Total Health - Is Yoga Enough To Stay Healthy

In the last week, I've begun broadening the scope of this blog. My original intention was to tie every post to Yoga in some way--be it asana, breathing, meditation, or philosophy. Perhaps if I search hard enough everything can be tied to Yoga, but that's not always simple to do.

Several weeks ago I read a quote from a well-known Yogi (apologies for not recalling who it was). He (or maybe she) said,

"Yoga is about wellness."

This got me thinking.... a lot! There was a woman I knew that had double knee surgery. This knee injury occurred after a dedicated meditation practice in full lotus. When her knees began hurting during this practice, her teacher (moors the pity) told her to stay seated and breath through it. She would sit for over an hour at a time.

Okay, I've done this. "Breathing through it." But my method is to take 3 breaths and release wherever I can or re-adjust. If the pain or discomfort isn't gone within those few breaths, then it's time to COME OUT! This seems like a no-brainer. However, in the name of spiritual enlightenment, this lady (and I'm guessing many other folks) stayed in full lotus with pain. Now even a simply cross-legged position is out of the question for her.

Is this wellness? Is reaching spiritual awareness and knowing worth trashing your body? On the other hand, is physical fitness more important than prayer or meditation?

In my opinion, Total Health or Wellness is finding a balance between all parts that are You. That's the body, the mind, and the spirit.

Yoga addresses all of these areas very well, which is what I find so cool about it. However, does it address them all fully? I think some of us can get away with just Yoga and find complete health in all areas of our life.

However, many of us can use a little something more. With this in mind, the scope of this blog will shift to anything that seems to fit the bill of wholeness. Anything that helps to live healthy and find wellness. My focus is still Yoga, but in my own life (as the years are passing by) I find that Yoga is not enough for my complete wellness. It has been enough for years and years, but I'm 43 now and my lovely body is crying out for a shift. One thing that Yoga has taught me again and again is to

Respect and listen to your body, mind, and spirit!

So, I hope you will enjoy and find some interesting ideas in the posts to come.

Love Much,

Kris
www.TotalHealthYoga.com
www.TotalHealthYogaClasses.Blogspot.com

Today is the first day of the rest of your life!