I hate the fact that yoga can sometimes be so complicated, if one follows old school yoga it is way beyond the asanas it is a complete lifestyle and asanas can be a very tiny part of it. It has Yama, Niyamas which one has to follow, there are various kriyas which claim to cure various diseases, from chronic migraines to epilepsy. The rules are like not to collect money, celibacy, cleanliness, hardship, truth-seeking, etc, it is a whole different cult that many people will hate. In some ancient texts it also discourages consumption of non-vegetarian food, as it is mentioned as tamasic...this is the part that I hate the most and contradicts the necessary protein requirement and also getting all the amino acid chains as vegetarian protein sources lack it....it doesn't agree with the science.
In its philosophy it deals with the facts of Nadis and Chakras which cannot be found in any XRay and autopsy/biopsy. They are the energy channels, which control our behaviors, energy, mood and everything. Every asanas/ pranayama have a subtle effect on all these factors and thus the behavior.
Celibacy is a rule, but it is contradicting one of the basic human functions, the function because of which everyone is present and reading this right now. The most popular issue could be with celibacy and a vegetarian diet, also to some extent not allowing a bank account in the old school sense...getting deep into this could be a very boring.
One rule of Asanas that bothers me is to have approx at least 4 to 5 hours of gap between your meal and Asanas, the gap between asanas and pranayama and then again 30 mins of gap between asanas and meal. This causes difficulty when I'm on a weight-loss plan which requires me to have "small but frequent meals" every 2 to 3 hours, not to mention many diabetics are recommended this to keep the blood sugar stable. Many other benefits in some text claim attraction power, and why does one need attraction powers when one becomes a celibate...many Asanas which claim these are Medha Shakti Vikasak, Kapol Shakti Vikasak....specifically mentioned in a text by Yogi Dhirendra Brahmachari.
There should be gap and rest period...specifically Savasana...the most difficult asana I have ever done, it feels right opposite of how it looks. Also pranayama should not be practiced before and physical works there should be at least 30 mins gap again preferably doing savasana. The most beneficial asanas according to me is inversion asanas...like Headstand, Shoulderstand. One should not do these asanas after intense physical work as broken protein in our blood can harm our brain when we are in inversion. Inversion asanas claim many benefits, especially Sirsanas which is described as a tonic for the brain, which in term cures almost every disorder, from fever to confidence, causing an increase in vitality to increase in hemoglobin. I have experienced anger issues within myself when I have practiced Sirsana(Head Stand) without following it with Sarvangasana(Shoulder Stand), but sure I have seen increased energy and focus. Better Sleep also.
Also, the physical benefits seem really slow in Yoga, nowadays many people claim yoga can be used as cardio...doing sun salutations without break 100s of time, then these become exercises and not yoga and not to mention the repetitive stress by doing the same action again and again.
I find the workouts and weight room with proper nutrition to be superior in seeing better results physically. Whereas in mind control yoga is much superior, I guess countering the complexities which I have described above makes the mind of the practitioner more stern and disciplined. Pranayama and opening the psychic knots these need a lot of years in asanas and then very slowly and gradually practicing pranayama and then a more advanced level breath retention. If these actions are not done slowly ...or very slowly the body and mind can be caused great harm and our body and Nadis(energy channels) may not be able to handle the prana.
Thee 3 kinds of naughts are namely Brahma Granthi, Vishnu Granthi and Rudra Grandhi. The Brahma Granthi...is knot in our lower body basically these cause complications in our trivial energies...sexual, food, etc. The Vishnu granthi is mostly about jealousy pride etc, the Rudra granthi is more of a spiritual naught. opening these naughts is sometimes the main aim of yoga...afterthis the man becomes some kind of superhuman. The way to open these granthis is naughty... practicing 1:4:2:2 alternate nose breathing pranayama....80 rounds each four times a day for three months... if done properly these 80 rounds will take 90 minutes approx perhaps more that means around 6 hours of pranayama daily....not to mention the gaps for meals to be observed between these .....quite a complicated thing ....perhaps easier will be 80 rounds a day for a year...
