Assignment Two

Erika Calix

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Introduction

It has been joined to the trending world the stretching, and mind-healing activity called

yoga. People around the world are expressing their love and support to the healthy results that

Commented [1]: Add a running page number in your header

Commented [2]: A clearer introduction sentenced. “It has been joined to the trending world”?

Commented [3]: The world we now know of computers and technology is there really time for anything else? There has been a huge trend in the world for quite a while now the stretching, and mind-healing activity called Yoga.

come along with this activity, but the thing that most of them -even though it appears to be all the

“yoga lovers”- are no quite aware yet, is that sometimes it can actually provoke some negative

outcomes with their bodies. To make a contradiction to this, experts and scientists have shared

their studies that show positive effects being more powerful and constant than anything else. In

my case, yoga is not present in my life to decrease any illness, but on the other hand, I decided

to incorporate this activity in my schedule for the simple fact that it makes the stress go away. It

might not keep it away forever, but it provides peace and tranquility for at least a period of time.

It helps me to leave all the other problems behind, and clear my mind from school work, drama,

complications, and insecurities. Also, when this is constantly practiced, it has been said that

some possible health problems happen to decrease, maybe by improving the heart rate, or fixing

that back pain that has been a bother for years now. Everyone is invited to join the yoga

community, adults, teenagers, or even children could be seen having a good time at the gym;

availability is the best thing this activity has to offer. It could be an interesting way to strengthen

the relationship with family or friends, or even better, with yourself, by accomplishing the

perfect connection between body and mind. Throughout this paper we will investigate the

implications of yoga on physical, mental and emotional health.

Literature Review

Terms:

Yoga: Many documents state that yoga emerged a long time ago; for example, the article Yoga

in Cardiac Health mentioned that yoga was evolved approximately 5000 years ago in the Indian

Peninsula and when that occurred, around 840,000 different postures were created along with it.

Yardi (2001) defines yoga as a traditional psycho-philosophical-cultural method of leading one’s

life. At the same time, she implies that it helps with stress and the achievement of relaxation

Commented [4]: What are some negative outcomes?

Commented [5]: I like that you added these terms. Perhaps you could add a terms layout like this for a couple different poses you talked about below?

becomes easier. On the other hand, based on Chaya’s (2006) opinion, yoga can be used to obtain

mental, spiritual, and physical well-being by trying to balance the internal and external

environments, as well as working different parts of the body like the right and left, the front and

back, the passive and active, and at last the overwork and underworked parts of the body just like

Collins (2006) describes.

Pranayama: This particular word is used to describe the breathing control when

individuals perform yoga (Yardi, 2001).

Asanas: Yardi (2001) also tells the readers that this word is used to refer to the different

type of physical postures used in yoga.

Dhyana: Many methods are used in yoga; for instance this one is applied to the concept

of meditation (Yardi, 2001).

Yuj: Collins (2006) specifies through her article the meaning of the word yoga; she

explains that this particular word is the Sanskrit root which has the significance of yoke, to join,

to be able to concentrate and direct the attention.

-

Clinical Trials on Yoga

There have been many different types of clinical trials performed to identify the effects

that yoga has on people. Not too long ago, scientists conducted an experiment that consisted on

grouping female adolescents that appeared to have a painful menstrual cycle. The study was

done at the Azab University by Zahra Rakhshaee; he mentioned in his article that the proper

name for this type of problem is called primary dysmenorrhea and it affects around 50% of

young females (Rakhshaee, 2011). The experiment incorporated a control group as well as an

experimental group. The participants in the experimental group had to fill out a questionnaire for

Commented [6]: Hard to follow because the sentence is kind of a run-on. Or break up the sentence better. Either that or use a direct quote.

Commented [7]: Add what figure world is. Because it is not common knowledge

three of their menstrual cycles. At the same time, they had to do yoga by doing specifically three

different asanas. The end result showed that the pain intensity and duration of the adolescents

had a drastic decreased (Rakhshaee, 2011). Chaya (2006) reported on an experiment that the

basal metabolic rate of individuals can be decreased by doing combined yoga for approximately

six months. Another clinical trial was performed on college students; the purpose for that study

was to conclude if yoga had an effect on lung function and cardiovascular endurance. The 15

week experiment resulted on a good number out of 287 students with improved lung and

cardiovascular functioning (Raud, 2004). A drastic improvement in pain and relaxation was

experienced by certain breast cancer women that decided to participate in a study. All they had to

do to feel better was practice yoga for one hour per day (Carson, 2007).

