YOGA: BEYOND BODY - Simple diet - weight control

A simple suggested outlined below can bring benefits to our lives.

A principle of “grounding of the body”:

- To decrease the stress and to increase the energy, it is suggested to combine the gift of gravity (connection with Nature) with the benefits of healthy eating and easy elimination of impurities.

Put this principle of “grounding” into practice: 

Activity: Walk, (run, hike), garden, connect with nature, cook from scratch, eat in a group, connect with family, de-clutter… Find fragrances that comfort you.

Nutrition:  Simplify your diet and eliminate clutter from your body and mind.  Avoid reaching for the foods known as “comfort”. The most of those foods interfere with our well being. You will end up feeling guilty and exhausted, rather than nurtured and comforted.  Give the Earth a chance to help you: choose a walk (activity) or choosing these foods in place of manufactured “treats”:  

Vegetables

Whole grains

Nuts

Water

According to the Yoga Sutras (ancient texts that is the basis for the philosophy behind yoga) there are eight “limbs” of yoga. 

 Each limb relates to an aspect of achieving a healthy and fulfilling life, and each builds upon the one before it. You may be surprised to hear that only one of the limbs involves the performance of yoga postures. Here is a description of the eight limbs.

1.       Yama: Five ethical guidelines regarding moral behavior towards others:

1)     Nonviolence

2)     Truthfulness

3)     Nonstealing

4)     Nonlust

5)      Non-covetousness

- Being happy with what you need.

- Not coveting luxury items.

2. Niyama: Five ethical guidelines regarding moral behavior towards oneself:

1)     Cleanliness

2)     Contentment

3)     Sustained practice

4)     Self study

5)      Surrender to God

3. Asana: Practice of yoga postures.

4. Pranayama: Practice of breathing exercises.

5. Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses, (meaning that the exterior world is not a distraction from the interior world within oneself.)

6. Dharana: Concentration, (meaning the ability to focus on something uninterrupted by external or internal distractions.)

7. Dhyana: Meditation. (Building upon Dharana, the concentration is no longer focused on a single thing but is all encompassing.)

8. Samadhi: Enlightenment. Bliss. (Building upon Dhyana, the transcendence of the self through meditation. The merging of the self with the universe. )

By incorporating the described above principles, we should be able to gain more energy, greater emotional stability, and better concentration. Yoga will enhance how you see and respond to challenges in daily life. It will create positive change at the deepest level, for life!