Yoga

Improve Type 2 Diabetes with Yoga

psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Type 2 Diabetes with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Regular yoga practice can help reduce the level of sugar in the blood, along with lowering blood pressure, keeping a weight check, reducing the symptoms and slowing the rate of progression of diabetes, as well as lessening the severity of further complications.” – Art of Living

 

Diabetes is a major health issue. It is estimated that 30 million people in the United States have diabetes and the numbers are growing. Diabetes results from a resistance of tissues, especially fat tissues, to the ability of insulin to promote the uptake of glucose from the blood. As a result, blood sugar levels rise producing hyperglycemia. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States. In addition, diabetes is heavily associated with other diseases such as cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and circulatory problems leading to amputations. As a result, diabetes doubles the risk of death of any cause compared to individuals of the same age without diabetes.

 

Type 2 diabetes is a common and increasingly prevalent illness that is largely preventable. Although this has been called adult-onset diabetes it is increasingly being diagnosed in children. One of the reasons for the increasing incidence of Type 2 Diabetes is its association with overweight and obesity which is becoming epidemic in the industrialized world. It is clear that there is a need to discover alternative methods treatments for Type II diabetes.

 

In today’s Research News article “A Randomized controlled trial of the effect of yoga and peer support on glycaemic outcomes in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a feasibility study.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5297169/, Sreedevi and colleagues recruited women in rural India who were diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. They were randomly assigned to receive either treatment as usual or treatment as usual plus peer support or yoga practice. Peer support involved twice weekly visits by trained women who also had Type 2 Diabetes. The yoga practice consisted of twice weekly, 60-minute, yoga practice over 3 months, consisting of postures and relaxation training. The women were measured before and after the 3-month training period for fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, quality of life pharmacological adherence, height, weight, BMI, waist hip ratio, blood pressure and total cholesterol.

 

They found that adherence to the program was 80% to 90% in the yoga and peer support groups. They also found that, in comparison to the treatment as usual control group, both the yoga and peer support groups had significant reductions in fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), is a plasma measure that reflects the average blood sugar levels have been over a period of weeks/months. It indicates how well the individual is controlling their diabetes. Importantly, the yoga group in comparison to the peer support and treatment as usual conditions showed improved blood pressure and hip circumference. Hence, both peer support and yoga practice were beneficial but yoga practice more so, for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes.

 

It has long been known that diet and exercise are beneficial in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Since yoga practice is a form of exercise and the results show that it also improves compliance with dietary restrictions, it is not surprising that yoga practice improves the processing of glucose, blood pressure, and body size. Hence yoga practice appears to be a safe and effective treatment for women with Type 2 Diabetes.

 

So, improve type 2 diabetes with yoga.

 

“yoga’s benefits for those with diabetes aren’t just physical: the process can help patients with the condition or its pre-indicators on more fundamental levels as well. By calming the awareness and integrating the mind with the body, yoga can relieve the daily stresses that often lie at the heart of diabetic symptoms.” -YogaU

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Sreedevi, A., Gopalakrishnan, U. A., Karimassery Ramaiyer, S., & Kamalamma, L. (2017). A Randomized controlled trial of the effect of yoga and peer support on glycaemic outcomes in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a feasibility study. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 17, 100. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-017-1574-x

 

Abstract

Background

Type two diabetes is a complex and demanding chronic disease and its impact in a state (Kerala) which leads India in terms of the number of people with Diabetes is profound. Though the male to female ratio among the people with diabetes is roughly equal, women are uniquely and more severely affected. Management of type two Diabetes requires considerable dexterity on the part of the patient to manage drugs, diet and exercise. Therefore, in a low middle-income country like India it is necessary to look at low cost interventions that can empower the patient and build on available resources to help manage diabetes. Hence, we studied the feasibility and effect of two low cost interventions; yoga and peer support on glycaemic and other outcomes among women with type two diabetes.

Methods

An open label parallel three armed randomized control trial was conducted among 124 recruited women with Diabetes for three months. Block randomization with a block length of six was carried out with each group having at least 41 women. In the Yoga arm, sessions by an instructor, consisting of a group of postures coordinated with breathing were conducted for an hour, two days a week. In the peer support arm each peer mentor after training visited 13–14 women with diabetes every week followed by a phone call. The meeting was about applying disease management or prevention plans in daily life.

Results

There was a trend in decline of fasting plasma glucose in the peer and yoga group and of glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) in the yoga group only, though not significant. A significant decrease was observed in diastolic blood pressure and hip circumference in the yoga group. The process indicated that most (80%) of the women in the yoga group attended classes regularly and 90% of the women in the peer group reported that peer mentoring was useful.

Conclusion

The effect of yoga and peer support on glycaemic outcomes was incremental. Longer term studies are necessary to ascertain the benefits shown by this feasibility study.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5297169/

Reduce Fatigue with Breast Cancer with Yoga

psyjdc Leave a comment

Reduce Fatigue with Breast Cancer with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Yoga works on the principle of mind and body health and it would help women cope with systemic therapy side effects better. Yoga nidra and pranayama also improve sleep patterns. Thus, all this together may reduce fatigue and pain.” – Nita Nair

 

Because of great advances in treatment, many women today are surviving breast cancer. But, cancer survivors frequently suffer from anxiety, depression, mood disturbance, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sleep disturbance, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, loss of personal control, impaired quality of life, an alteration of their body image, and psychiatric symptoms which have been found to persist even ten years after remission. Also, breast cancer survivors can have to deal with a heightened fear of reoccurrence. This is particularly true with metastatic cancer. So, safe and effective treatments for the symptoms in breast cancer and the physical and psychological effects of the treatments are needed.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to help with general cancer recovery and breast cancer recovery. Yoga practice of has also been shown to be helpful with the residual symptoms, the psychological and physical ability to deal with cancer treatment and improves sleep in women with metastatic breast cancer. So, it’s reasonable to further explore the potential benefits of yoga practice to relieve fatigue and stress in women fighting metastatic breast cancer.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of Yoga in Managing Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5545948/, Vadiraja and colleagues recruited women with advanced metastatic breast cancer. They received treatment as usual and were randomly assigned to receive either education and supportive counseling or an integrated yoga program for 12 weeks consisting of 60-min sessions twice a week combined with home practice of relaxation, breathing exercises, postures, and meditation. They were measured before and after treatment for perceived stress and fatigue.

