Overview of mind-body therapies including meditation and yoga

1. Unit 5 CAM Project
Lesson 2 Lecture
Lesson Summary: This lesson addresses two common mind body practices that can
easily be done in the home. These include meditation and yoga. Mind body
practices have been used for centuries to increase calm and physical relaxation.
This has become even more essential in the fast-paced technological world of today.
Learning how to un-plug and relax the mind and body can contribute to an overall
feeling of well being, reduce stress and anxiety and increase quality of life and
wellness. The lesson will highlight these practices, the benefits, as well as provide
information on how to become a practitioner and even give an opportunity for some
brief practice to gain insight into the benefits of mind body practices.
Lesson Content:
Mind and body practices are a diverse group of techniques taught to others by a
trained practitioner or teacher. For today’s purpose we are going to focus on
meditation and yoga. Other examples of mind body practices you may have heard of
include acupuncture; massage therapy, relaxation techniques, as well as spinal
manipulation. We are going to look at what it takes to become a practitioner, what
the research says about mind body practices, as well as the potential benefits to
overall health and wellness. At the end of class, you will be given the opportunity to
participate in a yoga and meditation exercise.
What is meditation?
According to dictionary.com meditation is the action or practice of meditating.
Synonyms for the word help one to understand better the purpose of meditating
and these include the terms contemplation, thought, thinking, musing, reflection,
and concentration. Meditation is the means of transforming the mind to accomplish
a state of deep peace achieved when the mind is calm and silent. Meditation has
been around for centuries and has been known to regulate emotions and increase
self-awareness. Interestingly scientific data is now available to highlight the
biological changes supporting the growing research of CAM. According to the data,
there are measurable biological changes in the autonomic nervous system having
the potential to impact both mental and physical health ("Exploring the Power of
Meditation", 2017).
Some forms of meditation include focusing on a mantra, observing what arises
(mindful meditation), focusing on relaxation not insight (relaxation response), and
focusing on a sacred work (central prayer). The purpose of concentration
techniques in meditation is to calm the mind and reduce its habitual practice.
What is yoga?
The 2007 National Health Interview Survey found yoga to be one of the top 10
complementary and integrative health approaches used in the United States by
adults ("Yoga", 2017). According to Dictionary.com yoga is “a Hindu spiritual and
ascetic discipline, a part of which, includes breath control, simple meditation, and

2. the adoption of specific bodily postures widely practiced for health and relaxation.”
Yoga means “union” in Sanskrit, which is thought in many yoga traditions to refer to
a union of the mind and body, union of a person with the universal, as well as union
of a person with his or her true nature. Yoga and meditation are related because
both techniques use progressive relaxation. Some types of meditation are based on
classic yoga meditation techniques. Yoga teaches that the systematic practice of
yoga enhances prana (life force) and balances energies in the body and mind.
The most common form of yoga in North America is Hatha yoga, which consists of a
set of physical poses, or asanas and breathing exercises (pranayama), designed to
stabilize and balance life energy. The major styles of hatha yoga are Iyengar,
Ashtanga, Vini, Kundalini, and Kikram yoga. I have provided in your packet some
beginner yoga poses for you to check out and try. Remember to never push your
body into an uncomfortable position. Listen to your body and only go where your
body is comfortable.
Benefits of the techniques
Mind body practices help to reduce stress. When someone becomes stressed they
have a physiological reaction to stress knows as the fight or flight response, which
can manifest in many forms creating imbalance in the body leading to anxiety,
fatigue, illness, etc. Meditation and yoga help to relax the mind and the body to find
a place of inner calm. Scientists have conducted research supporting the use of
mind body practices and their benefits. Mind-body practices are now being used in
clinical practices because these practices can reduce long-term stress and therefore
reduce immunosuppression and damaging stress hormones that contribute to
disease. Incorporating mind-body techniques into your life can make you a more
effective professional because you will have less emotional reactivity, better
cognitive focus, more rapid recovery following high-stress situation, and the
increased ability to resolve role conflicts.
Example of clinical practices:
*Dr. Dean Ornish’s program now offered at many hospitals around the country.
*Mindfulness-Based-Stress-Reduction programs likewise offered at many hospitals.
*Specific exemplary models of care include: a Place…of wellness at the University of
Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; the new Institute for Health and Healing at
Abbott Northwesters Hospital; and the Stanford Center for Integrative Medicine in
the Stanford University Hospital.
There is a substantial body of research supporting the use of meditation for a wide
variety of conditions including benefits for patients with chronic pain, hypertension,
anxiety, and generalized stress.
There are several theories of how yoga positively affects health. Some of these
include the role of social support, the placebo response, as well as the relaxation
response. The research on yoga is of high quality methodologically, but in recent

3. years the scientific rigor has improved. There are challenges for conducting
research on yoga. Some of these include sorting out which yoga practices are
responsible for which effects, yoga is personalized to the individual, some results,
such as greater spiritual peace, may be difficult to measure, and different studies
focus on different techniques in yoga.
The benefits of practicing yoga include increased strength and flexibility, better
balance and coordination, improved cardiovascular conditioning, weight loss, as
well as stress reduction. Yoga has also proven uses with problems such as asthma,
arthritis, carpel tunnel syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and heart disease. It is
important to note that not all styles of yoga are appropriate for everyone. Yoga
classes will vary depending on the teacher’s style, training, and expertise. Some
yoga practices, such as headstands and forward bending poses may be risky for
some people. If on medications be sure to check with your doctor before beginning
any type of physical activity to make sure there are no increased risks.
In one research study the group that meditated saw their annual healthcare costs
drop by 28%.
How to become an instructor
Currently there are no universal standards or accreditations for either yoga or
meditation teachers. To teach meditation you want to do your research and develop
a regular practice. You want to make sure you are doing things for the right reason
and participate in an immersive teacher training with a credible instructor. Practice
teaching others and then share your knowledge with others ("How To Become A
Meditation Teacher (And Why It May Be Simpler Than You Think)", 2017).
There are no state required licensure or certification for yoga teachers or yoga
therapies. Most gyms and yoga studios require a certification in order to teach. To
complete the 200-hour course training takes on average 3 to 5 months and the 500-
hour training may take 6 months to a year depending on your commitment level.
Once training is complete registering with Yoga Alliance, a national non-profit
organization that registers yoga teachers using various styles of yoga at either 200
or 500 hour level of training gives an instructor more credibility.
Videos:
Meditation (1 min 50sec) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhnkyrGr1hw
The Practice of Yoga (3 min 57sec) https://nccih.nih.gov/video/yoga-practice
The Science of Yoga (9 min 43sec) https://nccih.nih.gov/video/yoga-science

4. Handouts
Sitting Meditation
 Choose a quiet place.
 Sit in a comfortable position on a chair with the back straight and the arms
and legs uncrossed.
 Close your eyes.
 Relax your muscles sequentially from head to feet.
 Focus on your breathing, noticing how the breath goes in and out, without
trying to control it in any way.
 Maintain a passive attitude. Don’t worry how you are doing.
 When distracting thoughts intrude, ignore them and return to the breath or
the chosen word.

6. References
Exploring the Power of Meditation. (2017). NCCIH. Retrieved 23 October 2017, from
https://nccih.nih.gov/about/offices/od/2010-06.htm
How To Become A Meditation Teacher (And Why It May Be Simpler Than You Think).
(2017). mindbodygreen. Retrieved 23 October 2017, from
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/how-to-become-a-meditation-teacher
Yoga. (2017). NCCIH. Retrieved 23 October 2017, from
https://nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga