YOGA IN MODERN DAY HEALTH APPLICATIONS: WHY SOME PATIENTS HEAL AND OTHERS DO NOT
NEW SPECIAL SERIES FEATURE...DANI'S YOGA BOOK CLUB!!!
I am proud to introduce my first of a new series of book reviews and thoughts on books/media as a new feature to the Dani Scher LLC Yoga blog. I will be choosing the books by inspiration and personal intrigue (this week is one of them), recommendations from my readers, students, friends, family and teachers and anything new my wonderful Kindle suggests to me.
This book series begins with me today but the goal is to have an ongoing conversation about reading about new things or our new experiences or relationships with reading we have or are currently doing. This conversation is between us, as human individuals on this beautiful planet, Earth.
The first book feature in this series is "Yoga Skills for Therapists: Effective Practices for Mood Management," by Amy Weintraub. I landed on this book from my amazon suggested Kindle books and It immediately caught my eye. Many or most of us have come to yoga at some point to help with a problem, mentally or physically.
I have in my personal life used yoga as a means of not only overcoming some major mental traumas in addition to maintaining a happy and healthy lifestyle. This means that in addition to going to doctors...I get on my yoga mat as if is equally as important to my physical and especially mental health. I came to yoga with a huge mental trauma so severe I was diagnosed with PTSD. PTSD does not usually have good outcomes, but something about my treatment was different. I was progressing in a linear way and others at my same starting mental state were just hanging on. I am not special, different, or in anyway novel by having the knowledge that my yoga practice has been an enormous part of my rehabilitation and current work with my doctors.
The one thing I WISH...is that every person being treated for a mental health issue be required to just exercise every day...yoga is even better! Literally every time I relapsed I stopped exercising and doing my daily yoga practice. Every time!
I hope you choose to take a look at this book and would love to hear your feedback about the issue and if you have any insights. Looking forward to expanding our minds together.
- Dani
"YOGA SKILLS FOR THERAPISTS: EFFECTIVE PRACTICES FOR MOOD MANAGEMENT," AMY WEINTRAUB (APRIL 9, 2012)
***THE TEXT HAS A HUGE RED FLAG AKA TEACHING PRANAYAMA TO CLIENTS BY PSYCHIATRISTS ETC. INSTEAD OF A VERY VERY SEASONED PRANAYAMA PRACTITIONER AND TEACHER
***PRANAYAMA HAS HUGE EFFECTS ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND WHEN PRACTICED WITHOUT EXTREME SUPERVISION...AVOID PRANAYAMA
***THE TEXT HAS A HUGE RED FLAG AKA TEACHING PRANAYAMA TO CLIENTS BY PSYCHIATRISTS ETC. INSTEAD OF A VERY VERY SEASONED PRANAYAMA PRACTITIONER AND TEACHER
***PRANAYAMA HAS HUGE EFFECTS ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND WHEN PRACTICED WITHOUT EXTREME SUPERVISION...AVOID PRANAYAMA
Yoga is a compliment to psychotherapy
Many non-mat yoga tools that can facilitate and enhance the non-verbal work of therapy. (ex. building trust in a relationship along with verbal work.)
create the therapeutic bond and safe and sacred space
bhavana = an image of sanctuary or of peace
bhavana = development or cultivating / producing in the sense of " calling into existence
***when bhavana is used on its own it signifies contemplation and spiritual cultivation generally
The word bhavana is sometimes translated into English as 'meditation' so that, for example, metta-bhavana may be translated as 'the meditation on loving-kindness'. Meditation as a state of fixed or absorption concentration by which the mind becomes completely absorbed into and therefore unmove-ably fixed upon the meditation object is properly called dhyana (Sanskrit; Pali: jhāna) or samādh
In addition, in the Canon, the development (bhāvanā) of samatha-vipassana is lauded.[13] Subsequently, Theravada teachers have made use of the following compounds:
samādhi-bhāvanā, translated as "development of concentration."[12]
paññā-bhāvanā, translated as "development of wisdom"[11] or "development of understanding."
mettā-bhāvanā, translated as the "cultivation"[9] or "development of benevolence."[10]
the development/cultivation of lovingkindness
kāya-bhāvanā, translated as "development of body."[7]
citta-bhāvanā, translated as "development of mind"[7][8] or "development of consciousness."
the development of the heart/mind
In the Pali Canon bhāvanā is often found in a compound phrase indicating personal, intentional effort over time with respect to the development of that particular faculty. For instance, in the Pali Canon and post-canonical literature one can find the following compounds:
Bhavana derives from the word Bhava meaning becoming or the subjective process of arousing mental states.