 

In comparison to baseline and the control group the yoga practice group had significant reductions in perceived stress and in fatigue, including severity, how often they felt fatigued, how much fatigue interfered with their everyday activities, and the difference between daytime and nighttime fatigue.  It would have been better if the control group had performed some other form of exercise to determine if it was yoga practice per se or simply exercise was responsible for the results. In addition, since the integrated yoga program contained multiple components it is impossible to differentiate which or which combination of components was effective. Nevertheless, these are impressive and exciting results that integrated yoga practice can have such positive effects on women with advanced metastatic breast cancer.

 

Mindfulness practices, including yoga practice, has been shown to reduce the physiological and psychological responses to stress and fatigue in other populations. It is particularly good that yoga has these effects in women with cancer where stress and fatigue exacerbate an already difficult situation. These effects may help to contribute to these women’s ability to fight off the cancer and improve their longevity.

 

So, reduce fatigue with breast cancer with yoga.

 

“Even on my worst days, in terms of fatigue, if I just got up and did a little something, whether it be some light stretching, gentle yoga, just some yoga, that definitely made me feel better.” – Amy Schnitzler

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Vadiraja, H., Rao, R. M., Nagarathna, R., Nagendra, H., Patil, S., Diwakar, R. B., … Ajaikumar, B. (2017). Effects of Yoga in Managing Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Indian Journal of Palliative Care, 23(3), 247–252. http://doi.org/10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_95_17

 

Abstract

Background:

Cancer-related fatigue is widely prevalent in cancer patients and affects quality of life in advanced cancer patients. Fatigue is caused due to both psychologic distress and physiological sequel following cancer progression and its treatment. In this study, we evaluate the effects of yogic intervention in managing fatigue in metastatic breast cancer patients.

Methods:

Ninety-one patients with metastatic breast cancer were randomized to receive integrated yoga program (n = 46) or supportive therapy and education (n = 45) over a 3-month period. Assessments such as perceived stress, fatigue symptom inventory, diurnal salivary cortisol, and natural killer cell counts were carried out before and after intervention. Analysis was done using an intention-to-treat approach. Postmeasures for the above outcomes were assessed using ANCOVA with respective baseline measure as a covariate.

Results:

The results suggest that yoga reduces perceived stress (P = 0.001), fatigue frequency (P < 0.001), fatigue severity (P < 0.001), interference (P < 0.001), and diurnal variation (P < 0.001) when compared to supportive therapy. There was a positive correlation of change in fatigue severity with 9 a.m. salivary cortisol levels.

Conclusion:

The results suggest that yoga reduces fatigue in advanced breast cancer patients.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5545948/

Improve the Physical and Psychological Condition of Breast Cancer Patients with Yoga

psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve the Physical and Psychological Condition of Breast Cancer Patients with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Studies suggest that doing yoga while going through breast cancer treatment helps you get through it with fewer side effects. Often doctors have to stop chemo or lower doses to levels that may not be as effective because people don’t tolerate the side effects. But yoga appears to decrease all kinds of side effects.” – Timothy McCall

 

About 12.5% of women in the U.S. develop invasive breast cancer over their lifetimes and every year about 40,000 women die. Indeed, more women in the U.S. die from breast cancer than from any other cancer, besides lung cancer. Breast cancer diagnosis, however, is not a death sentence. Death rates have been decreasing for decades from improved detection and treatment of breast cancer. Five-year survival rates are now at around 95%. The improved survival rates mean that more women are now living with cancer.

 

Cancer treatment involving surgery and radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy is extremely difficult physically and emotionally. In addition, surviving cancer, however, carries with it a number of problems. “Physical, emotional, and financial hardships often persist for years after diagnosis and treatment. Cancer survivors are also at greater risk for developing second cancers and other health conditions.” (National Cancer Survivors Day). Also, breast cancer survivors can have to deal with a heightened fear of reoccurrence, and an alteration of their body image. Additionally, cancer survivors frequently suffer from anxiety, depression, mood disturbance, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), sleep disturbance, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, loss of personal control, impaired quality of life, and psychiatric symptoms which have been found to persist even ten years after remission. So, safe and effective treatments for the symptoms in breast cancer and the physical and psychological effects of the treatments are needed.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to help with general cancer recovery and breast cancer recovery. Mindfulness helps to alleviate many of the residual physical and psychological symptoms, including stress,  sleep disturbance, and anxiety and depression. The mindfulness practice of Yoga has also been shown to be helpful with the residual symptoms. So, it’s reasonable to further explore the potential benefits of yoga practice for women during and after treatment.

 

In today’s Research News article “Salute to the sun: a new dawn in yoga therapy for breast cancer.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5587658/, Galliford and colleagues reviewed and summarized the published research studies of the application of yoga therapy or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which contains yoga, for women with breast cancer. They found 38 published studies. They report that the research fids that yoga is effective in improving emotion regulation, quality of life, sleep quality, lymphatic system integrity, and social functioning, and decreasing anxiety, depression, and stress hormones (cortisol).

 

These are important findings that are fairly consistent across a variety of studies. The research clearly suggests that practicing yoga can benefit the social, psychological, and physical functioning of women with breast cancer. These are important benefits that suggest that yoga practice may improve women’s ability to fight breast cancer and maintain health and improve overall well-being.

