Part Seven & Eight of 10 Natural remedies to Suffering: How to Boost Energy
Continuing on from earlier this week as we followed our journey inward discovering more about our ten natural remedies to suffering:
- Nurture an internal environment of relaxation
- Cultivate heightened positive affect (energy in motion or emotions)
- Mindful, peace-orientated eating and focus on a balanced diet
- An increase in natural preventative anti-inflammatories rather than prescribed antidotes to pain
- Return to compassion and connection
we continue today with remedies as based in yoga to boost energy.
7. Natural light as a cleansing and healing mechanism
Get some light! Light reduces inflammation and energizes tissues, working on general cellular and neuronal health. Ayurveda has long used light or sun cleansing as a method of healing and to boost energy levels. Meditating with the early morning sun helps in the production of serotonin, and also exposing certain areas of inflammation to sunlight to obtain medical benefits, such as the abdomen or reproductive organs. A finding in 2005 found that placing patients in a sunlit room as opposed to an artificially lit room, significantly reduced their pain. In 1985, Dr Normal Rosenthal of the National institutes of Health discovered that some depressions can be cured by sun exposure, and a more recent study showed that a full spectrum of light could be as effective as medication for some depressed patients. Lighten up your living areas and get some morning sun. Sunlight influences mood and therefore the brain.
8. Attention to Posture
Studies suggest that not only does posture affect emotions and thoughts, conversely our emotions and thoughts affect our posture. Furthermore, posture has been associated with memory recall (positive vs. negative as to erect vs. slumped), subconscious projections of perceived self-value, hormone level changes, as well as strength and energy levels. So too, the Yoga Sutras 2.46-2.48 recognize this importance:
Practicing yoga with strength and in a relaxed manner gives rise to harmony with the physical body (asana). ||46|| The key to success in this regard is practice with effort, which becomes progressively easier, combined with deep contemplation (samapatti). ||47|| This results in a victory over the duality of life. ||48||
Therefore, it can be seen that cultivating posture has been deeply regarded for centauries. Tradition provides us with the recommendations to changing posture in order to change mood. The posture (asana) for Yogameditation should be steady, stable, and motionless, as well as comfortable, and this is the third of the eight rungs of Yoga.
sthira = steady, stable, motionless
sukham = comfortable, ease filled
asanam = meditation posture (from the root ~as, which means “to sit”)
Steady and comfortable: The two essential characteristics of the sitting posture for meditation are that it must be:
- Steady, stable, motionless
- Comfortable, or filled with ease
Why not give the following postures added attention in order to boost your energy:
- Padmasana
- Virasana
- Bhadrasana
- Svastika
- Dandasana
- Paryanka
- Sopasraya
- Kraunchanisadana
- Samasamsthana
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to join us in conversation, and as this is the first of five posts, we welcome you tomorrow for
- Breath awareness and cultivation
- Practice of the smile
Remember, it is okay if these practices seem overwhelming, and certainly with ten remedies towards optimal wellbeing presented over a week, it can seem all too much. Why not consider joining Celia Roberts at a retreat? At Celia Roberts Retreat in Brookfield, Brisbane, Qld, we offer meditation and yoga retreats throughout the year enabling you to experience and to learn in the presence of a trained guide.
