16 Dec Western Science Fully Embraces Ancient Wisdom of India
If you are a student of Eastern traditions, you have studied the positive impacts of a yoga practice – and not just asana, not just the physical practice – but the fullness of this ancient art and science, then the revelations in this following story by Carolyn Gregoire for the Huff Post will come as no surprise. The post is all about Western science finally and fully embracing the ancient wisdom out of India. Article includes facts such as a dedicated and full yoga practice (asana, plus controlled breathing or pranayama, chanting, self study and meditation) can ease depression and anxiety, relieve chronic back pain, lower stress levels and improve heart heart. And that’s for starters. Pranayama can reduce performance anxiety in kids, lower blood pressure in anyone and increase the size of the brain. Meditation boosts neuroplasticity, shrinks the amygdala, the fight or flight center in the brain, and thickens the prefrontal cortex, associated with awareness and intellect.
Read on for more juicy facts, including more good news about the miracle spice, turmeric.
courtesy Huffington Post
The embrace of Eastern philosophy and mysticism in the West has a long history, from the writings of “the first American yogi” Henry David Thoreau, to the Beatles’ famous 1968 pilgrimage to India, to the current scientific interest in ancient contemplative practices like meditation and yoga.
The dissemination of Indian ideas and practices has shaped the way we view spirituality in the West. But ancient Indian ideas have also influenced a more unlikely domain — modern science, medicine and psychotherapy.
As scientific interest in the inner experience of the individual has grown, we seem to be witnessing a meeting of the minds between Western science and Eastern spirituality. Scientific American featured meditation on its November cover, while the Dalai Lama is working with neuroscientists to study the dimensions of consciousness.
In many ways, modern science is just catching up with the wisdom of early Indian teachings, rooted in ancient Vedic texts and still pervasive in the culture of the Indian subcontinent. Today, many concepts in early Vedic philosophy have been backed up with empirical evidence. As the French Nobel laureate Romain Rolland put it, “Religious faith in the case of the Hindus has never been allowed to run counter to scientific laws.”
A close cooperation between Western scientists and Eastern contemplative traditions like Buddhism (which also stems from the Vedas) can “truly contribute toward expanding the human understanding of the complex world of inner subjective experience that we call the mind,” the Dalai Lama said in 2005.
In honor of the launch of HuffPost India, here are five pieces of ancient Indian wisdom now backed by modern science.
Yoga can heal the mind and body.
Continue reading here and be amazed.
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