Health Benefits of

Yoga
Candace Martens

February 16, 2006

PAS 645

Division of Physician Assistant Studies

College of Health Science
University of Kentucky
Yoga
• Sanskrit for
“yoke” or “union”
– Mind
– Body
– Spirit
Elements of Yoga
• Asanas – poses
• Pranayama –
breathing
• Meditation
• Kriyas – cleansing
processes
Brief History
• Stone seals excavated from Indus
Valley carbon date to 3000 BC
• Vedas, ancient texts record Yogic
teachings, 1800 – 300 BC
– Pre-classical yoga
• Buddhist – meditation and ethical thought
• Jainism – “liberation of the spirit”
• Hinduism – “physical purification process”
Brief History, cont’d
• Classical yoga – 2nd century AD
– 8 paths to be memorized
– Wisdom would be internalized
• Post classical yoga – 1800
– The body should be treated as a temple
• Physical fitness
• Mental health
Clinical Relevance
• Complimentary and
Alternative Medicine
– Mind/body
• Prevention
• General health
• Rehabilitation
Health Benefits
• Musculoskeletal
System
• Nervous System
• Cardiovascular
System
Musculoskeletal System
• Exercise
– Increased muscle strength
– Flexibility
– Stable joints
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteoporosis
Washington State
University Research
• Therapeutic intervention of cervical
spondylosis
– Degenerative disorder of cervical
intervertebral discs
– Nerve root irritation
• Neck pain
• Brachial neuralgia
• Vertebro-basilar insufficiency
Washington State
University Research, cont’d
• 102 patients, ages 18-60
• Pain assessment pre-therapy
– 39% reported moderate pain
– 60% reported severe pain
• Performed specific asanas twice daily
for 8 weeks
• After 8 weeks re-assessment of pain
– 100% patients reported NO pain
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• 42 patients with CTS
– Randomized
– Treatment group (22)
– Control group (20)
– 11 asanas, twice weekly for 8 weeks
– Pre-and-post therapy grip strength, pain
intensity, sleep disturbance, Phalen sign,
Tinel sign, and median nerve motor and
sensory conduction time were measured
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Results
– Yoga group showed significant improvement
in grip strength, Phalen sign and a reduction
in pain
– Improvement was seen in other symptoms
however, not significantly greater than
control group
Cardiovascular System
• Cedars-Sinai Preventive and
Rehabilitative Cardiac Center
– Preventative
• “Stress management techniques”
– Rehabilitation
• Integral yoga – Hatha yoga
Hypertension
• Two studies using
head-down-body up
postural exercises
• Baroreceptor reflex
– Carotid sinus
– Short term blood
pressure regulator
• Negative “g”
sensitizes
baroreceptor
Hypertension, cont’d
• Pilot study on
baroreceptor reflex
– 20 male patients with
essential
hypertension
– Patients discontinued
drug therapy
– Group I – tilt table
– Group II – yoga poses
Hypertension, cont’d
– 30 minutes daily
– 3 weeks
• Assessment measuring
– Blood pressure
– Blood catecholamines
– Plasma renin activity
• Results
– Significant reduction (P<0.001)
Additional Benefits
• Stress
– Suppresses immune
system
– Cardiac risk factor
– Insomnia
• Asthma
References
• ABC of Yoga.Com. 2005. History of Yoga - A Complete Overview of the Yoga [online]
http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/beginnersguide/yogahistory.asp
• Adams, Jeanne. 2003. Exploring yoga to relieve menopausal symptoms . Holistic Nursing Practice. 17: 166-167.
• American Yoga Association. 2005. General yoga information [online] http://
www.americanyogaassociation.org/contents.html
• Carpenter, Charles et al. 2004. CECIL Essentials of Medicine Sixth Edition . Philidelphia: W. B. Saunders
Company.
• Chabner, Davi-Ellen. 2001. The Language of Medicine, 6th Edition . Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company.
• Cohen, Lorenzo, et al. 2004. Psychological adjustment and sleep quality in a randomized trial of the effects of
Tibetan yoga intervention in patients with lymphoma. Wiley InterScience 100/10: 2253-2260.
• Collins, Clare. 1998. Yoga: intuition, preventive medicine and treatment . Journal of Obstetric, Gynecolic and
Neonatal Nursing. 27: 563-568.
• Dean, Sharon, et al. 2000. Time Life: Health and Wellness Handbook . Nashville: The Southwestern Company.
• Garfinkel, Marian S. et al. 1998. Yoga-based intervention for carpal tunnel syndrome: a randomized trial . JAMA
280: 1601-1603.
• Heriza, Nirmala. 2004. Dr. Yoga A Complete Program for Discovering the Head-to-Toe Health Benefits of Yoga .
New York: Penguin Group Inc.
• Jayasinghe, Satyajit R. 2004. Yoga in cardiac health. European Society of Cardiology 11:369-375.
• Konar, D. et al. 2000. Cardiovascular response to head-down-body-up postural exercise (Sarvangasana) . Indian
Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. 44:392-400.
References
• Kumar, Vinay, Abul K. Abbas, and Nelson Fausto. 2005. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, 7th
Edition. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders.
• Lalvani, Vilma. 2004. The Power of Yoga. New Jersey: Basic Health Publications, Inc.
• Mamtani, Ravinder. 2005. Ayurveda and yoga in cardiovascular diseases . Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc. 13:
155-162.
• NCCAM: National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. 2005. Mind-Body Medicine: An Overview
[online]. Maryland: NCCAM [cited 13 July 2005]. Available from World Wide Web: ( http://
www.nccam.nih.gov/health/backgrounds/mindbody.htm ).
• Raman, K and Blank, S.E. 2001. Yoga as a therapeutic intervention for cervical spondylosis . Journal of the
American College of Sports Medicine. 33: S37.
• Selvamuthy, W. et al. 1998. A new physiological approach to control essential hypertension . Indian Journal of
Physiology and Pharmacology. 42:205-213.
• Smith, Patti. 2005. A Path to Wellness. Better Health and Living. 1: 18-19.
• Tortora, Gerard J. 1999. Principles of Human Anatomy . New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Vijayalakshmi, P. Et al. 2004. Modulation of stress induced by isometric handgrip test in hypertensive patients
following yogic relaxation training. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. 44:392-400.
• Widmaier, Eric P. et al. 2004. Human Physiology The Mechanisms of Body Function, Ninth edition . New York:
McGraw-Hill Company, Inc.
• Wikipedia. 2005. Swami Satchidananda [online]. ( http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Satchidananda )
• Yoga Gets Hearts Healthy. 2004. Yoga and Meditation 3 Times a Week Improves Heart Disease Risk [online]. (
http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/96/103877.htm )
Thank you