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Yoga Exercise — No Comments
20
Dec 11

Psychologists use yoga breathing exercises to relax themselves, patients

Ever wonder how a therapist can be so calm after talking with dozens of patients about their anxieties and deepest fears? It can't be easy. After all, the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that psychologists already experience stress caused by deadlines, overbooked schedules, long hours and seemingly endless billing paperwork. But apparently, yoga breathing exercises can help.

That's right – yoga breathing benefits psychologists and psychiatrists in the same way that it can help the patients themselves. And more than a few mental health professionals use the holistic regimen to relax.

According to a survey conducted by Gabriela Hirsch, a PsyD candidate at Alliant International University in San Diego, a regular yoga routine can be of incalculable benefit to overworked psychotherapists.

She found that psychologists often reported using yoga to control their stress, breathing rate and the balance between personal and professional responsibilities.

And that's not all.

"Furthermore, psychologists asserted that their regular yoga regimen was helpful in regards to their being empathic, compassionate and 'present' with their clients," Hirsch explained. She added that yoga also reportedly helped professional therapists maintain a nonjudgmental attitude.

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Yoga Exercise — No Comments
09
Dec 11

Use yoga breathing for relaxation to dissolve stress during the holidays

Yoga breathing benefits your entire body, from the top of your skull right down to the tips of your toes. If holiday stress has you pounding your head or toes against a wall this Christmas, consider using yoga breathing for relaxation and stress relief.

According to a recent article in the Tulane Hullabaloo, people often turn to the wrong activities to help them decompress when things get tense during December. Individuals who overeat, drink alcohol, smoke or vegetate on the couch are not doing themselves any favors, the news source said.

Instead, it may be more effective (and healthier) to simply do a few minutes of yoga breathing.

By sitting and focusing on your respiration and posture, you can take your mind off the many Christmastime stressors that surround you. A few minutes of deep breathing and mindfulness meditation, and you'll be recharged and ready to go.

According to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Yoga, the mind-body regimen addresses stress in several ways – namely, the physical, hormonal, emotional and spiritual.

No wonder we see so many people in our yoga classes each holiday season!

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Yoga Exercise — 2 Comments
01
Dec 11

Yoga breathing for relaxation may ease menopause symptoms

Most holistic health enthusiasts know that yoga breathing benefits one's emotions and well-being. After all, even a few minutes of stretching, posing and meditating can help the body decrease its blood pressure and overcome anxiety. However, new research has suggested that yoga breathing for relaxation may have other physical benefits for middle-aged women.

In a study published in Menopause, a journal of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), women who are going through this eponymous life change can significantly improve their sleep duration.

Likewise, the report found that yoga and stretching helped participants decrease the incidence of stress, anxiety, depression and other symptoms of menopause.

Researchers noted that one of their most encouraging findings was the fact that yoga breathing helped reduce the effects of menopause in as little as one week's time.

According to the NAMS, each woman's experience of this life change is different, meaning it is important to explore alternative therapies that may improve well-being when other, more traditional treatments offer little relief.

The agency adds that the average age at which a woman enters menopause is 51.

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Yoga Exercise — No Comments
28
Nov 11

Yoga breathing benefits every part of your being

Take a slow, deep breath, inhaling for a count of eight. Hold it for two seconds. Now release, letting it out gradually, for a count of 10. As you exhale say, "Ahhhhhhhh…" Try it a few more times. Feel better? You should! Yoga breathing benefits every part of your being, from your blood pressure and heart rate to subtler, less quantifiable things like stress level and spiritual well-being.

Research has shown again and again that yoga breathing for stress is an effective way to decompress. Yoga instructors recommend it. Physicians approve of it. Cognitive-behavioral therapists swear by it.

And plenty of studies support its benefits. For example, a paper published in the journal The Lancet found that yoga breathing reduced airway sensitivity among participants with asthma.

Another study, this one in the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention, determined that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder had higher levels of oxygen in their blood after trying yoga breathing.

