SPIRIT

Often in today's harsh society the word SPIRIT can have people running for the hills!, depending on upbringing and what may have been often forced upon us as we grew. During my time in the Bahamas at a shivananda Yoga Ashram, I rediscovered what Spirit meant. 

Yoga Meaning

The word yoga is derived from the root yuj, which means to unite or to join together. The practice of yoga may lead to the union of the human with the SPIRIT - all within the self. The aim of yoga is the transformation of human beings from their natural form to a perfected form. In a similar vein the Ashram Meaning is: secluded quiet space to practice Yoga

I was privileged enough to spend time listening to Dr David Frawely talk about the human spirit. One piece that stood out the most was this - When a person passes over / leaves their body / death - the body is found to be 21gms lighter just after death. For me, this was a profound realisation and truth behind spirit truly existing. 

Below I share pieces of wisdom from someone whom I highly regard and respect in the world of healing. 

Thank You, Kimberley Marsh, for your humble wisdom and writings.

Wholism

Wholism:  seeing our thoughts, our emotions, our feelings, our surroundings, and ourselves as one.  We are not a bunch of separate parts that work in isolation, we are not mechanical in form.  We are sentient beings.  We are part of a global ecosystem.  Our thoughts, emotions and our feelings have a direct effect on our physical body and our physical body has a direct effect on our thoughts, emotions and feelings. 

We are not separate from our environment.  Our physical environment impacts on our being in multifaceted ways.  Consider the beneficial effects of certain sound, for example, birdsong, the croaking of frogs, and cicadas in the evening, the soothing sounds of a river or the crashing ocean, the sounds that are abundant in natural environments.  Then think of the way you might feel when you are exposed to loud, dissonant sounds for an extended period, this also has an effect on our total being.

We can also be affected by pollution in our environment, car fumes, off-gassing of new furniture, car upholstery, pesticides, chemicals from our household cleaners, personal care products and exposure to other industrial and cleaning poisons.  These chemicals and toxins are in the environment around us, and as we do not function in isolation and unfortunately these toxins become part of our organism also. 

We communicate with our surroundings constantly, whether beneficial to us or harmful.  It is a complex dance.  We are part of the whole. Our mind, our consciousness, is a strong force.  What we think and feel powerful informs our entire being, including our physical form.  There is currently a wave of research linking early life emotional/mental trauma to activation of the stress response, which if not calmed, continues into adulthood when it may then manifest in middle to later years as serious and chronic disease patterns. 

Mindfulness activities, such as meditation, yin yoga, nature walks or breath work to gently assist them back to healing states of being can have a great and profound effect on physical health.