January 25, 2011 at 2:45pm
I recently did an interview where one of the primary topics was using yoga for wellness vs. taking prescription medication. While meds are critical in many cases (and I am not knocking the medical system as a whole - they are doing incredible things!) ; I feel that prescritpion meds are over used (and Abused) to a large degree.
Let's face it, pills are very very big business. To me, practicing yoga is a highly effective and integral part of the path in helping us to address the root - the source - of an illness. As we clear and strengthen our bodies-minds in a holistic way, and live with stronger awareness of body and mind; we begin to notice how what we are doing affects our state of being, our breath, our emotions, our posture etc; and how everything is intricately connected.
Let's say, for example, that stress is the cause of our digestive disorders, or headaches, or mood swings (which is exceedingly common in today's world). Rather than take a pill for that one particular ailment, which is a manifestation of the way our body/mind has reacted to the prolonged perceived stressor(s), why not address our patterns, our perceptions, our environment, and our diet and lifestyle - to decrease or eliminate the stress. Or simply to handle it in a different way.
Wouldn't this be wiser than taking a pill that may address the symptom alone? Not to mention that pills may have potential negative side effects running far beyond the gamut of the system of the body that we are trying to heal? Wouldn't it be wiser to look at the source, to address what needs to change within ourselves, so that our Whole self, can heal? If removing the root cause of the ailment - won't our entire self, and entire life, be transformed?
I was reading an article in Time Magazine last week about how Medical Plans in the US are starting to include Wellness and Lifestyle as part of annual health benefits, rather than just the old school standard. This is a big step for us all!
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December 24, 2010 at 4:25pm
Welcome to Whole Health Programs!
Our official launch is January 1st, 2011. It's been a big undertaking but we are very pleased with the results and hope you will be too.
All feedback and comments are very welcome as these programs will continue to grow and evolve with time and your thoughts really help us.
Happy Holidays.
Michelle
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October 3, 2010 at 5:06pm
What is wellness, really?
I used to think wellness was a low fat muffin with no margerine, a salad from a semi-fast food restaurant with dressing in the side, a cup of coffee with sweet and low, low fat milk. Ha. And if I was lucky, some cardio on a stairmaster, between the occasional social cigarette. I suppose that was because I was very young at the time (though age may have nothing to do with it), and my primary ‘health’ goal at that point was to be thin.
Thin and healthy are certainly not the same thing. Was I not aware of how my energy, my mood was affected? Of the inevitable crash that found me feeling listless and mundane when the sugar and carbs were past their prime? Or that my body was not getting any real nourishment from the food I was consuming, or from the way I was breathing for that matter, as I ate it semi-slouched over at my usual the booth at the restaurant?
In so many ways, Yoga has been a profound transformation for me. Not only in terms of getting into ‘shape’, which is just par for the course, but of a gateway to awareness in general. The body-mind awareness that comes from a regular hatha yoga practice extends off of the mat in infinite ways; one of those being that we truly begin to notice how we actually feel, and how what we put into our body, what we surround ourselves with, actually affects us.
It just goes hand in hand with being a self aware person. Yoga is the gateway to a deeper level of awareness. The more we practice, the more we know exactly what we need to come back into balance. Whether this is what we consume in terms of food, entertainment, quality of air and water, the people and energies around us, how we hold and carry our body - we become guided by our instincts and intuitions, our source, as if this part of ourselves has been re-awoken after having drifted slowly to sleep as we evolved through childhood and the teenage years.
I’ll pass on the muffin.. Pass me some kale salad with a handful of almonds. I will never be able to go back to how I ate food before. If there isn’t a certain amount of nutrient value in a pure (ie no additives, preservatives and other gunk) in what i am eating, I feel it right away.
At this point, I am a self proclaimed Prana junkie. Prana being the life force, the balanced energy and clarity that manifests as we find ourselves, find true wellness. Wellness starts from within, and wellness starts, with awareness.
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Dear MYO,
Thank you for providing an excellent service. As a Spiritual teacher and intuitive (yoga ins, reiki master, intuitive coach & motivational speaker) myyoga online has been a valuable...
I am filled with love for this site! Thank you, you've brightened my world with your inspiring teachers and classes.
Viola
I totally agree! I can say that doing yoga and working on my posture is FUNDAMENTAL for my wellbeing!!!! I have neck problems and work all day at the computer, I therefore suffered of terrible headaches before practicing regularly yoga. I am very careful with my posture especially while I work and do yoga almost everyday. Now I feel good and have rare headaches, doing yoga makes me really happy!!!! :)
about a year ago in Rome, IT