# 43 - Yoga Complements Medicine

The fact that regular yoga practice helps prevent many common ailments is proof that yoga is in addition to, not instead of other forms of health initiatives. So it should really be identified as a complementary discipline, rather than an alternative science. Think about it - what is so alternative about stretching that will not allow for a peaceful co-existence with other forms of fitness and preventive healthcare? Yoga is quite simply a self contained discipline that involves breath, focus, diet, relaxation techniques without excluding other forms of preventive healthcare. Yoga helps prep mind, body, spirit in tandem harmony. It includes all forms of physical and mental discipline, and explores spiritual terrain at an individual pace.

# 42 - Yoga Myths, Facts, and Trends

Some of the foremost myths about yoga appear to be the following:
myth 1: yoga is a cult, with severe rituals -
fact 1: a cult is ritualistic, and has a leader; yoga has no rituals other than discipline, and has no leaders - only masters.
myth 2: yoga is for women only -
fact 2: the best known contemporary masters of yoga are men - bks iyengar, pattabhi jois, tt krishnamachari, and tkv desikacharya are just the tip of that iceberg.
myth 3: yoga means giving up eating meat -
fact 3: although meat fibers improve muscle strength, a vegetarian diet has natural fibers that improve elasticity.
myth 4: yoga helps us lose body weight -
fact 4: yoga may help lose inches due to muscle toning, but it also primarily monitors body weight by optimizing bodily functions.
myth 5: yoga should be practiced only by slender people -
fact 5: although being slender and/ or naturally flexible help the stretch process, technique and flexibility of mind help even heavy set people stretch as deeply as anyone else.
myth 6: yoga is just a less intense form of exercise -
fact 6: yoga includes breath, focus, relaxation - all of which require intensity of purpose; in fact, low impact tendon stretches in yoga can actually cause an internal sweat.
myth 7: yoga chants have religious overtones -
fact 7: although some practitioners may occasionally choose to take this to a spiritual level, the internal echo in repetitive sounds simply help clear the mind of negative debris.
myth 8: yoga is an esoteric/ erotic practice -
fact 8: because yoga is inclusive rather than exclusive, it may help improve sex life just as any other physical activity might; but the primary purpose of yoga practice is preventive healthcare.

# 41 - Yoga is About Spinal Health

All yoga is about spinal health. Although there are over 50 better known styles of yoga practiced around the world today (each similar yet distinct in their own way), most of them have a common goal - that is to improve mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing by offering strategies that enhance spinal health with breath, movement, diet, and relaxation. A structured approach to preventive healthcare forces us to be responsible for our own pain or progress. Blog entry # 9 observes that, when companies offer incentives for preventive healthcare, we are all healthier, happier nations. Insurance claims are low, and premiums are lower; morale is high, and productivity is higher. Yoga works on one simple premise -when the body is well, all is well.