Wednesday 11 December 2013

Discovering AYP

Have you ever had the feeling you're stuck in a rut with your yoga practice? Assanas and more assanas, a few breathing exercise, but no sign that your teacher might eventually move onto more advanced practices? I used to – I tried several yoga classes, two of which I attended regularly for long periods of time. They were good for fitness and flexibility, but not much progress in a true yoga sense. The nagging feeling that I wasn't really going anywhere finally turned into discontent. Some three months ago, I decided I had to get into more advanced yoga, even at the risk of practising without supervision. I started to look for books and websites that could help me stitch together an advanced yoga path. Risky? Yes, I braced myself for trial and error and the though of going it alone was unnerving. I decided to take the risk and give myself a chance to progress.

I first came across a set of books by Swami Rama, which do contain some guidelines on meditation and breathing techniques. Then somebody pointed me to the Self-Realisation Fellowship and Yogananda's books. It was the third time lucky for me, when I came across Yogani's AYP website. Everything I need in the way of yoga is there! I won't even have to take much of a risk, as the method seems to be tried and tested, with plenty of people following it in distance-learning mode.

Yogani's method looks like a straightforward succession of steps, clearly explained. And without too much jargon and even without the mystical mumo-jumbo. Because, keen as I am on yoga, I have no intention to depart from my discerning self. (Paranormal powers and miracles might exist, but I'm still waiting to see some evidence.)
 
If I had dreamt up my teacher myself, he could not have been more to my liking than Yogani has turned up to be. It was a very exciting few days, reading through his book and reassuring myself that the method really is complete, down to the very advanced techniques that normally come with a 'do not try this on your own' tag. Yes, we are responsible adults who can self-pace and practice safely - thankfully there is one yoga master out there who takes that view. He also does his best to clarify the details of his technique and can be contacted with questions if anyone needs clarifications.

Yogani even sorted out my confusion about following a devotional path. Since I am not religious, I thought a devotional path was not for me. But I am devoted to my goal of finding the truth, to become the best I can be as a human being and realise whatever potential was given to me by nature or God. As I read Yogani's lessons about devotion, the long-felt disappointment about lack of progress and many years' failure to find a teacher suddenly took a positive turn. That same emotional drive can and will power my progress from now on. Thank you Yogani! I am more grateful than words can say.

Friday 25 October 2013

The Art of Meditation

The Art of Meditation book coverIn the last month or so, as I have resumed my daily meditation practice, I have also been looking for reading about meditation. One of the books my local library had to offer was “The Art of Meditation” by Matthieu Ricard. The author is a Buddhist monk who left a career in cellular genetics in order to practice Buddhism in the Himalayas.

The book is an enjoyable account of Buddhist mediation. The Buddhists distinguish between mediation with an object (Shamatha) and introspective meditation (Vipassana or Vipashyana). The first aims to still the mind, the second to gain insight into its workings. Stilling the mind is a prerequisite of successful introspection. I believe introspective meditation  is what some yogis call “witnessing” - letting ones toughs and emotions come and go, while the mind acknowledges them as an objective judge. It occurs naturally during object-focused meditation and the two are often practised together as one technique.

Although I have no plans to focus on introspective mediation as a separate technique from my mantra-focused routine, I have found the chapter about introspection thoroughly enjoyable. I particularly liked the river metaphor as an analogy for the ego. It goes like this:  What gives a river its identity? Is it the water that flows through it? No, because the water changes with every hour and week that passes. Is it the river bed or the shape of its banks? Take the water away and the river bed becomes a stretch of land. In the same way, our ego has no tangible identity or definition. It feeds on memories of the past and anticipations of the future. It either dwells on past triumphs and failures or sets itself up as a victim.

“We are not this ego [..] Our most fundamental level of experience is pure awareness”. Abandon grasping onto your ego, cease to identify with it, urges Ricard, and you will find complete inner freedom. Then you will be able to relate to everybody you meet with candour, “goodwill, courage and serenity. Having nothing to gain and nothing to lose, we are free to give and receive everything.”

I guess the river analogy resonates so strongly with me because I have just started to be more aware of the workings of my own ego. When I began practising yoga, back in my early twenties, my ego  appropriated the benefits of my practice – bags of energy, self confidence and feeling happy all the time. I could not be more wrong – as my practice dwindled, the benefits slowly faded away.  I am now approaching yoga again in a very different spirit.  I know very well that I am, at best, just an honoured vessel.

