The Benefits of Yoga Therapy

Marie is a 60-year-old woman referred by her therapist for help in managing her depressive symptoms. She told me her symptoms started in high school. She immigrated to the U.S. in her 20s and has been treated on and off with a combination of therapy and antidepressant medication.

She currently holds an academic appointment at a university where she teaches biology. She is married and has two children. For as long as she can remember, she has suffered from traumatic experiences. Her parents had high expectations and threatened that she would end up as a physical laborer if she did not perform well in school, and she was often spanked with a belt if her grades were unacceptable.

When she immigrated to the U.S. as a student, she was involved in a series of abusive romantic relationships. In graduate school and currently, in her job, she feels persecuted and unappreciated. She describes her husband as verbally abusive.

Despite a good response to an antidepressant, Marie continued to have depressive symptoms and conflictual relationships. That was until I saw her today. The change has been remarkable despite no changes in medication. She told me she did not think she was getting anything out of her regular therapy, so she investigated an alternative mode of treatment: yoga therapy.

She has only had a handful of appointments with the yoga therapist, yet she feels the best she has in years. Her mood is excellent. And her relationships at home and at work have greatly improved. I must admit, I am very impressed.

According to the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), yoga therapy is "the professional application of the principles and practices of yoga to promote health and well-being within a therapeutic relationship that includes personalized assessment, goal setting, lifestyle management, and yoga practices."

Yoga Class Versus Yoga Therapy

Although yoga is therapeutic, differences exist between a yoga teacher and a yoga therapist and between a yoga class and a yoga therapy session. Yoga provides the tools for a process of self-investigation and self-development. However, most people view yoga as a type of exercise.

An individual who searches for a yoga therapist or a therapeutic group is usually looking to get help with or relief from some symptom or health condition. In most cases, the instruction focuses on their condition and how the yoga techniques can help them feel better or improve their function rather than on the techniques or methods of yoga practice.

A yoga therapist is a specialist who focuses on helping an individual with their symptoms to improve function and overall health. A yoga therapy session focuses on specific symptoms such as pain, fatigue, insomnia, or depression. It is less about learning yoga techniques and more about arriving at a specific treatment protocol.

Yoga Therapy in Functional Dyspepsia

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common upper gastrointestinal disorder characterized by bothersome epigastric pain or burning, fullness after meals, or early satiety. Even with pharmacological treatment options, it is a chronic and relapsing disorder with persistent symptoms that make its management difficult. Functional dyspepsia is diagnosed when no known biological causes are found during a diagnostic workup.

In previous posts, I described the intimate connection between your brain and your digestive tract. Any stressor that affects your brain can produce gastrointestinal symptoms and vice versa. When your brain perceives stress, whether real or imagined, signals to your major organs, alerting them to switch into survival mode, often called the fight or flight response.

This is mediated by a part of your involuntary nervous system called the sympathetic nervous system. Once the threat has passed, the parasympathetic nervous system takes over to induce relaxation. However, in those who have chronic stress, the body remains in a state of hyperarousal. In terms of digestive health, this can result in diarrhea and constipation, increased gastric reflux, and upper gastrointestinal pain.

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A 2018 article in The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reported a study that looked at the effect of job stress on the development of dyspepsia. They found a significantly higher incidence of functional dyspepsia in participants who worked in higher-demand, high-risk occupations.

Patients with FD have higher levels of circulating inflammatory proteins correlated with symptom intensity. Multiple studies report the reduction in these proteins in subjects who participated in yoga therapy.

Yoga Therapy in Cancer Patients

Although there has been a significant reduction in breast cancer (BC) mortality due to improved screening practices and more effective treatments, there is still a remarkable amount of morbidity associated with breast cancer and its treatment.

Physical activity, including yoga, positively affects symptoms related to BC treatment and improves overall quality of life, including decreased fatigue, anxiety, and depression.

Unfortunately, physical activity during cancer therapy typically declines, with only about 20 percent of patients meeting national guidelines after BC treatment and less than 10 percent meeting guidelines during long-term follow-up.

Yoga is as effective as other types of physical activity, including aerobic exercise and strength training, at improving the quality of life of women undergoing breast cancer treatment.

In a study conducted at Washington University, thirty patients with early-stage or locally advanced-stage disease were enrolled in a study that looked at the difference in patient outcome after receiving breast cancer treatment alone or breast cancer treatment in addition to yoga therapy. The results reported that, unlike the participants with the breast cancer treatment alone, those who participated in yoga lost weight instead of gaining weight, which is common after breast cancer treatment. In addition, those who participated in yoga scored higher on self-reported quality of life indices.

Stress has a negative impact on your immune system, and chronic stress not only increases your susceptibility to disease but leads to physical and mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Practicing yoga and meditation to manage and relieve both acute and chronic stress helps people overcome co-morbidities associated with diseases and increases the quality of life.

As a non-pharmacological form of treatment, yoga-based interventions are an alternative option for the treatment of mood disorders. Numerous studies show that various types of yoga, meditation, or a combination of the two can reduce pain and disability while improving flexibility and functional mobility in people with several conditions causing chronic pain.

Regarding yoga's effects on cancer patients, results show a decrease in post-chemotherapy-induced nausea frequency, nausea intensity, intensity of anticipatory nausea, and anticipatory vomiting. Additionally, yoga-practicing subjects reported decreased anxiety, depression, and distressful symptoms and showed significantly reduced toxicity scores compared to the controls. Results from various studies report that patients experience significantly lower levels of pain and fatigue and higher levels of acceptance and relaxation following a yoga intervention.