Yoga as Medicine

Yoga by definition means to “unite” or align our physical, mental, and emotional bodies. To do this, one must turn inward and listen for cues. Then have the courage to make adjustments based on these cues to these three aspects of life. In doing this, tuning in to the self, one can live to their fullest potential.

On the physical level, paying attention to the breath helps to regulate the nervous system. Each movement in yoga should be practiced in harmony with the breath. You may have been to a vinyasa class that left you winded -- but that is not the ideal. In an optimal situation, yoga is performed at pace with the breath. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system, in charge or calming the body and performing rest and digestion. Additionally, the physical practice of yoga engages each and every muscle of the body improving circulation, flexibility, and balance.

The calming of the nerves aides in mental and emotional well-being. And the concentration in each pose helps to focus the attention on the body or the breath. This singular focus helps the practitioner remain in the present moment where everything is okay.

The practice of yoga can prevent illness and disease through the control of the thoughts and the nervous system. If disease is present, yoga can aid in the management through focus on the breath and the body. You are what you pay attention to. The mind can send encouraging and healing messages to the body. By visualizing a healthy self, the practitioner can calm the mind, release tension in the body, and invite whole circulation, oxygen, flexibility, etc. which may in fact heal the ailment.

In Rammurti S. Mishra’s book Fundamentals of Yoga he suggests the following practice for healing:

Place your body in a comfortable posture.

Relax your body.

Send a strong samyamah [unified conscious] to remove unfavorable mental and physical conditions from your body and mind.

Think that they are going out of your body and mind.

Think that now your body and mind are free from all desire.

Now forget about the entire body and identify yourself with the supreme consciousness [or the Universe or Divine]... you will feel you have no feeling of your body, and instead of your body, you have a small electromagnetic station full of pulsation.

Remain in this state and think and feel all mental and physical diseases are healed. Feel it and you will see practically that they are healed. (Mishra 141)

At the very least, the practitioner is empowered by the fact that they can do something about their own health -- even if that is simply calming the nervous system.

Ultimately we will all face the same end. And this can be done with resistance and fear or this can be done with love and grace. If you have lived a life aligned to yourself, community, and Universe, you can reach the end with gratitude and love in your heart. If each day you work to be your best and highest self, you will know in the end, that there was no more you can do -- what you did was enough. Studying the sacred texts and readings around death can also calm and ease the fear. Yoga is no philosopher’s stone -- but you can take your final resting pose with peace, love, and gratitude in your heart.

Mishra, Rammurti S. M.A, M.D., Fundamentals of Yoga: A Handbook of Theory, Practice, and Application, New York: The Julian Press, Inc., 1959. Print.