What is the main benefit of yoga?
“Most people start practicing yoga because of its health benefits, because yoga is a holistic one practice where you work with your body, your breathing, your nervous system and your mind. It helps against back problems and stress, but also to relax you. When you go deeper, you come into contact with spirituality. Yoga is then a way to get to know yourself and to get rid of and gain insight into your thought patterns and habits. You then investigate what is behind it. This is usually not why people start yoga, but the practice of yoga can lead to it.”
Yoga means unity and is one of the six philosophical schools of Hinduism. Is the yoga philosophy and practice also suitable for people who are not spiritual or religious?
“Certainly. There are plenty of people who use yoga as a kind of sport or way of moving and there is nothing wrong with that. Exercise is good anyway, especially if you combine it with conscious breathing and maybe some relaxation exercises. If you do that, you are actually going deeper than with a simple workout.”
So you can go as “deep” as you want
“Yes, it’s fine to leave it at that. I just often notice that the people who feel comfortable with such a yogapractice then ask themselves why that is and then delve into yoga philosophy. That philosophy is about life, about happiness and being in balance. If you start studying that philosophy, you are actually opening Pandora’s box – in a good way. You can then really look for depth. Yoga has a lot to offer.”
What are the most important lessons that yoga philosophy has to offer?
“For many people, chakras and things like that are a bit too floaty, so what I usually start with is the kosha model. Kosha means layer and this model explains which layers a person consists of. We consist of a body, energy, one mind, an intellect and a spiritual layer — a soul, as it were. There is an interaction between those layers, because if you don’t feel well mentally, you will also notice it physically. “
Apart from the soul, there is nothing vague about that, is there? There is growing evidence from scientific research that we can make ourselves ill and to treat panic attacks – a bodily sensation – people must learn to “helicopter” above their thoughts.
“The stress system is actually a bridge between you mind and your body. When you start worrying, you control all processes in the body, just think of your nervous system, but it also affects your stress hormones, your breathing and your blood pressure. If we worry all day long, the nervous system reacts to it. That is one of the lessons you can learn from the kosha model. We have to take care of all those layers to be in balance. Those ideas originated thousands of years ago, but science has now proven the effectiveness of yoga.”
Read also: What is metacognitive therapy and how does it work against worrying?
Another part of yoga is breathing. I understand that certain breathing exercises activate the immune system by releasing adrenaline. But don’t you get sick as soon as you stop taking it and is it good to generate so much adrenaline every day?
“A short stress peak, such as a cold shower or a breathing exercise, provides an adrenaline boost. This has a positive effect on the immune system because it reduces inflammation, for example. If you do these exercises, you will briefly experience acute stress every day. That’s actually good for you. It’s chronic stress that makes you sick.”
Read also: Fact or fiction: “Cold showers are healthy”
Wim Hof also regularly participates in scientific research to get the skeptics on his side and the American neuroscientist Andrew Huberman also builds a bridge between old techniques and modern scientific insights. He coined the term Non Sleep Deep Rest. He includes meditation, hypnosis and yoga nidra.
In yoga nidra (nidra means sleep) you lie down and listen to the guidance of a teacher or audio file. It is crucial that you do not fall asleep during such a session, however tempting that may be. Such a session consists of a number of fixed components, such as a body scan, visualizations and breathing exercises.
Are these techniques a way to sleep shorter and still be rested?
“It is not necessarily the goal of yoga nidra to sleep less. This is often a side effect that people experience as positive. But it does happen regularly. That’s because by practicing yoga nidra you switch faster to a different kind of brain waves, which you also have in deep dreamless sleep, so that your body rests well. You may be able to skip one of those sleep cycles by practicing yoga nidra.”
About the mind spoken. There are countless types of meditation. Which do you prefer?
“It depends on. Mindfulness is limited in depth and is very focused on being in the here and now and observing what is happening in the moment. mind happens without judgment. It helps you get out of the autopilot of rattling thoughts. That’s very helpful, but it doesn’t go any deeper than that. Other methods, such as mantra meditation, are more intense. They stop where mindfulness ends. In this way you can, in fact, go ‘beyond’ the mind to go. So it’s just what you want.”
You sometimes read about the dangers of meditation. Are you aware of this and have you ever experienced something similar?
“I have never experienced such things myself or with one of my students. But meditation can go very deep. In Bali I have sometimes seen people completely confused after an intense meditation class. Then the teacher is doing something wrong and has no respect for his students and their limits. Meditation should always take you further and function better later on. That is why you should also look for a teacher with whom you feel comfortable. Build up meditation slowly. Get used to it and don’t immediately opt for the intense methods. Just start practicing mindfulness for a year. Then nothing can happen. That’s how you make you mind ready for other meditation forms and you can try something else later. Take your time.”
One last practical question. What would you recommend to people who want to take up yoga but don’t know where to start?
“Ask yourself if you want to learn yoga online or in a studio. Also try some different classes and teachers. Because yoga is very broad and differs even within the same style, per teacher. It is important that you click with your teacher, so try a few yoga styles and teachers and you will always find something that suits you. And if the lessons are a bit vague: just see through that and don’t judge yoga on that, but pay attention to how you feel and what it does for you.”
By: Nationale Zorggids / Æde de Jong
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