Yoga as an alternative medicine - Essay Example

Yoga as an Alternative Medicine Introduction Yoga is a body and mind practice with its chronological origins in earliest Indian philosophy. Similar to other medical practices of body movements, which people use for health advantages, various yoga styles typically include breathing techniques, physical postures, and relaxation or meditation (Siven and Mishtal 348-357). Yoga is a curing method of practice and theory, which is a permutation of breathing practices, physical body postures, and meditation. This paper provides information on yoga practices, reviews scientific research to outline yoga’s effectiveness and safety, as well as its pros and cons. Studies show that yoga has been in practice for a period more than 5,000 years (Siven and Mishtal 348-357). The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine survey done in 2004 focused on who practiced Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), and why it was important in the U.S. for the generation of 18 years and above during the year 2002. According to the findings of this survey, yoga as an alternative medicine was the fifth most regularly used CAM practice in the United States. Yoga usage had a percentage of 2.8% out of all other medicine alternatives (Siven and Mishtal 348-357). Yoga is an intervention of mind and body, which helps to reduce health defects, such as generalized stress, which causes high blood pressure. Additionally, yoga is trusted in calming the body nervous system and balancing the mind, body, and spirit (CAM 42-51). The practitioners of yoga believe that such practices prevent certain diseases and illnesses by maintaining the body energy meridians open and energy circulating. Moreover, yoga is mainly practiced in schools whereby yoga sessions are set at least once a week for an approximate of 45 minutes per session. Furthermore, the purpose of practicing yoga as an alternative medicine is to reduce stress, lower high blood pressure, and advance coordination, concentration, sleep, digestion, and body flexibility (CAM 42-51). Pros of yoga practices Recent studies carried out among patients with chronic back pains argues that people who carefully practice set of yoga styles may enhance in reducing back pains and improve body functioning such as ability to move and walk painlessly and effortlessly (Siven and Mishtal 348-357). This is because yoga as an alternative medicine has all the exercise components recommended by many therapists and needed by everybody. However, yoga exercises help the body of the practitioner to supply oxygen to all body tissues more significantly and helps in reducing body weight. This is a benefit to both heart and overall body functioning. It improves cells functioning since they receive enough oxygen supply. In addition, practicing yoga poses and other forms of body exercise may bring about other health benefits like reduction of heart rate and high blood pressure crisis. A large number of Americans use yoga as an alternative medicine for calming heart failure and high blood pressure diseases, although there are a number of banes and boons associated with this alternative. In accordance of a study analyzed at the 28th Annual Scientific Meeting, yoga can assist in lowering high blood pressure (CAM 42-51). However, blood pressure, which is also referred to as “silent killer disease”, affects a large population worldwide, with nearly one person in a group of three individuals suffering from this disease. Large numbers of those suffering from high blood pressure would look for an alternative means of reducing their blood pressure apart from chronic lifelong medication. Yoga is currently becoming the effective method of lowering blood pressure, hence, considered as a potential alternative (CAM 42-51). Yoga can also help in relieving depression and anxiety. Studies claim that yoga practices can help in modulating stress response. Since the year 1970, yoga practices and other stress and anxiety reduction methods have been proved the most effective treatments for reducing anxiety and depression. Yoga practices have increasingly become a popular technique for calming down stress and anxiety (Levine and Balk 95-100). Yoga effectiveness against stress and anxiety depends on the type of style. Hatha type, which is highly practiced in the U.S., consists of three elements: breathing practices, relaxation or meditation, and physical poses. Available article reviews on yoga practices propose that yoga can help reduce the negative effects of exaggerated stress and may be effective for both depression and anxiety. Therefore, yoga acts like any other stress and depression reducing technique, such as relaxation, meditation, and socializing with other people (Siven and Mishtal 348-357). Yoga as an alternative medicine has all the exercise components recommended by many therapists and needed by everybody. Yoga exercises help the body of the practitioner to supply oxygen to all body tissues more significantly and help in reducing body weight. This is a benefit to both heart and overall body functioning (Siven and Mishtal 348-357). It improves cells functioning since they get enough oxygen. Yoga can also improve one’s mood and energy. In order to ensure effective yoga practices, the practitioner must consider the type of food he or she is supposed to eat. Some products such as soy beans, carrot, and other vegetables are important for heart and blood circulation health (Siven and Mishtal 348-357). Yoga side effects and risks Generally, yoga causes low impacts and is safe for people’s health when practiced properly under a well-trained instructor’s guidance. The most critical aspect to consider while practicing Yoga medication is the false logic of health security that may occur. For instance, an individual may decide to stop seeing a doctor or using drugs just because he or she thinks that yoga is the best treatment (Levine and Balk 95-100). This can be dangerous to one’s health. Therefore, if a patient decides to take that step, it may save his life if he first talks to his doctor. Yoga practitioners are advised to hire a well-trained instructor who will guide them on effective ways and steps of practicing yoga to ensure its health significance. Failure to this, yoga practitioners may end up causing harmful yoga side effects to their health, especially walking and certain organs’ functioning (Levine and Balk 95-100). Overall, those people who practice yoga experience low rate of this alternative medicine’s side effects. Therefore, the chances of getting serious injuries from yoga practicing are quite low. However, obvious impacts such as pain as well as stroke from nerve damages are the only view and rare possible negative effects one can experience from practicing yoga. This makes yoga to be highly preferred by many practitioners who have health issues, which can be cured through yoga practicing. Some yoga posses can be harmful to pregnant women, individuals with certain health conditions like high blood pressure, sciatica, and those with glaucoma (Siven and Mishtal 348-357). Cautions and encouragement Although many styles of yoga poses are safe for one’s health, some are quite strenuous and generally may not be appropriate for all people. Particularly, aged patients or people with mobility health conditions may want to consult with clinicians before deciding to choose yoga as the alternative treatment (Siven and Mishtal 348-357). However, for those patients who are dealing with anxiety, depression, or stress, choosing yoga as their treatment option will be a very effective technique to manage these symptoms. Indeed, scientific studies suggest that physical and mental health problems are not intimately allied, but they are equivalent. There is a lot of research evidence that yoga poses are relatively low-risk, highly effective approach of improving patients’ overall health (Levine and Balk 95-100). Conclusion To conclude, yoga is an effective alternative medicine. Many people rely on yoga to maintain their body health. For those who practice yoga, it is difficult to find them suffering from killer diseases like heart failure. Yoga practices also have other advantages compared to other alternative medication procedure, i.e. they are less expensive and ensure general wellness of the body. Health organizations should encourage people to practice yoga in order to reduce the nation burden of finding ways of treating such illness. Works Cited "Knowledge about Complementary, Alternative and Integrative Medicine (CAM) Among Registered Health Care Providers in Swedish Surgical Care: A National Survey among University Hospitals." BMC Complementary & Alternative Medicine 12.1 (2012): 42-51. FDU. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. Levine, Alison S., and Judith L. Balk. "Yoga and Quality-Of-Life Improvement in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Literature Review." International Journal Of Yoga Therapy 22.(2012): 95-100. Alt Health Watch. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. Siven, Jacqueline Marie, and Joanna Mishtal. "Yoga as Entree to Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Medically Pluralistic Practices." Human Organization 71.4 (2012): 348-357. FDU. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. Read More