The Yoga Studio

Meditation

When we are under pressure, living through stressful situations, our body responds in a certain way, called the flight or fight response. In time this response of the body to an over load of stress accelerates the rate of wear and tear, or ageing of the body, and makes us more susceptible to a wide range of diseases and disorders.

Sadly many of us only know a state of stress, be it mild or intense, and some of us feel that we never really relax, during our waking hours. The practice of meditation triggers a different response in the body, the opposite response to the flight or flight syndrome, called the relaxation response.
Fortunately an experienced meditator can relax quickly and consciously, so diffusing the flight or fight syndrome response, whenever they want to.

Meditation Heals
If your body is stressed out, you can turn that around within minutes. Meditation does just that. There are many ways to learn to relax; progressive relaxation, breathing techniques and visualisations are just a few techniques used in meditation.
Meditation will activate the relaxation response where and when you need it.

Because meditation relaxes the body, the mind also calms. The whole being is in a self-healing state.
Meditation then is perfect for us; it does us good and makes us feel good. Why then do we find it so difficult to practice?
Our mind makes it difficult.

We are used to thinking rapidly when awake and feel uncomfortable when slowing our thoughts down. We are familiar with thoughts of disappointment, failure, inadequacy and resentment. To sit for five minutes faced with these negative thoughts is hardly relaxing, and so many give up before they have really begun.

Our negative emotions contain a tension that makes us want to do something active, not sit and breathe deeply. Because our emotions can be painful, we typically try to avoid noticing them.

Meditation then, benefits the body by encouraging the self-healing state of the relaxation response. The body is excellent at healing itself and most minor illnesses go away on their own if you rest and give the body time to heal by staying relaxed. We are probably able to save ourselves from many illnesses and lengthen our lives by meditating. This is very empowering, as our life and health can be our responsibility and we really can make a difference.

Meditation benefits the mind. It shows us the habits we have learned that keep us locked in tension. We can observe our emotional programming and so learn how to direct ourselves along a more peaceful path.

Living a life with a relaxed energised body and a friendlier, easy going and accepting mind is by far the best way to live. Meditation takes just a few minutes, maybe half an hour each day. But the results stay with us always.

Yoga & Diet

Yoga philosophy teaches us that everything in our universe is made up of three Qualities of nature, including ourselves and our way of thinking, feeling and behaving. Everything has a mixture of the three qualities, but there is normally a dominance of one of the three energies and this dominant quality can greatly affects us.

The three energies or attributes of nature (prakriti) are called Gunas (qualities). They are :

Sattva: - Quality of truth, purity, lightness.

Rajas: - quality of passion, energy, desire.

Tamas: - quality of ignorance, inertia, and darkness

I
n Yoga we are encouraged and advised to create a Sattvic lifestyle by eating Sattvic foods, keeping Sattvic company etc.
Tamasic is the state that as yoga practitioners we are advised to avoid the most. That refers to within us as well as around us. If we decide that our life style is too Tamasic, then the masters advise us to firstly adopt a more Rajasic way and then gradually embrace a more Sattvic inner and outer environment.

Tamasic foods
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana. Meat, Eggs (sometimes referred to as Rajasic)
Processed food such as white sugar. Eating foods that are over ripe, or heated up too many times is also Tamasic. Overeating is considered Tamasic.

What happens to us if we eat too many Tamasic foods? Tamasic food is said to withdraw our energy, make us more lethargic and vulnerable to disease. Our minds also becomes more negative. Emotions such as anger and greed are said to take hold if we eat too many Tamasic foods.

Rajasic Foods
Hot foods such as sharp spices or very strong herbs. Onions and garlic are sometimes classed as Rajasic. Stimulants such as coffee, tea and chocolate. Fish. Eggs are by some Masters referred to as Tamasic and some as Rajasic. Salt. Eating in a hurry is also considered Rajasic.

What happens if we eat too many Rajasic foods? Rajasic isn't as harmful as Tamasic and so a little of these foods is perfectly acceptable. But too many, too often will stimulate the body and over excite the senses so the mind becomes restless and frustrated. Rajasic foods are said to destroy the harmony between mind and body.

Sattvic Foods
Wholemeal grains, rice, pasta. Fresh fruit. Vegetables. Milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt. Nuts, seeds, sprouted seeds. Honey. Pure fruit juices, herb teas and water. Pulses, such as peas, beans, soya and lentils. Eating moderately is considered Sattvic.

What happens if we eat Sattvic foods? Sattvic food is said to be the purest diet. And so is advised for the serious Yoga practitioner, who is interested in complete health, regarding his or her body as a temple. It nourishes the body and maintains it in a peaceful state. A sattvic diet calms the mind, enabling it to function at it's maximum potential. Greater health, mentally and physically is the result of eating in this way.