These techniques may even reduce the severity of emotional problems. A groundbreaking study published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences suggested that yoga breathing and meditation may be applied to the treatment of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

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Yoga Exercise — No Comments
18
Nov 11

Yoga breathing benefits 12,000 Mexican enthusiasts at once

California yoga studios can be pretty crowded these days. After all, the mind-body regimen is both healing and relaxing, so it's little wonder that a popular yoga class may play host to dozens of students at once. But that's nothing compared to a yoga convocation recently held in Mexico City.

Led by instructor Joseph Michael Levry in the Plaza de la Constitucion – otherwise known as Zocalo Square – an unheard-of 12,000 yoga enthusiasts practiced holistic exercises all at once on the afternoon of November 13.

Though it is not yet official, this massive yoga gathering could soon be listed as the world's largest yoga class. Currently, the biggest yoga class on record was a 10,000-person gathering led by instructor Elena Brower in New York City's Central Park, according to the Guinness World Records Association.

Rebecca Torres, one of the organizers of the latest event, said that "this truly was an explosion of joy and happiness in Mexico City, and many of us were touched and transformed."

Though the 12,000 people gathered to experience yoga breathing benefits just four days before the annual Guinness World Records Day, the two events do not appear to have been related.

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Yoga Exercise — No Comments
12
Aug 11

Yoga breathing benefits adults, children – and divers, too!

Using yoga breathing techniques is something that nearly anyone can do in the pursuit of better health and wellness. There are many yoga breathing benefits, some of which are subtler than others.

1. At its most basic level, yoga breathing simply gets you to slow down and relax. Have you ever suffered from anxiety, excess stress or even panic attacks? In many cases, the physical response to excess tension involves shallow, rapid breathing. This sort of respiration can elevate stress, rather than soothe it. Yoga-based breathing techniques do the opposite. By slowing your breathing, mindfulness exercises can reduce your heart rate and calm you down.

2. Yoga breathing also flushes toxins from the body via the lungs. As you breathe, your cells are using oxygen and emitting carbon dioxide as a byproduct. This compound needs to escape your body in order for you to remain healthy and lucid. Deep breathing can expel this molecule and other toxins from your pulmonary system.

3. People who use yoga breathing in conjunction with meditation may find themselves exploring vast expanses of inner territory. These limitless spaces are simply your true self, and doing a little yoga breathing can help you focus, turn inward and voyage through the furthest reaches of your mind.

4. Doing yoga breathing can also increase the volume of your lungs, allowing you to process more air with fewer breaths. Increased lung space is good for anyone, be it man, woman or child, since it is a sign of good pulmonary health. Even skin divers use yoga to improve their lung capacity. Scuba Diving Magazine reports that many enthusiasts employ yoga breathing in order to optimize their oxygen use.

It was similar techniques that helped magician David Blaine hold his breath for more than 17 minutes during an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show! Today, the breath-holding record stands at 19 minutes and 21 seconds, held by Peter Colat. Discovery News noted that he and other extreme divers use "Zen-like relaxation exercises" to improve skills.

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Yoga Breathing Benefits / Yoga Exercise — No Comments
29
Jul 11

Yoga breathing benefits extend to people with dyspnea, COPD

If you do yoga breathing exercises as part of your daily or weekly workout regimen, you may be doing your body a big favor. Breathing slowly and deeply may reduce blood pressure, bring down your heart rate and open up your body's energy channels. Also, research has shown that yoga breathing benefits some people with pulmonary conditions.

An investigation conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco found that yoga may be safe and healthy for individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD).

These results, which appeared in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (JACM), were based on data collected from 29 elderly patients with the lung condition, some of whom were given a 12-week course of yoga-based interventions.

COPD is a progressive disease that causes shortness of breath, a feeling known as dyspnea. Most cases of the condition are caused by prolonged exposure of the lung tissue to irritants, the most common of which is cigarette smoke, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

Over time, people with COPD find it harder to take deep breaths because their lung tissue is stiffened, damaged or coated with mucus, the agency adds.

