Why are doctors referring their patients, who have chronic back pain, to Yoga classes? How many studies have been conducted on back pain and Yoga? Is Yoga a cure all for back pain? What kind of Yoga class is best for back pain? Lets look at all of these issues and see if we can clear up some answers.

It is conservatively estimated that more than half of the world adult population suffers from some sort of back pain. Yoga, for back pain, is the most popular subject that teacher interns write about at our Yoga teacher training center.

However, this does not explain why so many doctors, within the United States, refer their patients to Yoga studios as an additional alternative to medication and physical therapy. The truth is, that within the U.S., there have been very few studies, and I only know of one in particular, which was the Group Health Cooperative study, which recently took place in Seattle, Washington.

Therefore, one study is not the answer; especially one study which just happened. The truth is, most of the studies on back pain and Yoga, as a form of therapy, are taking place in India. So, why does your family doctor, chiropractor, or orthopedic doctor, take a leap of faith outside the view of traditional western medicine? To put it simply, doctors read and continually educate themselves. They do not look down the narrow path of medicine that is laid down by bureaucracy.

Yoga is relatively inexpensive, in comparison to prescription medicines, so why bother to do a study? In comparison to the joint ventures, and potential profits involved in pharmaceutical studies, Yoga cant promise a big pay day. Yet, the fact that physicians, within the United States, are willing to look outside the box for answers, speaks volumes in regard to their integrity. Doctors are often accused of being too quick to prescribe medicines, but the public often demands quick and effortless solutions in regard to health care.

Is Yoga really a cure all for back pain? In short, the answer is no. How can I say that? Nothing is a cure all for back pain, but Yoga helps most of the students I work with. No prescription can claim 100% patient satisfaction either. Odds are that most people, with pre-existing back pain, who take up Yoga classes for relief, will reduce the number of pain killers needed. This fact has been stated by my Yoga students over the years.

If you have pre-existing back pain, which style of Yoga should you seek out? Regardless of style, you may want to observe a Yoga class before trying it. You should seek out a gentle style, and you should talk to your prospective Yoga teacher ahead of time.

Stay away from vigorous Yoga classes. I would advise against taking part in my Vinyasa Yoga class, but I would welcome you with open arms in my Restorative Yoga class. Why do I say this? Yoga styles, class formats, lesson plans, and teachers differ.

My suggestion is that you get a private session first, and your Yoga teacher will work with you first hand. If possible, get a referral from your doctor, or from a friend, who practices Yoga. This will help you avoid the guessing process.

Copyright 2006 Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

Hatha Yoga for Prevention of Ailments
Hatha Yoga contains many aspects which can be useful for mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health of the practitioner, but most students are concerned with the physical body.Many students enter their first Yoga class with a specific pre-exis...

Yoga For Back Pain
Almost everyone has had some sort of back pain during the course of their lives. For most, it eventually goes away. For some, however, back pain never goes away. Yoga could be the answer to back pain.Recent studies show that regular yoga practice can...

Did You Get Hurt Taking Yoga?
In the past year, I have heard a lot of people complain to me that they have taken yoga with bad experiences. They got injured during the class or received no benefit because they could not follow the instructor. This experience left them with not ...

How to Become a Yoga Teacher Who Everyone Wants to Learn From
What are a Yoga teachers biggest challenges? Is it the hours of Yoga teacher training? Is it the continuing education? No, education and certification can be a challenge, but its none of these issues that make up the biggest challenge.The largest ...

Teaching Hatha Yoga: Designing a Lesson Plan - Part 1
Which asanas, or Yoga postures, should you select? How long should you hold each Yoga posture? What is the benefit of holding a Yoga posture for minutes at a time?Should you start or finish a Yoga class with meditation? How should you incorporate P...

Benefits of Chair Yoga - Part 2
We have all heard the saying, Rome wasnt built in a day. Those words are extremely profound, when thinking about correcting poor posture and alignment. It takes years to create poor alignment.Therefore, poor posture cannot be corrected in a single ...

Free Yoga Exercise Online
One of the greatest things about the internet you can find almost anything online. You can use the internet to find free yoga exercise poses and routines that will help you learn more about yoga.If you are just starting out in yoga, then finding yog...

