Here is a list of books to read, free online videos, podcasts, CDs and websites to help you find Yoga-based complementary health resources by disease or syndrome. We hope to add to this list and please let us know what other resources you may know.
DIRECTORIES OF HEALTH CONDITIONS
A-Z Directory of Common Health Complaints
This site has the A-Z of health issues and recommendations for using integrative, holistic, natural and Yoga remedies. Eventually we’d like to build our own database of Yoga remedies but until then, Holistic-online.com is a great resource.
Dr. Timothy McCall’s “50 Health Conditions Benefited by Yoga” – Free online chart of conditions. Download pdf here.
HEALTH CONDITIONS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:
ALLERGIES
(Coming soon)
ARTHRITIS
Yoga’s gentle exercises designed to provide relief to needed joints had been found to be very effective in relieving arthritis. Yoga’s slow-motion movements and gentle pressures reach deep into troubled joints. In addition, the easy stretches in conjunction with deep breathing exercises relieve the tension that binds up the muscles and further tightens the joints. Read more here.
Yoga for Arthritis: The Complete Guide by Loren Fishman & Ellen Saltonstall (BOOK)
Yoga Nidra for Arthritis CD with Inez Stein
Yoga for Arthritis (DVD) http://tinyurl.com/kkzq63
Yoga for Arthritis free podcast
ASTHMA
Yoga Beats Asthma: Simple Exercises and Breathing Techniques to Relieve Asthma and Other Respiratory Disorders (Book) by Stella Weller
http://tinyurl.com/lh2vj3
Yoga and Asthma with Esther – free online video from Yogamatic.com
Yoga for Asthma : YOGAmazing video podcast:
BACK PAIN
Overview: Yoga has consistently been used to cure and prevent back pain by enhancing strength and flexibility. Both acute and long-term stress can lead to muscle tension and exacerbate back problems. A number of components of Yoga help to ease back pain:
* Asanas (Postures)-Practicing of postures provides gentle stretching and movements that increase flexibility and help correct bad posture.
* Pranayama (Breathing Exercises) -Breathing patterns can affect the spine in various ways, such as movement of the ribs and changes in pressure within the chest and abdomen. Exhaling can help relax muscles.
* Relaxation and Meditation- Relaxation provides a physiologic antidote to stress. Imaging techniques may also be used. For example, imagining a movement before it is actually performed makes it easier to move the muscles that are being used. Read more here.
Programs
Yoga for Back Pain with Nina Priya David at Integral Yoga Institute of New York
Yoga for Back Pain: 5-part free online mini-course
Yoga Routine for Lower Back Pain with Esther Ekhart on Yogatic.com
Books/CDs/DVDs
Relief is in the Stretch: End Back Pain Through Yoga by Loren M. Fishman, MD & Carol Ardman
Viniyoga Therapy for the Lower Back, Sacrum and Hips with Gary Kraftsow (DVD)
Viniyoga Therapy for the Upper Back, Neck and Shoulders with Gary Kraftsow (DVD)
Yoga to the Rescue for Back Pain with Desirée Rumbaugh (DVD)
Common Lower Back Problems with Larry Payne (DVD)
Common Upper Back & Neck Problems with Larry Payne (DVD)
The Essential Low Back Program with Robin Rothenberg (CD-Set)
CANCER
Treatment Programs
Commonweal Cancer Help Program (founded by Michael Lerner, PhD, student of Swami Satchidananda and includes Integral Yoga practices)
Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts (the Washington-DC-based sister organization to Commonweal in Bolinas, California. Shanti Norris, director, was assistant to Sri Swami Satchidananda)
Other
Yoga Bear.com
National non-profit organization dedicated to providing cancer survivors with more opportunities for wellness and healing through the practice of Yoga.
Yoga for Cancer Survivors
Susi Hately Aldous, owner and principle instructor of Functional Synergy inc., has been teaching people therapeutic principles for overcoming pain and chronic disease since 1995. In 2001 Susi teamed up with Nicole Culos-Reed to develop the Yoga for Cancer Survivors program at the University of Calgary.
Yoga For Cancer Survivors (YouTube Video)- a therapeutic Yoga program is based on Hatha Yoga, but has been modified for people who are particularly stiff, immobile, ill or under stress.
