Obesity is a global epidemic that is changing the world. Lack of movement and unhealthy food choices are the main causes of obesity, but when looking deeper into the subject it is no secret to ancient wisdom that obesity and (a lack of) spirituality are mutually exclusive. Based on my life experience and studies in eastern subjects, here are several notions about the spiritual outlook to obesity.
The logical and exercise science point of view determines that obesity is caused from energy input being greater than energy output. Many people’s palate and brain are addicted to high salt, sugar and fatty foods. This notion is true, but I believe that it is not the only cause. Humans are emotional creatures and there is no denying the basic instinct such as finding community, love, pleasure and happiness. Unlike our land and sea mammals that are driven biologically to reproduce and survive, humans have an expansive consciousness with the freewill to choose how they want to live. This generation of youth is raised with prominent negative health behaviors. If a child grows up eating fast food and drinking soda in replacement for water, the child will grow up eating the same way unless he or she is educated otherwise. Simply put, what science and psychology says about obesity is true. Most underlying causes of obesity are driven from the emotions, which then becomes an addiction caused from the release of hormones in the body. Many food chemists design food to become addicted, which plays into the role of overeating. It’s a vicious cycle that takes time to retrain the body and brain. During my yoga studies, we learned about the chakras, or energy centers. The solar plexus (naval chakra), called “manipura” in Sanskrit, is one’s “City of Jewels.” The position is behind the naval and the abdominal wall and radiates seven centimeters above and below the naval. When balanced the naval chakra promotes clarity, wisdom, self-confidence and wellbeing. Some yogis believe that the love we feel in our heart chakra initiates from manipura. Our decisions or “gut-feelings” are based upon the strength of manipura. Science says the gut is a person’s “second brain” as there are more cells in the gut than the brain. Many believe that manipura is closely related, and affects, one’s psyche. An underactive solar plexus causes severe emotional problems. It promotes mistrust, doubt, worry of what others think, depression, anxiety and a dependency for approval of other people. Those who feel this way can find comfort through emotional eating. In ancient Japanese beliefs, one’s midpoint is called the Hara, or “sea of energy.” Combined with the Hara is a pocket of etheric energy called tan tien. In alchemist’s texts, Taoists refer to the Hara as the “cauldron.” It also gets this name, as this is the area for digestion and assimilation of food. Those with an energy blockage have issues feeling full or satisfied due to a lack of tan tien. The same concept is true with manipura as the naval chakra represents our digestive fire. The fire in our constitution balances the heat and energy produced in the body. When unbalanced stomach problems arise, which affects the clarity of the psyche. Thus, there is a deep connection between the mind and the gut. Our “power center” is one of the major emotional centers and is the main storage area for our “chi” or energy. When you observe a fetus inside a mother, you know that the baby cannot survive without its “power chord,” the umbilici cord, which happens to connect to the baby’s naval. When we are born we disconnect from our mother’s power, but can still obtain power from our center through our lives. If you’ve ever seen an old Japanese movie where the man stabs himself in the stomach, he essentially is cutting of his life cord to the Hara. In both Japanese and Sanskrit philosophies, once a person buries his or her power, psychological issues develop and become worse with age. In simple terms, it’s like burying yourself “six feet under.” When observing an obese body frame, it is likely that he or she has abdominal obesity. Biology on fat storage plays a roll, but gynoid or abdominal obesity is often the easiest to gain and the hardest to lose. Why is that? Emotionally, because often people easily give up their energy, confidence and power and find it challenging to take control of their life. People who constantly give, are pushovers or never put themselves first are in this category. In simple terms, people “bury” their power deep within with additional layers of adipose tissue. For many obese people, they have “lost” their power somewhere on their journey in life. Many keep giving their power away to their boss, spouse, children, friend or anyone who needs their service. Those who have power, but still struggle emotionally are stuck in belief systems that they can’t be or look a certain way. This too is linked subconsciously to being powerless. Many