What Should a Hatha Yoga Teacher Know? Part 1
Most of the time, prospective Yoga teachers have a very strong foundation in Yoga; but sometimes, they originally come from a related-field, such as Martial Arts, Pilates, Dance, Gymnastics, or Fitness. This is fine, but be prepared for a learning c...

Teaching Hatha Yoga: Designing a Lesson Plan - Part 2
Whether a Yoga class should start from a standing, or seated, position has always been a subject for debate, but both methods are fine; and many Yoga teachers do both, depending on the particular lesson plan.One thing that should not be missing from ...

How to Shift Gears, Change Careers, and Become a Yoga Teacher, Part 1
Do you enjoy practicing Yoga? Does teaching Yoga seem like your ultimate dream job? Does the thought of becoming a Yoga teacher feel like a calling from within? How would you pay your bills teaching Yoga? If your life mission is becoming a Yoga t...

Yoga training gives us empowerment. Among the many powers we receive from regular Yoga practice is the power to say no. How often do you fill your plate with excessive obligations? Do you take on problems, which cannot be helped? We are not talking about getting away from your responsibilities. Some of us have a terrible time saying no to people who waste our time.

Here is an example: A co-worker has had the same problem, day in, day out, for years, and calls you on the telephone, about her problem, at your home. You have errands to run, for your family, but this co-worker spends the better part of an hour using you for a sounding board. You have given her advice, but she never listens because she is too busy complaining to consider listening to you or solving her problem.

Your Yoga teacher talks about mindfulness and loving kindness toward others all the time. What can you do? Do not pick up the phone or try to handle this persons problems. You have given this person advice and she refuses to listen.

Your Yoga teacher has discussed living in the moment. Your objective is to make positive changes, now, for a brighter future. You cannot do that, if you are listening to the same problem over and over again. What is the best course of action?

As Yoga practitioners, we should show loving kindness, mindfulness, and help others whenever it is possible, but we cannot help anyone who refuses to take responsibility for his or her life.

When you empathically listen to your friends, family, and associates - you are giving your time, and this is a form of Karma Yoga, but you cannot afford to absorb their stress. See negative energy for what it is. When a person is full of negative thought, and you cannot help, you will, most likely, absorb this energy in the form of stress.

Now, lets look at some other ways, in which, Yoga will help us with everyday stress. Consider your total health picture. What you eat and drink can also cause stress. Caffeine, which speeds the heart rate and shortens your breath, can be found in coffee, tea, soda, hot cocoa, and chocolate.

How fast do you eat? How much do you eat at one sitting? How much sleep do you get per night? All of these factors can be modified to manage your stress levels. Yoga teaches us that moderation is the key to good health. The results of steady Yoga practice will be reflected by living a less stressful lifestyle and making a change.

One last point to mention: Many of us worry about the future, causing us even more stress. Yoga practice teaches us to live in the present moment. The future has many variables, and we cannot see all of them. Preparation and pro-active behavior should be geared toward finding solutions, instead of worrying. It is normal to worry, but we all know it is a waste of time. How often do the things you worry about really happen?

Copyright 2006 Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: “Yoga in Practice,” and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

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The Purpose of Yoga - Yogic Stress Management
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Free Yoga Exercise Online
One of the greatest things about the internet you can find almost anything online. You can use the internet to find free yoga exercise poses and routines that will help you learn more about yoga.If you are just starting out in yoga, then finding yog...

Yoga Mats Guide - Feel Comfortable With Yoga Mats
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Yoga aims to bring together the mind, the body and the spirits. People that practice yoga view that the mind and body are one and that if given the right tools, it can find harmony and find a way to heal. Practicing yoga is then considered to be a form of therapy. Awareness of posture and patterns of movement, flexibility and relaxation are only a few of the things that can be achieved with the practice. To feel fit, be more energetic, be happier and more at peace are only some of the reasons why people choose to practice yoga.

Yoga dates back to thousands of years of practice, consisting of ancient theories, observations and principles about the connection between mind and body that are now proven by modern day medicine. Research has proven that there are a lot of health benefits, whether physiological, psychological or biochemical, that can be obtained through the practice of yoga.

