I have done yoga since I was a teenager. I has helped save my poor back and as I get older, I appreciate that it helps me maintain good balance. But, I didn’t realize how super yoga is for us.

Heart Disease

Several trials have found that yoga can lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and resting heart rates, and help slow the progression of atherosclerosis—all risk factors for heart disease, says Erin Olivo, PhD, director of Columbia University’s Integrative Medicine Program.

While almost any exercise is good for the heart, experts speculate yoga’s meditative component may give it an extra boost by helping to stabilize the endothelium, the lining of the blood vessels that, when irritated, contributes to cardiovascular disease. Since the lining is reactive to stress, and meditation can lower stress hormones, yoga may be causing a cascade of events that could reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Depression

Low brain levels of the neurotransmitter GABA are often found in people with depression; SSRIs, electroconvulsive therapy, and now yoga, it seems, can boost GABA. Preliminary research out of the Boston University School of Medicine and Harvard’s McLean Hospital found that healthy subjects who practiced yoga for one hour had a 27 percent increase in levels of GABA compared with a control group that simply sat and read for an hour. This supports a growing body of research that’s proving yoga can significantly improve mood and reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Breast Cancer

Research is becoming clear on this: Women who do yoga during and after treatment experience less physical discomfort and stress. Earlier this year Duke University scientists reported results of a pilot study in which women with metastatic breast cancer attended eight weekly yoga sessions. The doctors found that the women had much less pain and felt more energetic and relaxed.

Menopause

A preliminary study at the University of California, San Francisco, found that menopausal women who took two months of a weekly restorative yoga class, which uses props to support the postures, reported a 30 percent decrease in hot flashes. A four-month study at the University of Illinois found that many women who took a 90-minute Iyengar class twice a week boosted both their energy and mood; plus they reported less physical and sexual discomfort, and

Chronic Back Pain

When doctors at the HMO Group Health Cooperative in Seattle pitted 12 weekly sessions of yoga against therapeutic exercises and a handbook on self-care, they discovered the yoga group not only showed greater improvement but experienced benefits lasting 14 weeks longer. A note of caution: “While many poses are helpful, seated postures or extreme movement in one direction can make back pain worse,” says Gary Kraftsow, author of Yoga for Wellness, who designed the program for the study.

Wide range of events planned for Srivatsa Ramaswami to share knowledge with the community

Gentle Yoga will host Indian Yoga master Srivatsa Ramaswami from December 8-24 for The Art of Yoga, a 16-day exploration when Ramaswami will impart the age-old knowledge of a complete yoga practice. Events, some of which are free, include a book signing and lecture, a traditional sun salutation practice at a local park, intensive workshops, trainings, and specialized classes in yoga practice, meditation, and philosophy.

“This is a rare opportunity for Americans to experience the full range of yoga as taught by a master teacher from India,” Gentle Yoga and director of its teacher training programs. “The majority of yoga practiced throughout the world today came from the teacher who trained Ramaswami and Austin has been given the privilege to experience yoga in the purest form. Gentle Yoga is honored to host a genuine Yoga Master.”

Beginning at the age of 15 and continuing for more than 30 years, Ramaswami was a student of Sri T. Krishnamacharya, who is recognized as the most significant influence in imparting authentic knowledge about yoga in the last 50 years. Ramaswami, who has taught yoga worldwide for over 20 years, is the author of several books, including his latest with co-author David Hurwitz Yoga Beneath the Surface: An American Student & His Indian Teacher Discuss Yoga Philosophy and Practice. He has recorded 40 audiocassettes and CDs of Sanskrit chants, which are held as the gold standard for the sutras in India.

For years, I have been on medication to control my cholesterol, and, to some extent, my sugar levels. A few days ago, I took a 6-month fasting blood test again (the previous one was taken before I became a member of Gentle Yoga). The results came back yesterday and I was overwhelmed with them. The levels were significantly lower than the previous test! Nothing else in my life has changed except for the fact that I have been doing Gentle Yoga !