Featured Sequence Mini Office Yoga Practice

by Nina

Recently on Thursdays we've been featuring our essential office yoga poses and today is the day when we get to put them together into a sequence! This mini sequence is very well rounded, and even follows the format of traditional Iyengar sequence: a warm-up pose (Half Dog Pose) followed by "standing poses," a backbend, a twist, and a forward bend. As always, when you are practicing a sequence, feel free to skip any poses that don't work for you and to add in any favorites you can't live without.

1. Half Dog at the Wall (or desk, chair, kitchen counter, whatever). See here for details.

2. Standing Leg Stretches. See here for details and for the sequence of three leg stretches.

3. Seated Backbend. See here for details.

4. Seated Twist. See here for details.

5. Seated Forward Bend. See here for details.

We'll be featuring even more office yoga poses in the coming weeks, and our grand finale will be full-length office yoga sequence. But realistically, when we're traveling or taking a break at work, most of us only have time for a quick practice. So, enjoy! And if you have any fun stories about practicing office yoga under unusual circumstances, we'd love to hear them. I recently did some yoga on an airplane, and my favorite pose out of everything I tried that day was the standing forward bend I did in the corner at the back of the airplane by the bathroom, using a bit of wall space there to support my buttocks. Ahhh!

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Yoga for Better Sleep Workshop and Tip

by Nina

Cairns by Nina Zolotow

I don’t teach workshops very often, but when I do, I focus on topics I really care about. My upcoming workshop on Saturday April 6th, 2-5pm at Brentwood Yoga Center focuses on one of my favorite topics: Yoga for Better Sleep. (to register, go to http://brentwoodyogacenter.com/workshops ) This is topic is dear to my heart because, well, it’s something I have to practice myself on a regular basis. Even small amounts of stress can disrupt my ability to fall sleep or to sleep soundly (interestingly, that’s something that seems to run in my family). Fortunately I’ve learned a number of techniques both for reducing my stress levels in general and for lulling myself to sleep while I’m in bed. And my feeling about teaching these techniques to others is that if I’ve helped just one person to achieve better sleep, than I’ve been successful!

I’ve written about this topic in general on the blog (see Day to Night and Yoga for Insomnia, Part 1). But the other night as I was lying in bed not sleeping, I realized that if I had to choose one single technique above all the others, it would be the breath practice I turn to almost automatically these days. And I decided then and there I wanted to share it with you all.

For most of us, what is happening when we’re lying in bed sleepless is that our minds are churning, thinking about the day’s events, ruminating about the past or worrying about the future, which stimulates our nervous systems. Turning our minds to a neutral focus, such as the breath, allows us to let go—at least temporarily—of those disturbing thoughts and helps calm the nervous system, switching on the relaxation response. And in my case, after 10 to 20 minutes of breath practice, I almost always end up drifting back to sleep.

Start by practicing simple breath awareness. This means focusing your mind on how your breath moves in your body, perhaps on how your belly rises and falls with your breath or, if it’s easier, how your chest moves with your breath. You could also focus on the more subtle sensations, such as the feeling of your breath moving in and out or your nostrils or, if you prefer, the sound your breath makes in your body. I actually like to lie on my back with my hands on my  belly because that makes it very easy for me to feel the movement in my abdomen.

For some of you, this simple practice may be enough. For myself, I like to use a more structured technique of extending my exhalation. Extending the exhalation in particular helps calm the nervous system (your heart rate slows on your exhalation) but I also find it engages my mind more completely. To do this, when you reach the end of your exhalation, simply add a beat or two—without straining—before turning on to your inhalation. Keep it relaxed and easy. And if the practice aggravates you, simply return to your natural breath.

If at any point you realize your attention has wandered from your breath (it will, of course), simply—and without self judgment—bring your attention back to your breath.

I confess that, in addition to all that, I also count my breaths. I got the idea from Baxter who showed me a technique using your fingers that he learned when he studied at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Madiram. This really helps me keep my mind engaged, and when I start to really lose track of where I am, that’s when I’m starting to fall asleep. However, this may be, well, too anal for you. (Hey, I’m just trying to be honest about what I really do—and what really works for me.) Basically, you need to experiment and see what works for you. Maybe you’ll even come up with new variations. If whatever you are doing is working, then it’s right for you.

You can do this breath practice every night when you get into bed or just on those nights when you start to realize—it sometimes takes a while catch yourself—that you’re having trouble falling asleep or are wide awake in the middle of the night.

I have more tricks up my sleeve and hope to share them with some of you in person at my April workshop, but in the meantime, if I help just one person.....

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Friday Q A Running versus Yoga

Olympic Track by LeRoy Neiman*

Q: What’s the comparison of yoga with running/jogging. Does yoga complement running, or we should try to stick to one form of exercise? Kindly explain.

A: The question I usually get around this topic is: Is yoga an aerobic-enough “exercise” that I can substitute it for my running/jogging/treadmill, etc., aerobic activity? It is usually noted that although yoga has many cardiovascular benefits (see Heart Health and Yoga: An Overview), most forms of modern yoga asana do not achieve the same aerobic level of activity as running and comparable activities. 

Now, Ram did mention some interesting ways that yoga really does fit the bill, and might at least assist us in being more aerobically fit (see Yoga Asanas: Endurance Training or Resistance Training ) But, in contrast, there are other writers who point out that even more active forms of yoga practice, like repeated Sun Salutations, do not achieve the same target heart rates that other forms of aerobic activity do (see Yoga Exercise Benefits Vs. Aerobic Exercise). 

My feeling on this is that the combination of yoga and some form of aerobic activity is better than either alone. I came to the conclusion in a very personal way. I shifted most of my physical/exercise activity to yoga over the past decade or so, and when I recently joined a gym in order to do some aerobic activity on the elliptical machines (best for my slightly cranky knees), I could really feel the effort I was making to finish a 20-minute session! I had lost some of my aerobic fitness from my pre-yoga days of regular running and biking longer distances. As I have been more regular in doing my 20-30 minutes aerobic workouts over the last few months, I have seen a steady improvement in my overall capacity, and have been able to achieve my target heart rate, which is an indication that I am working at a sufficient level to benefit my heart and entire system.

But an odd thing has also happened: I have been getting a lot of specific musculo-fascial tightness in my legs and hips that was not there a few months ago! This is the tradeoff of increasing my aerobic fitness—and a great reason to add or refocus my asana practice to help address these changes. So, I have been spending a bit more time each yoga session on releasing tension in the hamstrings, quads, adductors, outer hips, and calves, and it has helped me regain some flexibility in those areas. I find this approach of adding in yoga practices helpful for many of my students who first come to yoga as regular runners or joggers, cyclists or gym rats. And depending on how you might apply your yoga practices relative to your aerobic workouts, your yoga might also improve your overall fitness and decrease the likelihood of overuse injuries from your running or biking. Order the combo plate today!

