Yoga for Life

Coinciding with #Navaratri, today is the #WorldMentalHealthDay, an #international day when everyone talks about #mental #health. Should we not talk do (something) about it? Enough talking! But having one day devoted to the #mental #health at least will turn everyone's attention to it and maybe the #governments will #issue their stance on it. But that isn't enough! In England, #therapies such as #yoga and #meditation, are still considered as "alternative" and not suitable for national health or part-funded cost. However, the effects of #yoga, #meditation and #mindfulness on #mental #health #illnesses are far much better than those of some #medication. Don't get me wrong! I don't advocate stopping medication, I am merely in favour of some 'alternative' solutions to solving the problems, since the #mentalhealth problems can be very deep and very complicated. One size never fits all - therefore why doesn't the government explore these #alternativ...

I’ve been practicing #yoga for years but it wasn’t until I did my #teacher #training that I finally embraced yoga. And not just as a way of #strengthening my #body through the #physical #training and all the asanas (physical poses) but also as my #lifestyle. For years I have been suffering with #migraines and #lower #back #pain. Two years ago, my lower back pain disabled me for the whole month – I got diagnosed with a #degenerative #spinal #canal #stenosis (lumbar). This happened just before I was due to start my #200 YTT course. Over the years, my regular daily asana practice has improved my flexibility. And, although I still find forward bends easier to do (common with people suffering from lower back pain), I am now able to launch into back bends like #Chakrasana/Wheel pose, something that I couldn’t do before my training. Yoga is now generally #prescribed amongst the medical practitioners as a treatment for lower back pain sufferers - although still considered as an alternativ...