The benefits I have received or the love relation I have with yoga is mainly because of the migraine issue I had ... on its peak it was happening everyday...sometimes..thrice a day.. sometimes in middle of sleep at 3 am.... and let me tell you that it was terrible...sometimes it had the sensation of a needle poking into my eyes from inside, it is most unbearable kind of pain....yoga literally cured it in the past 1.5 years i had this migraine occur only once or twice... the results were serious any something i couldn't ignore... even a 500mg paracetamol didn't do such a effect...these effects sometimes made me believe the many superhuman aspects of yoga...whicgh are beyond science....the savasana which i find the most difficult ...but once in blue moon I'm able to do it properly...and let me tell you te relaxation i have with it has been better than deepest of the sleeps i ever had....i wish life was more simple...so that one could follow these rules...but there is no point in whining and its better to work in a way by which i could incorporate these practices... I now try to practice relatively brief sessions of asanas focusing mainly on quality and quantity.
This is the program which I follow
1. Sirsana (The Headstand)...I started with the support of the wall and gradually developed my ability to practice without wall....it improves confidence, unlike any other things... behavior-wise.. it is making me more assertive and decisive...Also known as king of the asanas. My experience with Sirsanaan has an experience of having more assertiveness, often anger if this was not followed with Sarvangasana, more confidence and focus, less chances of getting distracted to Facebook newsfeeds, texts claim this asana increases the hemoglobin content in the blood...improved immunity. Also the moment you start performing this asana without any support your confidence skyrockets
2. Sarvangasana (
3. Halasana(optional)...
4. Tadasana....a main and subtle asana...improves posture and balance. it can be one of the most tricky asanas as each leg should have the exact and same amount of weight distribution. the total surface area of both the feet should have exactly the same amount of pressure at every point. it can take months to improve the perfection in this asana
5. Trikonasana.....A routine standing pose..this was a usual pose for me. it was comparatively very simple butter main issue lied on the fact of the duration, it was a big mental challenge to focus and continue the pose.
6. Virasana....A routine pose...increases stamina
7. Parsvottasana intense side stretch with palms joined in your back ........injury proofing the body
8. Paschimotasana.....one forward bending asanas is required...the basic benefits of forward bends it was like moving forward to your past and correcting if there were any problems with it
9. Bhujangasana...great for backbone and stomach and has the psychological benefit of back bending poses, typically opening the future
10. Chakrasana.... great for backbone and supposedly it massages heart without straining it. it provides the combination of benefits of inversion and backbends
11. Padmasana...it is one of the hardest asanas for me.....according to each person present personality one or the other asana will be easier or difficult
12. Savasana....perhaps the most difficult asana it requires great patience and consciousness and sometimes you lose patience while performing it. but I have been able to do it perfectly once and twice and the relaxation it provided was beyond what one gets after hours of deep sleep.
13. Nadi Shodhana
The best method is to start with 1:1 ratio of inhalation: exhalation, start with 3 counts of each, very very slowly absolutely without any strain ....and gradually building this to 10 counts, this may take a couple of weeks.
The next way will be 1:2 ratio again starting with 3:6 counts of inhalation: exhalation and gradually coming to 10:20 this can again take a couple of months if done properly
The next way will be to introduce internal retention 1:1:1 ratio again starting with 3:3:3 counts of inhalation: retention: exhalation and gradually coming to 10:10:10 this can again take a couple of months if done properly.
The next way will be to introduce internal retention 1:2:2 ratio again starting with 3:6:6 counts of inhalation: retention: exhalation and gradually coming to 10:20:20 this can again take a couple of months if done properly
The next way will be to introduce internal retention 1:3:2 ratio again starting with 3:9:6 counts of inhalation: retention: exhalation and gradually coming to 10:30:20 this can again take a couple of months if done properly
the next way will be to introduce internal retention 1:4:2 ratio again starting with 3:12:6 counts of inhalation: retention: exhalation and gradually coming to 10:40:20 this can again take a couple of months if done properly
Now is the time when we introduce external retention 1:4:2:1 ratio again starting with 3:12:6:3 counts of inhalation: internal retention: exhalation: external retention and gradually coming to 10:40:20:10
this can again take a couple of months if done properly
Now is the time when we introduce external retention 1:4:2:2 ratio again starting with 3:12:6:6 counts of inhalation: internal retention: exhalation: external retention and gradually coming to 10:40:20:20
this can again take a couple of months if done properly
this is the ratio that will open all your psychic knots and make you superhuman, but this should be practices gradually. if done wrongly the ill effects could be disastrous.