Friday 20 September 2013

Diaphragmatic Breathing

I've just got back into a regular meditation practice and the first question that sprang to mind was “What is the right way to breathe? Do I use any of the Pranayama methods?” Casting my mind back to the time – years ago – when I was first taught how to meditate, I could not recall my teacher giving any instruction on the matter. So I have researched the question afresh and the answer appears to be diaphragmatic breathing – the breath the body automatically uses during relaxation and deep sleep. This sort of explains why my first yoga teacher didn't think it necessary to mention it, but it is nice to have it spelt out (thank you Swami Janaeshvara Bharati for doing that).

The concept “diaphragmatic breathing” is very often used as synonym to “abdominal breathing”. I do not think merging the two is helpful, and I will personally use the former to designate breathing powered by the diaphragm only, without abdominal or any other muscles involved.

The diaphragm is a wide muscle dividing the thorax from the abdomen. It is shaped like  an upside-down bowl, whose concavity increases on the out-breath. On the in-breath, the diaphragm contracts, flattens and pulls down, increasing the volume of the thoracic cavity and pushing downwards the digestive organs underneath. As a result, the upper abdomen passively expands (without any abdominal muscles having to engage in the movement). The lower ribcage also flares out passively, solely as a result of the diaphragm's contraction, with no thoracic muscles needing to be activated.

Practising diaphragmatic breathing

The aim of the exercise is to make your breath as deep as possible by contracting the diaphragm only. Awareness of abdominal and thoracic muscles you have developed using other breathing methods helps – the better this awareness the better you will be at leaving those groups of muscles  relaxed during this exercise.

I have personally found that it is easiest to practice diaphragmatic breathing in a seated posture. While lying down, the abdomen sinks a lot further at the end of the out-breath, which in turn calls for a deeper in-breath and the temptation to engage the abdominal muscles. Perhaps lying down is useful at a second stage of practice, to add an extra challenge.
  1. Sit comfortably on a chair or on the floor, in a sitting pose.
  2. Start by focusing on an out-breath. Breathe out as far as you can and wait for the inhalation reflex to kick in by itself.
  3. On the in-breath, feel your diaphragm pushing down into your abdomen. If you need to develop more awareness of your abdominal and thoracic muscles, placing one hand on your lower belly and the other on your upper chest can help – these parts of your body should not move during diaphragmatic breathing
  4. Relax into the exercise.
    Diaphragmatic breathing is the most relaxing of all types of breathing, so the more you practise it the more relaxed you should feel.

Friday 6 September 2013

My New Approach to the Cobra Pose

Many years ago, when I was first learnt the Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana), I received a set of instructions very similar to those given by the "Yoga Journal" website: “Straighten the arms to lift the chest off the floor, going only to the height at which you can maintain a connection through your pubis to your legs”. I was quite flexible at the time and I thought I was doing this posture quite well,  following my yoga teacher's instructions to the letter.

Fast forward twenty years and three yoga teachers later. One important thing I have learned in all this time is that  approaches to yoga vary hugely from teacher to teacher, even staying within the Hatha Yoga domain. After relocating and becoming unable to attend the classes of my very first yoga teacher, I found it difficult to warm up to different teachers and different styles. But at some point I realised that listening to different points of view was useful. And that comparing approaches and making up my own mind about the best or most useful way to execute a posture was after all a good thing.

The Cobra pose is a good example of questioning and re-learning. The first piece of information that made me question my Cobra execution is in "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Yoga" by Joan Budilovsky and Eve Adamson. They make the point that a snake doesn't have arms, so “you shouldn’t rely on your arms for this pose”. The following image is the illustration of Bhujangasana featured in this book:



The Cobra pose as illustrated in “The Complete Idiot's Guide to Yoga" - legs and feet together and arms bent at the elbow















Compare this with the Yoga Journal photo, and you will notice straight away that the arms are bent and the arching of the back is nowhere as impressive. And no, this is definitely not because we are looking at a beginners' book. One of the instructions given by Joan Budilovsky says: “your heels and toes are together”. If you try the posture this way, you will find  that keeping the feet and legs together seriously limits the arching of your back. Maybe this is not the pose you want to show in the photo that could prove to the world what an accomplished yogi you are. But the point is this: Joan Budilovsky's version of the posture is the one that really works the back muscles. As the authors point out, Bhujagasana is about “allowing the strength of the spine to move you”.

