Our busy lifestyles can leave us feeling stressed and under pressure throughout the week. Yet by living such an unhealthy lifestyle, we often place ourselves at risk. Almost all common maladies can be pinned on stress- from heart diseases to a poor immune system to depression.
All these diseases can be fought against and kept at bay with the routine practice of yoga, says Guru Nanda Siriwardene, a 5th Dan black belt and yoga instructor for over 15 years who runs yoga training centres at Nugegoda, Borella, Thimbirigasaya and Kiribathgoda.Having learnt Hatha yoga in India to help enhance his capabilities in karate, Guru Nanda found that yoga helped him maintain a healthy body and mind. He says that to benefit from yoga it is important to have a spiritual understanding, be it Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity or Islam. It is necessary to believe in a greater power.
While there are about 20 different types of yoga. Hatha yoga is about creating a balance between the body and mind. In fact, in Sanskrit, ‘Ha’ translates to sun which is associated with the body, while ‘Tha’ translates into moon and is identified with the psyche, says Guru Nanda who specializes in this form of yoga.
The fundamental part of yoga is discipline. To derive the most from yoga it is essential to be well disciplined in all aspects of life- how you eat your meals, practise yoga and other aspects of your daily routine. The practice eventually becomes a way of life.
“First there should be a regular meal-time. Have a balanced meal, respect your food and eat while relaxed. Also, fibre is most often sidelined, although it is essential in cleaning the bowels. If people made it a point to include fibre in their diet it would reduce their chances of developing stomach cancer.”
“Another healthy habit that is practised in yoga is that after any meal, only 1/2 of your stomach should be filled with food, 1/4 with water and the remaining 1/4 with air.”
“You need a strong foundation to build a house. Likewise, if someone wants to practise yoga they need to master the basic principles to gain the most out of yoga,” he adds.
Becoming disciplined in your daily routine helps you to be disciplined when practising yoga exercises. The exercises must be done regularly if you want to get the most from the ancient practice that is relevant and functional in modern times.
“To maintain the postures in yoga you must be disciplined. To bend, to align yourself and to maintain that posture, you must be disciplined mentally and physically. If you can discipline yourself, you can master yoga easily. No matter what your build may be, you will be able to do the most complex and advanced postures effortlessly,” he added.
Of course there is more to the postures than simply bending your body. Here again, if you want to gain the most from yoga, when assuming a position it is necessary to follow the proper breathing technique.
“We’ve established that ‘Ha’ is the physique and “Tha” is the psyche, together “Hatha” is the overall health, strength and coordination. Yoga is unity. Practising yoga helps to bring them together, making you physically and mentally healthy.”
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“Breathing correctly is a vital part of yoga. It gives you universal strength. All humans have a link with the world. When we breathe we take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide, which is recycled and breathed in again. So we have a link with the world around us. Following a proper breathing technique we can utilize the most of our surroundings. If we practise the right way of breathing we can gain more energy from our surroundings,” he added.
Breathing techniques are an indispensable part of yoga. So much so that another meaning that is derived from the word “Hatha” is that “Ha” means inhalation while “Tha” means exhalation. When you inhale you can activate your physique, and when you exhale you can activate your mind.
In Sanskrit, asanas refers to posture while pramanaya refers to breathing. The two must be coupled correctly or else the yoga exercises will not be as effective.
“When you practise the asanas, you can activate the inner body, for example the blood vessels and nerves. In the case of blood vessels the postures help in opening up arteries and veins making blood circulation better.”
“Pramanaya is about supplying the maximum amount of oxygenated blood to your organs and muscles.”
Yoga helps activate three vital aspect of an individual- the physical body, mind and energy. It keeps yoga practitioners, healthy in both body and mind, fit and energetic.
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