The Eight-Fold Path According to Ram Rao

by Nina

Branch of Orange Bearing Fruit by Claude Monet

Several years ago, I asked Ram Rao to write a series for us on the eight branches of yoga (according to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali). Although before that time (and since then) we addressed various aspects of the eight branches, such as posts on the individual yamas and niyamas, we did not until then have an overview of the overall structure of eight branches and how they worked together. (The reason I asked Ram to do this was because I knew he came from a family of Vedic scholars in the India.) Fortunately for all of us, he agreed to take it on. Since that series of posts is still as relevant now as it was then, I thought today would be a good time to collect them all into one place. This will not only let you know (if you did not already) that they exist, but will give you easy access to the entire series.

Ram's first post in the series was Ashtanga Yoga: Following the Eight-Fold Path, which provided an overview of eight branches of yoga defined in the Yoga Sutras and how this eight-fold path fits into the history of yoga. He said:

"The actual term “Ashtanga Yoga” (ashta=eight, anga= limbs) refers to the eight-fold path/eight rungs/limbs/steps of yoga as described in the Raja Yoga section of the yoga philosophy. Its practice helps us to discriminate between ignorance and awareness and truth from illusion, which is the means for liberation or enlightenment. 

The underlying principle of the yoga philosophy is the fostering of the wellbeing of an individual at the level of body and mind, and helping an individual re-connect to his/her true nature through direct and personal experience (pratyeksha in Sanskrit). Thus, yoga prepares the body and mind of the individual for eventual liberation and enlightenment."

In The First Branch of Yoga: Yamas Ram provided an overview of this branch of yoga along with details about the individual yamas. Ram said:

"The practice of yamas lays the foundation from which to develop all the other subtle practices. Yamas serve as moral, ethical and societal guidelines to lead a conscious, honest, and ethical life. There are five yamas or positive guidelines that help us to behave and relate to our surroundings and environment, and to achieve oneness with it. Patanjali considered the five yamas as universal vows and preached that in order to have a harmonious life they be practiced on all levels: by way of thoughts, actions, and words."

In The Second Branch of Yoga: Niyamas Ram provided an overview of this branch of yoga along with details about the individual niyamas. Ram said:

"Niyamas help us to perform those activities that not only empower us but the society around us as well. Such beneficial activities do not disturb the Self’s natural balance and the environment around us. Performing these activities assists us in gradually recognizing our true nature. The body is at ease; the mind attains peace."

In The Third Branch of Yoga: Asana Ram provided an overview of how this branch of yoga, asana, works with the other seven branches. Ram said:

"The idea behind the asana practice is to help the mind to become clear or pure and develop deeper mind-body awareness. A clear mind is not affected by stress and a clear mind produces a healthy body thus creating a greater connection with one's own pure, essential nature. And any individual can achieve mind-body awareness and ultimately attain enlightenment."

In The Fourth Branch of Yoga: Pranayama Ram discussed what pranayama is and why it is an important part of the eight-fold path. Ram said:

"Pranayama, a formal practice of regulating the breath, consists of techniques designed to gain mastery over the respiratory process while building a connection between the breath, the mind, and the intellect. The technique refers to a particular system of breath control involving three processes namely: puraka (inhalation), kumbhaka (retention), and rechaka (exhalation). When these three processes are balanced, there is union of the body and mind."

In The Fifth Branch of Yoga: Pratyahara, Ram discusses both the traditional role of pratyahara and his way of bringing branch of yoga into our everyday lives. He said:

"So, to me, the definition of pratyahara is more than just “withdrawal of senses.” In this present world, working at a job, staying with a family, raising kids, etc., all require the coordinated use of the five senses. One cannot withdraw the senses from our daily life’s duties unless we give up on everything and retire to the mountains. So, I like to define pratyahara as “using our senses with total/complete awareness.” In my opinion, practicing pratyahara does not mean running away from a situation or suppressing the impression. Rather, it means being present in the middle of it, being aware of what it is and consciously not reacting but instead choosing how to respond."

Ram concluded his series with a post Samyama: The Trinity of Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi, which addressed the sixth, seventh, and eighth branches of yoga as the three phases of meditation, each of which leads to the next. Ram said:

"the ultimate objective of yoga is reigning in the fluctuations of the mind to achieve complete liberation from mental turbulence—seeing things as they truly are and experiencing only peace. This would be the state of samyama, the ultimate step—peace or enlightenment—which can only be experienced individually."

I hope you will take some time to check out or revisit some of these posts!

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How Exercise Might Help Brain and Nervous System Health

by Nina

Walk Along the Banks of Seine Near Asnieres by Vincent van Gogh

“The research shows that using the legs, particularly in weight-bearing exercise, sends signals to the brain that are vital for the production of healthy neural cells, essential for the brain and nervous system. Cutting back on exercise makes it difficult for the body to produce new nerve cells — some of the very building blocks that allow us to handle stress and adapt to challenge in our lives.” —Science Blog

You know how we’re always writing about how physical exercise is so important for brain and nervous system health? And how being sedentary is one of the worst things you can do for the health of your brain? So far, we haven’t said exactly why this is true, just that it has been proved scientifically by, for example, comparing the cognitive skills of twins, one of whom exercised more than the other (see Leg Power Equals Brain Power). And we often just quote Ram Rao, our staff neuroscientist, saying, “What’s good for the heart is good for the brain.”

But just yesterday, I read Exercise is Critical to Brain and Nervous System Health about a new study Reduction of Movement in Neurological Diseases: Effects on Neural Stem Cells Characteristics published in Frontiers in Neuroscience that provided possible new insights into how exercise (or lack thereof) affects the health of your brain and nervous system. According to the article on Science Blog, the study showed when you exercise using your large leg muscles, particularly when you are doing weight-bearing exercise, those muscles send message to your brain that stimulate the production of neural cells (which are needed for a healthy brain and nervous system!). And for those who are sedentary or can’t do weight-bearing exercises, such as those with chronic diseases or even astronauts living in space, there will be a significant decrease in the number of new neural cells that are created. 

To do this study, the scientists used mice, which they prevented from using their hind legs for 28 days. (Although their legs were restricted from exercising, the mice could still use their front legs for eating and grooming.) The control group was a group of mice that was allowed to exercise freely as usual.

After 28 days, the scientists looked at the sub-ventricular zone in the mouse brains (the area of mammal brains in which neural stem cells create new neurons and which also in general helps to preserve nerve cell nerve cell health). What the scientists found was that compared with the control group, the number of neural stem cells in the non-exercising group of mice was 70 percent lower! Additionally, the special cells that support and insulate nerve cells—neurons and oligodendrocytes — had not matured completely. As one of the scientists said:

“Our study supports the notion that people who are unable to do load-bearing exercises — such as patients who are bed-ridden, or even astronauts on extended travel — not only lose muscle mass, but their body chemistry is altered at the cellular level and even their nervous system is adversely impacted.” – Dr. Raffaella Adami, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy

Furthermore, by analyzing individual cells, the scientists found that the mice whose ability to exercise had been restricted had lower amounts of oxygen in their bodies, something will alters the body’s metabolism. And they also observed that the period of restricted exercise also seemed to influence a gene that contributes to health of mitochondria, which are important sources of energy that our bodies need. Wow, that is a lot of negative effects from lack of exercise!

I’ve learned from Brad how amazingly complex and wonderful the human body is, and how there is still so much to learn about how it works! And it sounds like very interesting scientific studies are still being made on a daily basis about the importance of exercise for brain and nervous system health. But I asked Ram what he thought about this study and he said:

"It is an interesting study no doubt, but its using mouse models. 

1. When it comes to brain studies/cognition/memory/neurons, mouse studies do not recapitulate successfully in humans.
2. The SVZ area is rich in neural stem cells and any kind of stress/activity/trauma can stimulate the production and proliferation of stem cells.
3. It is not clear if exercise is stimulating the stem cells directly or through an indirect way (like increasing blood flow or activating some growth factors etc).

Whatever be it, there is no doubt that exercise improves physical role, improves depression scores, has beneficial effects on the planning and execution of a response, as well as on the executive functions. So exercise of any kind needs to be a daily routine similar to eating and sleeping."

Yes, the bottom line for all of us is that when you’re thinking about brain health, it’s important not to fall into that old trope that you should just be doing crossword puzzles, etc. as a way of fostering brain health. We really all should be taking lots of nature and/or urban hikes and practicing our standing poses as well as staying mentally stimulated!

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook and Twitter ° To order Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-Being, go to Amazon, Shambhala, Indie Bound or your local bookstore.

For information about Nina's upcoming book signings and other activities, see Nina's Workshops, Book Signings, and Books.

Featured Sequence: Improving Posture

by Baxter

This sequence is designed to help you improve your posture, especially for those who tend to slump forward. Because this is a rather long practice, you should feel free to shorten it by only doing the dynamic versions of poses that offer both options some days and only doing static versions of poses that offer both options other days. You could also just pick three poses to do when you are short on time. 

I also encourage you to work up to longer holds of static poses, from 90 seconds to 2 minutes because long holds of static poses can permanently changing both muscle and fascia length, which will really help with improving posture. 

1. Dynamic Reclined Arms Overhead Pose, 6 rounds 

In this pose your spine is more neutrally aligned just by virtue of you lying on your back. And moving your arms and shoulders up and overhead tends to open you upper back and encourage gentle backbend (extension) action of your upper spine. 

Start by coming into Reclined Mountain pose with support under your head. Engage your legs and on an inhalation, swing your arms up and overhead alongside your ears. On an exhalation, swing your arms back down to your sides. 

2. Reclined Arms Overhead Pose, 30 seconds to 1-2 minutes 

Staying in the pose for a longer hold provides more stretching of your front chest. 

To come into the pose, follow the instructions for the previous pose. With your arms alongside your ears, focus on lengthening from your hips to your hands, sensing a small amount of backbend in your spine. In this pose, some people can get their hands to the floor while others cannot. If you can’t bring yours to rest comfortably on the floor, try resting them on a block or folded blanket instead. 

If you’re new to the pose, hold for just 30 seconds and gradually work up to 1 to 2 minutes over time. To come out of the pose, on an exhalation swing your arms back down by your sides. 

3. Reclined Leg Stretch Pose, versions 1 and 3, 30 seconds to 1-2 minutes

Since tightness at the front and back of the hips could contribute to poor posture, I recommend adding in this pose to stretch your hamstring muscles (backs of your thighs). If you’re new to the pose, hold for just 30 seconds and gradually work up to 1 to 2 minutes over time. See Featured Pose: Reclined Leg Stretch Pose for instructions. 

4. Cat-Cow Pose, 6 rounds 

This pose helps to release stiffness in your entire spine, including the upper back (thoracic area). See Featured Pose: Cat-Cow Pose for instructions.

5. Dynamic Arms Overhead Pose, 6 rounds 

This standing version of reclined pose will continue to stretch front body tightness that might be contributing to poor posture while also strengthening your upper back muscles to help maintain your improving posture. See youtube.com for instructions.

6. Arms Overhead Pose, 30 seconds to 1-2 minutes

This will increase the stretching and strengthening effects of the dynamic version. Gradually work your way from version 1 to 3 to 2 to 4 over time to increase the challenge. If you’re new to the pose, hold for just 30 seconds and gradually work up to 1 to 2 minutes over time. Once you have achieved longer holds in version 1, then work on version 3, etc. See Featured Pose: Arms Overhead Pose for more instructions.

7. Dynamic Warrior 1 Pose, 6 rounds per side 

This pose increases the backbend from the last two poses, increasing both the amount of stretching in your upper chest and strengthening in your upper back. See youtube.com for instructions.

8. Warrior 1, 30 seconds to 1-2 minutes 

Holding Warrior 1 for longer times will increase the opening effects on your upper chest and spine. Gradually work your way from version 4 to 3 to 2 to 1 over time to increase the challenge. If you’re new to the pose, hold for just 30 seconds and gradually work up to 1 to 2 minutes over time. Once you have achieved longer holds in version 4, then work on version 3, etc. See Featured Pose: Warrior 1 for instructions.