Joan Budilovsky is not the only one to take this view. Check out this website - Advaita Yoga Ashrama written by Swami Atma and you will find a very similar approach to this asana.

My own conclusion about the Cobra is that the version described by the "Yoga Journal" is about spine flexibility - the arms carry the weight and the back lets itself be bent as much as the flexibility of your spine will allow it. But if you want to strengthen your back muscles through Cobra, then you should follow the advice of Joan Budilovsky and Swami Atma.

Friday 16 August 2013

A Trip to Lyveden New Bield

The unfinished building project at Lyveden New Bield
Lyveden New Bield is an Elizabethan building project unfinished to this day. Located in East Northamptonshire, it is now a National Trust property.

This grand shell was meant to be a summer house. It has been standing like this, without a roof since 1605, when - on the death of its owner - work was abandoned never to be resumed.

It tells the story of a rich family brought not only to ruin, but to extinction. The building was started by Sir Thomas Tresham, a staunch catholic, openly opposing the then newly created Church of England. The extortionate fines the family had to pay for not attending Anglican Mass were ruinous. Sir Thomas Tresham spent time in prison because of his religious convictions. His son, Francis was involved in the Gunpowder Plot and died in the Tower of London awaiting trial. His spendthrift son, Lewis lost whatever was left of the family's wealth.

I visited the place this summer and I took in the story with very mixed feelings. I would have sympathised a lot more with Sir Thomas' devotion to his faith had I not heard how he made his fortune. It was in the time when sheep was more profitable than having peasants work the land and sir Thomas had no qualms charging extortionate rents and driving the peasants off his land in pursuit of profit.

It was touching to see the never fired bread oven in the never used kitchen in that house that never got to be a home. And I could sympathise with Sir Thomas' homely pursuits – his letters show how he was thinking of his orchard and garden even when a prisoner in the Tower. But there was also the uncomfortably low back door for the servants. Even short people would have had to bend to get through it – what must have been like having to pass through that door tens of times a day, every day of ones working life? And – in the same vein – the back of the house was planned so that the comings and goings of the servants would be hidden from view – an eyesore that could not be tolerated to obtrude into aristocratic eyes.

I would have liked Sir Thomas better if he had cared a tad less about religious symbols and more about the many people working away to put money into his purse and to keep him comfortable in his home. On the way back from Lyveden I found myself thinking that compassion and true kindness have a timeless quality, which our truths - be they religious or scientific - very rarely, if ever, attain.

Friday 9 August 2013

Love Itself

Streams of light in a forest














 

"In streams of light I clearly saw
 The dust you seldom see,
 Out of which the Nameless makes
 A Name for one like me."


From "Love Itself" by Leonard Cohen


Wednesday 31 July 2013

A New Garden Guest

The blackbird fledgeling perched on a trellisThis is the second summer a juvenile blackbird finds shelter in our garden. 

It cannot fly yet, so it's hopping about or hiding under vegetables or behind the shed when it sees somebody approaching.

This must be a risky time in a blackbird's life - too big for the nest but too young to fly.



I've done a quick Google search on blackbirds and found out they are territorial. This chick might well be the younger sibling of the one who inhabited our garden last year. Blackbirds are monogamous and the pairs stay together for as long as they live. According to RSPB, they have a life expectancy of 3.4 years, but the oldest one on record managed to live for as long as 20 years and 3 months!

Hopefully our resident one will have a long and happy life. Luckily for him/her (at this age both males and females are brown) there are no cats in our garden. Plenty to eat too - blackbird heaven on earth. I am starting to suspect we will get a new fledgling every year from now on.

Monday 22 July 2013

A Clover and One Bee


"To make a prairie it takes 
A clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do
If bees are few."

Emily Dickinson

Tuesday 9 July 2013

Vegetarianism – How Non-Violent Can You Get?

Over the two decades since I started practising yoga, I have met a good number of vegetarians. Many of them had given up meat despite the fact that they used to like it – out of commitment to non-violence. But does vegetarianism really mean putting food on your table with no animals being killed in the process? I myself have some doubts on that score. Just because we don't eat chicken, beef and pork, it does not mean we are getting our food entirely without sacrificing other lives.

We don't eat them, we eat their food
There are tens of species classified as pests in the UK only, from the notorious slugs and aphids to the less known carrot and onion flies. The monoculture way we grow our crops these days makes it very easy for pests to spread and multiply. If they had all the food they wanted, we wouldn't get our grains, fruit and vegetables.

