Hatha Yoga of the
Body
Chapter 4 Our Friend, the
Vital Force
Many people make the
mistake of considering Disease as an entity—a real
thing—an opponent of Health. This is incorrect.
Health is the natural state of Man, and Disease is
simply the absence of Health. If one can comply
with the laws of Nature he cannot be sick. When
some law is violated, abnormal conditions result,
and certain symptoms manifest themselves, and to
which symptoms we give the name of some disease.
That which we call Disease is simply the result of
Nature's attempt to throw off, or dislodge, the
abnormal condition, in order to resume normal
action.
We are so apt to
consider, and speak of, Disease as an entity. We
say that "it" attacks us—that "it" seats itself in
an organ—that it runs it's [sic] course—that "it"
is very malignant—that "it" is quite mild—that
"it" persistently resists all treatment—that "it"
yields readily—etc., etc. We speak of it as if it
were an entity possessed of character, disposition
and vital qualities. We consider it as something
which takes possession of us and uses its power
for our destruction. We speak of it as we would a
wolf in a sheepfold—a weasel in the chicken
roost-a rat in the granery—and go about fighting
it as we would one of the animals above mentioned.
We seek to kill it, or at least to scare it away.
Nature is not fickle
or unreliable. Life manifests itself within the
body in pursuance to well established laws, and
pursues its way, slowly, rising until it reaches
its zenith, then gradually going down the decline
until the time comes for the body to be thrown off
like an old, well-used garment, when the soul
steps out on its mission of further development.
Nature never intended that a man should part with
his body until a ripe old age was attained, and
the Yogis know that if Nature's laws are observed
from childhood, the death of a young or middle
aged person from disease would be as rare as is
death from accident.
There is within every
physical body, a certain vital force which is
constantly doing the best it can for us,
notwithstanding the reckless way in which we
violate the cardinal principles of right living.
Much of that which we call disease is but a
defensive action of this vital force-a remedial
effect. It is not a downward action but an upward
action on the part of the living organism. The
action is abnormal, because the conditions are
abnormal, and the whole recuperative effort of the
vital force is exerted toward the restoration of
normal conditions.
The first great
principle of the Vital Force is self-preservation.
This principle is ever in evidence, wherever life
exists. Under its action the male and female are
attracted—the embryo and infant are provided with
nourishment—the mother is caused to bear
heroically the pains of maternity-the parents are
impelled to shelter and protect their offspring
under the most adverse circumstances—Why? Because
all this means the instinct of race-preservation.
But the instinct of
preservation of individual life is equally strong.
"All that a man hath will he give for his life,"
saith the writer, and while it is not strictly
true of the developed man, it is sufficiently true
to use for the purpose of illustrating the
principle of self-preservation. And this instinct
is not of the Intellect, but is found down among
the foundation stones of being. It is an instinct
which often overrules Intellect. It makes a man's
legs "run away with him" when he had firmly
resolved to stand in a dangerous position—it
causes a shipwrecked man to violate some of the
principles of civilization, causing him to kill
and eat his comrade and drink his blood—it has
made wild beasts of men in the terrible "Black
Hole"—and under many and varying conditions it
asserts it supremacy. It is working always for
life—more life—for health-more health. And it
often makes us sick in order to make us
healthier-brings on a disease in order to get rid
of some foul matter which our carelessness and
folly has allowed to intrude in the system.
This principle of
self-preservation on the part of the Vital Force,
also moves us along in the direction of health, as
surely as does the influence within the magnetic
needle make it point due north. We may turn aside,
not heeding the impulse, but the urge is always
there. The same instinct is within us, which, in
the seed, causes it to put forth its little shoot,
often moving weights a thousand times heavier than
itself, in its effort to get to the sunlight. The
same impulse causes the sapling to shoot upward
from the ground. The same principle causes roots
to spread downward and outward. In each case,
although the direction is different, each move is
in the right direction. If we are wounded,
the Vital Force begins to heal the wound, doing
the work with wonderful sagacity and precision. If
we break a bone, all that we, or the surgeon may
do, is to place the bones into juxtoposition [sic]
and keep them there, while the great Vital Force
knits the fractured parts together. If we fall, or
our muscles or ligaments are torn, all that we can
do is to observe certain things in the way of
attention, and the Vital Force starts in to do its
work, and drawing on the system for the necessary
materials, repairs the damage.
All physicians know,
and their schools teach, that if a man is in good
physical condition, his Vital Force will cause him
to recover from almost any condition excepting
when the vital organs are destroyed. When the
physical system has been allowed to run down,
recovery is much more difficult, if, indeed, not
impossible, as the efficiency of the Vital Force
is impaired and is compelled to work under adverse
conditions. But rest assured that it is doing the
best it can for you, always, under the existing
conditions. If Vital Force cannot do for you all
that it aims to do, it will not give up the
attempt as hopeless, but will accommodate itself
to circumstances and make the best of it. Give it
a free hand and it will keep you in perfect
health—restrict it by irrational and unnatural
methods of living, and it will still try to pull
you through, and will serve you until the end, to
the best of its ability, in spite of your
ingratitude and stupidity. It will fight for you
to the finish.
The principle of accommodation
is manifested all through all forms of life. A
seed dropped into the crevice of a rock, when it
begins to grow either becomes squeezed into the
shape of the rock, or, if it be strong enough,
splits the rock in twain and attains its normal
shape. So, in the case of Man, who manages to live
and thrive in all climates, and conditions, the
Vital Force has accommodated itself to the varying
conditions, and, where it could not split the
rock, it sent out the sprout in a somewhat
distorted shape, but still alive and hardy.
No organism can become
diseased while the proper conditions for health
are observed. Health is but life under normal
conditions, while disease is life under abnormal
conditions. The conditions which caused a man to
grow to a healthy, vigorous manhood are necessary
to keep him in health and vigor. Given the right
conditions, the Vital Force will do its best work,
but given imperfect conditions the Vital Force
will be able to manifest but imperfectly, and more
or less of what we call disease ensues. We are
living in a civilization which has forced a more
or less unnatural mode of life upon us, and the
Vital Force finds it hard to do as well for us as
it would like. We do not eat naturally; drink
naturally; sleep naturally; breathe naturally; or
dress naturally. We "have done those things which
we ought not to have done, and we have left undone
those things which we ought to have done, and
there is no Health within us "—or, we might add,
as little health as we can help.
We have dwelt upon the
matter of the friendliness of the Vital Force, for
the reason that it is a matter usually overlooked
by those who have not made a study of it. It forms
a part of the Yogi Philosophy of Hatha Yoga, and
the Yogis take it largely into consideration in
their lives. They know that they have a good
friend and a strong ally in the Vital Force, and
they allow it to flow freely through them, and try
to interfere as little as possible with its
operations. They know that the Vital Force is ever
awake to their well-being and health, and they
repose the greatest confidence in it.
Much of the success of
Hatha Yoga consists of methods best calculated to
allow the Vital Force to work freely and without
hindrance, and its methods and exercises are
largely devoted to that end. To clear the track of
obstructions, and to give the chariot of the Vital
Force the right of way on a smooth clear road, is
the aim of the Hatha Yogi. Follow his precepts and
it will be well with your body.
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