Yoga

Improve Obesity with Yoga

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Improve Obesity with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Yoga is a powerful activity that connects mind, body and a sense of self to achieve endless health benefits, including maintaining weight-loss. The philosophy of yoga fosters a healing practice that brings peace and acceptance to the self no matter where you are in your life.” – Laurel Dierking

 

Obesity has become an epidemic in the industrialized world. In the U.S. the incidence of obesity, defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above has more than doubled over the last 35 years to currently around 35% of the population, while two thirds of the population is considered overweight or obese (BMI > 25). Although the incidence rates have appeared to stabilize, the fact that over a third of the population is considered obese is very troubling. This is because of the health consequences of obesity. 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 “Yoga Practice for Reducing the Male Obesity and Weight Related Psychological Difficulties-A Randomized Controlled Trial.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198375/

Rshikesan and colleagues recruited overweight and obese (BMI > 25) male participants. They were randomly assigned to either receive Integrated Yoga Therapy or a no-treatment control condition. The yoga therapy instruction was conducted for 90 minutes per day, 5 days per week, for 14 weeks, consisting of lecture, stretching, yoga sun salutations, postures, breathing exercises and meditation This was followed by 3 months of home yoga practice. The participants were measured prior to training, after 14 weeks of training and after the 3-month home practice, for body weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist and hip circumference, body shape index, skinfold thickness, % body fat, perceived stress, and acceptance of weight related problems.

 

They found that compared to the no-treatment control condition that showed non-significant improvements, the yoga therapy group had significant decreases in weight, arm circumference, % body fat, Body Mass Index (BMI), and skinfold thickness and a decrease in perceived stress. Hence, Integrated Yoga Therapy produced a significant improvement in the physical and psychological manifestations of obesity.

 

These are encouraging results but the conclusions from the study need to be tempered as the improvements were relatively small, with a 3%, ~ 2 kg, reduction in weight after over a half a year of practice. In addition, the control condition did not include any programmed exercise or dietary activity. So, the results could have been produced by any increase in exercise induced caloric expenditure, or potentially by a placebo, experimenter bias, or attentional effect. Also, it has long been known that upon initiating an exercise program there is a small decrease in weight initially, but no further reductions occur with continued practice. So, it cannot be concluded that the yoga practice would continue to reduce weight and improve body shape. Regardless, the program did improve the physical and psychological manifestations of obesity.

 

So, improve obesity with yoga.

 

“What matters is having other fat people around, supporting each other and improving together. Fat people spend their whole lives trying to fit into a world that neither fits nor accepts them. Having a separate space to explore one’s physical self — and one’s spirituality — with others who have the same goals, is tremendously healing.” – Kay Erdwinn

 

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

Rshikesan, P. B., Subramanya, P., & Nidhi, R. (2016). Yoga Practice for Reducing the Male Obesity and Weight Related Psychological Difficulties-A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research : JCDR, 10(11), OC22–OC28. http://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2016/22720.8940

 

Abstract

Introduction

Obesity is a health disorder and increasing all over the world. It is also a cause for many non-communicable diseases. Yoga practice reduces the stress level which may improve the eating habits and help in weight reduction.

Aim

To assess the final outcome of the effects after 3 months of the 14 weeks yoga training on obesity of adult male in an urban setting.

Materials and Methods

This was a randomized controlled trial with parallel groups (Yoga and Control groups) on male obese. Total 80 subjects with Body Mass Index (BMI) between 25 to 35 kg/cm2 were enrolled and randomized into two equal groups in which 72 subjects (yoga n = 37 and control n=35) completed the trial. Yoga group mean age ± SD was 40.03±8.74 and Control group mean age±SD was 42.20±12.06. A 14 weeks special IAYT (Integrated Approach of Yoga Therapy) yoga training was given to the Yoga group and no specific activity was given to Control group. The interim results of this study at 14 weeks were covered in another article which is under process. After the 14 weeks of yoga training the Yoga group was asked to continue the yoga practice for the next 3 months and the Control group was not given any physical activity. The final outcome is covered in this paper.

The assessments were anthropometric parameters of body weight (Wt), BMI (Body Mass Index), MAC (Mid-upper Arm Circumferences of left and right arm), WC (Waist Circumference), HC (Hip Circumference), WHR (Waist Hip Ratio), SKF (Skin Fold Thickness) of biceps, triceps, sub scapular, suprailiac and cumulative skin fold thickness value), Percentage body fat based on SKF and Psychological questionnaires of PSS (Perceived Stress Scale) and AAQW (Acceptance and Action Questionnaire for Weight related difficulty). Assessments were taken after 3 months of yoga training, for both Yoga and Control groups. Within group, between group and correlation analyses were carried out using SPSS 21.

Results

Improvement in anthropometric and psychological parameters such as Wt, Percentage body fat, PSS were observed in the final outcome. Also, some of the improvements such as AAQW score were lost in the final outcome, compared to interim results.

Conclusion

The yoga practice is effective for obesity control for adult male in an urban setting.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198375/

 

Improve the Psychological Well-Being of Patients with Multiple Chronic Diseases with Yoga

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Improve the Psychological Well-Being of Patients with Multiple Chronic Diseases with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Yoga can be beneficial for individuals with disabilities or chronic health conditions through both the physical postures and breathwork. Each pose can be modified or adapted to meet the needs of the student. Yoga asanas can be performed while seated in a chair or wheelchair.” – National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD)

 

The prevalence of chronic diseases has increased with population ageing with around 18% of the elderly having debilitating chronic diseases. “The most common diagnoses are diabetes, stroke, hypertension, cancer, arthritis, asthma, fractures, the presence of an artificial knee or hip, fatigue, multiple sclerosis, demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, gonarthrosis, ataxia, COPD, dependence on renal dialysis, malignant neoplasm of breast/prostate, depressive episodes, and pure hypercholesterolemia” (Curtis et al., 2016) and dementia.

