Table of contents hide 1 Yoga is the oldest psycho-corporeal discipline on the planet. Over 5, 000 years it has helped millions of practitioners achieve greater well-being and grow spiritually. 2 The western contribution to the acquis of yoga is the scientific studies on physiological effects and therapeutic applications. 3 Carpal tunnel syndrome 4 Back pain 5 Asthma and respiratory problems 6 Ornish, pioneer in research 7 The science of yoga
Yoga is the oldest psycho-corporeal discipline on the planet. Over 5, 000 years it has helped millions of practitioners achieve greater well-being and grow spiritually.
The western contribution to the acquis of yoga is the scientific studies on the physiological effects and therapeutic applications.
The history in the West is as brief as a note within a symphony. He arrived in Europe and America just over 50 years ago and became one of the symbols of naturist and alternative culture. However, over the years, it has become a normal practice. In Spain, it is currently taught in more than 500 centers .
The success of yoga in the West has cost him to be often stripped of his spiritual aspect. In return, the western contribution to the acquis of yoga is scientific studies on physiological effects and therapeutic applications. The main ones interested in scientific recognition are not only yogis - they don't need anyone to prove their effectiveness - but also universities and public administrations such as the United States. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), under the National Institute of Health (equivalent to the Ministry of Health), has allocated $ 78 million to the promotion of scientific research whose results will be published by the most prestigious medical journals . This means an important recognition, because despite the popular success, the word "yoga" has barely appeared in its pages so far.
At the time of writing this article there are 1, 282 studies on yoga in the public Pubmed database, the majority being recent. The review of these studies allows to affirm that through the practice of yoga a person can learn to control the physiological parameters that are at the base of health and that normally escape voluntary control, such as blood pressure, heart and respiratory frequencies, the metabolic rate, the electrical conductivity of the skin, the electrical activity of the brain or the body temperature.
• The practice of yoga activates the lymphatic system, the network of vessels and ganglia responsible for collecting and expelling waste from cellular activity from the body. Research has shown that some asanas, such as dog posture (adho mukha svanasana), increase lymph flow.
• Breathing is the basic tool for the mind to connect with the body . Deep breathing, stretching and relaxed attention "turn off" the sympathetic nervous system, which drags into stress, and "ignites" the parasympathetic, which leads to relaxation. The effect on the body is radical: the heart and respiratory frequencies are reduced, the blood pressure lowers, the hormonal flow is regulated ... A yogi can reduce his respiratory rate to five inspirations / expirations per minute. Under these conditions the body activates the self-healing systems. A good proportion of diseases, including cancer and heart attacks, are related to stress.
• The cardiovascular effects of yoga are spectacular: it lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, increases circulation speed and reverses the processes of arterial obstruction, thus preventing atherosclerosis, infarction and cerebral embolism. There is also a curious redistribution of blood flow: it decreases especially in the kidneys and liver, while it increases in the brain.
• Certain postures with forward flexion perform a massage on the immunoneuroendocrine axis, the line of glands that includes pituitary, hypothalamus, thyroid and adrenal. This massage balances the flow of hormones and fights insomnia and mood swings that accompany menopause.
• Respiratory exercises (pranayama) increase the availability of oxygen in the tissues. This means extra help in the generation of energy at the cellular level. As a consequence the cells of the immune system are reinforced . On the other hand, some studies suggest that chronic oxygen deficiency has to do with the development of degenerative, chronic diseases and cancer. Some therapists turn to yoga to balance the metabolism and promote ideal weight. Respiratory exercises are also very suitable for asthma control .
• During the asanas the yogi maintains a meditative attitude . In this state of consciousness, an experienced yogi multiplies the activity of alpha brain waves by four, according to a study with a Kundalini teacher at the University of California-San Francisco. Other trials have shown that the encephalographic pattern is more orderly and that response times to stimuli are shorter. Alpha waves correspond to a state of relaxation and clear mental activity due to internal stimuli. Patients with epilepsy and hyperactive children have a very unstable pattern of alpha waves. Several studies indicate that yoga helps them avoid crisis and improve their condition. Some types of yogic meditation also favor access to mental states characterized by the predominance of theta waves in which unconscious contents can be accessed.
