Connecting ancient wisdom
with modern life
The ancient practice of yoga offers benefits for our physical, emotional and mental wellbeing, especially
with technology creeping ever deeper into our lives.
Yoga is relevant now more than ever
The human body and brain have evolved over millions of years but in the last thirty years, with the rapid development and implementation of technology, our nervous systems are functioning much differently today. This is why yoga, with its breath, movement and mindfulness practices have become more relevant than ever.
Each time our alert signal or ringtone goes off, our attention is diverted and we are triggered to check on messages immediately, even during an important meeting or special gathering. Our sympathetic nervous system jumps to attention as we rush for our phone for that all-important message. When this happens over and over our again our nervous system has difficulty returning to a 'rest and digest' parasympathetic state, resulting in feeling hyper alert, anxious and unsettled much of the time without realizing why. Then we start reaching for a quick fix to help us calm down or get to sleep.
Making a commitment to the self-care practices of yoga and Ayurveda help ground us and awaken a deeper awareness of our lifestyle habits and how we can make lasting changes for our wellbeing.
Yoga therapy has been recognised in the USA since 1989. Australia has it's own yoga therapy body. Yoga therapy in New Zealand is finding its way into holistic spaces.
Accessible Yoga
When recovering from an injury or illness, if we allow the body to be nurtured by our own caring self-talk, soothing self-touch and mindfulness, the return to health takes a very different path than if we push and force the body to 'bounce back'. It can be frustrating to accept delays in the return of our mobility which can sometimes lead to further injury by expecting more from the body than is reasonable. Following an injury or accident we may never regain the full range of movement we had earlier which can be challenging to come to terms with both mentally and emotionally.
If we lack strength and mobility due to aging or disease, yoga therapy offers accessible, manageable practices that can be used at home. A mindful practice engages our breath and draws our focus to sensations in the body so that we can notice what is happening each moment and modify our practice with a sense of presence. A therapeutic practice guided by a yoga therapist is self-managed, self-care.