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In treating asthma and bronchitis our aim is to create warm and dry conditions.
Aadil recommends various nutritional remedies such as powdered ginger, hot water and many others.
He also said that the problems with the lungs can be traced to the unresolved grief.
In terms of asana, we did some amazing chest openers.
We also learnt a very effective breathing technique which facilitates detachment of phlegm from the lungs.
When talking about diabetes, Aadil emphasised again something that he had been stating throughout the training and that is that the body seeks homeostasis, or to be balanced.
We discussed what kind of asana practice would be beneficial for a pre-diabetic or a diabetic student and went through a series of postures aim of which was to ‘squeeze’ and ‘release’ the pancreas and therefore stimulate it. We also learnt about the asanas which are meant to strengthen the pancreas. Some of those postures and exercises were very vigorous, whilst some were restorative.
Aadil also gave us a lot of advice on nutrition, including herbal supplements such as stevia, bitter gourd and many more.
He also said that a student should monitor his levels of insulin frequently if doing yoga therapy, because it is very likely that the pancreas will start producing more of it as a result of yoga. In that case, the insulin medication has to be adjusted accordingly.
This work is applicable both to type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Acid reflux happens because the food in the stomach is not digested fast enough so it comes back up. It occurs when there is too little acid in the stomach.
The stomach acids can only be produced in the parasympathetic state. If one is stressed, the stomach doesn’t produce acid and the food doesn’t get processed.
Aadil advises against taking anti acids and suggests again lots of natural remedies.
Also, one should not do the inversions, twists and lying down flat in savasana.
Focus should be on expanding the diaphragm in yoga.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS should be mostly treated internally with the correct nutrition and meditation.
One should completely cut out caffeine, wheat, sugar, tobacco, dairy, beans, most grains and spicy food from their diet. If a student is not willing to do that, Aadil says any yoga practice is a waste of time. He recommends drinking fruit and vegetable juices.
Asana practice should consist of restorative poses which open the spine in both directions (forward and back bends).
But the most important factor in getting better is stress reduction.
Digestion is governed by the parasympathetic nervous system. That means the calmer we are, the better digestion will be. The opposite stands for stress.
Nutrition and hydration play a very important part.
For constipation, in terms of asana practice, the digestive system needs to be stimulated, i.e. inversions, twists and passive backbends.
When treating low blood pressure we need to stimulate.
Strong asana practice should be performed with taking time in transitions during which head is rising from a lower to a higher level. Backbends will charge the kidneys.
Also, very effective for raising the blood pressure is the breathing technique in which the inhalation lasts longer than an exhalations; the opposite of what is recommended for a high blood pressure.
Juicing fruit and vegetables is one of the easiest ways to improve nutrition. Our bodies love raw food. That is the state in which the enzymes in the food are alive and intact and that is how we have always eaten for millennia. The problem is that because we don’t have enough gastric power, raw is more difficult to absorbed than cooked food, unless it is juiced. The ultimate nutrition is juice. There are different types of juicers; masticating, centrifugal and compressive juicers. Masticating juicer (Champion) includes more pulp than the centrifugal(Magimix). The both have a 10 year warranty, so they are a very good investment into your health. Here are some basic juice recipes:
1) carrot, apple, ginger and lemon.
2) kale, chard, celery, ginger root, lemon
3) carrot, apple, ginger root, lemon
You can always add celery, cucumber, kale, spinach or any other fruit or vegetable. Juices such as the ones listed above are very beneficial for people with IBS, colitis or Crohn’s disease .
Juicing is one of the exceptions in nutrition where one can mix fruit and vegetables because digestive enzymes are not required because the cell wall of the food has been broken down. The laws of food combining are based on enzymatic production in the stomach. However, the same things that you cannot eat together you can still drink.
I am writing this post inspired by some of my recent (minor) injuries.
About a week ago, my personal yoga practice (Asthanga, Mysore Style) was going great. I was feeling strong, practising daily, and I was even given a new pose (supta urdhva pada vajrasana) by my teacher, Hamish Hendry. Then, later on that day, during a mummy and baby yoga, I stood up awkwardly with a baby in my arms, and I heard a ‘pop’ sound in my lower back. Having had experienced bulging lumbar discs before, I knew immediately that that was what had happened.
The next morning, I hobbled back to Dharma Shala, and Hamish said to go back to Primary Series and to practice mindfully, focusing on moving the lumbar spine into the body, especially in forward bends. I started with sun salutations, and the second vinyasa (where we go from standing to uttanasana, hands on the floor) took me about 10 breaths to do. My practice, physically, was the polar opposite from the one of the previous day when I was on top of the world. However, even though I was practising like a 100-year old person, my mind was fully present and there was an amazing sense of calm and focus when I had finished. It was one of my best practices in a long time!
When I had the same injury about 7 years ago, I felt miserable for months because I couldn’t do physically what I used to do before. I was attached to my physical health and achievements. When you let go of that attachment, the practice will always be rewarding regardless of what your body can do. In that way, we will be able to do yoga until our final exhalation on this Earth.
Injuries should always be avoided, but if one happens, use it as a great tool to get to know yourself better, both in terms of a physical body and your mind.
In today’s society there are many people suffering with neck pain. It is estimated that about half of the grown up population have lost their cervical curve to a certain degree. Google “loss of cervical lordosis” and you will see the wide range of problems that it can cause. And yet, degeneration of the neck is something we assume is bound to happen with age.
However, with yoga the condition of the neck can be greatly improved. The two main areas to work on is bringing curve back into the neck and the traction which increases spaces between the vertebrae, which leads to decompression of the discs.
There are many exercises which work on those issues. The secret to the success is in doing them regularly, and by regularly I mean 3-4 times a day in the beginning. Only by doing little and often, the muscles supporting the neck will start to change their pattern and adapt to a new and corrected posture.
X-rays of different necks