And, really, it is not as if doing yoga is actually comparable to running or jogging. Mindful asana, with appropriate pranayama and meditation added in, has benefits that go way beyond mere physical activity (even if it falls short on aerobic fitness), as we have covered in many past posts. These include the benefits of stress management, cultivating equanimity, training the mind on multiple levels, and more. 

—Baxter

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Practicing Yoga Mindfully

by Nina

Raindrops and Reflections by Nina Zolotow

Although it’s a rather new concept, approaching yoga poses as a mindfulness practice is a very powerful tool for improving your physical and mental health. Whether you are trying to change your eating habits, reduce your stress, or heal from disease, learning to listen to your body is crucial. In his wonderful book Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn points out what happens if we simply operate in automatic-pilot mode:

"One very important domain of our lives and experience that we tend to miss, ignore, abuse or lose control of as a result of being the automatic-pilot mode is our own body. We may be barely in touch with our body, unaware of how it is feeling most of the time. As a consequence we can be insensitive to how our body is being affected by the environment, by our actions, and even by our own thoughts and emotions. If we are unaware of these connections, we might easily feel that our body is out of control and we will have no idea why."

Kabat-Zinn goes on to say that physical symptoms are the messages your body is giving you that allow you to know how it is doing and what its needs are.

"When we are more in touch with our body as a result of paying attention to it systematically, we will be far more attuned to what it is telling us and better equipped to respond appropriately. Learning to listen to your own body is vital is improving your health and the quality of your life."

And one of the best ways to pay attention to your body systematically is to bring mindfulness into your asana practice. I, myself, have learned to recognize certain physical symptoms that tell me when I’m overstressed (for example, a burning feeling in my chest). When I experience those sensations, I know it’s time for me to scale back temporarily and practice the yoga poses that calm me down. In my interview with Elizabeth (see Meditation and Healthy Eating) about mindfulness and eating, she talked about learning, from both meditation and asana practice, to recognize when she was actually hungry versus thirsty or had low potassium and that has helped her lose and keep off 50 pounds.

So how you make your asana practice a mindfulness practice? Kabat-Zinn writes:

"We practice the yoga with the same attitude that we bring to sitting meditation or body scan. We do it without striving and without forcing. We practice accepting our body as we find it, in the present, from one moment to the next. While stretching or lifting or balancing, we learn to work at our limits, maintaining moment-to-moment awareness. We are patient with ourselves. As we carefully move up to our limits in a stretch, for instance, we practice breathing at that limit, dwelling in the creative space between not challenging the body at all and pushing it to far."

If that’s not enough—or if you have fallen into a rut with your practice that’s putting you in automatic-pilot mode, I have some specific suggestions:

1. Practice yoga at home. Practicing on your own, without the distraction of the teacher telling you what to do you or other people in the room, forces you to pay more attention to your own experience of being in the poses.
2. Pick a single physical sensation to follow throughout your entire practice, whether it is the quality of your breath in every single pose, the even distribution of weight on your feet—the balls as well as the heels—in every pose, or even something more arcane.
3. Change your routine. If you do practice at home and are in stuck in rut, try doing something different. Practice on the left side first instead of the right. How does that feel? Or, do all your twisting poses, even all the standing the poses, without turning your head. Twist from your spine only and leave your head looking down at the floor. Notice how hard that is, and how different your neck feels.
4. Try using props if you never have. See what difference it makes. Or, if you use props regularly, try a different height (lower or higher) or try practicing without props for once and see what a difference that makes.
5. Try holding poses for longer periods of time than you usually do. Notice the resistance that comes up in your body (as well as your mind).

Anyone who has additional suggestions, please chime in!

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Yoga for Mutiple Sclerosis Proof of the Benefits!

by Ram

Eric Small, Iyengar Yoga Teacher

A neuron is the core component of the brain and spinal cord of the central nervous system and of the ganglia of the peripheral nervous system. Neurons by nature are electrically excitable cells that process and transmit information via electrical and chemical signals. These signals travel between neurons through specialized connections called synapses. Thus, neurons connect to each other to form neural networks. In order to ensure efficient communication between neurons and faster propagation of nerve impulses, some neurons are endowed with an insulating sheath called “myelin.” The molecular process of the synthesis of the myelin sheath is called “myelination.” The main purpose of the myelin sheath is to increase the speed at which electrical impulses propagate along the myelinated neuron to the next neighboring neuron. Myelination helps prevent the electric current from randomly leaving the axon thereby permitting agile communication for long-distance signaling and to sustain such signals. 

Myelinated axons are white in appearance, hence the term "white matter" of the brain. Under a microscope, myelinated axons appear like strings of sausages. The main constituent of myelin is cholesterol and it also has about 15–30% proteins. The predominant protein is myelin basic protein (MBP). For reasons that are still not clear, in some people, the body’s defense system recognizes the myelin basic protein as “foreign” and starts attacking it (Chronic Inflammation). This autoimmune inflammatory condition is multiple sclerosis (MS). When the body’s defense system lays seize on the myelin, the protective sheath loses its structural and functional integrity, resulting in disruption of the smooth neural communication. The more myelin is destroyed, the slower and less efficient the nerve impulses are. Eventually, as the disease progresses, it can cause the nerves themselves to deteriorate or become permanently damaged. While MS is not hereditary, having someone in the family with MS does significantly increase an individual's risk of developing the disease.

Signs and symptoms of MS will vary depending on the extent of nerve damage and which nerves get affected. The symptoms, severity, and duration can vary from person to person. Some people may be asymptomatic most of their lives, while others may suffer from severe chronic symptoms that never go away. Women are more than twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis as men. MS usually affects people between the ages of 20 and 50 years, and the average age of onset is approximately 30 years. Common early signs of MS include: vision problems, tingling and numbness in joints, fingers, and toes, pains and spasms, weakness or fatigue, balance problems, dizziness, bladder issues, sexual dysfunction, and cognitive problems. As the disease progresses, symptoms become more severe.

There is currently no cure for MS. However, MS is not a fatal disease. In fact, MS patients have essentially the same life expectancy as the general population. Treatments can help speed recovery from the inflammatory attacks, modify the course of the disease, and manage symptoms. Physical and occupational therapies are a great way to manage the condition. While yoga does not cure MS, through its postures and breathing techniques, it helps to focus the mind and pay attention to the body. For example, for people with full-blown symptoms of MS, mornings can be an ordeal as the body is tight and rigid from the night’s sleep. The practice of yoga can ease many of the physical symptoms and improve the emotional upheaval through breathing and stretching exercises, and individuals are able to do successfully complete tasks and do things for the rest of the day with less pain and discomfort. 

