Therapeutic Value of Yoga
B.Padmanabha Pillai, M.A.
Director of Yoga (Rtd.)
Trivandrum
(14—5—1983)
Normal functions of our body go on uninterrupted as long as our brain, heart, intestine etc., discharge their duties with out any defect. These are internal organs. They function by the autonomous nervous system. The subtle centers of the brain, circulatory system, respiratory system, and digestive system are working with out our knowledge as long as our health is nortmal.It is the involuntary nervous system that governs the automatic functions such as heart beat, peristaltic action of the intestine, circulation of blood, contraction and expansion of lungs, and kidneys and secretions from the endocrine glands. The above works are carried out with out the knowledge of the individual.But the presence of the organic function is noticed when the internal organs are strained due to some disease. The difficulty in the discharge of duties of the internal organs is traced as the cause of disease, when examined by an experienced physician.
Wrong habits are mostly the causes that create disease of the body. Spending sleepless nights, working without rest, inadequate food, hard labor etc., result in diseases like ulcer, asthma, gas trouble, diabetes, blood pressure and so on.There are many modern medicines newly discovered like anti-biotic pills and sulfa drugs which produce speedy action. Most people accept this treatment because it works on the molecular level, giving miraculous improvement with ib a short period.Most of the people are not patient enough to accept the old method working in the organs as it might take a long time to get a complete cure.