We are taking over their habitats
Just by being alive, we are squeezing other species out of existence. We humans are reducing the habitats of countless other species, driving many to extinction. And not only the wildebeests, antelopes, big cats and elephants of Africa. It happens on every continent, in all places where humans live or have economic interests.

The inescapable fact is that being and staying alive on this planet involves a fierce completion for resources – food, drinkable water and physical space. This fact is sometimes difficult to square with our neatly laid out ethical principles. The living world has grown along food chains – many animals eat other animals. We humans are fortunate in our ability to get nourishment from a very wide range of foods. So we don't have to sacrifice other lives in order to preserve our own, but only up to a point. Take a closer look and non-violence is not as straightforward as it first appears to be. Even using disinfectant and house cleaning products means purposefully killing countless micro-organisms. Where does non-violence to other creatures end and inflicting violence on yourself begin?

Perhaps it is easier for us to maintain the view that all life is sacred if we avoid taking the lives of other creatures. The fact remains that in this world a life is often sacrificed in order to sustain another life. I do not think life is any less sacred for that reason. And there is all the more reason to be grateful for being alive. If you've ever watched Bruce Lee's film “The Silent Flute”, you may remember this dialogue:
“A fish saved my life once” says the master.
“How?” asks the disciple
“I ate it.”

We are extremely lucky these days to have the choice of so many foods and be well-fed vegetarians if we so choose. Looking at human history, it seems to me that this is more the exception than the rule. Even today there are parts of the world where life is tough and any kind of food is precious.

My own reason for being a vegetarian – or, I should say “mostly vegetarian” – is that it suits me. I feel better and healthier on a vegetarian diet. The reason for this “mostly” it that, as I've grown older, I have become less of a purist. Years ago, if I was a guest in somebody's house and they took the trouble to prepare a meal, I would have told them I was a vegetarian. These days, if the hosts ask, I will just tell them not to trouble themselves – I will eat whatever there is. And be grateful. True, I am no longer the committed vegetarian I use to be. I may be in danger of crossing the line to an outright omnivorous diet. But there is a silver lining – I am safe from the temptation to look down on non-vegetarians. At least in that quarter, I am delivered from arrogance.

Friday 28 June 2013

Hermann Hesse's "Siddhartha"


I love allegories and symbols and there are plenty of them to be found in Hesses' books. Of the ones I read by this author, Siddhartha is my favourite.

The beginning of Hesse's story is similar to the legend of Buddha, but without any suggestion that  Siddhartha is of godly descent or even royal. He is a brahman's son, growing up in a comfortable home, taught by learned brahmans. He is a very gifted pupil, but the truth he is seeking is not to be found in the teachings of the brahmans. So Siddhartha decides to leave his father's house and become an itinerant ascetic. He spends the next few years learning concentration and meditation, practising self-denial, learning to conquer pain, hunger, thirst and fatigue - all in an effort to transcend his ego and discover the innermost part of his being, that reflection of the divine, the ultimate reality.

These many years of asceticism have not brought Siddhartha any closer to the the truth he seeks. (This is the point where the story departs from the legend altogether and Hesse's originality begins to shine). As Siddhartha realises asceticism is not the path, he hears rumours about Gautama the Sublime, the Buddha. He leaves the ascetics and goes to meet the Buddha and hear his teachings.

Seeing and listening to the Buddha convinces Siddhartha that “this man was filled with truth down to the least movement of his smallest finger”. Yet Siddhartha resolves that he will not become Buddha's disciple. Having met the wisest teacher, having heard the best possible doctrine, he realises wisdom cannot be taught. The only way to find wisdom is through his own experience, following his own path. A path which he begins to shape as he understands that his past attempts to destroy his self through asceticism and self-mortification were a futile effort, a self-deceit. Instead, from that day on, he would seek to know himself. "No longer shall I mortify and dismember myself in order to find a mystery behind the ruins." Equally, he will stop treating reality as an illusion, "the veil of Maya". The essence is not separate from the world around us, hidden behind things, but manifest in every thing.

His new path takes him further and further away from yoga and any form of self-discipline. He even seems to have forgotten his spiritual journey. As the brahman and the yogi fade away, so does the arrogance that shadowed these identities. As Siddhartha's weaknesses become apparent, so does his humanity - that which he has in common with all other human beings. The wisdom that has eluded the gifted pupil of both the brahmans and the ascetics, finally begins to dawn on him. Very slowly, his years of youth behind him, Siddhartha eventually becomes a sage - someone who has found contentment, who is at peace with the world and with himself.

