Yoga

Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine

While Yoga evolved as a spiritual practice in Hinduism, in the Modern world, a part of yoga, known as Asana has grown popular as a form of purely physical exercise. A yoga practicioner is known as yogi (for male) or yogini (for female). Some Western practice has little or nothing to do with Hinduism or spirituality, but is simply a way of keeping fit and healthy. This is only a part of the broad view of yoga.

Yoga was first introduced to American society in the late nineteenth century by Swami Vivekananda, the founder of the Vedanta Society.He believed that India has an abundance of spiritual wealth and that yoga is a method that could help those who were bound by the materialism of capitalist societies to achieve spiritual well-being.

Yoga is a healing system of theory and practice. It is a combination of breathing exercises, physical postures, and meditation, practiced for more than 5,000 years.A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine focused on who used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), what was used, and why it was used in the United States by adults age 18 years and over during 2002.According to this survey, Yoga was the 5th most commonly used CAM therapy (2.8%) in the United States during 2002.Yoga is considered a mind-body intervention that is used to reduce the health effects of generalized stress.

History

Yoga, dating back to over 5,000 years ago, is a form of a spiritual practice in India. In the West, it has evolved from its founding philosophy. Globalization over the past decade has been opening new doors for many industries, and within the yoga industry it has resulted in commodification. Today, yoga is now a lucrative and growing business. About 16.5 million Americans now spend nearly $3 billion annually on classes and products, a February 2005 poll by Harris Interactive and Yoga Journal magazine revealed. One argument against the globalization of yoga is that it is co-opting an ancient spiritual philosophy. Because yoga invokes ideals of harmony, health and balance, it “fits” well in the environment of modernity. On one hand, the acculturation of Yoga in America and Europe can be viewed as a welcome celebration of multiculturalism, promoting more open and tolerant cultural dispositions. On the other hand, the processes of commercialization may be considered to have debased the sacred practice. Yoga as exercise has evolved into numerous subdivisions and variations. Naked yoga, Chair Yoga, Acro Yoga and Hip-Hop Yoga are some of the few variations emerging. There is much debate whether the term Hatha Yoga properly describes yoga as exercise, since the traditional Hatha Yoga system originated as, and still is, a spiritual path in its own right.

Overview as alternative medicine

Yoga is believed to calm the nervous system and balance the body, mind, and spirit. It is thought by its practitioners to prevent specific diseases and maladies by keeping the energy meridians open and life energy (Prana) flowing.Yoga is usually performed in classes, sessions are conducted at least once a week and for approximately 45 minutes. Yoga has been used to lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve coordination, flexibility, concentration, sleep, and digestion. It has also been used as supplementary therapy for such diverse conditions as cancer, diabetes, asthma, AIDS and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Yoga as exercise for treating diseases

The popularization in the West of the medical aspect of Yoga is largely attributed to Dr.Swami Sivananda Saraswati's Bihar School of Yoga.Most yoga classes consist of a combination of physical exercises, breathing exercises, and meditation. These characteristics make yoga a particularly beneficial kind of exercise for people with certain health conditions, including heart disease/hypertension, asthma, and back problems.

For people with heart problems, studies have shown yoga to help people young and old. Specifically, yoga seems to promote heart health in several ways, including regulating high blood pressure and improving resistance to psychological stress. Yoga also has the potential to buffer against the harmful effects of bodily self-objectification as well as to promote embodiment and well-being. However, in recent years, there have been increasing reports of yoga-related injuries These include carotid artery tears, bulging disks, rotator cuffs, ganglion cysts, compression of spine and hyperextension of the neck. According to Gary Kraftsow, author of “Yoga for Transformation”, many yoga positions aren't relevant to everybody. Orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey Halbrecht, M.D., medical director for the Institute for Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine in San Francisco and a specialist in knee and hip problems warns that both experienced and rookie yoga practitioners are getting hurt. “Yoga is marketed as such an innocuous thing,” says Loren Fishman, M.D., assistant clinical professor of rehabilitation medicine at Columbia University in New York City. “But without care, injuries can absolutely happen.”

Breast cancer studies

In 2006, scientists at the University Of Texas conducted an experiment on 61 breast cancer patients. Thirty of the patients participated in yoga around the time of their radiation treatments. The yoga was customized for the cancer patients; it focused on breathing and relaxation, and excluded difficult exercises, given possible limitations on range of motion. The study found increased physical function, slightly better levels of social functioning, and lower levels of sleep dysfunction and fatigue. There was no difference in rates of anxiety or depression.

There are many studies available now that confirm success from patients doing Yoga, a minimum of twice weekly, while undergoing treatments for their breast cancer.