Treat the Individual

So, a little more on stuff I learned at KYM in August (quelle longtemps!)

One day, in an applications of yoga class, someone asked what you would do if a thyroid patient couldn't do sarvangasana, since that is the best pose for normalising thyroid function. The teacher, with a horrified look on her face, replied that you should Never. Never. Never. Treat the symptom. You treat the individual, and just moving the body in any kind of asana practice goes a long way towards restoring homeostasis.

It got me to thinking: it really is overly simplistic to say that this treat this and that treats that - basically like prescribing headache pills. We all get headaches for different reasons, so the solution will be different in each case too. It gives us far more, erm, flexibility in how we structure and practice our yoga.

For example, it may be appropriate for one person to do very little asana and a lot of philosophy, while the reverse may be true for another. I know I have said this before, but when I heard the shoulderstand exchange at school, it sank in just a little more for me.