How Yoga Techniques Help Chemotherapy

By Faye Martins

Chemotherapy (chemo) is an intensive medical procedure that is usually recommended by oncologists for their patients to prevent the growth or effects of different forms of cancer. During the process of chemotherapy it is very important that patients remain as physically fit and mentally alert as possible. Medical evidence supports the idea that the more chemo patients fight to maintain their health, the better the outcome of their treatment is.

Chemo weakens the body and the mind. As patients undergo their chemo routines, they lose weight and muscle tone. Steroids are given to patients to compensate for the negative effects of chemo. Anti nausea drugs are given, but they also cause constipation. These patients suffer from depression as well, while they are terminated by their employers and medical bills fill their mail boxes. Conventional medicine provides treatment in the form of pharmaceuticals. While these prescriptions alleviate the symptoms, they do not provide lasting results.

Doctors are warming up to the idea of using the benefits of yogic medicine as a means of restoring chemo patients to good health. Yogic science has the dual benefit of strengthening both the body and the mind. Chemotherapy patients need support in both of these vital areas.

Since chemotherapy drains the body, patients are often in no position to go through intensive physical exercise regimes. Restorative and therapeutic yoga training allows for low intensity workouts that focus on every muscle group in the body. What’s more, even someone who is restricted to a hospital bed can perform these exercises. As the body goes stronger, the intensity of restorative asana practice can be gradually increased, always at a level the patient can comfortably cope with.

In order to restore cognitive function during and after chemotherapy, psychotherapy and mental exercises are recommended. In these cases, a therapist works closely with a patient, measuring their progress and making adjustments accordingly. Yogic therapy works in a similar way. As yoga training demands ever-increasing levels of concentration, even the most basic of yogic positions trains the mind to focus intently on one goal. As chemo patients learn to hold their focus, their mental alertness increases steadily.

Depression is one of the most pernicious effects of chemotherapy. Patients undergoing radical changes to their bodies often find themselves unable to cope with these sudden changes. Yogic methodology enables patients to think critically and pragmatically about their experiences, and to develop a plan of action.

Very few medical therapies are as intimately intensive as that of chemotherapy. Chemo patients must deal with hourly assaults on their bodies as well as their spirits. Yogic practices are like nothing else and offer patients a strong methodology of confronting the effects of chemotherapy.

© Copyright – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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What Should a Yoga Instructor Know about Mudras?

By Narendra Maheshri

Yoga mudras are hand gestures used during meditation and some asanas. Mudras are used to guide energy flow to specific parts of the body, or to focus on a specific area of the body. They can be therapeutic, calming, and healing. Some yoga instructors teach a few basic mudras to students during meditation, and others do not. Instructors should know what mudras are, and how they benefit the mind and body. They should also know a few basic mudras to use during class, or in case students have questions.

How to Practice Mudras

Mudras can be practiced anywhere, anytime. It is best to find a quiet spot, where you can sit or lie down. Breathe regularly as you let the energy flow to the specified body part or area. Practice mudras for a few minutes or longer, depending on your preference. For best results, mudras should be performed on a regular basis for about 20 minutes per session.

Benefits of Mudras

Yoga mudras can help channel energy throughout the body, which aids in healing a number of different ailments. If used regularly, mudras can help cure anything from heart illness and cancer to the common cold. Many people find relief from stress and anxiety, muscle and joint pain, or lethargy. There are many different yoga mudras, each with a specific purpose. Yoga teachers should always note that mudras are by no means used as a "miracle cure," but they do produce positive results.

Basic Mudras

Guyan mudra is probably one of the most popular mudras, and is often associated with images of a meditating Buddha, his hands on his knees, the thumb and the tip of the forefinger touching while the other three fingers remain straight. Guyan mudra stimulates knowledge and ability by encouraging receptivity and calm. To impart active knowledge, simply bend the tip of the index finger and allow the thumb to press down on it.

Perform Shuni mudra by placing the tip of the middle finger onto the tip of the thumb. Shuni mudra brings patience to those who practice it.

Surya mudra brings intuition, renewed energy, and health to those who desire help in those areas. Bring the tip of the ring finger to rest on the tip of the thumb.

Achieve Buddhi mudra by placing the tip of the smallest finger on the tip of the thumb. This mudra helps bring about clear and intuitive communication with others.

Apan Vayu mudra strengthens the heart, helps normalize blood pressure, and purifies the entire body. Perform Apan Vayu by folding the index finger and resting it at the base of the thumb. Then touch the tips of the middle and ring fingers to the tip of the thumb, leaving the pinky finger straight.

© Copyright – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

Click here too see our online Yoga Nidra teacher training course.

Are you an experienced teacher looking for YACEP credits or continuing education?

Subscribe to Our Newsletter for Special Discounts and New Products

Related Resources

The YOGA MIND: 

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To see our selection of Online Yoga teacher training courses, please visit the following link.

http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com/store/

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Yoga for Preventative Health

By Sangeetha Saran

Anyone trying to prevent destructive mental and physical health conditions can use different forms of yoga on a regular basis. Yoga has been a popular discipline for hundreds of years beginning in India as a spiritual practice to achieve inner calm. 