 

So, improve the physical and psychological condition of breast cancer patients with yoga.

 

”For women with breast cancer, research shows those who practice yoga may also have less stress and fatigue, and better quality of life.” – Stacy Simon

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Galliford, M., Robinson, S., Bridge, P., & Carmichael, M. (2017). Salute to the sun: a new dawn in yoga therapy for breast cancer. Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences, 64(3), 232–238. http://doi.org/10.1002/jmrs.218

 

Abstract

Introduction

Interest in the application of yoga for health benefits in western medicine is growing rapidly, with a significant rise in publications. The purpose of this systematic review is to determine whether the inclusion of yoga therapy to the treatment of breast cancer can improve the patient’s physical and psychosocial quality of life (QoL).

Methods

A search of peer reviewed journal articles published between January 2009 and July 2014 was conducted. Studies were included if they had more than 15 study participants, included interventions such as mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) or yoga therapy with or without comparison groups and had stated physical or psychological outcomes.

Results

Screening identified 38 appropriate articles. The most reported psychosocial benefits of yoga therapy were anxiety, emotional and social functioning, stress, depression and global QoL. The most reported physical benefits of yoga therapy were improved salivary cortisol readings, sleep quality and lymphocyte apoptosis. Benefits in these areas were linked strongly with the yoga interventions, in addition to significant improvement in overall QoL.

Conclusion

The evidence supports the use of yoga therapy to improve the physical and psychosocial QoL for breast cancer patients with a range of benefits relevant to radiation therapy. Future studies are recommended to confirm these benefits. Evidence‐based recommendations for implementation of a yoga therapy programme have been derived and included within this review. Long‐term follow‐up is necessary with these programmes to assess the efficacy of the yoga intervention in terms of sustainability and patient outcomes.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5587658/

Reduce Pain in Children with Mind-Body Practices

psyjdc Leave a comment

Reduce Pain in Children with Mind-Body Practices

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Guided imagery is a meditative process that uses visualization and imagination to bring awareness to the mind-body connection. Children can easily access this healing process because they’re naturally imaginative. By relaxing into a vivid story they gain tools to deal with stress, pain or difficult feelings.” – Catherine Gillespie-Lopes

 

We all have to deal with pain. It’s inevitable, but hopefully it’s mild and short lived. For a wide swath of humanity, however, pain is a constant in their lives. At least 100 million adult Americans have chronic pain conditions. Sadly, about a quarter to a third of children experience chronic pain. It has to be kept in mind that pain is an important signal that there is something wrong or that damage is occurring. This signals that some form of action is needed to mitigate the damage. This is an important signal that is ignored at the individual’s peril. So, in dealing with pain, it’s important that pain signals not be blocked or prevented. They need to be perceived. But, methods are needed to mitigate the psychological distress produced by chronic pain.

 

The most common treatment for chronic pain is drugs. These include over-the-counter analgesics and opioids. But opioids are dangerous and prescription opioid overdoses kill more than 14,000 people annually. The use of drugs in children is even more complicated and potentially directly harmful or could damage the developing brain. So, there is a great need to find safe and effective ways to lower the psychological distress and improve children’s ability to cope with the pain.

 

Pain involves both physical and psychological issues. The stress, fear, and anxiety produced by pain tends to elicit responses that actually amplify the pain. So, reducing the emotional reactions to pain may be helpful in pain management. There is an accumulating volume of research findings to demonstrate that mind-body therapies have highly beneficial effects on the health and well-being of humans. These include meditation, yoga, tai chi, qigong, biofeedback, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, hypnosis, acupuncture, and deep breathing exercises. Mindfulness practices have been shown to improve emotion regulation producing more adaptive and less maladaptive responses to emotions. Indeed, mindfulness practices are effective in treating pain in adults. But there is very little systematic study of the application of these practices for the treatment of chronic pain in children.

 

In today’s Research News article “A Mind–Body Approach to Pediatric Pain Management.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5483625/, Brown and colleagues review and summarize the published research literature on the use of mind-body techniques to treat pain in children. They found that there is clear evidence from the research that yoga practice and acupuncture are effective in the treatment of pain in both adults and children. On the other hand, they found that meditation, mindfulness training, and hypnosis are effective for treating pain in adults, but that there is a void of research for its application in children.

 

Hence the published research literature is encouraging. Where there have been studies, mind-body practices have been found to safely and effectively reduce chronic pain in both adults and children. A great advantage of these treatments is that they have little or no side effects other than positive ones and are thus a promising safe alternative to the use of dangerous drugs. But, there is obviously a need for much more research on the effectiveness of mind-body techniques for chronic pain in children.

 

So, reduce pain in children with mind-body practices.

 

“Mindfulness provides a more accurate perception of pain . . . For instance, you might think that you’re in pain all day. But bringing awareness to your pain might reveal that it actually peaks, valleys and completely subsides. One of Goldstein’s clients believed that his pain was constant throughout the day. But when he examined his pain, he realized it hits him about six times a day. This helped to lift his frustration and anxiety.” –  Margarita Tartakovsky

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Brown, M. L., Rojas, E., & Gouda, S. (2017). A Mind–Body Approach to Pediatric Pain Management. Children, 4(6), 50. http://doi.org/10.3390/children4060050

 

Abstract

Pain is a significant public health problem that affects all populations and has significant financial, physical and psychological impact. Opioid medications, once the mainstay of pain therapy across the spectrum, can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) guidelines recommend that non-opioid pain medications are preferred for chronic pain outside of certain indications (cancer, palliative and end of life care). Mindfulness, hypnosis, acupuncture and yoga are four examples of mind–body techniques that are often used in the adult population for pain and symptom management. In addition to providing significant pain relief, several studies have reported reduced use of opioid medications when mind–body therapies are implemented. Mind–body medicine is another approach that can be used in children with both acute and chronic pain to improve pain management and quality of life.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5483625/

Yoga Practice Improves Short-Term Memory

psyjdc 1 Comment

Yoga Practice Improves Short-Term Memory

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Participants in the yoga intervention group showed significant improvements in working memory capacity, which involves continually updating and manipulating information,” – Mark Prigg

 

Humans have both an amazing capacity to remember and a tremendously limited capacity depending upon which phase of the memory process. Our long-term store of information is virtually unlimited. On the other hand, short-term memory is extremely limited. This is called our working memory and it can contain only about 5 to 9 pieces of information at a time. This fact of a limited working memory store shapes a great deal about how we think, summarize, and categorize our world.

