How Yoga Helps with Medical Conditions: Prevention

by Baxter (with Nina)

Hygieia by Gustav Klimt

In our post 5 Ways Yoga Can Affect Your Health from a while back, I identified six ways that yoga helps with your health. And although that way of framing how yoga supports good health is still accurate, Nina and I recently realized we could simplify our list of six into a more helpful list of three: 1) prevention, 2) symptom improvement, and 3) as an adjunct to other forms of treatment. Today, I want to discuss what we mean by �prevention.� To put it simply, this means you are using yoga to: 

1. Prevent diseases or conditions from developing.
2. Prevent a disease or condition that you already have from getting worse. 

Now let�s take a closer look at both of these ways you can use yoga for prevention.

Preventing Diseases or Conditions from Developing  

One valuable way you can use yoga for prevention is to promote your overall health in general. Yoga is particularly effective for this because a well-rounded yoga practice that includes an active asana practice, stress management practices, and equanimity practices can help prevent diseases and conditions caused by sedentary behavior and/or chronic stress, such as obesity, heart diseases, cancer, and diabetes. Because a well-rounded asana practice includes active strength, flexibility, balance and agility practices, yoga can also help prevent problems related to being sedentary, including osteoporosis, sarcopenia, balance problems, and falls. And yoga�s stress management practices are good preventative medicine for fostering good emotional and mental health, at the same time they helps foster physical health.

Another valuable way to use yoga for prevention is to focus on preventing a particular disease or condition that you�re concerned about. For example, if you have risk factors for osteoporosis, you can emphasize strength practices to build both bone and muscle strength. Or, if you have cardiovascular diseases running in your family, you can emphasize cardiovascular health practices to prevent the development of high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, irregular heart rhythms, and congestive heart failure.

Preventing Diseases or Conditions from Getting Worse 

If you already have a medical condition, depending on the type of condition, you may be able to focus on preventing it from progressing further. Yoga is particularly beneficial for conditions that benefit from working on physical skills, cardiovascular practices, and stress management. In general, some conditions that yoga can help prevent from getting worse include: osteopenia, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, arthritis, diabetes, and high blood pressure. 

Here are a few examples of how it works: If you have sarcopenia of the muscles or osteopenia and osteoporosis of the bones, you can focus on appropriate strength-building practice to hold the condition at bay and in the case of osteopenia prevent it from progressing to osteoporosis and, in some cases, even reversing it somewhat. If you have arthritis, you can focus on flexibility practices to prevent more loss of mobility in your joints, sometimes delaying or maybe even avoiding a joint replacement.

And if you already have high blood pressure, you can focus on lowering your numbers with asana and stress management practices to prevent it from progressing to heart attack, stroke, irregular heart rhythm, or congestive heart failure.

For All Types of Prevention 

Keep in mind that yoga alone may not be enough for the best prevention approach. So you may need to combine yoga with other preventive strategies that your family doctor recommends, such as more aerobic activities or special dietary recommendations. But yoga is a great complement to western medicine. The ultimate goal is your ongoing wellness!

And it is equally important to remember there are no guarantees, and eventually with age and time, we will have to face some serious illness. But it is surely worthwhile to try to delay them in the meantime!

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email � Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook � Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Read More

Sitting is the New Smoking

by Nina

Woman Smoking by Kitagawa Utamaro

�Being out of shape could be more harmful to health and longevity than most people expect, according to a new, long-term study of middle-aged men. The study finds that poor physical fitness may be second only to smoking as a risk factor for premature death.� �Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times 

Have you heard the phrase �Sitting is the New Smoking� yet? Because recently I�ve been hearing it more and more often. And although lthough Ram didn�t use it in his recent post The Ill Effects of Prolonged Sitting he did say, �For people who engage in prolonged sitting activities, their risk of heart attack is about the same as smoking.� 

His post cited three different studies that showed the dangers of spending too many hours a day sitting. (That post got me to spend more time standing up at my sit-stand desk!) Then just a week later I read a NY Times article Being Unfit May Be Almost as Bad for You as Smoking about a new study on the longevity of men who were active versus those who were inactive (they measured aerobic capacity to indicate the subjects' general level of activity and fitness). What was special about this study was that it focused on a large group of about 1,000 healthy Swedish men of age 50, and followed them through the rest of their life spans (45 years!). (Many of these types of studies in the past have been done on older people for much shorter periods of time.)