According to Eric Small, a senior Iyengar yoga instructor and author of Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis: A Journey to Health and Healing, Iyengar yoga techniques address many MS symptoms, such as loss of bladder control, balance, and fatigue. Eric has been practicing Iyengar yoga for nearly 50 years with his mornings devoted to asanas and his afternoons to pranayama. He credits Iyengar yoga with helping him maintain both balance and range of motion (Multiple Sclerosis and Yoga). And now several research studies discuss the benefits and potential role of yoga as an alternative treatment of symptom management for individuals with MS and describe how yoga can improve the patients’ quality of life (see Yoga, MS & Stress, Yoga, MS &Physiological Indices; Yoga, MS & Postural Balance and MS & Therapeutic Yoga). In all of the research studies, the opinion among MS subjects was unanimous: subjects reported improvements in mental and emotional health, concentration, bladder control, vision, and ability to withstand the pain better. Furthermore, subjects also revealed improved motor coordination, better capacities for walking without losing balance or coordination of gait, and improvement in being able to stand up from a sitting position.

In most of these research studies, for rehabilitative and/or maintenance treatments the emphasis was on asanas to improve strength and flexibility (Mountain pose, Warrior 1 and 2, and Arms Overhead pose), balance poses (using the wall and/or props to keep steady), and agility practices (start with slow, precise changes of position in asana practices, such a slow Sun Salutation). MS individuals can easily adapt the postures and use suitable props that will help them to do to the pose and benefit from it (Yoga Props We Can't Live Without). All of the research studies together with anecdotal reports are steps in the right direction as they show that a yoga program is very effective in improving the quality of life in MS patients.

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Tension Headaches and Yoga

by Baxter

Let me start off today’s post by personally wishing you all a Happy New Year! We are seven days into 2014 already, and Nina and I are excited to continue our work here at Yoga for Healthy Aging in the coming year. Today’s post comes out of something a few friends mentioned the day after their NYE celebrations: a lot of them had hangover headaches! Surprise, surprise! But I just happen to be preparing a workshop on headaches for the upcoming Yoga Journal Conference in San Francisco in a few weeks, and when I reviewed what we have written on the topic, I was surprised to find that we had not specifically talked about the most common form of headache that people experience (fortunately not hangover headaches): tension or musculoskeletal tension headaches. Sure, we alluded to it on our pretty thorough discussion on Yoga and Migraines last year, but I thought it would be well worth a focused look at tension headaches today. So here we go!

Tension headaches are indeed the most common headaches people experience, although the exact causes are not yet entirely clear. According to the Mayo Clinic website:

“A tension headache is generally a diffuse, mild to moderate pain in your head that's often described as feeling like a tight band around your head.”

Very encouragingly, the site states, “managing a tension headache is often a balance between fostering healthy habits, finding effective nondrug treatments and using medications appropriately.” Why do I find this encouraging? I am always excited when modern western medicine discovers that lifestyle and non-drug therapies are the better first choice in addressing a health concern. Bravo!

It is important, before we discuss yoga options for tension headaches (TH) to be clear on what constitutes a tension headache, and how it is different from migraines, for instance. According to the Mayo Clinic, a tension headache typically has the following symptoms:

• dull, aching head pain
• tightness or pressure across your forehead and the sides and back of your head
• tenderness on your scalp, neck, and shoulder muscles

I am sure some of you can identify with this and are likely massaging those areas right now! Modern western medicine splits tension headaches into two categories, those that are episodic and those that are chronic. An episodic tension headache is one that lasts from 30 minutes to a week (or more). A chronic tension headache is one that you experience at least 15 days a month for at least three months. 

Tension headaches can be hard to distinguish from the less common migraine headaches, and can even occur in people who also suffer from migraines. The Mayo Clinic points out some helpful distinguishing features between the two:

“Unlike some forms of migraine, tension headache usually isn't associated with visual disturbances, nausea or vomiting. Although physical activity typically aggravates migraine pain, it doesn't make tension headache pain worse. An increased sensitivity to either light or sound can occur with a tension headache, but these aren't common symptoms.”

The fact that physical activity does not usually worsen tension headaches is helpful to know when you are considering whether or not to do an asana practice when you already have a headache. And it is a way to test out your particular headache to see if it is tension or migraine.

It is still not clear what the underlying cause is for these common headaches. Some specialists link them to muscle contractions anywhere above the shoulders that might be encouraged by emotions, tension or stress, even though research does not support muscle contraction as the cause. The most common theories suggest that people with tension headaches have a heightened sensitivity to pain and stress. And related to that, stress turns out to be the number one trigger of tension headaches. Statistically, according to one study, 90% of women and 70% of men experience tension headaches at some point in their lives, with the peak incidence in people in their 40s.

The gang at Mayo Clinic did disappoint me a bit. Following their initial statements about non-drug treatment, they launch into medication choices before discussing lifestyle and alternative therapies—you all came so close! But when they finally do get to the non-drug options, stress management and improved posture are two of the three main recommendations. We have discussed this in many other posts, so by now we all realize that yoga rocks for addressing these options. And yoga does get the nod as a possible preventive treatment option for tension headaches.

Nina did a nice job in her headache prevention posts Preventing Migraines (and Other Headaches), Part 1 and Part 2 in outlining good yoga options for migraines and tension headaches (see also Peaceful Poses for Stress, Anxiety, Neck Pain and Headache Prevention). In general, because tension headaches are not typically worsened by physical activity, an active asana practice could be appropriate for when you have a headache as well as for headache prevention. I cannot tell you how many times students have come into class complaining of a headache, only to state on departure that their headache was now gone. And since most of the classes I teach include some short vinyasa portions, either reclining or standing, such as Sun or Moon Salutations for a few rounds, as well as static poses, a short pranayama session and a 10-minute Savasana (Relaxation pose), I can conclude that a well-balanced yoga practice can be both preventative and prescriptive.

Here are some of my favorite specific approaches for treating and/or preventing tension headaches:

Releasing muscle tension in neck and head. Even though muscle contraction does not appear to be the main cause or clear cause of tension headaches, I’d still focus much of the yoga asana practice on the area at and above your shoulders to release any excessive muscle tightness. Our shoulder series Opening Tight Shoulders, along with Owl and Curious Dog neck movements (see Neck Muscle Strain and Spasm) would be excellent additions to a daily home practice.

Refining your asana choices. Monitoring the effect of certain groups of yoga poses to see if they aggravate or improve headache symptoms is always a good idea. The more you start to understand how your body interacts with the practice, the better your personal practice will develop to support lessening your chances of getting tension headaches.