 

Memory ability is so important to everyday human functioning that it is important to study ways to maintain or improve it. Short-term, working, memory can be improved. Mindfulness has been shown to improve working memory capacity. Yoga practice has also been shown to have improve memory and reduce the decline in memory ability that occurs with aging. But, little is known about the components of working memory that are effected by mindfulness and yoga training. It is thus important to study the detailed effects of yoga practice on the components of short-term memory ability in humans.

 

In today’s Research News article “A yoga program for cognitive enhancement.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5544241/, Brunner and colleagues recruited college students and provided them with 6 60-minute yoga sessions either twice per week for 3 weeks or once per week for 6 weeks. The practice included meditation, poses, and relaxation. They were measured before and after yoga training for mindfulness, and working memory. They were tested for both forward and backward digit span tests, requiring them to remember sequences of numbers and repeat them back either in the order presented or in the reverse order. They were also tested with a letter and number sequencing tests, requiring them to remember unordered sequences of numbers or letters and repeat them back in numeric or alphabetical order.

 

They found that after yoga practice the students had significant increases in mindfulness and significant improvements in all memory tests including forward and backward digit span and letter and number sequencing. The forward digit span is a straightforward measure of short-term memory. On the other hand, the backward digit span and letter and number sequencing tasks require manipulation of the information contained in short-term memory; reordering it prior to recitation, and thereby test ability to work with material stored in short-term memory. Hence yoga practice appeared to improve mindfulness, short-term memory ability, and the ability to process material in short-term memory.

 

A potential alternative explanation for the results is a simple practice effect. The participants performed the tests twice, once before and once after yoga training. It is possible that they got better simply because the after test was the second time they’d performed the task. But, previous research has demonstrated that there is very little improvement in these tasks with practice, making this explanation less likely. But, there are other alternative explanations including placebo effects, experimenter bias effects, and attentional effects that could still explain the results rather than an effect of yoga training. A control group is needed in future research to conclusively demonstrate the effectiveness of yoga practice to enhance memory.

 

So, yoga practice may improve short-term memory.

 

“The breathing and meditative exercises aim at calming the mind and body and keeping distracting thoughts away while you focus on your body, posture or breath. Maybe these processes translate beyond yoga practice when you try to perform mental tasks or day-to-day activities.” – Neha Gotha

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Brunner, D., Abramovitch, A., & Etherton, J. (2017). A yoga program for cognitive enhancement. PLoS ONE, 12(8), e0182366. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182366

 

Abstract

Background

Recent studies suggest that yoga practice may improve cognitive functioning. Although preliminary data indicate that yoga improves working memory (WM), high-resolution information about the type of WM subconstructs, namely maintenance and manipulation, is not available. Furthermore, the association between cognitive enhancement and improved mindfulness as a result of yoga practice requires empirical examination. The aim of the present study is to assess the impact of a brief yoga program on WM maintenance, WM manipulation and attentive mindfulness.

Methods

Measures of WM (Digit Span Forward, Backward, and Sequencing, and Letter-Number Sequencing) were administered prior to and following 6 sessions of yoga (N = 43). Additionally, the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale was administered to examine the potential impact of yoga practice on mindfulness, as well as the relationships among changes in WM and mindfulness.

Results

Analyses revealed significant improvement from pre- to post- training assessment on both maintenance WM (Digit Span Forward) and manipulation WM (Digit Span Backward and Letter-Number Sequencing). No change was found on Digit Span Sequencing. Improvement was also found on mindfulness scores. However, no correlation was observed between mindfulness and WM measures.

Conclusions

A 6-session yoga program was associated with improvement on manipulation and maintenance WM measures as well as enhanced mindfulness scores. Additional research is needed to understand the extent of yoga-related cognitive enhancement and mechanisms by which yoga may enhance cognition, ideally by utilizing randomized controlled trials and more comprehensive neuropsychological batteries.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5544241/

Reduce Obesity with Yoga

psyjdc Leave a comment


Reduce Obesity with Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“You get to thinking that yoga and its health benefits, such as stress reduction and improved fitness, are best for thin people, and not so much for the 36 percent of U.S. adults who are obese. Not true. Yoga is for all types of shapes and sizes if you just know how to start.” – Laura McMullen

Obesity is a serious health problem. In the U.S. the incidence of obesity has more than doubled over the last 35 years to currently around 35% of the population. Obesity has been found to shorten life expectancy by eight years and extreme obesity by 14 years. This occurs because obesity is associated with cardiovascular problems such as coronary heart disease and hypertension, stroke, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and others.

Obviously, there is a need for effective treatments to prevent or treat obesity. But, despite copious research and a myriad of dietary and exercise programs, there still is no safe and effective treatment. Mindfulness is known to be associated with lower risk for obesity, alter eating behavior and improve health in obesity. This suggests that mindfulness training may be an effective treatment for overeating and obesity alone or in combination with other therapies. Yoga practice has been shown to have a myriad of physical and psychological benefits. These include significant loss in weight and body mass index (BMI), resting metabolism, and body fat in obese women with Type 2 diabetes and improve health in the obese. Hence, it would seem reasonable to investigate the benefits of yoga therapy on the weight and body composition of the obese.

