With regard to strength and empowerment, Yoga offers the possibility of many benefits to match varied needs. If one is looking toward strengthening the body, then they can simply access the multitude of resources available online, in bookstores and in-person for asana and pranayama instruction and practice. If the focus is on strengthening the mind, cultivate a daily practice of mantra and/or meditation. When it comes to spirit, however, how do we know whether or not it is ‘strong’ or ‘weak’? The first time that I came to that question personally was in my early pre-teens when it felt as though I was in a low period in life. Things felt dark, heavy and slow. Many of us have at times felt a similar way or as though they were in some sort of spiritual crisis and not sure how to either identify it as such or to find a method to manage being in this state.
YOGA TO STRENGTHEN THE BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT By: Premadasa Gangadeen For me in terms of the gunas or aspects of nature, it was more about being in a tamasic state and out of balance with the other states of rajas and sattva. These states of sattva, rajas and tamas are referenced in numerous ways across Yoga, Ayurveda and within the inspiration of the great Hindu scripture and yogic treatise, the Bhagavad Gita. In short, we strive to be in a balanced, harmonious or sattvic state where great ease is realized within the body, breath, mind, intellect and spirit. This is the state where
one simultaneously feels happy, healthy and holy. We rely on the state of action or rajas to initiate movement, heat and transformation to help propel us toward sattva, and we likewise rely on the state of tamas or the qualities of inertia/slow-movement, coolness and heaviness to allow for deep rest, growth, introspection and foundational support toward the same. Sattva exists when we realize a state of balance and equipoise within the total self. As a young flower begins to grow up and into a full blossom due to the many influences of its surrounding nature, the study and practice of Ashtanga Yoga philosophy as espoused in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali produces the same effect on the individual or yogin on their journey of eight. In both cases of the Gita and the Yoga Sutras, there are many references,
