I remember years ago doing the dishes by hand day after day and after every session I always had to go lie down on the floor, rest and stretch my back because it always hurt. I thought that it was just a part of life with the modern world and housework. Yet yogic awareness, awareness of my body and how it felt in the moment, brought a source of insight that cured me of my back pain forever.
I recently took a trip home to be with my family. During that time I hardly did my yoga practice at all. It does not take long for me to start feeling the effects of stress creeping back into my body when I don’t practice: tense shoulders, a cranky spine, stiff neck, poor digestion and elimination, low energy and mood just to name a few! Yoga helps with all of these conditions and more.
Here in the 21st century we live in a stressful world. The stressors are all around, from sitting for long periods of time in chairs, driving in traffic, electromagnetic stress from cell phones and computers, taking in stressful images on television, and just observing the state of the world; what is happening economically, politically, socially and to the environment. All of this stress whether it is physical, mental or spiritual accumulates in our bodies. Yoga can very effectively help reduce the effects of stress on the body, mind and spirit.
Yoga has always captivated me from the beginning. It is a fabulous system for keeping the body healthy, free of stress, flexible, strong and balanced. It works just as well on the mind, helping one to focus, be present, clear, one pointed and stable. These two aspects would be reason enough to get on the mat everyday. Yet there is more, much more to this ancient art and science. There is also the whole universe of the Spirit; the mystical union with Source Energy to know and explore.
