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If you are a vegan yogis, you are already well on your way to fighting prostate cancer. Researchers found that this combination "seems to switch on genes that fight disease, while effectively turning off others that can promote cancer," reports the U.K.'s Telegraph. The findings were reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Dr. Dean Ornish, working with Dr. Christopher Haqq and Prof. Peter Carroll. How has a vegan diet and yoga affected your health?
A new study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, recommends regular, moderately intense exercise such as walking, strength training, and yoga to alleviate pain caused by fibromyalgia and arthritis. The study had 135 women exercising three times a week for four months, initially for 30 minutes and increasing to 60 minutes. Pain was reduced by 45 percent after 16 weeks. It can be hard for people living with pain to get motivated to exercise. Has anyone experienced this or had success teaching students with chronic pain?
The bad news: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are the leading cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for people aged 65 and older.
The good news: Iyengar Yoga may help improve stability and balance in women over age 65, possibly helping them to avoid falls, The Washington Post reports. "After nine weeks of participating in an Iyengar Yoga program designed for senior citizens, 24 elderly females had a faster stride, an increased flexibility in the lower extremities, an improved single-leg stance and increased confidence in walking and balance, according to the findings of researchers at Temple University's Gait Study Center." Maybe this will encourage mom and grandma to head to the yoga studio!
According to Reuters, recent studies conducted in Sweden and India show that yoga can reverse biochemical changes associated with high blood pressure, obesity, and high blood sugar. Waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar, and triglycerides were significantly lower, and "good" HDL cholesterol levels were higher in the yoga group as compared to a control group, report researchers in the journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. Have you reversed a heart disease risk factor with yoga alone?
If you're a parent, you may have noticed your baby gravitating toward the gentlest soul in the elevator. That's because researchers have discovered that babies are more capable judges of character than previously thought. Infants can, in fact, pick out a good Samaritan, according to a Yale University study published in the journal Nature. Talk about beginner's mind. Anyone out there have first-hand experience they want to share?
Immunologists and geneticists in India are working with Ayurveda experts in a first of its kind project to scientifically explain the physiological reactions that take place during Ayurvedic treatments.
Scientists are specifically interested in Ayurvedic rasayana therapy, which involves the use of herbal and mineral extracts to rejuvenate the body, and how these formulations may be rebuilding DNA. Narasimha rasayana and its supposed role in repairing worn out cells will also be studied. A related project will look at the relationship between an individual's genetic make-up and Ayurveda's dosha classification system. How has ayurveda helped you?
Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta have found that the addition of an eight-week course of yoga to standard medical therapy in heart failure patients improved patients' ability to exercise, lowered levels of inflammation, and boosted overall quality of life. The findings were presented at the American Heart Association sessions in Orlando. Fla., on November 5.
A study conducted by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, found women being treated for early-stage breast cancer who participated in a yoga program experienced a smaller decline in social well-being than women who did not do yoga. In addition, among the women who were not currently receiving chemotherapy, yoga improved overall quality of life and mood. The findings were reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. If you are a cancer survivor who benefited from yoga, please let us know.
It may seem like a no-brainer to most yogis, but now the medical community agrees: yoga reduces hypertension. A study at Yale followed participants who used yoga, meditation, and guided imagery. All three practices favorable affected systolic and diastolic blood pressure, but yoga had the best results, with mean systolic reductions of 19.07 mm Hg and diastolic by 13.13 mm Hg. Has anyone reduced their blood pressure using yoga?
New research shows that yoga can relieve both psychological and physical symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. It also appears yoga can lift levels of an antidepressant-like hormone, allopregnanolone, typically low in chronic sufferers. Dr. Ratna Sharma, a physiologist at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, in New Delhi, told the World Congress of Neuroscience in Melbourne, "The fact that [yoga] appears to influence symptoms and also change levels of an important hormone is very significant indeed." Sharma said women with the worst psychological symptoms benefited most. Do certain asanas or pranayama help you with PMS?
The Papworth method, developed 40 years ago, has recently been proven to relieve asthma symptoms, depression and anxiety according to an article published in the journal Thorax. The technique includes a sequence of breathing and relaxation exercises developed in the 1960s at the Papworth Hospital in the U.K. Despite its anecdotal success, no research had been conducted on the method until a recent study by Drs. Elizabeth A. Holloway and Robert J. West, from University College London. Have you used this method or another yogic breathing method to control asthma?
This fall, a team of British academics, yoga teachers and practitioners will join forces to find out if a 12-week course of Iyengar Yoga can be used to treat lower back pain. More than 260 people between the ages of 18 and 65 who have had back pain in the past 18 months will participate in the trial. David Torgerson, director of the University of the York Clinical Trials Unit, told the BBC, "If the trial shows yoga to be effective then this low-cost treatment will have a considerable impact in the quality of life of patients with back pain." Which asanas do you find best relieve—or even prevent—lower back pain?
The findings of a new study conducted at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and McLean Hospital show that practicing yoga may elevate brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels. Low GABA levels are associated with depression, anxiety, epilepsy, and even Alzheimer's. Complete study information can be found in the May issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
Have you tried to banish the blues with yoga? Do you still have to take anti-depressants? Let us know.
Researchers in India recently have discovered that when migraine sufferers practiced yoga and pranayama, the frequency and intensity of their headaches diminished. The pain relief also helped alleviate anxiety and depression that can accompany migraines. Complete study findings can be found in the May issue of the journal Headache.
Which poses or pranayama do you find most helpful with headaches?
Yet another study that proves yoga does a body good: At Penn State they have found that women going through menopause who practice yoga feel better than those who don't. Yoga was "effective in enhancing positive mood and decreasing negative mood and also improving menopause-related quality of life," said kinesiology professor Steriani Elavsky, who led the study. But don't throw out your soy supplements quite yet: it wasn't conclusive whether yoga reduces hot flashes.
If you're a yogini who has noticed a difference, weigh in with your comments.
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