Download UsIng yoga and meditation for a lifetime of vitality

USING YOGA AND MEDITATION
FOR A LIFETIME OF VITALITY
Jane Murray, MD - Medical Director
Sastun Center of Integrative Health Care
Clint Forrestt – Yoga Instructor
Shawnee mission Health
A BRIEF HISTORY OF YOGA
• Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline that includes breath
control and simple meditation to improve health and
relaxation
• “Yoga” comes from the Sanskrit root “yuj” meaning “to
join” or “to yoke”
• Yoga is a practical aid, not a religion
• In the 20th century hatha yoga – especially the physical
postures (“asanas”) became popular throughout the world
as a form of physical exercise
TYPES OF YOGA
• Hatha yoga – asanas/postures
• Ashtanga Yoga (“Eight-limbed Yoga”)
• Yama – “The five abstentions”
Pratyahara - “Abstraction”
• Niyama - ”The five observances”
Dharana – “Concentration”
• Asana – “Seat”
Dhyana - “Meditation”
• Pranayama - “Suspending breath”
Samadhi – “Liberation”
• Bikram Yoga - “hot yoga”
• Tantric yoga – focus on dieties (especially female), sexual
practices for health & longevity
MODERN HEALTH APPLICATIONS
OF YOGA
• Stress reduction
• Flexibility, especially spine suppleness
• Exercise and physical therapy routine
• Mindfulness/spiritual practice for many
• YOGA THERAPY – special training beyond yoga instructor to
use yoga breath and posture for a myriad of health
challenges
MEDITATION & MINDFULNESS
• Meditation is a practice of concentrated focus on a
sound, object, visualization, the breath, movement, or
to attention itself to increase awareness of the
present moment, reduce stress, promote relaxation
and enhance personal and spiritual growth
• Mindfulness practices involve becoming aware of the
entire field of attention – to be aware of thoughts, feelings,
sensations as they arise in each moment.
MEDITATION THROUGH HISTORY
• Many religious traditions have included various forms of
meditative practice: Christianity, Buddhism, Sufi, Hindu and many
others
• Research regarding the health benefits of meditation continues
to expand, and many medical clinics and hospitals include
meditation training and practice for both patients and staff.
• Transcendental Meditation originated in Vedic traditions of
India; repetitive mantra. Research on health benefits, especially
hypertension
• The Relaxation Response (Herbert Benson, MD)
• Mindfulness Meditation (MBSR) – Jon Kabat-Zinn
POSITIVE RESULTS OF
MEDITATION
• Reduction in panic disorder and generalized anxiety
disorder symptoms
• Substance dependence and abuse
• Chronic pain – arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraine
• High blood pressure & cardiovascular disease
• Ulcers and colitis
• Allergies and asthma
• Neurological – Parkinson’s, MS, stroke
DANGERS OF YOGA & MEDITATION
• Yoga – possibly injury
• Meditation – Persons with psychotic disorders,
severe depression or personality disorders may
need to be under psychiatric care as well
MANY BENEFITS OF YOGA AND
MEDIATION ARE SIMILAR
• Cardiovascular
• Atrial fibrillation & yoga
• Improved lipids and yoga
• Hypertension – yoga & meditation
• Cancer
• Yoga for quality of life in breast cancer
• Pain management
• Yoga practitioners have more brain gray matter and increased pain tolerance
• Meditators have more gray matter and report less unpleasantness from pain
• Migraine - much improved quality of life
• Stress/anxiety/sleep issues
MORE BENEFITS….
• Diabetes
• Yoga reduces glucose and improves insulin resistance (by
reducing stress, depression, oxidative stress)
• Aging
• Increase gray matter with yoga & meditation
• Meditation increases telomere length
• Yoga and immune function/inflammation
• Lower rates of age-related cognitive decline in yoga
practitioners and meditators, as well as more integrated
and resilient brain networks
• Yoga may increase estrogen levels in postmenopausal
women
• Chronic Fatigue
“PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF YOGA
IN HEALTH CARE”
• 2016 compendium of research on yoga’s benefits for helping many health
problems:
• Mental health – depression & anxiety
• Neurological – stroke, Alzheimers, fibromyalgia, headache, Parkinson’s
• Pain – low back, arthritis, chronic pain
• Immune disorders
• Endocrine – diabetes, metabolic syndrome, weight management, osteoporosis
“MEDITATION AS MEDICINE”
• Khalsa & Stauth
• 2002 research compendium on health benefits of
meditation
WHAT’S A TELOMERE?
• Telomeres are sections of genetic material at the end of
each chromosome whose primary function is to prevent
chromosomal "fraying" when a cell replicates. As a cell ages,
its telomeres become shorter. Eventually, the telomeres
become too short to allow cell replication, the cell stops
dividing and will ultimately die - a normal biological
process.
IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE
UTILIZATION
• Mass General study of 4,452 people enrolled in a
Relaxation Response Resiliency Program
compared to 13,000 controls had a 43% reduction
in medical visits and hospitalizations over the 8 year
study period
• Savings of $640 - $25,500 per patient PER YEAR
“VITALITY”
• From Latin “vitalitas” - “pertaining to life”
• The capacity to live and grow; physical or
mental energy or strength