Monthly Archives: September 2011

Studies support using yoga for weight loss

Posted on by
Reply

If you are overweight or obese, you're not alone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one-third of American adults is obese, and another one-third is overweight. With poor dietary and cardiovascular health so rampant these days, it's important to find an exercise system that works. In that regard, many people are using yoga for weight loss.

Scientific studies confirm that stretching, posing, breathing deeply and engaging in mindfulness meditation may help the body burn calories and rid itself of excess fat.

For instance, a report published in the journal Topics in Clinical Nutrition found that doing yoga can not only reduce one's body mass, but even prevent weight gain in the first place.

Researchers found that adults who participated in yoga for one to four years displayed lower blood pressure than those newer to the regimen. Likewise, long-time practitioners were less likely to be obese, hypertensive or anxious.

A similar study appeared in the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. In it, scientists from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's Division of Public Health Sciences announced that regular yoga exercises can prevent further weight gain among overweight adults.

In the report, the team described analyzing the health records of more than 15,000 adults recruited for the Vitamin and Lifestyle (VITAL) cohort study. In particular, the group looked at individuals' height, weight and self-reported exercise routines for the prior decade.

The authors found that normal-weight people who practiced yoga for more than four consecutive years gained 3.1 fewer pounds on average, compared to those who'd only done yoga for a shorter period of time.

Even more dramatically, over the course of the study, overweight adults who'd been in yoga for at least five years gained 18.5 fewer pounds on average, compared to those who'd initiated yoga more recently or not at all.

Related items

Yoga meditation techniques may improve chances of conception

Posted on by
Reply

Women with fertility problems often look into a wide range of alternative and complementary health options, including herbal supplements, acupuncture and yoga meditation techniques. Though you may not see the connection between using yoga-based mindfulness exercises and improving the odds of conception, scientists do.

According to a pair of recently published studies, regularly engaging in meditative yoga may increase a woman's chances of conceiving a child. This may be a boon for the 7.3 million women who suffer from fertility problems, according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

One report, which appeared in the journal PLoS ONE, found that relaxation techniques changed volunteers' gene expression.

Researchers associated with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center asked 38 women of reproductive age to participate in eight weeks of holistic relaxation training. At the end of the study period, the team found that volunteers' cellular metabolism tended to increase, while oxidative damage had lessened over the interval.

These genomic changes may have a positive effect on a woman's chances of conceiving.

No wonder many couples use yoga and meditation to shrug off the pressure of fertility issues. A survey published in the journal Fertility and Sterility found that about one-quarter of all couples who seek fertility care will try complementary and alternative health practices.

The report was based on the observation of more than 400 couples. Over an 18-month period, 22 percent tried acupuncture, 17 percent bought herbal supplements and 6 percent tried yoga or meditation.

One of the benefits of a yoga-based holistic health regimen is that whether or not it changes one's chances of fertility, it can almost always lead to relaxation. Furthermore, you can try a mindfulness routine without purchasing more than a few basic yoga meditation supplies.

Finally, remember that fertility problems and infertility are two different things. Of the 12 percent of American women who have trouble conceiving, only a little more than half are likely to be fully infertile, according to the CDC.

Related items

Pain management techniques often include yoga

Posted on by
Reply

Finding effective pain management techniques can be a real chore, especially when chronic aches have no apparent physiological source. If you've looked for a way to soothe tension and pain without resorting to pharmaceuticals, perhaps you've come across yoga stretching as a mode of chronic pain management.

Though it may sound rudimentary, yoga is in fact a multifaceted, targeted, pain-fighting system, one that has been in almost continual use for millennia.

The studies are there to prove it. A seminal 1991 report in the Internal Journal of Psychosomatics noted that the yogic approach to pain relief takes several tacks. Besides stretching out tired or tensed muscles, the holistic health system also utilizes the body's own tension-coping mechanisms.

Among other things, students of yoga learn a laundry list of techniques. The author said that these include modulating breathing, easing into relaxation, reflecting on one's place in the world, becoming more self-aware yet less self-conscious, meeting others, forming social bonds and relocating the center of one's pain outside of the body.

