Introduction to: “mind-body practices” of

yoga, tai-chi, and meditation. By Chad Colby

Yoga Instructor, B.S. Physical Education

Source: (NCCAM, 2011)

Yoga

• Yoga is a form of exercise that originally comes from India.

• Yoga can be done in various styles to improve your health.

• Yoga usually contains different physical postures combined with certain breathing techniques.

Meditation aspects:

• Meditation can be used with yoga. • A final relaxation pose while lying down can be

completed at the end of yoga exercise.

“Yoga is intended to increase relaxation and balance the mind, body, and spirit.”

Source: (NCCAM, 2011)

Recent Research:

• A research study in 2009 conducted at West Virginia University on the effects of Iyengar Yoga showed encouraging results on the effects on chronic low-back pain for the 43 active yoga participants in the study.

• “The researchers concluded from their results that yoga decreases functional disability, pain, and depression in people with chronic-low back pain.”

Source: (NCCAM, 2011)

Recent Research (continued):

A research study completed at Ohio State University in 2010 showed improved mood and decreased levels of (cytokine interlukin-6) blood levels for the 25 active yoga participants who regularly did yoga for a minimum of 2 years compared to the other 25 participants who did Yoga for a short duration of 6-12 sessions. Cytokine interleukin-6 is compound in the blood that is associated with stress and was 5 times higher for the shorter duration Yoga participants compared to the 2-year plus regular Yoga participants. Source: (NCCAM, 2011)

Tai-Chi

• Tai chi originally comes from chinese martial arts and can be taught as a form of self-defense.

• Tai chi is commonly taught as a form of slow moving exercise for improving your health.

• Tai chi has been referred to as a “moving meditation”, which does include a focus on how you breathe while doing this form of exercise.

Source: ( NCCAM, 2011)

Tai-chi health benefits:

Benefits associated with doing Tai chi include:• Improving balance and coordination• Improving strength and flexibility• Improving your overall physical conditioning • Helps with sleep• Improves overall health/wellness

Source: (NCCAM, 2011)

Recent Research on Tai-chi:

A University of California study completed in 2007 compared the shingle virus immunity levels of a group of 112 healthy adults ages 59-86 who participated in this tai chi study. Those active tai chi participants who completed a 16-week program had double the shingle virus immunity levels compared to the participants who were not doing tai chi. Also, the tai chi participants in this study reported having better physical abilities and mental health with less pain.

Source: (NCCAM, 2011)

Additional Tai-chi Research:

Other research studies indicated that tai chi may be used to:

• Improve your sleep• Help deal with pain associated with fibromyalgia• Help with depression• Support health of bones • Improve overall feeling of wellness

Meditation

• Meditation can be practiced for many reasons: i.e.. (relaxation, increase wellness/mental health, and for religious purposes, etc).

• Meditation styles can be done in various positions such as lying down, sitting, standing, and even while eating.

• Meditation will typically increase your focus on a

certain aspect of yourself, while your attention to outside distractions will start to diminish.

Different types of Meditation:

1. Mindfulness meditation is derived from parts of Buddhism and you typically focus on your attention on your breath while meditating.

2. Transcendental Meditation uses a mantra “(word, sound, or phase to repeat silently)” to focus on while meditating.

3. “Zen Meditation, Mantra meditation, and relaxation response” are three other styles of meditation. Source: (NCCAM, 2011)

To practice meditation you will need:

1. Find a quiet location without distractions

2. Pick a position that you will be comfortable in (i.e. lying, standing, sitting)

3. Decide what your attention is going to be focused on: i.e. (your breath, word phrase, stepping on ground while walking, the food you are chewing on, etc.)

4. Be open to new experiences while learning to meditate.

Meditation has been used for the following conditions:

“Anxiety Pain Depression Stress Insomnia Physical and emotional symptoms that may be associated with (heart disease, HIV/aids, and Cancer),

and their treatment.” (NCCAM, 2011)

Contraindications:

• Meditation may not be beneficial for some psychiatric conditions and it can make their symptoms worse by doing meditation.

• People with certain physical limitations may be limited from different moving forms of meditation and may not be able hold certain postures.

• Note: check with your physician prior to starting any forms

of meditation described. (i.e. Yoga, Tai-chi, or Meditation)

Literature on Meditation:

According to Josephine Briggs, M.D., director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine says “past literature on meditation suggests that is very powerful tool for learning control of attention, regulating emotion, and increasing self-awareness or cultivation the state of mindfulness.”

(NCCAM, 2011)

Final Thoughts

“Some 20 million adults have been using meditation for health purposes” according to a 2007 National Health Interview Survey. (NCCAM, 2011)

If this many people are doing meditation for their health, there has to be truth to these literature findings, then...

Why not give some form of meditation a try?

References:Slides: (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2011) Retrieved

from http://nccam.nih.gov/

6 pictures on previous slide:Left upper: Zen meditation in the pagoda 2, kerolic, Sept. 15, 2011, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Retrieved from

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kerolic/5136418987/Left lower: Day 166/365-Meditation, Sean Kelly, Dec 12, 2010, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Retrieved

fromhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/thekellyscope/5311722587/#/Middle upper: Yoga Relaxation Pose) MyYogaOnline, July 23, 2005, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, Retrieved from

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myyogaonline/457338870/in/photostream/Middle lower: Yoga: Warrior 1 Terri Oda, November 20, 2008, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Retrieved from

http://www.flickr.com/photos/terrio/3094107069/Right upper: Meditation, Todd J, May 19, 2007, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 , Retrieved by http://www.flickr.com/photos/tojosan/504818388/Right lower: Morning Tai Chi) Right lower: Dan Zelazo, June 7, 2004, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 , Retrieved by

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1yen/42206188/