Finding the best stress practices for you. In addition to the more active practices of yoga, experimenting with quieter options is also essential in preventing and treating tension. A weekly restorative class or home practice (see Mini Restorative Practice) or the periodic use of Supported Relaxation pose (see Savasana Variations) and a yoga nidra recording (see Yoga Nidra and Deep Physical Relaxation) will work nicely for many. Pranayama practices such as 1:2 ratio breathing (the inhalation is 1/2  the length of the exhalation) or gradual lengthening of both inhale and exhale equally are great beginning breath practices to try. Short sitting or reclining meditation practices for 5 to 10 minutes are also great stress reducers.

Resetting pain sensitivity. Just as regular stretching of the hamstrings in Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) tends to lower the intensity of the perceived stretch discomfort over time, a general yoga practice has the potential to lower the heightened pain sensitivity that some people may have. There is no study to presently prove that last assertion, but it seems reasonable to observe in your own situation if adding in a regular, reasonable home practice begins to change the frequency and intensity of your tension headaches.

Please let us know what you find out if 2014 is the year you ramp up your practice with the intention to improve your tension headaches!

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Restorative Yoga Better Than Stretching for Reducing Subcutaneous Fat in Overweight Women

by Nina

Just a quick announcement today about some research findings I think you’ll all enjoy learning about. Baxter and I read about a recent study, designed by Maria G. Araneta, PhD, MPH, of the University of California, San Diego, to determine whether obese women lose fat from less intense exercise instead of aerobic activity. Although not a huge study, the groups were larger than most of those we see in recent studies, with the yoga group of 88 having a mean age of 55 years with an average BMI of 36 kg/m2 and the stretch group of 83 having a mean age of 54 years with an average BMI of 32.5 kg/m2.

Along with her co-authors Matthew A. Allison, MD, MPH, Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD, and Alka M. Kanaya, MD, Dr. Araneta presented the results at the 73rd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Chicago (June 21-25). And the results showed that the practitioners of restorative yoga lost significantly more subcutaneous fat over the initial six months of the study. They also kept losing subcutaneous fat during a maintenance period when they had less direct supervision. This is important because all the women participating in study had metabolic syndrome. And reducing abdominal fat may help reverse the syndrome.

The Mayo Clinic defines metabolic syndrome as follows:

"Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions — increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels — that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes."

Metabolic syndrome affects 44% of the U.S. population older than age 50. 

Although the team is still reviewing the data, they speculated that one explanation for the difference between the effects found with restorative yoga and stretching may be that restorative yoga reduces cortisol levels. As Timothy wrote in his background post Stress, Your Health and Yoga, cortisol levels rise during times of stress and is known to increase abdominal fat. And in Baxter’s post Cortisol and Good Health Baxter wrote about the dangers of prolonged periods of stress and high levels of cortisol. I wrote specifically about the relationship between stress, cortiso,l and weight management in my post Yoga, Stress and Weight Management. So we'll be very interested to see the follow-up studies.

In Baxter's post on cortisol, he actually recommended restorative yoga along with yoga nidra as stress reduction—and cortisol-lowering—solutions. However, meditation (see Starting a Meditation Practice) and supported inversion poses (see All About Supported Inverted Poses) are also helpful. For a complete overview of how to use yoga to switch your nervous system from the Stress Response (Fight or Flight) to the Relaxation Response (Rest and Digest), see The Relaxation Response and Yoga.

In her presentation, Dr. Araneta did not recommend restorative yoga as a replacement for aerobic activity; instead, she said this “complementary” practice could provide a means of gentle movement for severely obese patients for whom other activity is not practical. But as I wrote in Restorative Yoga: An Introduction, restorative yoga is a complementary practice that benefits all of us.

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Interview with Vickie Russell Bell Continued Teaching Yoga to Students with Parkinsons

Baxter: Can you talk a bit about what sort of experience or training would be optimal for a teacher out there thinking about doing this sort of class for folks with Parkinson’s?

Vickie: Teachers interested in working with PWPD need to have a strong background in teaching asana and adapting classic poses. Assisting a teacher who works with disabilities or special populations (or even someone who is adept at working with seniors) would be very useful. If a teacher is interested in eventually working with a group, starting solo with a PD student who is mobile and only slightly limited might help her begin to understand this population.

There are often local PD organizations that offer classes or info sessions for those interested in furthering their knowledge. I am currently training a number of yoga teachers who want to take this work into the community and I hope to expand this educational opportunity further.

Baxter: And final advice to either students with Parkinson’s, or teachers interested in working with this population?

Vickie: The thing that drives my success in working with this population is this motto: Teach to their possibility, not their disability! Be willing to be light, to play ant, to constantly continue to learn. 

Vickie Russell Bell was born and raised in Ohio, and is a journalist by education. She teaches yoga because she loves to. Her intention is to help her students increase their level of daily awareness through their body, breath and experience. She is a graduate of the Piedmont Yoga Studio Advanced Training Program and is a certified “Relax and Renew Trainer” through Judith Lasater’s accredited program. See here for more information.

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How To Choose A Yoga Class And Teacher

By Bronwyn Best

Okay, you're thinking of a good way of getting started with yoga. At least, you might be wondering how you can dip your toe in the water to see what it's like. If you're at all like I was, you are curious, a bit excited, but perhaps a bit nervous as well. However the easiest way of getting started in yoga is most likely to locate a local yoga studio and check out any basic or introductory classes they provide. I don't recommend starting with videos or books. Those can be really valuable once you get oriented, but a personal connection with someone, an instructor, a class peer, etc., can be really important to getting off on the right track.

Honestly, I felt like an idiot the first time I wandered into a yoga studio. I was self-conscious: I was definitely out of shape, carried around 30 or 40 extra pounds, and my sweat pants were hideous. I was a fish out of water and was positive that The Yoga People would laugh me out the door.

That didn't happen. Not even close.

I visited the Yoga Studio and used the gift certificate I'd been given by my husband to purchase a 6-class pass, allowing me to attend any classes that were open for drop-ins (some classes ran as discrete, limited sessions, but most didn't). Once I had that pass in hand, I grew anxious. Now I was going to have to attend a class!

The owner of the yoga studio kindly answered my questions and advised me to start with a basic Hatha class. I learned that Hatha, the most common form of yoga practiced in the West, is the physical (asana) type of yoga. There are many others that concentrate more on mental practice, lifestyle and action, breathing, etc. Technically, physical asana is just one element, or limb, of yoga.

The basic class I went to was ideal for me. It was small, attended by a variety of people of all shapes, sizes and ages. The teacher (The Fabulous Bryan) was gentle, supportive and - most important of all - completely accepting of each person's particular situation. It took me six months of going to the class once a week to be able to touch my toes without bending my knees. Boy, was that a thrilling day!

