Introduction to Yoga - Day 5

And we arrived at our last class of your beginner course in Yoga.

You've learned that Yoga is a form of exercise for the body and the respiration muscles; you've learned that Yoga influences your brain, way of thinking, mood, mental health and resilience.

Yoga is not a cure-all medicine. Yoga is a set of practices (and way of thinking) that touches many areas of your body, mind and (spirit) personality. It is something to be respected, but fundamentally is something to be enjoyed.

And with it, enjoy your Yoga and your life (with what Yoga has to offer).

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Yoga & Mental health

In Hatha Yoga, you work with the body to reach the mind. You exercise your muscles, including your respiratory muscles. With proper guidance and the right attitude, you become stronger, more confident, more flexible (yes!), and more resilient to injury.

I studied personal training, sports therapy, and now I'm studying counselling. I realise yoga has everything in one hour. I'm very happy to have studied Yoga to a deeper level and see how this activity is so complete.

This is also true of the mental benefits. You are creating new connections in your brain (plasticity). Again with proper guidance and your willing learning attitude, you can improve your mental being, develop mental resilience and be better prepared for when Dukkha (suffering) knocks on your door - which will... many times throughout your life (though arguments {from family, friends, work-related, other}, diverse ways of stress, addictions and destructive behaviour, body and mental decay and death of the people around you and your own.

Death is never pretty (sometimes not even life, really look around over our glossy lives)...

It is much better to understand that I'm an energy, that my body will go back to form stars and planets, that I will keep other beings alive, and that my actions can promote peace and a better day for the ones who stay.

You learn that with education, the right attitude and taking care of yourself so you can care for others around you.

You gain a healthy "selfishness" necessary to be comfortable in your life. At the same time, you learn that your well-being (also) depends on others... you become a more robust, better person.

Though you do not necessarily get all this from your yoga class, you might get the spark to discover more - just like scientists are now rediscovering these old ways in research done in sports science (your Hatha Yoga department), psychology (your Raja Yoga department), sociology and others (in your Jnana Yoga Department, music therapy (in your Kirtan and Bhajan, part of your Bhakti Yoga department). Fabulous work we humans can do!

In our relaxations, we work actively to rewire our brains. It could just be that we allow the body to reset and calm our permanent adrenaline rush state. We work with visualisations which work consciously and subconsciously: the light on the tunnel (representing the darkness which we someones go through in life and the determination to come through on the other side), for example. Or visualisations of individuality and collectivity, resilience, energy, love, compassion, "purification" of our personality...

Enjoy your relaxation. Remember, in Yoga, all show an interlink. All is a sum of the parts.

With Yoga, you are busy doing something useful for yourself. You will save lots of money and hassle in surgery, counselling, massages, etc. (if not yourself, the national health system). You will learn and make good friends who also share the same interests as you.

If you deeper your knowledge of Yoga, you will change. Your friends will change, and your relationships will change. Your life will change. It is all fascinating! But have no illusions; there are too many people bringing hocus-pocus with Yoga attached to it, don't be fooled. Please keep it simple.

Marcio da Rosa