Yoga and stress

management
Sampada Deshpande
Advisor-Prof.Fahringer
 What is Yoga
 Yoga originated in India
 From sanskrit word “yuj” meaning union
between mind ,body and spirit.
 Include ethical discipline,physical
postures,breathing control and meditation.
 Yoga is not only stretching.
 There are 8 limbs of yoga.
 Physical postures called “Asana” is just
one of the eight limbs of yoga
 Majority of types more concerned with
mental and spiritual well being.
The Eight Limbs of Yoga
 1.Yama
 2.Niyam
 3.Asan
spirit
mind
Body
 4.Pranayam
 5.Pratyahar
 6.Dharana
 7.Dhyan
 8.Samadhi
 Yama
 Five ethical guidelines regarding
moral behavior towards others
 Ahimsa-Nonviolence
 Satya-Truthfulness
 Asteya-Nonstealing
 Brahmacharya-No lust or sexual
activity within marriage.
 Aparigraha-don’t collect things that
are not necessary.
 Niyam
Five ethical guidelines regarding moral
behavior towards others
Sauch-Clealiness
Santosh-Contentment
Tapas-Sustained Practice
Svadyay-Self Study
Ishvara Pranidhan-Surrender to God
 The Eight Limbs Cont.
 Asana-Practice of yoga postures
 Pranayam-Practice of breathing
exercises
 Pratyahara-Withdrawl of the senses,
meaning that the exterior world is
not a distraction from the interior
world within oneself.
 The Eight Limbs Cont.
 Dharana-Concentration,The ability to
focus on something uninterrupted by
external or internal distraction
 Dhyana-Meditation
 Samadhi-Bliss. Building upon
Dhyana,the transcendence of the self
through meditation. The merging of
self with the universe.
 What is Stress
 The wear and tear our bodies
experience
 The state of threatened homeostasis
 Stressors cause imbalance
 Body tries to balance
 Yoga can be a great help balance the
imbalance!
 Stressors
 Can be positive and negative.
 Positive stressors-can help compel us
to action, can result in a new
perspective.eg:Birth of a new baby, a
job promotion, getting married.
 Negative stressors-can result in
feeling of distrust,rejection,anger
etc.eg:death of a loved one, loosing
a job, getting divorced.
 Clinical Significance of yoga
 Reduced stress  Improve many
 Spiritual growth medical conditions:
 Sense of well being  Lower heart rate
 Reduced anxiety  Lower blood
and muscle tension pressure
 Increased strength  Allergy and asthma
and flexibility symptom relief
 Slowed aging  Smoking cessation
 Sound sleep help
 Stress and Healthcare Providers
 Providing care to others is a rich and
rewarding experience
 Often feel improved self esteem and
confidence
 But….They have the responsibility of
another human being’s life.
 No wonder they live under
tremendous stress!
Stress and Healthcare providers
 Continuous exposure to suffering
 Psychological effects of death and
dying patients
 Decreased sleep and food
 Long hours of work
 Constant worry about law suits
 CME – study ,study , study!
 How Yoga Can help
 Practicing yoga can be a best thing a
provider can do for himself/herself
 Doing simple “Pranayam” (breathing
technique) in breaks can calm their mind.
 Practicing yoga for ½ hr. a day can make
their body fit to take care of others.
 Yogic thought process- will teach not to
work only for money.
 Most Research in India
 Study at LTC ,Mumbai,India to determine
if practice of yoga has any effect on
anxiety status during routine activities and
prior to exam done showed reduction in
baseline anxiety as well as anxiety before
exam.
 Study at Nehru hospital,Chandigarh,India
The psychological tests after yoga therapy
showed high sense of well-being in the
nurses
 Conclusion
 A body with a stressful mind can not be a
healthy body
 HC providers are people who help others
to keep their body healthy
 Off course, to do so, first they need a
healthy body without a stressful mind
 Yoga helps the mind to become clear and
pure and clear mind is not affected by
stress.
 HCP with this kind of pure and clear mind
can really work better for the well being of
their patients.
 References
 1) Pizer A, “The Eight Limbs of Yoga”, June 7 2006,
Available at http://yoga.about.com, Accessed on February
19, 2007.
 2) Cooper C, Balamurali TB, Selwood A, Livingston G. “A
systemic review of intervention studies about anxiety in
caregivers of people with dementia”. International Journal
of Geriatric Psychiatry.2006 Sep; (Epub ahead of print).
 3) Scott E, “Stress Management”, May 10 2006, Available at
http://stress.about.com, Accessed on February 19, 2007.
 3) Malathi A, Damodaran A. “Stress due to exams in
medical students-role of yoga”. Indian Journal of Physiology
and Pharmacology. 1999 Apr; 43(2):218-24.
 4) Parshad O, “Role of yoga in stress management”. West
Indian Medical Journal.2004 Jun; 53(3):191-4.
 References cont.
 5) Shapiro SL, Schwartz GE, Bonner G, “Effects of
mindfulness-based stress reduction on medical
and paramedical students”. Journal of Behavioral
Medicine.1998 Dec; 21(6):589-99.
 6) Waelde LC, Thompson L, Gallagher-Thompson
D. “A pilot study of a yoga and meditation
intervention for dementia caregiver stress”.
Journal of Clinical Psychology.2004 Jun;
60(6):677-87.
 7) Walia IJ, Mehra P, Grover P, Earnest C, Verma
SK, Sanjeev, “ Health Status of nurses and
yoga.1.Baseline data”. The Nursing Journal of
India.1989 Sep; 80(9):235-7.