So, look for a class and a teacher with whom you feel comfortable. You may wish to check out more than one studio to compare before you purchase a package or large pass card anywhere. This will provide you with a good feel for the studio itself and how comfortable and supportive it is, as well as the teachers in your area. There is likely nothing more essential in the Getting Started in yoga process than finding a teacher you like and connecting with her. If you don't find that person on your first try, just chalk that up to information gathering and keep trying. One thing I've cultivated in my yoga practice is persistence. If you practice persistence in the search for the right "fit" for you, in terms of a yoga teacher and studio, it will pay off!

One other note: It's useful to give some thought to what your targets are with yoga. Relaxation? Weight loss? Cardiovascular health? Reduction of anxiety or depression? Becoming more flexible? In the beginning, just getting a toe hold any way you can is enough, but down the road, the answer to the question of what you want out of it may help guide where your practice goes.

About the Author:

For the secret to weight loss you've come to the right place.

Falling for Yoga Myths Yawning and Sighing and the Nervous System

by Nina

Heart and Lungs

I hope you realize by now that there are a lot of myths out there in the yoga world, such as that yoga nidra is an ancient practice or that Sun Salutations have been practiced for thousands of years. So here at Yoga for Healthy Aging, we try to do a bit of fact checking before we go ahead and write about a subject, whether it is medical, scientific, or historical. And when I edit a post, I try to confirm anything that looks a bit, well, suspect. But once in a while, I’m less than meticulous, and that can result in an error or two. After I read what Baxter wrote about the relationship between the breath and the nervous system in his post How Your Breath Affects Your Nervous System, I asked him to take a look at a related post I wrote some time ago called Your Key to Your Nervous System: Your Breath because I was concerned that perhaps my original post had errors in it. Although at the time I had been writing about what I was convinced were facts, Baxter confirmed that some of the information in my post about yawning and the affect of the breath on the nervous system, which I had learned from a yoga teacher, was actually incorrect. Baxter identified this misinformation as a yoga myth—ideas that seems to get perpetuated, despite the fact there is no proof of their validity.

So this post today is an update to my original post, with Baxter’s comments/corrections on my original statements. Well, it’s a journey for us, too, right?

YOGA MYTH: Nina wrote, “Have you ever wondered why you tend to yawn when you’re sleepy? Well, a yawn is a great big inhalation. And because your heart rate tends to speed up on your inhalation, that yawn in the middle of that boring lecture or business meeting is little message to your nervous system: wake up! On the other hand, when you are upset about something, you tend to sigh. That sigh—try one!—is an extra long exhalation. Because your heart rate tends to slow on your exhalation, that sigh while you are feeling emotional turmoil or are just stuck in traffic is a little message to your nervous system: take it easy, buddy, slow down a bit.”

BAXTER’S CORRECTION: Here’s what I found…and it does not seem to confirm your suggestions that it is the heart rate effects that are driving the yawn or sigh. There are four theories about why we yawn, none proven or much studied:

• Physiologic theory: Our bodies induce yawning to draw in more oxygen or remove a buildup of carbon dioxide. At least one studied seems to have disproved this theory.
• Evolutionary theory: Some think that yawning began with our ancestors, who used yawning to show their teeth and intimidate others. An offshoot of this theory is the idea that yawning developed from early man as a signal for us to change activities.
• Boredom theory: Although we do tend to yawn when bored or tired, this theory doesn't explain why Olympic athletes yawn right before they compete in their event or why dogs tend to yawn just before they attack. It's doubtful either is bored.
• Brain-Cooling theory: a more recent proposal is that since people yawn more in situations where their brains are likely to be warmer—tested by having some subjects breathe through their noses or press hot or cold packs to their foreheads—it's a way to cool down their brains. Cool brains think more clearly.

Why do we sigh? As it turns out, sighs do seem to work like the brain’s reboot button for regular breathing. According to a 2010 study Take a deep breath: The relief effect of spontaneous and instructed sighs, during mental stress, the volunteers’ breathing became more and more irregular as participants increasingly relied on deliberate breath control, at which point, a sigh occurred, causing automatic regular respiration to kick in again. Furthermore, muscle tension steadily built up before a spontaneous sigh and decreased afterward, supporting the idea that sighing helps release tension.

YOGA MYTH: Nina wrote, “It turns out that by intentionally taking in more oxygen (either by speeding up your breath or by lengthening your inhalation) you can stimulate your nervous system and that by taking in less oxygen (by slowing your breath or lengthening your exhalation), you can calm yourself down. It’s that simple.

BAXTER’S CORRECTION: It is actually likely not that simple, as the effect I described in my post How Your Breath Affects Your Nervous System really more clearly explains what happens: the inhale speeds up the heart rate (not because of O2 levels) and the exhale slows it down (not due to O2 levels, but due to the nerve input from breath cycle to heart). As the heart rate slows more over the course of five minutes of 1:2 ratio breathing, for instance, the slower heart rate is monitored by the brain and leads to even further turning on of the parasympathetic Rest and Digest response. And, in fact, carbon dioxide levels in the blood stream have a much greater influence on the rate of breathing than O2 levels, and are monitored much more closely by the brain moment by moment and lead to adjustments in the ANS tone of whether sympathetic or parasympathetic nerves are stimulated. The importance of “getting more oxygen” in is a myth that has been propagated for a long time by yoga teachers in this country. For further information, see Leslie Kaminoff’s article What Yoga Therapists Should Know About the Anatomy of Breathing.

CONCLUSION: Well, we're all learning this stuff together. Even Baxter went ahead and did a bunch of new research. And, sigh, at least I was right about sighing.

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Supporting Our Veterans Veterans Yoga Project

by Baxter

The Veteran in a New Field by Winslow Homer

The other day at lunch, I reconnected with an old acquaintance of mine, Dan Libby. Dan and I first met when I was attending one of my first ever yoga retreats as a student at the Feathered Pipe Ranch in Helena, MT in 1999. Dan had the great opportunity to work there for nine summers, beginning in his senior year of high school. He went on to become a psychologist who was interested in working with veterans returning home from war with a variety of psychological challenges, with PTSD in the forefront. His strong connection to this community led him to found the Veterans Yoga Project, which is dedicated to improving the health and well being of military veterans. VYP sponsors classes, provides resources, and leads retreats and teacher trainings for yoga teachers interested in serving this particular community.

As we talked, I asked Dan, “Why should people who do yoga for healthy aging care about veterans and VYP’s Veterans Week?” These were his thoughts:

“Numerous studies have shown the psychological and physical health benefits of kindness, altruism, and volunteering, including lower stress levels, increased levels of the cardio-protective hormone oxytocin, and greater feelings of happiness and well-being. Research has even shown that giving support to others is associated with greater longevity.