9. Lunge Pose, 30 seconds to 1-2 minutes 

Because tightness in the fronts of your hips can contribute to poor posture, this pose stretches the fronts of your hips and thighs and balances out the work of Reclined Leg Stretch Pose. 

Gradually work your way from version 3 to 2 to 1 to 4 over time to increase the effects of the pose. As you practice, bring attention to maintaining the neutral alignment of your spine. If you’re new to the pose, hold for just 30 seconds and gradually work up to 1 to 2 minutes over time Once you have achieved longer holds in version 3, then work on version 2, etc. See Featured Pose: Lunge Pose for instructions.

10. Locust Pose, 15 seconds to 1 minute 

This pose is great for strengthening the back muscles around your spine, which can help hold your back more upright. Gradually work your way from version 3 to version 1 over time to increase the challenge. If you are new to the pose, start with 15 second holds and gradually work up to 1 minute. Once you have achieved longer holds in version 3, then work on version 1. See Featured Pose: Locust Pose for instructions.

11. Supported Backbend, 1-2 minutes to 4-5 minutes 

This pose is last in the sequence so that you will be very warmed up to stay comfortably in the backbend for longer periods of time, which will allow you to relax completely into your supported position and enable the position and gravity to take full effect in opening your front body. If you are new to the pose, work your way from version 4 to 3 to 1 over time to gradually increase the challenge. And start by holding the pose for 1-2 minutes and gradually work up to 4-5 minutes. Once you have achieved longer holds of version 4, then work on version 3, etc. See Featured Pose: Supported Backbend for instructions.

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Follow Baxter Bell, MD on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. For upcoming workshops and retreats see Baxter's Workshops and for info on Baxter see baxterbell.com.  

Video of the Week: Eagle Pose Arms Vinyasa

This vinyasa begins with a dynamic version of Eagle pose arms done in a seated position to warm up your arms, shoulders, and upper back, which stretches and strengthens those areas. You will then do a static version of the pose that involves rotating and tipping to add additional stretching to your shoulders, spine, and side body.You can do this vinyasa sitting in a chair or on the floor. 


Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook and Twitter ° To order Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-Being, go to Amazon, Shambhala, Indie Bound or your local bookstore.

Follow Baxter Bell, MD on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. For upcoming workshops and retreats see Baxter's Workshops and for info on Baxter see baxterbell.com.  

Friday Q&A: Improving Posture

The Proportions of the Human Figure by Leonardo da Vinci

Q: I've practiced yoga sporadically over the past decade, but now at 75 I'm noticing my posture leans forward a bit. Are their certain asanas that would be good for me to practice, given my posture issue. I know more consistent practice would also help. 

A: Often poor posture creeps up on people gradually over the years until a loved one starts reporting to them about their slumped posture or, as with our reader, they discover it on their own. And while it may not be associated with any particular symptoms of stiffness or pain, it could contribute to both if not addressed. The change in posture most often involves increased forward rounding (flexion) of the spine in the chest area (thoracic spine). If the rounding becomes more pronounced, it is referred to as “kyphosis.” In many of these cases, the muscles of the upper back become weak and overworked (from trying to keep you from completely rounding forward) and those in the front of the chest and abdomen become short and tight. 

Information that would be helpful to know from our reader and any older adult who notices these postural changes include: 

1) Has the person been screened for osteoporosis or osteopenia, the presence of which would require a slower, more gradual approach to introducing a yoga practice or designing a yoga practice to specially address this problem? 

2) Are there any wedge fractures already present in the thoracic spine that contribute to the changes in posture and would limit the amount of improvement one could expect from practice? 

I will be assuming the answer to both of those questions are no for the following recommendations and for the sequence I'll be sharing next week. If you don’t know the answer to the two questions for yourself, please get yourself checked out. 

General Considerations and Recommendations 

Before turning to your yoga practice, consider other activities that might contribute to slumped posture that you could also address: 

1) Your posture as you use computers and smart phones, as well as watching TV and even reading printed material. Be more conscious about maintaining good posture while doing these activities and, if possible for you, spend less time in these seated activities or try using a stand up desk. 

2) Your posture as you drive your car. It is often difficult to maintain good posture behind the wheel of your car, but your posture could be improved by adjusting seat so you sit more vertically and by using of a lumbar support behind your lower back. 

