Assignment 2

How Yoga Affects Health 1

How Yoga Affects Health

Assignment Two

Erika Calix

University of North Carolina at Charlotte


Introduction

There has been a huge trend in the world for quite a while now known as the stretching,

and mind-healing activity called yoga. People around the world are expressing their love and

support to the healthy results that come along with this activity, but the thing that most of them

even though it appears to be all the “yoga lovers”- are no quite aware yet, is that sometimes it

can actually provoke some negative outcomes with their bodies such as hyperextension and

headaches based on more advanced yoga classes. To make a contradiction to this, experts and

scientists have shared their studies that show positive effects being more powerful and constant

than anything else. In my case, yoga is not present in my life to decrease any illness, but on the

other hand, I decided to incorporate this activity in my schedule for the simple fact that it makes

the stress go away. It might not keep it away forever, but it provides peace and tranquility for at

least a period of time. It helps me to leave all the other problems behind, and clear my mind from

school work, drama, complications, and insecurities. Also, when this is constantly practiced, it

has been said that some possible health problems happen to decrease, maybe by improving the

heart rate, or fixing that back pain that has been a bother for years now. Everyone is invited to

join the yoga community, adults, teenagers, or even children could be seen having a good time at

the gym or classes where different activities are taught; availability is the best thing that yoga has

to offer. It could be an interesting way to strengthen the relationship with family or friends, or

even better, with yourself, by accomplishing the perfect connection between body and mind.

Throughout this paper we will investigate the implications of yoga on physical, mental and

emotional health.

Literature Review


Terms:

Yoga: Many documents state that yoga emerged a long time ago; for example, the article

Yoga in Cardiac Health mentioned that yoga was evolved approximately 5000 years ago

in the Indian Peninsula and when that occurred, around 840,000 different postures were

created along with it. Yardi (2001) defines yoga as a traditional psycho-philosophical-

cultural method of leading one’s life. At the same time, she implies that it helps with

stress and the achievement of relaxation becomes easier. On the other hand, based on

Chaya’s (2006) opinion, yoga can be used to obtain mental, spiritual, and physical well-

being by trying to balance the internal and external environments. Also, working different

parts of the body like the right and left, the front and back, the passive and active, and at

last the overwork and underworked parts of the body just like Collins (2006) describes.

Pranayama: This particular word is used to describe the breathing control when

individuals perform yoga (Yardi, 2001).

Asanas: Yardi (2001) also tells the readers that this word is used to refer to the different

type of physical postures used in yoga.

Dhyana: Many methods are used in yoga; for instance this one is applied to the concept

of meditation instead of the physical aspect (Yardi, 2001).

Yuj: Collins (2006) specifies through her article the meaning of the word yoga; she

explains that this particular word is the Sanskrit root which has the significance of yoke,

to join, to be able to concentrate and direct the attention.

Figured World: figured world can be define as a cultural interpretation on which certain

people are recognized based on their abilities to succeed and accomplish bigger things in


life. Each figured world is composed of different and specific ways of actions and

responses based on the social environment (Calix, 2014).

Clinical Trials on Yoga

There have been many different types of clinical trials performed to identify the effects

that yoga has on people. Not too long ago, scientists conducted an experiment that consisted on

grouping female adolescents that appeared to have a painful menstrual cycle. The study was

done at the Azab University by Zahra Rakhshaee; he mentioned in his article that the proper

name for this type of problem is called primary dysmenorrhea and it affects around 50% of

young females (Rakhshaee, 2011). The experiment incorporated a control group as well as an

experimental group. The participants in the experimental group had to fill out a questionnaire for

three of their menstrual cycles. At the same time, they had to do yoga by doing specifically three

different asanas. The end result showed that the pain intensity and duration of the adolescents

had a drastic decreased (Rakhshaee, 2011). Chaya (2006) reported on an experiment that the

basal metabolic rate of individuals can be decreased by doing combined yoga for approximately

six months. Another clinical trial was performed on college students; the purpose for that study

was to conclude if yoga had an effect on lung function and cardiovascular endurance. The 15

week experiment resulted on a good number out of 287 students with improved lung and

cardiovascular functioning (Raud, 2004). A drastic improvement in pain and relaxation was

experienced by certain breast cancer women that decided to participate in a study. All they had to

do to feel better was practice yoga for one hour per day (Carson, 2007).

