations with ludicrous new age epithets like ‘Prana Flow’, ‘Nude yoga’, ‘Shakti kicks’ and ‘Yoga trance dance’, performed in slick studios by nubile nymphs wearing fluorescent skin-tight clothing. I couldn’t quite see how cringe inducing catchphrases like ‘rock your yoga’ or ‘unleash your inner rockstar’ were going to transport me into mystical states of higher consciousness.
“Yoga is to make yourself better than what you were before.” – Shubha
“It is a way of developing mental peace, and also a way of respecting mental peace in others.” – Sribhashyam
Yoga is based on a simple theory about the Inner Self. That Self is detached and independent of the self of the individual, his consciousness and its modifications. The egoistic self is the result of its attachment to the body and the individual existence. The self, however, is self-luminous and is attained by intuitive knowledge of the inner working of the human consciousness.
With the world in uproar over Monsanto and all the horrifying information about our food sources, it is unfortunate that the vast majority of us are simply not in a position to be self-sufficient when it comes to raising our own food. Modest gardens are more of a pastime than a means of feeding an individual, a family, or the masses. Just over 200 years ago, 90% of Americans were farmers. Today, most farms are corporate run and have reduced that figure to around 2%.
Below are excerpts from a military study on the effects of Hatha Yoga on soldiers stationed in Iraq. As one may guess, the soldiers who received instruction in Yoga showed significant improvement in their emotional and physiological well-being, leading to the conclusion that Yoga is indeed a useful tool in dealing with combat and environmental stress.
This idea of paying attention to one’s thoughts in a nonjudgmental way is what mindfulness meditation, or mindfulness training, is all about. This ancient practice has gained a lot of interest from researchers (and regular folk) in recent years. Scientists have studied how mindfulness courses can change people’s reactions and behaviors, and how they can literally change the structure of the brain.
Yoga also boosts levels of the feel-good brain chemicals like GABA, serotonin, and dopamine, which are responsible for feelings of relaxation and contentedness, and the way the brain processes rewards. All three neurotransmitters are the targets of various mood medications like antidepressants (e.g., SSRIs) and anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) drugs. The fact that yoga is linked to improved levels of these coveted chemicals is nothing to sneeze at.
