Blitzkreig [JG]
Head of Community
Meteor said:
Just the other day I was pondering how useful yoga is. Thinking of hatha yoga, it essentially balances both the physical and spiritual aspects of the person at the same time. The stretch and movement of the tissues of the body unblocks stagnation of dampness, phlegm, tissues and allows fresh blood and water into the cells.
Therefore, the yoga is basically like the exercises of literally nourishing the body. Whereas cardio produces health benefits as a side effect of its main goal (running and doing that better), yoga directly aims at going around the body and generating health and energy for the tissues. This produces lasting affects of the epigenetics of the body.
Looking at the hatha routine, it is crazy to think about how only 20-30 minutes of time can produce all the results such as: stabilizing the digestive organs, clearing toxins and waste, pushing blood into the joints and spine, wringing the intestines to prevent fecal accumulation, calming and unblocking the liver, etc. It basically does everything.
I could go through and basically repeat this for the spiritual benefits. Each of the stretches done alone the meridians of the body directly adds energy back into them. This is similar to acupuncture or acupressure where the pushing on the meridians adds energy into the associated organs/functions.
Taking all these benefits together, it is clear why it lands firmly on Astarte's 8-fold path. There is just simply no getting around it.
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Addressing a few of his issues: Every exercise done, whether it is void meditation, spinning chakras, running, or yoga has both acute and long term benefits. It is impossible for something to produce long term benefits if it is not working on a short term basis. Feeling an energy buzz is proof of this.
As far as the relaxation or emotional aspects: if he is already tired than he is likely not caring about how he feels from the yoga. The urge to sleep may simply outpower the boost in happiness felt. It is also possible that he is used to the state of mind that comes with yoga and now doesn't recognize it as readily.
The solution is to simply do it earlier in the day when he is not tired. The ending hours of the day should be used for something simple like cleaning or reading. It should not be used for actual work or things that need to be done (and would be interrupted by fatigue). Put off as much "dumb labor" chores until the end of the day and save your active hours for harder work.
Although yoga offers time to also do void meditation, if he is dreading the overall activity, then I wouldn't try to combine these things. Instead, perhaps convince him to listen to a podcast or music or something that may mildly entertain him.