Article by Evelyn Einhaeuser
When we want to give an adequate and resonating Yoga or Yoga Therapy practice to an individual, an important part to consider is our student’s constitution (do?a), as this reflects in their body, emotions, mindset and also in the manifestation of potential diseases or problems in life and even in what happens to them on their spiritual path. These constitutions reflect the energetic make-up of the five elements within our body. Depending on the combination of elements and their distribution within an individual, the do?a changes. In Yoga and Ayurveda, all illnesses as well as negative thought patterns or emotions can be categorized under a specific do?a. Our acharya T. Krishnamacharya was a polymath, and therefore an expert not just in Yoga, but also in Ayurveda and other disciplines that find their origins in the Vedas and he was even able to mix Ayurvedic medicines by himself. In the times in which he lived, people understood that all these vedic disciplines work synergistically and complementary. Those were times in which people drew on knowledge from different complementary fields to increase efficiency and healing strength.
Yoga practices can address when one of these three bodily humours or bioenergies has become aggravated and harmonizes our body, emotions and mindset back into balance. Therefore Yoga and Ayurveda go hand in hand because the Ayurvedic model in turn helps us to better understand what is happening inside a person’s body (and mind!).
Learning about the different constitutions as well as accessing Yoga practices and teachniques in the scope of these constitutions is therefore a big part of our KHYF teacher training as well as our KHYF therapy training. In the teacher training these constitutions will be explained so that they can be used for designing practices. In the therapy training apart from understanding the three different humours in depth, illnesses will be discussed and categorized with the Ayurvedic model in mind and you will learn how to read the pulse of a student, one of the things that our teacher TKV Desikachar was an absolute expert in. He could see and feel deeply into a person from reading their pulse, he would know what kind of diseases they have or had, what emotions were bothering them and even know if a person was pregnant and if so, which gender the child had!
If you are interested in delving deeper into the Yogic understanding of the constitutions, here are several beautiful options for upcoming seminars and training programs in which you can deepen your knowledge to better facilitate your students journeys:
PITTA PRAKOPA CIKITSA| Understanding and Alleviating Pitta Disorders. Sept 8th to Sept 10th, 2017. Seminar in San Sebastian, Spain. For more information kindly visit: http://www.khyf.net/programs-and-events/2017/9/8/pitta-prakopa-cikitsa-understanding-and-alleviating-pitta-disorders
YOGA TEACHER TRAINING, Module 1 commenced on January 15th 2018 in Chennai, India. For more information, on further modules and how to join this course, kindly contact: courses@khyf.net
Register for HOLISTIC YOGA THERAPY TRAINING, starting 13th September 2018 in Lauingen, Germany.