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YOGA IN DAILY LIFE

By Denice Finnegan

Your yoga practice is a microcosm of your life. By developing the skill of witnessing in your asana practice, you see habits of movement in your body, thoughts and feelings. You may also witness your reactions to your thoughts and feelings. You can respond to these in different ways. You can observe them, watching them rise, and pass away, and noticing their impermanence.

You may explore them, asking yourself questions. You may look at other times in your life you have reacted these ways. You may look at how these reactions serve you or hinder you. Lastly, you may decide to change your reactions. Having a regular practice over a long time, allows you to look at how you handle frustration, limitations, being stuck in situations that you don’t like, and how you cope with stress. This gives you the freedom to observe and let them go, process them and move on, and make different choices in your life. In the book “Bringing Yoga to Life” by Donna Farhi, she talks about relating our yoga practice to our whole lives. Some of the points discussed are -

The book is well worth reading. It is a launching pad for you to "Bring Yoga to Your Life"

Headaches

The causes of headaches are many and varied, and finding the cause can often be difficult. Just some of the more common causes include dehydration, some foods, constipation, lack of sleep, eyestrain, glare, sinusitis, poor posture, neck tension, hormonal imbalances, stress, grief, worry and depression. Some headaches are structurally caused from accidents or other injuries. Headaches can result from nutritional factors. Some people get headaches from eating food that contains MSG. Some people get a headache from eating fatty food on an empty stomach. For some people, if they don’t eat for a long period their blood sugar levels can go down and this can cause headaches. A poor diet that is low in nutrients will give some people chronic, ongoing headaches. Last, but not least, if you drink coffee regularly, and suddenly stop drinking it, then the withdrawal symptoms can include strong relentless headaches.

If your headaches are related to poor digestion, some simple measures may help. Eat fresh whole foods, and chew each mouthful 30 to 40 times. This will help balance blood sugar levels and avoid hypoglycaemia. Reduce foods high in simple carbohydrates, and refined, processed foods. Reduce foods high in fats, such as deep fried foods. Some foods known to cause headaches include sulphites (found in wine, dried fruit and take-aways), MSG (found in most flavoured snack foods, sauces and instant packet foods), and foods high in fat (deep fried, creamy sauces, pizza, chips). You may find you need to keep certain foods out of your diet to avoid headaches. Drink plenty of water and reduce cafeine containing drinks.

To work out if your diet is one of the causes of your headaches, it can help to fill in a daily food diary. Simply record everything you eat or drink in a day, and when your headaches occur. Then look for links or themes, related to certain food groups. Take this information along to your naturopathic consultation.

Yoga and Headaches

A headache is your body giving you signals something is out of balance. Always take the time and pay attention to these signals. Many headaches are stress related, so do a relaxation, using one of the many excellent relaxation CD’s available. Or simply take 5 minutes to lie on the floor and scan your body for areas of tension, then use the breath out to let it go. While you have your attention focused inward, start to explore what is happening in your body. Physically, be aware if your body is feeling balanced – compare right and left sides of your back, pelvis and shoulders. Think of the stretches you have done in class that helped you come back into balance. Think of the habits that your body often falls into, and how you have worked with these patterns in the past.

Mentally and emotionally, become aware of what is going on, and how this is contributing to your headache. Use visualization, deep breathing and relaxation to let go of the thoughts and feelings that are unhelpful. Remember, beating yourself up will only make you feel worse – ahimsa, or non-violence towards yourself means cultivating positive feelings toward yourself and a supportive, loving inner dialogue.

Health and Wellness

Naturopathic medicine is not just about taking supplements instead of pharmaceutical drugs. It is important to listen carefully and to trust the messages from your own body and mind and feelings. When you pay attention to what the body is saying, through the symptoms you feel, you can begin to understand what they mean. In your Naturopathic consultation we work in partnership, discussing your health issues, finding out more about how your body works, and what are the underlying causes of your symptom picture. In this way you participate more fully in your own health and well-being, so you can mobilise your inner resources for healing.

Developing such an attitude means authoring one’s own life and therefore assuming some measure of authority oneself. Sometimes you may research information, sometimes it may help to journal your thoughts and feelings, or recording what's happening in your body over a period of time. Becoming familiar with our selves, our rhythms, our needs and our reactions, is essential to good health. Each part of the physical body has it’s counterpart in an emotional body, which carries a deeper meaning. We need to constantly listen and respond to our emotional body. Yoga is an excellent tool to do this. Many great healers have acknowledged that physical health and illness stem from emotions. Sometimes the best skill we can develop is to sit quietly, feel our body, notice our thoughts, and allow our feelings to surface, without trying to cover them up or push them away.