experience the domino effect. Sometimes it starts with one scenario that leads into other and more complex situations later in life. Many who have been verbally, physically or sexually abused in their past are likely to fall into negative eating habits. Mostly with women, there is either an underlying sense of shame or the need to be unattractive to men. I have found this with women who were sexually abused in their upbringing. In fact, they cover and hide any sense of beauty and love that can shine from their power center. Ayurveda is an ancient science that is part of the Vedas. Yoga, Vedic astrology and Ayurveda work synergistically to create the ancient Vedas that many yogis know about. In Ayurveda, obesity (sthaulya) is an excess of meda (fat) and vasa) adipose tissue. Many practitioners claim obesity is mainly an excess of the dosha, kapha. Emotionally kapha represents love, community, enjoyment, support and patience. Some Ayurvedic practitioners I have worked with claim that those who do not receive love through human interaction search for it elsewhere. The searching for love is usually connected with food to get that temporary high and satiated feeling. Plus, those with an excess of kapha tend to hold onto “things” that no longer nourish them. Kapha represents the structure of the body and is heavy, slow, cold, steady and soft. In terms of obesity, all three concepts validate the psyche and emotional components of life as a valuable attribute to overeating, weight gain and obesity. People are obese for many reasons, but those who are not emotionally stable seek fulfillment and validation through overeating. Those who “MUST eat their ice cream everyday” have connected a certain food with a certain feeling. Why is this connection to a certain food that important? A truly balanced person never has a biological urge to “need” a certain food everyday for survival. The most important lesson is that power must be balanced. Those who have excess power often abuse their personal strength. Or use their power to compensate for something else lacking in their life. Not everybody has emotional problems, but for many the emotion is deeply buried and allows others to control our life instead of ourselves. Even if a person is religious, he or she may not be spiritually fulfilled and in control of their life, choices and emotions. If you have any other points to share, please comment below as MBSF loves to hear words of wisdom from different perceptions.
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If you’ve ever heard the 1969 song, “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” by the Fifth Dimension, or if you’ve ever taken a Kundalini yoga class, you’ve probably heard of the “Age of Aquarius.”
What exactly is the Age of Aquarius? It’s many things, but basically the planet has entered a new vernal equinox and constellation, Aquarius. You can read more about astrology and humanity on my recent post, but humanity has entered the Age of Aquarius. Thus, humanity will experience energy that rules that constellation. Many astrologers have different perspectives based on when we exactly entered this new age, but certainly the new millennia is the start of the Age of Aquarius. Right now, we are noticing a shift on the planet in terms of consciousness, morals, values and awakening. In my opinion, we are still experiencing a blend of the Age of Pisces and the Age of Aquarius. Age of Pisces, ruled by the fish, is a symbol of religion. Christianity and religion ruled humanity during this era. If you’ve ever been to Europe you can see all the destruction and corruption that religion has caused. The representation of Aquarius, the water bearer, shows a (wo)man pouring water from a pot into a body of water. The water is indeed water but if you look closely the waves also represents brain waves. Aquarius is a highly intellectual and open-minded sign. I had a discussion once with a person who said the Age of Aquarius is the dumping of water to move the fish (Pisces) down the river. With intellectual pursuits, Aquarius is washing away the old mentality and is the “dawn of the new awakening.” Aquarius rules astrology and many astrologers believe that astrology and the consultation of the stars will be the new religion. What is Aquarius? Aquarius is a fixed air sign. Every sign has positive and negative traits. Like yin-yang, the world cannot exist without both. Aquarius rules scientific / mental pursuits, metaphysical beliefs, philanthropic interests, humanity, truth, idealism, rebellion, logic, equality and inventions. Some negatives include extremism, militant revolution, anger, rebellion, stubbornness, inflexibility and radicalism. Aquarius pushes humanity for people to live in a better society, and its no surprise the New Age has started off rocky. Since Aquarius rules the betterment of society, often people neglect themselves and have stubborn mindsets that