Yoga has spread for a long time and recently enjoyed great popularity in Korea. Yoga hakwon, a movie released in the end of 2009, showed that yoga is already common in Koreans' daily life. Also, we can easily find yoga academies around everywhere to lose weight and help cure the body. The study of healing and yoga therapy utilizes yoga poses to help a person recover from illness, get rid of stress, and fill life with energy. This amazing study has remedies to calm and clear one's mind. The Sookmyung Times (SMT) asks Professor Lee Hi-chan (LEE) and investigates yoga to expose the way it helps heal the body.
SMT What is the study of healing and yoga therapy?
LEE Yoga has been the way of self-discipline in India for thousands of years. 'Yuji,' a term from yoga, means 'Balance, harmony, unity, freedom' as a noun and 'A way vanish cupidity and confusion in the mind' from yoga-sutra as a verb. Yoga pursues a condition which keeps one's mind by controlling the self and selfish desire through actions and respiration. In yoga, there are many therapies like correct pranayama (a way of respiration), meditation, spa, posture, herb, aroma and lots of different things. And those therapies have gained much recognition from Occidental medicine. Yoga therapy, a ¡ficuring¡fl part of the study of yoga cures people¡fls whole problems and has them refreshed.
SMT What is the main concept of yoga?
LEE Yoga has lots of concepts to consider. Firstly, understand an idea that everything changes or nothing remains the same. Also, there are no results without causes, which means ¡fithink much of the present,¡fl and recognize thing as it stands. Get rid of an attachment to small things and accept the whole. Lastly, realize the rules and principles of God naturally and resolve one¡fls fears and pain.
☆ Notice that 'healing by yoga' differs from 'doing yoga.' ☆
Doing yoga needs a yoga teacher to balance one's beautiful body by training. In the last 10 years, the original meaning of yoga harmonized with the culture of one's own country and has become a physical health care and only improved one's figure. However, ¡fihealing¡fl has another meaning which diagnoses the mental health of a person, analyzes the condition, and proceeds to a client-made therapy program.
SMT What illnesses does yoga mainly heal?
LEE Yoga is adjusted to lots of healing areas and contains many specialized therapies. For therapy areas, body, breathing, diet therapy, posture, mental health, a pattern of thinking, emotions, values, will, potential, desires, all of these parts can be cured by yoga. And there are many ways to heal with yoga. Yoga therapists counsel people and prescribe movement, posture, diet therapy, or psychological therapy corresponding to their conditions.
☆ Are you wondering how yoga cures a person? ☆
'What symptoms does a patient have?' isn't the first step diagnose a person. Analyze 'Who is the patient and what lifestyles does he have?' Yoga therapists give a diagnosis of physical functions like incorrect posture and movements, balance, flexibility, strength, muscle endurance. And then, psychological and energy-related diagnoses are given. There are four main therapies in yoga: ayurveda (a kind of yoga therapy); Shodan (Cleansing and detoxification), Rasayana (Rejuvenation), and Shamen (Palliation), Stvajaya (Mental hygiene and spiritual healing).
SMT Many Koreans understand that yoga is connected to a diet, and they exercise yoga to lose weight. Is it true that yoga is helpful for dieting?
LEE Using many celebrities and models, yoga won popularity in the world. However, it isn't desirable that people only think about a diet when they train with yoga. In yoga, unbalanced dietary life and negative thinking bring about an extreme increase in weight. If a person changes those bad habits, he can cure himself well. Yoga helps a person keep her health and have a nice figure by regulating a diet cure, regular lifestyle, body, spirit, and consciousness. So I prefer to teach students to modulate their minds before going on a diet, and to start loving themselves and their bodies from now.
SMT Why do people feel have difficulty with the postures in yoga?
LEE There is an oversupply of yoga-related books and movies by some celebrities. The beginners can be pressed by those acrobat-like postures and feel nervous. Before you face yoga, mediate positively and breathe calmly. Yoga isn't a competition of the sports with other players. Calm one down and focus on one¡fls actions. Yoga can be thought of as a training which feels oneself deeply and a meeting with the 'real I.'
Yoga is the free spirit of deep love life.