Effects of Yoga


Yoga can have an unexpected effect on particular individuals with different types of

diseases. For example, based on Tiffany Field (2011), there are distinct health areas that yoga

can affect positively and some examples of them can be psychological conditions such as

depression and anxiety. Field (2001) also mentioned the possibility of yoga poses helping with

pain syndromes, cardiovascular, immune and autoimmune conditions as well as women in the

pregnancy state. This particular statement is examined more by Collins (2006), she states that the

musculoskeletal consequences of pregnancy are ease thanks to particular stretching poses

conducted during yoga. Nowadays, it can be seen the big amount of individuals having to deal

with different illnesses that have appeared but also there are various methods of healing. Yoga

has become one of the main “medicines” used by people to try to cure an illness; for example,

yoga meditation is being used to help those with epilepsy and seizures (Yardi, 2001). Other

serious diseases that have been decreased or have been completely cured on people are muscular

relaxation, respiratory rate and most importantly the calming of the mind (Chaya, 2006).

Scientist are not the only ones accepting the fact that yoga can help better the life of individuals;

doctors are also agreeing with the fact that yoga have helped some of their patients by lowering

the brain activity by conducting repetitive yoga postures and decreasing heart rate and blood

pressure (Marcinkowsk, 2003). Blood pressure can be controlled by practicing yoga for about 11

weeks but the best part is that it only have to be for 1 hour per day (Jayasinghe, 2004). High

blood pressure can result from not exercising or eating accordingly, therefore, many individuals

around the world have become overweight. To fight this problem, people incorporate yoga into

their everyday exercise as a way to lose weight slowly and to create a better life style

(SUTHERLAND, 2013).


Different postures

Yoga is made up of different asana (poses) with the whole purpose of helping every part

of the human body. Different yoga poses aid people in different ways but the following poses-

Cobra, Cat, and Fish help women with painful menstrual cycles (Rakhshaee, 2011). Based on

Jayasinghe’s (2004) article yoga also proves to be a natural remedy to heart problems and even

lowers blood pressure. If yoga is practiced over a long period of time then considerable

differences in the human body can be seen which are beneficial. Furthermore, yoga is a positive

thing and is most helpful to pregnant women and children as expressed in Collins (2006) article.

Yoga helps ease muscles and joints and strengthens the mind and in pregnant women yoga can

make childbirth less painful and an easier transition. Raub’s (2004) article talks about how yoga

can improve symptoms that are caused by repetitive movements such as Osteoarthritis but most

importantly yoga consists of resting poses that relax the distressed areas.

Cobra pose: this type of pose is a back bend that stretches muscles in the upper body and

is performed to make the arms and shoulder stronger (photo1).

Cat pose: this position is started by getting on the hands and knees and then turn the hips

into a tilt pose (photo 2).

Fish pose: for this particular pose begins by lying on the back with the hand alongside

the body and the legs extended then an arch should be created in the upper back by lifting

the chest (photo 3).

Photos on page 10

Entering the conversation


Most of the time, people who perform certain activities for the first time will be more

challenged versus those who are already familiar with the action. The only reason for becoming

more experience about something is the fact that individuals might practice that specific activity

more and they also might have a bigger passion for it. I have seen people trying to be more

involved in different activities such as dance lessons and sports; they participate in those

activities because they want to experience something new or want to better their lives but most

importantly they want to better their health. Often people presume that they can perform an

activity easily especially when they do not have the time or desire for that activity. On the other

hand, nothing should be said or assumed until being able to have had the opportunity to

experience certain activities. For example, it can be assumed that yoga is one of the most easily

performed exercises that exists but that is not the truth, yoga can be difficult in every single

aspect of it, starting with the poses. At the end, just like everything else, it is possible to find a

way to start an activity to later become familiarize with it.

When something new is about to be incorporated in the life of someone, most of the

time it is better to start with the basic parts. For instance, for someone new in the figurative

world of yoga it might be very difficult to perform the positions directed by an instructor.

Therefore, it is recommended for individuals that think about making yoga part of their lives to

first start a stretching routine every morning when they wake up. This particular activity helps

the tendons and joints in the body as well as making the body a little more flexible as time goes

by. Starting with activities like this one can really benefit a person with the main postures

involved in yoga later on. After a couple months of stretching, other procedures need to be

follow to keep getting prepare and not feel or think that yoga is a hard exercise to perform.


Preparing the body for different movements and actions is very important but preparing

the mind by obtaining knowledge about a particular subject is good as well. In yoga, people are

going to come across words describing a particular position and sometimes those words will be

expressed in a different language. Most of the time, the yoga instructor will assumed the students

are accustomed to that type of spoken words. Consequently, for a beginner student it would not

be a bad idea to do research, especially on the names and descriptions of the different position

but most importantly on the positions that are popular in yoga sessions. One important word

known mostly by everyone that has entered the world of yoga is Namaste and it means the

respect and gratitude involved between the instructor and the students (Calix, 2014). The basic

poses that should be known by beginners are “the bridge”, “mountain”, “downward and upward

facing dog”, and “warrior”; I could keep going and going with the list if we were talking about

all the poses that have been created in yoga but for someone that is about to start a yoga class

those poses mentioned are the ones that will be helpful to know.