hinders and doesn’t help humanity. When looking at the energy shift between Pisces and Aquarius, its no surprise that extremism in the Middle East has led to rebellion or radical acts based off religion or what is “right and wrong.” Humanity is still pushing forward to protect women's rights and to diminish the false reality of the feminine energy. A big part of this Age will be to re-create equality amongst men and women. Since Aquarius is a mental sign, over-thinking or not thinking at all is what hinders the world – because it is extreme, fixed and not a balanced rational. It’s no surprise why mental health and suicide rates have increased. We are becoming highly mental creatures and when we cannot connect to the values of society, we lose our minds. We are at the beginning of this age and there is a long way for us to evolve our minds. Rebellion has peaked in this Age from protesting Monsanto to extreme religious pursuits. We see life of living in “absolutes” which we must tread lightly in the new age. “All or nothing” or “right or wrong” thinking patterns detriment people and society. A non-political example is the extremism seen in the diet and exercise industry. If people learn to balance their emotions, eating and exercise there is no need to restrict calories or pursue excessive exercise. Another significant aspect of extremism is the social class system. Everyone knows the middle class (in America) is dwindling and people are becoming extremely rich or extremely poor. I cannot stress enough that morals, values and choices based on right or left approaches do more harm than good. But in a more positive light, the past is making a comeback. Natural and ancient methods of medicine are gaining popularity and research is showing how yoga, meditation and healing practices benefit one’s health. People care more about animals now and try alterative methods of eating due to ethical harm against animals. Research is now proving that metaphysics (once shunned during the Age of Pisces) is “real.” From telepathy to quantum physics, people are better accepting concepts such as astral traveling, shamanism and intuition. Aquarius rules technology and individuality. It’s no surprise that Steve Jobs (a creative Pisces) not only revolutionized the world with technology but labelled it with the “I” branding, which boasts the Aquarian desire for individuality. Have you ever heard of New Age music? In terms of music and culture, digital music such as electronic and techno-based rhythms (ruled by Aquarius) is also gaining popularity especially in the electronic music dance scene. Technology, inventions, drones and robots are all inspired by this new age of critical thinking. But can these inventions do more harm than good? Absolutely if the person is not in control with the betterment of him or herself and the world. Aquarius is based on hopes and wishes. The goal of this Age is to look deeper at humanity, find its truth and create the ideal world that humans want to live in. It sounds ideal, but the more people awake and seek the truth humanity we can use the path to discover new truths. The biggest lesson in this new age is to improve one’s self to better the world. We need to learn how to balance logic with idealism. The ideal aspect of the Age of Aquarius is a true Utopia. The negative aspect of this Age is ugly, messy and destructive. We as souls on this planet have a roll to play and we must live with awareness to make better choices for the world and ourselves. So everything we are experiencing and noticing are based on the positive and negative qualities of Aquarius. The one thing the Age of Aquarius can learn from is the balanced thought processes from its sister air-sign, Libra. The more balanced Aquarius gets, the more magical life becomes. As a sun-sign Aquarius, trust me on this! For years, I struggled to understand many things, and I wanted to change to the world. But somehow deep inside I knew I had to change myself first, which is why I wrote Finding Om so people can discover how to choose themselves. Although the Age of Aquarius is about society and not just one individual person, before I fell ill and became an insomniac everything I did was extreme. I worked hard. I worked out hard. I drastically cut calories. I took on loads of responsibility. These personal reflections gave me the understanding that this is how the world is living. Change doesn't happen overnight. But, change happens to those who want it and can detach from societal labels. What else can you add that you’ve seen change or happen during this new age? Have you ever contemplated about the origins of humanity? Or maybe you question where humanity is heading? Several years ago, I began to question how humanity went from the highly connected Egyptian culture to the disconnected medieval era. It perplexed me to the point where I decided to study Vedic Astrology with my Yoga Guru from India.
