Integral Yoga For Holistic Health

What is Holistic Health?

Post pandemic, the importance of mental wellness is being realized the world over, as the most searched themes in Google suggest. Newspapers often report the demise of apparently fit people who were regular in their exercise and diet routine. Younger people are getting diseases associated with old age. What does that indicate?

It seems there is more to health than the outside appearance of the body. Holistic health should probably cover every aspect of our existence – physical, mental, emotional, relationships, internal and external communication, awareness and meaning and purpose in life.

What is Integral Yoga?

Yoga means to unite. Integral yoga means to integrate. What will it integrate? All the aspects of our life to achieve holistic health – to balance the body, mind and emotions. At the level of the body, yoga works on the two main systems in the body – the nervous and the endocrine, which influence the other seven systems in the body. At the level of the mind, yogic tools and methods help transform a dissipated mind into a focused mind. At the level of emotions, yoga helps release energy trapped in neurotic or unconscious mental patterns and helps channelize emotions, paving the way for increased creativity in life.

What are various yogic tools and methods?

Yoga offers many tools and methods to achieve holistic health – Asana, Pranayama, Relaxation and Meditation. Let us briefly go through what each one offers.

Asana

This aspect of yoga is followed by many and is essential for physical health. It is a well-known fact that asanas increase flexibility, mobility, strength and stamina. But how is doing asanas different from running, dancing, going to the gym and playing a sport? Asanas purify nadis (energy channels) and open up chakras (energy centers) in the body. Mental and emotional knots create corresponding physical knots, resulting in pain, stiffness and discomfort. Asanas release these physical knots, thereby also releasing the mental and emotional ones.

Pranayama

This practice of yoga is synonymous with breathing exercises which improve the oxygen supply. However, improved oxygen supply is a byproduct of pranayama. Prana means energy and ayama means expanding and controlling the dimensions of the prana. And breath is the medium to influence the prana in our body. From a physical point of view, pranayama is a practice to balance the nervous system. It is known to help alleviate disorders of the respiratory system. At the mental level, it makes one feel relaxed, peaceful and energetic and enables one to manage stress and emotions in a more creative way.

Relaxation

The importance of relaxation cannot be overstated. Sleep does not provide complete relaxation in today’s world, as the mind does not switch off when we go to bed, even in dreams. Yoga offers a very powerful systematic technique to relax deeply, to induce physical, mental and emotional relaxation. The technique is called Yoga Nidra or guided relaxation. Nidra means sleep and Yoga Nidra means the state between sleep and wakefulness. The body rests but the mind remains awake and moves according to the voice of the instructor. When one does the same practice without the voice, it is called auto suggestion. The relaxation takes place by turning inwards. At the end of the practice, one feels refreshed, peaceful and energetic.

Meditation

This practice is quite popular all over the world and is even recommended by doctors. There are different ways in which one can meditate. Some people like to meditate with music. Others like to focus on the movement of breath. Many like to choose a symbol or mantra to focus on. In one particular practice, one watches spontaneous thoughts with detached awareness. The core of meditation seems to be to withdraw and observe. Benefits of meditation are also well known – increased focus, concentration, relaxation, increase in calming brain wave patterns and increased emotional quotient.

Conclusion

To harmonize our lives, one needs to address all the needs of the body, mind and emotions. Adopting a little of all yogic tools in our lifestyle will help in working towards holistic health. Yoga supports us with its tools and also increases our awareness. When we act with this increased awareness, we start taking smart steps to lead a healthy, fulfilling and meaningful life.

To conclude, yoga is not a panacea to fix all problems in one’s life but it definitely equips us to manage them in a powerful way.