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Yoga News - December 2007
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Thursday, 27 December 2007
Yoga guru Suneel Singh released his latest book entitled, “Yog Se Arogya Tak". It is currently available in Hindi but will be translated into nine languages, including English, by mid next year.
Suneel Singh believes that yoga has nothing to do with religion, but rather with health. For him, yoga is a “fitness mantra for all”. His new book covers 22 different topics, including Japanese techniques. These topics aim to remedy daily ailments and help to lead a more fulfilling physical and sexual life. He said that in Japanese breathing techniques, simple exercises like breathing from the navel can de-stress a person. He added that creating a fusion of different disciplines can benefit more people. He said, “It is more important for me to help the most number of people than to follow a single philosophy.”
For more details on this news story, please visit www.thehindu.com.
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
In the recently concluded annual Conference on Complementary and Alternative Medicine organized by the University of Chicago’s Tang Center of Herbal Medicine Research and the Mayo Clinic, doctors were encourag
ed to include alternative medicine to conventional treatments.
Brent Bauer, a director from the Mayo Clinic, said alternative medicine is a “supplement to what the doctor is doing; the patient is working together with the doctor in a partnership.”
Here are some of the alternative remedies doctors are closely looking at:
- Weight Loss - Chitosan, chromium, conjugated linoleic acid and calcium
- Heart Disease - A Mediterranean-style diet
- Irritable-Bowel Syndrome - Exercise, probiotics, peppermint oil and ginger
- Stress - Yoga, acupuncture, massage, spirituality, meditation, music therapy and hypnotism
- Smoking Cessation - Hypnotism, chocolate, paced-breathing meditation
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
Stick-E socks are eco-friendly socks made from bamboo. Creator of Stick-E socks Libby Andrews said she thought of inventing yoga socks since, “It’s kind of gross having my bare feet on mats that other people’s bare
feet have been on.” She wanted the socks to be made of sustainable material. Andrews explained, “They are socks that will allow you to keep that barefoot feeling when you are doing yoga, Pilates, martial arts, dance, or any barefoot activity.”
Since Stick-E socks are made from bamboo, they absorb sweat and cool the feet. These socks give you a really firm, sticky grip, yet with the exposed toes, you still have that barefoot feeling.
Stick-E socks are perfect for health-conscious as well as earth-friendly people.
For more details on this news story, please visit www.11alive.com.
Thursday, 20 December 2007
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The holiday season often brings to mind shopping, parties, visiting family and winter sports, but paying special attention to your back during this time is more important than ever. Every winter
holiday season, approximately 1.9 million slip-and-fall injuries occur across the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many of these injuries are to the back and result from people falling off ladders while decorating. Other potential back injuries can be caused by carrying heavy packages or luggage, shoveling snow, stretching at odd angles to decorate, standing in heels for hours at parties and sitting for hours while traveling.
Gary Kraftsow, founder of American Viniyoga Institute and leading yoga therapist, developed the protocol for a clinical study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, which was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study concluded that Viniyoga is a safe and effective treatment for chronic back pain, superior to exercise classes for this purpose. This study represents the first time that yoga of any style has been validated as an effective treatment for back pain in a controlled clinical study.
Kraftsow recommends spending just minutes a day to avoid injury and back pain this holiday season with some specific, simple yoga postures that prepare the body for the day and realign it at night. Perform these exercises in this order:
- Cakravakasana (to warm up the body and to gently stretch lower back) - Get down on hands and knees, with shoulders vertically above wrists and with hips above the knees. On inhale: Lift chest up from belly. Lead with chest, keeping chin slightly down. Avoid compressing low back; rather, feel chest expanding. On exhale: Gently contract belly, rounding low back and bringing chest toward thighs. Round low back without collapsing chest over belly. Avoid increasing curvature of upper back. Let chest lower toward thighs sooner than hips toward heels. Repeat eight times.
- Bhujangasana (to arch upper back while mobilizing arms and to warm up and stabilize lower back) Lie on belly, forehead on floor, with elbows bent and palms on floor in line with diaphragm, fingers facing forward. On inhale: Lift chest, arching back. On exhale: Return to starting position. Repeat six times.
- Dvipada Pitham (to relax upper and lower back and to stretch between belly and thighs) Lie on back with arms down at sides, knees bent, and feet on floor, slightly apart and comfortably close to buttocks. On inhale: Press down on feet, raising pelvis up toward ceiling, keeping chin down, until neck is gently flattened on floor, while raising arms overhead to floor behind. Lift spine, vertebra by vertebra, from bottom up. On exhale: Return to starting position. Unwind spine, coming down vertebra by vertebra. Repeat eight times.
- Apanasana (to gently stretch and relax lower back) Lie on back with both knees bent toward chest and feet off floor. Place each hand on its respective knee. On exhale: Pull thighs gently but progressively toward chest. On inhale: Return to starting position. Repeat eight times.
Be conscious of how you bend, lift and carry items and don't overexert yourself; you only create stress on your muscles by carrying things that are too heavy or bulky for you to manage, Kraftsow warns. With an estimated four out of five people experiencing back pain in their lifetimes, according to the Mayo Clinic, prevention is optimal.
Kraftsow says, "Everyone would benefit from some simple yoga moves. It's like brushing or flossing your teeth; you don't need long classes. Spend five minutes in the morning and five minutes in the evening. It's like simple back care hygiene. The key is consistency."
For more information on Gary Kraftsow, the Viniyoga Therapy DVDs or Pranamaya, visit www.pranamaya.com.
About Pranamaya, Inc.:
Pranamaya was founded in 2000 with the purpose of collaborating with the world's best teachers to create compelling mind-body media products that inspire vibrant, integral health and authentic self-transformation. The company continues to add yoga and other mind-body programs to its media library in an effort to keep their customers engaged and informed of the most effective practices available.
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Those who do it will tell you that yoga can make you stronger and more flexible. Could it be doing more than that? Some believe yoga might even boost the immune system in women who are battling breast cancer. To fin
d out if that’s a stretch, scientists are now weighing in.
Even though she’s been doing yoga for 20 years and teaching for nine, Linda Oshins says she got into it almost accidentally. Doctors removed a breast because of cancer and Linda originally went to yoga class so she could back into the swimming pool.
“I went to regain mobility in my arm so that I could swim and realized that yoga was helping me through the fear and stress,” says Oshins.
Suddenly, Linda says she was not only feeling better, she believed she was getting better. Yoga is relieving stress and exhaustion, which are common complaints of women coping with cancer.
“The consequences of treatment or just having the cancer itself, the emotional stress of it all can affect health,” says Charles Shapiro, MD, at Ohio State University’s James Cancer Hospital.
Can yoga really make that big of a difference? Dr. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser of Ohio State University Medical Center wants to find out. She and her colleagues are enlisting some 250 women with breast cancer to take yoga classes to measure their impact. Even if those women report that they are feeling better, scientists want to take a step further - by taking evidence to the lab.
“We’re going to be looking at blood – before, after, and then three months after that. We want to see what yoga actually does in terms of altering the immune response and affecting fatigue as well,” says Kiecolt-Glaser.
By measuring stress hormones in the blood, researchers will see what kind of scientific impact yoga can have on physical health. In the meantime, Linda will keep teaching her class – certain of the role yoga already plays in her emotional health.
Women in the study will go through two 90-minute yoga classes every week and will continue doing yoga at home after their classes. Scientists will test them throughout to see how their bodies are reacting. The study is being funded by the National Cancer Institute.
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