“Conversely, post-traumatic stress is associated with increased risk of a host of physical, mental, and social problems including cardiovascular disease, depression, homelessness, and suicide. And although the difficulties encountered by the veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are well-publicized, there are over one million veterans from the American War in Vietnam who are over the age of 60 and are still recovering from post-traumatic stress and all of the associated psycho-social problems that accompany this terrible disorder. In addition, the majority of the 22 suicides per day among veterans are committed by those over 50. Unfortunately, despite a lot of effort by a lot of caring people, the needs of our wounded warriors are not being met. And regardless of our political views or views about war, it is our collective responsibility to take care of those who take care of us.”

Dan then told me about this amazing project happening next Tuesday, November 11th, all around the country. Here are the details!

This Veterans Day, Veterans Yoga Project invites you to do one small act of kindness to support your own well-being, and to support the health and well-being of the men and women who serve and protect us by serving in the US Military. During the week of Veterans Day, there will be more than 90 donation-based yoga classes happening across the U.S. to support the work Veterans Yoga Project is doing to support recovery and resilience among veterans and their families. These events are designed to be an opportunity for communities to come together to honor and support in a tangible way, military veterans who continue to suffer the visible and invisible wounds of war. Please go to Veterans Yoga Project site for a list of all classes being held during Veterans Week and make plans to attend, or to make a tax-deductible contribution.

And for those who might want to reach out to Dan personally, here's his info.

Dan Libby, PhD, RYT
Executive Director, Veterans Yoga Project
veteransyogaproject.org

Contact Us Page: veteransyogaproject.org/contact

Let’s help Dan get the word out about this important work!

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Veterans Health Spans and Yoga

Wounded Soldier by Marc Chagall

It’s Memorial Day weekend here in the U.S. (Monday is the actual holiday), so we’re fundraising today for the Veterans Yoga Project in honor of both the fallen and surviving veterans. If you want to contribute, we have a page set up just for our Yoga for Healthy Aging community! Go to veteransyogaproject/YogaForHealthyAging, where you can “light a candle” to honor someone by donating any amount. Let’s see what our community can do to support this wonderful organization! 

Now here’s something from Baxter about why supporting yoga for veterans is so important. —Nina 

I woke up the other day thinking about my dad. I suppose partly due to the fact that Memorial Day is coming up, and although he did not die while in the service, he was a veteran. He was in the ROTC in college, from 1954-58, and following graduation, was stationed for a while at a base near Tulsa, Oklahoma, and at Ft. Knox, KY for 6 months, as a second lieutenant. My dad was lucky he served between conflicts, after Korea and before Vietnam—his life could have turned out much differently had been a little older or younger. As it was, he generally had good health and lived to a respectable age of 76. That got me wondering if my dad had seen action in an actual war whether that would have affected his health span. 

After I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, I took a look into question: how does serving during combat affect the health span of soldiers? I am aware—as many of you readers are, too—that veterans of war are more likely to suffer from serious conditions, such as posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. That means higher rates of depression, anxiety, and cognitive difficulties. And most of us have also heard the staggering statistics on suicide with rates of 20 military deaths a day. 

It turns out that having served in combat does increase the chances for these men and women developing those and other unusual health problems (described below) and sometimes other serious health problems (such as hypertension and heart disease) at a more frequent rate than their fellow citizens. In addition, they often report general symptoms, such as persistent pain, fatigue, trouble concentrating, and poor memory. Over 50% of visits to the VA hospitals are for musculoskeletal injuries and chronic pain. 

Although post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) gets a lot of press, many veterans suffer other mental illnesses, with one in ten suffering from depression, violent behavior, or alcohol abuse. And 50 percent of those that suffer from PTSD, will, as they age, develop sleep apnea, which is twice the rate as non-military PTSD patients, and are at greater risk of developing dementia as they age.

Combat veterans are also more likely to have been exposed to chemical agents, such as Gulf War veterans who were exposed to sarin gas, which has led to heart damage in many. Similarly, they are often exposed to infectious diseases in the foreign countries were they served that lead to ongoing, difficult-to-treat conditions, such as Leishmaniasis, transmitted from sand flea bites. And they are more likely to be exposed to loud noise and vibrations from gun, cannon fire, and other tools of the trade, which can lead hearing loss, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), numbness and pain in the hands and feet, and chronic low back pain. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is more common in the military, due to exposure to explosions or direct head trauma, resulting in a jolt to the brain. It not only temporarily disrupts how the brain functions, but can lead to persistent, longer term symptoms of irritability, memory trouble, language issues, information processing difficulties, and short attention spans, with secondary increases in anxiety, depression and headaches. 

Preliminary research done in 2012 noted that active-duty military and veterans in their twenties and thirties were developing symptoms typically seen in older adults, such as elevated blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, and obesity, much earlier in their lives than would be expected. As we have said here before, these are risk factors for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, all which have a negative impact on health span! 

Due to all these issues, those that have served in war zones have multiple risk factors for negative impacts on health span. Fortunately, we know that yoga can help address many of these conditions as an adjunct to western medical approaches. So I wondered if my friends Dan Libby, founder and director of Veterans Yoga Project, and Perry Chattler, the regional director for Northern California branch of the organization, had any experience with veterans with these sorts of conditions, and if they had seen yoga play a role in addressing the health of and improving the lives of these folks. Here is how they answered my questions.


Perry: Many veterans suffer from symptoms of PTSD, a combination of PTSD and other disorders, or simply physical injuries suffered during basic training or during their service, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI). We see issues such as high blood pressure, alcohol/drug abuse, insomnia, depression, heart and lung disease, chronic pain (fibromyalgia), wear and tear issues with shoulders, knees and hips, and military sexual trauma (MST). 

By bringing the practices to the veterans in places that they are comfortable going to (Vet Centers, Veterans Halls, etc.), rather than having them seek the practices out in a public forum, we find that they are more willing to try yoga. We also find that by bringing “mindful-resilience” practices to the veterans, they are more willing to give yoga a try, and interestingly enough, they almost always come back to class. These practices include: mindful movement (asana), breathing practices (pranayama), meditation, yoga nidra, and gratitude practices.

Here are just a few quotes from veterans who have my attended classes:

“My doctor is amazed that my blood pressure has dropped and I can lower my medication.” (Vietnam vet) 
“My wife tells me I’m calmer.” (Gulf War vet) 
“I couldn’t sleep and remembered my breathing practices. I slept through the night.” (Vietnam vet) 
“My doctor had me on pain-killers for my low back pain. Since beginning yoga, I am off the meds.” (Afghanistan vet) 
“I am better able to be around other people.” (Vietnam vet) 
“These classes have changed my life. Thank you!”. (Iraq vet) 

Recently, an Iraq veteran told me that since he started yoga classes with the Veterans Yoga Project, his sleep has gone from 0-1 hours a night to 3-4 hours and then to 6-7 hours, and without the need for sleep aids. We know from research that yoga practices work in reducing pain and calming the nervous system. But the anecdotal comments are proof enough for me. 

