The Science and Art of Yoga in Mental and Neurological Healthcare

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

The word "Yoga" was first mentioned in the oldest sacred Indian test Rig Veda. The yogic tradition in India can be traced back to the Indus-Saraswati Valley Civilization in Northern India over 5000 years ago. However, it was systematized as a practice by the great sage Maharishi Patanjali through his Patanjall Yoga Sutras. Earlier, it was considered to be a mystic practice only for saints and sages who were detached from worldly desires. With changing times, this tradition of yoga is now being accepted by a wide majority of people and has achieved worldwide acceptance. Apart from Patanjali Yoga Sutras (calling it as Raja Yoga), Swami Vivekananda brought out the other three dimensions of Yoga as Jnana Yoga based on Upanishadic wisdom base, Bhakti Yoga based on Narada Bhakti Sutras and Karma Yoga using the teachings in Bhagavad Gita. From the taboo of a mystic practice, yoga is now considered as a science of holistic living to achieve health and wealth, happiness and bliss, as also efficiency, peace and poise. The benefits of yoga are well recognized, and it has widespread applications to meet the challenges of our modern era including therapeutic indications.

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) is pioneer in research pertaining to the field of neurosciences. It is indeed exciting that an "Institute of National Importance" has come forward with evidence to support this age-old Indian tradition. This would be a new beginning in the field of integrative medicine which can help lessen the bridge between modern medicine and traditional systems of medicine in India.

In this book, The Science and Art of Yoga in Mental and Neurological Healthcare, the authors have taken great effort to bring forth the scientific evidence of integrated approach of yoga therapy in most of the mental health and neurological conditions. Most of the psychotherapeutic approaches followed in India have been adapted from western literature based on the evidence base. An attempt to have systematic evidence for an indigenous psychotherapeutic approach-like yogic counseling may help in overcoming many hurdles that we face in the field of psychotherapy in India today. It must be noticed that yoga in its entirety is included as a therapy by including even the role of yogic counseling in such conditions.

A section of the book, "Neurobiological Dimensions, has been dedicated to explain in detail the brain correlates and the proposed mechanism of action of bringing balance at all levels by yoga definitely gives the readers a keen interest in knowing Yoga in relation to the neurophysiological changes in the brain and the psycho-neuro-immunological axis (PNI axis). Further on, in section "Yoga for Clinical Conditions", each disorder has been individually described in separate chapters in the light of both yogic knowledge and modern science with a Case Vignette at the end. Each chapter displays a comprehensive compilation of the existing evidence of yoga practices in various disorders, especially the non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which gives an insight into the type of practices that may be of relevance for that particular illness. Interestingly, each chapter also has a part on "Yoga Clinical Insights" which emphasizes the practical challenges and difficulties that the therapist may face while dealing with this section of patients. This is particularly of great value to yoga therapists that will give them a clear picture of what are the Do's and Don'ts in each set of patients.

Apart from explaining the theoretical aspect of yoga, the special yoga practices that have been proven to be effective for various illnesses have been compiled to individual modules for each illness in the Appendix of the book. It has been tabulated with specific details of the asanas, the number of repetitions and the time spent in each pose which has been sequenced according to the Yoga experts. Special and advanced techniques including kriyas, breathing practices, pranayama, meditation, practices of emotion culture, etc., taking into consideration the needs of each age group have been presented accordingly. These modules can provide a template for yoga therapists throughout India and abroad to modify their practices according to the needs of their clients. It can also be evolved as a textbook for medical practitioners.

The last section of the book focuses on Preventive and Health Promotive Aspects of Yoga with chapters on "Yoga for Caregivers", "Yoga for Positive Mental Health", and "Tele-Yoga in Mental Health". The chapter on Tele-Yoga provides the way ahead and makes us realize the immense advantage of technology which is a boon in these days of COVID-19. This online platform for yoga therapy can help in overcoming many hurdles patients face in terms of transportation, supervision and convenience, so that the advantages of this practice can be imparted to a greater audience.

