Articles

See article on MEDITATION, below

YOGA:
STRETCHING THE BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT

From an article by Dr. Andrew Weil

Some 12 million Americans practice yoga regularly, a number that's doubled in the past five years. I'm not surprised that this versatile mind-body practice is booming. While some see yoga as a gentle form of exercise, others use it as a relaxation technique, or as valuable therapy for conditions ranging from asthma to back pain to hypertension. Still, others consider it a path to spiritual fulfillment. Truth is, yoga is all these things, and it's suitable for all ages. I practiced yoga for 15 years, and continue to reap its benefits: Doing yoga improved my flexibility and helped calm my body so that I could begin to practice sitting meditation. It was also my introduction to pranayama, yogic breathwork that prompted my interest in the healing potential of breath. Yoga was founded in India some 5,000 years ago as a philosophical-religious system to unite the body, mind and spirit. (Yoga is Sanskrit for "yoke" or "union.") When most people think of yoga, they picture its physical aspect, known as hatha yoga, which includes a number of asanas, or postures. The postures aren't meant to be an end in themselves, since you can become very proficient at doing them without making any progress at the more important job of learning to still the mind and unify consciousness. You don't need to twist like a pretzel to do yoga, and it isn't just a form of stretching. Yoga combines the physical (postures), mental (conscious breathing and focused attention), and spiritual (connection with universal consciousness).

A HOST OF BENEFITS

Yoga offers a remarkable range of health benefits. It tones the muscles and balances all parts of the body, often dramatically increasing flexibility. It produces deep relaxation and is a powerful stress-reducer. It can increase cardiovascular efficiency, bone and muscle strength, and range of motion, and improve respiration, posture, balance, coordination, and concentration. No wonder so many athletes practice yoga to reduce their risk of injury. Yoga is also a wonderful complement to regular aerobic activity (such as walking or cycling). Recent research has also shown that yoga can help ease certain medical conditions. For example, a randomized trial reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (November 11, 1998) found that a yoga program including 11 upper-body postures was more effective than wrist splints in treating carpal tunnel syndrome. Another recent study, published in the January/February 1998 issue of Allergy & Asthma Proceedings, found that asthmatics trained in yoga techniques used their inhalers less often. One possible explanation is that yogic postures and breathing exercises both relax and strengthen the muscles involved in breathing. Here at the University of Arizona's Integrative Medicine Clinic, we often recommend yoga to help treat many other conditions, including chronic back pain, hypertension, menopausal symptoms, arthritis, and diabetes (yoga may help lower blood sugar). We've also found yoga to be extremely useful for stress-related disorders (including insomnia and digestive problems) and in coping with chronic conditions such as cancer and HIV/AIDS. In addition, we frequently recommend a yoga posture called the shoulder stand to stimulate an underactive thyroid. Yoga's increasing popularity may be due in part to its growing acceptance by the medical community. It's an important component of Dr. Dean Ornish's lifestyle program that's been proven to reverse heart disease, and it's used in combination with mindfulness meditation at Jon Kabat-Zinn's respected Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

GETTING STARTED

If you're interested in trying yoga, I'd recommend taking a few classes to learn how to do the basic postures correctly and safely. A good place to start is with a beginner's hatha yoga class or one of the gentler hatha styles, such as Kripalu yoga, Viniyoga, or Integral yoga. I would not begin with the more strenuous forms—such as Ashtanga yoga (sometimes called "power yoga"), Kundalini yoga, and Iyengar yoga—unless you're already in good shape. Yoga classes are widely available through yoga studios, health clubs, adult-education centers, Ys, and senior centers. Some health clinics and HMOs offer classes for people with particular medical conditions. Most classes last 45 to 90 minutes and are taken once or twice a week. You'll do the exercises in comfortable clothing and bare feet, and some locations provide yoga mats. In general, group classes cost $10 to $15 per session, and private instruction runs $70 or more per class. Here's what to expect from a typical yoga session: First, you'll begin with some deep breathing exercises. Next come the various body postures, which may be done standing, sitting, or lying down. As you move slowly through the different postures, which are often named for whatever they resemble—a cat, cobra, downward-facing dog, lotus, mountain, warrior—you'll hold each position for a few seconds to a few minutes. Your aim is not to attain the "perfect" posture, but to focus on each move and gently explore your limits without risking strain or injury. (In the words of yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar: "In each pose, there should be repose.") Throughout the sequence of postures, breathwork remains important: You'll be instructed to inhale through your nose during certain movements and exhale through your mouth during others. To end the session, there's usually several minutes of meditation. Participants say that yoga leaves them feeling both calm and energized, which is why they also like to practice the routines at home. We offer yoga classes to the physician-Fellows in our integrative-medicine program. Russell Greenfield, MD, who completed the fellowship program last summer (and now serves as Self Healing's medical advisor), continues to practice yoga on a daily basis. "When I do my program in the morning, it helps prepare me for the day, waking up my body and mind having done something nice for myself," he says. "In the evening, yoga can help me relax before settling into bed." Dr. Greenfield has been so impressed by yoga's effects—for himself and his patients—that he's now taking a rigorous four-year teacher-training program through International Yoga Studies, based in Phoenix.