 

The situation, however, is much more complex as over half have an additional chronic disease (multimorbidity). This situation has been termed Complex Chronic Disease and Disability (CCDD). Although there are a myriad of combinations, the disease pairs that were significantly associated with the highest likelihood of disability contained dementia (dementia–hip fracture, dementia–cardiovascular disease, and dementia–depression). These individuals are very frail, often confined to bed or wheelchairs. They provide a difficult challenge for caregiving and treatments to help relieve their suffering are badly needed.

 

Yoga practice has been found to be effective for the prevention and treatment of a large array of chronic psychological and physical problems, even for the elderly in hospice, with cancer, COPD, Kidney Disease, anxiety and depression, and dementia. Hence, it would seem reasonable to hypothesize that yoga may be effective for patients with Complex Chronic Disease and Disability (CCDD). In today’s Research News article “Evaluation of a Specialized Yoga Program for Persons Admitted to a Complex Continuing Care Hospital: A Pilot Study.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5223015/

Curtis and colleagues performed a pilot study of the effectiveness of yoga practice for male and female elderly (average age 63 years) in an institution with Complex Chronic Disease and Disability (CCDD). Most were in wheelchairs or had severe mobility issues.

 

The patients were provided with a Hatha Yoga program modified for practice in a sitting position, once a week for 8 weeks and were provided with recordings to guide personal daily practice. The practice included relaxation, body scan, and yoga postures. They were measured prior to, midway through, and after the practice for pain, pain catastrophizing, including rumination, magnification, and helplessness, perceived stress, anxiety and depression, perceived injustice, mindfulness, self-compassion, and spiritual well-being, including peace and meaning. They found that the yoga practice benefited the patients increasingly as the practice continued over the 8 weeks producing significant reduction in anxiety and pain magnification, and increases in self-compassion.

 

These are interesting results and suggest that yoga practice may be beneficial for chronically disabled patients with multiple diseases, improving their psychological well-being. This is a very difficult group to care for and treat and as such, the fact that yoga practice may be helpful, is exciting. It should be mentioned that this was a pilot study, without a control condition, and thus no firm conclusions can be reached. But, the results provide evidence and a rationale for conducting a large randomized controlled clinical trial in the future. A program that can help ease the suffering of these afflicted individuals would certainly be warmly welcomed both by the patients and the caregivers.

 

“Yoga therapy is very much about the whole person. It is complementary to physical therapy, but we take into account that back pain may be related to an emotional element, or it may be from lifestyle, some pattern that is not serving them, physical movement patterns or other patterns.” – Janice Gate

 

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

Curtis, K., Kuluski, K., Bechsgaard, G., Ridgway, J., & Katz, J. (2016). Evaluation of a Specialized Yoga Program for Persons Admitted to a Complex Continuing Care Hospital: A Pilot Study. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : eCAM, 2016, 6267879. http://doi.org/10.1155/2016/6267879

 

Abstract

Introduction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a specialized yoga intervention for inpatients in a rehabilitation and complex continuing care hospital. Design. Single-cohort repeated measures design. Methods. Participants (N = 10) admitted to a rehabilitation and complex continuing care hospital were recruited to participate in a 50–60 min Hatha Yoga class (modified for wheelchair users/seated position) once a week for eight weeks, with assigned homework practice. Questionnaires on pain (pain, pain interference, and pain catastrophizing), psychological variables (depression, anxiety, and experiences with injustice), mindfulness, self-compassion, and spiritual well-being were collected at three intervals: pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. Results. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed a significant main effect of time indicating improvements over the course of the yoga program on the (1) anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, F(2,18) = 4.74, p < .05, and ηp2 = .35, (2) Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form, F(2,18) = 3.71, p < .05, and ηp2 = .29, and (3) Magnification subscale of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, F(2,18) = 3. 66, p < .05, and ηp2 = .29. Discussion. The results suggest that an 8-week Hatha Yoga program improves pain-related factors and psychological experiences in individuals admitted to a rehabilitation and complex continuing care hospital.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5223015/

Reduce Medical Student’s Stress Response with Yoga

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Reduce Medical Student’s Stress Response with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“By reducing perceived stress and anxiety, yoga appears to modulate stress response systems. This, in turn, decreases physiological arousal — for example, reducing the heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and easing respiration.” – Harvard Mental Health Letter

 

Medical School is challenging both intellectually and psychologically. Stress levels are high and burnout is common. It’s been estimated that 63% of medical students experience negative consequences from stress while symptoms of severe stress were present in 25% of students. The prevalence of stress is higher among females than among males. High stress levels lead to lower performance in medical school and higher levels of physical and mental health problems, especially anxiety and depression. Indeed 50% of medical students report burnout and 11% have considered suicide in the last year.

 

Obviously, there is a need to either lower stress levels in medical education or find methods to assist medical students in dealing with the stress. One promising possibility is mindfulness training. It has been shown to reduce both the psychological and physiological responses to stress. It has also been shown to reduce stress in students, to help with the negative consequences of stress, and to reduce burnout in medical professionals. So, it would seem reasonable to suspect that mindfulness would be helpful in assisting medical students cope with the stress of their training.

 

Yoga practice is a mindfulness technique that has been found to have extensive physical and psychological benefits and has the additional benefit of being also a physical exercise. This may be particularly beneficial for stressed medical students. In today’s Research News article “Medical Students’ Stress Levels and Sense of Well Being after Six Weeks of Yoga and Meditation.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5174168/

Prasad and colleagues recruited male and female medical students who did not practice yoga. The participants attended a one hour Hatha yoga class, twice a week, for six weeks. They were measured before and after training for perceived stress, happiness, peace, focus, endurance, positivity, personal satisfaction, self-confidence, patience, and fatigue.