In today’s Research News article “Sleep quality and body composition variations in obese male adults after 14 weeks of yoga intervention: A randomized controlled trial.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: http://www.ijoy.org.in/article.asp?issn=0973-6131;year=2017;volume=10;issue=3;spage=128;epage=137;aulast=Rshikesan, Rshikesan and colleagues recruited obese adult male participants and randomly assigned them to receive either no treatment or integrated yoga therapy for 1½ h for 5 days in a week, for 14 weeks. Yoga therapy includes relaxation, postures, breathing practice, and meditation. They were measured before and after treatment for body composition and sleep quality.

They found that the yoga therapy group had statistically significant reductions in obesity, including body weight, body mass index, and mineral content and increases in sleep quality and efficiency. In addition, there were no adverse events produced by the yoga practice. Hence, they found integrated yoga therapy to be a safe and effective treatment for obesity in adult males.

The benefits of yoga practice, though, appear to be small. The yoga group on average only lost about 2 pounds of body weight despite intensive treatment over 14 weeks. So, it doesn’t appear from this study that integrated yoga therapy is a cost-effective treatment. But, yoga practice is known to produce many improvements in the physiology that were not measured in the present study. These include improvements in cardiovascular symptoms, joint problems, and diabetes. These benefits would tend to counteract the negative health consequences of obesity.

So, although there are suggestions here that integrated yoga therapy may be useful in the treatment of obesity it’s cost-effectiveness is still questionable.

“Yoga is designed to help practitioner reduce body fat, increase flexibility and increase strength. The benefits of yoga to obese people also include increased blood flow, reduced pain and increased respiratory function.” – Hannah Wahlig

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available at the Contemplative Studies Blog http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/
They are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Rshikesan P B, Subramanya P, Singh D. Sleep quality and body composition variations in obese male adults after 14 weeks of yoga intervention: A randomized controlled trial. Int J Yoga 2017;10:128-37

Background: Obesity is a big challenge all over the world. It is associated with many noncommunicable diseases. Yoga known to be add-on treatment may be effective for obesity control. Aim: To assess the effect of integrated approach of yoga therapy (IAYT) for body composition and quality of sleep in adult obese male. Subjects and Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted for 14 weeks on obese male of urban setting. Eighty individuals were randomly divided into two groups, i.e., yoga group (n = 40; age; 40.03 ± 8.74 years, body mass index [BMI] 28.7 ± 2.35 kg/m2) and control group (age; 42.20 ± 12.06 years, BMI 27.70 ± 2.05 kg/m2). The IAYT was imparted to yoga group for 1½ hour for 5 days in a week for 14 weeks. The control group continued their regular activities. The body composition by InBody R20 and sleep quality by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were assessed. Statistical analysis was done for within and between groups using SPSS version 21. The correlation analysis was done on the difference in pre-post values. Results: The results showed that weight (P = 0.004), BMI (P = 0.008), bone mass (P = 0.017), obesity degree (P = 0.005), and mineral mass (P = 0.046) were improved in yoga group and no change in control group (P > 0.05). The global score of PSQI improved (P = 0.017) in yoga group alone. Conclusion: The results indicate the beneficial effects of IAYT on body composition and sleep quality in obese males. The yoga practice may reduce obesity with the improvement in quality of life.
http://www.ijoy.org.in/article.asp?issn=0973-6131;year=2017;volume=10;issue=3;spage=128;epage=137;aulast=Rshikesan

Improve Cardiopulmonary and Metabolic Condition and Body Weight with Yoga

psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Cardiopulmonary and Metabolic Condition and Body Weight with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Every time you practice yoga, you have the chance to reclaim part of yourself that you don’t always have easy access to. It might be physical, mental, or emotional, but the process of integration is quickened by yoga practice.” – Dinabandhu Sarley

 

Yoga practice has been shown to have a large number of beneficial effects on the psychological, emotional, and physical health of the individual and is helpful in the treatment of mental and physical illness, including cardiovascular disease and metabolic problems. This is important as cardiovascular disease is the number one killer, claiming more lives than all forms of cancer combined. In addition, Metabolic Syndrome is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It generally results from overweight and abdominal obesity and includes high blood pressure, insulin resistance and elevation of plasma cholesterol and triglycerides. It is an important risk factor as it increases the risk of developing type-2 diabetes five-fold and heart attack or stroke three-fold.

 

A myriad of treatments has been developed for heart disease including a variety of surgical procedures and medications. But the safest effective treatments are lifestyle changes. These include quitting smoking, weight reduction, improved diet, physical activity, and reducing stresses. Other safe and effective treatments are contemplative practices, such as meditation, tai chi, and yoga, have also been shown to be helpful for heart health. These practices have also been shown to be helpful for producing the kinds of lifestyle changes needed to prevent heart disease such as smoking cessation, weight reduction, and stress reduction. Metabolic Syndrome can also be prevented or reverse the risk with exercise and weight loss.

 

Since, yoga is a mindfulness practice and an exercise it would seem to be ideally suited for the prevention of cardiovascular, pulmonary, or metabolic problems. In today’s Research News article “Cardiopulmonary and metabolic effects of yoga in healthy volunteers.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: http://www.ijoy.org.in/article.asp?issn=0973-6131;year=2017;volume=10;issue=3;spage=115;epage=120;aulast=Divya, Divya and colleagues examine the effectiveness of yoga practice in improving cardiovascular and metabolic health in healthy adults. They recruited participants in a 41-day yoga training occurring 75 min/day, 6 days/week. Practice included meditation, breathing practice, mudras, postures, and relaxation. Before and after training they were measured for their lipid profile, thyroid function, cardiac and pulmonary function, and autonomic function.

 

They found that following the treatment there were significant improvements in cardiovascular function, including decreases resting heart rate and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, blood pressure response to standing, improvements in metabolic function, including decreases in body mass index, blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood fat, and increases in pulmonary function, including increases in lung size, expiratory volume, and peak expiratory flow rate. Hence, participation in the yoga training produced significant improvements in cardiopulmonary and metabolic health.

