Yoga as a Healing Path

I was introduced to Yoga 25 years ago by my first teacher. In addition to postures & breath, my teacher taught Yoga as a path of healing. We covered everything from nutrition & cleansing, to lifestyle & habits, to how to love ourselves & hold loving space for our darkest shadows to emerge. He was a very well versed guide, and shared a lot of wisdom from both his studies and his personal experience.
I studied with him along with a community of like minded others. We were doing yoga classes  throughout the week, doing retreat, and getting private sessions as well to work more deeply on ourselves using Yoga as our guide. I experienced profound transformation at that time of my life, and it truly set me on a spiritual path and inspired me toward the work that I'm doing now as a Yoga Therapist and Ayurvedic Health Counselor.

Together Yoga & Ayurveda are a complete system of healing encompassing every area of life.
Many people these days think that Yoga is an exercise, and a way of getting centered. 
In actuality Yoga is the Science of Self Realization, and focuses on relieving us of our spiritual suffering by bringing us back to our true nature. Ayurveda is the Science of Life focusing on relieving us of our physical, mental & emotional suffering by harmonizing our nature with nature. This means getting our diet, exercise, routines, relationships, self-care, habits, emotions & thoughts aligned in such a way that is balancing, nurturing & supportive for who we are as a unique individual.

The combination of Yoga & Ayurveda is brilliant. It perfectly & holistically guides each of us toward a healthy body, calm creative & focused mind, balanced emotions, spiritual connection and a happy existence - which is what I think calls many people to "do Yoga".  
. ~ Rachael Breeze