 

They found that after the yoga practice there was a significant reduction in perceived stress and significant increases in peace, focus, and endurance. In addition, there were no adverse effects and the students were very positive about participation. Hence, they found that after yoga practice there was significant improvement in the medical students’ stress levels and psychological state.

 

This study is a pilot, proof of concept study, that did not include a control condition. So, conclusions need to be tempered. Without an active control condition a large number of confounding factors, including placebo effects, attention effects, experimenter bias, maturation effects, etc., are potential explanations for the significant improvements. The study, though is encouraging and provides evidence supporting conducting a large randomized controlled clinical trial of the effectiveness of yoga for the treatment of stress in medical students.

 

“The science is now in: practice in mindfulness meditation decreases stress and can help you avoid the negative outcomes of burnout and loss of empathy. Mindfulness practice can also help you study more efficiently and retain more information from class lectures. It can increase your quality of life and, in some people, it protects against depression. And of all of these effects are founded upon changes in basic brain structures and function. “ – Brown University School of Medicine

 

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

Prasad, L., Varrey, A., & Sisti, G. (2016). Medical Students’ Stress Levels and Sense of Well Being after Six Weeks of Yoga and Meditation. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : eCAM, 2016, 9251849. http://doi.org/10.1155/2016/9251849

 

Abstract

Objective. To determine the effect of six weeks of yoga and meditation on medical students’ levels of perceived stress and sense of wellbeing prior to taking their exams. Methods. We conducted a prospective case-control study of first-through-third-year medical students at our academic institution, measuring levels of perceived stress and sense of wellbeing before and after a six-week yoga and meditation intervention. Questionnaires used for evaluation included the perceived stress scale (PSS) and self-assessment surveys (SAS). The postintervention surveys were completed on the day of the students’ written exams. Results. A total of thirteen women and fourteen men participated. Median age was 28 (24 yrs–32 yrs). 48.1% were Caucasian, 7.4% Black, 11.1% Hispanic, 11.1% Asian, and 22.2% other. Paired t-tests showed a statistically significant reduction in perceived stress (18.44 versus 14.52; p = 0.004) after the six-week yoga and meditation program. After the yoga intervention, self-assessment survey results showed a significant improvement in feelings of peace, focus, and endurance. Improvements in happiness, positivity, personal satisfaction, and self-confidence were also seen. An improvement in unsubstantiated parameters such as patience and fatigue was observed. Conclusion. Yoga and meditation may be effective in reducing stress levels and improving aspects of personal wellbeing in medical students.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5174168/

Improve ADHD in Children with Yoga

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Improve ADHD in Children with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“For individuals with the ADD/ADHD wiring, who have a tendency toward addiction and extreme behavior, building awareness is essential. Mindfulness and the ability to focus go hand-in-hand. I think of mindfulness as a muscle that can be strengthened through meditation/prayer, yoga, exercise, and self-discipline.” – Michael Ferguson

 

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is currently epidemic in the US. Roughly 6.4 million American children have been diagnosed with ADHD and 6.4% of American children are being treated with medication. There has been a 42% increase in the diagnoses of ADHD in the last 8 years. It should be emphasized that this increase in diagnoses probably represents an increase in awareness and willingness to diagnose ADHD rather than an increase in cases of ADHD. “Many children who like to run and jump may be high-energy. But that doesn’t mean they are hyperactive. To count as ADHD, symptoms have to be on the extreme side and have to cause problems in the child’s life. Also, they have to have been doing this for at least 6 months.” – WebMD

 

What can be done about this huge problem that is affecting such a large proportion of American children and adults? The most common treatment is drugs, like methylphenidate, Ritalin, which helps reduce symptoms in about 30% of the people with ADHD. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the drugs appears to be markedly reduced after the first year. In addition, the drugs often have troublesome side effects, including nervousness agitation, anxiety, irritability, sleep and appetite problems, head and stomach aches, nausea, dizziness, and heart palpitations. They can also be addictive and can readily be abused. If that’s not enough using drugs that alter the brain in children during the time of brain development is fraught with long-term risks. So, drugs, at present, do not appear to be a good solution, only affecting some, only for a short time, and with unwanted side effects.  Is there a better way?

 

There are indications that mindfulness training may be a more effective treatment for ADHD. It makes sense that it should be, as the skills and abilities strengthened by mindfulness training are identical to those that are defective in ADHD, attention, impulse control, executive function, emotion control, and mood improvement. Yoga would appear to be particularly appropriate as it’s also an exercise and as such an outlet for some of the excess energy.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of an 8-week yoga program on sustained attention and discrimination function in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5237364/

Chou and Huang examine the ability of yoga training as a treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). They recruited children between the ages of 8 to 12 who had been diagnosed with ADHD. They were assigned based upon their school district to either be in a no-treatment control group or receive yoga training for 40 minutes, twice a week, for 8 weeks. They were measured before and after training for concentrated targeted perception (visual pursuit task), for their “discrimination ability for reaction speed, attention deficits, and reactive stress tolerance in the presence of continuous but rapidly changing acoustic and optical stimuli” (Determination test), and physical fitness.

 

They found that the yoga practice resulted in a significant increase in accuracy and faster reaction time in the visual pursuit task, indicating improved concentration. They also found that the yoga practice produced a significant increase in accuracy and faster reaction time in the Determination test, indicating improves discrimination ability. Hence, it appears that yoga practice improves attention, both concentrated and selective in children with ADHD.

 

It needs to be remembered that the control group in the study did not receive any active treatment or exercise training. So, it cannot be determined if yoga practice was specifically responsible for the improvements or that any exercise or any intervention would have similar effects. It is possible that the increased attention, placebo effect, or experimenter bias effect might have been responsible. Future research should improve the control condition by including exercise and placebo control conditions. Regardless it is clear that the children treated with yoga practice markedly improved their attentional abilities.