I’ve always had a fascination for the stars and am a true mystic at heart. What I’ve discovered along on my journey in life is that there are two astrological philosophies that describe human existence. One is based on Western and the other is based on Vedic concepts. For the purpose of this post, I will cover the western philosophy theory. Back in the 2nd Century B.C., Greek astronomer, Hipparchus, discovered the “precision of equinoxes,” which the Earth shifts its position and spins throughout the solar system. In simple terms, the earth rotates on its axis and when the earth shifts so does the line of celestial equator. When time passes the vernal equinox (place where the Sun crosses the celestial equator) moves through a different constellation. Approximately every 2,150 years the earth moves into a different constellation also known as a Great Month. We refer this to an “Age.” In total, it will take 25, 820 years for the earth to complete one revolution in all 12 constellations. You may have heard that we are now entering the “Age of Aquarius,” which is certainly true. At the creation of man, well cavemen to be exact, humans entered its first Age. Each Age is represented by a zodiac, or constellation. The equinoxes move one degree every 7.5 years so humans live and evolve about 2,000 years within each age. Scientist’s believe that earth is older than humans. Astrologers have been able to trace human existence back to the Age of Leo. Although no Astrologer agrees on each Age’s specific dates, the below are estimate Age ranges. When two eras meet, the energy shifts and collides both eras until humanity has moved completely into the next era. When moving through human evolution, the zodiac move backwards, not forward like the calendar year. Here are some ways to understand humanity from the Age of Leo to present day life. Age of Leo 10,000-8,000 BC Leo represents the sun. The sun was an important tool during Neolithic caveman evolution. The Age is notable for how humans evolved in their environment (similar to a lion who needs to survive nature). The New Stone Age people used the Sun to grow crops instead of basing life solely on the “hunter and gatherer” principles. Cave paintings were the first documented forms of communication in history that were inspired by the Lion’s survival. Age of Cancer 8,000-6,000 BC Cancer rules the home. This era is dominated with the pursuit to “make a home.” During this period, people left the caves in search of making a home. During this era, people learned the domestic pursuits of growing crops, domesticating animals, weaving, pottery and spinning. Moon worship (Cancer rules the moon) became important during this era. Age of Gemini 6,000 – 4,000 BC Gemini rules communication, and well, humans evolved those concepts during this era. Here, humans began to store and record information. The wheel was created and travel and commerce were created. Here people developed more left brain / logical reasoning for survival and communication. Age of Taurus 4,000-2,000 BC Taurus ruled by Venus is all about beauty and love. The Egyptians were the main rulers during this time and it’s no secret that everything they did and created used Venus’s influence. From jewelry to burial methods, everything they did was esthetically beautiful. Ruler of the Earth, they evolved with new technologies and respected the land that is very practical of Taurus. Taurus certainly ruled their influence with pristine artwork and lavish architectural structures. Age of Aries 2,000 – 1 BC Aries is ruled by Mars and represents war and warrior spirits. Its symbol is the arrow that is symbolic to not only an arrow, but moving forward without looking back. Known as the Iron Age, man learned how to develop weapons form iron and pushed its aggressive spirit forward. During this era, Greek and Assyria cultures rose to power. Alexander the Great conquered the world and Romans dominated and became the most powerful empire in the later part of the Age. Age of Pisces 1 AD to 2,000 AD Pisces, ruler of the fish also rules religion. The birth and spread of Christianity changed and dominated the world during this era. Struggle and sacrifice are qualities of Pisces, which people had to endure for survival. (Similar to a fish trying to swim up stream.) Still today, the fish is the symbolic artwork that represents Christianity. Christ noted his apostles as “fishers of men.” Physically, pisces rules the feet and the story of Christ washing the disciples feet is an important story in the Bible. Today, we now live in the Age of Aquarius, which will be discussed further in a different post. Do you have any examples of discoveries of mankind throughout each era? If so, please comment as MBSF loves to learn from everyone. |
AuthorElizabeth Rae Kovar M.A. is Author of her memoir, Finding Om and is a Fitness Trainer, Yogi, Reiki Master, Presenter and Lover of Life. To view her portfolio please visit www.elizabethkovar.com Categories
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