The conclusion of the study Low aerobic capacity in middle-aged men associated with increased mortality rates during 45 years of follow-up was this:

�In this representative population sample of middle-aged men, low aerobic capacity was associated with increased mortality rates, independent of traditional risk factors, including smoking, blood pressure and serum cholesterol, during more than 40 years of follow-up.� 

And not only was poor fitness/low aerobic capacity second only to smoking as a risk factor for increased mortality, it was actually even unhealthier than high blood pressure or high cholesterol! Yes, the study found that the men who were rated as highly fit but who had high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels tended to live longer than men who were rated as �out-of-shape� but who healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels. 

And although the study just focused on men (an ongoing problem in scientific studies), the NY Times reported that: 

But �there is no reason not to think� that the rest of us would also share any beneficial associations between fitness and longevity, said Per Ladenvall, a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, who led the study. Past studies involving women have found such links, he said. 

Perhaps I am preaching to the choir by sharing this information (because you may already be practicing yoga on a regular basis and understand all its many benefits), but for those who are not yet physically active or who have family members or friends who are not active, the takeaway is clear: start being more physically active! The New York Times article concluded by quoting the Dr. Ladenvall saying that even small amounts of physical activity can have a positive effect.

�Encouragingly, if you now are concerned about the state of your particular aerobic capacity, you most likely can increase it just by getting up and moving. �Even small amounts of physical activity,� Dr. Ladenvall said, �may have positive effects on fitness.�

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email � Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook � Join this site with Google Friend Connect 

Read More

Featured Pose: Warrior 3 (Virabradrasana 3)

by Baxter and Nina

Warrior 3 challenges your balance very differently than many other balance poses, as you need to resist gravity to keep your body parallel with the floor. Balancing in Warrior 3 is not only a bit more difficult, but it also takes more strength and energy to maintain your balance Keeping your body parallel with the floor strengthens all the muscles along the back of your body, including your buttocks and the backs of your thighs as well all your back muscles from your lower back up to the base of your neck and out into your arms. At the same time, you are stretching your legs, hips, front body and shoulders.

Moving gracefully in and out of the pose takes a combination of strength, flexibility, balance, and agility, so you can use to pose to cultivate all four essential skills. And in general this pose is very stimulating and energizing.

Baxter prescribes this for:

• Improving balance
• Improving hip flexibility
• Building back body strength
• Building upper body strength for those who can�t bear weight on the arms
• Improving concentration and focus
• Energizing the body and mind 

Timing: If you are an experienced practitioner, hold the pose for 1-2 minutes (or until your muscles become shaky). If you are new to the practice, start by holding this pose for 30 seconds, working up to 1-2 minutes over time. Rest for a few breaths afterwards in Mountain pose before moving on to your next pose. You can also practice the pose dynamically. From Warrior 1 position, exhale and come into Warrior 3, then inhale and return to Warrior 1. Repeat 4-6 times on each side. 

Cautions: If you have low back pain, try version 4 or bend your lifted leg. If you experience any other types of pain in the pose, come out and ask your teacher for guidance. 

1. Classic Version

Start by coming into the classic version of Warrior 1 pose. From there, pivot onto the ball of your back foot and tip your torso forward about 45 degrees over your right hip joint. On an exhalation, straighten your right leg as you slowly lift your left leg behind you and bring your torso and arms down to parallel with the floor.

Once in you�re in the pose, focus on keeping your hips even with the floor and reach your arms straight forward, with your head slightly lifted (easier for balance) or aligned with your spine (more challenging) and your gaze slightly forward.

To come out of the pose, bend your right knee slightly, and bring your left foot back and down to floor into Warrior 1 position. From there, release your arms to your sides and straighten your front leg, and turn your feet parallel. Repeat on the left side. 

2. Using the Wall

For those of you who are weak, have balance problems, or are afraid of trying the versions in the middle of the room, this variations is the perfect way to start! It's also an excellent way to warm up for any of the other versions.

