Yoga Therapy

An Effective Dimension to Health Management

Introduction

The extended life span of today’s society has been attributed to modern medicine however other cultures using traditional methods, today and in previous eras, also lay claim to longevity. Disciplines that have been passed on from one generation to another have kept concepts of traditional medicines in existence. Although it is an extremely broad classification, biomedical practitioners prefer the term ‘complementary therapy’ for a range of practices used to enhance the effects of modern medicine. Of this growing number of modalities there is often a rudimentary model that has been used as a template in their development. Yoga is not often thought of as a therapy in Australia but it does provide such a template. In the past many have thought of yoga as a science of occultism or religion which is why it has not fallen into the realms of scientific study until recent years. Contrary to popular belief yoga does not belong exclusively to the Indian culture, it was also the ancient tradition of other worldwide civilisations, but it was the Indian swamis that preserved the tradition of yoga. Yoga is not a system of medicine but one of disciplines that develops a deeper awareness of ‘self’ for spiritual evolution. The word yoga means ‘union’ – union of the mind, body and spirit and yoga uses a variety of practises and techniques for this aim. This essay looks at yoga as an effective therapy and takes into account some of the other health modalities that arose because of its influence and treatments that mimic those of yoga. The attitude of other health professionals is sought as to the safety and effectiveness of methods used by a yoga therapist.

The underlying principles of Yoga Therapy

A research institute in Calcutta says on their web site that a yoga therapist does not treat disease, the patient is guided towards methods of self-treatment (Institute of Alternative Medicine & Research 2002). It is believed that human disease is the result of an internal imbalance created by the individual whether by thought, word or deed. In other words mental and emotional tensions create stresses to the physical body and it is believed that a positive outlook will alleviate the stress. Likewise, persons who tend to involve themselves with harmful activities are prone to physical injury. Lifestyle factors need to be addressed, for physical harm is also the creator of mental and emotional stresses. The yoga therapist is a mentor who guides their patients along a pathway of lifestyle changes to bring about improved health and well being. Unlike the yoga therapy article of the research institute in Calcutta mentioned above, the writer of this essay does not parallel a yoga therapist with that of a counselor.

In essence, yoga is a system of disease prevention and health management in which awareness of the self provides the self-knowledge of how the body reacts to changing conditions. Dr. Swami Shankardevananda Saraswati MB.BS.MSc. (Syd), previous director of a yoga research centre in India, believes that yoga therapy requires a thorough knowledge of anatomy, physiology and psychology if used professionally (Saraswati, K 1984: 150). There are numerous techniques used by a yoga practitioner that work effectively on the homeostatic balance of all human systems. According to yoga, when there is free flow of prana (subtle energy) within the nadis, there is good health. ‘Ha’-‘tha’ (Hatha) represents the two opposite flows of energy, positive and negative forces within the body that are therefore brought into balance through Hatha Yoga practices. Nadis are what the Chinese refer to as meridians and there are thousands of nadis throughout the body that meet at certain points in the spinal passage, the chakras.

Application and effects of yoga therapy

The body needs a certain amount of rest and proper exercise so that it does not operate on internal stress chemistry but is filled with prana (Feuerstein 2000a). Yoga postures stimulate the flow of prana by exerting gentle pressure on the chakras while increasing physical flexibility, reducing muscular tension, which in turn relaxes the mind. On a more biomedical approach, the yoga postures will increase venous, arterial and lymphatic flow to enhance health through efficient cellular activity. Some postures are more specific and have a strong influence on the digestive system; others stimulate and regulate endocrine gland activity and metabolism. Regulation of hormone secretions sidesteps the use of painkillers or hormone supplements to relieve premenstrual symptoms (Lewis 1999: 51). Yoga also offers postures specific for stimulating the release of adrenalins from the adrenal glands for treatment of asthma (Saraswati & Saraswati 1981: 84) and dynamic yoga postures that develop aerobic capacity without the heavy impact on the joints of other aerobic activities.

Yoga has a vast repertoire of breathing exercises to stimulate the physiological components of respiration without placing undue physical stress to other parts of the body. Techniques specific to muscles of inspiration or expiration and practices that encourage breathing with the fullest capacity of the lungs offer efficient gaseous exchange in respiration. These techniques also have a profound effect on the mind, reducing stress, improving concentration and mental clarity (Little 2002). Other breathing techniques influence major energy channels and the effect of the breath on nasal capillaries. Nitrous Oxide in the breath dilates the capillaries (Weitzberg 2000: 9) allowing the increased blood flow to stimulate the relevant hemispheres of the brain and bring about a state of mental and emotional balance, a state ideal for meditation.

