Yoga therapy has lots of benefits to offer; it really helps in curing many ailments, and does even more in terms of prevention. It’s a great tool for your health, but it requires some fine tuning to get the most of it. Here are the five rules on using yoga therapy effectively.
Wait, I’m Fine, Do I Still Need It?
The beauty of it is that everyone can benefit from it. If you are rather young and don’t really care if there is any disorder, then you should think twice: as the years pass, the condition will only get worse. Even if you are completely healthy, the diseases may come (we have seen this already so many times) just because we get older (what to say about bad ecology, poor nutrition, etc.). To prevent them, do yoga regularly.
The First Rule
It’s OK to make your own yoga sequence for your own needs, but you need to define the goals to make the sequence work as desired. Find out what’s wrong or might get wrong with your health (hereditary diseases, for example), and what you want to address and prevent.
If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, your joints and blood vessels will suffer with the time, especially when it comes to legs, and pelvis area. Muscles lose their tone, and the capillaropathy occurs, which is the increased capillary permeability and fragility.
In this case your routine should include sukshma vyayama on breath-hold (if there is no high blood pressure), strengthening of the muscular system using the power poses, the gradual mastering of the breath-holding practices such as Uddiyana Bandha, Samavritti or Anuloma Viloma pranayama, as well as inversions.
The Second Rule
If there is a disease, first of all you need to get properly diagnosed to avoid possible complications or worsening of the condition after your practice. So, in short – know your problem to address it more effectively through yoga therapy.
The Third Rule
If you already know exactly what’s wrong, but do not have enough experience to make an appropriate workout, approach a competent instructor, who can help you.
If for example, you’ve got a herniated disc in the lumbar spine, then, depending on the side where the hernial protrusion is, your practice will vary; it may include individually chosen asymmetrical postures.
The Fourth Rule
Once your individual program is set, follow it daily, regardless of whatever other practices you also do. If you attend classes to deal with varicose veins, upon coming home you still need to dedicate some time for your personal yoga routine (or it can be another class, which included yoga therapy for your needs). The whole idea is to make a solid foundation with your practice, and this will make the therapy work for you.
The Fifth Rule
Love your body and be very attentive to it. I don’t mean narcissism; you need to send your body positive emotions charging it with the positive energy, and be able to listen to it to know your body’s needs.
There is a saying ‘Our spine is like a tree of life, which requires daily care. It is the way to keep the roots strong, and the trunk straight, strong and healthy.’ And there is another one, which goes as ‘The youth of our body is the flexibility of our spine.’