Thursday 20 June 2013

My Latest Cooking Experiment - Vegan Aubergine Pasta

I do enjoy my dairy and eggs, and even the very occasional fish and chicken, but I also like to eat vegan foods only for a week or two at a time. It makes me more alert and boosts my energy levels.
This is a vegan recipe I tried recently. The aubergines make it quite meaty and filling. 

Ingredients - Serves 2

200 g pasta
1 small courgette
1 onion
2 celery sticks
1 small aubergine or 1/2 of a large one
3 heaped spoonfuls of frozen petits poids
4 spoons of olive oil
3-4 spoonfuls of tomato passata
1-2 tomatoes
salt
fresh parsley or thyme to season
Method
 
Slice the onion and celery sticks and boil them for 3-5 minutes. Top up the water in the saucepan, bring to boil again, then add the pasta and chopped courgette.
Gently heat 4 spoonfuls of olive oil in a non-stick pan and add the chopped aubergine. Cover with a lid and cook for a few minutes till the aubergines start to golden, then add two spoonfuls of water and continue cooking with the lid on, till the aubergines have softened throughout.
Defrost the petits poids in a cupful of hot water.
Drain the pasta, add the petits poids, the aubergines, the tomato passata and chopped tomatos. Add the herbs and salt to taste.

It is nice eaten warm, but it works well as a cold pasta salad too – not bad at all for the lunch box.


Tuesday 4 June 2013

Garden Guests

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Build it and they will come.
This has certainly been true for our solitary bee hotel. It went up in spring and it's proven very popular. The first kind of bees to visit it were mason bees - a species I hadn't even known existed. They seal their holes with earth – hence their name. I counted eleven holes already sealed up and yet more are being colonised. I looked up mason bee and found out that the female lays one egg at a time, deposits pollen and nectar with it, then seals up the cavity. Then lays another egg and repeats the process till the hole is filled up. The young bees will emerge next spring - the next generation pollinators for our apple trees!


 

Friday 24 May 2013

Today's Indulgence - A Bit of Sliding on the Rainbow


“Sometimes it's important
to work for that pot of gold.
But other times
it's essential
to take time off
and to make sure
that your most important decision in the day
simply consists of choosing which color to slide down
on the rainbow.”
Douglas Pagels

Wednesday 15 May 2013

A Peek at Taoist Breathing Practices

I find it interesting and sometimes useful to look at disciplines similar to yoga, like chi gung and tai chi. I have recently read through “Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body” by Bruce Frantzis, a Western Taoist master who spent over a decade training In China. His book does a great job of explaining Taiosm to the Western reader.

In the “Breath and Chi” chapter I found a set of exercises for increasing the efficiency of your breathing. What I like about this technique is that it works directly on the normal, day-to day breathing. The aim to increase lung capacity by training the muscles of the abdomen and thorax in order to make the in-breath fuller and the out-breath more complete. The exercise can be practised pretty much anywhere, unlike Pranayama techniques, which you can't really practise in public, at least not without drawing attention to your humming or Darth Vader-like noises.

Here is a very brief summary of the exercises involved. They are practised lying on your back or in a comfortable sitting position.
 
1 . Expanding your abdomen forward
Place both hands on your belly. As you breath in, observe which part of it of it – lower, middle or upper belly – expands the most. Focus on the area (or one of the areas) where there is less movement and try to make it expand as far as the most mobile part of your abdomen. Practise this one exercise till you master it. It could take several weeks – the approach is 'it takes as long as it takes'. Then move on to the next stage:

2. Expanding your abdomen sideways
Place your hands or lightly closed fists on the sides of your abdomen. Notice if your abdomen expands sideways when breathing in. The aim of this exercise is to bring movement into the sides of your abdomen, so that they expand with each in-breath.

3. Breathing into the back of your abdomen (or Breathing into the kidneys)
This is a very important exercise from the Taoist point of view, as the kidneys are considered the source of vitality. It helps to lie on the floor with  your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the ground, at least at the early stages of this exercise. In this  position it will be easier to gain awareness of your back's movement.

4. The complete abdominal breathing
Once you have mastered each of the three exercise above, the next step is to put them all together – on each in-breath, the abdomen expands on all four directions.

