International Yoga Day is celebrated world-wide on June 21st and was given this designation by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. According to Ban Ki-moon, United Secretary-General, “By proclaiming 21 June as the International Day of Yoga, the General Assembly has recognized the holistic benefits of this timeless practice and its inherent compatibility with the principles and values of the United Nations."
The Hindi term “yoga” simply means union. Yoga is not a religion, but it is also not just exercise – in general, it is a holistic approach to physical health and mental clarity. People around the world practice numerous yoga forms and philosophies. A common thread through all yoga practices is the belief that true health and wellness must come from within, not from external sources. This point of view is also taught in Oriental medicine and it is practiced in Asian forms of yoga, such as that taught in North County at the Oceanside Body and Brain Yoga and Tai-Chi center.
Recent research at Johns Hopkins and other university medical centers is focused on attempting to measure the potential benefit of yoga in the physical and mental condition of patients suffering from pain. This is particularly important in the U.S., where 4.6% of the world’s population consumes 80% of the world’s supply of legal prescription opiates and the rate of heroin usage from the illegal market continues to increase. In a May press release, the Centers for Disease Control attributed much of the resulting addiction to depression, rather than to pain itself. In a 2015 Johns Hopkins study, compared with a control group, patients who practiced yoga reported a 20 percent improvement in pain, mobility, energy levels and mood.
According to Dr. Deborah Coady, MD, of NYU Langone Medical Center, yoga should be part of “an integrative approach to pain that makes the patient a partner, more in control.” She further explains that, with regular yoga practice, an increased sense of control generates confidence and improves the patient’s attitude, which in turn reduces depression and the flight-or-fight stress responses that could otherwise lead to drug dependency. Dr. Coady devotes much of her medical practice to caring for patients with pelvic pain, as well as writing, lecturing and mentoring integrative wellness practices. As a four-year member of Body & Brain Yoga and Tai-Chi, Deborah attributes her success in living with persistent cancer to this practice.
Regional manager and Tao master Saewoon Park and his instructors at Body & Brain Yoga and Tai-Chi encourages people with chronic pain conditions to come to yoga classes regularly, at least three times each week. “Improvements in pain and stress reduction, as well as increased mobility, flexibility and balance, typically take about three months to develop,” he says, “so regular practice yields the best results.” The Oceanside center offers basic restorative yoga classes that are oriented toward healing and are accessible to people of most ages and conditions. Celebrate International Yoga Day with a trial class!
Find your local Body & Brain Yoga and Tai-Chi center at 455 College Blvd at Route 76, Oceanside CA 92057 or www.bodynbrain.com/oceanside. Body & Brain Oceanside is a Partner Studio with nonprofit cancer and diabetes research hospital City of Hope’s annual “Yoga for Hope” events, and supports the non-profit Earth Citizens Organization, underwriting training for young adults who want to spread sustainable living practices to their communities.