I’m just curious how many smokers read this forum?
Some of my friends think its a paradox that I go to yoga and smoke a cigarette on the way home, but I’m not the only one in my class doing it. I can’t see giving either up right now; I’ve even written a song about it called “cigarettes for everyone,” which is on youtube.
Someday maybe I’ll be doing just yoga, but for now I’m curious whether I really am abnormal in my health choices.
My friend. I was a smoker for many years, but stopped probably 28 years ago. I smoked at least 2 packs a day.I lost both of my parents to smoking. My father from lung cancer and my mother from heart failure brought on by smoking.
With all the evidence out there about the ills of this habit and what it can do to you sometimes it is hard for me to fathom how lightly people take the danger.Especially with my own personal connections to what can happen. It is also an addiction promoted by companies for profit that has finally been staunched to a degree but only through years of court battles.Yet still has so many people hooked.
On the other hand Yoga has been such a good thing for myself and millions of others for thousands of years. The benefits are vast and proven. It can improve your life on so many different levels.
So I would not say that you are “abnormal” in your health choices. But I would say that anyone who continues to smoke ( and there are far too many) in any circumstance is taking a huge chance with their health.
Just consider. Do yoga studios have a “hazardous to you health” warning on their signs?
So stop smoking and keep posing.
the biggest problem comes when doing inversions b/c then the smoke drifts up into my nostrils and interferes with my breathing, otherwise it’s kool, Warrior 1 and 2 are great along with some seated postures like badda konasana , just use an ashtray when doing inversions.
[QUOTE=Chitta Control;80542]the biggest problem comes when doing inversions b/c then the smoke drifts up into my nostrils and interferes with my breathing, otherwise it’s kool, Warrior 1 and 2 are great along with some seated postures like badda konasana , just use an ashtray when doing inversions.[/QUOTE]
:lol::lol:
Some gurus smoke cigs ,but I don’t know why ,some yogis smoke ganja ,but I don’t know why … I don’t know most things , but I don’t know why
Cheers
Peace
Progress will still be there , but less health. If you can live with that then no need to worry.
yes, it is abnormal heath choice
Even i want an answer on this! Does yoga help me quit smoking , or doing yoga in morning and smoking 10 ciggerates a day is ok
Its in your mind and if you can control your mind yes you can quit. Yoga is about controlling your mind and senses. So yes it will help you ,but how many days or year it will take for you we cant say can we. It all depends on you.
There is a shortcut for quiting…Just start to practice pranayama. Do a Pranayama workshop to understand the importance and power of Prana. And once you really get it, you will naturally give up smoking.
I agree…toksen and fakeyogis - its on my will power but yes the guilt of toxifying my lungs again after anulom vilom and kapal bhanti does help me in my effort and i am smoking less because of that. And i will surely quit . Going cold turkey was very difficult .
hopefully your teacher doesn’t smoke, and at least you are doing yoga - can you begin to cut back?
As fakeyogis said: it is in your mind! There won’t be any cold turkey, if you really realise how bad it is for you and you are actually not enjoying smoking but suffering. Do you wanna suffer? I was a smoker before (4-6 cig. a day for 10 years) and I also thought as you. I had just stopped at one point without wanting a cigarette once again. And I never expected it to be so easy, it is completely out of my memory I was smoking before, even being in a situation where I usually had to smoke, I didn’t feel this need anymore. You can try to meditate on your breath and then imagine the smoke moving along with your prana to all cells of your body… That would be poverful enough, I think. Practice!
Your first question is to the number of smokers here on the forum. I don’t have that answer but I can tell you that I am not a smoker.
I believe Yoga is a system of reducing human suffering. Obviously this is a choice not a mandate. One may continue to suffer. One may continue to work in a toxic environment, stay in a toxic relationship, eat foods laiden with pesticides … there are sooooo many ways in which we opt to pollute ourselves.
As our self-awareness increases, as our self-discovery becomes more profound, as we refine our definition of what is in our best interest, hopefully we make better choices.
For me the ingestion of cigarette smoke is toxic and to me this is obvious, blatant, and clear. So it is not a difficult thing for me to avoid. I continue to learn. For example there used to be a time where I though holding a radiation device up against my skull was safe and “innocuous”. My understanding has evolved and now it’s hard to believe I was that person holding a cell phone against my brain cells for hours on end.
Yoga requires a growing self care, a transformation, a healing. It is a preparation of the body to hold the force of the spirit. However, in Yoga one chooses their own path. Yoga merely outlines how to avoid suffering. A person may choose that or choose suffering. It’s up to them.
What is most important to me in the process of Yoga is to understand my choices (in this case your choices) and reveal why it is I am continuing a behavior that is in no way helpful for the well being of my body. If, in this process, I am able to reveal a deep level of truth it is likely the behavior can be changed from the inside out.
Namaste,
Thank you all for your valuable suggestions. I am slowly absorbing the whole idea of yoga and i am amazed that all the scientific greatness the sages from India and China achieved 5000 years back.
Something which is very abundant in India but with religious or mythological layering on them. I grew up with songs prayer and chants of Lord Shiva, Lord Krishna and shabads of Guru Nanak dev . Never realised it was Om And Satnam they were preaching in common man language.
And regarding smoking, its yoga that is taking me too a gradual path of giving up without feeling its going to be difficult. For every craving i have now or withdrawal symptoms like hand shake, anxiety , cold sweat etc… i try deep breathing . The only deterrent is that i am willing to change for better but the external enviroment that i work still gets better of me sometime .
But i really like all you people giving valuable advise…i will keep them in mind.
Thanks
I gave up smoking a few years ago. That said, if news broke that everyone was mistaken that cigarettes were harmful and it turned out it was innocuous…I would buy several cartons immediately 
It’s so addictive!!
Smoking the body says it is killing me the mind says I don’t care ,
Smoking will hamper pranayama and development of asanas
Imho
Cheers
one important point that though yoga gives good health but actual goal is to go beyond body and mind. Second point is about building awareness and sensitivity towards your body and mind to be capable of listening self very well. Pranayama is given more importance than asana (in ashtang yoga, pranayam comes at higher level) because its internal cleansing capabilities.
If one side you smoke and other side you do pranayama then net result will be zero. Whole technique of pranayam is to build lungs capacity and increase oxygen in blood. Smoking will just do the reverse.
Now you can decide what you are looking for. If I give you an analogy then you have two opposite engines (running in opposite direction) in your train. In this case which direction train will go?
In theory they will work against each other but his lung still has lung capacity otherwise he would be dead by now.
so when he is doing pranayama there will still be little benefit, but not as much if his lungs were non smoking.
In elementary school every year there was a long distance race. And the guy who smoked 1 package a day was the winner every year. Even one year he ran in rubber shoes and won. This shows us anything is possible and theory is theory only. So keep on doing pranayama.
A smoker that keeps fit by practice is more fit than the smoker who is slacking on the couch.
A smoker that keeps fit by practice is more fit than the smoker who is slacking on the couch.
In relative examples, it all depends whom we are getting compared with. A smoker who is slacking on the couch is much better than a person who takes brown sugar and so on…
In short if we know basics of yoga and its working then we can be in a better situation to decide and expect the results.
One of the reasons people fail in yoga is that they don’t understand the basic and expect some miracle to happen from yoga though yoga gives miraculous results for sure but only when you transform otherwise it will be just another physical activity.
you don’t need to give up smoking immediately but keep goal in mind and move towards it gradually but surely.