USING YOGA TO ENHANCE COPING & SPIRITUAL DEVELOPEMENT
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Transcript of USING YOGA TO ENHANCE COPING & SPIRITUAL DEVELOPEMENT
Using Yoga to Enhance Coping and Spiritual Development
Yoga means “to yoke” or “union”
•Person and the divine reality/God
•Body-mind-spirit
What is yoga?
• A set of practices, including postures (asanas), breathing (pranayama), meditation (dhyana), and more
• Though not a religion, provides tools to prepare for spiritual enlightenment, facilitate religious experience and practice
• Patanjali’s Eightfold Path• These practices can enhance acceptance and
serenity
Patanjali’s Eightfold Path (the 8 limbs of yoga)
• Yamas:• Niyamas:• Asana:• Pranayama:• Pratyahara:• Dharana:• Dhyana:• Samadhi:
Ethical guidelinesSpiritual observancesPhysical posturesBreathing exercisesTurning senses inConcentration/focusMeditationUnion, enlightenment
Different styles of yoga……focus on different aspects of the eightfold
path• Hatha yoga focuses on asanas and
pranayama to achieve self-realization• Karma yoga is a path to self-realization
through selfless work and service to others• Bhakti yoga (devotion to God) consists of
meditation and prayer. The emphasis on devotion can be applied to any religious/faith practice. A robust body of evidence shows health benefits for those who belong to faith communities.
Yamas
• Ahimsa:• Asteya:• Satya:• Brahmacharya:
• Aparigraha:
Non-violence/harmNon-stealingTruthfulnessModeration/Sexual
restraintNon-greed/
hoarding,non-attachment
Niyamas
• Saucha:• Santosha:• Tapas:• Svadhyaya:
• Ishvara Pranidhana:
Cleanliness/purityContentmentDisciplineStudy of self or
scriptureDevotion/surrender
to God
Postures (asanas)
• Experiencing the body in new ways enables the practitioner to view the body and the world differently, thus gaining insight
• Seated awareness and body scan• Mindful practitioners take the practice
“off the mat” and into all aspects of life
From The Mystic Heart by Wayne Teasdale
“Yoga and the martial arts allow us to experience our connection with the natural world directly and intimately by stimulating our awareness of life energy that flows through us. Yoga is a spiritual practice…and places the person in a unique position to receive many insights and to access states of consciousness [usually] beyond reach…”
Breathing awareness (ruach)
Ujjayi breath• Inhale fully through nose, exhale
fully through mouth• Diaphragm drops into belly• “Ocean sound” at back of throat (as
if fogging a mirror)
Key Spiritual Issues
• Meaning and Purpose
• Love and Belonging
• Hope • Guilt
• Faith/Belief/Doubt
• Forgiveness• Mystery• Transcendence
Any disruption to physical or mental health triggers spiritual concerns
An 18 year old high school track star tears a knee ligament. Surgery seems successful, and extensive rehabilitation begins. The student becomes increasingly irritable and withdrawn. Motivation to participate in physical therapy declines. The youth makes a suicide attempt.
• What body-mind-spirit issues/crises is this youth exhibiting?
Bodily response
• Pain• Reduced mobility• Reduction in production of “feel
good” peptides such as endorphins, serotonin, norepinephrine (our internal apothecary)
• Withdrawal from these natural “drugs”
• Mood instability
Yoga can be practiced by anyone at any time!• Even altering breathing patterns alters
production of neurotransmitters and hormones (endorphins, serotonin, dopamine)
• Seated yoga experience• Stretching, breathing, physically
resisting in new ways becomes an “edge” experience and stimulates positive physiologic changes (PNI or psychoneuroimmunology)
Molecules of Emotion ~ Dr. Candace Pert
Mind responses• Loss• Fear• Possible guilt or blame• Disruption in goals and roles• Reordering of daily schedule and
rhythm• Depression• Anxiety
Quell the inner critic and ANTS!
