Saturday, December 30, 2006

Skepticism eroded...

Namaste to One and All,

Yoga has been around for thousands of years and it's no surprise that for anything to survive that long there must be concrete and empirical sustenance.

I, for one, was a skeptic about the benefits of yoga until I had to try it out for myself. The benefits that I'm about to mention is from personal experience. Do note that different body responds differently to yoga, just as different body react differently to various contraptions.

Having completed an intensive yoga teacher-training programme, I first noticed physical improvements - gone down a little around the waist, more toned arms and lighter body - are the more significant changes amongst the other physical benefits. Mental enhancements were a more focused mind, better concentration and clarity of thoughts.

What completely took away my skepticism was the foot-reflexology pathway. Before my training, every single step hurt tremendously meaning how weak my organs were. However, in the final week of my training, I went on the "torture" path again and was totally flabbergasted to feel no pain at all. Either my body has become lighter, or the whole body system has improved in some way or another.

Just as a scientist convinced with empirical evidence, I was happy that I finally found some real hard substantiation about the benefits of this ancient science.

Do note that to achieve the improvements as I had, yoga has to be practiced at least twice a day, 1.5 hours each session and for at least 15 days. I believe the vegetarian diet did help as a catalyst for the benefits.

So should you be looking for some stone to uncover in life... perhaps yoga would be an interesting area to explore.