Yoga in the News
New American Heart Association Report Informs Doctors that Transcendental Meditation(R) Lowers Blood Pressure
“A report from the American Heart Association (AHA) published on April 22 concluded that the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique lowers blood pressure and recommends that TM may be considered in clinical practice for the prevention and treatment of hypertension.” read more
Exercise and the Ever-Smarter Human Brain
“Anyone whose resolve to exercise in 2013 is a bit shaky might want to consider an emerging scientific view of human evolution. It suggests that we are clever today in part because a million years ago, we could outrun and outwalk most other mammals over long distances. Our brains were shaped and sharpened by movement, the idea goes, and we continue to require regular physical activity in order for our brains to function optimally.” read more
Why Yoga Works
“Scientists Offer an Explanation of Why Yoga Increases Well-Being.” read more
Buddhist Meditation: A Management Skill?
“A handful of executive MBA programs around the country — from Harvard to Michigan's Ross School of Business — are teaching students Buddhist meditation techniques. It's not necessarily about teaching spirituality, but focus.” read more
How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body
“My message was that ‘Asana is not a panacea or a cure-all. In fact, if you do it with ego or obsession, you’ll end up causing problems.’ A lot of people don’t like to hear that.” read more
Tension-Type Headache
The main preventive measure for tension-type headache is avoiding exposure to situations that trigger the headache. Treatment may include over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen) and analgesics (such as acetaminophen), behavioral therapies (such as meditation, biofeedback, or yoga), improvement of posture, and stretching/relaxation exercises. read more
Ancient Moves for Orthopedic Problems
With the costs of medical care spiraling out of control and an ever-growing shortage of doctors to treat an aging population, it pays to know about methods of prevention and treatment for orthopedic problems that are low-cost and rely almost entirely on self-care. As certain methods of alternative medicine are shown to have real value, some mainstream doctors who “think outside the box” have begun to incorporate them into their practices. read more
Posing Questions: Exploring the Science of Yoga
According to researchers like Harvard Medical School professor Sat Bir S. Khalsa, yoga and meditation practices might actually produce measurable changes in the activity of the autonomic nervous system--the bodily system that regulates, among other things, respiration, pulse rate, and digestion--as well as in brain activity and even gene expression. read more
Rethinking Tinnitus: When The Ringing Won't Stop, Clear Your Mind
Silence is a beautiful thing. But Robert DeMong has accepted that he'll likely never experience it again. He's got a condition called tinnitus, which means a ringing sound travels with him everywhere he goes, including to bed at night. read more
Brains of Buddhist monks scanned in meditation study
In a laboratory tucked away off a noisy New York City street, a soft-spoken neuroscientist has been placing Tibetan Buddhist monks into a car-sized brain scanner to better understand the ancient practice of meditation. read more
Even Beginners Can Curb Pain with Meditation
Meditation has long been touted as a holistic approach to pain relief. And studies show that long-time meditators can tolerate quite a bit of pain. read more
Can Exercise Keep You Young?
We all know that physical activity is beneficial in countless ways, but even so, Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, was startled to discover that exercise kept a strain of mice from becoming gray prematurely. read more
At End-Of-The Line Prison, An Unlikely Escape
Deep in the Bible Belt, an ancient Eastern practice is taking root in the unlikeliest of places: Alabama's highest-security prison. read more
Yoga’s Stress Relief: An Aid for Infertility?
Kimberly Soranno, a 39-year-old Brooklynite undergoing an in vitro fertilization cycle as part of her quest to become pregnant, had gone to her share of yoga classes, but never one like that held on a recent Tuesday night in a reception area of the New York University Fertility Center. There were no deep twists or headstands; just easy “restorative” poses as the teacher, Tracy Toon Spencer, guided the participants — most of them women struggling to conceive — to let go of their worries. read more
How Meditation May Change the Brain
Over the December holidays, my husband went on a 10-day silent meditation retreat. Not my idea of fun, but he came back rejuvenated and energetic.
He said the experience was so transformational that he has committed to meditating for two hours daily, one hour in the morning and one in the evening, until the end of March. He’s running an experiment to determine whether and how meditation actually improves the quality of his life. read more
Too Much to Drink? Try Yoga
If the holiday festivities have left you feeling like your body needs a good wringing out, a trip to the yoga studio — or your own yoga mat at home — may be just what the doctor ordered. read more
The Claim: Humming Can Ease Sinus Problems
Dealing with a cold is bad enough, but when it leads to a sinus infection, the misery can double. Some researchers have proposed a surprising remedy: channeling your inner Sinatra. read more
Just Breathe: Body Has A Built-In Stress Reliever
There are plenty of ways to relieve stress — exercise, a long soak in a hot bath, or even a massage. But believe it or not, something you're doing right now, probably without even thinking about it, is a proven stress reliever: breathing. read more
Rolfing Back In Vogue, But With Shaky Evidence
As I open the door to a somewhat antiseptic-looking medical office in downtown San Francisco, I'm quite certain I will not be getting a lavender-candles-and-wind-chimes kind of a massage — the kind that will leave me facedown in my own drool. I expect this to be painful. That's what I've been told anyway. read more
Hindu Group Stirs a Debate Over Yoga’s Soul
Yoga is practiced by about 15 million people in the United States, for reasons almost as numerous — from the physical benefits mapped in brain scans to the less tangible rewards that New Age journals call spiritual centering. Religion, for the most part, has nothing to do with it. read more
Can meditation change your brain? Contemplative neuroscientists believe it can
Can people strengthen the brain circuits associated with happiness and positive behavior, just as we’re able to strengthen muscles with exercise?
Richard Davidson, who for decades has practiced Buddhist-style meditation – a form of mental exercise, he says – insists that we can. read more
When Parking Ticket Riles You, Try Yoga
Drivers annoyed by parking tickets in Cambridge, Mass., are getting some calming advice from city officials — try yoga. The city's parking tickets include instructions on the reverse on how to bend into some simple yoga positions. read more
Yoga Wars! India Blocks Patents On Poses
The Indian government wants people to stop trying to patent ancient yoga practices. read more
Stretch | When Yoga Hurts
As Cathy Lilly folded into downward dog at a workshop in January, a novice instructor, eager to help, lifted Ms. Lilly’s thumbs and angled them forward. Her thumbs are still recovering from the strain. read more
'The Great Oom': Yoga's Wild Ride To Respectability
Yoga, that mystical art that's become a regimen for 15 million Americans, came to this country from the East. Eastern Nebraska, to be precise. That's where, back in 1889, a 13-year-old named Perry Baker met his first yogi, and American-style yoga was born. read more
Downward-Facing Dog’s Life
WHEN the world of the business traveler turns upside down — whether because of a missed connecting flight, lost luggage or an uncooperative volcano — Steve Boerema knows just what to do. He finds a convenient corner in the airport and stands on his head. read more
Yoga Studios Are The New Prison Rec Yards
Juvenile detention centers around the country are offering yoga as a form of rehabilitation for inmates. read more
To Lower Blood Pressure, Open Up And Say 'Om'
In his 20 years as director of the hypertension program at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Randy Zusman has maintained a rather traditional approach.
He writes plenty of prescriptions for standard medications to treat high blood pressure. But in recent years, Zusman has gotten more assertive with patients about lifestyle choices. read more
Meditation Gives Brain a Charge, Study Finds
Brain research is beginning to produce concrete evidence for something that Buddhist practitioners of meditation have maintained for centuries: Mental discipline and meditative practice can change the workings of the brain and allow people to achieve different levels of awareness. read more |