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#### Therapeutic Yoga

The science of yoga covers a great range of human problems. It not only solves the problems of spiritual life, it can also help to ease the problems of our day to day illnesses. The science of yogasanas, pranayama, mudras and bandhas, including hatha yoga- the science of physiological balance and physical purification- has brought to us the knowledge that diseases can be relieved by the practice of yoga.

Physical and mental therapy is one of yoga's most important achievements. What makes it so powerful and effective is the fact that it works on the holistic principles of harmony and unification. Yoga has succeeded as an alternative form of therapy in diseases such as asthma, diabetes, blood pressure, arthritis, digestive disorders and other ailments of a chronic and constitutional nature where modern science has not. According to medical scientists, yoga therapy is successful because of the balance created in the nervous and endocrine systems which directly influences all the other systems and organs of the body.

#### Pranayama

The word pranayama means 'extension or expansion of the dimension of prana'. It is the force which exists in all things, whether animate or inanimate. Although closely related to the air we breathe, it is more subtle than air or oxygen. Therefore, pranayama should not be considered as mere breathing exercises aimed at introducing extra oxygen into the lungs. Pranayama utilizes breathing to influence the flow of prana in the nadis.

The science of psychotherapy was known to yogis in India centuries ago before it became a cult in the west. Our yogis paid great attention to the mind. They know that lust, anger, avarice etc. are nothing but chitta vrittis - mental modifications. The present civilization has made man abnormal. He is mentally and physically sick. He hugs pain and broods over melancholic thoughts. Medicines offer no cure. Only through yoga and meditation can we overcome mental, physical and emotional tensions and rid the world of its maladies.

For most people, however, yoga is simply a means of maintaining health and well-being in an increasingly stressful society. Asanas remove the physical discomfort accumulated during a day at the office sitting in a chair, hunched over a desk. Relaxation techniques help maximise the effectiveness of ever-diminishing time off. In an age of mobile phones, beepers and twenty-four hour shopping, yogic practices make great personal and even business sense.