Yoga
for Life
April 22. 2019
By
Nancy
Dale, Ph.D.
Yoga: Setting Goals
“Relax and renew” is one of
the strongest motivations for an individual to begin a Yoga practice. Yoga is often a new beginning for people on a
personal quest to discover serenity through physical/mental/emotional self-actualization.
Yoga is more than what
some refer to as an “exercise” or a place to come for “stretching” or a “workout” which it is, of
course, but in essence it is a
philosophy/practice of integrating well-defined Yoga postures, for the benefit
of our health, into our daily life functions, such as standing, sitting,
walking with a goal to regenerate the mind/body. Choosing to practice Yoga is learning how to
transmute energy through a relaxed mind and manifest it in the mind/body image
we project. The goals we choose to
project into reality, requires patience, time, pro-active energy and
visualization. The Yoga journey begins very
slowly and simply in the present moment.
Let’s
begin to “Awakening the Body”: Our first goal in practicing Yoga is to
remove tension in the mind/body. Stand
straight in Tadassana or Mountain Pose, back long and straight, balancing with
the eyes closed, body in alignment. Lift both arms to the sky, side by side
facing each other. Take a deep long breath and turn the palms forward. Then clasp the hands together over the head,
turn them over and slowing bring the arms and body forward into a deep bend
with knees slightly bent and a long back. Slowly raise the body and lengthen
the arms to the sky, inhale deeply then slowly release the clasped hands and
circle the arms back to the sides. Repeat this simple body awakening posture at
least 5 times and hold each pose for a count of 10. This is a basic pose to awaken the body
before moving into other postures.
The first acknowledgement
in practicing Yoga is very obvious but may be taken for granted. It is how we breathe. In Yoga, we use the “healing breath,” to replenish
the body with fresh, oxygenated blood through the inhale, expelling carbon
dioxide in the exhale, releasing tension, tightness, and negativity stored in
the body/mind/emotions. According to
Richard Miller, PhD and Mediation Practioner, “Focusing on the depth and rhythm
of the breath turns off the network of shallow breathing, enabling the Yoga Practioner
to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, encouraging the mind/body to
relax. Focused breathing is a
moment-to-moment flow of sensation, energy and feedback that helps to deactivate
the brain’s default network, allowing each person to locate him/herself in
space and time.”
Inhaling deeply through
the nose, and exhaling the same length of time, supports the nervous system in establishing
an equilibrium or a calming balance in face of stress, moving through everyday
challenges. To deepen the inhales and
lengthen the exhales, count how long it takes to inhale through the nose and
match the count when exhaling the same breath.
Deep breathing is a central
focus of concentration and an early warning of stress if it becomes shorter,
quicker and “panting” breathing takes over.
If this occurs, we may want to break away from the current activity. If we have our Yoga mat nearby or a blanket,
we can lie down and close the eyes.
However, Yoga is a practice we can do anywhere. First, we draw our
attention inward, begin to deeply breath, gently close the eyes, quiet the mind
and let go of the world.
Yoga helps to renew energy
and move back into our world, free to laugh and enjoy Life. We begin our practice slowly with a few
postures to “awaken” the mind/body as the frenzied world fades into the background. It is our time to discover our inner being
just waiting to be actualized. As we slowly evolve, we share our harmony with
others. There are always “trying times”
and people who ruffle our serenity but our path is solid as we actualize and
put back into the world an appreciation of harmony and an awakened
consciousness.
NANCY DALE IS A CERTIFIED YOGA INSTRUCTOR AND WRITES THE COLUMN PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY IN THE HEALTH SECTION OF THE HIGHLANDS NEWS SUN. SHE TEACHES YOGA CLASSES IN SEBRING, FLORIDA. CONTACT: NANCYDALEPHD@GMAIL.COM FOR SCHEDULE
