Yoga Beyond Belief: Insights to Awaken and Deepen Your Practice

yogis tend to idealize Hatha yoga’s past and feel that very early on it was a highly perfected form of physical and spiritual development with practices for health, well-being, and mental clarity. On the contrary, academicians have asserted that the earliest forms of Hatha were oriented toward the attainment of supernatural and magical powers or physical immortality. The teachings and definition of Hatha yoga have grown and expanded enormously in modern times, incorporating many new discoveries and innovations, and integrating much from science. These changes and developments do not devalue the practice but, on the contrary, have strengthened and builtit far beyond its humble origins. They further emphasize the evolutionary nature of yoga and the importance of constant questioning, vigilance, and feedback in the process.

The Ten Body-Mind Systems
    Hatha yoga, intelligently practiced, has extraordinary, beneficial effects on many levels, physically, mentally, and spiritually. As it has been handed down and expanded through the centuries, it has evolved, continually, into the most complete and sophisticated system of physical culture, health, and well-being ever known to humanity. Yoga practices work with and balance many interrelationships within body and mind. In order to have a more holistic understanding of how yoga works, ten body-mind systems can be taken into account. The spectrum of the ten systems, from the dense, physical bones of the skeletal system to amorphous consciousness of the mental system, is a holographic parallel to the matter-energy continuum of the physical universe and to the levels of energy of the chakra system, which we will explore in a later chapter. These ten systems are closely interrelated and their functions overlap. Getting a sense of the actions and relationships of these ten can be very useful in the practice and understanding of yoga.
The Skeletal System
    Our bones are the densest parts of our bodies. Though we might tend to think our skeletal system has grown and developed to a complete and static form and strength by the time we reach maturity, in fact our bones are living tissue that can be strengthened through use or weakened by inactivity throughout life. This dynamic fact was clearly evident to astronauts living in the weightless environment of space. Beyond Earth’s pull of gravity, astronauts’ bones begin to decalcify and their muscles weaken. As a result, systems of exercise that use springs and internal tensions are necessary in space travel and space stations aredesigned to revolve, simulating gravity with centrifugal force. The skeletal system is stimulated to strengthen and remain strong by the weight-bearing effects of yoga practice. Additionally, yogis learn how to move and mobilize all of the joints, where bone meets bone, in the body. A balanced practice has upper-body work and weight bearing on many body parts and moves and articulates all of the body’s joints.
The Muscular System
    The skeletal structure is supported and articulated by the muscular system. A healthy, balanced muscular system requires more than just strong, toned muscles. To maintain the symmetry and alignment of the body, muscular tensions on different sides of the body and within opposing muscle sets are equalized by yoga practice. Excessive resistance and tension within the muscles waste energy. Muscles strengthened and lengthened by yoga are less prone to injury than short, tight muscles and they work and use energy more efficiently. Yoga asana practice teaches us how to use, tone, build, and balance the muscular system.
The Circulatory System
    Numerous medical studies have shown the important health benefits of building and maintaining good circulation in the cardiovascular system. Good circulation involves blood, lymph, and all the bodily fluids. Good health, vitality, and immunity require keeping fluids moving well in veins, arteries, capillaries, the lymphatic system, and even in the bones, marrow, and spinal disks. Pumping and working the circulatory system on a daily basis is key for health, well-being, detoxification, and the relief of tension. Asana practice has many unique circulatory effects. Many postures direct circulatory flows to specific body parts, glands, or organs. Using inversions like the Headstand, Shoulderstand, and even Downward Dog, for example, bring increased circulation to the upper body, the head, neck, face, and scalp, as well as the thyroid, pineal, and