Level The Playing Field (eBook)

Vijayan Pillai (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2020 | 1. Auflage
122 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-0983-0262-7 (ISBN)

Infos

A complete guide to physical and psychological health. Covers a whole range of health topics such as diet, yoga, cardio, strength training and prevention. Well explained and easy to understand with step-by-step instructions.

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"e;Level the Playing Field"e; is a highly recommended read for health enthusiasts. Book covers practices that bring physical and psychological health. There is a wide belief, rightly so, that the physical health to a large extent depends on the psychological health of a person and vice versa. Book contains important health-related topics such as diet, yoga, strength training, cardio, etc. There are in all, six chapters in the book; each chapter discuss the essentials in a specific area. Chapter one is on 'Diet' and it discusses best practices on eating, nutrition and fasting among others. The chapter on 'Yoga' shows the impact of different physical postures on your internal organs and how they help you in developing emotional balance, physical health, and a higher sense of awareness. The chapter on 'Cardio' will explain how you can keep your spirits up while helping proper circulation and heart health. The chapter on 'Strength Training' is not only about looking good but also about increasing your confidence, self-esteem, and metabolism. The chapter on 'Know Yourself' does a peek into the psychology of astrology. Astrology can give enormous insight into the psychological and physiological aspect of a person which is largely ignored as astrology became synonymous with predictions. Attempt here is to make you look inward and thereby, helps you learn a bit more about yourself and also the all-important personal to universal connection. The chapter on 'Prevention' teaches you how to be pro-active against some common health issues that people face. Book is a must-read for those people who lack physical and emotional drive. Also, the book is highly beneficial to people, who are recovering from physical or mental traumas. About 120 pages long, book is concise and easy to read.

Textauszug

Yoga

Yoga Origins

The word yoga means Union. The aim of yoga is the union of the individual soul to the supreme soul which we are a part of, there by attaining liberation. For those who believe in re-births, it means to escape countless births and re-births. The Advaita (Non-Dualism) philosophy of Indian civilization, refers to the idea that the individual soul (True Self or Atman) is the same as the highest metaphysical reality (Brahman). In other words, yoga is a process towards the merger of the individual soul to the universal one.

An eight-fold path to reach that goal is compiled by the sage Patanjali in a treatise called “Yoga Sutras” around 400 CE. This is called Ashtanga Yoga and this path consists of Yamas (behaviors to minimize/avoid, such as violence, lying, stealing, greed and indulgence), the Niyamas (behaviors to observe, such as compassion, purity, self-discipline and cleanliness), Asana (posture and exercises to purify body and nerves), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (withdrawing the mind from external focus), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (super consciousness or complete absorption).

An applied form of two of the steps mentioned above, namely Asanas/Pranayama (yogic postures/breathing), is Hatha Yoga. These were compiled by Yogi Swatmarama in “Hatha Yoga Pradipika” in the 15th century. Hatha yoga basically lays the foundation for the physical purification of the body that prepares the student for higher levels of meditation. In addition, this helps him/her live longer to achieve that goal as it takes years of meditation to attain.

Hatha yoga, particularly asanas (the physical postures), became popular throughout the world as a form of physical exercise and are now colloquially termed simply as “Yoga”. The physical postures of yoga are only a small part of the means to achieve a higher goal but that itself, when practiced properly, gives tremendous physical and psychological benefits. If you consider emergency care and anti-biotics as a great boon to heal the body, then yoga is a great boon to heal the soul.

Yoga Physical/Psychological Impact

It is said that one’s worst enemy is his mind if not controlled properly. Enemies, difficulties, obstacles etc. in most cases manifested in the mind before they take shape in the real world, if they do at all. You could be in a war zone but still able to feel peace and calm, but at the same time you could be in a peaceful environment but still feel war like.

Yoga aims to help a person reach a level of “stillness” in their mind. In other words, it allows you to pause, observe and analyze before you react to any events and experiences in life.

The psychological and physical benefits of yoga result from how individual yoga poses activate different energy centers in the body called chakras. Chakras are a vortex of energy that lay near each major organ and gland in the human body. Lower chakras work more on physical body and sensations (adrenal, re-productive and digestive glands/organs) and upper chakras are for love, intuition, interconnectedness, mind and the spirit (heart, throat, pineal and pituitary glands).

On a physical level, yoga movement works on different glands and organs in your gross body, but the effect translates to a subtle level which influences your psyche. This will be experienced as a positive balancing influence on your feelings of security, creativity, sexuality, willpower, love, oral expression, intuition, spirituality etc.