This last method is called "changed context of pain," in the study, and it is a vital part of the mental side of pain management.

Visualizing and externalizing pain can make it feel as though the ache is at a remove. This may be one reason why the U.S. Army continues to look into yoga as a way to channel away mental and physical pain.

According to a recent article published on the Army's official webpage, this branch of the Armed Forces is seriously exploring the value of adding yoga, acupuncture, meditation and other alternative health techniques to its repertoire of therapeutic techniques.

Between stretching, posing, deep breathing and meditating, people who suffer from chronic pain may be able to assuage their aches in an effective, lasting way.

Related items

Try these yoga meditation poses if you’re feeling under the weather

Posted on by
Reply

Are you feeling chilly, achy, sneezy, stuffed up, feverish or generally under the weather? If so, you may be suffering from a cold, an infection or a 24-hour bug. Whatever your ailment, it may help to try some yoga meditation poses, especially with flu season just around the corner.

How can yoga help me when I'm sick?

Remember: yoga and meditation do not treat a cold or fever directly. Instead, holistic health regimens can help your body feel better by reducing symptoms and easing discomfort. Once in a more relaxed state, your immune system may feel recharged and ready to fight off pathogens.

Getting started

You may wonder what yoga meditation supplies you'll need in order to help you relax on your sick day. Fortunately, the accoutrement you'll need is minimal.

Start by putting on a loose, long-sleeved shirt and long pants, preferably those woven from organic, all-natural fibers. These clothes will help your body regulate its temperature, keeping it neither too hot nor too chilly.

Turn your room's thermostat to a comfortable setting. Be sure that you feel good before you begin. If your body is telling you to lie down instead, listen to it.

Also, the Yoga Journal (YJ) recommends wrapping your head – and even your eyes, if you have a headache – with an ace bandage as a way to relieve tension.

Yoga meditation poses to try

Roll up a blanket and place it on the floor. Now lie down on it, placing the roll under your lower back. You should feel as if your chest is being pushed up. Stay this way for five minutes. The YJ states that such a pose can open up your airway.

Next, lie flat on the floor with your pelvis against the wall and your legs up in the air, supported against the wall. Your body will make a 90-degree angle, and with your legs above your center of gravity, vital energy will flow down to your chest and head.

Finally, while sitting upright, slowly roll your head in a circle. Try it 30 times in one direction and 30 in the other. This will loosen your neck muscles, releasing tension and relieving cold- or flu-related aches.

Related items

Millions use yoga for chronic pain management

Posted on by
1

Suffering from long-term aches and pains is no joke, since millions of Americans lose work, as well as sleep and peace of mind, over it. However, all is not lost, since yoga offers a number of tools to people looking for methods of chronic pain management.

Billions suffer from chronic pain

One fact about chronic aches that is both encouraging and tragic is that, if you suffer from them, you are by no means alone. A recent survey determined that approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide experience chronic pain. That's about one-quarter of the human population on Earth!

Plenty of conditions qualify as chronic pain or as a direct cause of it. These include cluster headaches, migraines, lower back pain, arthritis, neuropathy, slipped discs, poor posture, spinal damage, sciatica and bursitis, according to the American Academy of Pain Medicine.

Of course, getting focused clinical care for such conditions is critical, since eliminating the source may improve one's pain levels. However, complementary and alternative treatments like yoga may also soothe aches away.

Yoga stretching benefits people with chronic pain

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke states that a number of holistic practices are good for chronic pain. The agency reports that many Americans turn to acupuncture, acupressure and relaxation techniques to quell throbbing joints and lancing pains.

Yoga exercises are particularly effective at reducing pain because there are so many of them, giving a person with aches many options for reducing their pain level.

Individuals who take yoga classes often report significant reductions in back, neck, shoulder and knee pain. In part, this is due to the sheer number of yoga stretches and poses that address these specific areas of the body.

The bottom line…

If you haven't tried yoga for chronic pain, now may be a good time to start. After all, some aches can persist a very long time. The National Institutes of Health states that, without treatment, some chronic pains can last for months, years or even decades.

Related items