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| Category: Yoga Therapy |
Date published: November 17, 2004 |
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the state of health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual well being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity. It is clear from this definition that health and ill-health are not two discrete entities as commonly understood but health should be conceived as a continuous function indicating the state of well being. Modern ailments such as asthma, hypertension, diabetes etc. develop due to life style change, stress. The management of stress related ailments is centered on getting mastery over this excessive speed of the mind. This technique of reducing the rate of flow of thoughts with deep internal awareness is yoga. Yoga is a systematic conscious process for developing mastery over the mind and accelerating the growth of a human being from his animal level and ultimately to divinity. It is a systematic methodology for an all round personality development-physical, mental, intellectual, emotional and spiritual components of man. Yoga in its general methodology for the growth of man to divine heights includes techniques useful for therapeutic applications in making man healthier.
According to Taittireya Upanishad our system consists of 5 bodies. The physical body (annamaya kosa), life energy body (pranamaya kosa), mind body (manomaya kosa), knowledge body (vijnanamaya kosa) and bliss body (anandamaya kosa).Vasista in Yoga Vasista says that the disturbances in the Manomaya Kosa percolates into the physical layer (Annamaya Ko?a) through the Pr??amaya Kosa. Hence, in the treatment of these psychosomatic ailments it becomes mandatory to work at all these levels of our existence to bring about the quickest results. The integrated approach of toga therapy consists in not only dealing with physical body the relief of which could at best be temporary as is happening with the drugs used in modern medicine to treat diseases of the psychosomatic type like Asthma, Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, etc. It also includes using techniques to operate on all level of our existence.
A healthy yogic diet, kriyas, loosening exercises and yogasanas are used to operate at the annamaya kosa level and to remove the physical symptoms of the ailments. Pranayama and breathing help to remove the random agitations in pranic flows in the pranamayakosa. Dharana, dhyana helps in reducing the erratic flow of thought in mind. Devotional session helps in bringing about mastery over emotions. The emotional imbalances and upsurges are eliminated by such control. The large number of yoga practices available in the texts of yoga and Upanishads are adapted to balance and harmonies the disturbances at each of the five Kosas and tackle this type of complex psychosomatic ailments.
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