 

It should be noted that there wasn’t a control or comparison condition included in the study. The participants physical state prior to training was simply compared to that after training. But, the improvements were of such a magnitude that it would be unlikely to be produced by confounding factors, such as expectancy effects or the passage of time. Since the participants were healthy adults at the start of training, the improvements are even more striking. This suggests that participation in yoga practice promotes health and may delay or prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome.

 

So, improve cardiopulmonary and metabolic condition and body weight with yoga.

 

“Yoga burns calories, tones your body and gives you a challenging routine to perform. Further, yoga increases flexibility, muscular strength, and muscular endurance. Physiologically, yoga has been shown to decrease resting heart rate, respiration and blood pressure and improve metabolic rate.” – Nikki Prosch

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Divya T S, Vijayalakshmi M T, Mini K, Asish K, Pushpalatha M, Suresh V. Cardiopulmonary and metabolic effects of yoga in healthy volunteers. Int J Yoga 2017;10:115-20

 

Abstract

Background: Yoga the spiritual union of mind with the divine intelligence of the universe aims to liberate a human being from conflicts of body–mind duality. Beneficial cardiovascular and pulmonary effects of yoga are in par with aerobic exercise, even amounting to replace the exercise model. We conducted an interventional study in healthy volunteers, to analyze the impact of short-term yoga training on cardiovascular, pulmonary, autonomic function tests, lipid profile, and thyroid function tests. Materials and Methods: A sample of fifty new recruits attending the district yoga center was subject to 75 min yoga practice a day for 41 days. Basal values of cardiovascular, pulmonary, autonomic function tests, lipid profile, and thyroid function tests were recorded before yoga training and were reassessed for postyoga changes after 41 days. Results: After yoga practice there was a significant reduction in the resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean blood pressure of the participants. Effects on autonomic function tests were variable and inconclusive. There was a significant increase in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, and peak expiratory flow rate after yoga. A significant reduction in body mass index was observed. Effects on metabolic parameters were promising with a significant reduction in fasting blood sugar level, serum total cholesterol, serum triglycerides serum low-density lipoprotein levels, and significant increase in high-density lipoprotein. There was no significant change in thyroid function tests after yoga. Conclusion: Short-term yoga practice has no effect on thyroid functions. Yoga practice was found beneficial in maintaining physiological milieu pertaining to cardiovascular and other metabolic parameters.

 

http://www.ijoy.org.in/article.asp?issn=0973-6131;year=2017;volume=10;issue=3;spage=115;epage=120;aulast=Divya

Improve Immune Response and Sleep to Breast Cancer with Yoga

psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Immune Response and Sleep to Breast Cancer with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“I’m convinced that yoga made all the difference in my treatment. The breathing was the thing that always came back for me—keeping the fear and panic down. I was in a PET scan machine for an hour. You just lie there and think terrible thoughts. I found my breathing. That was the most valuable thing.” –  Debra Campagna

 

About 12.5% of women in the U.S. develop invasive breast cancer over their lifetimes and every year about 40,000 women die. Indeed, more women in the U.S. die from breast cancer than from any other cancer, besides lung cancer. Breast cancer diagnosis, however, is not always a death sentence. Death rates have been decreasing for decades from improved detection and treatment of breast cancer. Five-year survival rates are now at around 95%. The improved survival rates mean that more women are now living with cancer.

 

Surviving cancer, however, carries with it a number of problems. “Physical, emotional, and financial hardships often persist for years after diagnosis and treatment. Cancer survivors are also at greater risk for developing second cancers and other health conditions.” (National Cancer Survivors Day). Also, breast cancer survivors can have to deal with a heightened fear of reoccurrence. This is particularly true with metastatic cancer. Additionally, cancer survivors frequently suffer from anxiety, depression, mood disturbance, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), sleep disturbance, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, loss of personal control, impaired quality of life, an alteration of their body image, and psychiatric symptoms which have been found to persist even ten years after remission. So, safe and effective treatments for the symptoms in breast cancer and the physical and psychological effects of the treatments are needed.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to help with general cancer recovery and breast cancer recovery. Mindfulness helps to alleviate many of the residual physical and psychological symptoms, including stress,  sleep disturbance, and anxiety and depression. The mindfulness practice of Yoga has also been shown to be helpful with the residual symptoms and the psychological and physical ability to deal with cancer treatment. So, it’s reasonable to further explore the potential benefits of yoga practice for women during and after treatment.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effect of Yoga on Sleep Quality and Neuroendocrine Immune Response in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5545949/, Rao and colleagues recruited women with advanced metastatic breast cancer. They received treatment as usual and were randomly assigned to receive either education and supportive counseling or an integrated yoga program for 12 weeks consisting of 60-min sessions twice a week combined with home practice of relaxation, breathing exercises, postures, and meditation. They were measured before and after treatment for sleep disturbance, salivary cortisol, and natural killer cells in the blood.

 

They found that after treatment the yoga practice group had significant improvements in sleep including sleep quality and reductions in insomnia and sleep distress. There was also a decrease in salivary cortisol levels in the morning indicating a less stressful sleep. Importantly, they found that yoga practice produced a significant increase in natural killer cells in the blood. There were no adverse effects observed and adherence to the protocol was high at 80%.

 

It would have been better if the control group had performed some other form of exercise to determine if it was yoga practice per se or simply exercise was responsible for the results. In addition, since the integrated yoga program contained multiple components it is impossible to differentiate which or which combination of components was effective. Nevertheless, these are impressive and exciting results that integrated yoga practice can have such profound positive effects on women with advanced metastatic breast cancer.

