For several years now, you must have noticed the banner headline which appears on many of the pages of this website: “Because Yoga is Medicine”. Recent research data, presented at the annual yoga therapy convention (SYTAR), confirms my contention.
Medications, given either in injectable form or by mouth, often can be measured in the bloodstream, with peak and trough levels. These levels can be used to adjust dosage to achieve optimal effects. Illustrated above is a typical pharmacokinetic curve, which shows how a drug level peaks in the blood stream and then levels taper off with time. Each drug has its own half-life, which is the time necessary for the concentration of drug in the plasma to decrease by half. Half-life is affected by the method by which the drug is eliminated from the body. A steady state is reached when the dosage is high enough and the interval between administration short enough so that blood concentration levels closely approximate elimination rates.
Yoga benefits in stress and anxiety reduction are measured in a number of ways. Elevated cortisol levels are an indicator of a heightened sympathetic nervous system, ready for “fight or flight”. Stress results in impaired function of the central gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system, which provides the brain's major inhibitory (i.e. parasympathetic, or “rest and relax” autonomic nervous system) pathways. Cortisol levels are readily measured in the blood, and GABA levels can now be observed with magnetic resonance brain scans.
Not surprisingly, after yoga class, blood cortisol levels reliably fall and brain GABA levels rise. In addition, heart rate and blood pressure levels fall, and questionnaires directed at anxiety and stress levels show marked improvement.
This is all well and good, and should come as no surprise to anyone reading this blog. What may be surprising is how short-lived are the beneficial effects of yoga. Cortisol levels creep back up, GABA levels fall, and heart rate and blood pressure readings go back up by the next day. One might well think that our high-stress environment contributes to the rapid fall-off in benefits from yoga practice.
Net result of the recent research is the recommendation that yoga not be restricted to once or twice a week. The subjects who had the best results in terms of stress reduction were those who practiced some form or other of yoga daily. These folks had achieved the steady state, where the intervention was given often enough to balance the elimination of the beneficial effects.
Makes sense?
So the question is, does a person need to attend a yoga class every day? While that would be ideal, the practicalities of life argue powerfully against this approach. How about a class once or twice a week, supplemented by a mini-home workout? The evidence is that some yoga is much better than no yoga at all on the “off days”. And yoga offers many options: a nice quiet meditation, a few poses, five minutes of yogic breathing, doing a good deed such as working at a soup kitchen, or reading Scripture, to name but a few possible choices.
In summary, the many wonderful benefits of yoga are demonstrable and measurable; yet they are clearly also dose-dependent. If you really want the best results from your yoga practice, do some yoga every day! It’s as simple as that.
Appended here are three short sequences to use in cramped spaces, one you can do at your desk, one for standing up by your chair, and one to use if there is a bit more room (consider combining for a slightly longer workout). These are basically stretches that you can do at home, at work, or at a conference during breaks. Then there is a sequence which will run you from 5 to 15 minutes, depending upon how much of it you do. In bold are the minimum poses for a “quickie” yoga session; in italics are additional poses to bring you to about 10 minutes, and in regular font are a few more to get you to about 15 minutes.
Short yoga breaks in cramped quarters:
I.While seated:
A.Sit tall, tilting pelvis forward & lifting back from front of torso. Take ten full 3-part yogic breaths with eyes closed or slightly open.
B.Rotate shoulders upon inhale, back & down on exhale x 3, then reverse x 3.
C.Interlace fingers, palms out, & lift on inhale to seated cow (arch back & look up); exhale into seated cat (round back & look down).
D.Raise arms on inhale & hold L wrist w/ R hand, and stretch to R on exhale. Hold x 3 breaths.
E.Opp. side.
F.Hold arm rest, if available, with left hand & back of chair with right; sit tall on inhale & twist to R on exhale. Hold x 3 breaths, using arms as a lever.
G.Opp. side.
H.Hands at side, tuck chin on exhale, sitting tall; then move R ear toward R shoulder on inhale & hold five breaths (may use R hand over top of head against L ear to accentuate).
I.Back to center on exhale, keeping chin tucked; then move to L & back to center after five breaths on exhale.
J.Pigeon neck chin forward on inhale & hold x 3 breaths; lift chin up on inhale & hold x 3 breaths. Repeat cycle three times.
K.Eagle arms, L over R, bend elbows and slide R fingers up L palm; hold x 5 breaths; then R over L.
L.On inhale intertwine fingers behind head, elbows out, arch back, & hold x 5 breaths.
II.Standing next to chair (minimal space):
A.Inhale arms up with elbows straight and shoulders low & hold x 3 breaths.
B.On last exhale bring arms behind, fingers intertwined, elbows straight, & lift arms on inhale as tolerated. Hold x 3 breaths.
C.Hands on shoulders, epaulet-style, and roll forward, up, back & down x 3; then reverse direction.
D.With bent knees, place arms & elbows on thighs, palms together, & fold forward while exhaling. Work to lift hips up, keep back straight and slowly work to straighten knees. Continue to breathe evenly.