While traditional medical treatments are typically used to treat the source of the problem, yoga breathing exercises may help patients with COPD overcome episodes of dyspnea and become more mobile.

In the JACM study, people with COPD were led through yoga postures and guided breathing sessions twice weekly for 12 weeks. Researchers found that those tutored in the art of yoga breathing experienced moderate reductions in the severity of dyspnea, as well as mild improvements in walking speed, muscular strength and health-related quality of life.

Though it approaches the problem in a very different way, yoga breathing is done for the same reason that patients take bronchodilators or use inhalers – namely, to open up the lung's passageways and facilitate calm, full, deep breaths.

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Yoga Breathing Benefits / Yoga Exercise — No Comments
25
Jul 11

Yoga breathing exercises may increase GABA in brain, ease stress

Though you may not be too familiar with gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) or its effects on mental and physical health, a number of researchers are, and several studies have demonstrated that yoga breathing benefits a person's GABA counts and can thus relieve stress.

GABA is an amino acid, one that acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. According to the scientific text Neuropsychopharmacology: The Fifth Generation of Progress, this substance works in concert with l-Glutamic acid, also known as glutamate.

In essence, glutamate speeds up the communication between neurons, resulting in "fast excitatory synaptic transmission," the source states. By contrast, GABA is the brain's chief inhibitory neurotransmitter, meaning that it dampens the excitation of neurons.

These two organic compounds must work in harmony in order for the brain to function properly. The source adds that GABAergic drugs – meaning those that boost the amount of GABA in the brain – are used to treat anxiety, to prevent convulsions and to sedate or anesthetize patients.

However, for mild conditions, like anxiety, drugs are not always the answer. Several studies have found that yoga may increase the brain's store of GABA, leading to lower stress levels and increased feelings of peace and calm.

For example, a study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that individuals who completed a one-hour yoga session experienced a 27 percent increase in their brains' GABA levels. By comparison, a control group that simply read for an hour displayed no change in their GABA levels.

Another report in the same journal suggested that doing yoga breathing for stress may have measurable benefits for individuals who suffer from anxiety or depression. Specifically, the report suggested that taking slow, deep, measured breaths can lower the body's levels of cortisol, a hormone that signals stress.

Likewise, the study indicated that doing yoga breathing may increase the amount of the brain's oxytocin, which is a hormone linked to feelings of contentment, lover and empathy.

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Yoga Exercise — 3 Comments
19
Jul 11

Yoga breathing benefits may extend to patients with mesothelioma

Being diagnosed with a rare and dangerous form of cancer may leave patients feeling like they have few options for improving their quality of life. However, many healthcare professionals are recommending complementary therapies – like yoga breathing techniques, meditation or tai chi – for pain relief and palliative care.

Consider malignant mesothelioma, a disease diagnosed in just 3,000 people each year, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). This condition consists of cancer cells that grow in the pleura, the lining of the chest cavity surrounding the lungs, the organization states.

Men are more likely than women to be diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, and exposure to asbestos greatly increases the risk of the disease, the ACS adds.

This condition has a relatively poor prognosis. The National Cancer Institute estimates that the median survival time for a patient with localized mesothelioma is 16 months, a figure that drops to 5 months if the cancer is found to have metastasized.

That said, many patients with the disease must receive effective palliative care to keep them comfortable. In this respect, yoga breathing exercises may help individuals with mesothelioma relax, reduce their pain or take deeper, more oxygenating breaths.

In the book Surviving Mesothelioma and Other Cancers: A Patient's Guide, author Paul Kraus states that a body – even one with a serious form of cancer – needs regular activity or exercise to maintain optimal health.

"Walk, swim and learn the gentle healing arts of tai chi or yoga. All of these are very healing," he explains, adding that being candid, having forthright interpersonal relationships and maintaining a positive attitude may also improve quality of life for people with the disease.

Kraus points to the benefits of a healthy diet and yoga-based stretching exercises on other diseases, like angina and cardiovascular disease. He concludes that while such methods can sound far-fetched, they may ultimately improve a person's mental and physical vigor in a time of profound trouble.

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