By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, YACEP
How can Yoga lead to inner peace? To be honest, Yoga, meditation, prayer, Qigong, and other health maintenance systems also offer us a path to our own personal sanctuary. Yoga is a deeply enriching practice, which easily produces positive results that cover the spectrum – from increased flexibility, to reduced pain, and a heightened sense of well being. Yet, some will ask: “What about inner peace?” How can the daily practice of Yoga lead to greater levels of inner peace?
How Does Yoga Work?
To put it simply – Yoga training brings individuals out of their worries for a while. It changes their focus, and forces them to put their attention on moving through the the practice of healing modalities, such as asana, pranayama, mudras, mantra, meditation and more. This distancing, from the problems and struggles of life, leads to a different perspective, when the Yoga session is over and it is time to return to ‘reality’.
Results
Even so, the staunchest opponents of practices, such as Yoga, must recognize the value of distancing the mind during times of heightened stress. Notably, one of the historic examples of distancing the mind and creating inner space within the mind was Jakow Trachtenberg. As an example, Jakow was a holocaust survivor, who decided to meditate on mathematics, rather than the unimaginable horrors taking place around him. Nevertheless, he managed this during his seven year imprisonment in concentration camps. When he was free, he began his recovery. Not only did he still possess a sound mind, but he had created solutions. He also developed the “Trachtenberg Speed System,” a complex system of mathematical shortcuts that are still taught and used to this day.
Creation of Inner Space
Some will say that he did not engage in meditation, but in fact, he did. Meditation is not intrinsically spiritual in nature; to meditate is to dwell on a subject or thought pattern with the utmost attention. His is an extreme example, but the message is clear: The key to mental health and inner peace is to maintain an inner space that is separate from the happenings in the world around us. From a practitioner’s perspective, there is a lot more to Yoga than that, when it comes to inner peace, because it begs a question: Why does the creation of an inner space lead to such profound peace?
Withdrawing Attention
The inner space, that is created by withdrawing attention from the mind, is intrinsically linked with the source; the energy which sustains all life, including our own. Withdrawing from the world, and the false self, leads to becoming grounded in that inner source of energy. In that peaceful inner space, nothing can be threatened. Nothing needs to be achieved or changed, because all is accepted, and there is no resistance.
Inner Calm Lifestyle
Yoga provides many easily approachable methods for tapping into this inner source of peace and stability, on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, meditation is a proven avenue for realization and maintaining a consistent state of inner peace. In addition, we have Yogic breathing, which can be practiced at any time of the day. Finally, there will always be Yoga poses as an option. The only problem with postures is the comparison trap. In reality, competition has crept into Yoga and social media. Therefore, a well-rounded Yoga practice will yield inner peace.
© Copyright – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
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Yoga training brings individuals out of their worries for a while and this distancing, from the problems and struggles of life, leads to a different perspective. Thanks for sharing this nice article.
Yogic methodology provides an easily approachable method for tapping into this inner source of peace and stability, on a daily basis. Its really a valuable article. Thanks for posting it.