What is the pill that helps you get fitter, combat stress, and improves your digestion, circulation and breath? Even impacts your seep and mood positively and allows you to be social?
There is none. But there is Yoga!
Does it mean Yoga will cure me of disease?
Unfortunately not, and there are many reasons for this.
In Yoga, we say that we have to take care of our five bodies:
Our food (material) body is your bruising body and the one who decays when we are inevitably gone.
Our energetic body - let's keep it simple and say this - is our physiological body, everything that makes you alive and full of vitality. It is influenced by what you take in, like food, drinks, air quality, hormonal stress factors and even your digestive microfauna. This body feeds all other bodies and, therefore, is crucial for Yoga; it is our prana or life force.
Our mind-body is all to do with our mental functions and way of thinking.
Our wisdom body is defined as intelligence. It starts with our genetics and environment, our culture accumulated from previous lives - did you get the connection with the reincarnation theory? Fancy stuff apart, this is about what our descendants get when we bring them to this world, our genes, and the challenges in life. I know, it makes sense, doesn't it?! So choose your actions well as everything will cause ripple effects to yourself, your family and friends and the whole universe.
Our blissful body is about our purpose. In Yoga, we say that we need a Dharma, something that keeps us going, something that will improve our communal situation. We use Yoga to help and break with all other imposed duties, family, work, stress, and more of you... This is your body for equanimity and bliss.
You have to take care of all these bodies or facets of you. Now you understand why it is challenging to keep going and be healthy.
One fault in one of our bodies can cause problems in others.
But what is this all about?
Yoga is the only physical activity that is concerned with all your make-up:
Getting a strong material body
Keeping your vitality
Sharpening your mind
Switching on and off genes (epigenetic) and making this a better society
providing you equanimity and bliss
Your best preventive pill! And one that you should take regularly.
Yoga is concerned with preventing and delaying the disease. It will not stop us from our inevitable samadhi - a yogic exaltation that really means our death. Celebrate life with Yoga. I'm taking my pill.
Join us today. You are in safe hands