In the last two decades, a booming industry has formed
around the increasing drive for that perfect body. A
plethora of gyms, equipped with state-of-the-art fitness
equipment, have opened, exercise videos became all the rage,
and just about every book offering a miraculous weight-loss
plan became a bestseller. But today people are starting to
realize that slim, trim and muscular just isn’t enough, that
there’s more to feeling good than looking good. More and
more people are looking for a holistic approach to health and
fitness. Hardcore workouts are being supplemented, even
replaced, by gentler exercises that incorporate the well-being
of the mind, body and spirit. No better is this demonstrated
than in the growing popularity of yoga.
“Yoga means a union,” says Robert Kfouri, author of nine
Arabic books on yoga and Far Eastern mysticism. Kfouri has
been practicing yoga for about 25 years. The goal of yoga,
he says, is to reach a mystical experience known in yoga circles
as samadhi — a state where the mind transcends the body.
The yoga most people are familiar with involves posture and
breathing exercises aimed at relaxation and well-being.
But there is more to the art than just sitting cross-legged in
the corner. The most serious yoga followers also adhere to
rules and observances governing their personal life, including
non-violence and renouncing materialism.
“This way you can develop your heart. Nobody has reached
samadhi through the physical approach alone,” he says.
While classical workouts develop the superficial muscles of the
body, yoga tones the body from the inside. “Yoga addresses
the health of the glands,” says yoga teacher Nabil Najjar, who
often refers to devoted yoga practitioners as “yogis”. Yoga
positions counter the body’s aging process by keeping the
muscles elastic and the spinal cord — the body’s mainframe —
elastic and straight. The two most important positions, says
Najjar, are the headstand and shoulder stand, which are good
for the body’s glands, especially the pituitary and thyroid
glands, as well as the circulatory system. “Whenever the
body is inverted it does tremendous good for the internal
organs because the pressure on them is inverted and they are
massaged,” says Najjar. Another notable position, the forward
bend, stretches the whole back, massaging nerve centers and
opening them up if they are blocked. Yoga teacher Hayat
Mansour teaches special yoga postures for pregnant women.
But there’s more to yoga. Besides the exercises, a proper
diet, breathing, relaxation and positive thinking are required.
The yogi diet is vegetarian. Coffee and cigarettes are definite
no-nos. Breathing exercises help settle the mind. At the
end of every yoga session, students are guided to perform
what is called “final relaxation”. “Relaxation is like the cooling
system of a car. If you don’t cool the car it will burn out,
and likewise, if human beings do not relax they will burn out,”
says Najjar. Positive thinking is important because negative
thoughts cause negative events to unfold. By replacing negative
thoughts with positive ones, a person won’t become agitated
when yelled at, and then transfer his “bad mood” to someone
else. For those who can’t stop obsessing about that perfect
body, there is good news as well. Yoga can help a person
lose weight. “Yoga checks extreme behavior,” says Najjar.
“If you eat a lot, it naturally reduces your appetite. If you
are nervous, it calms you down.”
Yoga in the workplace
Companies are discovering that yoga and meditation can increase productivity.
Studies show that employees perform more efficiently if they
take a daily break of 20 to 30 minutes to practice yoga. “It produces
a general atmosphere of harmony and more creativity, which boosts
the company’s efficiency and thus has financial rewards,” says
Robert Kfouri. “Employees do less but accomplish much more. A tiger
would not make any move that is unnecessary. Yet he is very alert.
And when he does make a move, it’s the right one.” Yoga, Kfouri
explains, helps to sharpen the mind and improve concentration.
“Sharper minds don’t waste energy.” CAMS recently introduced yoga
classes to its employees, probably the first local company to discover
that yoga is a good motivational tool.
