Is yoga scientific?

Do you think yoga is beneficial to people?

  • Yes.it is beneficial.

    Votes: 8 72.7%

  • No. It is merely a much hyped physical excerise.

    Votes: 3 27.3%
  • Total voters
    11
S

Sparkofbliss

Registered Senior Member
Hi this is the place to discuss scientific nature of yoga.is it appropriate to call yoga a science?views are welcome.
 
Science?
I don't have enough information for that, but I either do yoga or my back goes out.
I've got a blown disc or two and two spinal spurs.

Other people have surgery for this sort of thing, I hope I don't have to...surgery of the non-endoscopic kind, where the vertebrae are fused, does not really seem to help as much or work as well as you'd like.

Too, I've been in six car wrecks and rearended on a bicycle, and... other than the arm that did not get quite fixed because of insurance caps, I'm not doing too bad.
Been doing basic yoga since my teens, and I credit it with helping me to avoid more permanent injuries in my life as a crash-test dummy.
 
Sparkofbliss said:
Hi this is the place to discuss scientific nature of yoga.is it appropriate to call yoga a science?views are welcome.
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There are different kinds of yoga, aren't there? Most forms of yoga aren't physical excercises, they concern meditation, ethics and so on. (I'm thinking of Patanjali's 'Yoga Sutra', and similar things.)

Is yoga a science? No, I don't think so. Much of it is something that, like so much of Indian thought, probably best corresponds to a blend of what Westerners think of as the distinct categories of philosophy and religion.

Just addressing hatha yoga, the physical exercises, I guess that there's an empirical aspect to some of it. But a lot of the lore that seems to surround it, derived from sources like the ayurvedic tradition, doesn't seem very scientific to me. The physical exercises might better be described as an art than a science, I suspect.

I voted that yoga is beneficial in your poll. I think that it is.

But beneficial isn't really the same thing as scientific. I'm much more doubtful about the idea that yoga is scientific.
 
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Sure, it is as scientific as reading a book, tapping your finger, doing the macarena.

oh, and sleeping too especially if you count sheep first.
 
The World Health Organization reports that mental illness makes up to fifteen percent of disease in the world. Depression and anxiety disorders both contribute to this burden and are associated with low GABA levels. Currently, these disorders have been successfully treated with pharmaceutical agents designed to increase GABA levels.

Using magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging, the researchers compared the GABA levels of eight subjects prior to and after one hour of yoga, with 11 subjects who did no yoga but instead read for one hour. The researchers found a twenty-seven percent increase in GABA levels in the yoga practitioner group after their session, but no change in the comparison subject group after their reading session. The acquisition of the GABA levels was done using a magnetic resonance spectroscopy technique developed by J. Eric Jensen, PhD, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an associate physicist at McLean Hospital.

According to the researchers, yoga has shown promise in improving symptoms associated with depression, anxiety and epilepsy. “Our findings clearly demonstrate that in experienced yoga practitioners, brain GABA levels increase after a session of yoga,” said lead author Chris Streeter, MD, an assistant professor of psychiatry and neurology at BUSM and a research associate at McLean Hospital.

“This study contributes to the understanding of how the GABA system is affected by both pharmacologic and behavioral interventions and will help to guide the development of new treatments for low GABA states,” said co-author Domenic Ciraulo, MD, professor and chairman of the department of psychiatry at BUSM.

“The development of an inexpensive, widely available intervention such as yoga that has no side effects but is effective in alleviating the symptoms of disorders associated with low GABA levels has clear public health advantage,” added senior author Perry Renshaw, MD, PhD, director of the Brain Imaging Center at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital.
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EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON HANDGRIP, RESPIRATORY PRESSURES AND PULMONARY FUNCTION


Mandanmohan, Lakshmi Jatiya, Kaviraja Udupa and Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani

Department of Physiology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry - 605 006

Abstract: Although there are a number of reports on the effect of yoga training on pulmonary functions, very few studies have been undertaken on the effect of yoga training on respiratory pressures and handgrip endurance. Hence the present work was planned to study the effect of yoga training on hand grip strength (HGS), hand grip endurance (HGE), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), forced expiratory volume (FEV), forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). 20 school children in the age group of 12 to 15 years were given yoga training ( asans and pranayams) for 6 months. 20 age and gender-matched students formed the control group. Yoga training produced statistically significant (P<0.05) increase in HGS and HGE. MEP, MIP, FEV, FEV1 and PEFR also increased significantly (P<0.001) after the yoga training. In contrast, the increase in these parameters in the control group was statistically insignificant. Our study shows that yoga training for 6 months improves lung function, strength of inspiratory and expiratory muscles as well as skeletal muscle strength and endurance. It is suggested that yoga be introduced at school level in order to improve physiological functions, overall health and performance of students.

