As the practice of yoga spreads to more corners of the world, more therapists and medical practitioners are adopting and adapting yoga for various healing and therapy protocols. Yoga is being blended with psychiatry and Ayurveda to form an integrated treatment unit. Elsewhere, therapists have found yoga to be effective in managing conditions such as psoriatic arthritis and SAD (seasonal affective disorder).
Merging yoga, Ayurveda and psychiatry
Recently a new medical unit that embraces and combines western and Indian medical systems was opened up at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bengaluru (Bangalore). This integrated treatment unit will offer step-wise treatment to patients. Firstly, a junior doctor will examine the patient and obtain their information and medical history before recommending them to a three-member team including a yoga expert, Ayurveda practitioner and psychiatrist. The unit will treat people with neurological and psychiatric conditions including anxiety, depression, dystrophy, schizophrenia and other serious conditions. In other words, mainstream medicine is recognizing the importance of holistic treatments that are well rounded and lasting.
Yoga therapy for psoriatic arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis is an autoimmune condition – to put it simply, the body’s immune system attacks the body resulting in painful and/or troublesome symptoms. The condition is managed with medications that reduce inflammation in the body and suppress the immune system. Clearly, suppressing the immune system and taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs over long periods is not desirable. And this is why more and more experts are combining these treatments with complementary treatments to naturally control symptoms and reduce reliance of medications. Psoriatic arthritis breakouts are seen to have a clear connection with stress, whereas yoga is known to reduce stress. Yoga also improves blood circulation to the limbs and organs and detoxifies the lymphatic system to naturally alleviate symptoms.
Improving back pain and sleep disturbances
Regular practice of yoga can also help reduce reliance on pharmaceuticals among those who have chronic lower back pain and problems falling and remaining asleep, found researchers. The research published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that pain and sleep are closely related; easing the symptoms of one can help do the same for the other. In particular, physical therapy including yoga is very effective for helping ease lower back pain and in turn improve sleep quality. Not only does this reduce reliance of medications, there are long term benefits since the relief is longer lasting and more sustainable.
Winter Blues
In the higher latitudes, Seasonal Affective Disorder is a significant problem. During the winter months, otherwise healthy people experience symptoms of depression, low mood and fatigue. Studies have found that yoga can help here as well. When done regularly in combination with breathing exercises and visualization, yoga helps to improve the mood and gives people a sense of being more in control of their health.
As more and more people with various ailments approach me for Therapy Yoga, I find that I am able to help people beyond just those in my yoga class. I am discovering new ways to help people overcome their problems; discovering new ways in which Therapy Yoga can be so effective and rewarding.