All the procedures and ideas mentioned are the ones that will help someone in case they

want to initiate yoga but have no idea how to start. Just like everything else, there are

instructions that have to be follow specifically to accomplish something in life, the only thing

that is needed is determination and passion. It is very clear that today nothing is accomplished

easily, therefore, if a change in health or life in general is wanted every single person

individually has to find an adequate way to get to that goal. That does not mean that they have to

do everything alone without the help of others, instead they have to take initiative about the

situation and seek for help, if it is needed.

So what? ------- Conclusion


Many individuals might ask themselves, why should I get engaged in exercise and other

activities? The answer to that question should be fairly clear, especially now when the population

is aware of the tragic situation happening in the U.S. And when I say tragic, I am referring to

really bad habits that people have incorporated into their lives. This means having a sedentary

life style and eating in excess which would later make them gain weight or even develop obesity.

These can be considered as two health problems that are commonly occurring in the modern

society. The problem today is that the United States has become a very lazy nation. We are

constantly thinking of ways to shorten or decrease time and energy when it comes to performing

a task. Our society does not move around enough to counteract the amount of food, especially

the unhealthy kind that we consume- or to even support any of our other unhealthy practices. The

solution to this is to simply cut back on bad habits, increase movement and activities such as

yoga, walking, running and other sports but nowadays everyone has a mindset of stubborn

“convenience”. For example, people would rather drive short distances than walk, or make one

trip rather than two to the car when gathering groceries.

Obesity has increased, and keeps dramatically increasing in this country, therefore,

something should be but in practice to try to prevent it but that is not the only health problem that

should be addressed. Also, there are other diseases and illnesses affecting the world so a solution

can be found as well. Like it was mentioned earlier, yoga is a key performance to decrease

existing diseases, to maintain a healthy body and to prevent any physical discomfort. So there is

no valid reason for people to decide not to do something that will be beneficial for their own

health. We all encounter difficulty and challenges throughout our lives, but that is what make

humans appreciative, especially at the end when the goal is completed and all that can be seen

are the positive results.


Photos

Cobra Pose (photo 1)

http://www.yogajournal.com/media/originals/HP_MAR06_Bhujangasana_248.jpg

Cat Pose (photo 2)

http://cdn.artofliving.org/sites/www.artofliving.org/ files/

wysiwyg_imageupload/marjariasana-cat- stretch2_0.jpg

Fish Pose (photo 3)

http://extendyoga.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/FISH-YOGA.jpg


Works Cited

Calix, E., (2014) Assignment One, How Yoga Affects Health, English 1102

Carson, J. W., Carson, K. M., Porter, L. S., Keefe, F. J., Shaw, H., & Miller, J. M. (2007). Yoga

for Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer: Results from a Pilot Study. Journal of Pain

and Symptom Management, 33(3), 331-341. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from the

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management database.

Chaya, M. (2006). The effect of long term combined yoga practice on the basal metabolic rate of

healthy adults. BiomedCentral, 6(28), 1-6. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from the

BioMedCentral database.

Collins, C. (2006). Yoga: Intuition, Preventive Medicine, and Treatment. Journal of Obstetric,

Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 27(5), 563–568. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from

the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing database.

Field, T. (2011). Yoga clinical research review. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice,

17(1), 1-8. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from the Complementary Therapies in Clinical

Practice database.

Jayasinghe, S. R. (2004). Yoga in cardiac health (A Review). European Journal of

Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation, 11(5), 369-375. Retrieved February 27,

2014, from the European Journal of Preventive database.

Marcinkowsk, V. (2003). YOGA. Science World, 59(9/10), 28.

Rakhshaee, Z. (2011). Effect of Three Yoga Poses (Cobra, Cat and Fish Poses) in Women with

Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Pediatric and


Adolescent Gynecology, 24(4), 192-196. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from the Journal

of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology database.

Raub, J. A. (2004). Psychophysiologic Effects of Hatha Yoga on Musculoskeletal and

Cardiopulmonary Function: A Literature Review. Journal of Alternative and

Complementary Medicine, 8(6), 797-812. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from the Journal

of Alternative and Complementary Medicine database.

SUTHERLAND, P. (2013). Yoga XXL: A Journey to Health for Bigger People. Foreword,

16(4), 83-84.

Yardi, N. (2001). Yoga for control of epilepsy. ScienceDirect, 10(1), 7-12. Retrieved February

21, 2014, from the ScienceDirect database.

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