Some of the physiological benefits include a decrease in pulse rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure which in other words would mean that the cardiovascular and respiratory efficiencies increase which can help in the increase of immunity. Bodily functions like gastrointestinal, endocrine and excretory either normalizes or improves which can help in the normalization of weight. Musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion increase which can help in the improvement of posture, dexterity, balance and the integrated functioning of body parts. In essence, gaining all of that can help decrease any pains in the joints or muscles. With the practice of yoga, endurance, energy level and even eye-hand coordination improves. Weight can also normalize.

The psychological benefits of yoga include the increased awareness of somatic and kinesthetic waves, improvement of mood and subjective well-being which subsequently increases social adjustment. With a calmer mind, concentration, memory, attention and learning efficiency can also improve.

The biochemical benefits of yoga are effects of some of the physiological benefits. Levels of glucose, sodium, bad cholesterol and triglycerides decrease while levels of good cholesterol, cholinesterase, ATP, hemoglobin, vitamin C and serum protein increase. These changes are all beneficial for a healthier body.

Apart from all of this, the benefits of yoga have been compared versus that of the benefits of regular exercise. With the slow dynamic and static movements of yoga, there is a lower risk of injury to muscles and ligaments as opposed to regular exercise routines due to the lesser effort and relaxed way of movement which subsequently makes for better energizing since breathing is not taxed. There is also a more balanced activity of opposing muscle groups, thus being able to gain a normalized muscle tone instead of getting bulky.

Yoga does not need to be for people that are extremely flexible. It can be for people that are looking to improve on their flexibility or other areas of their physical or mental health. With these many benefits, its no wonder why yoga has been a successful practice for thousands of years.

The author is a health advocate and believes there are many ways you can increase your health and fitness levels go here to get more on yoga and equipment used Mat Yoga Reviews.

Yoga Exercise For Health
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So, where is all this stress coming from? Why have divorce rates sky rocketed? Why are families falling apart? Why is “burn out” from over work, and having a mental breakdown, so common?

There are many causes, which have resulted in this global stress epidemic. The pursuit of material wealth has always been on mankinds list of priorities. This does not seem to be going away any time soon.

Therefore, you may consider some of the following methods to detoxify your body. In comparison to the many changes you could make, increasing your intake of pure water is fairly harmless. Most people do not drink 3 glasses per day. Therefore, an increase to five, eight ounce glasses, per day, is moderate and healthy.

While we know that water is good for your skin, and will flush out your digestive system, the results of the Adventist Health Study indicate that men and women, who drink just five glasses of water per day, can greatly reduce the risk of a fatal heart attack.
Men drinking five or more glasses of water a day can reduce their risk of a fatal heart attack by 50 percent. Thats as much as stopping smoking, stated Jacqueline Chan, a researcher of the Adventist Health Study.

It may be decades before all of the benefits from drinking pure water are common knowledge, but flushing out your digestive and elimination systems is important. The last thing we need is a blockage.

Eating fresh vegetables, fruit, and whole grains, is also a good change to institute. You do not have to do it all at once, but filling up on fresh and natural food first will help you avoid being tempted by processed foods.

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive a Free Yoga e-Book: “Yoga in Practice,” and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

Copyright 2007 Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

The Purpose of Yoga - Yogic Stress Management
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In conjunction with the Global Mala Project designed to unite the worldwide yoga community on the UN International Peace Day (September 22, 2007) I have been inspired to teach yoga this fall through the mantra of yoga as peace in action. Naturally some questions arise: What is peace? How do you teach peace in a yoga class?

Although everybody seems to have an innate understanding of peace, it becomes a difficult state to describe. In the context of a global community peace is understood as the cessation of war. On an individual level peace can be described as calm, serene, silence, equilibrium and harmony.

Yoga naturally lends itself to a quest for peace. Yoga is a process of releasing dis-ease and tension in the body to quiet the mind for meditation. With yoga we can find peace within ourselves. Once the individual achieves peace in their own lives then the belief is that the state of serene, calm and harmony ripples out into the world influencing others.

How then do you teach peace in a yoga class?

Pranayama or breath practice lends itself to the quest for peace. Guide your students to slow down their breath and become aware of the peaceful rhythm of the inhalation and exhalation. Teach your students to passively accept their breath rather than force it to become deeper. You can be more literal about it as well encouraging students to draw peace into their body with each inhalation and release tension with each exhalation. Simply following the breath brings peace to the body and mind.