3) Are you doing other activities that involve a lot of forward bending with rounding of the spine? Some of these include housework (vacuuming, mopping) and yard work (weeding the garden). If so, make some changes in the way you do these tasks so you maintain a more neutral spine, for example, by standing in Fig Leaf Forward Fold position or by squatting instead of bending over.   

Be patient and work gradually towards your goal of improved posture. It likely took quite a while to get where you are now, and it will take some time to improve. 

Practicing Yoga for Improved Posture 

I recommend you practice regularly if you want a greater chance of success, as our reader rightly suggests. In general sequences to will help your posture should include backbends for strengthening your back muscles and stretching the muscles in the front of your chest and abdomen. I suggest practicing these types of sequences every other day, alternating with different types practices on other days, including more restorative practices or sequences that emphasize a different part of the body. 

I also recommend bring more attention to your breath as you practice. According to TKV Desikachar, your inhalation encourages and supports a bit of spinal extension or back bending action, so make sure as you practice your poses, you are keeping your inhalation and exhalation the same length. 

Finally, Nina recommends that you consider the position of your head as part of your posture, rather than just focusing on your back and chest. This is because slumped posture is often associated with a head-forward position. So in all your standing and seated postures, consciously align your head over your neck and your neck over your shoulders. And in reclined positions, keep your head and neck safe by providing support under your head in the reclined positions with appropriate props.

—Baxter

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook and Twitter ° To order Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-Being, go to Amazon, Shambhala, Indie Bound or your local bookstore.

Follow Baxter Bell, MD on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. For upcoming workshops and retreats see Baxter's Workshops and for info on Baxter see baxterbell.com.  

Dr. Brad Gibson's Point of View on Science, Aging, and Yoga

by Nina

The only time Brad let me take his picture

I’ve just completed my California book tour. It was so rewarding to meet and talk with some of our readers! But one thing I noticed was that I did need to explain to every audience who Brad Gibson was and why he was with me.

As a medical researcher who studied aging for 16 years (he’s now working on drug discovery for serious diseases—here's hoping!), Brad helped me write the first chapter of our book Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to LIfelong Well-Being especially the section that discusses what aging is. He also reviewed the entire book. But more than that—and I’ve learned most people don’t realize this—he was one of the three original founders of this blog. 

Yes, back in September of 2011, our staff consisted of me, Baxter, and Brad. And during that first year he wrote many articles for us combining his expertise in the area of basic research on aging with his interest in yoga as a solution for fostering healthy aging. Although Brad eventually stopped writing posts, he continued (and still continues to this day) to support the blog by providing behind-the-scenes scientific consulting. Whenever I have scientific questions or concerns about whether a certain statement or even an entire post is scientifically sound, I always pass it by him. (Of course, I’m referring only to posts that contain scientific statements, not all our posts, because, of course, many are about things that have nothing to do with science per se.)

So today for those of you who might be curious about Brad’s early contributions to the blog, I thought I’d give an overview of the articles he contributed. Check out the list because you may find that he has addresses certain topics you've been wondering about, such as caloric restriction, telomeres, nutrition for healthy aging, and what we really know about aging.

Full Disclosure In this post, Brad tells the story of how he, who resisted yoga for many years, became convinced about its effectiveness for fostering healthy aging.

Can We Delay Aging? In this post, Brad discusses the difference between extending our life spans and extended our health spans, and discusses whether “compression of morbidity” is actually possible. He also describes what the new field of geroscience is all about.

Can Meditation Delay Aging? Brad helped me write this post about meditation and telomeres. I have to say that we get questions about telomeres all the time because people have heard a lot about telomeres and aging, even though it’s just one theory out of many of what causes aging.

Stressed Mind, Stressed Cells? In this post Brad discusses a talk he attended by Dr. Elissa Epel about the possible relationship between stress and telomeres.

Science, Aging, and Yoga In this post, Brad answers the question of how would one go about investigating the effects of yoga on aging scientifically.

Clarification: Aging, Yoga, and Science In this post, Brad continues to address the question of how one would go about investigating the effects of yoga on aging.

