Introduction to Yoga
Yoga can be best described as the owner’s manual to your body. It provides guidance and insight into maintaining physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
Overcoming Resistance and Embracing Yoga
Initially, I resisted yoga because I considered myself an active person who preferred swimming, cycling, and running. I thought yoga would be too slow and boring for me. However, after an operation on my hands some years ago for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, I decided to try yoga to regain mobility. This curiosity led me to discover yoga’s benefits, and I have never looked back since.
Yoga as a Way of Life
Yoga has evolved into a journey, a way of life, and a daily practice. It is now ingrained in my being, and I remain deeply passionate about it. Achieving my first unassisted headstand opened a new world for me, allowing me to view life from different perspectives—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Yoga as Therapy
I often describe yoga as the best therapy available, beneficial for everyone. It helps unlock buried emotions such as hurt, anger, and sadness, bringing peace and joy in their place. Our bodies hold memories not just in the brain, but throughout the body. Pain and sadness are often carried in the hips, while anger and frustration can reside between the shoulder blades or neck. Stretching the toes can release creativity, and opening the heart region unlocks pain and enables us to give and receive love.
Why I am totally in love with yoga
My ongoing experience with yoga has been and still is therapeutic. Sometimes, while holding a pose, I feel emotions such as anger or sadness arising unexpectedly. I have learned that these emotions signify unresolved issues within me, requiring forgiveness, acceptance, or healing through love. I take note of these feelings during yoga and later revisit them in quiet moments, gradually working through them. Yoga has also been invaluable in dealing with loss, sadness or injury. I am a work in progress.
“Yoga does not just change the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees” – BKS Iyengar
Yoga in Healing and Recovery
Yoga is used globally to help people recover from addictions, assist children in healing from hurt or abandonment, and support army veterans working through trauma and PTSD. It fosters a reconnection with the body and aids in emotional recovery.
Reverend Father Joseph Pereira, founder of the Kripa Foundation in India, has utilized yoga for over 50 years to aid in the rehabilitation of drug and alcohol addiction with great success. He states, “ Meditation and yoga has the power to bring us in touch with our inner self .”
Yoga in Counseling and Therapy
The therapeutic uses of yoga continue to expand worldwide. In my counseling sessions, I incorporate yoga to help clients connect with themselves on a deeper level than conversation alone. This practice is especially valuable for individuals dealing with sexual abuse, facilitating reconnection and balance between body and mind.
Physical Benefits of Yoga
Yoga offers immense physical benefits. As we age, our tendons and muscles shorten and contract, reducing oxygen flow to our extremities and accelerating aging. Practicing yoga revitalizes the body, boosts oxygen distribution and absorption, flushes out stagnant blood, and removes toxins from internal organs, enabling them to function efficiently and detoxify the body.
Yoga for All Ages and Body Types
Yoga has no age restrictions—it can be practiced by children or older adults alike.
A notable example is Vanda Scaravelli, who began practicing yoga in her late forties and continued until her death at 91 years old. You do not need to be a certain shape or fitness level to start yoga—just begin. Any type or style is acceptable; simply practice yoga. It has profoundly changed my life, and I believe it can change yours as well.
“Yoga takes you by the scruff of the neck and takes you on a journey whether you like it or not!”
Vanda Scaravelli