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1800.082.989researcher and yoga therapist Cheryl
Fenner Brown. Her study also showed
a correlation between practicing the
“contemplative” aspects of yoga –
intention setting, mudra, pranayama,
and fi nal relaxation – and a greater
increase in emotional and spiritual
well-being.
“Participation in the Healing Yoga
for Cancer Survivorship (HYCS)
protocol showed an 8.8 percent
decrease in physical symptom severity
(i.e. fatigue, sleep disturbance, pain,
and interference of side effects), a 6.6
percent increase in functional
well-being (i.e. ability to work,
concentration, ability to sleep, and
acceptance of illness), to a 10.3 percent
decrease in emotional symptom
severity (i.e. sadness, nervousness,
worry about recurrence, and
hopelessness), and 13.9 percent
increase in spiritual well-being (i.e.
peacefulness, life purpose, harmony,
self-reliance, and gratitude),” says
Fenner Brown, who developed the
HYCS protocol. Study participants
included 19 cancer survivor (both men
and women) with an average age of
56 years and an average time since
completing radiation and
chemotherapy treatment of just over
three years. Their diagnoses included
breast cancer, lymphoma, leukemia,
melanoma, and neuro-endocrine,
endometrial, ovarian, brain, rectal
and kidney cancers.
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Promising fi ndings out of the
University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA) suggest that Iyengar yoga may
be effective, offering relief for patients
with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an
autoimmune disease that causes
fatigue, stiffness, and joint pain
and can lead to joint and bone
deterioration if left untreated. In the
study, Iyengar yoga classes were
offered to 11 women with RA for 6
weeks, while a control group of 15
women continued with their regular
lives for the duration of the study. The
result, says UCLA pain researcher
Kirsten Lung, showed that the yoga
practitioners had improved in several
areas – including general health and
vitality – while the control group
stayed the same.
However, the yoga practitioners
did not report a difference in their
pain levels – only their ability to
cope with the pain. But it was also
determined that six weeks was
probably not long enough to make
a fi rm determination about whether
yoga might be able to help pain.
And, as most pain doctors will tell
us, the ability to cope better with
pain means less stress. Less stress
means less muscle tension and
cortisol in the body, which often
naturally leads to less actual pain.CARPEL TUNNEL
Although yoga teachers have been using
yoga to successfully treat carpal tunnel
syndrome for years, the fi rst scientifi c
evidence of its effectiveness came in a
1998 article found in the Journal of the
American Medical Association. In a
randomised trial of 42 patients
conducted at the Medical College of
Pennsylvania, half of he patients took
part in an eight-week program of
Iyengar yoga while the control group
received wrist splints. Marian Garfi nkel,
they study’s lead author and senior
teacher of the Iyengar method of yoga,
taught the subjects in the yoga
group 11 yoga postures designed to
strengthen and stretch each joint in
the upper body, along with Savasana.
After the intervention, the people
who had done yoga had less pain
and a signifi cant improvement in
grip strength compared with the
controls. While the group studied
was small, and a longer-range
study might be more revealing,
the results were encouraging.
For further information on Iyengar
yoga in Australia head to http://
iyengaryoga.asn.au“Participation in the Healing Yoga for Cancer Survivorship
(HYCS) protocol showed an 8.8 percent decrease in
physical symptom severity .”