Immunosuppressives and biological agents, too, have their downsides, 12 yoga poses for weight loss ranging from injection-site reactions to increased risk of serious infections. Great advances? No 12 yoga poses for weight loss doubt. Life saving? In some cases, yes. Perfect? Far from it. Certainly there are cases where medications are necessary to control a disease that is threatening one’s joints or even life. But relying on medication to the exclusion of other therapies and healthy lifestyle habits is a mistake. Study after study shows the benefits of exercise for many forms of arthritis. Exercise will improve strength and increase range of motion in affected joints.
The nirodha-yoga I have identified here is not the same as the nirodha-yoga discussed in the Moksha-dharma of the Mahabharata (XII.188). The Moksha-dharma’s nirodha-yoga is a still-mind type of yoga consisting of sense-withdrawal, concentration and meditation. But this is not what the YS is discussing here.
Let us examine the three nirodha-yoga techniques of the YS. First what is abhyasa (repetitive practice) specifically about? This practice, we are told, is the repeated effort to maintain calm mind (I: 13, 14). How do we do this, we ask, as we need further specification? We find an answer 20 verses later (1.33-39). In modern words, the repetitive practice consists of: concentration techniques, positive thinking techniques and breathing techniques. This makes sense to a modern reader – these abhyasa techniques could calm the mind.
