Many people still think that Yoga is a religion. Others believe it to be a kind of magic. Some associate Yoga with the rope trick, with snake-charming, fire-eating or sitting on nail-beds, lying on broken glass, walking on sharp swords, etc. Sometimes it is even linked to fortune telling, spiritualism, hypnotism and other "isms." In reality, Yoga is a method, a system of physical, mental and spiritual development.
Q): What is the meaning of the word "Yoga"?
A: The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root "yuj," which means join, or union. The purpose of all Yoga is to unite man, the finite, with the Infinite, with Cosmic Consciousness, Truth, God, Light or whatever other name one chooses to call the Ultimate Reality. Yoga, as they say in India, is a marriage of spirit and matter.
Q: Is there only one Yoga?
A: Yoga has several branches or divisions, but the goal, the aim of all of them is the same - the achievement of a union with the Supreme Consciousness. Raja Yoga (Royal Yoga) is the Yoga of consciousness, the highest form of Yoga. Its practice usually starts with Hatha Yoga which gives the body the necessary health and strength to endure the hardships of the more advanced stages of training.
Hatha Yoga is the Yoga of physical well-being. It consists of several steps and is preceded by the Yama-Niyama, the ten rules of the Yoga code of morality. The first stage is called Asana, or posture; the second is Pranayama, or breath control; the third is Pratyahara or nerve control; the fourth is Dharana, or mind control; the fifth is Dhyiana, or meditation; and finally there is Samadhi, the state of ultimate bliss and spiritual enlightenment. Strictly speaking the last four stages of Hat ha Yoga already merge into the realm of Raja Yoga.
Q: What does "Hatha" mean?
A: "Ha" stands for the sun and "tha" for the moon. The correct translation of Hatha Yoga would be solar and lunar Yoga, since it deals with the solar and lunar qualities of breath and Prana.
Q: What is "Prana"?
A: Prana is a subtle life energy existing in the air in fluid form. Everything living, from men to amoebae, from plants to animals, is charged with Prana. Without Prana there is no life.
Q: What religion does a yogi profess?
A: A yogi can belong to any religion or to none at all. In this case, he usually forms his own relationship with the Ultimate Reality once he has come closer to It.
Q: Can a Catholic take up Yoga?
A: Certainly, since Yoga is not a religion. In fact, a Catholic association has been recently formed in Bangalore, India, in order to introduce the Yoga Asanas to the Catholic young men there, and to integrate them into the Catholic way of life.
Q: If the goal of Yoga is a spiritual illumination, why then is so much attention given to the care of the body?
A: The yogis regard the human body as a temple of the Living Spirit and believe that as such it should be brought to the highest state of perfection. Also, the advanced practices of Yoga require great power of endurance. The body might not be able to stand the strain witho0ut special preparation.
Q: What is the origin of Yoga?
A: Yoga was originated in India several thousand years ago. According to the German Professor Max Mueller, Yoga is about 6,000 years old, but other sources suggest it is much older than that.
Q: Who originated Yoga?
A: This is not known. Patanjali, who lived about 200 B.C., is called the Father of Yoga because he was the first to put into writing what had until that time been handed down only verbally from master, or guru, to pupil, or chela.
There is more to know about yoga, but this information will put you on the right path.
Q1. What is the scope of the heroin treatment program in Minnesota?
Before planning out a heroin treatment program in Minnesota, it is necessary for you to know what the scope of the program is. This is so that you can know how the program will help you or the person you are choosing the treatment program for. The treatment program here is for complete recovery. In Minnesota, heroin treatment is said to be done when the patient completely stops using the substance. In several other parts of the world, heroin treatment simply means bringing down the dependency to a lowered level that can be considered as "safe".
Now, though it could be very difficult to bring a person completely out of a heroin addiction, the heroin rehab centers in Minnesota diligently adopt some ways and methods so that they can achieve this task.
Q2. Can the patient be enrolled into any random heroin treatment program in Minnesota?
Though all these treatment programs are for heroin treatment, you must know that not all of them could be good for the patient's condition. There are several problems that might occur on the way. Each treatment program follows a different routine. They have different beliefs and different modes of implementation. Hence, what might work for one patient might not work for another. In a similar manner, the facilities that you get at one treatment center might not be present at another treatment center. This is why you must take absolute care when you are enrolling a patient into a heroin treatment center in Minnesota.
Q3. What about licensing and other requirements?
It is absolutely important that the treatment center you are considering must have a license for providing drug addiction treatment in Minnesota. But, that is not enough. Because heroin follows a very different pattern of action on the human body and because the treatment itself follows a different routine, it is very important that the program has a special license for providing heroin addiction treatment in Minnesota. At the same time, you must see that the treatment providers at the center also have their licenses. They must be qualified through American Society of Addiction Medicine or a similar body.
It is also extremely important that the treatment center and the treatment providers are both well experienced in providing heroin addiction treatment. This is because of the different nature of heroin's action on the body that can immunize the person's central nervous system into accepting the drug and then asking it repeatedly. There are several subtle points that will come up on the way to heroin addiction treatment. If the center or the treatment provider is not quite well-versed with these nuances, it might not bode well for the patient.
Another point that you must look into is that the center is well accredited. Accreditation helps you to be ensured that the treatment program is well received outside its own sphere of activity too, and makes you confident about it. You can also check up on how many affiliates the treatment center has.
Q4. Is methadone treatment better for heroin addiction than buprenorphine treatment?
Both forms of treatments have their own pros and cons. Both these substances are opiates like heroin and their primary intention is to make the person come out of the craving for heroin. As long as the person is provided a medication of these substances, he or she will not feel any craving for heroin. This is why these modes of treatment are known as maintenance treatment. They are both widely employed in the detox treatment of heroin.
The basic difference between them is their intensity at the treatment. Methadone acts quite strongly, while buprenorphine takes a slower approach. However, you must know that methadone is a highly addictive drug in itself. If the treatment program goes wrong in some way, or if the patient starts taking additional doses, then it is possible that the patient will develop a methadone dependency, giving rise to a very significant supplementary problem. If you are looking at methadone treatment, you should be sure that it is an inpatient mode of treatment and the treatment provider is capable of providing the particular form of treatment.
Buprenorphine is a less habit-forming substance. At least, it will not cause a withdrawal like methadone does. That is the reason it is the preferable drug provided in the outpatient treatment program for heroin. Buprenorphine is also a relatively new drug, so treatment centers are still warming up to this mode of heroin treatment program in Minnesota.
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