Yoga & Ayurveda
The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’ which means ‘to yoke’, ‘to join’ or ‘to unite’. Yoga practice leads to the union of individual consciousness (you – the microcosm) with that of the Universal consciousness (the big picture – macrocosm), indicating a perfect harmony between mind and body, human and nature.
Ayurveda – ‘ayur’ means life and ‘veda’ means science. Ayurveda and Yoga are sister sciences. Both sciences acknowledge the importance of breath, the life force that flows through us.
We are energetic beings, individual energy fields, living and breathing life energy (prana) every moment of our earthly lives and existing in an even bigger energy field. Both sciences teach how to understand, engineer and manage this energy – your body, mind and soul and how the changing energy in your environment – the seasons, the time of day/night, the time of life you are in (birth, puberty, mid-life, later life) all affect your health and wellness.
The five main faculties of our nature – the mind, breath (prana), speech, ear and eye – were arguing with each other as to which was the best and most important.
This reflects the ordinary human condition in which our faculties are not integrated but fight with each other, competing for their rule over our attention.
To resolve this dispute they decided that each would leave the body and see whose absence was most missed. First speech left the body, but the body continued though mute. Next the eye left, but the body continued though blind. Next the ear left, but the body continued though deaf. Then the mind left, but the body continued though unconscious. Finally prana (breath) began to leave and the body began to die and all the other faculties began to lose their energy. So they all rushed to prana and told it to stay, lauding its supremacy.
David Frawley – Yoga & Ayurveda
Apart from the act of breathing, we also take in life energy (prana) from the food we eat, the thoughts we think and everything we chose to partake in during our daily lives. Everything is energy. Sometimes prana is understood to be the breath we breathe but it is the energising force behind the breath – the force behind all of life. When the breath stops, so does life as we know it.
Ayurveda is the ancient Indian healing system, upon which the Greek healing system and, thousands of years later, the Western medical system is built upon. Unlike the Western model, Ayurveda is preventative and seeks to treat the cause of disease, not just the symptoms.
It teaches you about your unique field of energy – known as your Prakriti, which comprises of the same 5 elements, space, air, fire, water and earth, that the entire Universe is created from. The Ayurvedic system uses nutrition, lifestyle, herbs, yoga, meditation, massage, aromatherapy and crystals to rebalance our energy so it can flow freely and heal the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of our Being.
An Ayurvedic doctor once said to me “Ayurveda can add years to your life but more importantly it can add life to your years”.
Everyone is a house with four rooms; a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room, most of the time but unless we go into every room, every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.
Indian Proverb
When we meditate, we join our unique energy field with the even bigger field of energy that surrounds us. With a regular practice and when the mind’s chatter quietens down, you might catch glimpses or profoundly experience a sense of connectedness (a union – Yoga) with all that is.
You are a field of energy in an even bigger field of energy. The field is the only reality.
Albert Einstein
We then come to realise that we are part of something so much bigger than ourselves – the Universe. In recognising we are part of it, we can then recognise we are it and our potential is limitless!
Yoga, Ayurveda and Meditation provide the tools to understand, engineer and manage your individual (but ultimately connected) energy field.
People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.
St Augustine
Carole provides the space and the knowledge to “wonder” about yourself and about your own unique energy field in the peaceful space of her Yoga Shala. You will learn self-care practices, including ways to relax and restore your energy field with meditation, restorative yoga, yoga practices, breathing techniques, and tools from the Ayurvedic toolkit regarding seasonal nutrition and daily lifestyle practices.
No experience of yoga or meditation is necessary!