 

So, improve ADHD in children with yoga.

 

“Those diagnosed with ADHD are often stressed, distracted and unable to focus. The benefits of yoga include stress relief, increased focus, self-awareness, meditation as well as confidence all things those with ADHD can benefit from without the use of medication.” – Carol Traulsen

 

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

Chou, C.-C., & Huang, C.-J. (2017). Effects of an 8-week yoga program on sustained attention and discrimination function in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. PeerJ, 5, e2883. http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2883

 

Abstract

This study investigated whether a yoga exercise intervention influenced the sustained attention and discrimination function in children with ADHD. Forty-nine participants (mean age = 10.50 years) were assigned to either a yoga exercise or a control group. Participants were given the Visual Pursuit Test and Determination Test prior to and after an eight-week exercise intervention (twice per week, 40 min per session) or a control intervention. Significant improvements in accuracy rate and reaction time of the two tests were observed over time in the exercise group compared with the control group. These findings suggest that alternative therapies such as yoga exercises can be complementary to behavioral interventions for children with attention and inhibition problems. Schools and parents of children with ADHD should consider alternatives for maximizing the opportunities that children with ADHD can engage in structured yoga  exercises.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5237364/

Improve Eating Disorders with Yoga

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Improve Eating Disorders with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“One of the biggest ways yoga helped me heal from anorexia was the release it provided me. I had stored so much in my body, so much pain and sadness, that often when I practiced yoga I would sob. I wouldn’t know where the tears were coming from, which used to scare me, but eventually I realized I was softening my grip. I was letting go of who I was in order to become who I am.” – Jennifer Pastiloff

 

Around 30 million people in the United States of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder; either anorexia nervosa, bulimia, or binge eating disorder.  95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 26. Eating disorders are not just troubling psychological problems, they can be deadly, having the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Anorexia Nervosa is particular troubling as it is often fatal as sufferers literally starve themselves to death. It occurs in about 1% to 4% of women in the U.S.  Indeed, the mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate associated with all causes of death for females 15-24 years old.

 

Binge eating disorder (BED) is characterized by the initiation of eating frequently in wildly excessive amounts. It is called disinhibited eating as there appears to be no restraints (inhibitions) that stop food intake. Once eating starts it goes on without anything holding it back. “Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States, affecting 3.5% of women, 2% of men, and up to 1.6% of adolescents.” – National Eating Disorders Association. Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by a cycle of binge eating followed by some form of purge, often induced vomiting. It is estimated that up to 4% of females in the United States will have bulimia during their lifetime. Tragically around 4% of the sufferers will die.

 

Disordered eating is difficult to deal with in part because it is frequently paired with other disorders. In fact, around 50% of people with eating disorders meet the criteria for clinical depression. They are also frequently accompanied by anxiety and body image disturbance Eating disorders are also difficult to treat because eating is necessary and cannot be simply stopped as in smoking cessation or abstaining from drugs or alcohol. One must learn to eat appropriately not stop. So, it is important to find methods that can help prevent and treat eating disorders. Contemplative practices, mindfulness, and mindful eating have shown promise for treating eating disorders. In addition, yoga practice appears to be beneficial.

 

In today’s Research News article “Use of yoga in outpatient eating disorder treatment: a pilot study.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5148831/

Hall and colleagues recruited adolescent girls, aged 11-18 years, who were diagnosed with an eating disorder, either anorexia, bulimia, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, or other specified feeding or eating disorder and received medical monitoring, nutritional counseling and social work intervention. They attended 6-10 weekly 60 to 90-minute yoga classes in addition to their usual treatment. They were measured before and after training for depression, anxiety, anorexia, and symptoms of eating disorders.

 

They found that participation in yoga produced a reduction in anorexia, depression, and anxiety. There were also significant decreases in weight concern and shape concern. Hence, participation in yoga appeared to have significant benefits for adolescent girls with eating disorders reducing body image concerns, improving mood, and reducing restrictive dieting. Yoga appears to be capable of reducing anxiety and depression in college students who do not have an eating disorder. So, the results simply extend these findings to eating disordered adolescent girls. Many girls with eating disorders engage in vigorous exercise to help control weight. It is possible that yoga practice was an effective substitute exercise.

 

It should be pointed out that this was a pilot study that did not have a control condition. So, it cannot be concluded that participation in yoga caused the observed changes, as a number of confounding factors such as participant expectancy effects, experimenter bias, spontaneous remission, attention effects, etc. could have been responsible for the effects. So, although promising, more rigorous research is needed to draw firm conclusions. The results, however, suggest that yoga may be a useful adjunctive treatment for adolescent girls with eating disorders.

 

“Yoga is not a magic wand or an instant fix, but the practice consists of tiny changes which together will not in itself alter your life, but can alter your attitude to life, the tools you use to cope with difficult situations, the approach you take to daily activities, and thus, in all of this, be life changing.” – Francesca Baker

 

 

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 Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

Hall, A., Ofei-Tenkorang, N. A., Machan, J. T., & Gordon, C. M. (2016). Use of yoga in outpatient eating disorder treatment: a pilot study. Journal of Eating Disorders, 4, 38. http://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-016-0130-2

 

Abstract

Background

Individuals with restrictive eating disorders present with co-morbid psychiatric disorders and many attempt to control symptoms using strenuous exercises that increase caloric expenditure. Yoga offers a safe avenue for the engagement in physical activity while providing an outlet for disease-associated symptoms. This study sought to examine use of yoga practice in an outpatient setting and its impact on anxiety, depression and body image disturbance in adolescents with eating disorders.

Methods

Twenty adolescent girls were recruited from an urban eating disorders clinic who participated in weekly yoga classes at a local studio, in addition to standard multidisciplinary care. Yoga instructors underwent training regarding this patient population. Participants completed questionnaires focused on anxiety, depression and body image disturbance prior to the first class, and following completion of 6 and 12 classes.