Meditation is one technique in yoga that is recognised and accepted by most medical practitioners as well as religious institutions and the population as a whole. In meditation one realises the importance of a balanced mind. Experiencing deeper aspects of the self conveys discrimination as to the real nature of essential needs for physical, mental, emotional and social well being. Petrea King and Ian Gawler are two well known Australians who have established foundations that help people cope with life-threatening illness. Their stories, and others, are related in an article on how yoga and meditation helped them to cope with and beat cancer (Brown 2002: 47).

The preceding yoga practices (postures, breathing, relaxation and meditation) are those that may be presented in a typical yoga class however there are techniques that are more treatment specific. Hatha Yoga cleansing techniques offer a complete nasal-sinus-pharyngeal-gastro-intestinal wash using saline water to flush out impurities from these physical locations. A series of easy anti-rheumatic joint mobility exercises improve circulation for the elderly or bed-ridden patients thus reducing oedemas or a range of eye exercises for the prevention of or improvement to failing eyesight. Amaroli urine therapy is a unique method used for treating life-threatening illnesses such as cancer; it involves drinking one’s own urine. The basic theory of this treatment is that essential trace elements, hormone molecules and cellular waste products excreted in the urine are returned to the body, which accepts these elements as ‘self’. The urine contains the cancer cell’s own toxic waste products which when drawn to the tumorous cell, destroys it. In order to eliminate a poison such as cancer, it is sometimes necessary to administer a poison and as is similar to many modern drugs, there are sometimes side effects (Saraswati, K 1984: 120). Urine is not only taken internally but can be used externally as a skin and hair tonic. It is not recommended that individuals try amaroli therapy without seeking the guidance of someone experienced in the field of urine therapy. Pure diet and adequate hydration are essential prerequisites before attempting the treatment using the midstream flow from early morning urination (Bernard 2002: 44).

Concerns raised by medical practitioners

According to George Feuerstein (1998), yoga therapy prefers to integrate traditional yogic ideas and techniques with modern medicine and psychology and is a new modality to western society. Therefore, locating opinions of medical professionals is limited, however as with other health care practitioners a yoga therapist should not allow themselves or their clients/patients to depend upon the yoga treatments exclusively. In cases where there is no change in the condition of the client/patient, advice from other professions should be sought.

The Australian Medical Association http://domino.ama.com.au/AMAWeb/Position.nsf/2450dc7198e39dd84a2568ea0045ca07/840f85ff73fa25bbca256b6b0000b0a0?OpenDocument (AMA 2002) supports this advice. Most doctors are happy to suggest that their patients attend yoga, relaxation and meditation classes. However, a doctor who conducts research into meditation at a Sydney hospital believes western philosophical culture has never quite achieved productive results through their inability to integrate the body/mind/spirit complex. His quote from Descartes ‘I think, therefore I am’ he believes is the root to the problem (Brown 2002: 47). The acceptance of meditation as a therapy is noted in the Australian Medical Association’s web site relating to complementary therapies, however there is unfamiliarity by some doctors as to the full extent of benefits to be gained by other yoga techniques. Before sending their patients off to a yoga class, doctors should be aware of the various yoga traditions that are available and what each tradition has to offer in the way of therapy.

Precautions to be observed by the yoga practitioner

As has been mentioned earlier in this essay, yoga believes that any human condition is a result of an internal imbalance for which yoga offers a change in lifestyle and attitude to life that is conductive to optimal good health. It is believed the mind plays a major part in health therefore dealing with deep emotional problems may alleviate the physical disturbance that manifest as dysfunction within the body. However caution must be taken if involved with special practices of yoga such as kundalini yoga that promotes spiritual growth. An advanced form of mediation, kundalini yoga is used to unearth the true nature of a person, which allows them to deal with hidden issues. Those who practice this form of yoga can undergo deep-seated mental and emotional turmoil, therefore it is essential that they remain under the guidance of an experienced spiritual teacher to deal with the turmoil (Feuerstein 2000b).

A new style of ‘hot’ yoga has become quite popular with the trendsetters in the United States of America and this too poses some risks. Their hopes of accelerating metabolism through the physiological demands of exercising the body in elevated temperatures of between 35⁰-40⁰C can prove to be fatal. Those who take part in this style of yoga need to be aware of the body’s thermoregulation and how their actions interfere with this natural internal balance. Precautionary measures are outlined by the Hot Yoga article by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (Funk 2001) in the United States.

