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Yoga in Disease Treatment
Meditation, controlled movement and conscious breathing complement standard medical care.
©
Jerry Lopper
Jun 14, 2006
Yoga, like meditation, thoughts of gratitude, and acts of kindness can bring you near-instant improvement in attitude, stress-relief, and peace of mind.
Yoga shows promise in serious disease treatment when practiced in conjunction with standard medical care. The Associate Press recently reported these findings arising from a small study of women undergoing breast cancer treatment at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Yoga incorporates meditation, controlled movement, and conscious breathing.
In a controlled study of 61 women, half of the women took twice weekly yoga classes in addition to normal radiation treatments. After the six week treatment cycle, the women who took yoga in addition to radiation reported significantly greater physical functioning ability than those with only radiation.
Lorenzo Cohen, a psychologist who led the pilot study indicated, "Our belief is something as simple and brief as a short (yoga) program would be very useful at combating side effects from cancer treatment." Participants said they were in better general health, less fatigued, and had fewer problems with daytime sleepiness. However, researchers found no differences between the two groups in depression or anxiety.
Two additional studies at the M.D. Anderson Center are also focusing on the alternative therapy benefits of yoga. Eastern cultures have used yoga in medical treatment for centuries. Recently, there is more interest in Western cultures for alternative therapies to drug treatment. See a lively discussion of alternative meditation techniques here.
The copyright of the article Yoga in Disease Treatment in Personal Development is owned by Jerry Lopper. Permission to republish Yoga in Disease Treatment in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments
Jun 14, 2006 3:04 AM
Jerry Lopper :
I believe that humans are naturally healthy; the God-intended natural state
of human-being is good health. When we practice yoga, meditation, physical
exercise, and spiritual alignment, science finds that we're healthier. To
me, that indicates that health is natural and should be expected.
Sadly, I think we Western-culture humans are led to believe--and have
accepted--that disease is natural and our only remedy is regular
medication--lots of medication.
What do you think?
Jun 14, 2006 5:02 AM
Daniel Workman :
Recently I worked at the American Psychiatric Association's annual
conference held this year in Toronto. One of the more popular workshops
that we provided to the psychiatrists was the use of yoga, meditation and
herbs as an alternative treatment for disorders. So there is hope in our
overmedicated and overprescribed Western culture.
Jun 15, 2006 4:40 AM
Jerry Lopper :
That's encouraging. I do see announcements of yoga and meditation classes
in local hospital newsletters, so there is greater awareness of the benefit
of these drug-free therapies.
Aug 14, 2006 7:46 PM
Melissa Dylan :
<p>
</p>I think what you say makes a lot of sense.
I recently decided to quit using all forms of medication I'd been taking,
including caffeine and allergy medicine. The allergy meds were the ones
that most worried me, because I am allergic to my cats. But wouldn't you
know about two weeks later it's like my body completely stabilized and even
the allergies went away—every once in awhile I sneeze, but it's nothing
compared to the sinus infections I used to get. I'd also been struggling
with sleep problems, which were likely the cause of the
caffeine-and-sleeping-pills diet I was using to try and control everything.
Now I sleep without problems, and feel rested in the morning. I couldn't
believe how long I'd been doing this to myself, with the idea that I was
helping to feel better. The Western version of medicine was only making
everything worse!
Aug 15, 2006 1:24 PM
Jerry Lopper :
<p>
</p>Amen!
I avoid any medication if at all
possible. I've seen too many adverse reactions from elderly relatives
taking many, many medications. They interact with each other and cause
symptoms that some doctors "cure" with other medications, and it
goes on and on.
Aug 15, 2006 1:49 PM
Melissa Dylan :
<p>
</p>That's exactly what was going on with me. I
was using coffee to wake me up in the morning, and then needed something to
get rid of the stimulants, and then needed something to help the sleeping
pills wear off, and it went on and on. One day I was like "What am I
doing?" and stopped everything and found that, surprise--my body was
naturally predisposed to a normal sleeping schedule.
Aug 16, 2006 2:52 AM
Jerry Lopper :
<p>
</p>That's terrific. Sounds like an article in
the making to me.
7 Comments
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