Mind Body Spirit News

Continuing our look at American styles of yoga that blend a variety of influences (see the January issue for the first in the series), this column spotlights Anusara yoga, created by John Friend in 1997.

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), has created a Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) within the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.

Tai chi practice may be a comparable conditioning alternative for adults who cannot tolerate the stresses of a brisk walk.

Stretching is currently the fitness activity with the highest average number of days of participation per year for each participant. According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association’s Tracking the Fitness

In the 12th annual 2007 IDEA Fitness Programs & Equipment Survey, Pilates ranked #6 on the list of most frequently offered programs and activities, reflecting a growth of 49 percentage points since 1999.

Regular meditation practice may protect brain tissue and lessen the cognitive decline that is normally associated with aging, according to a small study published in the October issue of Neurobiology of Aging.

American college students represent a large potential market for body-mind activities that promote relaxation and stress reduction.

Social support continues to be a critical factor for successfully changing lifestyle practices. Turns out, even telephone calls can be a catalyst to improve dietary habits.

Keeping our close emotional relationships harmonious and healthy may reduce the risk of heart disease. In a very large study of 9,011 British civil servants, investigators found that people whose intimate relationships were hostile and angry had a 34% higher chance of heart attack or chest pain than people in good relationships.

Fitness professionals looking for referrals from healthcare practitioners should include naturopathic physicians in their network of contacts. Many individuals who prefer a more holistic approach to health care are choosing to use naturopathic physicians either in combination with conventional medical professionals or on their own.

Qigong is as effective as exercise therapy for alleviating long-term, nonspecific neck pain, according to a small study published in the October 15 issue of Spine

Regular participation in water exercise or tai chi can alleviate the pain and stiffness of chronic arthritis, according to a study published in Arthritis and Rheumatism (2007; 57 [3], 407–14). Australian researchers conducted a randomized, controlled trial of 152 older adults with chronic hip or knee osteoarthritis.

More than 20,000 individuals participated in a 20-minute tai chi class on the grounds of the former Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to The People’s

The Feldenkrais Method® of Somatic Education, developed by Moshe Feldenkrais (1904–1984), continues to grow in popularity. The purpose of Feldenkrais training is to improve movement and enhance functionality.

Young adults who harbor hostility or anger are more likely to suffer from lung disease, according to a paper published in Health Psychology

One of the barriers to consistent meditation practice is that people feel they do not have enough time. A small study conducted in China has shown that meditating as little as 20 minutes daily over a 5-day period can improve both attention and mood.

Body-mind fitness professionals may gain more clients by promoting the stress-relieving benefits of mindful exercise, rather than focusing on its physical conditioning effects.

Doctors may soon be able to recommend exercise as a viable alternative to drug therapy for patients with depression. According to a study published in Psychosomatic Medicine

Practicing mindfulness reduces stress. Could it be helpful for other issues like binge eating or weight management?

Exercise improves depression. In fact, some studies even show that exercise is more effective than prescription antidepressants in preventing depression relapses (see Psychosomatic Medicine [2000; 62, 633–38]). To date, however, scientists have been unable to identify the causal mechanisms that would clarify how exercise helps.

Practicing a daily yoga routine designed specifically for pre- and post-menopausal women helped women feel better and experience less severe menopausal symptoms.

While all yoga practices trace their roots to India, a number of yoga styles that blend a variety of influences have emerged in the United States. One style growing in popularity is referred to as “yin yoga.

Mainstream healthcare practitioners can now confidently encourage yoga practice for clients with low-back pain.

Adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who participated regularly in a 6-month meditation program experienced less emotional distress and a higher quality of well-being than their counterparts who did not meditate.

Prominent medical institutions are integrating more body-mind practices into patient care as evidence of the benefits of these practices mounts. At the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in downtown Baltimore, 7,500 patients come for treatment annually.

Researchers from academic medical centers in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and Romania conducted a randomized clinical trial involving 200 women scheduled for breast cancer surgery. Subjects were assigned to either a 15-minute presurgery hypnosis session or to a nondirected “listening” session with a psychologist.

Fitness professionals should consider sending motivational e-mail messages to clients to help them stay on track with their exercise goals. In a study published in the July issue of Health Psychology (2007; 26 [4], 401–9), researchers found that feedback delivered via e-mail to participants in an exercise program increased short-term adherence as effectively as phone counseling and was potentially more effective than phone counseling in the long term.

For many people, stress and weight gain go hand in hand. Researchers, however, have maintained that stress-related fatness is triggered indirectly by unhealthy habits like overeating, smoking or excessive alcohol consumption, originating from emotional discomfort. Georgetown University scientists have now discovered a direct biological connection between stress and obesity in mice in a study published in Nature Medicine (2007; 13, 803–11).

Do you give your clients positive feedback as they work with you? Do you inform them of your particular job qualifications? If you answered yes, you are providing clients with information that boosts their self-confidence to succeed in training.

Depression is the leading cause of disability, as measured by years lived with a disability, and the fourth leading contributor to disease worldwide in 2000, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Body-mind fitness and wellness professionals should note the growing trend of wellness festivals occurring throughout the nation. For example, in Jackson, Wyoming; Sun Valley, Idaho; Snowmass Village, Colorado; and Mammoth Lakes, California, wellness festivals are now popular annual events, according to an article in The New York Times (August 3, 2007). Festival activities typically include health and nutrition workshops, educational lectures and motivational speakers, as well as fitness experiences such as nature hikes, outdoor cycling and outdoor yoga, all in a resort setting that takes advantage of the inspiration offered by nature’s beauty.

Offering body-mind techniques to help cope with stress may be particularly beneficial for clients who have chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Unmanaged stress is detrimental to the health of all people. However, new research suggests that for those with neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), stress may have an even greater negative impact, causing their disease to worsen.

For people with hypertension, qigong practice may offer a cost-effective alternative or complementary therapy, according to a growing body of research. Investigators conducted a research review of all the randomized clinical trials aimed at testing the benefit of qigong practice in patients with hypertension.

People who deal effectively with stress may enjoy not only greater peace of mind and spirit but also better physical health. In the Normative Aging Study, older Caucasian men with more effective skills for coping with stress had higher levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol than their more hostile or socially isolated peers.

“If you can believe it, you can be it” may be an effective approach to enduring the discomforts of exercise. In a small study, women who thought that they could tolerate the pain of exercise reported less pain than women who did not have faith in their ability to continue exercising through soreness.