Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Yoga: A wellness tool, not boutique fitness routine
Yoga has been accused of being an elitist passtime. The teaching and practice has been contorted to such a point that it has become inaccesible to ordinary folks. Now activists are having to step in to rescue its reputation by saying that it is meant for everyone, and can be used effectively in rehabilitation and healing. It is essential that it be made easily available to one and all irrespective of socio-economic standing or their current place in life, whatever that may be, they say. These activists are part of a movement that wants to take yoga beyond its image as a fashionable fitness fad, practiced only by the wealthy. They are saying that it can be applied as therapy for various groups considered at risk such as HIV/AIDS victims, homeless youth, toruture victims, drug addicts and those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, to name a few.
As a part of this effort started by George Washington University, yoga teachers and centres in the Washington DC area of America, are volunteering their time and services to help precisely these groups of people. It appears to be a collaborative effort between yoga centres and social services organizations to provide these groups of people the space for self-acceptance, healing and ultimately, integration back into society. One of the teachers participating in this effort says the goal is to give people access to the real yoga. The practice of asana, according to him, is not just about getting into a pose, but about getting grounded, observing the body and its limitations, accepting it and from there on, relating to the world around you.
Yoga is fast becoming a way to reach out to people and offer comfort during troubling times. It is being recongized as a form of therapy in the broadest sense. The time has come for this to happen because the world is looking for alternatives to traditional forms of therapy that are non-inclusive to begin with – that is, they diagnose the problem and prescribe a solution which often only serves to further isolate the victim.
Another yoga instructor and therapist says that giving people the possibility to empower themselves is a huge part of this inititative. Yoga scores highly in that area because it has the potential to do just that. These teachers are also attempting to deconstruct the idiom of movement in yoga so that more people can relate to it as a tool for wellbeing in the deepest sense of the word. The movements themselves could end up meaning nothing if they are not presented in the right way, body-awareness, breathing, observation and all.
As for the participants themselves, most feel that yoga has impacted their lives positively, and to them scientific verification is irrelevant as far as the effects of yoga go. There is a common perception amongst them that yoga can help heal deep wounds and make lasting changes for the better in people's lives. While some may prefer to use yoga explicitly for fitness, there is enough evidence to show that there is more to yoga than meets the eye. You don't have to stretch your imagination too far to see that, you just have to stretch, yourself.
Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/05/AR2009080504065.html?hpid=moreheadlines
As a part of this effort started by George Washington University, yoga teachers and centres in the Washington DC area of America, are volunteering their time and services to help precisely these groups of people. It appears to be a collaborative effort between yoga centres and social services organizations to provide these groups of people the space for self-acceptance, healing and ultimately, integration back into society. One of the teachers participating in this effort says the goal is to give people access to the real yoga. The practice of asana, according to him, is not just about getting into a pose, but about getting grounded, observing the body and its limitations, accepting it and from there on, relating to the world around you.
Yoga is fast becoming a way to reach out to people and offer comfort during troubling times. It is being recongized as a form of therapy in the broadest sense. The time has come for this to happen because the world is looking for alternatives to traditional forms of therapy that are non-inclusive to begin with – that is, they diagnose the problem and prescribe a solution which often only serves to further isolate the victim.
Another yoga instructor and therapist says that giving people the possibility to empower themselves is a huge part of this inititative. Yoga scores highly in that area because it has the potential to do just that. These teachers are also attempting to deconstruct the idiom of movement in yoga so that more people can relate to it as a tool for wellbeing in the deepest sense of the word. The movements themselves could end up meaning nothing if they are not presented in the right way, body-awareness, breathing, observation and all.
As for the participants themselves, most feel that yoga has impacted their lives positively, and to them scientific verification is irrelevant as far as the effects of yoga go. There is a common perception amongst them that yoga can help heal deep wounds and make lasting changes for the better in people's lives. While some may prefer to use yoga explicitly for fitness, there is enough evidence to show that there is more to yoga than meets the eye. You don't have to stretch your imagination too far to see that, you just have to stretch, yourself.
Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/05/AR2009080504065.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Labels: hatha yoga, wellness tools