 

The results suggest that yoga practice improves sleep and the ability of the immune system to fight the cancer. The importance of adequate, high quality sleep for women fighting cancer cannot be overemphasized. High sleep quality is related to reductions in stress and inflammation which in turn is related to improved ability to fight the cancer. The present findings suggest that yoga is a safe and effective practice with clear physical and psychological benefits aiding in the fight against advanced metastatic breast cancer.

 

So, improve immune response and sleep to breast cancer with yoga.

 

“For women with breast cancer, research shows those who practice yoga may also have less stress and fatigue, and better quality of life.” – American Cancer Society

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Rao, R. M., Vadiraja, H., Nagaratna, R., Gopinath, K. S., Patil, S., Diwakar, R. B., … Nagendra, H. (2017). Effect of Yoga on Sleep Quality and Neuroendocrine Immune Response in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients. Indian Journal of Palliative Care, 23(3), 253–260. http://doi.org/10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_102_17

 

Abstract

Background:

Studies have shown that distress and accompanying neuroendocrine stress responses as important predictor of survival in advanced breast cancer patients. Some psychotherapeutic intervention studies have shown have modulation of neuroendocrine-immune responses in advanced breast cancer patients. In this study, we evaluate the effects of yoga on perceived stress, sleep, diurnal cortisol, and natural killer (NK) cell counts in patients with metastatic cancer.

Methods:

In this study, 91 patients with metastatic breast cancer who satisfied selection criteria and consented to participate were recruited and randomized to receive “integrated yoga based stress reduction program” (n = 45) or standard “education and supportive therapy sessions” (n = 46) over a 3 month period. Psychometric assessments for sleep quality were done before and after intervention. Blood draws for NK cell counts were collected before and after the intervention. Saliva samples were collected for three consecutive days before and after intervention. Data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance on postmeasures using respective baseline measure as a covariate.

Results:

There was a significant decrease in scales of symptom distress (P < 0.001), sleep parameters (P = 0.02), and improvement in quality of sleep (P = 0.001) and Insomnia Rating Scale sleep score (P = 0.001) following intervention. There was a decrease in morning waking cortisol in yoga group (P = 0.003) alone following intervention. There was a significant improvement in NK cell percent (P = 0.03) following intervention in yoga group compared to control group.

Conclusion:

The results suggest modulation of neuroendocrine responses and improvement in sleep in patients with advanced breast cancer following yoga intervention.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5545949/

Reduce Stress with Yoga

psyjdc Leave a comment

Reduce Stress with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Yoga helps us slow down for a moment and tune into the breath. Simply the focus on one thing — which is the very definition of meditation — allows us to decompress.” – Terri Kennedy

 

Stress is an integral part of life. In fact, I’ve quipped that the definition of death is when stress ceases. People often think of stress as a bad thing. But, it is in fact essential to the health of the body. If the muscles are not stressed to some extent they deteriorate. As it turns out, this is also true for the brain. The same goes for our psychological health. If we don’t have any stress, we call it boredom. In fact, we invest time and resources in stressing ourselves, e.g ridding rollercoasters, sky diving, competing in sports, etc. We say we love a challenge, but, challenges are all stressful. So, we actually love to stress ourselves. In moderation, it is healthful and provides interest and fun to life.

 

If stress, is high or is prolonged, however, it can be problematic. It can damage our physical and mental health and even reduce our longevity, leading to premature deaths. So, it is important that we develop methods to either reduce or control high or prolonged stress or reduce our responses to it. Mindfulness practices have been found routinely to reduce the psychological and physiological responses to stress. A physiological indicator of stress is the levels of the hormone Cortisol in the blood. Mindfulness training has been shown to reduce cortisol levels. But, it is not known what types of mindfulness training techniques are effective and which may be less so. Hence, it makes sense to test the effectiveness of yoga practice to reduce perceived stress and responsiveness to stress as measured by Cortisol levels.

 

In today’s Research News article “Longitudinal and Immediate Effect of Kundalini Yoga on Salivary Levels of Cortisol and Activity of Alpha-Amylase and Its Effect on Perceived Stress.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433116/, García-Sesnich and colleagues recruited college students participating in in a 3-month Kundalini Yoga class and a comparable group of college students who were not participating. They were measured before and after the 3-month practice period for perceived stress and saliva samples were obtained to measure cortisol and α-amylase levels, markers of stress.

 

They found that following the 3-month intervention period, compared to the baseline and control group the yoga group had a significant decrease in perceived stress but there were no significant differences for either cortisol and α-amylase levels. Hence the yoga program decreased the psychological but not the physical markers of stress. It is not clear as to why they failed to detect an effect of yoga practice on cortisol and α-amylase levels as previous research has shown significant reductions after yoga practice. It is possible that the small sample size did not provide sufficient statistical power to detect a significant change. Regardless, yoga practice was demonstrated to produce improvements in perceived stress in college students, a group that is generally highly stressed.

 

So, reduce stress with yoga.

 

“Meditation is an incredibly powerful tool for relaxing and slowing down the mind as is any kind of breath awareness. Whether you’re holding postures, flowing through sequences, or in a seated meditation pose, everything begins to focus and slow down when you take your awareness to the breath. Over time and with repeated practice, you start to develop new habits towards a more relaxed internal state.” – Anna Coventry

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

García-Sesnich, J. N., Flores, M. G., Ríos, M. H., & Aravena, J. G. (2017). Longitudinal and Immediate Effect of Kundalini Yoga on Salivary Levels of Cortisol and Activity of Alpha-Amylase and Its Effect on Perceived Stress. International Journal of Yoga, 10(2), 73–80. http://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_45_16

 

Abstract

Context:

Stress is defined as an alteration of an organism’s balance in response to a demand perceived from the environment. Diverse methods exist to evaluate physiological response. A noninvasive method is salivary measurement of cortisol and alpha-amylase. A growing body of evidence suggests that the regular practice of Yoga would be an effective treatment for stress.