Results

In participants who completed the study, a statistically significant decrease in anxiety, depression, and body image disturbance was seen, including: Spielberger State anxiety mean scores decreased after the completion of 7–12 yoga classes [47 (95%CI 42–52) to 42 (95%CI 37–47), adj. p = 0.0316]; as did the anorexia nervosa scale [10 (95% CI 7–12) vs. 6 (95%CI 4–8), adj. p = .0004], scores on Beck depression scales [18 (95%CI 15–22) to 10 (95%CI 6–14), adj. p = .0001], and weight and shape concern scores [16 (95%CI 12–20) to 12 (95%CI 8–16), adj. p =0.0120] and [31 (95%CI 25–37) to 20 (95%CI 13–27), adj. p = 0.0034], respectively. No significant changes in body mass index were seen throughout the trial.

Conclusions

Yoga practice combined with outpatient eating disorder treatment were shown to decrease anxiety, depression, and body image disturbance without negatively impacting weight. These preliminary results suggest yoga to be a promising adjunct treatment strategy, along with standard multidisciplinary care. However, whether yoga should be endorsed as a standard component of outpatient eating disorder treatment merits further study.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5148831/

Improve Depression and Cognitive Decline with Yoga

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Improve Depression and Cognitive Decline with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“For years, we’ve been told to keep our minds sharp by doing crosswords and playing Sudoku. But yoga and meditation are more effective than memory exercises for combating the mental decline that often precedes Alzheimer’s. People who practised yoga regularly were also less likely to be depressed and anxious, and were better able to cope with stress. Regular practice could be a simple, safe and low-cost solution to improving brain fitness and ward off ageing.” Madlen Davies

 

The aging process involves a systematic progressive decline in every system in the body, the brain included. This includes our mental abilities which decline with age including impairments in memory, attention, and problem solving ability. It is inevitable and cannot be avoided. But there are more serious declines.

 

Dementia is a progressive loss of mental function produced by degenerative diseases of the brain. Dementia patients require caregiving particularly in the later stages of the disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia and accounts for 50 to 70 percent of dementia cases. Other types of dementia include vascular dementia, mixed dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an intermediate stage between the expected cognitive decline of normal aging and the more-serious decline of dementia. It can involve problems with memory, language, thinking and judgment that are greater than normal age-related changes.

 

There is some hope for age related cognitive decline, however, as there is evidence that they can be slowed. There are some indications that physical and mental exercise can reduce the rate of cognitive decline and lower the chances of dementia. For example, contemplative practices such as meditation, yoga, and tai chi or qigong have all been shown to be beneficial in slowing or delaying physical and mental decline with aging. Mindfulness practices have been shown to improve cognitive processes while gentle mindful exercises such as Tai Chi and Qigong have been shown to slow age related cognitive decline.

 

These age-related declines in mental ability are associated with mood disturbance, particularly depression. So, depression is a potentially modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline in aging. In today’s Research News article “The Roles of Exercise and Yoga in Ameliorating Depression as a Risk Factor for Cognitive Decline.” See summary below: Mathersul and Rosenbaum review the published research literature on the effectiveness of yoga and exercise to relieve depression and restrain cognitive decline.

 

They find that the published literature demonstrates that exercise, including aerobic exercise and strength training improve cognitive ability even in younger individuals and also relieves depression. In addition, the published literature demonstrates that yoga practice is also effective in reducing depression and also restraining cognitive decline. The hormonal system particularly the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis that produces cortisol and sympathetic nervous system, involved in the stress response, may be the common intermediaries as both are associated with cognitive decline and depressions and both are reduced by both yoga and exercise. But, this speculation has yet to be definitively tested.

 

These findings are interesting but are correlational and do not demonstrate causal links between yoga and exercise effects on depression and, in turn, age related cognitive decline. It remains to future research to clarify this issue. Regardless, it is clear that both exercise and yoga are effective to reducing depression and cognitive decline in aging, making them excellent practices for healthy aging.

 

So, improve depression and cognitive decline with yoga.

 

“This ancient Indian practice of exercise, breathing, and meditation has been around for about 5,000 years, and now researchers are finding out why millions of Americans practice yoga to ease depression, anxiety, and stress. In fact, the American Yoga Association says just a few minutes of yoga three times every day can balance your body and mind and get your depression on the run.” – Chris Lliades

 

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

Danielle C. Mathersul and Simon Rosenbaum, “The Roles of Exercise and Yoga in Ameliorating Depression as a Risk Factor for Cognitive Decline,” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2016, Article ID 4612953, 9 pages, 2016. doi:10.1155/2016/4612953

 

Abstract

Currently, there are no effective pharmaceutical treatments to reduce cognitive decline or prevent dementia. At the same time, the global population is aging, and rates of dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are on the rise. As such, there is an increasing interest in complementary and alternative interventions to treat or reduce the risk of cognitive decline. Depression is one potentially modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. Notably, exercise and yoga are two interventions known to both reduce symptoms of depression and improve cognitive function. The current review discusses the efficacy of exercise and yoga to ameliorate depression and thereby reduce the risk of cognitive decline and potentially prevent dementia. Potential mechanisms of change, treatment implications, and future directions are discussed.

Improve Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms with Mindfulness

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Improve Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“mindfulness can be conceptualized as a facilitator of transition, enabling people to adapt to living with a long-term condition, and that this transition is associated with improved, self-directed management, important to both people with long-term conditions and healthcare providers.” – Daniela Semedo

 

MS is a progressive demyelinating disease which attacks the coating on the neural axons which send messages throughout the body and nervous system. It affects about 2 million people worldwide and about 400,000 in the U.S. It is most commonly diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 50 years.  Unfortunately, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis. There are a number of approved medications that are used to treat MS but are designed to lessen frequency of relapses and slow the progression of the disease, but they don’t address individual symptoms.

