Ancient Science, Modern Magic

Arun Pandala
(Acharya and Director, Sivananda Yoga Centre, Gurgaon)

There is a modern epidemic and it seems to be affecting one section of the population. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, or PCOS.

While the data is still being collated, it is becoming clear that a large section of urban women, maybe as many as one in three women, especially between the ages of 16 and 45 are suffering from PCOS.

Over the past two decades, PCOS has been diagnosed as a lifestyle disease, with yet unknown variables, and symptomatically treated with medicines. There does not appear to be a permanent medical solution to reverse PCOS, and hence termed as a syndrome. Controlling, managing or suppressing the symptoms seems to be the only way. The good news is that yoga offers another way.

Over the past seven years, hundreds of women have participated in a path-breaking yoga program designed and implemented by Sivananda Yoga Centre, Gurgaon, and found not just temporary relief, but a permanent reversal of both the symptoms, as well as the evidence of cysts in the ovaries.

Maitri and SYCG are joining hands, to bring to the women of this generation, a fusion of modern medicine and ancient science, the best of both experiences, sciences and knowledge.

Yoga is a science and art of health, and has over 5000 years of experience to offer the modern world. Health includes the health of the ovaries, the female reproductive system, and the overall health of the woman. Yoga is a systematic and holistic approach which provides a daily protocol of exercise, rest, diet, habits, and detoxification, education about the body and the mind, and lessons on interactions with the world.

Predominantly yoga is the art of bringing out the best version of oneself. Yoga gives clear guidelines on how a woman can recover her health.
 

1. Asana practice, helps to improve the functioning of the endocrine system and bring it into balance. It also helps to improve digestion, overall metabolism and absorption of nutrition into the body, thereby helping to positively change the way the body works. As they say, all diseases start in the gut. Asanas also make the body stronger, more flexible and resilient to disease. You can improve your stamina, reduce weight, and increase your immunity with regular asana practice. In the Yoga for PCOS programs taught by SYCG, asana practice also at times includes specific postures and exercises for the reproductive system.
2. Pranayama controls and regulates the energy in the body, and it controls and regulates our emotions, thoughts and behavior. This in turn has a profound impact on a woman’s physiology. For example, the cravings associated with moods, and low energy levels disappear, to be replaced by better metabolism and higher energy. Sleep improves, and therefore the skintone, as well as the balance in the hormones. The breathing techniques, while they are quite simple, purify the blood, strengthen the nervous system and refresh the brain. There is a simple and direct correlation between the practice of pranayama and reversal of the symptoms of PCOS.
3. Yoga suggests a vegetarian diet. According to Nobel Prize winner Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, a vegan diet caused more than 500 genes to change in only three months, turning on genes that prevent disease and turning off genes that cause cancer, heart disease, and other diseases.
   For thousands of years, Yoga has suggested the link between our food habits, disease, and the pain we experience. The diet which we are commonly used to, the food which we commonly eat, can and does play and important role in the development of PCOS. If we are willing to look at our diet and actively change it, PCOS can be addressed as well.
4. Similarly, yoga has definite protocols for cleansing (called detox in modern parlance). The cleansing techniques, called Kriyas, include Kapalabhati, Jal Neti, Sutra Neti, agnisaar, Nauli, Dhauti and Basti. They are powerful, and help to reset the entire internal system, rejuvenating and refreshing each and every organ and body part.
5. Finally, yoga has clear guidelines on combating and reversing stress, as well as rules for avoiding conflict and dissonance.  This happens with the methodical practices of relaxation and meditation, and guidance on daily lifestyle. 

Each of these practices individually, and all of them collectively, help to address the issues related to PCOS. 
In the Maitri and SYCG’s Yoga for PCOS program, participants can expect the following positive results.

• Skin begins to glow, acne and pimples disappear.
• Substantial weight loss, for those who seek to lose weight, without any hard diet, or difficult exercise – Just some simple change of habits.
• Regularization of periods.
• Less painful periods.
• Reduction in mood swings.
• Improvement in energy levels, better sleep and higher levels of productivity.
• Infertility goes away, and conception happens.
• Improvement in fitness, stamina, strength and flexibility.
• And an improvement in overall wellness, including hormonal balance.

All of this, without side effects, or the consumption of artificial chemicals.
There is enough evidence, borne out by the testimonials given by the women who have participated in the Yoga for PCOS courses conducted earlier, that yoga works positively.
Come, see the miracles that are possible for you, with two strong entities, Maitri and SYCG coming together!

Come, let us usher in a new era, where women can take care of their health using an ancient science for magical results in these modern times!