After nearly two years of exploring and seeking knowledge in different corners of the world, I now feel that I have come to know a little bit better how our minds operate and how our thoughts and emotions affect our physical body. Encountering that the fine machinery we call "body" is constantly altered by our thoughts and ultimately cause good or poor health, completely changed my life and it was
all done trough commitment to the classical sources of yoga and trying to understand and follow their practices the best way possible. Working as medical doctor, I met many patients with various physical symptoms that would not respond to medical treatment or they simply reoccurred short time after treatment. Some of these patients clearly had a lot of emotional stress that was not caused by the physical symptom they presented to me but rather occurred in the course of a life event where they felt overwhelmed by emotions. Some of them were lost and confused but desperate to work trough the issues, others were determined to "get on with their lives", trying to ignore the emotional chaos. For those who attended follow up consultations where they were encouraged to have an "analytical" approach to their mindset, emotions & reactions, what often happened is that they experienced a significant relief of their physical symptoms. Headaches, pain in the muscular skeletal system, insomnia, food cravings and weight gain, skin outbreaks & digestive tract problems (e.g IBD and re-flux) are some of the symptoms that can put you off and basically destroy the quality of life. These symptoms can be caused by serious underlying pathology, but in cases where medical assessment can not find underlying causes of such nature, the symptoms are scientifically believed to have what is called "psycho somatic causes". This basically means that the way we think and mentally respond to changes in the surrounding environment (together with other things such as foods and sleep), create chemical reactions that change the biochemistry of the bodily, in turn altering its functions and healthy cycles. This also means that we can train our mind to respond in ways that have beneficial effects on the biochemistry and physiological events in our bodies. Defined by the classical sources, Yoga aims to clear away the built up clutter of thought patterns, fixed ideas, preferences and constructions of what is real and what is not. This process of refinement of the mind gives an experience of calmness & steadiness from within and in turn gives us room for a greater clarity about who we are, what is important for us, where we need to be and how we want to react to the world around us. It makes us less vulnerable to unexpected life events (small as well as more serious ones), as we become more able to control our response to what happens, keeping a steady and focused mindset because we are ankered in the truth of who we are and free from the illusion of that stability comes from external, constantly changing factors. And having a medical background makes me more confident not to be blind where yoga might come to short and medical treatment is the only right approach. Nevertheless, Yoga supports the healing and build up processes of the physical body in so many ways, that I dare to say no other thing can work that magic! I want to spread a spark of yoga in the world., putting the doctor coat on the hanger for a while, hoping to give people the tools to catalyze the changes in them that are needed to live with more acceptance for self and others, less stress and insecurity. Feeling healthy and strong inside and out.