Texts recommends 80 rounds 4 times a day for 3 months that is 28800 rounds, and not to mention after all this practice your breaths will become so along that for around it may take you almost 2to 3 minutes.
Many men do not prefer yoga against weight room because the results are not fast and neither do they provide a way to aesthetically appealing big muscles...but the hidden health benefits are plenty in fact people should perform yoga to prevent chronic diseases from the start.
The relation between alcohol and yoga is complicated. lets face the reality.. an average person will have drinks daily, will smoke at times...sometimes drink until 1 am if not later...how can he get involved in yoga lifestyle? I personally would prefer the benefits of yogic practice to a moderate effect without changing my lifestyle completely so the key here is moderation
Many new yoga schools make their classes and instruct to perform pranayama first often some moderately advanced practices, the issue is the instructors are taught all these techniques and benefits without ever given chance to read the philosophy and science behind each and in the long run they might be unknowingly harming their student's health. there should be a respectable gap between pranayama and asanas as it makes the subtle energy channels soft and any kind of physical work should be avoided for a while. https://www.livemint.com/
Also instead of creating a specific yoga program for each individual separately they have made one program for all that can be really dangerous especially with the people having diabetics and hypertension.
"Just as lions, tigers, and elephants are gradually controlled, so prana is controlled through practice. Otherwise the practitioner is destroyed". —Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2:15
That is an important quote from Hatha Yoga Pradipika believed to be the Bible of Yoga by many experts.
“Pneumatic tools can cut through the hardest rock. In pranayama the yogi uses his lungs as pneumatic tools. If they are not used properly, they destroy both the tool and the person using it. The same is true of pranayama” - BKS Iyengar
Some experts believe that proper practice of pranayama can cure all ailments and disease and improper practice can bring and aggregate all the ailments and diseases. The safe way is to go slowly very slowly .... take care of the risk-reward factor..and no reward is too much when the risk is your health and life.
The similar breed of experts many people will find in gyms...the guy with big muscles telling you to perform this reps this many times. Ask him questions about the number of macros we need if we want to put on put off this much weight in this much time...the answers won't come. Ask them about the importance of recovery days...and the best format..they will advocate daily workout. Ask them differences between training for hypertrophy, power and strength they won't have an answer. unfortunately there is a big number of instructors being hired nowadays.
I nowadays never listen to the instructor but have formed my own routine because I believe I have more knowledge base that these instructors.
Also in many yogic texts, it was mentioned that yoga is supposed to be performed in privacy and not in groups, the practice should be a very personal thing for you...and you can learn at your own pace rather than comparing with the other students in the class... that cancels the whole purpose of performing yoga.
Coming to Brahmacharya and celibacy as it is against the most basic human function, but can surely have benefits in terms of population control. the human population has exceeded beyond everybody imagination. there are limited resources for each person and hence all the issues like global warming etc are arising in the world, these all seem interrelated. the other extreme end is in tantra some practices claim of multi orgasm and having prolonged intercourse for as long as one wishes all within this yoga philosophy. Though there is no hard research data with celibacy and its effects. one of the research confirmed that on the 7 the day of abstinence the testosterone rose in males. many of the no fap community claims the benefits, often these seemed a placebo effect.
About the diet one would prefer all the BCAA is the diet, a decent amount of protein for essential muscle growth and maintenance. The advocacy of a vegetarian diet in yoga is having many roots, some of them are not exploring animals and many texts recommend milk, ghee and other dairy products. I had an argument with one of my friends about this....my point was that we consume milk from an animal when it is actually meant for the offspring, his point was that the animal was producing enough milk for all its of its babies and humans... I rested my case after hearing this.
Conclusion
Yoga can be a boon to mankind if it can be practiced keeping in mind all the subtle rules. It has solution to most of the health, psychological issues. The best way is to have a slow and steady approach in its practice and avoid getting advice from schools with limited exposure.
Disclaimer:
All the views here are personal. Consult your physician before starting any kind of weight loss program.
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