Читать книгу Yoga Therapy as a Whole-Person Approach to Health онлайн

33 страница из 110

The triple humor (tridosha—vata, pitta, and kapha)1 theory of health and disease that developed during the late Vedic period is common to virtually all traditional Indian systems of medicine. Health is understood to be the balanced harmony of the three humors in accordance with individual predisposition, while disease results from an imbalanced disharmony. The Tirumandiram of Tirumoolar, the 3000-versed Tamil treatise by the Dravidian saint, prescribes the practice of yoga at different times of the day to relieve disorders arising from these imbalances. According to him, the practice of yoga at dusk relieves mucous, phlegmatic (kapha) disorders, practice at noon relieves gaseous, movement-based (vata) disorders, and practice in the morning relieves acidic, bilious (pitta) disorders.

According to the Bhagavad Gita,2 yoga is defined as the disassociation from our tendency to attach to our suffering, pain, and illness (dukkhasamyogaviyogam yoga samjnitham; Bhagavad Gita VI:23). People with health conditions often tend to identify themselves with that condition and as a patient of that condition. This results in statements such as, “I am a diabetic” or “I am a hypertensive.” In some cases this actually becomes a very strong identification and they claim ownership of that condition with statements such as, “My diabetes,” “My hypertension,” or “My cancer.” Unless this mal-identification with their diseased state is broken, it becomes very difficult to actually bring about a “cure” for the individual.