Start by coming into Half Downward-Facing Dog at the wall. From there, step your left foot toward your right foot, to the mid point between your feet, and allow your hips to shift a little to the left so more of your weight is on your left foot. Next, keeping your hips parallel with the floor, swing your right leg up and back, in line with your arms and torso.

Once you�re in the pose, focus on keeping your arms, chest, and right leg in a straight line, without letting your chest or belly sag toward the floor. To challenge your balance, try lightening the press of the hands on the wall or come onto your fingertips. 

To come out of the pose, lower your left foot to floor, returning to Half Downward-Facing Dog pose at the wall. Then bend your knees and slowly walk forward to standing upright, about one foot from the wall. Release your hands from the wall and shake out your wrists for few breaths. Repeat the pose on the left side.  

3. Arms Back

If you have shoulder problems or don�t feel strong enough for the classic pose, this version is for you. It�s also easier to balance in this version, so it�s good way to work toward to the classic version, or just to warm up for it. 

Start by coming into Warrior 1 pose with your arms by your sides instead of overhead, From there, pivot onto the ball of your back foot and tip your torso forward about 45 degrees over your right hip joint. On an exhalation, keeping your arms by your sides, straighten your right leg as you slowly lift your left leg and bring your torso parallel with the floor.

Once in you�re in the pose, focus on keeping your hips even with the floor and reaching your arms back along your sides, with your head slightly lifted (easier for balance) or aligned with your spine (more challenging) and your gaze slightly forward. 

To come out of the pose, bend your right knee slightly, and bring your left foot back and down to floor into Warrior 1 position with your arms by your sides. From there, straighten your front leg, and turn your feet parallel. Repeat on the left side.

4. Tilted Part Way 

(sorry, no photo)

If you have tight hips or tight hamstrings and can�t come to parallel with the floor in the full version, or if you want to slowly work your way from the wall version to the full version, this variation is for you. It�s also a good way to warm up for the classic version.

Start by coming into the classic version of Warrior 1 pose. From there, pivot onto the ball of your back foot and tip your torso forward about 45 degrees over your right hip joint. On an exhalation, straighten your right leg as you slowly lift your left leg up slightly as you tip your torso into an angle that�s comfortable for you, creating a long, straight line from your left heel to your fingertips. Once in you�re in the pose, follow the alignment instructions for the classic pose.

To come out of the pose, bend your right knee slightly, and bring your left foot back and down to floor into Warrior 1 position. From there, release your arms to your sides and straighten your front leg, and turn your feet parallel. Repeat on the left side. 

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email � Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook � Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Read More

Free-cycling vs. Recycling Books on Aging

by Nina

In my neighborhood, we�re big into free-cycling. For those of you who don�t know what that means, for us in Berkeley free-cycling means putting things you no longer want or can�t use�clothes, household goods, knickknacks, books, CDs, furniture, etc.�on the sidewalk so that anyone who wants them can simply pick them up and take it home. I�m both a giver and taker (have found some interesting things!), but mostly a giver. I�m so dedicated to this practice, that it almost hurts me to actually just recycle something (or, God forbid, throw something out). In fact, when a friend of mine was downsizing recently due to a divorce and I heard that she was planning to her old books to the dump, I begged her to give them to me so I could �get rid� of them for her by free-cycling them. And indeed as odd a collection of books as it was�old, new, fiction, non-fiction, obscure, common, young adult, super sophisticated.�it only took a matter of days before those hundreds of books were completely gone. 

So when Brad came home the other day with a stack of books on aging that a colleague of his had left behind, I sorted them into two piles: 1) scientific books about mechanisms of aging that I wanted to keep and 2) mass market books on �how to stay young forever� that I intended to free-cycle. Now if you�ve read our posts about aging you might be able to guess why I didn�t want to keep those stay young forever books. As I said in my post, What is Aging, Anyway? 

�if someone out there tells you they can �stop� or even �reverse� aging�I've heard both claims myself�you should be very skeptical. Because right now with so much unknown about aging, there is no proof that any of these anti-aging solutions are effective (and, in some cases, like overuse of certain supplements or human growth hormones, they could actually harm you).� 

And, of course, the very person who helped me understand the importance of that message and encouraged me to spread it was none other than my husband, Brad (aka Dr. Bradford Wayne Gibson), who for 16 years studied aging as a medical researcher at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.

