A busy person’s guide to Yoga

“Perhaps no other period in history has been as fast paced as the present one. Every day we hurry to fulfil various family social obligations and to participate in numerous other activities with seemingly unrealistic time constraints. Many people are expected to perform their jobs with the same speed and accuracy as machines. But although machines have become increasingly rapid, humans can only work at a human pace.
Attempts to accede to to the demands of this new technology are made at tremendous cost, both financially and in terms of human suffering. Occupational illnesses such as lower back pain, eye strain, and hand and wrist disabilities are on the rise. The incidence of stress-related disorders such as arthritis, depression and heart disease has increased. But our capacity for dealing with these disorders has not grown proportionally, and mainstream therapies for them do not always have the beneficial effects that we might hope for.
The answer to these problems lies not in exclusive dependence on outside agents such as drugs, but rather in exploring and utilising our rich store of inner resources. We can tap into these through the regular practice of Yoga, and age-old technology of physical and mental wholeness and personal growth...”

This article discusses the value of relaxing before sleeping, and outlines some simple relaxing exercises to reduce the stresses caused by modern society. The article and the exercises are extracted with kind permission from the book, BUSY PERSON’S GUIDE TO YOGA by Stella Weller, published by Gaia Books. Stella is also interviewed in the January issue.

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