Does yoga really work?

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Does yoga really work?
We look at 5 asanas and see if their method makes
any medical logic.
With the hype generated over the International
Yoga day, I am sure many of us have been tempted
to try out some Asanas. So after my usual Sunday
long run I decided to do one or 2 Asanas.
However, tiredness got the better of me and I
spent a good 2 hours in the sleeping Asana.
But Monday morning and a freshly brewed coffee
got me thinking does Yoga really work? A quick
search over the Internet showed Yoga cures at
least 10 diseases. This seems very interesting
and I decided to delve deeper and uncover how
contorting your body can cure disease.
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Here are 5 Asanas I attempt to demystify
a) Pranayama - Asthma b) Triangle pose Asana -
Diabetes c) Child pose Asana - Indigestion d)
Sirasana - Migraine headaches
e)
Uttanasana Depression
At first look, I am ambivalent on the efficacy of
yoga on these illnesses. Looking from a medical
point of view, all the diseases above can be
considered life style diseases. And modifying
your life style with some changes can help you
treat them. Yoga does recommend life style
changes but the question is if the asanas alone
help. All asanas do promote and change blood flow
but I want to go in-depth and review all the
asanas and see exactly what happens when an Asana
is done.
a) Pranayama-
Pranayama is the art and science of yogic
breathing techniques. Practitioners of Yoga claim
that it helps fight off diseases such as weight
gain and also asthma.
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Asthma is basically an increased hypersensitivity
or responsiveness of the wind pipe to any
allergen. So we need to see if Pranayama can help
reduce this sensitivity. Pranayama claims to
improve the amount of air getting to all parts of
the lung. Theoretically, even though your lungs
can expand to more maximum than they are in
normal breathing, the amount of extra oxygen
coming in would be minimal.
The second logic given is that the increased
respiration causes movement of lymph that boosts
the immune system. This logic does has some merit.
But, Prayanama is not completely safe. Exhaling
is done against a closed glottis and this can
increase lung pressure leading to hematomas or
pneumothorax.
I would say a medical exam would be necessary to
see if you can perform the exercise.
Alternatively, you can consult an Online Doctor
to help clear you for this Asana.
b) Triangle pose Asana-
Also known as the Trikona-asana. This is an asana
where the legs are spread to the shape of a
triangle and person bends sideways in such a way
to face the sky. And the opposite hand is pointed
to the sky. Trikona-asana claims to cure type 2
diabetes. The treatment of type 2
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Diabetes is by diet and exercise(1st line
treatment). Assuming you do yoga but keep
consuming lots of sugary foods, it is unlikely to
help.
However, supposing you restricted your diet, you
can lose some weight with repetition of this
asana as it is relatively an aerobic activity.
So, you do burn calories naturally by this method
and help fight diabetes. But, I would not
recommend that you stop medication and hope that
yoga alone will help.
c) Child pose Asana-
Also known as the Shishuasana. This asana claims
to help with indigestion. The logic is that the
intestine is put under pressure and also the
sphincters of the gastrointestinal tract are
relaxed. And their is then smooth passage of
stools. This seems logical as the increased
pressure with the relaxed sphincters will
logically help with bowel movement.
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But, I would recommend you take a Doctors advice
if the
Indigestion/Constipation do not stop. Also, you
can talk to our Doctors online to get a good diet
plan to stop indigestion and constipation.
d) Sirasana-
This is a supported headstand and is also
nicknamed the king of all asanas. This asana
claims to increase the blood flow to the brain
which is not exactly correct as the body
regulates the blood pressure and will not allow a
big change in the blood to the brain. Also,
assuming that it does in fact increase blood flow
to the head, it actually increases the chance of
a person getting a migraine.
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A migraine or headache occurs due to dilatation
of the blood vessels in the head. So increasing
blood flow to the head would actually make things
worse. I also think doing this asana while having
a headache will make things worse.
If you are not recovering from your headache, I
would recommend you ask our Doctors for a few
things you can try at askthedoctor.com
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e) Uttanasana-
This is a very physical type of stretch and I do
not understand how this would help with
depression. One logic may be that this allows
stretching of certain muscles and increasing the
pain which in turn releases epinephrine which can
fight off depression.
The effects are not going to be astronomical
however and I would recommend people to exercise
caution if they are diagnosed and not to stop
medications if they are on any.
Hope this article was well informative to you!
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