What is a Yoga Practice? In this post, Brad discusses the problem of doing scientific studies on “yoga” without specifying which style of yoga you are studying and including details about what the practices included.

Okay, Back to Aging In this post, Brad discusses cell senescence, which could be one of causes of aging.

Probability, Aging, and a Pain in the Neck In this post, Brad discusses what probability is and what the relationship between aging and probability is.

Caloric Restriction and Yoga Brad helped me write this article about caloric restriction and longevity, another topic we often get asked about. Brad is a skeptic.

Caloric Restriction Comment and Response This is Brad’s correspondence with a reader who responded to our article on caloric restriction.

Nutrition Confusion Brad helped me write this article about confusion in the medical world over what a healthy diet is.

Confusion about Nutrition Confusion Brad helped me write this article about a reader’s confusion over our post on confusion about nutrition.

An N of One and An N of All: Personalized Medicine and Personalized Yoga In this post, Brad discusses the difference between studying and treating people in a standardized way versus personalizing their treatments 

Osteoporosis, Balance and Yoga In this post, Brad talks about what he learned about osteoporosis and the dangers of falling from Dr. Clifford Rosen. Yes, yoga can help.

Successful Aging and the Thinking-Moving-Feeling Triad  In this post, Brad wrote about the work of Dr. Dilip Jeste from UCSD, who gave a lecture on the meaning of successful aging and who asked why almost no one asks patients directly to assess their views of their own aging experience.

Does Yoga Wreck Your Body? A Scientist’s Perspective This is  Brad’s response to William Broad’s infamous New York Times article. Spoiler alert: Brad thought the article was very shoddy journalism.

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook and Twitter ° To order Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-Being, go to Amazon, Shambhala, Indie Bound or your local bookstore.

For information about Nina's upcoming book signings and other activities, see Nina's Workshops, Book Signings, and Books.

Relieving Pain Mindfully

by Ram

Landscape with Red Spots by Wassily Kandinsky

Pain is defined as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage” and serves as the body’s inherent protective mechanism to: 

1. Motivate the individual to pull out from a damaging situation and prevent further damage to the tissue 
2. Allow the damaged tissue to rest and begin the healing process
3. Avoid similar encounters. 

Thus, pain in a true sense is beneficial when, for example, your back sustains a blow and the injured tissues need care and protection. Individuals who suffer from congenital insensitivity to the pain response are easily injured and most of them die at an early age.

The phenomenon of pain is generally transient and recedes when the stimulus is removed or the damaged tissue has healed. However, there are certain abnormal pathological conditions where pain is a constant feature and persists for a long time. This is chronic pain that lasts beyond the expected period of healing. Unfortunately, chronic pain brings with it other health issues, including constant fear, worry, anxiety, depression, and memory deficits. Furthermore, when these pain signals traverse through certain areas of the brain, they stimulate a set of autonomic responses resulting in increased heart rate and blood pressure, rapid breathing, and sweating. It is unclear if chronic pain triggers these co-morbidities, or vice versa. 

The entire process—starting from the initial stimulus to the actual pain response and the waning of the pain —involves several specialized receptors, neurochemicals, and transmission of the pain information through specialized channels. The end result is that the damaged area gets flooded by natural opioid-like compounds that have an immediate analgesic effect, making painful accidents much more tolerable. The body’s system of pain control for injuries involves the release of natural opioid compounds, such as enkephalins and endorphins, that bind receptors in the spinal cord to suppress the transmission of pain signals to the brain. But the body cannot produce enough natural opioids to stop severe or chronic pain nor can it produce enough to cause an overdose. Thus, severe or chronic pain will require the incorporation of exogenous opioids. 