“The Stupid Cancer Show”: Kelly McGonigal on a radio podcast for young adult cancer survivors. She talks about how Yoga can benefit survivors, some of the myths about Yoga and meditation, and how Yoga Bear connects survivors with free classes at Yoga studios around the U.S. Interview is in the second half of the episode.
Choices in Healing by Michael Lerner – (Book) – considered one of the most important books on choices in healing from cancer written by the founder of the Commonweal Cancer Help program.
“My Body Yoga” hosted a breast cancer awareness workshop in Occoquan, Virginia. (Google Videocast)
Healing Yoga for People Living with Cancer by Lisa Holtby (Book)
Yoga for Cancer Survivors with Jean Di Carlo-Wagner (CD)
CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME
How Yoga Can Help – WebMD video
Yoga Stretches for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Desk Posture to Relieve Carpal Tunnel (YouTube Video)
How to Relieve Carpal Tunnel Syndrome with Yoga -online video
Exercises for Tendonitis and Carpal Tunnel – Video podcast
Carpal Tunnel Radio – Audio podcast: According to the National Institutes of Health, Yoga is the third best thing you can do for carpal tunnel.
CHILDREN: DISABILITIES/SPECIAL NEEDS
Yoga for the Special Child: A Therapeutic Approach for Infants and Children with Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and Learning Disabilities by Sonia Sumar (Book)
Directory of Yoga for the Special Child ® licensed practitioners (click on “Licensed Practitioners”)
Special Yoga Centre, UK – website of Yoga for the Special Child, UK branch.
Special Yoga Centre’s Yoga for the Special Child (YouTube video)
Yoga for Children with Special Needs with Aras Baskauskas & Britt Collins (DVD)
CHRONIC PAIN
Overview: Yoga is believed to reduce pain by helping the brain’s pain center regulate the gate-controlling mechanism located in the spinal cord and the secretion of natural painkillers in the body. Breathing exercises used in Yoga can also reduce pain. Because muscles tend to relax when you exhale, lengthening the time of exhalation can help produce relaxation and reduce tension. Awareness of breathing helps to achieve calmer, slower respiration and aid in relaxation and pain management. Yoga’s inclusion of relaxation techniques and meditation can also help reduce pain. Part of the effectiveness of Yoga in reducing pain is due to its focus on self-awareness. This self-awareness can have a protective effect and allow for early preventive action. Read more here.
Chair Yoga For Good Living: Read booklet about six week relaxation course for people living with chronic pain and disability from painfoundation.org
Download PDF here.
Yoga for Pain Relief: Simple Practices to Calm Your Mind and Heal Your Chronic Pain by Kelly McGonigal (Book)
The Mindfulness Solution to Pain: Step-by-Step Techniques for Chronic Pain Management by Jackie Gardner-Nix and Jon Kabat-Zinn (Book)
COLDS
Yoga for Common Cold – Yogamazing online video/free download
How to Do Jala Neti (nasal irrigation) – YouTube video
How to Use a Neti Pot for the Sniffles -Vimeo online video
Q & A about using a Neti Pot – article from Yoga + Joyful Living
Buy a neti pot (type “neti pot” in search box for selection of neti pots, salt etc)
DIABETES
There is a Cure for Diabetes by Gabriel Cousens, MD (Book)
21-Day Reversing Diabetes Program: There is a Cure for Diabetes, featuring a raw vegan diabetes diet, Yoga & meditation with Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
“Simply Raw” Film Trailer: Six fast food eating Americans eat 100% vegan live foods for a month. Medical results are fantastic. Doctors , experts, and raw foodists are interviewed including Gabriel Cousens, MD, David Wolfe, and Woody Harrelson.