When leading guided relaxation help students to become aware of the spaces in their bodies where peace already exists. Then use breath and yoga postures to expand that feeling of peace throughout the class.

Mantras are a particularly effective way to shift our minds towards peace. I love Tich Nhat Hanhs mantra from Peace is Every Step Breathing in I calm my body, Breathing out I smile. Tich Nhat Hanh teaches that peace and happiness are available to use if we can quiet our distracted minds.

The single pointed focus of yoga can help students move away from multi-tasking common in todays frantic world. Yoga postures and breath practice naturally center our students in a way that calms the mind and emotions giving a sense of peace.

When teaching the physical postures remind students to come into the present moment and become fully aware of their bodies. The postures can be an opportunity to let go of the worries of the past and future and come into the present moment of the body.

Teaching peace in a yoga class means reminding students to move with ease and steadiness as Rodney Yee says. How many times have you observed students struggling to make their posture look like the photo in Iyengars Light on Yoga? Encourage students to find their own equilibrium and harmony in a pose, that state where peace exists. Yoga is not about the shape of the posture, rather the feeling of peace being cultivated in the body.

Consider the types of poses that you are teaching. Restorative poses such as legs up the wall can be fantastic for calming the central nervous system and bringing peace to the body. Balancing postures such as tree pose help the students to center themselves and come into the present moment.

Teaching peace in yoga class may simply mean adjusting the way you instruct your students. Move slowly, speak in a calm manner, create limitless space and time. Slow down your sun salutations taking extra time and breath. Remember in yoga we have infinite time and no ambition.

Teaching peace in yoga class may seem elusive or even unfeasible. However, if we return to the core premise of yoga described by Patanjali as a means to chitta-vrtti-nirohdah or cease the turnings of the mind we are reminded that we are teaching peace every time we teach a yoga class. As yoga teachers we simply must return our intention and single pointed focus to this goal.

Dr. Melissa West is a yoga teacher who is contributing to the Global Mala Project on September 22nd. For more information see http://melissawest.com/ and http://www.globalmala.org/

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Almost everyone has had some sort of back pain during the course of their lives. For most, it eventually goes away. For some, however, back pain never goes away. Yoga could be the answer to back pain.

Recent studies show that regular yoga practice can have an extraordinary effect on relieving the stiffness and agony of chronic back pain.

Yoga provides relief from back pain in several different ways. This has to do with the way the spine is affected by the alignment and function of all the parts of the body. The condition of the legs, hips, pelvis, shoulders and even the buttocks, influences the condition of the back. Due to this, as you improve strength and flexibility throughout the body, your back is in better shape.

The vast majority of people, do not pay terribly close attention to the way they move and hold their bodies, throughout the day. Sometimes we hold ourselves in ways that harm, rather than support our frame. Often we entertain poor posture or sit awkwardly most of the day in an office chair, allowing stress and tension to overtake our muscles and mind.

Studies reveal that yoga is better than conventional exercise because of this very element. Yoga involves a great deal of mental focus and a purposeful mindset. While performing poses, yoga students are instructed to pay close attention to their breath. Meditation and visualization create a direct link between the movements of the body and breathing. These interconnecting elements trigger high degrees of body awareness.

The result is that even when people are not doing yoga, they will still become aware of how they may have been moving and positioning their bodies in unhealthy ways. In turn, people who practice yoga make better and healthier choices in movement, consciously and unconsciously. They experience a higher degree of flexibility and range of movement. Not only that, yoga reduces overall muscle tension, which is a big cause of back pain.

Copyright 2008 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive a Free Yoga e-Book: “Yoga in Practice,” and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

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Yoga in the west is primarily associated with hatha yoga postures. Hatha yoga is actually only a small part of an ancient system of spiritual practices grouped together under the term yoga. The Sanskrit meaning of yoga is yuj; to yoke or unite. The goal of yoga is to unite oneself with God. Yoga involves various practices in which a seeker aspires to attain realization of his true Self.

