January 21st, 2010
Today in modern Yoga classes very little is made of the deeply spiritual history of yoga and it is used as a fitness system more than anything else. However there is also a great deal of evidence from medical studies that it is a very effective stress reduction method too. The combination of raising fitness and reducing stress has made it an extremely popular activity over the last few years. For example in 2005 a US survey by Yoga Journal noted that 16.5 million people were now practising yoga and more recent figures have gone so far as to double that number.
What has been left behind in the rush to fitness and health today is the wonderful union of mind and body, male and female, strength and surrender which the ancient yogis included within their concept of Yoga. This is where the more recent development of interest in Yin (female) Yoga to be practiced alongside the more common active and more masculine Hatha Yoga postures starts to bring back the best of what used to be taken for granted in the ancient yoga practice.
Yin Yoga uses postures which focus on the joints and connective tissues in the body rather than the muscles and skeleton. If one combines the active practice of Ashtanga or Power Yoga with the more meditative form of Yin Yoga you begin to get a flavour of what the old yogis would have been doing so many centuries ago. Yin Yoga helps our joints to stay flexible and the tissues within the body to be irrigated and mobile enough for the layers in the body to glide over one another. Postures are selected carefully and are held for some minutes – up to ten or more in some cases. If this is used alongside the muscle strengthening postures of Power Yoga the practice becomes a wonderful mixture of sun and moon, male and female and takes the student beyond ‘health and fitness’ into a more spiritual practice which can have a profound impact on their Soul and emotional life. It can bring people to questioning their purpose in life and why they think they are here – what they want out of life – and what truly are their priorities. Hatha Yoga practised in the ancient and classical way (with Yin Yoga included within the asana sequence) is a marvellous pathway to the expansion of what it is to be human.
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December 20th, 2008
Many people still fear and misunderstand people who have been diagnosed with mental illness. People with mental or psychological disorders are often perceived to be potentially dangerous, or, at the very least, capable of causing physical harm to others. Psychiatric conditions take on many forms, just like physical illnesses do. In general, a person with a psychological disorder is confused and does not have a normal process of thinking or reasoning. A person with a psychological disorder does not speak, behave, and relate with orders in a normal fashion. Mental illness often result in lower capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of everyday life. Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, gender, race, religion, or income. This illness is not a result of personal weakness, lack of character, or poor upbringing. Although symptoms of mental illnesses can sometimes be disturbing, recovery is usually possible in almost all cases.
It is human nature to fear what we do not understand. Aside from the fear that is usually elicited in a person who encounters a person with mental illness brings fear to people, not to mention that it carries a certain stigma that generates negativity when talking about mental illness. Because of this stigma, many people hesitate to get help for a mental health problem for fear of being ostracized or looked down upon. It is unfortunate that this happens because effective treatment exists for most mental illnesses. What is worse is that the stigma experienced by people with mental illness can be more destructive that the illness itself.
Myths are incorporated with such mental health problems. People should know the truth, for they will continue to deny the existence of mental illness or even avoid the topic entirely. They say that people with mental illness are dangerous and violent. While some mentally disturbed individuals have committed crimes or have hurt other people, it is certainly untrue that all persons with psychological problems are capable of harming others around them. In fact, many of persons with psychological problems are themselves victims of violence.
Another myth says that people with mental illness are less intelligent than others. Many studies have shown that most mentally ill people have average or even above average intelligence. Mental illness can affect anyone regardless of their intelligence, income level, or social class. This illness is not a character flaw and has nothing to do with being weak or lacking in will power. Although people with this kind of illness can play a big part in their own recovery, they did not choose to become ill. Psychologically ill individuals are not lazy but only simply cannot “snap out” of their illness. This illness is not a single, rare disorder like other people say. It consists of a broad classification of many disorders including depression, anxiety, personality disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and brain disorders.
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