Skip to content

Yoga/Meditation

Offering Advice, No Matter Your Location

Yoga/Meditation is offered at Healthy Balance Holistic Group by Pamela Martin-McDonald. Pan is a Naturopathic Therapist and owner of Meridian Health & Wellness.

Yoga

Many in the West are familiar with one vein of yoga: the asanas, a Sanskrit that translates to “postures”, and for specific body types and levels of athleticism.

This is a very limited view on yoga, in fact Yoga is the exact opposite. Yoga can be incorporated into any lifestyle, any culture and, anytime.

Yoga means to yoke-unite. Unite body, mind and spirit, to our truth, as well as to unite with nature and others. We are all connected and have been perfectly created in love.

Yoga is for every BODY, every age, every ailment, and every walk of life. A beginner’s mindset is encouraged for everyone, every time you begining to practice, is the golden rule. The full tradition of Yoga is much broader, and encompasses pranayama (specific breathing
techniques), meditations, chanting, sutras (yoga philosophy by the sage Patanjali), kriya (internal cleansing movements), and ethical principles of lifestyle guidance related to kindness, selflessness, non-materialism, and nonviolence. All these components of yoga are practiced often. Yoga is never finished. It is a labor of love and a commitment that even experienced Monks refer their own personal yoga modalities as a practice.

There have been many linages and styles of yoga created over the years, some more popular than others. In the past few decades, most parts of the world have caught on to the benefits of yoga as a form of exercise with a meditative spin off. However, this trend made popular in recent times by social media, has actually been a way of life and an all-inclusive medicinal tool as far back as 5000-10000 years ago.

Yoga has been successfully in existence for centuries. Even though modern scientific proof of its therapeutic, healing and profound lifestyle philosophy has been relatively recent.

Although many still see yoga as just a physical practice that is beneficial to the body, it is a lot more than that. Yoga, has a meditative and spiritual grounding that is intertwined in both asana, meditation and philosophy.

Meditation and Yoga: The Relationship

Meditation and yoga go hand in hand, working together to connect our small self to our much higher soul self. We must first be aware of our bodies, our mind, our tendencies, in order to expand and go deeper into meditation. Many modern-day therapy techniques from talk therapy to physio, can all be traced back to roots in yoga.

Just like Yoga Asana, there are many styles of Meditation.

Meditation is a process, resulting from a successful turning inwards of the mind and a conviction that there is a truth higher and more satisfying than what the mind and our intelligence can come up with. Meditation is not meant to STOP thoughts in fact people with active minds are great candidates for meditation! It is a loving practice, it is a commitment and yes, it can be challenging. There are many yoga techniques and tools to warm the mind, body and spirit up which sets the self-up for the best possible outcome. Starting a new workout
without a warm up may not provide the best outcome. Even 5-10 minutes a day is hugely beneficial in harnessing the power of the mind.

When we practice yoga we connect, we acknowledge, we strengthen, we heal, we surface our perceived limitations, and as a result we raise our consciousness.

This is because yoga helps us to bring the body to a state of calm by dissipating the restless energy we carry around, releasing unhealthy mindsets and limitations, expanding our comfort zones and increasing empathy for ourselves and others. On the other side, Yoga can help increase our life force when we feel low, lethargic and lost. The yogic path prepares us to become completely immersed in deeper existence of life, creating resilience and a higher quality of life experience.

Here are just 10 of the countless benefits of Yoga

  1. Yoga improves strength, balance and flexibility.
  2. Yoga helps with back pain relief.
  3. Yoga can ease arthritis symptoms.
  4. Yoga benefits heart health.
  5. Yoga relaxes you, to help you sleep better.
  6. helps to increase confidence, self-worth, energy and brighter moods.
  7. Yoga helps you manage daily stress and helps you heal from past stressors.
  8. Yoga connects you with a supportive community.
  9. Yoga connects you with loving yourself and taking better self-care.
  10. Yoga strengthens the body, mind and spirit= Freedom

Find a qualified teacher and entry way into Yoga that meets YOUR needs. There is no one size fits all- TRUE Yoga is for you!