In summary, Yoga, which is an immortal cultural outcome of India, has now become a subject of scientific curiosity paving ways to new discoveries and treatment of various illnesses. The book would definitely be a great addition to the knowledge of integrative medicine and would serve as an important easy to use handbook for yoga therapists dealing with patients suffering from common psychiatric and neurological conditions. The editors should be credited for their efforts to produce a comprehensive manual on collating the knowledge of the Science and Art of Yoga in Mental and Neurological Healthcare.

The past few decades have seen a momentous change in the outlook for treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. The initial optimism in the second half of the 20th century with the advent of new pharmacological agents for psychiatric disorders slowly gave way to an understanding that these agents, while certainly more refined than the earlier drugs, could not really change the long-term prognosis of these disorders and were not devoid of adverse effects either. The biopsychosocial conceptualization of the major psychiatric disorders also emphasized that effective treatment should not be unidimensional. Therefore, multi-disciplinary teams and inputs became very important in management of such disorders, and this also brought to the fore the traditional healthcare approaches in which a systemic approach looking at the person as a whole is emphasized. These approaches, which are classified under the rubric of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), are extensively utilized across the globe, more so in the developing world, for a host of psychiatric and neurological disorders.

Yoga is one of these healthcare approaches, and in the past three decades there has been an increasing volume of scientific evidence to suggest that yoga-based interventions can be effective along with modern medicines and in some cases as a sole treatment. Although yoga originated as one of the six "darsanas" or systems of philosophy of ancient India and not as a therapeutic intervention, the application of Yoga to mitigate psychiatric disorders in not new. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali introduces Yoga as citta vritti nirodhah, practice of Yoga as a means to calm an unruly mind, its rumination and regurgitation of the past and a possible ominous future which destabilizes the body-mind complex and creates many psychiatric problems. Thus, integrating Yoga practices in daily life could bring not just health but open doors to higher levels of creativity and maturity in emotional interaction with one's family, society and the world at large.

In addition to clinical effects, several putative neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effects of Yoga in neuropsychiatric disorders have been demonstrated ranging from neurophysiological measures of autonomic function to changes in neurotransmitter levels and brain imaging parameters. This book, The Science and Art of Yoga in Mental and Neurological Healthcare, attempts to bring the reader abreast of these developments and presents a comprehensive as well as practical approach to the use of Yoga as a therapeutic approach in psychiatric and neurological disorders. We view that this book primarily as a manual for the use of Yoga in the care of psychiatric and neurological conditions rather than as a comprehensive textbook.

The initial chapters aim to give the reader a brief introduction to Yoga, the yogic concept of counseling, and the role of Yoga in traditional and modern healthcare in India. The section on Neurobiological Dimensions of Yoga aims to explain the basic concepts which are needed to understand the multilayered effects of yoga in different psychiatric and neurological disorders as well as the various techniques which have been used to unravel these mechanisms. The subsequent chapters on the role of yoga and the current status of evidence in various psychiatric and neurological disorders form the core of this manual and are written by authors who have carried out original research work in the specific area. The final chapters focus on the role of yoga for caregivers of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders, the contribution of yoga to Positive Mental Health (which is critical in these troubled times), and Tele-Yoga, which seems set to occupy a central place in the future of yoga therapy.

Of course, we realize that knowledge is ever-expanding and we are fallible at the best of times. We acknowledge that we may not have covered all the information available and that there may be gaps and deficiencies in this book. We request the readers' forgiveness for the same and hope that within these limitations, this will serve as a guide to professionals in Yoga and Mental Health in their noble quest to help patients and families suffering from mental and neurological disorders.

We are deeply grateful to all the authors and contributors, and we are particularly thankful to Dr Vinay Kumar from the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) who was instrumental in bringing out this book in the present form. We also thank all the office-bearers of the IPS, as well as M/s Jaypee Bothers Medical Publishers, New Delhi, India, for making this dream come true. Of course, we owe the greatest debt of gratitude to our Gurus, Professor BN Gangadhar, Professor D Nagaraja and Dr HR Nagendra, who have been the torchbearers in throwing light on the potential of yoga in neuropsychiatric disorders.