With so much credible research now published on the biomarker & cellular effects of yoga, our
understanding of yoga as a science has made significant advancements. This allows us to incorporate
yoga as a scientific, robust & complementary approach to health & disease management.
Yoga includes practices for the body (asanas & relaxation techniques) & for the mind (pranayama &
meditation).
Yoga is now extremely well-integrated into the modern medicine health systems globally. And it is
helping us manage some of the most complex and difficult to treat conditions such as multiple
sclerosis, fibromyalgia, many other autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases,
neuro-cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s, mental health disorders like anxiety, depression etc.
Here is a glimpse of some of the most recently published research on the topic:
From fight/flight to rest/digest
If you’re into yoga, you’ve probably heard the terms sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous systems
.
The sympathetic nervous system is the one that is overactive in most of us, as we deal with the
anxiety of today’s lifestyle. So, basically we are in constant fight or flight mode.
Yoga stimulates its enemy (and our dear friend & well-wisher), the parasympathetic nervous system,
thus normalizing heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate & heart-rate variability. Also, this
gets us in the rest & digest mode.
A Natural Anti-oxidant
Oxidative stress: if you’re health-conscious, you’ve heard this term. It is akin to cellular
rusting”, that research links to heart disease, cancer and aging.
Oxidative stress can be understood with an example of metallic objects getting damaged by rust on
exposure to water & air (oxygen). Similarly, the imbalance of certain types of molecules (free
radicals) in the body causes damage at cellular level.
Oxidative stress is caused by a lot of factors that surround us such as stress, unhealthy diet,
pollution, etc. that force the body to produce Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).
Now comes the saviour, yoga. Yoga practice enhances our internal rust-proofing system by
increasing the level of glutathione (GSH), one of the body’s best anti-oxidants.
There is more – yoga also boosts the levels of anti-oxidant enzymes in the body such as Superoxide
Dismutase and Catalase. These enzymes counter the harmful ROS.
You might know other anti-oxidants such as Vitamin C and Vitamin E. Their levels also increase with
yoga practice.
Yoga as an add-on to your exercise routine for the heart!
Autonomic nervous system comprises sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous system. Constant stress
mode causes anxiety and subsequent heart troubles due to increase in blood pressure.
As mentioned, routine yoga practice reduces both heart rate & blood pressure over time, easing the
load over the heart.
Yoga promotes adequate heart pumping by improving heart muscle strength, and the ejection fraction
in heart failure patients. Yoga also works as a natural anti-inflammatory agent and reduces IL-6
and CRP, the markers of inflammation that deteriorate cardiovascular health.
Yoga for longevity
Yoga boosts longevity and helps us fight aging by both direct and indirect mechanisms.
Telomere shortening is induced by oxidative stress & inflammation, and by reducing those, yoga
indirectly also helps in increasing telomere length. But this is not it. Yoga also directly
stimulates the Telomerase enzyme – the body’s repair in-charge to build and and repair telomeres.
Yoga also increases the level of BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotropic factor) and improves cognitive
decline.
So practice yoga daily for a younger & healthier you.
Do it Yourself
Next time you are on the mat, try to feel the sensations in the body parts being stretched in a
particular asana. Or feel the calmness of pranayama and meditation in your mind.
With consistent practice, you will slowly become tuned to your own body and will be able to
perceive the changes in the different organ systems gradually.
Congratulations on understanding the science behind the stretching!
Now spread the word 🙂
Link to the original article –
https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/jcim-2018-0094/html
Written by Dr. Charu Arora
Business Head – Integrative Medicine, Apollo AyurVAID