Dr. Gabriel Cousens: Reversing Diabetes Naturally (Podcast) – Beyond 50 Radio (Episode 84)
Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days (DVD)
Yoga for Diabetes Presented by Yogacharya Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, MD (DVD)
HEADACHES
Headache Relief – Yoga for Life with Kurt Johnsen (YouTube video)
Yoga Therapy for Headache Relief by Peter Van Houten
HEART DISEASE
Treatment Programs
Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease
The non-invasive Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease is the first program scientifically proven to reverse the progression of heart disease. A unique and innovative treatment program to supplement conventional treatment of heart disease, it combines moderate aerobic exercise, Yoga and stress management techniques, group support, and a low-fat, whole foods nutrition plan to improve blood flow to the heart and decrease cholesterol, blood pressure and chest pain (angina). It is also used to prevent the development of heart disease in people with associated risk factors.
Cardiac Yoga ® was developed by M. Mala Cunningham, PhD who trains and certifies Yoga teachers and health professionals to teach Yoga to those with cardiac issues. Find a certified Cardiac Yoga teacher here.
Yoga of the Heart ® was developed by Nischala Joy Devi who trains and certifies Yoga teachers and health professionals to teach Yoga to those with cardiac and cancer issues. Find a certified Yoga of the Heart teacher here.
Other Resources
Dr. Dean Ornish: Integral Yoga for Heart Disease – watch free video online
In this clip, Dr. Ornish goes through the various components of his Yoga-based lifestyle program for reversing heart disease: low fat vegetarian diet, Yoga, meditation, deep relaxation, social support. From the DVD “The Healthy Heart” in which Dr. Dean Ornish details his healthy heart program, which consists of a low-fat vegetarian diet, Yoga and meditation and other healthy lifestyle changes. This program has been scientifically proven to prevent and reverse heart disease. For more information about Dr. Ornish, visit his website: pmri.org.
Dr. Dean Ornish: Bypassing the Problem? – watch free video online
In this clip, Dr. Ornish explains the philosophy behind his healthy heart program which is based on principles he learned from his teacher, Sri Swami Satchidananda. From the DVD “The Healthy Heart” in which Dr. Dean Ornish details his healthy heart program, which consists of a low-fat vegetarian diet, Yoga and meditation and other healthy lifestyle changes. This program has been scientifically proven to prevent and reverse heart disease. For more information visit pmri.org.
Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs or Surgery (Book)
Cardiac Yoga: Interview with Deke Cripe – free online video from ihanuman.com
After his fifth heart attack, Deke Cripe was left with very few medical options and very little hope. In desperation he decided to try Yoga and meditation, and he credits these, in addition to diet and lifestyle changes, with the remarkable recovery and healing of his heart disease that followed.
Yoga and Heart Disease: A Personal Journey – In this moving excerpt from the film, “Living Yoga,” Richard Cripe (a former heart patient and now Yoga teacher and therapist) chronicles his journey using Yoga and Dr. Dean Ornish’s program (based in Integral Yoga) to reverse his heart disease.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Overview: The relaxation and exercise components of Yoga have a major role to play in the treatment and prevention of high blood pressure (hypertension). A combination of biofeedback and yogic breathing and relaxation techniques has been found to lower blood pressure and reduce the need for high blood pressure medication in people suffering from high blood pressure. In 20 patients with high blood pressure who practiced biofeedback and Yoga techniques, five were able to stop their blood pressure medication completely, five were able to reduce significantly the amount of medication they were taking, and another four had lower blood pressure than at the beginning of the three-month study. Read more here.
Yoga for High Blood Pressure– YouTube video
Esther shows a Yoga sequence that can help you when your blood pressure is too high.
Yoga for High Blood Pressure – Vimeo video podcast with Chaz Rough
Series of poses that will help you manage hypertension. This class is for all levels and remember to breathe, relax and have fun.
IMMUNE SYSTEM
The Yoga Group is a Colorado non-profit organization providing free Yoga classes since 1988 to persons living with HIV/AIDS, and sharing related information with yoga teachers and the HIV+ community.
Online Directory of Classes being taught for those living with HIV/AIDS for USA, Canada & Australia (please note that some of the web/email addresses aren’t updated but you can find with a Google search)
Finding Hope in a Time of Crisis: AIDS and Other Illnesses – talk by Sri Swami Satchidananda; Digital download available
Introduction to Kundalini Yoga for the Immune System with Gurutej Kaur – YouTube video
Yoga for a Strong Immune System with Vicki Forman -YouTube video
Immune Booster & General Conditioning (Level One & Level Two) with Larry Payne DVD