Bhāvanā (Pali;[1] Sanskrit, also bhāvana[2]) literally means "development"[3] or "cultivating"[4] or "producing"[1][2] in the sense of "calling into existence."[5] It is an important concept in Buddhist praxis (Patipatti). The word bhavananormally appears in conjunction with another word forming a compound phrase such as citta-bhavana (the development or cultivation of the heart/mind) or metta-bhavana (the development/cultivation of lovingkindness). When used on its own bhavana signifies contemplation and 'spiritual cultivation' generally.
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important part is the relationship between clients and therapists
yoga can assist in establishing and maintaining the therapeutic bond in its offering of rituals and practices
all of these simple rituals can soften the heart, creating a tender bond between therapist and client
there is a slow invitation to move back into a felt sense of living in the body, without ever having to say so directly
this begins with the subtle cueing the teacher or therapist offers to her client, allowing him to acknowledge sensation in his face
there are many practices...that are based in the body and yet gently begin to still and focus the mind for the work of therapy
yoga has a tradition of holding poses, sometimes until the body begins to tremble
there are dynamic meditation practices that lead the client to shake for a period of time
the ancient yogis made the assumptions that by vigorously shaking, we are releasing tension and intrinsic memory stored in the body-mind
this theory underlies many therapeutic modalities
***this kind of work is not recommended for those in the acute stages of PTSD
"The principles of yoga complement the ultimate goals of therapy: self-awareness, self-acceptance, self-efficacy, self-regulation, and whatever individual goals you and your clients may hold for their optimum well being."
"When a teacher guides in a more relaxed, slow, and deliberate way, respiration and heart rate slow down, and as a result the whole nervous system calms down and settles. This is a parasympathetic response where not only does the mind quiet, but the myofascial structures start to let go. This mindful process has, quite literally, a different physiological effect than a rigid approach." - SUZY HATELY (2010, p. 15)
...this same dynamic applies off the mat and in the consultation room.
"Yoga works bilaterally, integrating the emotions back into the left-brain narrative in the case of developmental trauma, and integrating a more linear left-brain narrative into the emotionally laden intrinsic memories that accompany shock trauma. In either case, its release of chronic tension stored in the body, and its many techniques using breathing and sound that help clients access the wellspring of well-being that exists beneath the effects of the trauma, can provide trauma survivors a way to feel safe in their bodies and safe in the world."
"When trauma and loss occur early in life, the amygdala, which encodes negative emotions like fear, anger, and sadness into long-term implicit memory, becomes hypersensitive (Badenoch, 2011). The amygdala is over-activated by stress. Those who have been traumatized are often in a perpetual state of amygdala over-activation, so much so that the amygdala begins to shrink. This happens because repeated exposure to stress actually kill off our neurons...
...On a biochemical and physiological level, previous research has shown that yoga relaxes chronic muscle tension, restores natural diaphragmatic breathing, improves oxygen absorption and carbon dioxide elimination, increases alpha and theta brain waves, and regulates the thalamus at an optimum level. (The job of the thalamus is to send information to the insula cortex, activating the poor, overstimulated amygdala.) Certain techniques stimulate vagal nerve activity, which has been shown to be effective in the treatment of major depression. The vagus nerve runs from the brain stem to the colon, regulating all our basic survival functions along its path, including heartbeat, muscle movement, breathing, and digestion. This wandering nerve transmits a variety of chemicals to and from the brain."
...Recent studies are also demonstrating a wide range of psychological benefits, including the elevation of mood, the cultivation of equanimity in the face of life's challenges, the development of greater self-awareness, increased feelings of self-efficacy, increased feelings of self-compassion, better management of bipolar disorder, greater access to feelings, the release of repressed emotions stored in the body, and the increased ability to self-regulate."
The most important role the therapist can play is not about fixing or solving problems but helping clients tolerate problems in their lives that include uncertainty and pain
- cultivate an observing mind = the witness / the seer
when difficult things happen...we can respond with greater equanimity and less reactivity
- yoga has been shown to trigger brain-derived neurotrphic factor (BDNF), a neuropathic factor required for neurons to communicate, which helps us continue to learn and grow from our experiences
- some studies have shown that people practicing yogic breathing can have a recovery rate from major depression as high as %73
- 3 important take-aways from early in book
- importance of establishing the safe container
- gives client the permission to "put on the breaks"
- also includes a normalization of the tears that cans arise
- gives client the permission to "put on the breaks"
- staying present with your client throughout the practices you lead, and that means your own eyes are open and you are monitoring her experiences at all times
- how complimentary psychotherapy and yoga actually are
- importance of establishing the safe container