PLAYING IT SAFE

While yoga is generally a low-risk activity, I would still offer a few cautions. Certain postures can stress the neck, knees, and lower back if you do them too strenuously or hold them for too long, especially if you don't increase your flexibility gradually through practice. With yoga, as with any form of exercise, you must listen to your body. If a posture is giving you acute pain, stop doing it. Teachers can also modify a posture if you are having difficulty or have a particular limitation. People with joint problems, hypertension, glaucoma, and current heavy menstruation should be sure to ask their teachers what postures to avoid, and pregnant women should work with a teacher who has experience with expectant mothers. Don't hesitate to ask prospective teachers about their training, teaching experience, and years of practice. Dr. Greenfield suggests getting a word-of-mouth recommendation from a yoga enthusiast, then trying a class to see if it suits your needs and you like the instructor. He also advises discussing any physical problems or limitations with your instructor before you begin a class, so that your instructor can be sensitive to your particular needs.

Andrew Weil, who received an A.B. degree in biology from Harvard and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, is director of the Program in Integrative Medicine and clinical professor of internal medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is also the founder of the Foundation for Integrative Medicine there and editor-in-chief of the professional journal, Integrative Medicine. Dr. Weil is an internationally recognized expert on medicinal herbs, mind/body interactions, and integrative medicine, and the author of seven books, including Natural Health, Spontaneous Healing, and Eight Weeks to Optimum Health.

 



[B]MEDITATION ON THE JOB MAKES FOR HEALTHY, PRODUCTIVE WORKERS[/]
By KATHERINE REYNOLDS LEWIS

c.2007 Newhouse News Service

Imagine an executive who moves his telephone to the far side of his office. It takes an extra five seconds to answer every call. Must be an unproductive fellow, right?

Not according to Jonathan Foust, who teaches meditation at the World Bank and other Washington, D.C., venues.

Foust encourages his pupils to pause during the rush of daily life, to return to the calm place they find in meditation. With a renewed focus, they can actually be more productive — better at prioritizing work and managing distractions.

When the executive rises from his chair to get the phone, he steals a sliver of time to clear his mind.

"When you slow down, what is most important will come to the surface,'' said Foust, warning that this takes time to master. "These practices are like swimming upstream, because you're encountering not only your own conditioning but the culture. This culture does not want to slow down.''

Millions of Americans are swimming alongside Foust's students, seeking a respite from the breakneck pace of modern life. Meditation groups have sprung up in law offices, insurance companies and other workplaces, without the stereotypical trappings of incense and crystals.

Employers find that meditation classes not only boost productivity, they save money by reducing employees' stress levels.

In Pittsburgh, health insurance company Highmark Inc. offers a group relaxation class and provides Intranet access to an audio routine called "de-stress at your desk.''

"Stress can have a long-term impact on the health of your employees, productivity and the bottom line,'' said Lisa Scholar, Highmark's manager of employee preventive health. "We can't really leave work with all the technology available. If it's not your computer and checking your voicemail, it's the Blackberry.''

At the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Integrative Medicine, every staff meeting begins with a group meditation.

"It's a lot different than the transcendental meditation that we hippies grew up with,'' said Tanya Edwards, the center's director. The goal is "to try to put yourself in a quasi-meditative state all the time.''

