Healing through yoga

/ November 20, 2014/ Holistic Nutrition, Yoga/ 1 comments

We all want to be healthy but living under the influences of stress and our modern life is becoming exceedingly difficult and we found ourselves constantly trying to heal from the effects of these influences.

I was recently reminded that yoga empowers us in many ways to become our own healers. So I thought I share with you some of things that I found helpful.

B.K.S Iyengar express this well: "Yoga has several facets, and though the aim and culmination of yoga is the sight of the soul, it has lots of beneficial side-effects, among which are health, happiness, peace and poise"

Yoga asanas

Yoga helps to achieve a sense of balance and union between the mind, body, and soul. Separation is what causes disease… by aligning your mind, body, and soul you maximize your chance for health and healing.

Yoga asanas improve the function of the circulatory and respiratory system and brings about a balance of the five elements according to Ayurveda. By cleansing these systems, it allows you to regain your state of wholeness. By increasing the circulation of blood through your whole body, it nourishes and removes toxins from unhealthy areas.

Another way yoga asanas help you heal is by releasing emotions that are toxic such as anger, criticism, resentment, and guilt. These toxic emotions create mental though patterns that cause the most disease in our bodies.

This type of healing is a natural process and takes time! Remember it took you long to get where you are at…

My favorite restorative pose is legs up the wall as it helps to calm the mind, improve circulation of blood and lymph, thus having also a positive effect in the immune system.

Mudras

The word mudra literally means seal. Mudras have different connotations in yoga but are commonly associated with ancient hand and body postures for healing. Mudras can bring about improvements in our body functions and provide peace and happiness. Mudras can be practiced on a regular basis to cure illnesses.

The Shiva Linga mudra is the symbol of destruction and subsequent regeneration. It regenerates and it is a great healer. Place the right hand like a fist with the thumb extended upward on top of the left hand. The left fingers are held together and cupped like a bowl. Both hands should be held at the abdomen and elbows pointing outwards and slightly forward. You can do this mudra twice a day for four min or longer.

Mantras

The word mantra has two parts: man, which is the root of the Sanskrit word for mind; and tra, which is the root of the word instrument. So a mantra is an instrument of the mind, a powerful sound or vibration that you can use to enter a deep state of meditation.

The yoga sutras say that the mechanical repetition of a mantra brings you to inward life. The frequent service of the lips become natural to the soul, bringing light and nourishment, and ultimately leading the soul to union with the inner divine.

I became very fond of mantras when I was reading a book about epigenetics and I realized that cells respond to energy. I immediately made the connection and thought with mantras I can talk to my cells!

This mantra taps into the energies of the sun, moon, earth, and the Infinite Spirit to bring deep healing. You can chant it to heal your self or to send the healing energy to someone.

• Ra (Sun)
• Ma (Moon)
• Daa (Earth)
• Saa (Infinity)
• Saa
• Say (The personal embodiment of Sa)
• So (The personal sense of merger with Sa)
• Hung (The infinite, vibrating and real).

You can play this mantra from my Mantras playlist.

Diet

An alkaline diet made such a difference in my healing journey. It finally brought down the system inflammation that plagued me for so long. In general veggies very alkaline, meat very acidic. Do you think is a coincidence that lot of yogis are vegetarian?

The basis is more or less than if your body is acidic, illness thrives. By consuming an alkaline diet, you can help your body heal and you can also prevent disease and illness.

A couple of weeks ago my mom came down with the flu and spent two days in bed. If you knew her, you’d know that never happens no matter how sick she feels. So I cooked her the alkaline broth and ask her to drink it all day instead of water. By the afternoon, she was up and about. For more information about the alkaline diet and a recipe for the broth, see Beating the flu… .