Yoga is union. It is the union of the individual soul with the Supreme Self. Yoga is the spiritual science that teaches us how the Ultimate Reality can be realized in life itself. [1]

Yoga does not negate any religion. Yoga is compatible with all the major religions. Religions are like different paths, which ultimately lead to the same goal. What yoga does is to provide spiritual practises, which enable a seeker to accelerate his journey of self-discovery. While religion is often concerned with outer forms and outer rituals, yoga is concerned with individual development and the practical application of spiritual ideas. Yoga encompasses all religions but at the same time goes beyond them.

The teachings of Yoga originated many thousands of years ago when the Vedic Seers first started to write down their spiritual discoveries and spiritual realizations. Since the Vedic times the teachings of yoga have been refined and updated through a long succession of spiritual Masters and teachers. Although the teachings of yoga have been revised; the essential message of yoga has remained the same; Atmanam viddhi Know Thyself. Although coming from a different era the basic ideals of yoga are timeless and still very relevant for the modern age.

Yoga takes a fourfold approach to the discovery of truth. Individual seekers are free to concentrate on a particular path that appeals more. In the west the path of Karma Yoga is popular as it allows seekers to progress through dedicated service. The essence of Karma Yoga is to work without attachment to the result. If work is dedicated to God or the Supreme then it becomes no longer work but a spiritual sadhana (practice).

Bhakti yoga is the yoga of devotion. Many saints from different spiritual traditions have taken the approach of love and devotion to God (in whatever form they feel most inspired.) The essence of Bhakti yoga is often encompassed in the devotional poetry and songs of saints such as Mirabai, Rumi, St Teresa of Avila and Sri Ramakrishna.

Jnana Yoga is the yoga of wisdom and discrimination. In jnana yoga aspirants seek to discover the truth through renunciation of false ideas and wrong thoughts. He uses reasoning and discrimination to go beyond the domain of the mind and see the unity in the real essence of the universe.

In the hoary past aspirants would feel that to practise yoga it is necessary to renounce the world. However many modern spiritual teachers have shown it is both possible and desirable to practice yoga right in the heart of modern life. Worldly activities need not be separated from yoga and spiritual practice.

Footnotes

[1] Yoga and Spiritual Life by Sri Chinmoy

Richard is an economics teacher in Oxford and is a meditation student of Sri Chinmoy. Richard teaches meditation classes in Oxford and writes several essays on spirituality and yoga. His other interests include cycling and photography. He contributes to a site about yoga of Sri Chinmoy. http://www.yogaofsrichinmoy.com/

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There is a philosophy, which claims: If you give something away, and people find a value in it - they will react positively to your kindness, with repeat business.

This is all well, and good, but the major fast food chains seem to be the only businesses to profit from it. Maybe that is why we call it junk food.

The public cannot establish a perceived value of Yoga, when you initially give away a week or month. The word Free is often associated with junk or stuff.

If you want to give something away free, develop a comprehensive handbook for your Yoga students, give them a music CD, or a Yoga mat, as a bonus for signing up.

If enough Yoga teachers give away free classes, we will depreciate the value of Yoga lessons then, asking you to teach Yoga for free will become second nature for the average Yoga student.

Think about this: When was the last time you could go to a deli and ask for a free introductory package? What do you think you would get for an answer?

After all, you just want to try them out, see if you like it, and maybe you will come back. If you see no value in them, you could go to another deli, and try them out, until they get tired of serving you free lunch.

Although Yoga instructors do not make sandwiches for a living - this is one good lesson for any Yoga teacher to learn. Yoga teachers can learn from parallel comparisons to similar fields.

Lets look at some mistakes, which the fitness industry has made and learn from them; before any Yoga teachers experience similar financial ruin. Fitness is preventative health maintenance, and good health is very valuable. Anyone who is in good health should count their lucky stars. If you are not in good health - your poor state of health is all you can think about.

Yet, I just heard a radio commercial that offers the rest of 2006 free, if you sign up for a 2007 membership. The fitness club owner is prostituting his or her business. More than likely, the fitness clubs third party billing service thought up this gimmick.

What is the average life of a member in the fitness industry? What can a health club do if a member defaults on a contract? When you consider these options, it makes no sense to give members months of service for free.

This week, I noticed a fitness club that offers memberships for $9.95 per month. How can that fitness club stay open? The overhead costs must be incredible, when you consider paying for all of the equipment, insurance, utilities, and rent.