Scientific studies show that meditation reduces blood pressure, boosts the immune system, and helps people manage pain associated with chronic disease. Long-term meditation actually changes the physical brain, in ways some researchers say may increase attention span and improve memory.

"We have a society that's so used to popping a pill for every little ailment,'' said Beverly Singh, director of the Atma Center in Cleveland. "Meditation and yoga can really benefit those people. The only side effect of meditation is being calmer and clearer.''

Since the 1960s, when meditation established a foothold in American popular culture, a variety of schools have blossomed: Vipassana or mindfulness, Zen, Shambhala, Dzogchen, Tibetan, nondual and mantra.

The common thread is a regular practice of sitting quietly and bringing your mind's attention to a single point. If you can fully inhabit the present moment, without dwelling on the past or planning for the future, you can let go of anxiety and stress.

The core elements of all meditation are an upright posture, an object of meditation, and "what you do with the mind,'' said Paul ReFalo, director of the Portland (Ore.) Shambhala Center.

There are many possible focus points: your breathing, a word, the physical sensations in your hands, a sound, or the motion of your steps in walking. As your mind naturally wanders and you gently bring it back to the object of meditation, you begin to notice the direction your thoughts want to take and you develop mental discipline.

"It's very much like exercising for the body or practicing a musical instrument,'' ReFalo said. "We want to teach techniques that are able to provide you enough emotional or mental room around the subject that you can begin to relate to it directly.''

Through regular meditation, your mind develops the necessary flexibility and strength to handle everyday challenges such as an unpleasant colleague, a difficult client or an overscheduled day.

"It's helped me focus better and not be reactive,'' said Cheri Bennett, manager of health promotion and communications at the World Bank. "What we do physically to our body is tremendous, the amount of stress and anger we hold.''

The World Bank's three weekly workplace meditation classes attract more senior-level executives compared with other wellness programs offered, because they're under a lot of stress, Bennett said.

When employers don't offer structure, individual teachers step in. The Dharmachakra Buddhist Center in Maplewood, N.J., will start a workshop on meditation in the workplace on Nov. 1.

"Because so much of people's energy revolves around their work, we want people to have a happy and peaceful experience at work,'' said Peter Kurczynski, the center's resident teacher. "To the extent we have an angry mind, in addition to being in pain, we're not inspiring those around us to come along with our vision, and we're not seeing creative solutions to problems.''

Experienced practitioners call on their training to bring themselves back to the meditative state when needed.

"You can have a moment of mindfulness at any time in a busy day,'' said Lama Surya Das, a Cambridge, Mass., teacher of Buddhism. "Even in a meeting where someone's yelling at you, you can take a moment before replying.''

The pattern "breathe, relax, focus, center and smile'' can bring you to that moment, said Das, who wrote "Awakening the Buddha Within.''

For some employees, stress is more than project deadlines or e-mail overload.

New Orleans rescue workers and counselors struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina relied on meditation training by Stanley Davis, outreach director at AHAM Meditation Retreat and Training Center in Asheboro, N.C. Beginning in November 2005, Davis spent five months in the city offering meditation workshops or simply guiding someone through the technique on the stoop of a storefront or hotel.

"The whole point in the beginning was to provide a space where people could have a respite from all the chaos, all the mental and emotional stuff that was happening, to share with them a way to disconnect, to still that chattering mind,'' Davis said.

His team returned in October 2006 and plans to go back in early 2008, continuing to work with counselors, teachers, FEMA workers and the general public. The center also provides guided meditations on DVD and offers a free Sunday night meditation that people can listen to over the phone.

"Meditation is not anything spooky, it's very natural and normal,'' Davis said. "It's tuning into that place we've all experienced, where we feel a sense of wholeness and completeness and inner joy.''

***

How to meditate:

• Sit on a cushion or chair in a quiet place, with soft lighting.

• Set your posture erect, close your eyes, and relax.

• Concentrate on the path your breath takes in and out of your body. Or, repeat a word.

• When you notice your mind drifting, bring it back to the focal point.

• Try to meditate at the same time (or times) every day.

• Find a local teacher or group for support and for practical instruction.


 

 

 

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