5. Breathing into your upper back
Taoist practice does not advocate breathing into the chest – an important difference from what yoga considers to be good breathing. When expanding the thorax on the in-breath, it is therefore the back that expands to accommodate more air. When practising this exercise, the shoulders should be relaxed. Feel the shoulder blades spread away from the spine on each in-breath.

A couple of points to bear in mind during all the exercises:
  • In Taoist spirit, the breathing should be a continuous flow (no holding your breath at any point).
  • Any strain should be avoided. In fact the author emphasises the 70% rule  - breath at 70% of your capacity throughout these exercises. When breathing into your kidneys even more care should be taken – start at 40-50% capacity and gradually build up to 70%.
There are of course a lot more detailed instructions in the book and they are worth a good read. This book has made me reconsider my idea of complete breathing. I especially like the lower and upper back breathing and I have started incorporating them into my yoga practice.


Tuesday 7 May 2013

Breathing Through Bending Poses – A Very Useful Tip

This is gem I picked up from one of my yoga teachers over the years. I've not heard it talked of anywhere else. Even this one teacher mentioned it just once, in passing. I think it is a brilliant idea and it  deservers to be better known and put to use.

I find it useful for developing all bending poses, backwards or forwards, seated or standing. And it is wonderfully simple:
  1. Elongate the spine on the in-breath
  2. Deepen the bend on the out-breadth

These are a few advantages of this technique:
  • It helps me keep my body relaxed and fluid while working though poses.
  • It keeps the breathing deep and easy – holding the pose no longer risks to strain the breathing. Instead, the breading becomes a tool for developing the pose.
  • It focuses the mind on one point – the breathing, and really helps me fend off  stray thought about work deadlines and everything else I really don't need to think about during my yoga practice.
  • I don't need to worry about how far I'm able to bend when I get into a pose. Instead, the initiation of a posture is more about achieving the correct alignment of the body and remembering all those do's and don't. Deepening the pose is something to work on while executing it.
All in all, a very useful simple technique. Have I convinced you yet?

Friday 3 May 2013

May Blossom

"And the day came
when the risk to remain tight in the bud
was more painful
than the risk it took to blossom."
Anais Nin

Apple blossom

Monday 29 April 2013

Standing on My Own Two Feet - The Mountain Pose

If you have practised this pose, you know there is more to standing than meets the eye – toes spread, firm thigh muscles drawn inwards, kneecaps lifted, tail bone lengthened, pubis tilted towards navel, shoulder blades pressed together, then widened, sternum lifted, chest open, neck lengthened, chin parallel to the floor, tongue relaxed and  remember to take deep breaths. Rather more complicated than the head stand when you come to look at it!

I have known this posture for years – one of many asanas on the list, easily outranked by more interestingly looking ones. A week ago I have decided to give it a chance. I found out I prefer the feet apart version for its stability and feeling of strength.

Some of my thigh muscles felt a little stiff for a couple of days. Having got past that, I started to notice my core is feeling a little stronger - it seems a little easier to maintain a good posture while standing, walking and sitting. I found myself pulling my shoulders back and downwards when walking - the memory of tadasana echoing outside my yoga sessions. Which could help me a little with my sitting posture too - that bad habit of slouching and tensing my shoulders when sitting at my desk that I've been battling for years. Big hopes! Tadasana has joined my list of must-do poses and I will be back with an update on the sitting posture problem in a couple of months time.

Friday 26 April 2013

It's Official – Yoga is Good for You

A new piece of research by a group of scientists at the University of Oslo has proved that practising yoga has immediate effects on our immune cells.

The scientists compared the effects of a two hour yoga session with those of a nature walk and listening to relaxing music. The yoga practice consisted of postures, breathing an meditation.

The scientists isolated a group of immune cells called Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from the subjects' blood taken before and after the sessions. The nature walk and music session changed the expression of 38 genes in these  immune cells. The yoga sessions produced changes in 111 genes - “a significantly greater effect” compared with the control regimen, say the researchers. These changes were very rapid - within two hours of practice!





Images of a Lymphocyte and Monocyte - two types of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells. With thanks to Wikipedia and Science Photo Library for the royalty free images.
 
It's amazing to think that our experiences and changes in our environment - psychological, social, and cultural - effectively change our bodies at molecular level. This is a new science called psychosocial genomics and it casts a new light on the importance of the life choices we make.  And gives a whole new significance to what happens on that yoga mat!