Yoga: A means to a healthy lifestyle - Part 2
In part one, I discussed Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, and Social aspects of wellness. In this second post, I will tackle the Occupational, Financial, Environmental, and Intellectual qualities.
Occupational
Occupational wellness relates to fulfillment in your career and other life roles such as parenthood or community positions. In yoga, this idea of purpose is called Dharma. The Bhagavad Gita, India’s beloved ancient scripture, speaks in detail about dharma. Krishna is the warrior Arjuna’s charioteer. He tells a reluctant Arjuna that it is better to do your own dharma poorly than to do someone else’s well. Only when you figure out what you are uniquely able to do, and carry it out as well as you can, can you truly feel fulfilled in this life. Your dharma does not need to be grand, but it should be something that feels right to you, and something that in one way or another contributes to the world.
When you are not doing what you are supposed to, life can feel pointless. You may feel a sense of dissatisfaction or emptiness inside, making it difficult to thrive physically and emotionally over the long run. Not knowing your “why” or lacking a sense of purpose may leave you with low motivation to make healthy lifestyle choices. We know from positive psychology that having a pleasant life or an optimistic point of view, a life of engagement, and a life of meaning and purpose are what drives happiness. Meaning is what leads to sustained well-being.
Financial
Vedic knowledge teaches that there exist four basic goals of human life which are so fundamental that every person is motivated to some extent by them. Because they are so basic to our nature, human beings easily become attached to them. The first is dharma, as discussed above.
The second is Artha, or "material prosperity," "wealth," "abundance," and "success." Artha is the material comfort you need to live in the world with ease. Moreover, Artha is that which supports your life's purpose. The third is Kama or pleasure, a desire for beauty, intimacy, friendship, art and more, which drives human behavior. Yet Kama is the one that can lead to addiction and overindulgence. The last is Moksha, or freedom. This is the ultimate freedom from suffering or that which is blocking you from realizing your full potential.
Not much has changed in 5,000 years, but when it comes to wellness, Artha is not to be ignored. Finances are reported as one of the biggest stressors to couples, college students, employees, and, well, probably everyone else. In terms of Maslow’s hierarchy, the first are physiological and safety needs, and without enough money to accommodate those basic needs, self-actualization is the last thing on one’s mind. In fact, if our basic survival needs are not being met, we are fearful and in a chronic state of fight/flight/freeze mode. When we are triggered, the body sends out stress hormones, which result in your heart racing, breath quickening, and your muscles getting ready for action. This response was designed to protect your body in an emergency by preparing you to react quickly. But when the stress response keeps firing, day after day, it can put your health and well-being at serious risk. Chronic stress can lead to digestive issues, high blood pressure, headaches, insomnia, weakened immune system, sexual dysfunction, and depression. It also makes it difficult to control your emotions. Your higher brain, the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive functioning (e.g., planning, logic, reason, language, math, art, music, self-control) is mostly offline when we are in a state of chronic stress.
If the state of our finances is the cause of much of our ill health, no amount of breath, meditation, or yoga asana will solve the problem. However, yoga practice may change the way in which you view your finances. The Niyama of Santosa asks us to be content with what we have. The yama Aparigraha teaches us not to be greedy or to cling to possessions. In the end, the concept of Artha, asks us to look at our money mindset and understand what is truly valuable to each of us.
Environmental
Environmental wellness relates to your connection with nature and the world around you. You cannot disconnect your overall wellness from the health of your environment. Your environment—both your social and natural surroundings—can greatly impact how you feel.
Ayurveda, the sister science to yoga, translates as the “science of life,” a system meant to nourish the body and mind. It focuses on preventing disease as much as healing an illness and has a holistic approach to health where mind, body, and spirit are interrelated. Nothing is separate and all is interconnected.
Ayurveda cultivates an intimate understanding of and relationship with nature. The wisdom of Ayurveda is expressed as a way of life that flows with the changes of seasons, weather, time, and place. It gives advice on how to prevent illness as one season becomes another and how to eat with the seasons and routines for wholesome living for different climates of the world.
The five great elements in Ayurveda are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space. Nothing is separate so we must harmonize ourselves with the forces in the universe. Hence to take care of your environment is to take care of you. The tenet of ahimsa, or non-harming, means to do the least amount of harm to your environment as it is made of the same elements that nourish you. The concept of Asteya means we must not take from the environment. There are even ancient prescriptions for the room in which a yogi should practice, suggesting the amount of light and size of a door, to the amount of cow manure on the floor!
Nonetheless, we must include Vastu Shastra, the traditional system of architecture from ancient India. It focuses on the connection between humans and the dwellings they inhabit. In Vastu the focus is on human well-being, which can only be achieved when we are in harmony with nature and the universal flow of energy or Prana. The architecture also balances the same five main elements and provides space for spiritual practice. In addition, there are specifics as to the way in which a plot of land should be shaped to which direction the front door should face. Again, yoga leaves no stone unturned when it comes to wellness living.
Intellectual
Intellectual wellness relates to lifelong learning, creativity, and challenging your brain. Your mind is a muscle, and just like your body, it thrives when it is being stimulated and strengthened. Intellectual wellness is when you recognize your unique talents to be creative and you seek out ways to use your knowledge and skills.
From the science of neuroplasticity, we know we have the power to change and grow. In Sanskrit, jnana means “knowledge” or “cognition.” It is the branch of yoga that is concerned with refining the intellect, accessing wisdom, and using spiritual knowledge to experience a state of yoga. We can refine the intellect by studying sacred texts like the Sutras or the Gita, or any text for that matter. We can spend time in sangha (spiritual community) or satsangs (wisdom talks) or use meditation.
Jnana yoga asks us to refine the intellect to expand our mental model of reality and experience increasingly greater levels of truth. We need to do this because we are unable to see the world as it really is. We see the world based on our cultural, familial, and societal conditioning. This limits us and to correct for it, we must study and pay attention to old beliefs and misunderstandings. In effect we come full circle, to what Patanjali calls Svadyaya, or self-study. Yoga brings us to a profound level of self-awareness.
At the end of the day, if you were to embrace a yoga practice to its fullest you would have a complete wellness system. To think of yoga as just a form of fitness would be mistaking the husk for the kernel. The authentic practice of yoga is an unremitting attention to the present experience. It is a disciplined, non-dogmatic philosophy on how to live your life, which leads to ultimate well-being.
A broad understanding of yoga theory integrated with specific practices of asana, breath, meditation, and proper diet, will take you to deeper levels beyond the mat or meditation cushion. It seeps into your life. It will take you into your personal relationships and teach you to cope with the rollercoaster of life. It will ask you to find your purpose and meaning. It will set ethical standards for how to care for yourself and, more importantly, others.
Even if you just did the physical aspects of yoga, you would eventually find yourself working into deeper layers. It is an inward journey that will manifest in outward thriving.