YOGA

WHAT IS YOGA?

Yoga is a 5,000-year-old psychospiritual tradition forged between the great cultures of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, which are native to India. Yoga means “yoke” or “union” as in a unified
connection between the psyche and the transcendental Self. The 8-limb path of Yoga is a foundation of principles that honor God, Self, Nature, and Community. The goal of Yoga is to help each of us realize our own joy and enlightenment via a combination of physical health, mental harmony and emotional balance. Yoga seeks to actualize your full potential. Over the past 50 years there has been a significant increase in research studies for the varying benefits of Yoga. The research has been overwhelmingly positive and reports healing benefits including but not limited to: stress reduction, lowered blood pressure, reversing coronary artery disease, lowering insulin requirements for diabetics, reduced depression, reduced anxiety, decreased trauma responses and symptoms, osteoporosis prevention, improved weight control, reduction of pain for muscular-skeletal disorders, increased efficiency breathing in high altitudes, decreased arthritic stiffness, improved quality of life for cancer survivors and relieving symptoms of asthma and allergies.

For more information on Yoga research:
PubMed site for the National Institute of Health International Assoc. for Yoga Therapists

WHY PRACTICE YOGA?

Short answer: For optimal spiritual and physical health
Talk therapy is top-down processing method Yoga is bottom-up processing method While talk therapy has its advantages, there is much to be said for the healing relief Yoga offers us from a physiological perspective. Yoga is the physical practice of self-care. As sentient beings, our physiological regulation is dependent on the health and strength of the vagus nerve and Yoga is able to both stimulate and strengthen the vagus nerve via diaphragmatic breathing and bilateral movement. In yoga, when we move with the breath, we engage both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, activating and relaxing, and creating physiological balance and homeostasis in both mind and body. The more frequently we access this regulated state of being, the easier it becomes to maintain.

WHAT ARE THE 8 LIMBS OF YOGA?

Yoga in the west has shifted the spiritual focus of Yoga to more of a fitness focus, but this is not the
original intention or purpose of yoga. Any physical benefits are secondary to the benefit of the souls connection to God. In fact, the physical portion of Yoga is only 1 of the 8 limbs of the Yogic path. The physical postures of Yoga are intended to move and stretch the body in preparation for meditation so that when the time comes to be still the body has already gotten its fidgets out and feels grounded and capable of meditative stillness. Regular meditation, reflection and ethics are the practices recommended to reduce or remove mental and emotional suffering

Yamas: Social ethics

Niyamas: Personal ethics
Asana: Physical postures
Pranayama: Breath work (Prana means “life force” and pranayama is the practice of harnessing the life force to connect mind, body and spirit.
Pratyahara: Sensory withdrawal
(Release your focus from the senses and the external environment and go within
Dharana: Concentrate the mind on a singular principle or focus
Dhyana: Contemplation, Meditation

Samadhi: Oneness with God, Enlightenment, Bliss

Limbs 3 and 4 of the 8-limb Yogic path (Asana and Pranayama) help us open the channels of the body, improving the flow of Prana (Life Force), and enhancing strength for optimal health.

WHAT IS YOGA THERAPY?

“The application of the theory and practice of Yoga, for the purpose of healing is referred to as Yoga Therapy.” Mantra, or sacred sound, is the most commonly used therapeutic technique in Yoga Therapy. Mantras for healing are used to help restore health and harmony though affirming inherant self-worth and connecting with the a Higher Power.

HOW DOES YOGA HELP WITH TRAUMA?

Trauma is not held in the mind, it is stored in the body. Talking about our trauma and processing it on a mental and verbal level does not help to address the underlying physiology of trauma. When living with a history of trauma, it can be very difficult to stay grounded in the present. PTSD effects the communication between the limbic system (survival instinct) and the frontal lobe (executive functioning). The limbic system works to keep us alive, and the frontal lobe uses logic and reasoning to determine actual threats. When living with trauma, the executive reasoning is chronically offline and the survival instinct is in control with little to no discernment between a perceived threat and an actual threat. If an individual operates out of survival and chronic stress for an extended period of time (months/years) it can lead to adrenal fatigue result in a deterioration of the hippocampus, which is responsible for our memories. Yoga assists us in reconnecting the neuralpathway between the limbic system and the frontal lobe by combining bilateral movement, diaphragmatic breathing, positive intent and time orientation. Fortunately, the brain is a living organ that can grow and change over time in a process called neuroplasticity. Yoga helps the brain form new, adaptive connections (neural pathways) while reorganizing the old, less helpful connections. In Yoga, when body and breath are united and moving in rhythm, the internal organs are gently massaged which signals the vagus nerve to inform the brain that we are not in as much danger as previously perceived. This can bring the frontal lobe and its executive functioning back online, creating homeostasis in the body once again.

WHAT DOES TRAUMA-INFORMED YOGA MEAN?

-Participants will always be facing the door
-Yoga instructor does not walk around the room
-Yoga instructor does not put hands on any of the participants
-Yoga music is instrumental with limited lyrics to decrease unforeseen triggers
-Yoga instructor will inform class the duration of each posture and count down the breaths for orientation to time
-There is no expectation for any participant to do any of the postures
-Yoga teacher provides education on mental health benefits of postures
-Yoga teacher prompts participants when entering a vulnerable posture
-Yoga teacher offers affirmations to contradict common limiting disbeliefs associated with trauma

WHAT ARE CHAKRAS?

Chakras are pools of energy that exist in the subtle body anatomy. Each pool has a specific location in the body and is associated with a particular element that informs the color, sound, smell, organs, mantras and emotions linked to it. When our energy is flowing and in alignment we feel energized, positive and capable. When one or more of these channels are blocked we can feel out of balance and disconnected. Through our subtle body we experience the flowing contrast between a liberating energy (flowing upward) and a manifesting energy (flowing downward) converging through the heart chakra in the center of the physical body. By knowing and engaging the Chakras, we are capable of accessing and healing emotional trauma that has been stored in the body for a very long time. I have witnessed, as well as experienced, this release of energy and it can be extraordinarily cathartic and healing.

Here are the primary 7 Chakras and their most prominent features…

Crown: I understand

Third-eye: I see

Throat: I speak

Heart: I love

Solar Plexus: I do

Sacral: I feel

Root: I am

WHAT IS AYURVEDA?

ayur meaning “life” and veda meaning “knowledge” or “science of”

Ayurveda is a systematic holistic approach to health that draws on over 5,000 years of ancient wisdom and is highly effective in the management and prevention of chronic illness. Ayurveda is known as the sister science of Yoga and both practices maintain that true healing occurs physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Ayurvedic medicine utilizes foods, herbs, spices, oils, bodywork (massages and Yoga) and seasonal lifestyle changes to create conditions for optimal health. Daily, nightly and seasonal routines are principles of Ayurveda. In short, Ayurveda is conscious alignment with nature. “For over 5000 years Ayurveda has taught us to exist in a continuum with nature and to honor this connection through the foods we eat, the way we conduct our day and by fully taking in our ever-changing environment via the senses.” (Ayurvedic Self-Care Handbook) Research in chronobiology supports the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda by acknowledging that our timing for eating, sleeping, and exercise impacts our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. In both Yogic and Ayurvedic philosophies there is a concept called svadyaya which means “self-study.” This concept is vital because in order to truly heal ourselves we must first truly know thyself through intentional exploration.