Do you think that fitness club owner sleeps well? Do you think he or she is drawing a salary? I guarantee the owner regrets the day he or she opened that health club.

Lets get back to teaching Yoga classes. You put your time in as a Yoga student, went through Yoga teacher training, and now you keep your credentials up to date. So, why should you sell yourself short?

Each style of Yoga has mental, physical, and spiritual health benefits, to offer the public. That is why we continue to practice and teach Yoga. Therefore, we must educate the public about the value of Yoga, before the junk food kills them.

Copyright 2006 Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: “Yoga in Practice,” and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

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Selfishness, hoarding, and gluttony are hard to sleep with. Greed drives us insane, and over consumption causes grief. Helping others does not require money. Selfless service will help those in need just fine. Sometimes an encouraging word, a thank you, or a compliment, is worth more than money. This is because you showed recognition and gave a feeling that becomes self worth.

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If you feel this person is dragging you down, give yourself a break. Just because you want to help - that doesnt mean you have to write a suicide pack with him or her. You have to know your own tolerance level for being around pessimism. Too much pessimism and negativity can have an adverse effect on anyone.

Look at wartime behavior as a prime example. People are scarred for life by atrocities, brutality, poverty, starvation, battle fatigue, constant fear, and imprisonment. This is a haven for negativity to flourish in. This is much like the mind-set of a pessimist.

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

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The central visual image representing the art & science of Alchemy is the Ourobourus: a dragon or snake swallowing its own tail. This symbol deftly reflects the totality of the alchemical process, the great circulation of Nature, by which what was above as the very subtle spirit descends and becomes the below, the earthy and fixed; then by reversing the process, what is below ~ fixed, heavy & earthy ~ ascends and gradually becomes volatile and subtle as the above. Hence, the circle is closed: the snake/dragon has indeed swallowed its tail. Homer, the Greek philosopher, referred to this process as the golden chain. And what is represented, along with the individual internal process of the yogi or yogini, is also the chain of alchemical adepts (those able to link Heaven and Earth), beginning ~ in the classical Alchemy lineage ~ with the Egyptian Hermes Trismegistus, who wrote: Make what is above become like what is below, then what is below returns to what is above, thus creating the miracles of one thing.

This same process ~ the descent of consciousness into matter, and the subsequent ascent of matter back into its more rarefied state (and, in nondual traditions, the linking of these two processes in a continuous loop) ~ is described in various other mystical traditions (most notably in Taoist Inner Alchemy texts, but also in, for instance, Patanjalis Yoga Sutras).

In the language of Topology ~ the branch of mathematics that looks at what happens when certain geometric figures are stretched, twisted & folded (or, more precisely, when the space around these figures is distorted in these ways) ~ the Ourobourus is whats called a knot (a closed curve in three-dimensional space). A salient characteristic of knots is that they can indeed be stretched, twisted & folded into all sorts of superficially different shapes, while retaining, mathematically, their sameness. The central question explored within Topology is how to know when one shape is simply a distorted version of another? The (very short!) answer is that this depends upon identifying what are called invariants ~ characteristics which remain, across variations in a given shape/knot.

Topology has recently been employed in the service of the newly-emerging science of quantum computing, as a resource for addressing the problem of decoherence. In quantum computers (which are at this point mostly still theoretical), information is stored on sub-atomic particles. The major problem with these so-called qubits is their susceptibility to decoherence: disturbance of their quantum space/structure by the Newtonian environment. Each time such a disturbance happens, and the quantum state of the particles is affected, the information stored on them is lost or distorted.

And this is where Topology, potentially, is able to come to the rescue. For information stored on topological structures is impervious to local error, since small pieces of lost information can easily be reconstructed, given what is known of the overall pattern/shape of which it was a part. (Imagine a donut, and a small piece on the surface of the donut being lost … Since we can still see what the overall shape of the donut is, we can easily replace that missing link.) So what is needed then, in terms of quantum computing, are sub-atomic particles which can be mapped topologically.

