GHOSH YOGA

  • Home
  • Schedule
  • Class Videos
  • Teacher Training
    • 200 Hour Teacher Training
    • 300 Hour Teacher Training Info
    • Foundation TT Entry Form
    • Advanced TT Application
  • Immersions
    • Practice Week
    • Teaching 26+2
    • History and Philosophy Week
  • Blogs
  • Store
  • About
    • What is Ghosh Yoga?
    • About Scott & Ida
    • Women of Yoga
    • Postures of Ghosh Yoga
    • Samadhi paper
    • Bose Conference Call
  • Books
    • Therapeutic Exercises
    • 26+2 Modifications
    • Beginning
    • Intermediate
    • Advanced 1
    • Yoga Cure
    • Muscle Control
    • Dr. GSM
    • Buddha Bose
    • 26+2 MODIFICAÇÕES
    • Calcutta Yoga
  • Contact
  • Refund Policies
  • Home
  • Schedule
  • Class Videos
  • Teacher Training
    • 200 Hour Teacher Training
    • 300 Hour Teacher Training Info
    • Foundation TT Entry Form
    • Advanced TT Application
  • Immersions
    • Practice Week
    • Teaching 26+2
    • History and Philosophy Week
  • Blogs
  • Store
  • About
    • What is Ghosh Yoga?
    • About Scott & Ida
    • Women of Yoga
    • Postures of Ghosh Yoga
    • Samadhi paper
    • Bose Conference Call
  • Books
    • Therapeutic Exercises
    • 26+2 Modifications
    • Beginning
    • Intermediate
    • Advanced 1
    • Yoga Cure
    • Muscle Control
    • Dr. GSM
    • Buddha Bose
    • 26+2 MODIFICAÇÕES
    • Calcutta Yoga
  • Contact
  • Refund Policies

Health, Purpose & the Will to Live

9/14/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Most of us desire to be healthy and live a long life. Many of our cultural institutions and fads are centered around these ideas: health food, exercise, health care, etc. Beneath it all, a deeper question is easily ignored. What is the purpose of being healthy or living a long life? (This can be reframed as the age old "what is the meaning of life?" question, or the "why are we here?" question.)

If we don't address this question directly, we end up essentially spinning our wheels. Without a greater sense of purpose, health and long life become the goals themselves, and we start pursuing them for their own sake. We even start admiring those who are very healthy or who have lived a long time.

OVERCOMING DISEASE
Admittedly, it is difficult to pursue anything when we are ill. Patanjali lists disease as one of the 9 obstacles that distract our thoughts from higher purpose. (Yogasutra 1:30). When we are ill, we have little concern other than to regain our health. But when we are healthy it is important to turn our efforts toward other goals. Our health facilitates our pursuit of higher purpose, and we should be careful that our health or fitness doesn't become the primary focus of our existence.

THE WILL TO LIVE
The desire to live a long life is inherent in our culture and medical system. One of the primary measures of a "useful" medicine is whether or not it increases lifespan. If not, or if it decreases lifespan, it is often consigned to the trash heap.

According to the Yogasutra, one of the five forces of corruption is "the will to live." (YS 2:3) If we are afraid of dying, (which to be honest, nearly everyone is) then the ultimate goal of life is simply to stay alive. It is almost impossible to pursue a higher purpose. "The will to live is instinctive and overwhelming, even for a learned sage," Patanjali writes. (YS 2:9)

Our life is not useful in itself. It is only useful as far as it enables us to accomplish other things.

What is your purpose? 

It is normal to not have an answer to the question. Humans have been asking it for as long as we have existed. But it is a question worth asking.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Beginning Manual
    Picture
    Intermediate Manual
    Picture
    26+2 Modifications

    AUTHORS

    Picture
    Picture
    Scott & Ida are Yoga Acharyas (Masters of Yoga). They are scholars as well as practitioners of yogic postures, breath control and meditation. They are the head teachers of Ghosh Yoga.

    POPULAR

    - The 113 Postures of Ghosh Yoga​
    - 
    Make the Hamstrings Strong, Not Long
    - Understanding Chair Posture
    ​
    ​​- Lock the Knee History
    ​- It Doesn't Matter If Your Head Is On Your Knee
    ​
    - Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)

    - 5 Reasons To Backbend
    ​
    - Origins of Standing Bow

    ​- The Traditional Yoga In Bikram's Class
    ​
    - What About the Women?!
    ​- Through Bishnu's Eyes
    ​- Why Teaching Is Not a Personal Practice

    Categories

    All
    Anatomy
    Book Excerpts
    Breathing
    Current Topics
    Hatha
    History
    Injuries
    Personal
    Philosophy
    Practice
    Science
    Teaching
    Therapy
    Women Of Yoga

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    RSS Feed

© COPYRIGHT 2015-2023 BY SLIP MEDIA, LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.