Yoga Important? NIH Thinks So…NIH Yoga Week 2009
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Open your heart. Feel your body with compassion. Feel the sound current of OM resonating through your physical and vibrational body. Breath. REALLY breath. Inhale and feel your lungs expand and exhale with your diaphragm. Release the stress. Be present in the here and now and feel your body. Scan your body. Breath Deeply. Repeat.
If this was at all appealing you have just gotten a tiny teaser of what yoga offers. However, yoga as with many things in life cannot be explained but must be experienced.
I recently heard someone comment, “Yoga, isn’t that what movie stars do?” For many people the term “yoga” is still associated with individuals who have their own personal trainers or yoga instructors, are really flexible, or need to manage their stress.
Heck, we all experience stress and for that very reason could benefit from yoga. But truth be known yoga may not just be a nicety of stress management.
There is a growing body of evidence-based research indicating there are medical benefits to be had with yoga. Yoga is being studied in relationship to diabetes, cancer, heart disease, blood pressure, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, and overall wellness to name just a few health conditions. The science of yoga is really the integration of mind-body-spirit. This holistic approach may be what we need to see a shift in the overall health of America.
“Yoga has arrived in western medicine,” states Dilip Sarkar, MD, FACS, Associated Professor of Clinical Surgery (Retired) of Eastern Virginia Medical School. National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s Yoga Week is a reply to a basic need for health professionals and the public to learn more about the systematic techniques of yoga in relationship to health.
So mark your calendars and come to the DC area for NIH’s Second Annual Yoga Week. This Free 4-day event is open to the public from Sept 8-11, 2009. I will keep you posted on more details closer to the date.
In the meantime, check out this snippet of last year’s NIH yoga week on the importance of breath.
What is Your Favorite Yoga Experience?
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