I recently resumed my yoga practice that I had been away from for many years. Let's just say I became too busy to sit on the floor and quiet my mind.
I used to light a candle in a darkened room, play a new age CD and be amazed that an hour had gone by while I was “breathing and posing.” At the time, I was in my last year of chiropractic college. After graduation, my yoga practice started to whither. I was doing it less often since I was concentrating so hard on starting a business.
Then I had a family and yoga time was ancient history. I often tried to complete 10 simple minutes, but the noise in my head was so loud I would get angry.
It's hard to explain what that noise was, but my “to do” list was always screaming in my mind. I just couldn't get comfortable knowing I wanted to accomplish so much before the end of the night. What perfect occasions to stick with it, but I refused.
What changed? A few weeks ago, my body begged for it. I tell my practice members that the body speaks a special language that we often misinterpret or ignore. I was ignoring a cardinal rule: balance.
I had an opportunity to be alone, so I finally got down on the floor, turned on an Enya CD and stretched. A familiar feeling took over my body and a few tears welled up in my eyes. I was pleasantly surprised that my tendons, joints, nerves and mind did not forget their old playfulness. Some of my favorite poses were uncomfortable, but I didn't care. I felt as if there was virtually no lapse of time since I stopped my yoga practice. It was a good lesson for me to take advantage of the present because the present is the present, nothing more, and nothing less.
For people who don't understand yoga, it is a simple practice of setting aside the past and future. It is an opportunity to revitalize the internal connections between the mind and body. It is similar to chiropractic because there is a direct relationship between the function of the body and the mind's emotional acceptance of the body. My most important job is to teach people how their bodies work so they appreciate and accept their bodies.
I also apply chiropractic adjustments to the spine so the nervous system maintains appropriate and vital contact between the brain and the body.
As the practice of yoga is continued, the reasons for doing so evolve for the practitioner. It provides an essential boost to self growth. I have found the practice of yoga enhances someone's chiropractic progress and also chiropractic enhances the yoga practice - just like the candy bar commercial about two great tastes that taste great together.
While I am not comparing them to candy bars or showing off my unusual sense of humor, I am, however, utterly amazed at the profound benefits of chiropractic and yoga. At first glance they both seem straightforward yet can have an extraordinary impact on one's life.
Lisa Ann Homic, M.Ed. D.C., may be contacted at www.DrHomic.com
Then I had a family and yoga time was ancient history. I often tried to complete 10 simple minutes, but the noise in my head was so loud I would get angry.
It's hard to explain what that noise was, but my “to do” list was always screaming in my mind. I just couldn't get comfortable knowing I wanted to accomplish so much before the end of the night. What perfect occasions to stick with it, but I refused.
What changed? A few weeks ago, my body begged for it. I tell my practice members that the body speaks a special language that we often misinterpret or ignore. I was ignoring a cardinal rule: balance.
I had an opportunity to be alone, so I finally got down on the floor, turned on an Enya CD and stretched. A familiar feeling took over my body and a few tears welled up in my eyes. I was pleasantly surprised that my tendons, joints, nerves and mind did not forget their old playfulness. Some of my favorite poses were uncomfortable, but I didn't care. I felt as if there was virtually no lapse of time since I stopped my yoga practice. It was a good lesson for me to take advantage of the present because the present is the present, nothing more, and nothing less.
For people who don't understand yoga, it is a simple practice of setting aside the past and future. It is an opportunity to revitalize the internal connections between the mind and body. It is similar to chiropractic because there is a direct relationship between the function of the body and the mind's emotional acceptance of the body. My most important job is to teach people how their bodies work so they appreciate and accept their bodies.
I also apply chiropractic adjustments to the spine so the nervous system maintains appropriate and vital contact between the brain and the body.
As the practice of yoga is continued, the reasons for doing so evolve for the practitioner. It provides an essential boost to self growth. I have found the practice of yoga enhances someone's chiropractic progress and also chiropractic enhances the yoga practice - just like the candy bar commercial about two great tastes that taste great together.
While I am not comparing them to candy bars or showing off my unusual sense of humor, I am, however, utterly amazed at the profound benefits of chiropractic and yoga. At first glance they both seem straightforward yet can have an extraordinary impact on one's life.
Lisa Ann Homic, M.Ed. D.C., may be contacted at www.DrHomic.com