Yoga Research

In 1980, Dr Swami Shankardevananda Saraswati MB.BS.MSc. (Syd) when involved with yoga research in India delivered a speech to physicians attending a lecture on health management. He recommended that they first practice yoga to learn the techniques from personal experience, then conduct clinical trials to prove its efficacy (Saraswati, K 1984: 151). Unfortunately there has been little research from those not involved with yoga as a discipline, but a swami in Sweden has recorded the results of some research conducted by overseas lecturers. In one study, a psychologist measured brain activities between groups of inexperienced and advanced yoga students. He tested for the achieved level of relaxation following one particular breathing technique (Hoffmann 2000: 13). The results were significant after only ten minutes. Another research study on the effectiveness of yoga practices for heart patients revealed an increase of 6% to the volume of blood pumped through the heart. During the same period the control group showed a 2% decline (Ornish et al 1998: 5). When asked which practices were of greater benefit he found that it was a combination of all techniques used, postures, relaxation and meditation. The use of meditation to treat people with cancer began in the early 1980s, when Ainslie Meares MD, an Australian psychiatrist, studied the effects of meditation on cancerous tumours (American Cancer Society).

Conclusion

Yoga’s roots date back thousands of years, therefore one might ask if the techniques used by yoga therapists are relevant for modern-day illnesses. The human body is still the human body and the mind is still the mind no matter which period in history. The emphasis on technological intervention rather than human mediation when dealing with illness is separating the mind/body/spiritual complex and treating each aspect of the human personality as an individual entity. The idea of holistic healing is to treat the person as a completely integrated system; this is the success of complementary therapies as a whole, many of which turn to yoga for basic techniques. The combination of a healthy lifestyle with wholesome diet and yoga practices; positive mental attitude and thoughts and spiritual awareness in discovery of ‘self’ through meditation brings health and inner peace. As well as meditation that is used in psychotherapy, concepts of yoga are used for other therapies. Naturopathy and Ayurveda believe in the body healing itself. Acupuncture and Acupressure use a philosophy of subtle energy systems and chakras. When used for therapeutic purposes, effects are felt almost immediately with no harmful side effects; these are the holistic impressions of yoga that have stood the test of time.

References

American Cancer Society (accessed 3 October 2002) Making treatment decisions, www.concer.org/eprise/main/docroot/ETO/content/

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Australian Medical Association (accessed 26 August 2002) ‘Position Statements for 2002’, Complementary Medicine,

http://domino.ama.com.au/AMAWeb/Position.nsf

Bernard, K 2002), ‘Wheels of Life’, In Australian Yoga Life, Issue 3 - 2002, pp42-45

Brown, C. 2002, ‘Yoga and Meditation – How can they be they be used with a life threatening illness?’ In Australian Yoga Life, Issue 3 - 2002, pp46-48

Feuerstein, G. 1998 (updated 15 April 2002, accessed 24 September 2002), Yoga and Yoga Therapy, http://www.iayt.org/yogatherapy.html

Feuerstein, G. 2000a (accessed 24 September 2002), Retreating into the Self with Yoga, http://www.iayt.org/selfretreat.html

Feuerstein, G. 2000b (updated 23 June 2002, accessed 24 September 2002), Spiritual Emergence, spiritual Emergency, and Psychospiritual Healing, http://www.iayt.org/pshealing.html

Funk, L.S. 2001 (updated 14 March 2002, accessed 24 September 2002), “Hot” Yoga: Physiological Concerns while Exercising in the Heat, http://www.iayt.org/hotyoga.html

Hoffmann, E. 2000, ‘Nadi Shodana’s influence on the brain’ Astonishing results achieved after 10 minutes – EEG measurements of the brain between the brain halves before and after Nadi Shodana. Bindu, no.13, pp 11-13

Institute of Alternative Medicine & Research 2002 (accessed 24 September 2002), Yoga Therapy, http://www.altmededu.com/tele.html

Lewis, A. 1999, ‘Yoga for PMS’, In International Wellbeing (No.75), The Wellspring Publishers Pty Ltd, North Sydney, Australia

Little, D 2002 (accessed 9 October 2002), Yoga and Health, http://www.satyamyoga.com/syc/yogaandhealth.htm

Ornish, D., Scherwitz, L., Billing, J., Gould, L., Merritt, T., Sparler, S., Armstrong, W., Ports, T., Kirkeeide, R., Hogeboom, C., Brand, R. 1998, ‘Can Intensive Lifestyle Changes Reverse Coronary Heart Disease Without Lipid-Lowering Drugs? Five Years Follow up of the Lifestyle Heart Trial’ In Journal of the American Medical Association 280 (No.23), Bindu no 14, pp4-7

Saraswati, Dr. Swami K. 1984, Yoga and Cardiovascular Management, Bihar School of Yoga, India

Saraswati, Dr. Swami S. & Saraswati, Dr. Swami N. 1981, Teachings of Swami Satyananda (Vol II), Satyananda Ashram, Australia

Weitzberg, E. 2000, ‘Breathe through the nose’ Modern research confirms the wisdom of the yoga tradition. Bindu, no.13, pp 9-10

Satyam Yoga Centre Ó2002

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