Author:
Publication: BBC News
Date: October 27, 2001
URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1620000/1620548.stm
Madonna is a big fan. So is Sting.
They are just two stars who are devoted practitioners to the discipline
of yoga.
An increasing number of people have
taken up the ancient eastern health and fitness practise. But in the UK
there is still a degree of scepticism among health experts.
Oona Mashta talks to yoga practitioners
and doctors to find out whether it really is good for you.
When Shri K Pattabhi Jois, the foremost
exponent of Ashtanga yoga, visited London this month hundreds of people
flocked to his classes.
Pattabhi Jois, who is now in his
eighties, developed and refined Ashtanga yoga after translating ancient
texts on the technique.
The technique, which is the most
vigorous form of yoga, has become increasingly popular throughout the Western
world.
Pattabhi Jois who still teaches
daily at his research institute in Mysore, India has said that yoga is
mind medicine.
"Ashtanga yoga is helping many people
throughout the world to balance the mental, physical and spiritual pressures
and stresses posed by the modern world we live in today," he said.
The basic premise of Ashtanga yoga
is that it produces an intense internal heat through synchronising movement
with breathing while practising a set sequence of postures.
Pattabhi Jois says that this heat
purifies the muscles and organs, expelling unwanted toxins as well as releasing
beneficial hormones and minerals which can nourish the body when the sweat
is absorbed back into the skin.
Flexibility
Yoga practitioners claim that all
forms of the discipline offer health and physical benefits - from lowering
blood pressure to improving flexibility.
Often the first basic lesson of
a yoga class is deep, rhythmic breathing, which practitioners say can help
to relieve respiratory complaints including asthma, as well as feeding
more oxygen to the muscles to boost their strength.
It also helps to improve posture
by teaching relaxation of the neck, shoulders and upper back, easing tension
that can trigger aches and pains in the back.
Certain postures can also help to
lengthen and strengthen the spine.
Yoga practitioners also claim that
specific postures such as abdominal twists gently massage internal organs
including the kidneys to improve their efficiency while forward bends can
stimulate the digestive processes to help ease indigestion problems.
The inverted postures such as the
head and shoulder stands, boost blood circulation and therefore improve
skin tone.
The deep relaxation exercises normally
practised at the end of a class can also relieve stress and anxiety, they
claim.
Brain treatment
Tim Naylor, a therapist at the Yoga
Therapy Centre at Royal Homoeopathic Hospital, London, uses yoga to treat
conditions that involve the brain.
He explains: "A lot of people deny
that the brain is involved in their medical condition but often for example
lower back pain can be caused by mental tension which leads to stiffness
in the neck or back.
"Yoga works on the subconscious
which has a powerful effect over the body.
"It can get into the subconscious,
which might be holding tensions caused by stress, and help to let them
go in a controlled safe fashion and eventually the medical or health problem
that was caused by the tension will disappear.
"But yoga is a complementary therapy
and should therefore be used in conjunction with conventional medicine."
Aerobic exercise
But Dr Mayur Lakhani, vice-chairman
of the Royal College of General Practitioners, advocates exercise over
yoga.
He said: "There is a lot of strong
evidence based research that proves regular aerobic exercise can help to
prevent heart disease, so that is the model GPs promote.
"Twenty to 30 minutes of exercise
that increases the heart rate, including a brisk walk, swimming and cycling,
done three times a week can help people to lose weight and prevent heart
problems.
"There is no research evidence to
support the claims that yoga can relieve any medical conditions. Doctors
would need to see evidence to substantiate them before promoting yoga which
might in fact be unsafe and harmful for some people to do."
Mandy Belch, a physiotherapist with
the Scottish Institute of Sport in Glasgow, said: "People who sit at a
desk all day and the only exercise they get is walking to their car, need
to do more vigorous exercise than yoga."
But Ken Simmons, chairman of the
British Wheel of Yoga, the governing body of yoga in the UK said: "Everyone
can benefit from practising yoga as it's a holistic discipline that helps
the body, mentally, physically and spiritually."
