Maryanna Klatt, an associate professor of clinical family medicine at Ohio State University, has taken yoga into the classrooms of disadvantaged children. Other smaller studies have shown, by measuring biological markers, that expert yoga practitioners had lower inflammatory responses to stress than novice yoga practitioners did that yoga reduces inflammation in heart failure patients and that yoga can improve crucial levels of glucose and insulin in patients with diabetes.Ĭancer is an obvious cause of stress, but recent research has pointed to another contributing factor: living in poverty. Yoga has been shown to reduce stress and help people sleep better. "Poor sleep fuels fatigue, and fatigue fuels inflammation," she says. Cancer treatment often leaves patients with high levels of stress and fatigue, and an inability to sleep well. No one knows exactly how yoga might reduce inflammation in breast cancer survivors, but Kiecolt-Glaser lays out some research-based suggestions. That part of the study offered some rare biological evidence of the benefits of yoga in a large trial that went beyond people's own reports of how they feel. He examined three cytokines, proteins in the blood that are markers for inflammation.īlood tests before and after the trial showed that, after three months of yoga practice, all three markers for inflammation were lower by 10 to 15 percent. Kiecolt-Glaser's husband and research partner, Ronald Glaser of the university's department of molecular virology, immunology, and medical genetics, went for stronger, laboratory proof. Half the group continued to ignore yoga, while the other half received twice-weekly, 90-minute classes for 12 weeks, with take-home DVDs and encouragement to practice at home.Īccording to the study, which was led by Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology at Ohio State University, and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the group that had practiced yoga reported less fatigue and higher levels of vitality three months after treatment had ended.īut the study didn't rely only on self-reports. Researchers looked at 200 breast cancer survivors who had not practiced yoga before. It's also one of the reasons that cancer survivors commonly feel fatigue for months, even years, following treatment. That's important because inflammation is associated with chronic diseases including heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. Now, in the largest study of yoga that used biological measures to assess results, it seems that those meditative sun salutations and downward dog poses can reduce inflammation, the body's way of reacting to injury or irritation. The poses help increase flexibility and strength, bringing relief to back pain sufferers. Yoga helps people to relax, making the heart rate go down, which is great for those with high blood pressure. The more we learn about yoga, the more we realize the benefits aren't all in the minds of the 20 million or so devotees in the U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |