GGMYK - Yoga Simplified - The Composition of Human Body

All believe that human life is the supreme one in the nature. Man’s physical appearance is the body. The five elements, earth, water, fire, air and ether (space) are the sources of the composition and for the existence or the survival of the body. When soul leaves, the body again reunites the five elements. But as long as the soul is in the body the feeling of my body, it is me and such other attachments won’t leave. That is why man always tries to maintain and protect the body. As a result of such tales only, medical science, various therapies, Yoga etc. have emerged. Yoga knowledge helps a lot in cleaning and maintaining not only the external parts of the body but the internal organs also.

1.    Parts of the body

Human body is mysterious and wonderful. The body may broadly be divided into 12 parts according to their functions. They are:

    1.    Gyanendriyas - Sense organs
    2.    Karmendriyas – Working organs
    3.    Brain and nervous system
    4.    Heart and blood circulation
    5.    Lungs and respiratory system
    6.    Muscular system
    7.    Stomach (digestive organ) and body maintenance
    8.    Skeleton – Bones and skeletal system
    9.    Main glands and endocrine system
    10.  Kidneys and excretory system
    11.  Reproductive organs
    12.  Other excretory organs

Yoga exercises have an impressive impact on all the above organs and systems of the body. Yoga knowledge helps us keep our body healthy by following the principle of nature without using any medicines.

Two types of activities take place in our body;
    1.    Activities that are controlled by our will and wish
    2.    Activities that take place automatically without our knowledge, whether we wish
           or not they go on functioning.

Activities such as walking, standing, sitting, rising, sleeping, talking take place according to our will and wish.

Activities such as heart beating, pulse beating, breathing, winkling of eye lids, digestion etc. take place automatically without our deliberate efforts.

Mind controls all the activities of the first category, knowledge controls the mind. The self (ego) controls the knowledge. Atma- the soul controls all of them.

It is necessary to have a brief knowledge of parts and organs of our body.

1. Sense organs (Gyanendriyas)

Ears, Skin, eyes, tongue and nose are the sensary organs. These five sensary organs work for the five elements of nature, the earth, water, fire, air and ether (the space). The quality of the earth is to emit the smell, we smell through our nose. The quality of water is juice (liquid), we taste through our tongue. The quality of fire is light, we see the light through our eyes. The quality of the air is to make us feel, we feel through our skin. The quality of the ether (sky or space) is to produce sound, we hear through our ears.

2. Working organs (Karmendriyas)

We have five karmendriyas - mouth, hands, legs, reproductive organs and excretory organs. We all know their functions and importance very well.

3. Brain and nervous system

Brain is in the head. The brain is like the inner part of a wall nut. The nerves are spread through out the body and make the body function. Cranial nerves, spinal nerves and many other micro nerves start in the rear of the back bone and spread through a nerves net work and terminate in the brain. The power and activeness of the body depends on the power and the activeness of the brain. Yogasanas, Pranayam and Yoga activities contribute a lot for maintaining a healthy, active and powerful brain.

4. Heart and blood circulatory system The size of the heart of a person is exactly as the size of his fist. It is below the left breast. We feel heart beat while we run and climb steps or when we are afraid of some thing etc. We feel that the heart beats increase. Arteries carry pure blood to different parts of body and veins carry impure blood back to heart. A number of arteries and veins are there. There are four chambers in the heart. Two ventricles and two auricles. They always contract and release and push blood to different parts of the body.

A healthy person’s heart beats 70 to 75 times per minute. It goes on working as long as a person is alive. A person may become a victim of dangerous diseases when either the blood circulation is not proper or some waste is accumulated in the blood. If Pranayam and other related Yogas are practiced regularly, heart pain and other heart complaints can be averted.

5. Respiratory system We breath through our both the nostrils. The air enters the lungs through the wind pipe. A healthy person breathes 15 or 16 times per minute. Those who do hard work, physical exercises, the breath rate increases. When a person is sick he feels his breath rate increased. Heart pumps the blood to lungs where it is purified by taking in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide + little water.
In Yoga Shashtra, breathing, the air in, is called ‘Puraka’ (inhale), holding the breathed air in the lungs is called “Kumbaka’ (retention) and the air breathed out is called ‘Rechaka’ (exhale). Puraka, Kumbaka and Rechaka, the three breathing activities have great importance in Yoga Shashtra.

6. Muscular System The movement in the body is the result of the muscular system. The Bones are covered with muscles. Muscles are composed with a number of cells. The muscles of wrestlers are big and powerful, but the muscle of Yoga practitioners are strong and normal. The muscle fibres forming flesh bundles together help in all physical activities like walking, moving, talking etc. Muscles plays an important role in circulation of blood for all the organs of the body, in regulating the respiratory system etc. Muscles are of different shapes and sizes in different parts of the body. Veins and arteries are spread like a net in the flesh. Muscles contract, relax and again come to their original size. If fat accumulates on the muscles it leads to various complications including heart diseases. After child birth and after certain age excess fat accumulated in the body especially hips and waist. This fat can be reduced by Yoga practice.