“Yoga slows down the fluctuations of the mind”
~ Patanjali
Spiritual responses
• Why did this happen? (meaning & purpose)
• Am I being punished? (guilt)• Will I still fit in with my peers (fellow
athletes)? Where will I belong now? (love and belonging)
• What can I do with my life now? What does my future hold? (M & P)
Self-study (svadhyaya)
• Illness/disability offers an opportunity • Asking existential questions invites one to
go deeper, to examine perspectives• Finding your “dharma”- what is
meaningful, what is your path and higher purpose?
• But many seem unreceptive…
Yoga practice is experiential and without using words…
• It invites pause, enhances receptivity, and increases awareness of inner wisdom
• Enhances insight• “Be still and know that I am God” ~Psalm
46• But exactly how can we become more still?
The Power of Pranayama
• Slow, deep breathing >• Soothes the nervous system >• Calms and shifts the mental
environment >• Enhances feelings of compassion,
creativity, sense of connection, intuition, and receptivity to spirit >
• Healing and spiritual growth
Abdominal breathing
• Compare movement over belly and ribcage (are you a reverse breather?)
• Follow your breath in and out -experiment with Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses to inward focus) and Dharana (concentration) during this breathing exercise
• Attention to spine and hips during the breath- what happens to them?
Complete (3-part) breath
• Expand belly, chest, shoulders on inhalation
• Exhale fully and slowly with awareness of deep abdominal muscles
What does the research show?
• Improvements in psychological health measured as well being, mood, self-esteem, stress/anxiety reduction, sense of equanimity and balance in daily life, improved cognitive function, improved relationships and quality of life.
• Fosters spiritual growth measured as forgiveness, empathy, and transcendence of suffering and negative experience
Cancer and yoga
• Many studies• Ongoing research• Improvements in body, mind and
spiritual aspects of persons leading to improved immune function, cognitive restructuring and greater serenity
The relationship between yoga and science“Ultimately, science and yoga should not
be seen as competing. What yoga does well complements modern medicine’s strengths, providing more options for people in need of healing. While…yoga and medicine provide very different perspectives on health and disease, viewing the world through both paradigms can help you see reality more clearly and help you make more skillful choices” ~Timothy McCall, MD in Yoga as Medicine
Essential equations:
Pain + Resistance = Suffering
Loss of Function+Resistance= Suffering(function= role, mobility, ability)
Postures, breathing and meditation address resistance…
• Restless thoughts (monkey mind)• Fear• Past experiences• Automatic negative thoughts
(ANTS)• Feelings of isolation (vs
connection)
Use awareness to ‘tune in’ to all aspects of self and shift resistance• Breath• Body scan ‘head to toes’• Feelings• Thoughts• Energy level• Back to the body- release of tension
through head, neck and shoulder movements
Pain + Resistance = Suffering
• So, yoga practices reduce resistance
• Thoughts and emotional responses can inhibit or promote healing
• Even in the presence of ongoing pain or dysfunction, suffering will be reduced
Quick techniques for chaplains/healthcare professionals to use for self-care• Breath awareness and body scan to
enhance mindfulness and full therapeutic presence
• Palming over eyes to release stress• Third eye focus to access higher purpose
and set intention• Quick coherence technique to stimulate
flow of compassion
Quick bedside techniques to shift illness experience > reduce resistance > lessen suffering• Synchronize your breath with client’s• Teach belly breathing 4-2-4, 4-2-8• Teach palming exercise to relieve tension• Head, neck and shoulder movements• Positioning, eg. lowering chin when lying on
back• Guided imagery to access ‘special place’ of
healing, and explore meaning • “Where in your body are you feeling this
emotion?” “What does this mean to you?”• “What color is your pain? What color would it
be if it was gone? Can you transform it?”
Create a healing environment
•Music•Nature•Aesthetics (beauty)•Build loving community
(sangha)
Health as expanding consciousness…
• Nursing theory developed by Margaret Newman, PhD, RN
• Non-judgment about illness experience- detachment from outcomes
• Openness to growth in mind, body and spirit as a result of illness and at end of life
• Can be a stretch for many of those in our care• We can create that space for them, imagine,
and hold them in the light
“…every yogi has grown old, and even though they are in remarkably good health, they still get sick and die...As these inevitable changes come, a yogi can be content with the fact that the physical body he or she has worked so hard to balance and gain subtle control over is really a temporary phenomenon.”