Dan: I want to echo some of the things Perry has already mentioned. There is more and more awareness about millions of military veterans who are still trying to recover from the symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other trauma-related psychological challenges. And there is more general awareness about the fact that 20 veterans end their own lives each and every day, as you mention. Increase awareness about these things are good. 

But the veterans I see are also all dealing with other health problems that significantly affect their everyday quality of life and impede recovery. Pain, in particular, is a significant impediment to recovery and wellness. Statistics show that there is high comorbidity between PTSD and pain, and pain is one of the most common and is often debilitating challenges for the veterans I work with. Unfortunately, these challenges often feed into each other, exacerbating tendencies toward avoidance and isolation, leading to a downward spiral of intrusive memories, physiological dysfunction, and, unhealthy coping behaviors. 

That’s why I love my job. I get to show veterans and their loved ones how to practice yoga for healthy aging. As a teacher, and as the founder and executive director of an organization that is dedicated to supporting veterans through yoga, I get to hear a lot of positive feedback about how yoga affects quality of life:

“I came into class feeling achy all over. I feel great now.” 
“That made my pain go away.” 
“I’m walking better.” 

I get to hear about a veteran who can tie his shoes without pain. I get to see the increase in physical strength, stability, and agility in the veterans who come to class each week. I get to hear stories about playing golf on the weekend instead of stories about what isn’t working and what hurts. I also get to collect data that documents these effects. For example, in Veterans Yoga Project programs where we collect stress and pain ratings before and after class, we find that 77%-92% of all class visits result in a decrease in pain. This can be 1, 2, 3, 4, or even 5 points on a 0 to 10 scale. There are no adverse side effects, and it’s cheaper and more effective than medication.  

Baxter: Is it important to have special dedicated classes just for veterans?  

Perry: Yes, we believe so. Veterans (Vietnam, Gulf War, Iraq/Afghanistan) will rarely attend a public yoga class, and for a variety of reasons. At Veterans Yoga Project (VYP), we bring trauma-informed yoga in the form of asana, pranayama, and meditation, to veterans at Vet Centers, Veterans Halls, and VA hospitals. All classes are free to veterans and their families. Thanks to the generosity of donors, we continue to fund existing and new programs, enabling all of us to serve those who have served.

Baxter: Thanks, Dan and Perry, for telling us about the positive experiences of the veterans who have studied with you both through the Veterans Yoga Project. All this evidence about improving the physical and mental health of veterans with yoga does help provide an answer to my original question about the effect of yoga on the health span of veterans. It sounds like it can indeed be very helpful for improving health spans!

Readers, all of this is why I’m recommending that if you are looking for a way to not only honor those you have lost to war but to help those who have lived through it, considering donating to the “Light a Candle” fundraising for the Veterans Yoga Project at https://veteransyogaproject.z2systems.com/YogaForHealthyAging 

—Baxter

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Workshops of Interest Therapeutic Yoga Seminars

Our own Shari Ser and her co-teacher, Bonnie Maeda, RN, are teaching a series of therapeutic yoga seminars this spring at the Berkeley Yoga Room.

Yoga for Neurological Disorders on March 24, 2012
Yoga for Heart Conditions on April 28, 2012
Yoga for Breathing Disorders on May 19, 2012
Yoga for Sleep Disorders on June 16, 2012

These seminars are intended primarily for training teachers in the therapeutic uses of yoga, but all interested students are welcome to attend if space permits. For further information, see the Berkeley Yoga Room web site.

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Yoga for Healthy Aging Certified Teachers!

by Nina

Baxter and I are pleased to announce a new feature on the blog: a list of yoga teachers who have been certified by the two us as Yoga for Healthy Aging teachers. You can find the list of these teachers (which we expect to grow—we’re still waiting for some of the written tests to come in) on our Certified Teachers page.

These yoga teachers all attended our Yoga for Healthy Aging intensive, passed a written test, and did a teaching demonstration that we approved:

• Susan Bronson
• Nora Berklich
• Barbara Haxo-Phillips
• Joan G. Manuel 
• Carol Mermey
• Liz Moss
• Nina Rook
• Susan Urquhart-Brown

For those of you who are interested in receiving certification yourself and could not attend our 2015 intensive, we will be having another intensive at Namaste Berkeley in 2016. We will be announcing the date in the near future.

Honorary Mention goes to Bayle Emlein who, while not a yoga teacher, passed her written test and the teaching demo just for her own edification.

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Fluid Intelligence and Yoga

by Ram

From "The Path to Holistic Health" by B.K.S. Iyengar

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika was written centuries ago and in the course of time produced several yoga masters and teachers, yet it took Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and B.K.S. Iyengar to bring innovation to the practice of yoga, including developing new poses and adding the use of various props. 

Similarly, it took the ingenuity of Robert Jarvik to design and implant the first artificial heart. And also, had those Harvard college kids, led by Mark Zuckerberg, not been interested in digitizing their assignment notes, we may never have seen Facebook. Examples of such innovative and ingenious incidents abound and reflect a specific type of intelligence. 

What is intelligence? Is it getting a very high score on the ACT or SAT? Is it having the ability to solve complex math equations? Or does being able to create a complex software program make you intelligent? In reality, intelligence is a little bit of all of these and more. As intelligence began to be better understood by cognitive psychologists, it became clear that many distinct sub-types of intelligence exist. Psychologists are of the opinion that intelligence comes in many forms and is comprised of a variety of cognitive skills and abilities. In broad terms, intelligence comprises two sub-components: 

Crystallized intelligence. This is the ability to make use of acquired information or knowledge. Crystallized intelligence involves knowledge that comes from prior learning and past experiences. People who possess high levels of crystallized intelligence are people who remember facts and retain a wealth of knowledge on specific topic(s). Examples of crystallized intelligence include vocabulary exams and geography or spelling bees. This type of intelligence is based upon facts and rooted in experiences. It is generally long-lasting and improves with rote learning.

Fluid intelligence. This is the ability to be innovative or ingenious  It allows you to quickly adapt to and solve problems, even in an unfamiliar situation. Fluid intelligence is the ability to reason, think and apply. In order for someone to have fluid intelligence, they must be able to reason and think conceptually, as well as achieve problem solving skills. Although abstract thinking and problem solving skills are achieved during a person's education, learning, and experiences, fluid intelligence is an innate ability that is independent of those things. Having an open mind and high level of awareness are key aspects of fluid intelligence abilities. On the yoga mat, fluid intelligence is all about ingenious methods of modifying a pose to reap the same benefits and avoiding any pains, distress or risks. 

Fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence are both components of general intelligence and yet are distinct in their respective aspects. Two people with the same IQ may exhibit similar crystallized intelligence but dissimilar fluid intelligence. While both types of intelligence increase throughout childhood and adolescence, the general belief is that crystallized intelligence continues to grow throughout adulthood and then begins to decline after age 65. Nevertheless, as we age and accumulate new knowledge and understanding, crystallized intelligence becomes stronger. In contrast, fluid intelligence and the ability to reason and think conceptually begin to decline around age 40.

Now you may ask what do these concepts have to do with yoga? Well, results from a recent study investigating the relation between age and fluid intelligence in middle-aged yoga and meditation practitioners, and matched controls indicated that fluid intelligence declined much slower in yoga practitioners and meditators combined, than in controls. Furthermore, mindfulness meditation was positively correlated with fluid intelligence. The study Fluid intelligence and brain functional organization in aging yoga and meditation practitioners involved 47 physically and mentally healthy participants (16 yoga practitioners, 16 meditation practitioners, and 15 controls), who were recruited after matching for age, gender, education, race, and handedness. Age-related decline in fluid intelligence and normal functional brain network properties in these participants were investigated. Fluid intelligence was tested using a variety of cognitive skills. Functional networks were also measured by the resilience displayed by neurons to actual lesions in the brain’s cortical areas or by simulating such attacks. The apparent rate of age-related decline in fluid intelligence was found to be lower in yoga practitioners and meditators combined as compared to controls. Furthermore, resting state functional neurons of yoga practitioners and meditators combined were more resilient to damage than those of controls. Interestingly, mindfulness meditation alone was effective in blocking the age-associated decline in fluid intelligence as well as increasing the neural network resilience.

The results of this study may also explain previous studies that indicated that older meditators have better attention performance than non-meditators. Both meditation and yoga requires the quality of mindfulness that in turn triggers functional neural network integration and improve fluid intelligence. The results are extremely relevant and important as they have a potential practical implication with a rapidly aging world population and increasing life expectancies. So if you wish to have a non-medicated, non-prescription-based method to strengthen your neural network and improve your fluid intelligence, unroll your mat and start your practice of yoga and meditation today!

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The Relaxation Response and Yoga

by Nina

A Garden Path by Joan Webster

Last week I wrote about the stress response, and how dangerous chronic stress is for your physical and emotional wellbeing (and possibly your longevity). So at this point you might be wondering: wouldn’t it be nice if there were an easy way for you to switch off your stress? I mean, something quicker and less expensive than a month in Tahiti or a week in a spa.

Well, it turns out there is. Remember, between stressful situations, your body needs to rest, recover, and acquire new energy. So your nervous system responds by:

• lowering your blood pressure 
• reducing your heart rate, diverting blood back to the skin and gastrointestinal tract 
• contracting your pupils and bronchioles 
• stimulating your salivary gland secretion, accelerating digestion, and promoting normal movement of food through the gut 

Dr. Herbert Benson coined the term “the relaxation response,” to describe this phenomenon, and he discusses it in detail in his book The Relaxation Response (which I highly recommend). I’ve also heard the term “Rest and Digest” to describe this state, when your body is recovering and restoring itself, and I find this is a helpful way to think about it, as the opposite of “Fight or Flight.”

Of course when you are stressed out, you can’t just tell yourself to relax. (I remember when I was suffering terribly from chronic stress, a therapist told me to “stop worrying.” I said, “Are you kidding?” and, duh, never went back.) But this is where yoga performs so brilliantly. Because, as Dr. Benson discovered, to trigger the relaxation response all that is required is:

1. A quiet environment
2. A focus for your mind, such as a sound, word, phrase, physical sensation (breath or body part), or fixed gaze at an object
3. Passive (non-judgmental) attitude 
4. A comfortable position
5. 10 to 20 minutes

If this makes you immediately think of meditation, you’re right about that. But yoga has bunch of different options that you can use to trigger the relaxation response:

• Meditation. See here for information on how to meditate. 
• Breath practices (pranayama). See here for information your nervous system and your breath. 
• Restorative poses with a focus for the mind (such as your breath or the relaxation of your muscles). See Restorative Yoga: An Introduction.
• Corpse pose (Savasana) with a focus for the mind (such as your breath, the relaxation of your muscles, or peaceful imagery). See here for information. 
• Yoga nidra (yogic sleep), a long, structured form of Savasana. See here for information about yoga nidra and here for a mini version of yoga nidra that you can stream or download. 

Eventually, after his initial studies, Dr. Benson removed two items from the list: a comfortable position and a quiet environment. He soon realized that a mind-body practice, such as the yoga asana practice, can be a “moving meditation,” as long as there is a focus for your mind (such as the physical sensations of your body in the pose) and a "passive attitude" (refraining from judging yourself in the pose, such as how you look or whether you’re doing it “right”). See What is Mindfulness?

Finally, studies by Dr. Roger Cole proved that inverted and semi-inverted poses, where your heart is higher than your head, trigger the relaxation response through the mechanisms that control your blood pressure. This is why supported inversions, such Legs Up the Wall pose and Easy Inverted Pose (legs on a chair), are so effective. See Just in Time for the Holidays: Inverted Poses and Why You Should Love Your Baroreceptors.

And in weeks to come, we’ll provide further information about all seven of these options for triggering the relaxation response: meditation, breath practice, restorative yoga, Savasana, Yoga Nidra, mindful yoga practices, and inverted poses. 

By now you may be saying to yourself that while these practices definitely seem like a bargain compared to vacations and spas (free to be exact), they seem like a bit of work. Can’t I just skip all this “practicing” stuff and get a bit of shuteye instead? Sorry, but it turns out the state of conscious relaxation you achieve by triggering the relaxation response is very different than sleep, and I’ll be discussing that difference in my next post (though, of course, a good night’s sleep is also important for your physical and emotional health). See here for a comparison between conscious relaxation and sleep.

What about turning on the TV or reading a good book? Activities, such as TV and reading, while good distractions, aren’t necessarily relaxing. Hey, suspense, though good for a plot, can be very stressful, and I not only cry at the movies, but sometimes during sad parts of a novel! I’m not saying you should never watch TV or read, just that these activities can’t take the place of the conscious relaxation that yoga provides. So as Baxter said last week, "Got 10 minutes?"

And now, dear readers, I’d like to ask you for your help. What are your favorite yoga stress management techniques? What do you find the most useful? And have I overlooked anything? Also, if you’d like to vote on which yoga stress management techniques you’d like to hear about first, let me know. Leave your answers in a comment to this post or email them to me (see the Contact Us page).

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