SCIENCE AWAKES TO BENEFITS OF YOGA

YOGA IS EFFECTIVE FOR OLDER
PEOPLE WITH INSOMNIA, STUDY

www.theage.com.au - Practising yoga is just ahead of Australian rules football in the list of the most popular physical activities among the citizens of this country - at least according to surveys. Researchers have also found that yoga and meditation can assist a range of health problems and medical conditions, including chronic pain, lower back pain, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, while also reducing the need for pain-relief medicines. New research at RMIT University has found that yoga can help older people overcome insomnia and improve their mental and emotional health. 
The study found that practising yoga for at least 25 minutes a day for 12 weeks improved the sleep patterns of the volunteers taking part and enhanced their psychological and emotional wellbeing. The RMIT study was unusual because most of the research was carried out in Israel and involved 74 Israelis aged from 60 to 87. 

Professor Marc Cohen, foundation professor of complementary medicine at RMIT who supervised the research, says the findings show yoga is an effective, affordable and safe exercise for older people with insomnia. Insomnia is a debilitating problem and one of the most frequent health complaints among the elderly. “We wanted to explore this because insomnia impairs daily function, reduces quality of life and is a risk factor for other health issues for older people. Drugs used to help treat this condition are only recommended for short-term use and have limited effectiveness,” Professor Cohen says. 
“Regular yoga practice may have multiple benefits to the individual and to the community, and may reduce the burden on the healthcare system due to associated lifestyle choices such as vegetarianism, non-smoking, reduced alcohol consumption, increased exercise, reduced stress, and other mental and physical health benefits,” say researchers.

Insomnia is recognised as a major cause of morbidity in the elderly and is associated with diminished mental and physical health and reduced quality of life, along with increased likelihood of nursing home placement and increased risk of accidents and falls, says Dr Jonathan Halpern. The studies that have been done showed yoga did improve some subjective sleep quality and quality of life measures of older people, explains Dr Halpern. Sedative-hypnotic drugs are currently the main form of treatment for insomnia, but these have a limited effect and are associated with various side-effects, including daytime drowsiness, that further increase the risk of accidents and falls. On the other hand, many studies have shown that yoga provides various physical and mental health benefits including reduction of stress, anxiety, depression, somatic and mental hyper-arousal.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Regular practice of Yoga keeps the physical and mental organs active and maintains their natural condition. Needless to say that natural functioning of organs is the main mantra for a healthy living. The life dependent on artificial organs cannot be stable. Over medication, especially allopathic medicines finish the chances of rejuvenation of physical organs in their natural form leaving aside their sensitivity. A medicine taken to cure a particular disease, gives rise to a new disease. These physical diseases finally give birth to mental diseases. ... It is necessary to strengthen the muscles and nerves in order to keep the body healthy. Posture and exercise strengthen the muscles and nerves. Exercise plays a very important role in supplying the nourishment to different parts of the body obtained through food. Absence of exercise gives rise to imbalanced body. The therapists are using different yogasanas in the successful treatment of various diseases.

Remedy Spot.com - “Yoga and Pranayama”
“Transformation of the Body through Yoga”
Health, Ayurveda, Yoga and Natural Healing
Posted by Acharya Balkrishna - Published on 11-01-2011
http://www.remedyspot.com/articles/244-transformation-body-through-yoga.html

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/