The health benefits of yoga are quite real, but few people understand the how it can affect the mind.

After my last weekend of yoga teacher training, a friend asked me at dinner, “Why do you do yoga? So you can learn to do what, headstands?”

Why do people do yoga?

More than 90% of people who come to yoga do so for physical exercise, improved health, or stress management, but for most people, their primary reason for doing yoga will change. One study found that two-thirds of yoga students and 85% of yoga teachers have a change of heart regarding why they practice yoga—most often changing to spirituality or self-actualization, a sense of fulfilling their potential. The practice of yoga offers far more than physical postures and headstands—there is self-reflection, the practice of kindness and compassion, and continued growth and awareness of yourself and others.

To read the full article go to: Psychology Today

As more and more doctors are recommending yoga for a variety of health conditions, the physically therapeutic benefits have become indisputable. However, Yoga Therapy can also be approached from a spiritual rather than physical standpoint, addressing holistic needs in mind and soul as well as body.

Through the spiritual approach, the entire science of yoga as written about in the Yoga Sutras is employed, not just the physically restorative postures. All practices undertaken, from postures to pranayama to meditation, are for the purpose of liberating consciousness from the limited identification of self as strictly human, to a more expansive one of the Divine Self having a human experience. It is natural to connect first through the physical body, as it is the vehicle we operate on a daily basis. And certainly if we have an injury or suffer from chronic pain, the body must be addressed. Similar to physical therapy, yoga movements can significantly decrease pain and suffering, and help one regain vital energy and at the same time that we are doing so, we can begin to change our perception from being the body to being in the body.

Once the body’s demands have been reached, yoga’s mental practices help us deal with internal struggles such as emotional change, loss, indecision and anxiety. Correlating to a branch of psychology called psycho-neuroimmunology, that studies the interaction between the nervous, endocrine and immune systems, we see how the body reflects our internal state of thought and feeling. The application of yogic techniques to affect specific changes in vital functions of the body’s organs and systems allows us to shift from unconscious response to a chosen response in tense circumstances. For example, if we experience anxiety or panic attacks, we can utilize balancing breath exercises (Pranayama) to reset the parasympathetic nervous system’s fight or flight response and gain a more mental equilibrium.

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Do you want to feel less stress and sleep better?

This week, the Vermont House of Representatives passed a resolution recognizing the economic and health benefits of the yoga industry.

Julie Kelley sat down with yoga student Dave Sterret and Anna Van Fleet, who is training to be a yoga therapist, to learn more about this movement.

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Yoga is also used for veterans who are struggling with post traumatic stress disorder. You can find classes through the the Veterans Administration in White River Junction.

How Old, How Often and for How Long Should Children Practice Yoga ?

Yoga for you and your child.

You are, or can be your child’s first yoga teacher. Regardless of your fitness level, you and your child can practice and learn about yoga together. Sharing yoga encourages community, connection, compassion, and communication in families. The non-competitive spirit of yoga is a welcome reprieve from peer and performance pressures.

How old should the child be?

Children can begin as early as three or four. Little ones respond best when yoga is presented as play. Postures that require balance, strength and coordination may be challenging. The support you give your child instills trust, confidence and self esteem.

How often can the child practice?

Family yoga time is a special time for you and your child. Find a day and time and be consistent. Ritual, routine and discipline an are important part of practice. It is through regular practice that you will find the greatest physical, physiological and emotional benefits.

How long should the practice be?

Practice for as long as your child is engaged. Wrap up your session when your child tires or loses interest. If you or your child have any physical limitations, consult a yoga therapist before beginning the following practice. Adaptations and modifications may be made. A good yoga therapist or yoga instructor can help you learn how to adapt.

Go to YogiTimes to see the specific suggested practice.

PROTECTIVE SERVICES

As a child your are utterly vulnerable. But as the child develops and responds to the stimula around it, the child begins to draw boundaries. If the child is in a loving and caring environment the boundaries are soft but in other environments the boundaries may be harder. The child begins to develop self protective strategies.

Yoga and mediatation have a way of easing the boundaries and giving you a different perspective. In many cases, with yoga your vulnerabilites begin to appear. Yoga is a way of taking yourself into life’s pulsing heart and potentially leading to some raw places. But vulnerability can lead to love, grace and deeper forms of healing. Vulnerability can be scary, but it can also greatly deepen your capacity for intimacy, creativity and love.

There is a wonderful article called PROTECTIVE SERVICES in Yoga Journal. Select the title to read the full article.

Everything you read about yoga, be it modern or ancient, states very clearly that with the practice of yoga the mind and emotions are balanced and content.  That’s well and good.  But the question is how do you get there?  It isn’t as if you go to a hatha yoga class at your neighborhood gym and all of a sudden all your emotions are completely balanced.  Even if you went to the most serene yoga center in the world a class wouldn’t give that to you.

So how is it that the mind and emotions are healed with yoga?  It happens in part due to asana but not because of your regular sweaty yoga class in total.  When you take a great hatha yoga class, whether it is a restorative or power yoga class, you feel better afterward. This happens mostly because you are slowing down, breathing mindfully, moving your body through postures that release tension and fatigue and allows the multiple layers of your beingness to come into harmony.

