Research Newsletter Issue 63: Yoga – the BEST Mood Booster for Cancer Patients

Research on Yoga as the BEST mood booster for cancer patients, and reviews of three Yoga Therapy books with chapters by Amy Weintraub
Research on Yoga as the BEST mood booster for cancer patients, and reviews of three Yoga Therapy books with chapters by Amy Weintraub
In this issue, we write about a study that attends to the subtler effects of meditation, asking how brain science can answer the question of how detachment and empathy might both be benefits of the practice. We also report on another prenatal yoga study coming from Brown University and Butler Hospital with encouraging news for pregnant women suffering from depression.
In this issue, we review several new books that are important in the field of yoga and mental health. Guest LifeForce Yoga Practitioner reviewers Anne Friedenheim, Ellen Campbell, and Sherry Rubin reviewed books by Rama Jyoti Vernon, the master yoga teacher, who has finally graced us with the wisdom of her many years of study and practice, Beth Gibbs, a senior teacher trainer in the Integrative Yoga Therapy Training Program, who writes two books—one for young children, and the other a manual for those who love them, and psychologist and meditation teacher Elisha Goldstein. I am honored to review the new book by Richard Miller, who despite his years of scholarship, clinical work and the depth of his study in yoga, writes an accessible meditation manual for those who have experienced trauma.
I am proud to see that LifeForce Yoga Practitioners like Dr. Patricia Kinser at Virginia Commonwealth University and colleagues like Dr. Sat Bir Khalsa at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard University and the International Association of Yoga Therapists are taking the lead in this research, and that my colleagues at Kripalu and elsewhere have developed effective secular yoga protocols for class room settings.
In addition to the research reviewed below, I also love reading and reviewing new books and CDs about yoga and mental health, and it was a thrill to resonate so deeply with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s new book, The Body Keeps the Score. LifeForce Yoga Director of Education Rose Kress reviews Dr. Lisa Ferentz’s new trauma survivors’ workbook and a new CD by Jeanne Dillion
As pioneering researchers in the field of mind body practices and mental health, Drs. Gerbarg and Brown have researched the ancient traditions, both Eastern and Western, and know what works. They keep it simple–no religion, no deities–just clear breathing instruction easily introduced in a clinical setting or for use at home. The authors have researched…
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Ahhhhhh! Here we are, summer at last. No research this time. Just a couple of book recommendations as you settle into the hammock. If you’re feeling stressed, despite the good weather, make time for leisure every day, even if you’re not on vacation. How about a few minutes for a pranayama breathing practice outside, or…
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Reviewed by Ellen Campbell. Ellen teaches yoga to children and adults in Tucson, Arizona. She is a LifeForce Yoga Level I practitioner and author of the Youthful Yogis Blog. Eline Snel’s book, Sitting Still Like a Frog, is proof that good things come in small packages. Just one hundred pages long– and compact enough to fit in…
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The authors of Yoga for Anxiety have brought us a beautiful book of healing yoga practices for trauma survivors. Not only do they include their own inspiring stories of coming to yoga and meditation to heal, but their prose is full of anecdotes to which readers can readily relate. The NurrieStearns include selfinquiry practices, easy-to-follow…
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Megha Nancy Buttenheim and I found our way to Kripalu Yoga, the practice that in the late 80′s saved my life and enabled me to slowly, with medical supervision, titrate off anti-depressant medication. Megha was already teaching at Kripalu when I arrived and was a teacher whose joy and compassion inspired my own practice. Many…
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“You cannot steer your dharma with the vehicle of self-will—the will of the small “s” self.” – Stephen Cope, The Great Work of Your Life: A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling Do not read The Great Work of Your Life by Stephen Cope, if you are not prepared to re-examine your life. I reviewed this…
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I’ve known Rose as a student, a yoga teacher, as my assistant, and now as the Program & Education Director for the LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute, so I can’t claim that this is an entirely unbiased review. However, I can tell you that this CD has joined the ranks of Krishna Das, David Newman, Wah,…
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The time you take to read this book, written by a psychologist and yoga teacher with a strong mindfulness meditation practice, may create more space to do what your love. Reading it and following the practices, can help you make choices about your work, your play, the time you spend with family and friends that…
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