Key words: Yoga training, pulmonary functions, respiratory muscle strength, muscle endurance


There are a number of reports on the effect of yoga training on pulmonary functions like forced expiratory volume (FEV), forced expiratory volume in 1st second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). However, very few workers have studied the effect of yoga training on respiratory pressures i.e. maximum expiratory pressure (MEP) and maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP). Respiratory pressures are easily measured, objective and sensitive indices of respiratory muscle strength and can be altered in disease states even when other commonly measured pulmonary function tests show little abnormality (6). In an earlier work, we have found that yoga training for 12 weeks results in a significant improvement in MEP and MIP in normal young volunteers (7). In the same study, we also observed a significant increase in handgrip strength (HGS) after yoga training and this is in agreement with the findings of other workers (8, 9, 10). However, the effect of yoga training on handgrip endurance (HGE) has been studied by only a few workers. While Tran et al (10) have reported a significant increase in muscular endurance after 8 weeks yoga training program, Dash and Telles (11) have concluded that yoga training does not increase muscle endurance. Handgrip dynamometry is an indicator of muscle function and nutritional status. As an objective and accurate physiological test that is easy to perform, it can be used as a bedside test to predict preoperative nutritional status and postoperative complications (12). Keeping this in mind, we planned to study the effect of yoga training on these parameters. Since most of the studies on the effect of yoga training on pulmonary functions have been conducted on subjects above 18 yr in age, the present study was carried out on school going children from younger age (12-15 yr) group.
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and for the slightly more curious.... (apparently I am too young and inexperienced to put links in my posts, but you can put these in your browser - that sounds insulting, but I am sure you know what I mean)
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/518407
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/yoga/CM00004
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsl...er/2009/April/Yoga-for-anxiety-and-depression
and heck, there's just tons of supporting research out there.

edit: i hit 20 then posted this.
 
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Is yoga a science? No, yoga is not a method for systematically gathering and interpreting data about the universe around us.

Does yoga have scientifically verified benefits? Yes, it very much does.
 
Yoga is definitely beneficial, it made me more flexible thus a better athlete. I'm not sure if it is scientific, but I would recommend it. Well, the only yoga I do is from P90X so...I'm not sure if that counts...
 
In my knowledge it is based upon the working principles of body organs and parts etc. In yoga there are many specified postures to get rid of specific health problem. So in my view it is based upon science.

Yoga in itself is a science of health management rather than a method of treating disease. When yoga is combined with certain healing and therapeutic modalities, it increases the effectiveness and efficiency of those methods. Yoga can also increase health, general wellbeing and longevity. It does this by removing tensions, calming the mind, and improving vitality. Yoga generally enhances our lives on all levels.
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source: http://www.yogapoint.com/therapy/yoga_therapy.htm

Yoga science is based on Samkhya philosophy, which is the very basis of all sciences. Samkhya (samyag akhyate) means, “that which explains the whole.” Samkhya embraces the whole universe—how the universe came into existence, and all relationships within the universe.
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Source: http://swamij.com/yoga.htm
 
If you think about yoga, it is based on mind over matter. Traditional medicine makes more use of matter against matter using chemicals. For example, if someone was depressed, they can snap out of it using the mind via a postive attitude, or by taking a pill, since both can work; matter or mind over matter. It is a matter of business competiton.

In medicine, there is an effect called the placebo effect. This is where the pill, as a sugar pill, can alter symptoms in a sizeable fraction the test group. The placebo effect demonstrates mind over matter, yet there is still denial, that mind over matter has any basis in reality.

The reason for this denial is the placebo effect above also suggests the possiblity of placebo disease, where the power of suggestion, for the new syndrome, can create placebo symptoms ni a part of the population. This is useful if you are into selling pills since it can expand the herd for shearing.

Since yoga is based on mind over matter, it has the potential to shear that part of the herd, with placebo symptoms, for next to little cost. This is why in the light of the placebo mind over matter, mind over matter can not exist. The backlash could be limitations in marketing which can sell more pills by inducing placebo mind over matter symptoms. We need to treat yoga as hocus pocus to hide hocus pocus.

If we are more objective and can see mind over matter, the next question is how is this possible and what are the limits of this?
 
Is PT sceintific? Is it effective? How do you judge the sceintific natures of Yoga and PT? Not in one day please. Both require months of practice, under qualified trainers.

Just one example. If you put a baby on its belly how soon does it take to lift to its neck? Why does a baby lift its neck at all, for longer and longer durations? Does it help the baby? Is it a sceintific move by the baby?

This exact pose of a baby is called Nagasana, ie cobra pose. Helps strengthen your neck, spine and relieve spondolytis. Try it next time.
naga-vj-g.gif


Nagasana strengthens the wrists and stretches muscles of the chest. The stomach and pelvic muscles are strengthened by maintaining a constant exertion. Displaced spinal discs can also be placed back in their original position by practicing the nagasana.
 
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Sparkofbliss said:
Hi this is the place to discuss scientific nature of yoga.is it appropriate to call yoga a science?views are welcome.
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I think yoga has many parts.
Question would need to be more specific.
I am sure that levitation is not scientific.
300px-Levitaatio.jpg
 
I tried it once and found it only a form of excercise just like walking, biking, swimming and so on.
 
wellwisher said:
The placebo effect demonstrates mind over matter, yet there is still denial, that mind over matter has any basis in reality.
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Really? There is denial of the placebo effect??
Can you provide evidence of this denial?
The reason for this denial is the placebo effect above also suggests the possiblity of placebo disease, where the power of suggestion, for the new syndrome, can create placebo symptoms ni a part of the population. This is useful if you are into selling pills since it can expand the herd for shearing.
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Presumably you're unaware that psychogenic illness and psychosomatic illness are recognised categories of conditions - that basically are caused by "mind over matter" - i.e. no underlying physical ailment.

And how would these be reasons for denying the placebo effect?

If we are more objective and can see mind over matter, the next question is how is this possible and what are the limits of this?
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Feel free to search for the scientific studies into the placebo effect... you'll be amazed at just how weird it is.
 
Sarkus, before placebo effect, would you care to explain why does a baby lift its head? Is it sceintific? If yes, why cannot an adult repeat it? If no, why parents are not being cautioned about it vis a vis babies?
 
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