ourselves from dependency on external aids? Yes, we can, if we try enough. Practice makes one perfect and at first we may not be able to maintain inner peace for long, but gradually we will become less vulnerable to negative influences. The likes & dislikes ( Raga & Dvesha ) that can lead to mental diseases ( Adhis ) will become less important and our growing awareness of Cosmic Consciousness will give meaning & coherence to every aspect of our life.
The Basis Of Yoga Therapy
Yoga therapy is fundamentally different from allopathic practice in its approach to health care. Instead of trying to reduce the cause
of disease to a single factor and to correct it using a specific cure, Yoga aims to treat illness by improving health on all the five levels of Being – physical, vital, mental, intellectual & spiritual – simultaneously & restoring inner harmony.
Ill-health occurs when the total balance of perfect health is disturbed. And although the original disrupting influence may only affect one level at first, viz the physical level, the disturbance soon spreads to the other four levels. All the five sheaths of existence interact, thus something that primarily affects the mind can soon spread to the body & the subtler sheaths. A bad day at work may make us irritable & it also increases stress reaction, makes our muscles tense and often depletes our energy level leading to chronic fatigue.
While emotion culturing generates equanimity, Relaxation & Meditation can calm our mind. Positive action produces harmony, just as as negative influences spread disruption. The different types of yoga practice augment each other & are more effective when