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Saturday, June 2, 2012

The Practice of Yoga and the Cultivation of Forgiveness


how to become a yoga instructor
By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

The practice of Yoga goes far beyond simple physical exercises. The term “Yoga” is literally translated to mean union or yoke to the divine. In order to become one with the divine energy that pulsates through all of creation, we must go through a process of releasing and purifying the heavy, negative emotions that can naturally accumulate over time through difficult life experiences. As we let go of negative thought patterns and behaviors that keep us separated from the wonderment and joy of life, we will be able to embody and radiate peace, contentment and fullness to those around us. 

One of the primary stumbling blocks that prevent many of us from experiencing the love and joy of the divine presence in our own beings is an inability to forgive both ourselves and others for transgressions of many sizes and degrees. When we hold onto negative life experiences, we frequently embed these experiences somatically in our bodies. If we keep rehashing the same event over and over again in our minds, we will keep recreating the same negative emotional states, such as anxiety and anger that were the hallmark of the original experience. 

On one hand, thinking about the experience over and over again gives us the opportunity to possibly find the key error that may have created an unpleasant situation. More likely than not, repetitively analyzing the situation only keeps us in the same loop and lodges the negative emotional states associated with the event more deeply into our body and mind, creating a lot of muscular tension and stress. Yoga poses that help to release deeply held tension, reduce anger, and relieve anxiety will allow us to move out of the denseness of a painful and upsetting experience. 

Yoga poses that are particularly effective for releasing tension from unresolved emotional experiences include heart-opening backbends, twisting poses, hip opening poses and a variety of standing asanas. In addition, incorporating Bhastrika and Ujjayi Pranayama techniques into your Yoga practice will help to relieve anxiety, reduce anger and balance your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. These breathing exercises will also help to free you from the repetitive cycle of negative thoughts and beliefs. As you release and resolve painful issues in your life, a new found freedom and ease will allow joy to naturally arise from within, bringing you closer and closer to the experience of expansive oneness with the divine energy that pulsates in your own heart.

© Copyright 2012 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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