Raptor, I learned some basic yoga stretches out of a book and practiced them as a sports warm-up for years -- until I slipped a disc in my back once doing the sun salutation.

Consequently, I don't think that twisting oneself into a pretzel is necessarily all that good for the health. Yoga was good for developing self-awareness though, and also for beginning to learn how to breathe properly (which most Westerners don't have a clue about).

I suffered with the pain of that slipped disc for years until I met Two Bears over the internet last summer. He used a combination of shamanic and Huna energetic healing techniques to move the disc back into place. That healing took all of 5 minutes over the phone, all the way from Tennessee to Ontario. I don't think any doctor, surgeon or chiropractor could have effected such a fast and complete healing! I was dancing in incredulous joy at the relief of that long-standing pain for months afterwards - and believe me, I've been learning and practicing Huna techniques ever since!

Will I ever practice yoga again? Probably not. I've been practicing Qigong, particulary Ba Duan Jin for about a year now. I'm finding that these "softer" martial arts are much kinder to the body, while Huna is much more beneficial for the mind, emotions, the body and the spirit.

Some people find that yoga is beneficial, but sorry --- I just cannot "back" that up!

daylia