Just about everyone has faced abuse and traumas in their life. Abuses and traumas suffered during childhood or experienced by your ancestors (genocide, famine, wars etc.) have long term consequences for the individual and hence the next generation and society. It is more likely they will abuse others. Sadistic behavior, criminal activities and depression etc. all can be traced to childhood upbringing not withstanding physiological issues. Yoga poses, especially inversion poses, (like shoulder stand) help you sublime the negative effects and prevent you from continuing the vicious circle.

The physiological and psychological effects of yoga are subtle but profound. For that reason alone, yoga poses should be practiced in the right sequence and preferably under a qualified practitioner. Regular yoga practice will create a good aura around you in addition to healing the body, mind and spirit.

Yoga and Self-Awareness

Any positive or negative life changing events in the life of an individual or a society were a thought first before it translates in to speech and eventual actions. This is true of an act of charity or an act of terrorism. That means we need to stay conscious of our thoughts, every speech and action and the impact of them on us, as well as the people around us. These thoughts and outlook of an individual roughly termed as subjective reality and it varies from person to person and even among family members. The very reason the same event evokes entirely different responses from two people who both think they are right. As they say, it is all about where we are coming from.

Self-awareness is the ability to look inward and find the flaws in your subjective reality and identify your true values, strengths and weaknesses. Identify the root source of your thought process and emotions as well as recognize them. Self-awareness is your ability to sense what is dear to you and what is not. It is your ability to wisely choose your associations. Awareness is what helps you to step back from a tense situation or a toxic environment and allow you to arrive at proper a flee, freeze or fight response.

On another level self-awareness is your ability to sense vibes, read between lines and listen to things that are not spoken. Sadly, in life, lots of things are not spoken but are rather concluded or decided behind your back.

Yoga, when practiced properly on a regular basis, helps you attain a higher level of consciousness and self-awareness which plays a key role in shaping the circumstances in your life.

Yoga Asanas (Poses)

Yoga poses can be broadly classified as below. The particular emphasis of yoga poses is towards a healthy spinal cord and the associated nerves. These greatly influence the function of the brain and hence the overall health.

Relaxation Poses: These poses are meant to give muscle relaxation and rest to the body. They should be done before and after a session or during the completion of each pose if required. Also, they are for any time when you feel fatigue or tiredness.

Meditation Poses: These are sitting poses that help keep the body steady for long hours of meditation.

Standing Poses: These asanas benefit back, shoulder and leg muscles. They improve posture. Standing poses that exercise the leg muscles work on the lower chakra which is called the muladhara chakra which is connected to our survival instincts, safety and feelings of security.

Inversion poses: These are very powerful poses which on a physical level reverse the action of gravity on blood flow and nourishes the vital organs in the upper body like heart, lungs, brain, eyes and ears. On a psychic level they make one emotionally stable and increases self-confidence. On a spiritual level inversion does what is called sexual sublimation. In other words, powerful creative sexual energy is moved to higher chakras, thereby influencing your intellect and higher mind in a positive way. These poses are highly recommended for people who suffer from emotional issues, those who have undergone abuses and traumas, those who lack self-confidence and those with increased and uncontrollable sexual desires.

Backward bends/Forward bends/Twists: These are major group of asanas that focus on a healthy spine. On a psychic level backward bends increase extroversion helping you get out there. Forwards bends induces introspection and humility while twists help us un-tie the knots in life. On a physical level these poses rejuvenate the organs in the stomach, thereby increasing vitality.

Balancing Poses: These poses require a steady focus and concentration to achieve physical balance thereby helps us to reach mental and emotional balance.

Yoga Poses Sequence

The practice of yoga poses in isolation is highly discouraged. In other words, do not try to do “yoga pose of the month” or “yoga poses to cure certain diseases” etc. alone. Every yoga pose should follow a sequence and some poses may have one or more “must do” counter poses. Yoga poses even in a right sequence do not necessarily bring bliss to every individual. The reason is that the physiological make up of every individual is different and yoga poses, especially intermediate and advanced ones, work on different glands on physical level and the result will be felt psychologically differently for different people. It is all about determining how you feel inside and how you feel in relation to your interaction with others. You need to develop a keen sense of observation.

Generally, a person should practice preparatory poses first. These brings certain level of flexibility and work on the lower chakras of the body before practicing poses that affect higher chakras.

Different schools of yoga have...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 31.3.2020
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie
• ISBN-10: 1-0983-0262-1 / 1098302621
• ISBN-13: 978-1-0983-0262-7 / 9781098302627