Posted by Madge on March 7, 2003, at 22:48:27
In reply to Re: YOGA-IN ADDITION TO MEDS???...................., posted by babs on March 6, 2003, at 18:46:57
I am a total Yoga convert!!! I have been doing Yoga for about 10 years off and on, but a year ago I got really serious about it, and try to do Yoga at least 3 -4 times a week. If you have never tried it, may I suggest that you go to an Iyengar studio. That is the best Yoga to learn the fundamentals, slowly, with props that help you ease into the postures. Other Yogas like Vinyassa, Bikram, Ashtanga, Power Yoga, are really for those who have a fundamental understanding of the postures and can do them. If you go to these others without a base, one can get really hurt which totally defeats the purpose. The postures in Yoga help to get us in touch in a conscious way with our body, so we can be present in our body for each moment. Yoga is also a philosophy that is grounded in the Yoga Sutras written by Patanjali if you are interested. They are fundamental principles for living ones life in a more present and compassionate way. I have also found the Mindfullness meditation or Vipassana meditation( Insight) is also helpful with the Yoga. AGreat book to read if you are interested in it is, A Path with Heart by Jack Kornfield. He addresses the principals of Buddhism, Insight meditation, and psychotherapy as ways of becoming more concious, more loving, and compassionate. All these avenues teach us how to eliminate the unnecessary suffering we cause ourselves in life. There's not much we can do about the suffering that is imposed upon us by life, but we can learn new ways to deal with these stresses more gracefully, by learning to let go. Everything is impermanent.
Some other books I would recommend would be BKS Iyengars Light on Yoga. This shows you all the postures and how to do them. He also gives recommendations for certain sequences of postures for different ailments eg cramps during menstruation. As you will see there are so many postures, that you can spend your life learning!!! He also has written a book on the Yoga Sutras. Another author, Jon Kabat Zin has written two books on mindfulness meditation; Full Catastrophe Living, and Wherever you go, there you are. He started the Mindfullness meditation program at Umass Hospital many years ago for people who were in chronic pain. It is very successful. This has been emulated by others everywhere so I'm sure you could find a class. There is also a new book out called the Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy for depression, which takes Jon Kabat Zin's program and modifies it for people with Depression. It's also very good.
Sorry I'm so long winded, but I feel pretty passionate about these things because they have helped me sooooooooo much to change my life for the better.
poster:Madge
thread:206529
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030306/msgs/207008.html