But hatha yoga and asanas are far from the solution for developing a serene mind and calm, balanced emotions.  Through my studies and personal practices I have found that the emotions don’t go way if they haven’t been honored.  Teacher, Karen Kuk-Nagel, says  that “There are no bad emotions except ones that haven’t been expressed.”

Emotions are in our lives as messengers.  They tell us when something is off or when we have hit a nerve that was wounded long ago. As much as I want to believe that if I practice enough meditation, mantra, crystal chakra healing, etc., I will be purified of my buried emotions, I sense that there is more to it.

The yoga texts are very vague on this subject.  There really is no instruction on how to find serenity, it just comes with practice.  That might have worked a few millennia ago when life was a bit simpler.  But from my personal experience you have to do this work in an extremely conscious way.

The best place to start working with your emotions is by acknowledging they are there.  How often do you feel something and then think you shouldn’t be feeling that way?  Ignoring and repressing the emotions that come up in your life is a harmful practice that will disconnect you from your true self, your soul.

If you are a hatha yoga practitioner, or just someone on a spiritual journey, than it is likely that you are looking for more connection in life.  When I began honoring my feelings (because I certainly wasn’t brought up this way) it was hard to even identify all of the emotions.  I was the person who was excellent at “letting go” of things that hurt, angered, or even made me sad.  Before this work I thought I had control of my emotions, when in fact I was just ignoring them.

Try this on for size. We all have to work with others, through our jobs, families, activities, etc.  How do you handle it when you ask someone to help you with something and they just don’t do it?  Do you let it slide and end up doing it for them but never saying anything to the person and then feel angry because they didn’t do what you asked?  Maybe you get mad at them and accuse them of ignoring you and your request but then feel guilty because you lost your temper?  How about ignoring the whole thing and giving up and then feeling awful inside because you feel defeated?  All of the above are logical reactions.  Did any of these reactions really make the situation better?

What would happen if you came from your heart instead of your head?  What if you acknowledged that you feel angry to yourself because this person didn’t listen to you?  If you took a moment to slow down and listen to the anger could you feel where it is coming from in your body?  Many times anger and hurt are felt in the solar plexus or the heart.  A way to really honor this emotion and to learn from it requires you to pause, slow down and acknowledge.  Literally say:

“I acknowledge the feeling of anger in my solar plexus that I feel because I did not feel heard by…” 

Pause.  Let this sink in.  Then ask the anger in your solar plexus “what can you teach me today?  What do I need to know from this anger in my solar plexus.”  Let it know that you are open and willing to receive guidance from this experience.  That you are really listening.  Then receive what it is telling you.

The body can speak in words but it also speaks in other feelings, in images and in memories.  So allow the information to flow through you without any expectations.  Listening to yourself builds trust between you, your body, and your emotions.  You become a team and feel more connected to yourself.

If you are in a situation where you can’t take 5-10 minutes to be with your emotions then take 30 seconds to acknowledge what is there and let it know that you will come back to it when you are in a quiet, safe space.  Then be sure to work with this emotion later in the day in the exact same way.  Recall how you felt.  Acknowledge the feeling.  Locate it.  Ask it to share with you and receive the message.

When our emotions are triggered by an outside event it is only triggering the imbalances that exist within us already, an insecurity or fear that is deeply rooted in our nature.  Learn what those are by the present day events and you can truly heal the wounds of the past.  It takes consciousness and awareness to recognize and work with your emotions.  It isn’t always an easy journey but the path is always worth it!

Now that I have been working with my emotions for a few years I am truly living a more connected life.  I honor what shows up even if I don’t understand why it is there or what I am supposed to be learning from it.  I am more connected to myself.  Therefore, I can be more connected to those that I serve throughout my life: family, yoga students, staff, even strangers.

There is always more work to be done.  Take this work on with joy and enthusiasm because you are worthy of being honest with yourself.  You are worthy of your own love and understanding.  You will know what sets you off and then have the ability to choose your responses to life rather than feeling dictated by your surroundings.

There is a wonderful old proverb that asks us to take heed: “You do not find what you do not seek.”  Allow yourself to seek yourself.  Let this be your yoga practice for a day, a week, a year or a lifetime.  You will find yourself if you are dedicated to this path.

Taken from an article in Yogi Times by Mindy Arbuckle

For many injuries, yoga therapy can be the means to end the chronic pain that persists after contemporary modern medicine has taken its course.  Yoga therapy falls between a doctor visit and the yoga stretching classes.

Yoga therapists work in small groups or private sessions, addressing specific physical problems and adapting yoga poses to support healing for the specific injury. A yoga therapist works primarily with yoga moves, and clients typically leave with instructions on a custom series of poses that change each week according to the student’s progress. “Yoga therapy is very much about the whole person,” says Janice Gates, president of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and author of “Yogini.” “It is complementary to physical therapy, but we take into account that pain may be related to an emotional element, or it may be from lifestyle, some pattern that is not serving them, physical movement patterns or other patterns.”

Yoga therapy can be extremely effective in healing both the physical and any related emotional aspects associated with ab injury.  However, not all therapists are created equal.  If considering using a yoga therapist be sure to check out the therapists credentials and training.

For a more detailed article addressing Yoga Therapists, the effectiveness and the credentialing, click on the following check out : Yoga Therapy, The Next Wave in Yoga