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endocrine glands also. For instance, sarvangasana influences the thyroid gland. Sashankasana and paschimottanasna influence the adrenal. Similarly, some other asanas activate the pituitary and the pineal glands. Their secretions change, and the mind is willy-nilly affected by them. As a matter of fact, any change in any part of the body leaves its impact on the entire physical organism in a gross or subtle form. The mind and the body are linked together. Bodily sickness affects the mind. Likewise, bodily health is a factor of mental health. It is said that a healthy mind can live only in a healthy body. Even if this be a partial truth, it is an established fact that, with the regular practice of asanas, changes occur both in the body and the mind.
Q. Do asanas relate only to a standing or a sitting - position, or does their practice involve the body as a whole?
Ans. A partial, one-sided view, can never be holistic.
Many important questions are naturally involved in the practice of asanas. For example, what should be the position of the backbone? Should the body be perfectly straight and taut or bent? Should the eyes be kept open or shut? Where should the hands be? The spinal cord is a part of our central nervous system. It is intimately connected with physical changes and mental processes. This also constitutes the path of upward movement of vital energy. It is again through the spinal cord that, before entering the state of meditation, the vital current is made to flow between the centre of wisdom and the centre of energy. In brief, it may be said that the well-being of the spinal cord connctes the well-being of the whole body. And it is possible to develop the practice of meditation on this basis. During the meditation-period, the backbone should be perfectly straight. That is
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