And it just so happens … that when an electron liquid on a two-dimensional crystalline surface is subjected to extremely cold temperatures and a strong magnetic force, sub-atomic particles called anyons are created. These anyons move about the surface ~ they dance ~ in patterns which physicists call braids, and which can be mapped topologically. As a result, these anyon braids (defining whats called a Quantum Hall fluid) are very good candidates for storing information in a quantum computer, in a way which side-steps the problem of decoherence. (Another interesting thing about anyons is that they carry a fractional charge. Whereas protons carry a single positive charge, and nuetrons a single negative charge, anyons carry charges corresponding to any real number. Different fractional states, i.e. charges, define different flavors of Quantum Hall fluid, and determine how complex a computation is possible, using that fluid as a carrier of information in a quantum computer.)

So assuming this all works out, and were able to use these anyon braids to store information … What would be the advantage of such a topological quantum computer? For one thing: speed. A classical/Newtonian computer operates via bits (housed in circuits or silicon chips) that are either on or off. In line with the so-called weirdness of the quantum world, qubits (say, in the form of anyon braids housed in Quantum Hall fluid) exist in combinations of on and off, simultaneously (a phenomenon known as the superposition of states). This property allows a quantum computer to perform multiple computations, and get multiple answers, all at the same time. So a calculation that might take a classical computer millions or billions of years to complete, would be completed via a quantum computer in a matter of minutes!

A second advantage of such a computer is, perhaps, more aesthetic (or spiritual/philosophical) than practical. Theres a sense in which ~ by employing sub-atomic particles as our hardware (and software, simultaneously) ~ were using nature as our computer! For the movements of the anyons has an intelligence of its own … similar to when we throw a ball up in the air, the physics of its motion is calculated by the medium (air, gravity, etc.) through which it travels. It doesnt require us to transmit the appropriate mathematical formulas to it, in order to continue along its trajectory …

So how is the creation of a topological quantum computer (the projection by our collective human consciousness of a radically different model of computing/information processing) related to Alchemy & the Ourobourus (where we began this essay)? Or, in relation to my larger body of work, how is it related to the Alchemies of Taoist, Buddhist, or Hindu Yogas?

There area number of Buddhist as well as Taoist teachers who use the metaphor of a computer to describe the working of the human bodymind. Which, at this point, then begs the question: How might we (as Buddhist, Taoist or Hindu Yogis) transform ourselves (the way that we process information, i.e. relate with the intelligence/energy of the manifest world) from Newtonian/classical to topological quantum computers? Such a change will require, as weve seen above, a change not only in our software but also, and perhaps more fundamentally, in our hardware or in the relationship between hardware & software. How might I evolve from being a Newtonian machine that relates to my world in terms of a series of yess and nos (0s and 1s) to a being defined by fractional charges, by superpositions, by the capacity to perform multiple simultaneous calculations (to hold simultaneously multiple points of view)?

And perhaps a part of the answer lies ~ as it does within the realm of quantum computing ~ in finding an information storage & processing medium (a bodymind!) which operates via physical/energetic patterns more than via individual bits of information … so that a stretching, bending or twisting (a distortion) of the medium will not sacrifice its integrity. So that small losses of information, small fluctuations in the immediate environment can easily be compensated for by the wisdom & stability of the larger pattern. (What might this mean in terms of a physical practice such as yoga or qigong?)

And could this be part of what is being transmitted to us via the alchemical symbol of the Ourobourus? That the creation (or recognition) of patterns, and more specifically, closed loops, of so-called opposites finding their unity, recognizing themselves to be two ends of the same stick … is an important key to the whole alchemical process, to spiritual and well as technological awakening? Taoist Inner Alchemy (as well as Kashmir Shaivite and other mystical) texts remind us, again and again, that the entire universe exists within and as our human bodies. The stars & all the galaxies are alive within the very structure of our cells. (According to which the Theory of Relativity should be able ~ yes? ~ to swallow the tail of Quantum Mechanics, but alas …)

And perhaps whats being pointed to also is the fact that we are indeed ~ in our manifestations within the phenomenal world ~ part of Nature, partaking of the wisdom, love & limitations of the plant, mineral & animal kingdoms … And it is in this association (rather than the escape from it, into, say, the world of machines, of artificial intelligence) that lies our greatest power …

Elizabeth Reninger holds Masters degrees in Sociology & Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga ~ in its Buddhist, Taoist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. For more yoga-related articles, information & musings, please visit: http://www.writingup.com/blog/Elizabeth_Reninger

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