Does yoga really work?

We look at 5 asanas and see if their method makes any medical logic.

With the hype generated over the International Yoga day, I am suremany of us have been tempted to try out some Asanas. So after my usual Sunday long run I decided to do one or 2 Asanas. However, tiredness got the better of me and I spent a good 2 hours in the sleeping Asana.

But Monday morning and a freshly brewed coffee got me thinking doesYoga really work? A quick search over the Internet showed Yoga cures at least 10 diseases. This seems very interesting and I decided to delvedeeper and uncover how contorting your body can cure disease.

Here are 5 Asanas I attempt to demystify:

a) Pranayama - Asthmab) Triangle pose Asana - Diabetes c) Child pose Asana - Indigestiond) Sirasana - Migraine headachese) Uttanasana – Depression

At first look, I am ambivalent on the efficacy of yoga on these illnesses.Looking from a medical point of view, all the diseases above can be considered life style diseases. And modifying your life style with somechanges can help you treat them. Yoga does recommend life style changes but the question is if the asanas alone help. All asanas do promote and change blood flow but I want to go in-depth and review allthe asanas and see exactly what happens when an Asana is done.

a) Pranayama-

Pranayama is the art and science of yogic breathing techniques.Practitioners of Yoga claim that it helps fight off diseases such as weight gain and also asthma.

Asthma is basically an increased hypersensitivity or responsiveness ofthe wind pipe to any allergen. So we need to see if Pranayama can help reduce this sensitivity. Pranayama claims to improve the amount of airgetting to all parts of the lung. Theoretically, even though your lungs canexpand to more maximum than they are in normal breathing, the amount of extra oxygen coming in would be minimal.

The second logic given is that the increased respiration causesmovement of lymph that boosts the immune system. This logic does has some merit.

But, Prayanama is not completely safe. Exhaling is done against a closedglottis and this can increase lung pressure leading to hematomas or pneumothorax.

I would say a medical exam would be necessary to see if you canperform the exercise. Alternatively, you can consult an Online Doctorto help clear you for this Asana.

b) Triangle pose Asana-

Also known as the Trikona-asana. This is an asana where the legs arespread to the shape of a triangle and person bends sideways in such a way to face the sky. And the opposite hand is pointed to the sky. Trikona-asana claims to cure type 2 diabetes. The treatment of type 2

Diabetes is by diet and exercise(1st line treatment). Assuming you doyoga but keep consuming lots of sugary foods, it is unlikely to help.

However, supposing you restricted your diet, you can lose some weightwith repetition of this asana as it is relatively an aerobic activity. So, you do burn calories naturally by this method and help fight diabetes. But, I would not recommend that you stop medication and hope that yogaalone will help.

c) Child pose Asana-

Also known as the Shishuasana. This asana claims to help withindigestion. The logic is that the intestine is put under pressure and also the sphincters of the gastrointestinal tract are relaxed. And their is thensmooth passage of stools. This seems logical as the increased pressurewith the relaxed sphincters will logically help with bowel movement.

But, I would recommend you take a Doctor’s advice if theIndigestion/Constipation do not stop. Also, you can talk to our Doctorsonline to get a good diet plan to stop indigestion and constipation.

d) Sirasana-

This is a supported headstand and is also nicknamed the king of allasanas. This asana claims to increase the blood flow to the brain which is not exactly correct as the body regulates the blood pressure and will not allow a big change in the blood to the brain. Also, assuming that it does in fact increase blood flow to the head, it actually increases the chance of a person getting a migraine.

A migraine or headache occurs due to dilatation of the blood vessels inthe head. So increasing blood flow to the head would actually make things worse. I also think doing this asana while having a headache willmake things worse.If you are not recovering from your headache, I would recommend youask our Doctors for a few things you can try at askthedoctor.com

e) Uttanasana-

This is a very physical type of stretch and I do not understand how thiswould help with depression. One logic may be that this allows stretching of certain muscles and increasing the pain which in turn releasesepinephrine which can fight off depression.

The effects are not going to be astronomical however and I wouldrecommend people to exercise caution if they are diagnosed and not to stop medications if they are on any.

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