 

Although there is a progressive deterioration, MS is not fatal with MS patients having about the same life expectancy as the general population. Hence, most MS sufferers have to live with the disease for many years. So, quality of life becomes a major issue. Quality of life with MS is affected by fatigue, cognitive decrements, physical impairment, depression, and poor sleep quality. There is a thus a critical need for safe and effective methods to help relieve the symptoms of MS and improve quality of life. Since mindfulness has been previously shown to improve depression, sleep quality, cognitive impairments, emotion regulation, and fatigue, it would seem likely that mindfulness practice might be effective in improving the quality of life and lessening fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis.

 

In today’s Research News article “The effect of group mindfulness-based stress reduction and consciousness yoga program on quality of life and fatigue severity in patients with MS.” See  summary below or view the full text of the study at http://journals.tbzmed.ac.ir/JCS/Manuscript/JCS-5-325.pdf

Nejati and colleagues recruited patients with multiple sclerosis, aged 20-45 years, who did not practice meditation or yoga, and randomly assigned them to receive either an 8-week program of meditation and yoga practice or treatment as usual (control). Training in meditation and yoga occurred in 8 weekly 2-hour sessions with home practice. Both groups were measured before and after treatment for multiple sclerosis quality of life, psychiatric diseases, and fatigue.

 

They found that the meditation and yoga practice produced significant improvements in the multiple sclerosis quality of life subscales including physical health, role limitations due to physical and emotional problems, energy, emotional well-being, health distress, health perception, and satisfaction with sexual function, overall quality of life, and fatigue severity. There was no improvement found in overall health.

 

It should be noted that this was a quasi-experimental design as the control group did not receive any active additional treatment. Hence, various confounding factors such as placebo effects, attentional effects, etc. could have been responsible for the results. In addition, since the intervention contained both meditation and yoga practice, it cannot be determined which one or both were responsible for the improvements.

 

Nevertheless, the results are encouraging and suggest the mindfulness training might be effective in relieving fatigue and improving the quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis. Since these patients will likely be spending the rest of their lives coping with the disease, making it easier for them to function and improving the quality of their lives is vitally important to their ling-term well-being.

 

So, improve multiple sclerosis symptoms with mindfulness.

 

“Living with the pain, discomfort, and the uncertainties of MS can lead to feelings of frustration, anger, anxiety, and depression. These feelings can lead to physiological changes such as increased fatigue and muscle pain, impaired memory and concentration, and poor sleep. “By becoming mindful and aware of our thoughts, feelings, and body sensations, we can better control situations, and we have more choices. Mindful awareness helps us to become fully conscious of the world as it is, rather than how we wish it could be.” – Regina Boyle Wheeler

 

 

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

Nejati S, Rajezi Esfahani S, Rahmani S, Afrookhteh G, Hoveida Sh. The effect of group mindfulness-based stress reduction and consciousness yoga program on quality of life and fatigue severity in patients with MS. J Caring Sci 2016; 5 (4): 325-35. doi:10.15171/jcs.2016.034.

 

Abstract

Introduction: The chronic nature of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), have can leave devastating effects on quality of life and fatigue. The present research aimed to study the effect of group Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and conscious yoga program on the quality of life and fatigue severity among patients with MS. Methods: This study was quasi-experimental with intervention and control groups. The statistical population included all members to MS Society of Tehran Province, 24 of whom diagnosed with MS were selected as the sample based on the inclusion criteria. The subjects were randomly assigned into the test group (12 patients) and the control group (12 patients). MS Quality of Life-54 (MSQOL-54) and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) were used for data collection. Subjects in the test group underwent a MBSR and conscious yoga program in 8 two-hour sessions. The data were analyzed using the SPSS ver.13 software. Results: The study findings showed that there was a significant difference between subjects in the experimental and control groups in terms of mean score of some subscales of quality of life including physical health, role limitations due to physical and emotional problems, energy, emotional well-being, health distress, health perception, and satisfaction with sexual function, overall quality of life, and fatigue severity. Conclusion: The results show that the program is effective in reduction of fatigue severity and improving some subscales of quality of life in MS patients. Hence, this supportive method can be used as an effective way for improving quality of life and relieving fatigue in MS patients.

http://journals.tbzmed.ac.ir/JCS/Manuscript/JCS-5-325.pdf

 

Relieve Back Pain with Yoga

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Relieve Back Pain with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“This systematic review found strong evidence for short-term effectiveness and moderate evidence for long-term effectiveness of yoga for chronic low back pain in the most important patient-centered outcomes. Yoga can be recommended as an additional therapy to chronic low back pain patients.” – Holger Cramer

 

Low Back Pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide and affects between 6% to 15% of the population. It is estimated, however, that 80% of the population will experience back pain sometime during their lives. There are varied treatments for low back pain including chiropractic care, acupuncture, biofeedback, physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, massage, surgery, opiate pain killing drugs, steroid injections, and muscle relaxant drugs. These therapies are sometimes effective particularly for acute back pain. But, for chronic conditions the treatments are less effective and often require continuing treatment for years and opiate pain killers are dangerous and can lead to abuse, addiction, and fatal overdoses. Obviously, there is a need for safe and effective treatments for low back pain that are low cost and don’t have troublesome side effects.

 

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. 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 and have been shown to be safe and effective in the management of low back pain. Yoga practice has been shown to have a myriad of health benefits. These include relief of chronic pain. Yoga practice has also been shown to be effective for the relief of chronic low-back pain.  Many forms of yoga focus on the proper alignment of the spine, which could directly address the source of back and neck pain for many individuals. So, it makes sense to further explore the effectiveness of yoga therapy for chronic low back pain and the structure of the spine.

