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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2014 | Volume
: 46
| Issue : 3 | Page : 57-58 |
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Great times for great yoga are here to stay!
Praseeda Menon
Section Editor, Yoga Mīmāṃsā
| Date of Web Publication | 1-Jul-2015 |
Correspondence Address:
Praseeda Menon
Section Editor, Yoga Mīmāṃsā
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0044-0507.159734
How to cite this article:
Menon P. Great times for great yoga are here to stay!. Yoga Mimamsa 2014;46:57-8 |
May the Maker of all make the journal a success. Blessed is the name of the Lord. May He bless the workers of the Āśrama with a happy and prosperous career as servants of the world, which is only the Lord Himself objectified. May He, that has created us in His infinite wisdom, lead us to the light that is beyond all darkness.
Dear readers, patrons, and well-wishers,
Welcome once again to the world of abhyāsa of yoga and allied sciences through Yoga Mïmāṃsā! It gives us great pleasure to present before you YM 46 (3&4) although there have been unavoidable delays. It is our consistent effort to manage the transition from a print-only platform to a print-cum-online platform effectively, so as to present the journal before you at regular intervals without unexpected gaps. We hope that with your continued support and gracious blessings, we will soon be successful in achieving this milestone.
These are great times for yoga with the United Nations declaring June 21 st as International day of Yoga! Swami Kuvalayananda, our founder, would have undoubtedly rejoiced this important achievement in the journey of yoga all around the world! With such international recognition, the Yoga Mïmāṃsā team, under the auspices of Kaivalyadhama, is optimistic about serving as a responsible publishing platform for greater number of thorough and well-written philosophical as well as scientific articles related to all types of holistic approaches to health and well-being, the emphasis always staying on yoga though.
The current issue of Yoga Mïmāṃsā is a clubbed issue like the earlier issue of Vol. 46. In the current issue, we present three review articles, two original articles and one letter to editor. We are glad to present a brief overview of all of them in the following paragraphs. Before we proceed, it is important to bring to the notice of our readers a clarification offered about one of the papers published in the previous issue of YM, Vol. 46 (1&2) on the suggestion of our experts. Kindly refer to the Addendum at the very end for the same.
In the review article entitled, "Exploring the significance of "Mudra and Bandha" in Pelvic Floor Dysfunction," Rathore et al. have explained in detail how "Mudra" and "Bandha" can serve as pelvic floor yogic exercises for Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (PFD) in both men and women by citing ancient Indian texts along with modern research literature. The article not only discusses the therapeutic aspects of "Mudra" and "Bandha" but also highlights how these techniques have the power to prevent pelvic floor malfunctions from occurring at all. It is yet another instance of the parsimony of yoga!
Amin & Sharma, in their review article, "Manas - A practical facet of Āyurveda," explain the concept of Manas (~mind) from the applied and practical viewpoint of Āyurveda. The authors explain that the ancient science of life and health, Āyurveda, and important texts related to it have clearly stated the importance of the role played by Manas in overall health. Although such information regarding the role of Manas is scattered in ancient Indian texts, sincere effort on the authors' part to collate them and present them in the form of a research article is noteworthy.
This issue also features yet another article related to Manas, "Concept of Manas: Insights from Nyāya Darśana and Āyurveda," by Amin, Sharma, Vyas & Vyas. We decided to include two articles on the same topic to maintain continuity of the thought process in trying to understand Manas in a multi-faceted way, as well as, derive some comparisons while doing so. It is important to note for the sake of general readers that the theoretical concept of Manas is found in various ancient Indian texts and differs according to schools of Indian philosophy. In such a scenario, the authors' broad comparisons of Manas as stated in the texts of Āyurveda and Nyāya philosophy give readers insights into the approaches taken by ancient Indian experts to the much-debated concept of mind.
The first among the original articles is, "Study of the concept of dvandva in the Pātañjala Yogasūtra from a philosophical and psycho-physiological perspective," by S. R. Yadav. The author has critically analyzed an important yogic concept, dvandva (pair, conflict), and the psycho-physiological mechanisms of transcending dvandva as a result of perfection in āsana. Through this article, she rightly emphasizes the need for more critical studies on the available commentaries of the seminal, most authentic and compact ancient text of yoga, the Pātañjala Yogasūtra, in order to have a clearer and in-depth understanding of vital but not yet well-studied yogic concepts.
The next original article by Deorari & Bhardwaj, "Effect of yogic intervention on Autism Spectrum Disorder," attempts to find the effect of yogic interventions on children suffering from autism, one of the most common developmental disorders nowadays. Their study has shown fairly encouraging results in a period of three months. The authors are hopeful that continuous practice of yoga for longer periods by children with Autism Spectrum Disorder would show better results. Needless to say, we also share their optimism!
"Kapālabhāti as a panacea to control aggressive behavior in adolescents," by Sharma & Sahare is the last among the original articles that is offered in this issue. Kapālabhāti is known to be an effective cleansing technique in yoga. This cleansing can be at the level of the body as well as the mind. In line with this assumption, this article explores the effect of Kapālabhāti on the aggression level of adolescents, now a serious problem all over the world. The findings of the study that regular practice of Kapālabhāti for a period of only one month is highly effective in reducing the aggression level of adolescents hints towards the possibility that it may actually be a panacea for various mind-body illnesses.
This issue also features a letter to editor by G. Kumar, "Emerging need for meditation practice in the community." There couldn't have been a better way to end the issue. Meditation is considered as one of the subtler limbs by Patanjali, and no doubt that with the limb of āsana attracting all the attention in popular yoga, meditation sometimes get side-lined. This letter rightly points out that if given due importance, meditation can provide large health benefits to the community that is constantly grappling with lifestyle diseases thanks to the modern style of living and working. Along with the author, we too are positive that yoga, with its capacity to introduce great changes, will see great times in the days and years to come!
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