Effects of Yoga

Yoga can have an unexpected effect on particular individuals with different types of

diseases. For example, based on Tiffany Field (2011), there are distinct health areas that yoga

can affect positively and some examples of them can be psychological conditions such as

depression and anxiety. Field (2001) also mentioned the possibility of yoga poses helping with

pain syndromes, cardiovascular, immune and autoimmune conditions as well as women in the

pregnancy state. This particular statement is examined more by Collins (2006), she states that the

musculoskeletal consequences of pregnancy are ease thanks to particular stretching poses

conducted during yoga. Nowadays, it can be seen the big amount of individuals having to deal

with different illnesses that have appeared but also there are various methods of healing. Yoga

has become one of the main “medicines” used by people to try to cure an illness; for example,

yoga meditation is being used to help those with epilepsy and seizures (Yardi, 2001). Other

serious diseases that have been decreased or have been completely cured on people are muscular

relaxation, respiratory rate and most importantly the calming of the mind (Chaya, 2006).

Scientist are not the only ones accepting the fact that yoga can help better the life of individuals;

doctors are also agreeing with the fact that yoga have helped some of their patients by lowering

the brain activity by conducting repetitive yoga postures and decreasing heart rate and blood

pressure (Marcinkowsk, 2003). Blood pressure can be controlled by practicing yoga for about 11

weeks but the best part is that it only have to be for 1 hour per day (Jayasinghe, 2004). High

blood pressure can result from not exercising or eating accordingly, therefore, many individuals

around the world have become overweight. To fight this problem, people incorporate yoga into

their everyday exercise as a way to lose weight slowly and to create a better life style

(SUTHERLAND, 2013).

Different postures

Yoga is made up of different asanas (poses) with the whole purpose of helping every part

of the human body. Different yoga poses aid people in different ways but the following poses,

Cobra, Cat, Fish help women with painful menstrual cycles (Rakhshaee, 2011). Based on

Jayasinghe’s (2004) article yoga also proves to be a natural remedy to heart problems and even

lowers blood pressure. If yoga is practiced over a long period of time then considerable

differences in the human body can be seen which are beneficial. Yoga is a positive thing and is

most helpful to pregnant women and children as expressed in Collins (2006) article. Yoga helps

ease muscles and joints and strengthens the mind. In pregnant women yoga can make childbirth

less painful and an easier transition. Raub’s (2004) article talks about how yoga can improve

symptoms that are caused by repetitive movements such as Osteoarthritis. yoga consists of

resting poses that relax the distressed areas.

Entering the conversation

Commented [8]: You don’t have to reference so much. You can paraphrase.

Most of the time, particular activities incorporated in the lives of people seem to be

performed with less difficulty as those that are not as familiarize with them. The only reason for

becoming more experience about something is the fact that individuals might practice that

specific activity more and they also might have a bigger passion for it. I have seen people trying

to be more involved in different activities just because they want to experience something new or

because they want to better their lives but most importantly they want to better their health. No

having the time or the desire to participate in activities can make people believe that they can be

performed easily. On the other hand, nothing should be said or assumed until being able to have

had the opportunity to experience certain activities. For example, it can be assumed that yoga is

one of the most easily performed exercises that exists but that is not the truth, yoga can be

difficult in every single aspect of it. At the end, just like everything else, it is possible to find a

way to start an activity to later become familiarize with it.

When something new is about to be incorporated in the life of someone, most of the time

it is better to start with the basic parts. For instance, for someone new in the figurative world of

yoga it might be very difficult to perform the positions directed by an instructor. Therefore, it is

recommended for individuals thinking about making yoga part of their lives to first start a

stretching routine every morning when they wake up. This particular activity helps the tendons

and joints in the body as well as making it more flexible. Starting with activities like this one can

really benefit a person with the main positions involved in yoga later on. After a couple months

of stretching, other things need to be done to keep getting prepare and not feel or think that yoga

is a hard exercise to perform.

Preparing the body for different movements and actions is very important but preparing

Commented [9]: The sentence is a little unclear. Maybe use the actual questions to present your conversation.

Commented [10]: Give examples. Make it relatable to the reader, engage them.

Commented [11]: Begin the sentence differently. It dies not flow well . Wait you meant “Not”…haha

the mind by obtaining knowledge about a particular subject is good as well. In yoga, people are

going to come across words describing a particular position and sometimes those words will be

expressed in a different language. Most of the time, the yoga instructor will assumed the students

are accustomed to that type of spoken words. Consequently, for a beginner student it would not

be a bad idea to do research, especially on the names and descriptions of the different position

but most importantly on the positions that are popular in yoga sessions. One important word

known mostly by everyone that has entered the world of yoga is Namaste and it means the

respect and gratitude involved between the instructor and the students (Calix, 2014). The basic

poses that should be known by beginners are “the bridge”, “mountain”, “downward and upward

facing dog”, and “warrior”; I could keep going and going with the list if we were talking about

all the poses that have been created in yoga but for someone that is about to start a yoga class

those poses mentioned are the ones that will be helpful to know.

So what? ------- Conclusion

Many individuals might ask themselves, why should I get engaged on exercises and other

activities? The answer to that question should be fairly clear, especially now when the population

is aware of the tragic situations happening in the U.S. And when I say tragic, I am referring to

really bad habits that people have incorporated into their lives; for example, having a sedentary

life and eating in excess would later make them develop overweight or even obesity. These can

be considered as two health problems that are commonly occurring in the modern society.

Obesity has increased, and keeps dramatically increasing in this country, therefore, something

should be but in practice to try to prevent it. Like it was mentioned earlier, yoga is a key

performance to decrease existing diseases, to maintain a healthy body and to prevent any

Commented [12]:

physical discomfort. So there is no valid reason for people to decide not to do something that will

be beneficial for their own health. We all encounter difficulty and challenges throughout our

lives, but that is what make humans appreciative, especially at the end when the goal is

completed and all that can be seen are the positive results.

Works Cited

Calix, E., (2014) Assignment One, How Yoga Affects Health, English 1102

Carson, J. W., Carson, K. M., Porter, L. S., Keefe, F. J., Shaw, H., & Miller, J. M. (2007). Yoga

for Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer: Results from a Pilot Study. Journal of Pain

and Symptom Management, 33(3), 331-341. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from the

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management database.

Chaya, M. (2006). The effect of long term combined yoga practice on the basal metabolic rate of

healthy adults.BiomedCentral, 6(28), 1-6. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from the

BioMedCentral database.

Collins, C. (2006). Yoga: Intuition, Preventive Medicine, and Treatment. Journal of Obstetric,

Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 27(5), 563–568. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from

the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing database.

Field, T. (2011). Yoga clinical research review. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice,

17(1), 1-8. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from the Complementary Therapies in Clinical

Practice database.

Jayasinghe, S. R. (2004). Yoga in cardiac health (A Review). European Journal of

Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation, 11(5), 369-375. Retrieved February 27,

2014, from the European Journal of Preventive database.

Marcinkowsk, V. (2003). YOGA. Science World, 59(9/10), 28.

Rakhshaee, Z. (2011). Effect of Three Yoga Poses (Cobra, Cat and Fish Poses) in Women with

Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Pediatric and

Adolescent Gynecology,24(4), 192-196. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from the Journal of

Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology database.

Raub, J. A. (2004). Psychophysiologic Effects of Hatha Yoga on Musculoskeletal and

Cardiopulmonary Function: A Literature Review. Journal of Alternative and

Complementary Medicine, 8(6), 797-812. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from the Journal

of Alternative and Complementary Medicine database.

SUTHERLAND, P. (2013). Yoga XXL: A Journey to Health for Bigger People. Foreword,

16(4), 83-84.

Yardi, N. (2001). Yoga for control of epilepsy. ScienceDirect, 10(1), 7-12. Retrieved February

21, 2014, from the ScienceDirect database.