 

In today’s Research News article “A Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess Pain and Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based (MRI-Based) Structural Spine Changes in Low Back Pain Patients After Yoga Practice.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1481032081920713/?type=3&theater

or see summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5031167/

Telles and colleagues recruited patients with degenerative intervertebral discs and randomly assigned them to either yoga or treatment as usual waitlist control groups. The yoga group engaged in light exercises and specific physical yoga postures, breathing exercises, and chanting and yoga relaxation techniques, for one hour per day for 3 months. Before and after treatment the participants were measured for pain, anxiety, and spine flexibility. To look at potential structural alteration, the participants’ spines were measured employing Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

 

They found that yoga practice produced a significant reduction in both pain levels and anxiety. There were no significant changes found in spine flexibility or the structure of the spine including nerve compression, endplate changes, and facet joint change. Hence yoga practice was shown to be effective in reducing subjective pain and the anxiety produced by it. This is in line with previous research but it was disappointing not to see changes in spine flexibility or structure. It appears that yoga practice is safe and moderately effective in treating patients with degenerative intervertebral discs.

 

So, relieve back pain with yoga.

 

“Yoga focuses a great deal of attention to developing both balance and flexibility. Improper spinal alignment can cause back pain and decrease range of motion in the spine. Yoga postures focus on elongating the spine and rediscovering the spine’s range of motion. Practicing a few yoga stretches after work can help straighten and strengthen your spine.” – Nicole Carlin

 

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 Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

Telles, S., Bhardwaj, A. K., Gupta, R. K., Sharma, S. K., Monro, R., & Balkrishna, A. (2016). A Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess Pain and Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based (MRI-Based) Structural Spine Changes in Low Back Pain Patients After Yoga Practice. Medical Science Monitor : International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research, 22, 3238–3247. http://doi.org/10.12659/MSM.896599

 

Abstract

Background:

The present study aimed at determining whether 12 weeks of yoga practice in patients with chronic LBP and MRI-based degenerative changes would result in differences in: (i) self-reported pain, anxiety, and spinal flexibility; and (ii) the structure of the discs or vertebrae.

Material/Methods:

Sixty-two persons with MRI-proven degenerative intervertebral discs (group mean ±S.D., 36.2±6.4 years; 30 females) were randomly assigned to yoga and control groups. However, testing was conducted on only 40 subjects, so only their data are included in this study. The assessments were: self-reported pain, state anxiety, spinal flexibility, and MRI of the lumbosacral spine, performed using a 1.5 Tesla system with a spinal surface column. The yoga group was taught light exercises, physical postures, breathing techniques, and yoga relaxation techniques for 1 hour daily for 3 months. No intervention was given to the control group except for routine medical care. A repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc analyses (which was Bonferroni-adjusted) was used. The Ethics Committee of Patanjali Research Foundation had approved the study which had been registered in the Clinical Trials Registry of India (CTRI/2012/11/003094).

Results:

The yoga group showed a significant reduction in self-reported pain and state anxiety in a before/after comparison at 12 weeks. A few patients in both groups showed changes in the discs and vertebrae at post-intervention assessment.

Conclusions:

Within 12 weeks, yoga practice reduced pain and state anxiety but did not alter MRI-proven changes in the intervertebral discs and in the vertebrae.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5031167/

 

Improve Knee Osteoarthritis with Yoga

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Improve Knee Osteoarthritis with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Hatha yoga is an important non-medicinal method in rehabilitation of patients with knee osteoarthritis and will result in a significant decrease in pain and symptoms and a significant increase in daily activities, sports and spare-time activities, and quality of life.” – Gholam Ghasemi,

 

Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative joint disease that is the most common form of arthritis. It produces pain, swelling, and stiffness of the joints. It is the leading cause of disability in the U.S., with about 43% of arthritis sufferers limited in mobility and about a third having limitations that affect their ability to perform their work. In the U.S., osteoarthritis affects 14% of adults over 25 years of age and 34% of those over 65.

 

Knee osteoarthritis effects 5% of adults over 25 years of age and 12% of those over 65. It involves the whole joint, including articular cartilage, meniscus, ligament, and peri-articular muscle. It is painful and disabling. Its causes are varied including, hereditary, injury including sports injuries, repetitive stress injuries, infection, or from being overweight.  There are no cures for knee osteoarthritis. Treatments are primarily symptomatic, including weight loss, exercise, braces, pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, arthroscopic knee surgery, or even knee replacement.

 

Mind-body practices in general have been shown to reduce the gene expressions that underlie the inflammatory response which contribute to arthritis. It is also known that gentle movements of the joints with exercise appears to be helpful in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. This suggests that yoga practice, which involves both mindfulness and exercise of the joints may be useful for treatment. Indeed, yoga practice has been shown to be a safe and effective treatment for a wide variety of physical and psychological conditions, including arthritis. So, it would seem reasonable to look further into the effectiveness of yoga practice in treating knee osteoarthritis.

 

In today’s Research News article “The Effects of Yoga on Pain, Mobility, and Quality of Life in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1471491792874742/?type=3&theater

or see summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5061981/

Kan and colleagues review the published research studies on the effectiveness of yoga practice for knee osteoarthritis. They found 9 published articles, with subjects between 51-70 years of age. Yoga practice was for 60-90 minutes per session and 3-4 sessions per week for from 8-20 weeks. Most of the studies included a control condition, most frequently comparing physical therapy plus yoga practice to physical therapy alone. They found that the literature uniformly reported that the yoga practice was safe, with no adverse effects and that it produced clinically significant decreases in knee osteoarthritis pain. Although the findings were mixed, overall there appeared to be improvement produced by yoga practice in movement and mobility, and the patients’ quality of life.

 

The published research strongly suggests that the practice of yoga is a safe and effective way to improve pain, mobility, and quality of life in people suffering with knee osteoarthritis. Yoga contains both exercise and mindfulness practice. The published studies did not separate these components. So, it cannot be determined if either alone or in combination are essential for effectiveness. But, it is clear that knee osteoarthritis patients can practice yoga and that it is a safe and effective practice to help relieve the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.

