Yoga Cures: Simple Routines to Conquer Over 50 Common Ailments and Live Pain-Free (6 page)

Remember what I said earlier? That you have it all within you? You do. Always. You just need to quiet down and really listen.

Chapter 2

The Mind/Body Connection and the Science Behind How Yoga

Cures

file:///C|/...ures%20Simple%20Routines%20to%20Conquer%20Mlments%20and%20Live%20Pain-Free%20-%20Stiles%20Tara/index.html[5/29/2012 10:54:20 PM]

You might have had the experience of being in a grumpy mood before a yoga class, then you walk out

feeling like a completely different person, happy as can be. What’s happening? Meditation and yoga can

actually change your brain on a cellular level. Today we have some interesting science that is

explaining how yoga does this and how yoga cures. In this chapter, I’ll share just a little of the coolest

research I found about the “why.” A lot of it has to do with the control we have over our bodies, minds,

and even our genes when practicing yoga.

MAKE LIKE A MONK

Scientists studied eight Tibetan Buddhist monks who had put in at least ten thousand hours of practice

in compassion meditation. Using a brain scan called functional magnetic resonance imaging, the

researchers pinpointed regions that were active during compassion meditation. In almost every case, the

monks had more enhanced activity in these regions of the brain than novices used as controls. Activity

in the left prefrontal cortex (believed to be the seat of positive emotions such as happiness) swamped

activity in the right (site of negative emotions and anxiety). If you’re scratching your head a bit over

this, it means, in short: the monks were happier, their brains were happier. And a happier brain means a

healthier one. It means a healthier body, too.

This study got a lot of scientists excited about the capabilities of our brains because it showed that

the brain has neuroplasticity (or in other words is pliable, and shapable). The brain is able to change its

structure and function by expanding or strengthening the circuits that are used, and shrinking or

weakening those that are rarely engaged. We can actually change and improve our state of mind and our

brains through yoga; the more we practice the better we feel.

STUCK WITH YOUR GENES?

Many scientists are also focusing lately on epigenetics, the study of the molecular mechanisms by

which the environment controls gene activity. What does this mean to us? They are discovering the

power of the mind/body connection, or what yogis have been up to throughout the ages. For

generations, we grew up being told that we’re stuck with what we’re born with. That we’re a product of

our genes. Whether it be the skinny gene, the fat gene, the cancer gene, or the diabetes gene, we were

told that whatever health issues our parents or grandparents or other generations had, we too would

share them. Now, through the science of epigenetics, we are learning that it is much more complicated

than that. To say we are solely a product of our genes is just not true at all.

The good news: it’s not so much about the genes you’re born with, but about how you communicate

with your genes through your lifestyle, diet, and environment. It makes a lot of sense, actually, that we

are able to change at a genetic level, seeing that we are living, breathing, changing beings, not statues

made of stone. Several studies have now shown that changing lifestyle factors cause changes in gene

expression. Stress, toxins, and negative behaviors activate chemical switches that turn genes on and off;

the reverse is true, too. And guess what practice reduces stress and toxins and negative health

behaviors? Yep, you guessed it: yoga. But that’s not all. According to Dr. Frank Lipman, founder and

director of the Eleven Wellness Center in New York City and a pioneer in the fields of integrative and

file:///C|/...ures%20Simple%20Routines%20to%20Conquer%20Mlments%20and%20Live%20Pain-Free%20-%20Stiles%20Tara/index.html[5/29/2012 10:54:20 PM]

functional medicine, “Bathing your genes in the right environment [in terms of your nutrition, emotions,

and thoughts] will turn the genes for health on and the ‘disease’ genes off.” Your genes are controlled

by “coding” that tells them to be expressed or not expressed—and researchers believe that this

expression can be almost completely controlled by your environment and lifestyle. Also, the way you

practice expressing your genes during your life will be passed down to your children. It’s called

epigenetic inheritance.

Go GABA!

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine found that for experienced yoga practitioners, brain levels of GABA increased by 27 percent after a session of yoga. GABA is one of our brain’s four primary neurotransmitters.

It works to reduce stress and anxiety, as well as regulate the other neurotransmitters. This suggests that the practice of yoga should be explored as a treatment for disorders associated with low GABA levels, such as depression and anxiety. These results also explain that post-yoga happy feeling that comes after an hour or so of doing it.

In short, we are much more responsible for our actions and behaviors, and their outcomes, than we

might have thought previously! This is both heartening and perhaps a little frightening because we

can’t push the blame onto somebody else. But isn’t it better to be in control than to feel like a puppet

controlled by your family genes?

Now that we know we have the ability to change our genes, our brains, and our entire lives, how do

we go about it? I know you already know my answer, and you’ve seen just a glimpse of the science that

supports it: yoga. Committing yourself to a regular yoga practice is one of the best things you can do

for yourself—and your children and grandchildren—during your lifetime!

Yoga teaches us how to be easy in our own skin. We learn how to use our bodies effectively, while

we wash off the daily stresses of life before they collect within us to do their damage. We learn to relax

and focus our minds so we can concentrate on our tasks fully when necessary and relax fully when

we’d like. Less stress means better choices in general, as the happier you are the less you “need” to

reach for comfort from the wrong places. But more on that later.

SIMPLE CURE, POWERFUL POSSIBILITIES

It’s quite simple. Yoga cures. But you have to practice it regularly, at least three to four times a week,

for it to work for you. Once you make it a habit, you’ll notice a desire to practice every day, even if

that means ten minutes of meditation one day, an hour of physical yoga the next. What and how long

you practice will vary, but consistency is essential.

