Yoga - Can You Downward Dog?

I'll admit, I'm not an expert on this subject, certainly I'm no yogi, but I found the topic of yoga quite fascinating as I began to do some research.  This post is due to a request which I was happy to do, and even more so as I have found some surprising results and interesting information that I would have never known otherwise.

Even though the origin of yoga is debatable, the art of yoga has been around for about 5,000 years beginning in India.  They have found ancient ruins with pictures depicting people in yoga poses.  Like other arts of the eastern culture, yoga is a low intensity exercise meant to unite the spiritual, the mental and the physical. The basic principle is that there is unity in everything.  There are many forms of yoga which seems to open a whole new portal which I'm not ready to step into yet.  The ancient practice was mainly focused on the art of breathing and relaxation - simply a style of meditation.  The modern day yoga has now adapted the art into a more physical exercise, either way the benefits are great.  These are the two main aspects of yoga I would like to share- The Meditation and the Physical Healing.

The Meditation:


It's hard to separate one from the other as the mind heals the body and the body effects the mind.  However, I will do my best to share the benefits of each individually.  While researching about yoga, it seemed that every article had more and more benefits and almost miraculous cures.  It seemed too good to be true.  At a closer look and understanding physiology, it's quite easy to understand how yoga can have so many beneficial effects.  The main key to yoga is meditation.  Anciently, this was used for achievement of unity and enlightenment.  Now, it is used as a form of stress relief.  I don't think I need to share another blog on how dangerous stress can be to our bodies.(http://devereuxhealthtalk.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html#uds-search-results).
 If our stress is not reduced or managed properly, it can have a chronic effect.  If we are always stressed, either physically or mentally, our body will soon deplete of energy and necessary nutrition needed to function properly resulting in several dysfunctions and illnesses: Heartburn, ulcers, GI dysfunction, cancer, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, insomnia, bladder dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, suppression of immune system, cognitive dysfunction, anxiety, depression, increase heart rate, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, hypoxia, and the list goes on.  There is a great article by the Mayo Clinic on how yoga can help manage stress and these stress related conditions - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/yoga/CM00004.  In summery, there are certain poses on yoga (Hatha) that helps with breathing exercises  These exercises are most beneficial.  When we take controlled deep breaths, it automatically helps our body relax.  Deep breathing stimulates the Nucleus Ambigous in the brain which consists of nerves that help our body relax.  Particularly, the Vagus nerve that helps control the lungs and the heart (Kinda important).  When our lungs function properly, we get in the necessary oxygen intake to provide for our brain and tissues.  The Vagus nerve will also slow down the heart rate and lower blood pressure.  When we are in a relaxed state, our body will begin to create new energy sources, our gut will function normally, our immune system will increase, and our blood flow will increase helping our body achieve proper health.  I recommend this article for those who practice or interested in yoga. http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=3209.  It gives more insight on stress related conditions and gives directional guidance to certain poses to relieve stress.  Very informing.

Physical Healing:

There is new research coming out how yoga can provide physical health and therapeutic benefits -  even related to low back pain.  Most research I found showed yoga improves symptoms of back pain more than physical therapy or other self help exercises.  I failed to find any research to compare yoga and chiropractic care (often accepted as the most effective treatment for back pain).  However, several articles stated that yoga is a great complement to chiropractic care.  And here's how so:  The spine as shown to the right (I'm getting more skilled in my blogging, don't you think?) shows the proper curves in a human adult spine.  These curves are important, as it provides stability and strength.  (If a spine loses one of it's curves, it will lose it's strength by half).  The curves can either decrease or become excessive, due to certain stresses in our life.  Here's a chiropractic gem.  You see how the top (cervical) and bottom (lumbar) curves complement each other?   As our cervical curve lessens, or straightens, the lumbar curve becomes excessive to compensate to keep the spine balanced.  This is often the root cause of a low back pain.  So, even though the pain is in the low back, it is merely a compensation for the loss of the cervical curve due to sitting, and looking down in much of our daily activities.  Not only does the straightened curve has devastating effects such as respiratory problems, hypoxia, decreased mental function and other associations with chronic and mental health, the excessive curve decreases the integrity and strength of the spine, creating compression of the spine, possibly compression of nerves creating the pain.  An article from Yoga Basics explains how yoga helps correct spinal dysfunction and posture (http://www.yogabasics.com/learn/yoga-for-a-perfect-posture.html)  Even though I don't agree that yoga is the one answer for posture imbalance and spinal dysfunction, it can play a vital role in helping correct and even maintaining proper posture.  This idea is also backed up by the American Chiropractic Association (http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=3209)  This is a great article, explaining how yoga can be used a a therapy for pain and healing.  Not only does yoga decompress the spine in certain postures, but increases blood flow to tissues and creating motion in the joints.

As a voice of concern, I would caution to make sure the postures are done correctly and for the right use.  In my search, I have seen postures that improve abdominal muscles.  As glamorous as that sounds, it can be more damaging to our health, as we need to improve our extensor back muscles and not so much our abdominal flexors. As well, as stated in the ACA article, it is vital that we correct any vertebral (spinal) dysfunction through chiropractic care.  Doing yoga to improve posture and spinal health is one thing, but to do postures while our spine is compromised can have adverse effects.  If one side of our body's muscles are tight and the other side is weak, if we continue with the exercises, the tight muscles will continue getting tighter and the other side remaining weak, creating an even greater imbalance if the problem is not first corrected.  I guess to say, as beneficial as yoga is, it is important to do correct poses, with the intent they are designed for, and understand their purpose and why we are doing them.  And hopefully then we can achieve the unity of our spiritual, our mental, and our physical health - And back to Namaste