The human body, which contains imbalances of physical and mental level, develops disease either of body or mind eventually. Many people if they do not feel any pain or discomfort do not realize this and go on with their lives. Yoga has the ability to cure these underlying imbalances and keeps a person healthy and also helps the person from contracting any diseases in future.
Many People do not realize that the human body, mind and soul are interconnected with each other and have be in harmony for the human body to function properly. Any time the imbalance occurs in one of them, it will eventually lead to developing some form of disease. In fact the health of a human body can be categorized into the following Physical Health, Mental Health, Moral Health and Health of perception. If the Person has a firm body and emotionally stable mind they will gain wisdom and eventually lead to freeing the soul.
But a student of yoga never forgets that health starts with the physical body. Health of the physical body is not something you would want to bargain for nor can it achieved in the form of taking medicine or health supplements. It can be earned only through effort and sweat. If a plant or a tree is healthy then the fruits yielded by it are in abundance. Likewise, if a person is healthy then great things can be achieved by him.
Practicing yogasana (various yoga postures) for achieving physical health is just the beginning, when a person is performing a simple yoga posture they will experience various levels of quest. They are, external quest tones the physical self, internal quest helps a person attain clarity of mind and gain wisdom, while innermost quest helps a yogi (student of yoga) to build character and compassion. While a beginner does not realize that they are actually building their mind as well as their bodies when performing these postures. Many people after practicing yoga for few days experience feeling light and having a cheerful mood. As long as a person has his health they do not think about developing their mind. But we need healthy bodies in order to get a healthy mind and yoga helps in achieving those.
Unless we are ready to cross the boundaries and compulsions provided by the human body we will not be able to cross the known frontiers, that is to increase our perception and build character, yoga is ideal for this. The qualities to unlocking the potential of human body and mind are purity and sensitivity. Not only do they just help us becoming a better person but also help our surrounding environment. On the other hand we should avoid the rigidity for it means becoming impure and will make us insensitive.
People must realize that we must maintain a harmony within our body, as well as with the world. For example a man has become used to comforts in life which he buys with his wealth such as a temperature controlled house and car which he uses to drive distances he can easily walk. By failing to adapt to the surroundings easily he is putting himself at risk, for instance what happens if he loses his wealth suddenly and all the comfort of life vanishes as he cannot afford them easily anymore? By maintaining a balance with our body and surroundings we will be able to adapt easily to the changes in life, yoga teaches a person to adapt easily to anything in life.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Yoga [http://yoga.tips-and-gear.com/]
