Yoga - Katz Institute for Women`s Health

May 13, 2014
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• It may seem that there’s nothing you can do about It may seem that there s nothing you can do about stress. The bills won’t stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day, and your career and family responsibilities will always be demanding. p
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• But you have more control than you might think. • IIn fact, the simple realization (awareness) that you’re f t th i l li ti (
) th t ’ in control of your life is the foundation of stress management.
• Managing stress is all about taking charge and control: of your thoughts, emotions, and reactions (the way you deal with problems).
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Yoga at Work—and Beyond!
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The Katz Institute for Women's Health Women's Conference
Celebrating Women's Health: A Better You Today, Mind‐Body‐Spirit
Tuesday, 13 May, 2014
Mind Body techniques
Mind‐Body techniques
• Yoga
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• Meditation
• Deep breathing
• Guided imagery
• Biofeedback
• Hypnosis
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• Qigong
Mind/Body Medicine: Interventions that employ a variety of techniques designed to facilitate the mind’s capacity to affect bodily function and symptoms.
Where did Yoga Come From?
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• India: Greatest gift to the west
India: “Greatest gift to the west”
• Over 2,000 yrs. old
• Men/sages
• Stretches before meditation
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• Taught 1‐on‐1 with master
• Sanskrit language
• Not a religion
Yoga in the U.S.
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• > 13 million Americans are enjoying its health benefits
> 13 million Americans are enjoying its health benefits. (2007 NHIS)
• Fastest‐growing form of exercise.
• Due to its calming effects on the mind, and invigorating effects on the body.
• Used for variety of health conditions and to achieve fitness and relaxation. • Growing evidence of enhancing stress‐coping mechanisms and mind‐body awareness. What is Yoga?
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• Yoga means to “yoke” or “union” of the body
Yoga means to “yoke” or “union” of the body, mind and spirit.
• Yoga classes are everywhere these days, l
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including the neighborhood YMCA, airports, spa, and even the corporate boardroom. • Why? Because yoga challenges both the mind and body is a more holistic approach to and body, is a more holistic approach to exercise, and makes you feel great on your mat—and off.
What is Yoga?
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• Many different types of yoga classes, which M diff
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• Hatha yoga is the most common type of yoga practiced today and combines the physical postures and the breath.
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• By uniting these opposing energies, like the mind and body, movement and breath, one can achieve a state of balance and harmony. Types of Yoga
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• Ananda
• Hatha
• Ashthanga
• Vinyasa
• Bikram
• Anusara
• Iyengar
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• Ishta
• Kundalini
• Sivananda
• Viniyoga
• Baptiste
Do I Need Experience?
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• No. N • Although other types of yoga classes are fast g
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moving and require some experience, if you are a beginner, Hatha yoga is a slower moving, gentler form, perfect for people of all ages and l f
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fitness levels. Side Effects and Risks
• Yoga is generally low
Yoga is generally low‐impact and safe for healthy impact and safe for healthy people when practiced appropriately under the guidance of a well‐trained instructor.
• Overall, those who practice yoga have a low rate of side effects, and the risk of serious injury from yoga is quite low. • Women who are pregnant and people with certain p g
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medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, glaucoma and sciatica should modify or avoid poses – tell your teacher!
some yoga poses Components
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• Pranayama
(breath control)
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(b th t l)
• Asanas (physical postures)
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• The goal is to ensure you are doing the breathing techniques and postures correctly breathing techniques and postures correctly, so you can continue your practice at home.
• One of the greatest things about yoga is its non‐competitive nature! It’s all about YOU! Asanas
• The heart of Yoga
The hea t of Yoga
• Stretching that maintains and enhances flexibility
• Many poses are a form of isometric strengthening exercise, hich in ol e the contraction of muscles
exercise, which involve the contraction of muscles without moving the joint. • Isometric exercise is often used in physical therapy for the rehabilitation of injured joints.
Pranayama
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• Abdominal diaphramic breathing
• Sends a fax to the brain to relax
Most forms of yoga emphasize deepening and lengthening your breath. This stimulates the relaxation response ‐‐ the opposite of the fight‐or‐flight adrenaline b
boost of the stress response.
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• Close your eyes
• Put your hand on your belly
• Imagine a bright red balloon….
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Meditation is part of Yoga
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• Yoga is described as a moving meditation.
• The Yogi (the meditator) seeks not only to reach a deep state of relaxation, but to “still the fluctuations of the mind.” • Monkey Mind: The mind i “ h
is a “chattering monkey” i k ” that one tries to make quiet with meditation.
Meditation
¾ Objective: z to increase awareness ‐‐ “being present”
z to control your attention
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¾ Block out the outer world and submerge yourself in your inner world/mind ¾ Helps harness the full power of our mind, body and spirit
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Types of Meditation
• Mindfulness Meditation: • Attention to the sensation of the flow of the breath in and out of the body
• Allowing thoughts to naturally enter…and exit your ll i
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mind, keeping focus on breath
• Transcendental Meditation:
• Uses a mantra (a word, sound or phrase repeated silently) to prevent distracting thoughts from entering ile tl ) to p e e t di t ti g tho ght f o e te i g the mind
Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation
¾ 25 Subjects receive 8 weeks meditation training
¾ 16 Subjects as “wait list” controls
¾ Both groups followed for changes in:
z Brain activity (Functional magnetic resonance imaging )
Davidson, R et al. Psychosomatic Med 2002;65:564‐570
Meditation and Imaging
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• fMRI ‐‐‐ identify and characterize the brain regions y
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that are active during meditation. • Various parts of the brain known to be involved in p
attention and in the control of the autonomic nervous system are activated, providing a neurochemical
eu oc e ca aand anatomical basis for the effects d a ato ca bas s o t e e ects
of meditation on various physiological activities.
