RESEARCH, YOGA, THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

June 19, 2016

I remember my basic sciences days when I was studying physiology and biochemistry and how scientists would aim to understand a cause for every process. Usually the end of every section would culminate with, “the reason this happens is incompletely understood”. That was always my favourite part of each section. It made me happy that we were not able to explain everything. It gave me solace that there was an inherent organising faculty within every organism that was more intelligent than the humans that attempted to explain it all.

The mechanism of action of yoga including the asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing techniques) and other more advanced techniques such as bandhas (locks), mudras (gestures), and dhyana (meditation) has always intrigued me. There has been much physiological research conducted that verifies that yoga has very objective effects on the autonomic nervous system. This can be shown by its effects on things like heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, oxygen levels, cortisol levels, and radiological parameters such as functional mri scans as well as neurological effects shown on electroencephalogram.

yoga

I’ve no doubt that in time, these studies will be conducted in larger numbers and find it’s place alongside conventional medicine. The field of yoga therapy is still in it’s infancy but I’m sure as more evidence accumulates that yoga therapy and conventional treatments will be used in an ideal integrative model of health. Take the simple forward bend, paschimottasana. It mobilises the spine and helps release any facet joint tension. It compresses the internal abdominal viscera and aids intestinal transit time. It’s said to even enhance pancreatic secretions and maybe helpful in digestion and with insulin release. Many of these functions fall under the domain of the autonomic nervous system. There is still much to be studied and proven.

pancreas

It would make sense for this kind of research to occur within existing mainstream hospitals rather than as separate entities. It would make sense for clinicians who are already involved from a conventional standpoint to offer their input and guidance on what really matters when it comes to research. It makes sense for this kind of research to assimilate with other existing bodies of research. It will take enlightened leaders in their respective specialty fields of medicine to extend their hands to those on the “other side” to see if they are open to having their methods evaluated. Apart from isolated pockets of academia, mainly in the USA and Europe, we still have a long way to go.

Not everything can be studied in a reductionist methodology, but when it comes to outcomes based measures, it’s plain and simple to see whether something is working on not.

In Health and Wellness

Ranjit