Aims:

To determine the Kundalini Yoga (KY) effect, immediate and after 3 months of regular practice, on the perception of psychological stress and the salivary levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase activity.

Settings and Design:

To determine the psychological perceived stress, levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase activity in saliva, and compare between the participants to KY classes performed for 3 months and a group that does not practice any type of yoga.

Subjects and Methods:

The total sample consisted of 26 people between 18 and 45-year-old; 13 taking part in KY classes given at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile and 13 controls. Salivary samples were collected, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to quantify cortisol and kinetic reaction test was made to determine alpha-amylase activity. Perceived Stress Scale was applied at the beginning and at the end of the intervention.

Statistical Analysis Used:

Statistical analysis was applied using Stata v11.1 software. Shapiro–Wilk test was used to determine data distribution. The paired analysis was fulfilled by t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test. T-test or Mann–Whitney’s test was applied to compare longitudinal data. A statistical significance was considered when P< 0.05.

Results:

KY practice had an immediate effect on salivary cortisol. The activity of alpha-amylase did not show significant changes. A significant decrease of perceived stress in the study group was found.

Conclusions:

KY practice shows an immediate effect on salivary cortisol levels and on perceived stress after 3 months of practice.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433116/

Relieve Back Pain with Yoga

psyjdc Leave a comment

Relieve Back Pain with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Lower back pain can be debilitating. Pain caused by ankylosing spondylitis (AS) may be especially severe. Conventional pain relief medications may cause uncomfortable side effects. If you’re looking for an alternative treatment, yoga may help. Yoga uses gentle stretching exercises to help relieve pain and increase flexibility. It helps stabilize your core to better support your spine.” – Annette McDermott

 

“Spondylitis is an inflammatory disease that, over time, can cause some of the vertebrae in your spine to fuse. This fusing makes the spine less flexible and can result in a hunched-forward posture. If ribs are affected, it can be difficult to breathe deeply” (Mayo Clinic). Spondylitis, also called cervical osteoarthritis, produces considerable pain and stiffness from the neck down to the lower back. It affects the vast majority of people over age 60. The causes of Spondylitis are unknown although there appears to be some involvement of the genes and sedentary lifestyles. There is no known cure. It is normally treated with drugs, physical therapy or surgery with the aim of relieving the symptoms.

 

Back pain involves both physical and psychological issues. Physically, exercise can be helpful in strengthening the back to prevent or relieve pain. Psychologically, the stress, fear, and anxiety produced by pain tends to elicit responses that actually amplify the pain. So, reducing the emotional reactions to pain may be helpful in pain management. Mindfulness practices have been shown to improve emotion regulation  producing more adaptive responses to emotions. Mindfulness practices also reduce worry and rumination reducing the psychological amplification of pain. Indeed, mindfulness practices are effective in treating pain and have been shown to be safe and effective in the management of low back pain. Yoga practice is both an exercise and a mindfulness practice which has been shown to have a myriad of health benefits, including relief of chronic pain and relief of chronic low-back pain.  So, it makes sense to explore the effectiveness of yoga practice for Spondylitis (cervical osteoarthritis).

 

In today’s Research News article “Effect of Selected Yogic Practices on Pain and Disability in Patients with Lumbar Spondylitis.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433117/, Malik and colleagues recruited adult patients with Spondylitis that was diagnosed with X-rays and MRI scans and who were experiencing moderate to severe pain. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups, instant relieve practice group, short-term practice group, and long-term practice group. The yoga practice consisted 1 hour of joint exercises, backward bending, and short relaxation. The instant relieve practice group practiced just once. The short-term practice group practiced 6 days per week for a total of 15 days. The long-term practice group practiced 6 days per week for a total of 30 days. The patients were measured before and after completion of their assigned yoga practices with the Roland–Morris back pain and Disability Questionnaire.

 

They found that yoga practice resulted in a significant reduction in pain and disability with the more practice the greater the improvement. After the single session, there was a 23% reduction in pain and disability while after 15 days of practice there was a 51% reduction, and after 30 days of practice there was a 64% reduction. Hence yoga practice was effective in reducing the primary symptoms of Spondylitis (cervical osteoarthritis). It is speculated that the increased strength and flexibility produced by the yoga practice markedly reduced tension in the back, reducing pain and the resultant disability.

 

So, relieve back pain with yoga.

 

“Yoga is a natural and holistic remedy for cervical spondylosis. A regular practice of this ancient science leads to a flexible body, calm mind and a positive attitude towards life.” – Art of Living

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Manik, R. K., Mahapatra, A. K., Gartia, R., Bansal, S., & Patnaik, A. (2017). Effect of Selected Yogic Practices on Pain and Disability in Patients with Lumbar Spondylitis. International Journal of Yoga, 10(2), 81–87. http://doi.org/10.4103/0973-6131.205516

 

Abstract

Aim:

The study was designed to find the effect of selected yogic practices on lumbar spondylitis.

Materials and Methods:

This was a prospective, randomized study without a control trial. A total of 172 participants with lumbar spondylitis (age 21–79 years) from the outpatient department (OPD) of neurosurgery, AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, were randomly assigned to receive yoga therapy. The module of selected yogic practices consisted of pawanamuktasana series 1 (loosening and strengthening), asana, pranayama, and relaxation techniques Yoga Nidra.

Statistics Analysis:

Within groups, comparison was done by paired t-test, and between groups, ANOVA test was carried out to determine the significant difference among the various groups under study. Correlation regression analysis was done to measure the degree of linear relationship between pre- and post-study for various groups.

Results:

Significant differences were observed with yoga therapy in instant relieve practice group, in short-term practice group, and in long-term practice group (LTPG) with better results in LTPG.

Conclusion:

Selected yoga therapy has got the better result in management of pain in lumbar spondylitis.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433117/