Anyway, after making my two stacks, I checked with Brad to see whether he agreed with my assessment. He gave me the thumbs up, except when I went to take the �how to stay young forever� books outside for free-cycling, he quickly grabbed them away from me. He said, �Oh, no, you don't. I don�t want ANYONE to read those books� and he tossed them all into the paper recycling bin. Whoa. I was shocked for a moment, but then the importance of his action really struck me. Yes, the irresponsible snake oil about aging that is written and published by people out to make a quick buck really does deserve to be reduced to a pulp. 

On Friday the recycling truck took away all the stay young forever books for processing, and one day soon they�ll have promising new lives as fresh, blank paper.

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email � Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook � Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Read More

Video of the Week: Dynamic Standing Forward Bend (Forward Fold)

This mini vinyasa combines Mountain Pose, Arms Overhead Pose, and Standing Forward Bend (aka Forward Fold). This sequence warms up your spine as it stretches and strengthens your legs and shoulders. Before practicing, watch it once through to see both arm variations.

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email � Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook � Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Read More

Help Wanted: Shari Ser Needs an Assistant!

by Nina

Frequent contributor to our blog, Shari Ser, who is both a physical therapist and a long-time yoga teacher, needs an assistant for her Yoga for Health class at the Berkeley Yoga Room, on Tuesdays, 3�4:15 pm. Her teaching partner, Bonnie Maeda, had to take a leave of absence. Please let us know if you�re interested in helping Shari. You can leave a comment on this post or email Shari at cloudgate1@sbcglobal.net.

Here's how Shari describes the position.

�What I am looking for is an assistant who is interested in teaching seniors who are physically frail but they are the most amazing group of students I have ever taught. They are so inspiring in their attitudes and approaches to life. They literally come no matter what. It is a great opportunity to learn hands on how to teach seniors. We do a "real " yoga class; sitting, standing, and floor work. They are worked to their abilities consistently and it is a lot of fun.�

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email � Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook � Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Read More

How Yoga Fosters Respiratory System Health

by Nina

Big Sur Clouds by Melina Meza

In our post 6 Strategies for Using Yoga to Help with Medical Problems, Baxter and I identified six basic strategies that you can use on their own or in combination to address a wide variety of medical conditions. Today I�m going to conclude my recent series about these individual strategies with this overview how you can use yoga to foster respiratory system health. (See Friday Practical Pointers: Your Respiratory System is more than Just a Pair of Lungs for information about what your respiratory system is and the individual components that comprise it.)

First of all, you can use both asanas and breath practices to maintain the health of your respiratory system overall. In general, asanas that move your spine in all directions of movement, and that stretch and strengthen the muscles all around your upper torso, will help support your respiratory system by keeping respiratory muscles strong and flexible. And breath practices that lengthen your inhalation and exhalation, such as gradual lengthening of equal breath, or that include rapid inhalations and exhalations, like Skull Shining breath, can exercise your breathing muscles even more. 

Yoga asanas, breath awareness, and pranayama can help with mild asthma and COPD by improving breathing efficiency and decreasing inflammation. Baxter�s, students report that their regular yoga practice has been helpful for exercise-induced asthma, which can affect younger adults, but can also arise in older adults.  

CAUTION: Yoga has mixed reviews on its benefits for moderate to severe asthma. For this specific condition, we recommend working with a very experienced teacher.  

Exercise 

In addition to keeping your respiratory muscles strong and flexible, you can use your asana practice to reverse changes to your body due to aging, physical habits, injuries, and scoliosis, that negatively impact your ability to breath. These include structural changes to both muscles and fascia of your chest as well as the chest wall bones and thoracic spine. 

In general, you can reverse changes by: 

1. Improving your posture by strengthening back spinal muscles.

2. Increasing movement in your chest and spine by regularly stretching your chest muscles all directions.

3. Improving the flexibility and strength of your respiratory muscles and fascia by regularly practicing a combination of well-balanced asana sequences and breath practices. 

