Sensei Yula - Yoga Energetics as an Alternative Medicine: Pillar Six

YogaEnergetics as an Alternative Medicine

PillarSix

Sensei Yula& Becca Mukti

Published byCentre for the Ways at Smashwords

Copyright 2013Sensei Yula and Becca Mukti

There are eightpillars in all and each is available in ebook format:

Reality and theTruth: Pillar One

The Path ofTransformation: Pillar Two

BodyPhysio-Energetics: Pillar Three

EnvironmentalRighteousness: Pillar Four

Tao Eating, ZenDigesting: Pillar Five

Yoga Energeticsas an Alternative Medicine: Pillar Six

The Tao ofIntimacy and the Ultimate Gynaecological Reality: Pillar Seven

Enlightenment:Pillar Eight

The first fourpillars are available in print at Centre for theWays .

SmashwordsEdition, License Notes

This ebook isfor your personal use only. It may not be re-sold or given away toother people. You may, however, encourage others to purchase a copyfor themselves or purchase one for them as a gift. If you arereading this ebook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchasedfor your use only, then please return it to Smashwords.com andpurchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work ofthe authors.

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This series isdedicated to humanity and Mother Earth.

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Yoga hasdifferent meanings among different groups of people. To some, yogameans joining the individual consciousness with the universalconsciousness, to others it means unifying ones mind and body. Tosome scholars of Indian yoga, yoga means submission of the lowerself to the higher self, meaning submitting the ego to the divinewithin. The word yoga actually sprang out of a Sanskrit wordyuj which means oneness; unification; to join; to weldtogether. This means even marriage, for example, which indicatesthe binding of two individuals together or putting different ideastogether by different individuals or groups can be translated asyoga. The formation of the United Nations, the creation of theconfederation in Canada or the creation of the European Union inrecent years can also be called yoga.

When there isharmony between different groups in society, man and woman, mindand body, the yin and yang energies in nature, all internal organsin the human body and so on, any of that can be called yoga. Suchunity can only be achieved by the right understanding, rightcontemplation, right conduct, right consumption, and rightpractice. It reminds me of the time when I was growing up whenfarmers used to join two male cows together to cultivate the landor carry heavy objects. The wooden bar that connected the cows bytheir necks was called the yuj.

There were twointeresting points that I witnessed by watching that event as Iremember. First, when both cows were cooperating with one another,everything went smoothly, and both cows were comfortable and atease. But every now and then, when one cow became rebellious anddid not cooperate, there was a struggle between them and the farmerhad to interfere or discipline them. Secondly, the cows chosen toyuj had to be compatible in regards to their size and strength,which indicates that equality is the basis for unity. Similarly,overtime the inequality, injustice and unfairness between males andfemales in society, between family members as well as betweenmembers of society as a whole has weakened humanity and createddeficiency/excess syndromes. These conflicts have led to wars,aggressions, violence, greed, poverty and false ambitions in everyculture around the world.

Therefore,although yoga means unification, we preserve the word for theindividual unification or group unification which is for a goodcause. In our definition, yoga is any joined effort between themind and body of an individual, between groups of people or betweenseveral groups that has the cause of justice, the promotion ofpeace, or bringing harmony and good among people as its solepurpose. Any of these efforts we call yoga, and the participants ofsuch efforts we call yogis.

All of this isto say that yoga is more than just a few postures, breathing ormeditation practices. It is a way of life. In the individual, itproduces mental-physical health and spiritual growth. In general,it promotes equality, moderation and justice, without which harmonyand peace cannot be achieved.

The system ofYoga Energetics presented in this pillar was developed by SenseiYula over decades of study and practice in various disciplinesincluding chi kung and yoga as well as martial arts and principlesfrom Oriental medicine, including traditional Chinese medicine andZen Shiatsu. Even though most of its parts have been imported fromthe old traditions of the East, including India, China and Japan,they have been put together here and now to suit our realitybecause, as was explained in Pillar One, we all are the creature ofour realities, which includes the social, cultural andenvironmental factors that we live in.

Experience hastaught us that a clear definition of the concept of energetics isneeded. To our surprise, many people cannot differentiate betweenthe words energetics and energetic. Many assume thatYoga Energetics is a strenuous type of exercise while othersrespond by saying they are hyperactive enough already. The wordenergetic means vigorous or show of force whereas the wordenergetics means the principle that deals with the law of energyand its formation and transformation. In our system of yoga, theword energetics refers to the art and science of the formation,transformation and distribution of the internal lifeforce in thehuman body via the meridian system which is embedded in the musclesystem (see Pillar Three, Body Physio-Energetics).

YogaEnergetics is the yoga of twofold transformation. One is the innertransformation or the internal yoga, which is the yoga of the mind,while the other is the external or physical transformation, whichis the yoga of the body. Since the mind and body are as yin andyang, they are inseparable and the balance between the two is thegoal. External yoga is very common today, but without its internalor yin component, it is no more than a form of sport and offersnothing more than superficial and short-term effects. On the otherhand, ignoring the physical yoga and emphasizing only on theinternal transformation is not balanced either. This has its ownconsequences, particularly in today's Western lifestyle which lackssufficient physical activities. In Yoga Energetics, the innertransformation is achieved through true knowledge (rightunderstanding), proper breathing and the right meditation while theexternal transformation is acquired through the right practicaldiscipline.

Although YogaEnergetics could be described to be about how to exercise,we avoid using the word exercise as it does not explain the systemwe practice and teach. Exercise, like foods, if not performedwholesomely or overdone, can be harmful, particularly for a personwith certain health issues. We have also learned from experiencethat people jump to conclusions as soon as they hear the wordexercise as if we are talking about jogging, swimming or walking ona treadmill. Just like food, exercise has been victimized bycommercialism with lots of false and superficial information andclaims, including in the fields of yoga and martial arts, which theaverage Westerner knows very little about. We refer to our systemas sadhana or practice because it works towards therealization and harmonization between all aspects of humanexistence, including the physical, mental, and spiritual.

Humans live amulti-dimensional life, but most of the facets, except the physicalone, are overlooked by most of us. The layers of human existenceinclude the environmental layer, the physical layer, the energylayer, and the mental layer. These dimensions are interdependent;one cannot exist or function without the others. For this reason,the treatment and prevention of human diseases as well as anyapproach to daily healthy living, including diet and exercise,should be holistic as well as compassionate, dignified andrespectful of all aspects that make us human. The system of YogaEnergetics is a manifestation of this understanding.