Healthy Body Healthy Mind
I often get asked what yoga is and I usually reply that it is a system, a way of life which transcends religion and teaches us how to be better people to ourselves and to others.
It is all about creating a healthy body and a healthy mind.
The 8 limbs of yoga
The 8 limbs of yoga – yamas and niyamas [external and internal observances], asanas [postures], pranayama [breathwork], pratyahara [withdrawal of the senses], dharana [concentration], dhyana [meditation] and samadhi [liberation] set out the framework to this cleansing system. The first 4 “bahiranga “cleanse us externally and the final 3 “antaranga” cleanse us internally.
The first 4 deal with our physical hygiene. The observances help us to be better people. The asanas and pranayama work on the nerves running down our spine, our nervous system. Physical postures mobilise and keep our body trim and pranayama cleanses the Nadis or channels running through our body.
The final 3 deal with our mental hygiene. Withdrawal of the senses takes us inwards and frees us from external distractions. Then through concentration and meditation we still the fluctuations of the mind caused by sense impressions to bring it back to its true nature – still as a mill pond.
These 7 limbs bring us ultimately, though not necessarily in this lifetime, to Samadhi – liberation or equanimity where we are untouched by desires and untroubled by adversity.
This system however is not for the fainthearted. It is not easy and cannot be mastered quickly. It requires dedication and a desire to evolve and improve us and the world around us. We can but try our best – we can do no more.
Michelle Higgins
Ashtanga and Vinyasa Flow Teacher Southampton and Hampshire
info@michellehigginsyoga.co.uk
07803 586161
