Yoga, Healing, and Endocrinology
We have all met people who emanate composure, balance, and health. They are calm, yet energetic, disciplined, yet joyful. They seem balanced, deal with stress well, and have healthy bodies and peaceful minds. These people, through self-mastery, have achieved a certain degree of inner peace. Yoga is a system of philosophy and conduct that cultivates this peace and through it, health.
Yoga stems from a holistic tradition that can be traced back over 5,000 years to the South Asian sub-continent. Literally translated from Sanskrit, yoga means ‘union’ or ‘joining’ and is sometimes referred to as a ‘science of life’. The purpose of Yoga in its purest sense, is spiritual liberation. Traditional yogic practices include morality, prayer, meditation, physical exercises, breathing exercises, diet, hygiene, and benevolent action. The benefits of proper yoga practice fall in the categories of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. From the traditional Vedic perspective from which yogic practices have grown, these aspects of health are inextricably linked.
The word ‘Yoga’ evokes many images, ranging from the Hindu ascetic lying on a bed of nails to the lean, muscular Westerner twisted in complex acrobatic positions requiring strength, flexibility, and agility. The focus of most Western practitioners has been on the breath exercises (pranayama) and the physical postures (asanas) of the yogic tradition. In the past 50 years, yoga has become a popular practice in the West. The popularity of yoga is increasing as more and more people discover the benefits of the practice on their health and well-being. In a survey of 2055 adults in the United States, it was found that 7.5% had used yoga at least once in their lifetime, and 3.8% had used it within the past year. 90% of those who had practiced yoga felt that it was very or somewhat helpful.1 How exactly yoga works to improve health is not completely understood. Scientists and yoga practitioners often have different explanations as to why yoga is beneficial to health. Experienced teachers and practitioners of yoga would argue that these benefits are due in most part to a strengthened connection between mind, body, spirit, and emotion.
As we realize the profound connection between thoughts, emotions, body chemistry –and, therefore, disease — it becomes clear that people need a holistic system of health maintenance that not only provides the proper corrective and restorative medicines, but also addresses the mental and emotional stress that underlies and precipitates weakness in the body. Yoga is an effective tool because it addresses the various aspects of a person, not just their body, but their mind, emotions, and spirit.
In a study of the physiological and psychological effects of Hatha Yoga in healthy women, members of a yoga group showed psychological benefits expressed in the personality inventory as higher life satisfaction, lower excitability, aggressiveness, emotionality and somatic complaints.2