Advancing the understanding of mind‐body body • Advancing the understanding of mind
mechanisms. Autonomic nervous system
sympathetic nervous system : helps mobilize the body for action “fight or flight”
parasympathetic nervous system: creates what some call the "rest and digest" response. (Relaxation Response )
The Meditating Mind
• Enhanced activity is greater in the monks' brains than the novices. • A
Activity in left prefrontal ti it i l ft f t l cortex (where positive emotions like happiness reside). Swamped activity in the right prefrontal cortex (where negative emotions and anxiety reside).
Natural Antidepressant
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ƒ A
Antidepressant tide e
t medications release GABA neurotransmitters
ƒ 27% increase of GABA neurotransmitters after yoga exercise
Streeter, C., Whitfield, T. H., Owen, L., Rein, T., Karri, S., Yakhkind, A., et al. (2010). Effects of yoga versus walking on mood, anxiety, and brain GABA levels: a randomized controlled MRS study. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 16, 1143‐1145.
• 0% i
0% increase with e e ith walking exercise
The
Th Health
H lth Benefits
B fit off YYoga
Mind ‐Body‐Spirit
Be Here Now
Keep your mind in the PRESENT MOMENT
•Mind focus on the future leads to stress
•Mind focus on the past leads to anxiety
Unknown yoga master
Mind
•Better focus
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•More self lf
confidence
Evsenck, H. (1991). Personality, stress, and disease: an Interactionist
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perspective. Psycological Inquiry (2)3, 221‐232
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• 64% less pain • 88% less medication
• Improved balance
p o ed ba a ce
• Improved focus
Saper, R. B., Sherman, K. J., Cullum‐Dugan, D., Davis, R. B., Phillips, R. S., & Culpepper, L. (2009). Yoga for chronic low back pain in a predominantly minority population: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Altern Ther Health Med., 15, 18‐27.
Slade, S., & Keating, J. (2007). Unloaded movement facilitation exercise compared to no exercise or alternative therapy on outcomes for people with nonspecific chronic low back pain: a systematic review. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 30, 301‐
311.
Williams, K., Abildso, C., Steinberg, L., Doyle, E., Epstein, B., Smith, D., et al. (2009). Evaluation of the effectiveness and efficacy of Iyengar yoga. Exercise Physiology, 34, 2066‐2076.
• 77% improved range of motion
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• When some people think of yoga
When some people think of yoga, they imagine having they imagine having to stretch like a gymnast. That makes them worry that they're too old, unfit, or "tight" to do yoga. The truth is you're never too old to improve flexibility.
is you're never too old to improve flexibility
• Yoga stretches not only your muscles but all of the soft tissues of your body (ligaments tendons and the soft tissues of your body (ligaments, tendons, and the fascia sheath). • In one study
In one study, participants had up to 35% improvement participants had up to 35% improvement in flexibility after only eight weeks of yoga. The greatest gains were in shoulder and trunk flexibility.
Master Tao P h L h
Porchon‐Lynch
“Nothing is Impossible” ~ Tao’s words after coming out of this pose (reminder: 93 years old)
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• Many of the poses
Many of the poses, such as Downward Dog, such as Downward Dog Upward Dog, and Plank pose, build upper‐body strength. This becomes crucial as people age. • The standing poses, especially if you hold them for several long breaths, build strength in your hamstrings, quadriceps, and abdominal muscles. Poses that strengthen the lower back include p
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Upward Dog and Chair pose. • When practiced correctly, nearly all poses build core strength in the deep abdominal muscles.
Spirit
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•Sense of well‐
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being
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•More relaxed •Less anxiety
Michalsen, A., Grossman, P., Acil, A., Langhorst, J., Lüdtke, E., Esch, T., Stefano, R., & Dobos, G. (2005). Rapid stress reduction and anxiolysis
among distressed women as a consequence of a three‐month intensive yoga program. MedSci Monit (11)12, 555‐561. Spirit
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•Less irritated & i i
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tired
•Sunny outlook S
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Currie, S., & Wang, J. (2003). Chronic back pain and major depression in the general Canadian population. Pain, 107, 54‐60
Health Conditions in which Yoga may help heal or treat
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• Arthritis
• PMS and Menstrual Discomfort
S a d e st ua D sco o t
• Allergies
• Menopause
• Asthma
• Pain of the Back, Hips, Knees
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• Hypertension
• Depression & Anxiety
• Coronary Artery Disease
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• Substance Abuse
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome • Skin Disorders
• Heartburn (GERD)
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
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• Constipation
• Overweight
• Tension Headaches & Migraines
• Sleep Problems
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