Exogeneous opioids are substances that act on the body’s own opioid receptors to produce analgesic/numbing effects and hence are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia. Opioids are indicated for the relief of mild to severe pain, and are effective for the treatment of acute pain (such as pain following surgery). For immediate relief of moderate to severe acute pain opioids are frequently the treatment of choice due to their rapid onset, efficacy, and reduced risk of dependence. Opioids are also prescribed in palliative care to help with the severe, chronic, disabling pain that may occur in some terminal conditions, such as cancer, and degenerative conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. This practice has now led to a new and growing problem with addiction and misuse of opioids. It is estimated that an average of 125 deaths from opioid overdoses occurs per day in the United States. Between July 2016 and September 2017, hospitalizations from opioid overdoses jumped 30 percent nationwide. Data strongly suggest that the rapid rise in opioid addiction, overdose, and death in the last 20 years is largely driven by the increase in prescription of synthetic opioids for pain. As the crisis worsens, pain management options are desperately needed that don’t involve opioids. 

The good news is that there are several studies that report the benefits of yoga in curbing pain. On our blog, we discussed extensively how yoga provides several pain reduction techniques (see How Yoga Helps with Pain and Techniques for Managing Pain with Yoga). In addition to asanas, meditation also improves pain as the individual starts to relax. Research studies show that meditation techniques, including breath awareness, mantra repetition, and visualization can actually improve pain tolerance. Thanks to Jon Kabat-Zinn’s pioneering work in the 1980s, when he developed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), mindfulness meditation has now demonstrated promise for managing chronic pain. 

Mindfulness meditation has been shown in clinical trials to reduce chronic pain significantly. Accomplished meditators can reduce it by over 90 percent. An article published a year ago “Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic-Review and Meta-analysis” found that mindfulness meditation is associated with a decrease in chronic pain compared to all types of controls in 30 randomized trials. Furthermore, mindfulness meditation in pain patients showed promising outcomes on chronic pain-associated health issues, including mood disturbance, anxiety, and depression. These studies conclude that a natural therapeutic approach for chronic pain management, such as mindfulness meditation, would likely be welcomed by patients suffering from acute/chronic pain.

The predominant question among researchers is how mindfulness curbs pain response physiologically. Imaging studies show that mindfulness soothes the brain patterns underlying pain and, over time, these changes take root and alter the structure of the brain itself, so that patients no longer feel pain with the same intensity. Mindfulness pacifies the neural circuits that amplify the pain stimulus. In effect, mindfulness turns down the pain intensity. In addition, mindfulness was more effective at reducing pain-associated inflammatory response that again brings down pain intensity. As the pain ebbs, any anxiety, stress, and/or depression that the individual experiences begins to melt away, the body relaxes, and healing gradually takes over. Recent studies provide further evidence that mindfulness meditation engages mechanisms that are distinct from the opioid and placebo pathways to reduce pain. This is critically important to the millions of patients with that are seeking a non-opioid pain therapy!

Mindfulness can help you reshape your relationship with mental and physical pain. See The Pain of Pain: The Second Arrow and mindful.org to learn more.


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Who is the Teacher?

by Jivana

The other day I was teaching an Accessible Yoga class, and at one point there was a lot of talking going on, and I had to ask the students to stop talking so we could move on to the next practice. This is a common occurrence in my classes. But I realize that in most yoga classes students don’t speak and instead are expected to practice in a reverential silence. It made me think about what I’m trying to achieve in my classes, which is to empower the students by encouraging their personal growth rather than their reliance on me.

I realized that at the heart of accessibility in yoga is a healthy relationship between the student and the teacher. In fact, when I’m training yoga teachers to make their classes more accessible, I like to ask them to reflect on the relationship they foster with their students because it is this relationship that forms the foundation for learning. The way that yoga teachers perceive their role is key. Do they see themselves as performing on a stage or creating a safe container for their students’ growth and transformation? 

We also need to keep in mind that the teacher-student relationship in yoga has a sordid past since so much abuse has happened at the hands of yoga teachers. (Nina addressed this issue in many previous posts, including Yoga Teachers Who Abuse Their Students, When to Fire Your Yoga Teacher, #MeToo and Yoga, and Abuse of Power in the Yoga World.)

I’m currently serving on Yoga Alliance’s Code of Conduct Task Force, which is putting together recommendations for a new Code of Conduct for yoga teachers. I’ve been deeply moved by this process and heartened by the new administration at Yoga Alliance and their openness to my input. They’ll be publishing a draft Code of Conduct by the end of the year, which YA members can vote on. Based on this experience, and YA’s entire Standards Review Project, I feel like we’re on the cusp of a positive shift in the yoga world.