A Popular Discipline 

Individuals using yoga poses and breathing techniques each day have often claimed they have fewer chronic or temporary medical conditions. There are a wide variety of specialty yoga forms including Hatha, Vinyasa or Ashtanga that are suitable for beginners to advanced students. Medical practitioners may advise patients to use yoga exercise as an alternative or holistic way to prevent conditions such as arthritis or high blood pressure. Learning yoga is fairly easy for beginners by using online video streaming, on-site classes at exercise studios, DVDs or books. 

Types of Yoga

An individual who is not accustomed to exercise can begin with the Hatha style that is a gentle way to stretch muscles and gain flexibility. This form of exercise is frequently used by senior citizens in assisted living facilities to prevent stiff hip, leg and shoulder joints. While performing the simple poses of Hatha yoga, individuals also increase their blood circulation helping to maintain cardiovascular health. More advanced students will enjoy Vinyasa style yoga that is slightly more strenuous helping individuals to improve their breath control. Having more control over breathing is essential for improving lung function while also decreasing mental anxiety and stress. Alternatively, Ashtanga yoga is an excellent way to build muscle strength with a physically demanding routine of poses that will increase an individual’s endurance.

Suitable for Everyone 

Yoga is suitable for most individuals in different age groups including children and teenagers. While many forms of exercise are expensive to begin, yoga does not require specialized equipment or clothing. For additional comfort, many individuals like to use a soft rug or mat to stand, sit or lie on instead of a hard floor. Wearing loose clothing and comfortable shoes is also helpful during many of the yoga poses. Some of the physical conditions prevented by yoga exercise include osteoarthritis or degenerative disc disease that leads to debilitating low-back pain. Individuals engaging in yoga exercise can often strengthen muscles surrounding their knee joints enough to avoid needing surgery on the meniscus. Yoga improves brain function because it increases the oxygen levels in the body while reducing high adrenaline levels that can cause depression, anxiety and dementia.

© Copyright 2016 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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The Dance of Shiva: Dissolution

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed

Shiva is one of the most beloved deities in the Hindu pantheon of gods and goddesses. He is often portrayed standing in a commanding fashion with a three-pronged trident in his right hand. The three prongs of the trident are said to represent the three different aspects of Shiva's energy. The first aspect of Shiva is his power to create. Shiva's energy is said to vacillate between the powers of creation, sustenance and dissolution. In his creative aspect, Shiva embodies the energy and power of manifestation. In Shiva's sustaining aspect, we see the ability to maintain cohesiveness on the physical plane. 

In Shiva's ability to dissolve that which he has crated and sustained, we often see the embodiment of the fiery energy of destruction. The fiery aspect of Shiva that represents his ability to dissolve that which he has created can be quite useful, both on and off the Yoga mat. In terms of a Yoga class, a continuous flow of powerful standing postures, balancing poses and energizing back bending asanas are optimally balanced by a closing series of restorative seated forward folds and reclining postures at the end of class. 

Although this may seem obvious to most of us, when we are actually on the Yoga mat practicing, many of us find that we are resistant to actually slowing down and allowing ourselves to be enfolded in this energy of dissolution. In our fast-paced society today, accomplishing as many tasks as possible is highly regarded. On the other hand, taking the time to be mindfully aware of our surroundings, a beautiful flower, or the jubilant smile of a child playing in the park is not quite as valued. However, by taking the time to slow down and allow yourself to dissolve into the peaceful, clear light of awareness that you generated during your Yoga practice, will help you to be able to slow down during the extraordinary moments of life on a daily basis. 

If you are a Yoga teacher, by sequencing a Yoga class so that a class mirrors the three different aspects of Shiva's energy, you will be guiding your students through a balanced practice of Yoga postures, which will leave them both energized and calm. You will also be naturally offering your Yoga students a series of counter-poses to many of the more vigorous standing postures, arm balances and back bending poses, which are traditionally found in many vinyasa-based classes. If you are engaging in your own personal practice at home, by allowing yourself the time to truly rest and enter into a state of dissolution at the end of your Yoga practice, you will allow your mind and body the time to leave the mat truly restored and replenished.

As the temperatures begin to increase ever so slightly in the Northeastern United States, we are beginning to see an inkling of the spring that is just around the corner. As we begin to come out of the darkness of the winter months, the resurgence of new life can be felt just under foot. In many ways, the flow of the seasons mirrors the different aspect of Shiva. For instance, the coming radiant warmth of the summer season mirrors the sustaining qualities found in Shiva's ability to maintain his creation. 

When the fall leaves begin to drop and the temperatures cool during late autumn, the time of quiet introspection is offered to us again as the cycle of life and death, creation and dissolution, continues to flow in a seamless fashion. As a Yoga practitioner, by allowing yourself ample time on your mat to entering into a state of dissolution through the practice of restorative Yoga postures, such as Fire Log Pose, Extended Child's Pose and Shavasana, you will be honoring the flow of the seasons by embodying Shiva’s trifold nature and aligning yourself more intimately with the flow of the energy of creation itself. 

Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York, where she works as a writer and an academic support specialist. She is currently accepting Yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com. 

© Copyright 2015 – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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