True Health

May 2006
GOLF & LIFE VIETNAM MAGAZINE

As natural as a cat stretching in the morning sun, Yoga awakens you and makes you feel wonderful. As we grow older our bodies stiffen and become tighter. Day in and day out we sit at desks, our spines hunched, we leave the office (maybe walking to the car in painful high heels) and slump in front of the television. Our modern conveniences, the gadgets that do all the hard work for us, have also created sedentary lifestyles and backaches and neck problems are just some of the results. Like clothes that have shrunk and no longer fit, our bodies have become uncomfortable, and are consequently more prone to illness and injury. Yoga helps get the kinks out by restoring flexibility, strength and balance.

You already know the great feeling of Yoga. Just imagine youve been on an international flight, crammed in the same small space for hours. What do you do as soon as its finally over? You automatically take a stretch; you wriggle about, swinging your arms and easing out the legs. What a relief! Yoga is deliberate stretching, coordinated with deep full breaths.

What does it mean to be healthy? According to Yoga health is where each part of the body is working at its full potential. But Yoga also takes it one step further and aims to achieve happiness, a contented life. It asserts that this can only be achieved when the three components of the human condition are satisfied: the body, the mind and the soul. The bodily need is health, the mental need is knowledge and the soul or the spiritual need is inner peace. The complete study and practice of Yoga has many elements and is a way of living as well as a series of exercises. However, according to the world famous teacher BKS Iyengar: If you look after the tree, the fragrance and flowering will come by itself. If you look after the body, the fragrance of the mind and spirit will come of itself. So how exactly does it work? How does twisting and stretching and contorting actually affect the body? In an average, well rounded Yoga class you will work through a variety of postures and breathing techniques that help the body in different ways. Here is a general list of the pose groups and their benefits:

Inverted Poses (such as headstands and shoulder stands):
Improve circulation, tone the glandular systems, aid digestion.
reverse energy flow in the body, take the weight of the legs easing varicous veins, anti ageing.
build strength.

Backbends:
strengthens the nervous system.
makes the spine flexible, opens the chest.

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