E.Release arms, let them hang, grabbing opp. elbows. Continue to work hips up and head down. Keep the breath going.
F.As knees straighten further drop fingertips to floor. Hold for five full breaths.
G.Roll up slowly, one vertebra at a time. Shoulders come back & down before head comes up.
H.Feet hip width apart, engage quads & hamstrings, broaden across chest & back; horizon gaze. Bring palms together, thumbs against sternum; close eyes, & hold for five breaths.
I.Open eyes, raise arms up on inhale as if holding a beach ball, and stretch torso to R on exhale; hold x 3 breaths. Then do opp. side.
J.On inhale, back to mountain pose, turn palms out on exhale w/ fingers intertwined and raise arms up on inhale into slight back bend. Hold x 3 breaths.
K.Arms at side w/ bent elbows, twist from side to side, five times each way.
L.Repeat B, but w/ slight back bend.
III.Slightly more space permitting:
A.Repetitive torso twist w/ arms hanging loose, side to side, 5x.
B.Mountain pose x 5 breaths
C.Lift arms overhead, as in II A above x 3 breaths.
D.Arms out to side on exhale, lengthen spine on inhale, fold forward w/ flat back on exhale(looking ahead) to ½ way down; hold x 3 breaths & lift back up on inhale; repeat x 3.
E.Fold all the way down on exhale w/ bent legs, grabbing opp. elbow, head hangs heavy. Hold x 5 breaths, working to raise hips & straighten knees.
F.Look forward & come up ½ way on inhale w/ flat back; fold back down on exhale; repeat x 3.
G.Up ½ way on inhale, extend arms & rise up w/ flat back to Urdhva Hastasana; arms back to side on exhale.
H.½ sun salutation x 3 (inhale arms up, fold forward, come up 1/2way, arms out to side, and inhale up to arms overhead, exhale to mountain pose).
I.Triangle pose to R & hold x 3 breaths.
J.Same to L x 3.
K.Bend L knee over ankle with L forearm on thigh and R arm elevated & hold x 3
L.Same to R.
Basic sequence on mat, with five 15, and 30 minute options:
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A. Meditation (on bolster) 3-5 mins. (For a guided meditation, to use as stand-alone, turn to l”A 12-Step Method for Meditation”.)
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B. Inhale arms up and twist to R.
C.Exhale back up, sit tall & walk fingers forward, flexing from hip. Breathe x 5 & exhale back up.
D.Inhale & twist to L.
E.Inhale arms up (wider apart) and place R arm down on floor at side, stretching L side of torso and L arm overhead; breathe x 5, inhale up and exhale L arm down to floor.
F.Arms behind, interlacing fingers & extending elbows, pulling shoulders back & breathe x 6 with rotation of head on neck 3 times each way; then pressing palms outward, inhale arms up & breathe x3.
G.Table top to Cat/ cow x 5. After a few, you can go from cat into prayer, and roll back up to cow.
H.Extend alternate arm & leg on inhale; elbow to knee on exhale x3; then extend out & hold for 3 breaths.
I.R leg out to side, lifting R arm & rolling it down leg across floor & back up x3, then hold x 3 breaths.
J.R arm down to table top R leg stretched out and brought down behind L foot (Keep L knee bent); raise R arm in modified Side plank and hold x 3 breaths.
K.Other side alt arm & leg; then L leg out to side w/ L arm raised, etc.; then modified side plank.
L.Table Top to Low Lunge; lower arms w palms together, then twist, both sides, then step forward and roll up w/ knees bent to Mountain pose (=fully upright standing pose).
M.Go to wall for Puppy Dog (arms reaching out to wall at hip height, back straight at 90 degrees to legs, knees straight) x 5 breaths.
N.On mat, inhale arms up and fold to standing Forward bend x 3 breaths, bend knees and raise back & arms to Chair pose and inhale up to standing, arms above.
O.Hold R wrist w/ L hand and stretch entire R side; then do opp. side.
P.Exhale to standing Forward bend, inhale up ½ way, exhale hands down→ Plank pose x 5 breaths, then lower down.
Q.Cobra pose→ Down Dog (DD) & “walk” dog, each side twice.
R.Hold DD, both knees straight x 5 breaths and walk feet forward to Forward bend & roll up.
S.Repeat steps 16 thru 19 with Locust pose in place of Cobra.
T.Prayer pose→ Child’s pose (arms at side)→ Table Top.
U.Dolphin arms (hands w/ interlaced fingers at top of mat elbows on mat) w/ Plank pose, then w/ DD legs, then back to Plank pose.
V.Prayer pose w/ arms stretched forward; move arms on floor to R then past center to L.
W.Thread the Needle (Table top w/ straight elbow arm raise to R on inhale, then bend elbow & thread needle w/ shoulder and side of head down). Do 3x on one side, 3x on other.
X.On back for Strap Twists, both legs to both sides.
Y.Seated Forward bend.
Z.Bridge pose x 10 breaths, with fingers interlaced.
AA.Easy Twist (knees bent), both sides.
BB.Savasana.
