More than 50 years ago Bikram's guru, Bishnu Ghosh, said that "mental stress and strain is the cause of all diseases, even infectious ones." Why? Because stress compromises the immune system, your own Department of Defense. Recently, Western medicine has begun to catch up with my guru's wisdom, confirming, among other things, the destructive role of cortisol, a stress hormone, in chronic illness. Diabetes, obesity, hypertension, depression, migraines and chronic pain, just to name a few of the most serious ailments, have all been linked to stress, along with lifestyle habits such as a poor diet.
What is stress? Medical schools will tell you it's "the nonspecific response of the body to any demand, external or internal." Acute stressors are short-term things, like deadlines for taxes, or a big business meeting. Chronic ones include taking care of a terminally ill family member and having a high-pressure job. With either kind of stress, the body is sent into emergency overdrive, the "fight-or-flight response," and our bodies release chemicals such as adrenaline and cortisol to help us cope or respond to the stressor. An adrenaline rush, for example, can help us run away faster from danger. (The fight-or-flight response also raises the heart and breathing rates, and directs blood away from normal functions such as digestion so it can be used for emergency responses.)
Over time and with repeated emergencies-or at least events and conditions that we perceive as stressful-the body becomes overwhelmed by the constant release of these hormones and their acidic, corrosive effects. We're exhausted, and the immune system, endocrine system and nervous system cannot function at their best, which causes high blood pressure, sleep disorders, chronic headaches, neck tension, backaches, depression and anxiety.
With the natural science of yoga we tap into the body's intrinsic healing system, calming and reintegrating the mind, body and emotions. Through the postures and the breath work in Hatha Yoga, we take back control and turn off the fight-or-flight response and its flood of bad biochemistry. Here's just a little of the recent clinical confirmation of this by Western scientists, proof of how well Hatha Yoga returns the body to equilibrium.
In 2005, a German study compared groups of women who were acutely distressed over a three-month period. Those who practiced yoga showed significantly lower levels of cortisol compared to those in the control group, and made significant decreases in their levels of perceived stress, anxiety, fatigue and depression. They reported higher levels of well-being and they improved physically as well; women suffering from headaches or back pain experienced marked relief. Countless other studies have shown yoga's effectiveness in stress management. You don't need an anti-anxiety drug with potentially gruesome side effects. Instead, get up off that couch and heal yourself by practicing Hatha Yoga.