Mind/body medicine has shifted from an underutilized fringe movement to a regular supplement to

traditional Western medical care. It is now more commonly referred to as integrative medicine, and is

an approach aimed at treating the whole person. Integrative medicine, a marriage of alternative and

conventional medicine, is key to remedying our collectively poor state of health. Interestingly,

approaches that had been categorized as alternative, such as Chinese, Tibetan, and ayurvedic medicines,

massage therapy, homeopathy, meditation, and yoga, all predated conventional Western medicine by

thousands of years. There is something to be said for older and wiser when developing and advancing

health practices. The integrative approach builds a bridge between the conventional and alternative to

file:///C|/...ures%20Simple%20Routines%20to%20Conquer%20Mlments%20and%20Live%20Pain-Free%20-%20Stiles%20Tara/index.html[5/29/2012 10:54:20 PM]

find a workable solution, while still maintaining the integrity of each method.

Observation without judgment, the founding element of both yoga and science, marries the two

disciplines into a sustainable, healing approach. Often the correct answer is the most obvious one.

Dueling banjos can conflict and compete to invalidate each other’s importance, or collaborate to make

lovely music. Often a battle can be won by joining forces. The battle of getting our health out of the

gutter is one worth fighting. Even better, using an approach of ease and relaxation, you can dissolve

disease and change your genes and your fate, replacing chronic ailments with a long life, one filled with

health, happiness, and vitality.

MIND OVER IS MATTER

We all have heard or used the phrase “mind over matter.” It’s often used when we are trying to get

through a challenging circumstance. The practice of yoga shows us that our minds and our bodies are

not only connected, they are interconnected and affect each other in very intricate ways that science has

only begun to explore, let alone explain. But you can experience the mind/body interconnection

through yoga.

You can shift your state of body and mind through yoga. You can even get very specific and tailor

your practice to meet the needs of your life, even the needs of each day and moment. For example, if

you feel anxious or nervous about an upcoming event, calming techniques like alternate nostril

breathing and some simple seated side and forward bends will help balance your nervous system, calm

your mind, and dissolve anxiety with each inhale and exhale.

Even a simple variation in hand position during meditation can help. Want an extra boost of energy?

Try meditating with your palms facing up on your thighs. Need some grounding? Place your palms

down.

If you feel groggy or a little fuzzy and unfocused, some yoga poses targeted at increasing blood flow,

like headstands and twists, followed by meditation, can sharpen your focus and give you a nice side-

effect-free boost of energy. If you need to lose weight, a regular yoga practice will reprogram your

mind to actually crave foods that are healthy for you. Practicing shoulder stands at least once a day will

regulate the thyroid gland, which controls your metabolism. The pose also calms the mind, which helps

reduce anxious and compulsive behaviors, including overeating. A regular yoga practice is the real deal

for radiant health. Its cures are endless.

Each person has a unique and individual experience with every practice. That’s why I feel that telling

someone what they should be feeling isn’t one of the best ways to teach and share yoga. It is our own -

feelings—our intuition, awareness, and personal power—that lead the way to healing. I won’t instruct

you how to feel, but I will lead you to specific techniques that connect you back to yourself. The

answers will come to you when you are on the right path.

What else can yoga cure … well, most everything!

YOGA CURES: CHRONIC DISEASE

In 2007 Kyeongra Yang of the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing published an article in the

journal
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
reviewing published studies on the

file:///C|/...ures%20Simple%20Routines%20to%20Conquer%20Mlments%20and%20Live%20Pain-Free%20-%20Stiles%20Tara/index.html[5/29/2012 10:54:20 PM]

use of yoga to reduce obesity, high blood pressure, high glucose levels, and high cholesterol—major

risk factors for illnesses including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. The studies Kang reviewed found

that a regular yoga practice lowers body weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose levels, and stress

levels. Yoga promotes physical activity, a healthy diet, better mood, a feeling of self-efficacy, and an

overall strong quality of life. The studies took a variety of yoga practices into consideration, including

physical postures and meditation techniques.

It’s no secret that a lot of research is funded by pharmaceutical companies. The quest: finding a very

profitable golden-ticket drug that suppresses symptoms or cures diseases caused by unhealthy living.

Often these drugs work and can be very useful in helping prolong life or suppress symptoms, but drugs

also often have unpleasant and harmful side effects, and in themselves are rarely a complete cure.

Unlike drugs, yoga has no harmful side effects when practiced with attention and care. People may

get injured from time to time in a yoga class, but this is most often because they aren’t paying attention

and are trying to force themselves in positions for which they aren’t ready. The real heart of yoga is

paying attention to exactly what is going on with you, and then acting accordingly.

We have a choice when it comes to how we live, and how we think about and promote our health and

the health of the world. We can point fingers and blame the system for its unfair and corrupt practices.

Or we can take charge of our own health and the health of those we care about by living a healthy life

instead of relying on pills to fix things we may have been able to prevent in the first place. So instead

of getting down on the system that we live in, where pharmaceutical companies sweep in with a magic

pill to fix every problem, we can begin to change ourselves and our world … one breath at a time. The

useful work is always within. Remember, it all happens by taking it one breath at a time.

YOGA CURES: BOOST YOUR MOOD

Yoga practice has profound effects on mood. I speak from experience when I tell you that you can be

having a pretty bad day, or be in a bummer of a mood, head into a yoga class, and after an hour or so

you’ll be in a completely different and better state of mind. Regular practice has stabilized my mood,

and moved everything in a positive direction.

It’s not that yoga practice puts you into an emotional coma where you don’t feel anything. It’s quite