Yoga and Meditation
These two, yoga and meditation, are indivisible, since even
those who are secular, enter into deep states of reflection, while engaging in
yoga. The day begins well when one is able to contemplate, and do one’s
exercises simultaneously. The energy that is released is substantial, the mind
is calm, one lets go of all the negativism that might have accumulated because
of the disturbing events all of us are constantly exposed to. Best of all, the
predatory instincts we have, as human beings, constantly engaged in competition
with others, is muted.
Yoga helps to build up immunity, as our nervous systems are
affected very badly by the noise pollution, the contaminated processed food
that we all eat, and the way in which we live our lives, generally without
stoppers. We move, as metropolitan citizens from one excitement to another,
often stopping to merely draw breath,
before we begin another excruciatingly exhausting assignment. The carbon trail
we leave behind is as reminiscent of our own absorption of it, as we stand next
to aeroplane exhausts while disembarking, as frequently as we get stranded next
to a spewing truck or bus or SUV in traffic jams, which last up to ten minutes
at a time. How do we get rid of this carbon which accumulates in our blood,
always making us yawn through the day, as we work endlessly. A good diet helps,
and the free radicals are washed out by our drinking quantities of water and eating well washed salads and fresh
fruit.
Yoga makes us, through its initial emphases on breathing
exercises, spill out the air which is locked in our lungs, and by concentrating
on the breathing, as we pull air in and push it out, it clears our brain. The
concentration that is evident, as we do pranayama is probably the first step to
meditation, since our mind and body becomes integrated in this preliminary
exercise.
The integration of body and mind, which yoga brings to us is
it’s greatest benefit. As we proceed with the exercises that our guru teaches
us, we find them appropriate to our age and physical condition. The guru
selects exercises that are necessary for our well being. Even in a group
setting, where there are people of different ages, it is the guru’s wisdom that
allows us to participate in some, and not in others. If our age and physical
circumstance does not permit us to do some exercises, we should not feel
incompetent. I had an uncle in Kerala, who
did head stands at the age of 90, and he always did his yoga and meditation
before leaving for a twelve hour day at his shop, where he had been a spice
merchant since his early youth. So age, by itself is not a determinant, but for
those of us, who suffer from multiple sclerosis, the paralysis maybe so subtle,
that even the simplest of exercises, such as lifting one’s spine while lying on
the floor, may take some time.
Multiple sclerosis is a neurological illness, which is
neither genetic nor infectious. However, living in polluted cities, eating food
which has been loaded with pesticides does affect one’s chances of developing it.
The similarities with rheumatoid arthritis, and with diabetes is compelling.
Many of the symptoms of MS, which is the slow or rapid loss of faculties, and
the deadness of nerves in the brain and spine may result in blindness, loss of
hearing and ofcourse, paralysis. MS patients live with the dread of these,
waking up in the morning, finding an eye inflamed, or ears blocked, or a body
part stiff, without apparent cause. Yoga and meditation calm the body, and the
mind. Shava Asana, like Pranayama, are excellent for returning the body to its
accustomed tranquil space. For the
galloping form of MS, where loss of limbs is immediate, meditation is calming,
since the body accepts the context in which it has been placed. Most MS
patients, whether it is the slow or rapid form of degradation, know that time
is of the greatest essence, that what they have may well be taken away from
them by the end of the day. They suffer exhaustion, which is almost continuous,
and ofcourse, fear, despair, anxiety. Care givers find their lack of attention
to every day tasks, or their hypersensitivity to these, annoying in turn. They
also suffer from the need to be attended to immediately. Meditation helps in
controlling this need to be understood and attended to, as often, caregivers
are busy with other tasks.
Yoga builds up those muscles which are in danger of atrophy
due to the lack of blood circulation in
such patients. Even flexing hands and feet, while in bed, or at the computer,
can go a long way in releasing the blood, where it has jammed or coagulated.
Many times, MS patients wake up, in the middle of the night, with some limb
gone completely dead on them. Ayurvedic treatment is a great boon, and
sometimes, the patient emerges completely free of pain for a couple of months.
The food that helps MS patients most are fruit and salads, cooking in sesame oil. Ofcourse staying clear
of butter, meat, chocolates, cakes, pickles and oily food does help in slowing
the onset of illness. Since heat is the catalyst, those foods which are heating,
trigger off MS episodes, or aggravate existing conditions. The heat rash and
the inflamed eye is the first symptom. If the patient reads the sign that the
body is overheated, and attends to it, then the chances are that she or he will
work to cooling the metabolism down. Some are allergic to dairy products, some
to meat. Each patient has to find out which is the catalyst to the exacerbation
of their condition. Yoga, Ayurveda, Meditation and Diet are the most important
in tailoring the palliative measures useful to controlling the disease, as it’s
tumultuous appearance disturbs everyone equally, without being very visible. MS
patients, before paralysis sets in, look like everyone else, but deep within
they are trying very hard to lead normal lives, and they experience the world
much more dramatically than others. Homeopathy has great remedial doses for
each symptom, as it appears differentially for every patient. It is tailor made
to the person according to the situation in which he or she finds himself or
herself to be in, at any given time. The odd thing about MS is that every week,
the patient finds a new body part is acting up, and standardized allopathic
medicines like cortisone or interferon, are not equally available to all
patients, and come with their own side effects, and are not custom made to the
individual and unique nature of each afflicted person. Yoga, essentially, is a
preventive system of therapy, which handles the pitta (heat) in the person’s
metabolism with it’s ability to understand that our relationship to the cosmos
is constantly being divined by our attitude to it.
Susan Visvanathan, Professor of Sociology, Centre for the
Study of Social Systems, JNU, New Delhi 110067. Email: susanvisvanathan@gmail.com and
susanvisvanathan@hotmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment