Yoga News and Research

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Yoga is an ancient system of practices used to balance the mind and body through exercise, meditation (focusing thoughts), and control of breathing and emotions. Yoga is being studied as a way to relieve stress and treat sleep problems in cancer patients.

Benefits of complementary and alternative medicine for back pain

Got a pain in the neck or back? Relief could be just an adjustment away. In a recent study, "Perceived Benefit of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for Back Pain" (Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, May - June 2010, Vol. 23 No.3), the majority of respondents receiving CAM for back pain reported significant benefits from the various treatments.

29 Jun 2012

Medical professionals challenged to be better role models for their patients

In an era of soft drink bans and restrictions on junk food ads, students at the Johns Hopkins University schools of medicine and nursing are recommending a different approach to aid the more than 170 million Americans who are overweight or obese. By publicly committing to basic tenets of healthy living — regular exercise, eating a balanced diet and managing stress — future nurses and physicians are challenging peers and practicing medical professionals to model healthy behaviors for their patients.

7 Jun 2012

Researchers look into value of adapted yoga for stroke rehabilitation

Researchers looking into the value of adapted yoga for stroke rehabilitation report that after an eight-week program, study participants demonstrated improved balance and flexibility, a stronger and faster gait, and increased strength and endurance.

31 May 2012

Nuclear radiation exposure more serious than previously believed

Recent news reports and scientific reviews warn that nuclear radiation exposure is more serious than we believed. Just recently, the UK Guardian published an article titled, "Fukushima reactor shows radiation levels much higher than thought."

25 May 2012

Exercise can add years to a person's life

A recent study has shown that exercise can add years to a person's life. Still, as we age it can become more tedious and sometimes more difficult to exercise.

23 May 2012

Exercise could reduce risk of asthma symptoms or attacks

Not only is it safe for people with asthma to exercise, but doing so could reduce their risk of asthma symptoms or attacks, according to a new evidence review in The Cochrane Library.

19 May 2012

Lecture discusses how negative emotions fuel cancer formation and metastasis

When it comes to cancer, there are obvious mind-body links. Stress, pessimism and other emotional factors have been proven to play a role, increasing the risk of cancer, metastasis and early mortality. This is a double-whammy for cancer patients, who must overcome anxiety from the moment they are diagnosed. In particular, stress has been shown to depress the immune system, increase inflammation and affect our bodies on the molecular level, even damaging DNA.

17 May 2012

Combination of exercise and computer decreases risk of MCI

Combining mentally stimulating activities, such as using a computer, with moderate exercise decreases your odds of having memory loss more than computer use or exercise alone, a Mayo Clinic study shows. Previous studies have shown that exercising your body and your mind will help your memory but the new study, published in the May 2012 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, reports a synergistic interaction between computer activities and moderate exercise in "protecting" the brain function in people better than 70 years old.

2 May 2012

LUHS to celebrate Nurses Week from May 7- 11

Loyola University Health System (LUHS) will celebrate Nurses Week from May 7- 11. The theme for the week, "Healthy Nurses, Healthy Teams, Healthy Patients," celebrates all that nurses do to improve the health of their patients and the community.

2 May 2012

Out-of-state insurers show no interest in Georgia

A new law that allows Georgians to buy health insurance plans approved by other states was envisioned as free-market solution that would lower prices and increase choices. So far, the law has failed to produce results: Not a single insurer is offering a policy under the new law. "Nobody has even asked to be approved to sell across state lines," Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said.

30 Apr 2012

Checklist for seniors to reduce risk of falls

For those 65 and older, falling can be fatal; in fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths among this age group, and some 40 percent of seniors fall at least once each year. Additionally, one in four who sustains a hip fracture from a fall will die within a year, and another 50 percent will never return to their pre-fall level of mobility.

27 Apr 2012

New Contemplative Sciences Center at University of Virginia

Can meditation, yoga or mindfulness training help nurses and teachers be more effective and resilient in stressful situations? Can such contemplative practices be part of a more effective treatment regimen for major depression, or for alcoholics in recovery?

11 Apr 2012

Swedish Neuroscience Institute to open new MS Center

Swedish Neuroscience Institute (SNI) will open its new MS Center at Swedish to patients on April 9. Carefully designed for easy accessibility and to promote the well-being of people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the new 11,700-square-foot center gives SNI the ability to consolidate all of its MS services into one facility.

7 Apr 2012

Yoga can help prevent mental health problems in high-school students

Yoga classes have positive psychological effects for high-school students, according to a pilot study in the April Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

5 Apr 2012

First study to examine link between cumulative traumatic stress exposure and inflammation

Greater lifetime exposure to the stress of traumatic events was linked to higher levels of inflammation in a study of almost 1,000 patients with cardiovascular disease led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

30 Mar 2012

Longer looks: Health literacy's effect on costs

In many families, women are the health care decision makers. When children go for their checkups, we are often the ones who make the appointment and sit in the room holding their hand. When elderly parents see a new specialist, we are the ones carrying the folder with all their health information. ... In the past, this also meant that many women would take care of their own health last. By the time they got around to it, women found a system stacked against them. But thanks to the health care law, that's changed.

23 Mar 2012

Meditation improves ability to cope with stress and increases telomerase activity

Calmly meditating produces exciting, beneficial effects on your body. It can protect your DNA against cancer-promoting genetic developments and free you from everyday stresses and distractions. That's why meditation is one of the most powerful, but often neglected, tools for maintaining optimal health.

21 Mar 2012

Exercise can induce sexual pleasure, female orgasm

Findings from a first-of-its-kind study by Indiana University researchers confirm anecdotal evidence that exercise -- absent sex or fantasies -- can lead to female orgasm.

19 Mar 2012

Yoga can improve cognitive functioning and reduce depression in dementia caregivers

For every individual who's a victim of Alzheimer's - some 5.4 million persons in the United States alone - there's a related victim: the caregiver. Spouse, son, daughter, other relative or friend, the loneliness, exhaustion, fear and most of all stress and depression takes a toll.

14 Mar 2012

Yoga may be effective in treating patients with stress-related psychological and medical conditions

An article by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), New York Medical College (NYMC), and the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons (CCPS) reviews evidence that yoga may be effective in treating patients with stress-related psychological and medical conditions such as depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and cardiac disease.

7 Mar 2012