As a young teenager I learned to do Yoga from a book. It suggested that one would stay ‘young and smart’ by pursuing this practice. This sounded appealing to me, so I followed it. Without my parents knowing, I tried the postures on a small rug in front of my bed at night, when I was supposed to go to sleep. I really liked how well I slept afterwards. It also became apparent to me how food affected my practice and sleep. The earlier I had dinner – about five hours before going to bed was best – the better.
But when I read in my small Yoga book about the benefits of the practice on our organs, immune system, cardio-vascular system etc. I found that utterly boring, thinking, “who could possibly be interested in how our organs function, and where are they located anyway?” An understanding of that seemed so foreign to me. Little did I know!
It was only some years later that I looked again into the practice of Yoga. Meanwhile I had immersed myself in computer sciences, which I then found to be soulless and not a profession that suited my character. I also became interested in the Eastern understanding of our body and overall well-being. All of a sudden the connection between my spleen and my sweet cravings became a fascinating topic; or that ‘having too much on one’s plate’ literally and metaphorically can create stomach issues. I was curious about how the Yoga practice could assist in one overcoming this, and many other issues and ailments. Not fond of the pharmaceutical industry, I was much more interested in alternative, more natural ways of assisting the body and soul to heal.
Healing
I didn’t get the full grasp of the term ‘healing’ for a long time. I always understood healing to be necessary only when we fall sick with some illness. Slowly I learned that we all ‘suffer’ with some sort of psychological and/or physical illness or simple physical discomfort. Frequently we are experiencing the feeling of ‘un-ease’. Someone might have said or done something which upset us, or made us feel uncomfortable. Or we might be discontented with a current life situation, or we might feel unhappy in a relationship or in relationships with those around us in general etc. This ‘unease’ causes ‘suffering’, which is recognized in many different ancient teachings. It is often called ‘duhkha’.
The Yoga practice helps us to alleviate these feelings of hurt or discomfort, and we learn to let go of past experiences and memories, which were weighing on us heavily. We emerge from the practice feeling lighter, happier, and more contented. Most of all we learn to become less affected by what is happening around us; we feel freer and lighter. We learn to recognize the moment the ‘un-ease’ might be settling in, and gain the skills to create more distance between ourselves and the current situation. This results in clearer discernment and being able to recognize the situation for what it is. We deal with it much more appropriately. We remain unshaken and strong within ourselves, emanating calm and ease.
A lot of soul searching and truly getting to know oneself is a natural process which takes place when practicing Yoga regularly, resulting in a true appreciation of good health.
Looking forward to seeing you soon.
OM Shanti,
Angelika