Yoga – A Different Philosophy

Contortion? A very recommendable strategy of preventive health, actually.

By Danitza Crosby*

If I had to explain what Yoga means by a gesture, I’d smile because from many aspects, we found Yoga is not just exercises and asanas. It goes much beyond and a smile also expresses it very much.

Some people have the notion that Yoga is about contortion. Perhaps that’s why few attend to Yoga centers, but the picture is clearly different in other countries.

As much as I remember, I went out at six o’clock in the morning to Colombia and Venezuela parks, where I could watch crowds who attend to practice some sports,  like exercises, tai-chi, Yoga, walkings, etc., from the youngest to the oldest. The truth is very pleasant to see population and government entities of those places interested in health.

We, from Piura’s JñakandaYoga Cultural Center, are 51 years giving this great service to the community and there are many who attend daily to our Yoga centers worldwide. It is about 51 years of hard work, years of setting up Yoga system in Peru and many upcoming years to continue teaching generations those truly live it.

As Dr. Serge Reynauld de la Ferriere says on his book Yug Yoga Yogism, “Yoga in this sense is not a simple philosophy anymore, and I pledge the grace to be the translator of great masters of ancient times for defending the pure thinking of spiritual elevation what yogism is.”

Then, Yoga leads us to look for perfection throughout methods, needed disciplines to educate again our pphysical, mental and emotional being, not stopping only in contortion exercises but looking for balance what respects natural rules of evolution, which we have close our eyes down.

Body is conscius

However, our being is smart. How many times are we sat down before aa fatty food dish and we have felt not to eat it?

The hard belief of feeding three times a day does not pay attention about our body knows consciously what hurts it and when and what it must eat. Only that, sincerely, because  an accostumed  laze, we do not make it right and even we challenge our health with so many bad costumes those just feed a bag of diseases we could prevent if we would. Many of them threaten us by a constant stress.

Learning  an adequate breathing and psyco-physical exercises plus yoga could reduce them significantly to us. Only the will to begin now is needed and to choose to care our health in the present.

I ever amaze to see elder ladies practicing Yoga, having an enviable Health and a walking that some 27-year-old or less guys would have for ghood because they have decided to change toward a healthy and natural lifestyle.

Every June 21^st we say “Happy International Day of Yoga!” Many thanks to every Yoga teachers who give this great service to our communities around the world.

• Teacher of Piura’s Jñacanda Yoga Cultural Center (link goes to a fanpage in Spanish).

Read also: The dance of life

Post-producido por Sheyla Benavente