Beyond a stronger code of conduct, I think there needs to be a change in the way that yoga teachers and students perceive their roles. Hopefully we can move to more of an equal relationship rather than the student being subservient to the teacher. Perhaps yoga students need a “Bill of Rights” so they understand what is and what is not appropriate behavior to expect from their teacher? Here are a few suggestions for yoga teachers and students so we can begin making this shift:

Empowerment

For Teachers: Yoga is so much more than simply moving our bodies into animal shapes. We want our students to be empowered, strong, and free. We are guiding students to discover that special combination of self-discipline mixed with compassion that brings them back home to their bodies. We do this by encouraging increased sensory awareness and mental concentration so that the students can turn inward to inhabit the fullness of who they are.

For Students: As a student it’s important to cultivate sensitivity to the body’s wisdom. For example, if you’re experiencing pain during practice that is a sign that you may be injuring yourself, regardless of what the teacher is saying about it. Also, most of the benefits of yoga come from building a regular home practice. If your teacher is not encouraging you to practice at home, you may want to ask them to help you with it. A good teacher will be trying to wean you off of them as soon as possible.

Equity

For Teachers: See the student as our equals. This sounds kind of obvious because, of course, we see students as equal human beings with equal rights. But do we act that way? Do we allow the student to have full control of their bodies and their actions? For example, if you offer an adjustment or correction are you asking the student how it feels before, during, and after? The role of the yoga teacher is not to put bodies into some perfect alignment that creates magic. Rather, the magic of yoga comes from students finding an interior experience of a pose or a breath.

As teachers, we have a difficult role because students can mistake the power of the teachings for the power of the teacher. We have to constantly check on our egos, which is particularly difficult in a commercial environment that demands self-promotion. Can you constantly post selfies on Instagram and be truly humble?

For Students: Remember, it is the power of yoga that is working for you, not the teacher’s power, no matter how wonderful they may be. Sometimes I can tell that a student is putting me on a pedestal and thinking I have some kind of superpower. It’s my job to correct their misunderstanding for my sake and for theirs. A good teacher is like a tour guide. They can point things out to you, but you are the one going on the journey.

Collaboration

For Teachers: Consider your students as equal players in the give and take of teaching. Can you trust in their inner knowledge and encourage them to do the same? Often I find myself offering some pose or technique to a student and they change it slightly to create something that is more effective for them. I’ve learned to be open to learning from my students because they are often my best teachers. In my classes, I’ll often say, “Listen to me, but don’t listen to me.” I realize that some lineages don’t think this way, and I challenge those teachers to find a way to lift up their students.

For Students: An experienced student knows how to advocate for themselves because they’ve learned how to listen to their body and their intuition. For example, if a breathing practice is supposed to be relaxing and instead it makes you anxious, what do you do? Can you talk to your teacher about it or do you assume there’s something wrong with you?

I’m so happy when a student has gained enough self-awareness to know which practices aren’t working for them. Similarly, I love when a student has enough self-awareness to get a prop for themselves because they know it helps them practice more safely. 

I hope these suggestions offer a useful starting point for yoga teachers and students to reflect on their roles in the beautiful dance of yoga teaching and practice. If we can find common ground we can rebuild a yoga culture based on mutual respect, safety, and a common passion for sharing the practices of yoga.


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Follow Jivana Heyman on Facebook and Instagram  and see Jivana's Workshops and Trainings for upcoming workshops and trainings. For information on Accessible Yoga, see accessibleyoga.org and follow Accessible Yoga on Facebook and Instagram.

Video of the Week: Reclined Back Care Sequence

This longer reclined sequence includes three of Baxter's mini reclined vinyasas, all of which he has modified to be safer for those with back problems and to improve spinal stability and flexibility. Although he only takes you through the sequence once, you can repeat it several times if you wish.



Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook and Twitter ° To order Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-Being, go to Amazon, Shambhala, Indie Bound or your local bookstore.

Follow Baxter Bell, MD on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. For upcoming workshops and retreats see Baxter's Workshops and for info on Baxter see baxterbell.com.