 

So, improve knee osteoarthritis with yoga.

 

“Yoga is definitely one option for people with arthritis. Not only for the exercise benefits, but it’s also beneficial in the mind/body area, promoting relaxation and stress reduction,” – Sharon Kolasinksi

 

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

Kan, L., Zhang, J., Yang, Y., & Wang, P. (2016). The Effects of Yoga on Pain, Mobility, and Quality of Life in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : eCAM, 2016, 6016532. http://doi.org/10.1155/2016/6016532

 

Abstract

Objective. To systematically assess the effects of yoga on pain, mobility, and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods. Pubmed, Medline, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), and other sources were searched systematically in this study. Two reviewers identified eligible studies and extracted data independently. Downs and Black’s Quality Index were used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included studies. Results. A total of 9 articles (6 studies) involving 372 patients with knee osteoarthritis met the inclusion criteria. The most common yoga protocol is 40~90 minutes/session, lasting for at least 8 weeks. The effect of yoga on pain relief and function improvement could be seen after two-week intervention. Conclusion. This systematic review showed that yoga might have positive effects in relieving pain and mobility on patients with KOA, but the effects on quality of life (QOL) are unclear. Besides, more outcome measure related to mental health of yoga effects on people with KOA should be conducted.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5061981/

 

Improve Obesity with Yoga

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Improve Obesity with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Yoga has an important role to play in the treatment of Obesity. Yoga techniques affect body, internal organs, endocrine glands, brain, mind and other factors concerning Body – Mind complex. Various Yoga techniques can be practiced effectively to reduce the weight and achieve normal healthy condition of Body and Mind.” – Prafulla Dorle

 

Obesity has become an epidemic in the industrialized world. In the U.S. the incidence of obesity, defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above has more than doubled over the last 35 years to currently around 35% of the population, while two thirds of the population is considered overweight or obese (BMI > 25). Although the incidence rates have appeared to stabilize, the fact that over a third of the population is considered obese is very troubling. This is because of the health consequences of obesity. 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 “Effect of Integrated Approach of Yoga Therapy on Male Obesity and Psychological Parameters-A Randomised Controlled Trial.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1461037563920165/?type=3&theater

or see summary below or view the full text of the study at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5121695/

Rshikesan & Subramanya recruited overweight and obese males with Body Mass Indexes (BMIs) between 23 to 35 and randomly assigned them to either a treatment as usual control group or a yoga therapy group. The yoga therapy was administered 90 minutes per day, five days per week for 14 weeks and consisted of postures, breathing exercises, relaxation, and meditation. The participants were measured both before and after the treatment for height, weight, circumferences of the upper arm, waist, and hips, skin fold thicknesses, weight related acceptance and action, and perceived stress.

 

They found that in comparison to before treatment, the yoga therapy group had modest but significant reductions in weight, BMI, front skinfold thickness, arm and hip circumferences, perceived stress, and weight related acceptance and action while the control group did not. But, the differences between yoga and control groups were only significantly different for arm circumference and skinfold thickness. The yoga group consistently had better results on the average than the control group. This suggests that the study did not have large enough groups to statistically detect modest differences between groups. In addition, there was not an alternate exercise control condition, e.g. walking exercise. So, it cannot be concluded that yoga specifically and not any form of light exercise produced the benefits.

 

The results are encouraging but not spectacular and suggest that yoga therapy can produce modest improvements in overweight and obese males. Yoga, being a light exercise, can contribute to energy expenditure and improve body composition, shifting weight from fat to muscle mass. Yoga also has a wide variety of other physical and psychological benefits. So, the present study may underestimate the value of yoga practice for overweight and obese individuals.

 

So, improve obesity with yoga.

 

“Yoga is an excellent exercise and spiritual discipline for people of any size. For some fat students, simply being made aware of body mechanics differences and being made welcome in a class are enough to bolster their confidence and allow them to progress.” – Kay Erdwinn

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

Rshikesan, P. B., & Subramanya, P. (2016). Effect of Integrated Approach of Yoga Therapy on Male Obesity and Psychological Parameters-A Randomised Controlled Trial. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research : JCDR, 10(10), KC01–KC06. http://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2016/21494.8727

 

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity is a growing global epidemic and cause of non-communicable diseases. Yoga is one of the effective ways to reduce stress which is one of the causes of obesity.

Aim: To assess the effect of Integrated Approach of Yoga Therapy (IAYT) yoga module on adult male obesity in an urban setting.

Materials and Methods: RCT (Randomized Controlled Trial) was conducted for 14 weeks on obese male subjects with yoga and control groups. Total number of subjects were 72 and they were randomized into two groups (Yoga n=37, Control n=35). The subjects were from an urban setting of Mumbai and were doing yoga for the first time. Special yoga training of IAYT was given to yoga group for one and half hour for 5 days in a week for 14 weeks. The control group continued regular physical activities and no specific physical activity was given. The assessments were anthropometric parameters of weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), MAC (Mid Upper Arm Circumferences) of Left and Right Arm, Waist Circumference (WC), HC (Hip Circumference), WHR (Waist Hip Ratio), SKF(Skin Fold Thickness of Biceps, Triceps, Sub scapular, suprailiac and cumulative), Percentage body fat based on SKF and Psychological Questionnaires of Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and AAQW (Acceptance and Action Questionnaire for Weight Related Difficulty). These were taken before and after intervention for both yoga and control groups. Within and between group analysis & correlation of differences from post to pre readings among the variables, were carried out using SPSS 21.

Results: The anthropometric and psychological parameters were improved in both the groups but changes were significant in yoga group.

Conclusion: Incorporating the IAYT for obese male in urban setting will be effective for obesity treatment and for reducing the obesity related problems.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5121695/