• Although it cannot be measured yet, it is possible that yoga acts at the quantum level, the subatomic scale of matter where phenomena that occur at the base of health and disease can occur, as well as the integration between body and consciousness. This thesis is defended among others by Deepak Chopra, neurologist and expert in traditional Hindu medicine.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
The effects of yoga are general because it acts on all body systems, but in a medical culture dominated by superspecialization researchers have been forced to find very specific applications. One of them is the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome, as Marian S. Garfinkel, an Iyengar yoga teacher since 1973. has shown. This alteration is a common wrist injury, due to repetitive actions such as typing on the computer. Conventional treatment consists of the administration of analgesics, corticosteroids, splinting or surgical intervention depending on the severity .
Yoga serves both to prevent and to treat the disease. The patients studied were selected in geriatric centers. Those who did yoga twice a week significantly improved their ability to grab by hand and suffered less pain than patients who did not follow the treatment. The study authors said that yoga "was more effective than wrist splinting in relieving symptoms." They also improved the results in a test to measure the severity of the syndrome.
Dr. Garfinkel also uses yoga in her clinical practice to treat osteoarthritis of the hands, joints of the fingers and knees. His experience makes him convinced that yoga is the optimal therapy to prevent and treat injuries due to repeated efforts, the most frequent among workers.
Back pain
Studies funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, under the Government of the United States, have shown that people with lower back pain can benefit from yoga sessions specially designed for their disorder. Thanks to yoga the pain decreases and the ability to move improves.
Asthma and respiratory problems
Other research evaluated the efficacy of yoga on asthmatic patients. Prof. PK Vedanthan, of the Northern Colorado Clinic of Allergy and Asthma, carried out an exhaustive follow-up of the two groups undergoing analysis, recording their symptoms daily and the use of medicines.
One group received yoga classes for 45 minutes a week, including asanas, pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation. The other group continued with the usual routine. After four months, the patients who did yoga showed more relaxation, improved their attitude and used their inhalers less.
Some experts criticized this study, claiming that the benefits are due to oxygenation, which could also have been achieved with other techniques. Then Vedanthan conducted a new trial with 11 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who were being treated with oxygen. The study consisted of removing the oxygen and replacing it with yogic breathing and meditation exercises. All patients said they felt better than before the study and some continued to practice yoga .
Vedhantan, an Indian by birth but professionally based in the United States, practiced yoga as a family tradition, but did not think it could be an effective treatment until 15 years after he had licensed, he received the visit of yogi NV Raghuram and his wife, Dr. S. Nagarathna, of the Vivekananda Kendra Yoga Research Foundation, in Bangalore (India). Marriage had studied the use of yoga to treat problems such as hypertension, psychiatric illnesses and eating disorders, and was looking for a scientist interested in deepen your experiences. Since 1985 Vedanthan investigates the effect of yoga sessions designed by Raghuram. Vedanthan himself continues to practice yoga for 30-40 minutes every day, emphasizing stretching asanas, breathing exercises and meditation.
Ornish, pioneer in research
Perhaps one of the pioneering and most well-known studies on the effects of yoga was the one carried out in 1990 by Dr. Dean Ornish, a prestigious cardiologist, professor at the University of California-San Francisco and friend of former President Clinton, who demonstrated that his program for yoga-based heart disease, support group assistance, physical exercise and a low-fat vegetarian diet could stabilize and in some cases reverse the process of arterial blockage. The Ornish program has prevented 80% of patients from needing a bypass or angioplasty, according to later data.
These findings have justified that in prestigious American hospitals such as the Presbyteran Hospital of New York and Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles offer yoga classes to cardiac patients. The director of the last center, Noel Bairey, says that patients who practice yoga get tremendous benefits .
Ornish considers yoga as an essential part of his therapeutic program as diet and is surprised that most doctors still do not include it protocolally in their treatments. His research continues: he has just published a new investigation on the result of a similar treatment with patients with prostate cancer. The first results, published in April, have shown that it can slow, stop and even go back to the carcinogenic process, as revealed by the drop in the blood indicator of the disease. Ornish suggests that the same preventive effect could occur with breast cancer.
The number of applications of yoga - could be listed many more than those that have appeared in this article - shows that it actually works as a general therapy. What other treatment or medicine can say the same? But despite its medical advantages, it would be a great mistake to resort to asanas only in case of illness. Yoga reaches its authentic dimension when its practice is part of a healthy lifestyle and oriented towards personal growth. This is how honoring the word yoga is done: it means "unity", between the body, the mind and the spirit, and between the person and the world.
Source: http://www.elcorreodelsol.com
The science of yoga