You can also use asanas to target specific problem areas. For example, if you are developing more rounding of the thoracic spine, adding more dynamic and static back bending postures into your practice can help reduce the rounding. You can also use asanas to strengthen weak chest muscles around your lungs. For example, you can use Plank, Side Plank, and Upward Plank poses to strengthen the muscles around your chest wall and active back bending poses, such as Cobra or Upward-Facing Dog pose, to strengthen your back and front chest muscles.

Breath Awareness 

Your ability to breathe in a healthy way can be compromised by unhealthy breathing patterns, such holding excessive tension in your abdominal muscles. However, by practicing breath awareness with special attention to the movements of your chest and belly, you can learn about your particular breathing patterns and potentially identify any problems. 

In normal, healthy breathing, as you inhale, your chest and ribs will expand slightly and your belly will rise up or bulge forward, and as you exhale, your belly will relax back and your chest and ribs will relax back toward center. Although not common, there are two different breathing patterns that occur in some people that can be problematic:  

Chest Breathing. Instead of your belly expanding on your inhalation and relaxing back on your exhalation, there is no movement in your belly at all. All the movement during respiration is in your chest alone.  

Reverse Breathing. Instead of your belly expanding on your inhalation, it actually sucks in during the inhalation and your chest expands dramatically. And on your exhalation, your belly rises as your chest relaxes.

To observe your own breathing patterns:

1. Start by setting yourself up in a comfortable reclined pose, such as Savasana or Reclined Cobbler�s pose, or a comfortable supported seated pose, such as Easy Sitting pose with your back against the wall.
2. Take a moment to relax completely and breathe naturally, with an easy, relaxed breath.
3. Keeping your breath easy and relaxed, turn your awareness to your chest and belly as you inhale and exhale. Just watch. Is your belly rising/expanding/bulging with your inhalation and relaxing back with your exhalation? Or is something else going on?

If you do identify a problematic breathing pattern�or think that you have�unless you are a very experienced practitioner of pranayama, it�s best for you to work with your yoga teacher or yoga therapist to change your breathing habits. Your present pattern of breathing is likely to be a well-established one. And an expert will not only be able to observe your breathing with a trained eye but will also have techniques available to effectively coach you to change your ingrained habits.

Breath Practices 

A well-rounded breath practice, that includes calming, balancing, and simulating practices, can promote the health of your respiratory system by improving the strength and flexibility or your chest muscles and fascia as well as improving the alignment of your ribs and spine. In general, you�ll benefit from actively challenging your diaphragm with practices that extend the length of the inhalations and exhalations, and that include inhalation and exhalation pausing. 

In addition, recent studies have shown that pranayama is effective in improving lung function in those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD. For this condition, equal lengthening of the inhalation and exhalation is recommended. 

Finally, breathing practices that calm your nervous system, such as extending the exhalation or pausing at the end of it, add the benefit of lowering overall stress, which can be particularly helpful to people who are challenged by a respiratory condition.

See Calming Breath Practices We Recommend, Stimulating Breath Practices We Recommend, and Breath Practices for Balance.

Stress Management 

Like the rest of your body, your lungs and the rest of your respiratory system need downtime to rest and repair. In the Rest and Digest state, your respiratory system will get a good rest because you don�t need as much oxygen in this state, so lungs and respiratory system won�t need to work as hard! And, of course, spending time in the Rest and Digest state provides the optimal setting for the system to heal from problems and repair itself. 

So spending time in the Rest and Digest state provides an important break that will foster the health of the entire system. In addition, reducing stress also has positive effect on your immune system, which could lower your chances of getting infections of the respiratory tract, from your nose and mouth all the way into the deep part of your lungs. 

Because many people with chronic respiratory conditions experience ongoing anxiety or other negative emotions related their condition, those who have breathing problems can improve the quality of their lives by practicing stress management. This will help quiet your mind and calm your emotions as well as resting your respiratory system. However, if you have respiratory system problems, meditating on your breath can actually cause stress if you worry about breathing. So if this is the case for you and you want to meditate, we recommend either choosing a different type of focus, such as a mantra, or using a simple guided meditation. 

See Techniques for Supportiing Your Respiratory System for specific recommendations on how to practice.

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email � Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook � Join this site with Google Friend Connect 

Read More