Mind and Body - A Powerful Connection

Mind/Body techniques focus on getting the mind and body in the most relaxed state possible where the most effective healing can and does take place.

It is a well known fact that increased stress levels have a profound effect on our immune system’s ability to do it’s job effectively. “Theoretically, a mind/body intervention that is found to decrease patients’ stress levels could, therefore, have an impact on the immune system,” said Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Behavioral Science and director of the Integrative Medicine Program at M. D. Anderson.  “We know that chronic stress can have a negative impact on aspects of physiologic functioning that, in turn, have negative health implications,” said Dr. Cohen. “For instance, stress increases the body’s production of the stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine; dysregulates the immune system; and decreases cell-mediated immunity, which is specifically relevant for cancer patients.”

To accomplish the deep level of relaxation necessary to reduce stress the following mind/body techniques have proven beneficial:

Yoga

To further test the belief that yoga benefits cancer patients, M. D. Anderson scientists recently have signed an agreement to enter into a research collaboration with Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (SVYASA Research Foundation) in Bangalore, India. The largest yoga therapy research Health Home Arogyadhama in India, the foundation has conducted extensive research on the effects of yoga on both healthy people, people with various medical conditions, and those with cancer.

In collaboration with these scientists, Dr. Cohen recently completed a study of the effects of hatha yoga, an Indian-based yoga practice, on 62 patients with breast cancer undergoing radiation treatment. An abstract being presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative Oncology reports that the researchers found better physical functioning and general health and significantly lower levels of sleep-related daytime dysfunction in the women who practice hatha yoga compared with the control group. Women in the yoga group participated in hatha yoga two times a week during the course of their radiation therapy. A grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is funding a larger trial of this research.

Yoga’s primary emphasis is upon general well-being. Although yoga has been shown to be beneficial in a variety of conditions, it is not considered a therapy for specific illnesses. Rather, yoga employs a broad holistic approach that focuses on teaching people a new lifestyle, way of thinking, and way of being in the world. In the process, however, it is also found to bring a myriad of healing effects. By attending to practices for improving, regaining or retaining general good health, a person is likely to find that some of his more specific difficulties tend to disappear. Many of the healing effects of yoga is clinically verified. We will look at the healing effects of yoga. However, one of the most important benefit of yoga is its application in relieving stress, fatigue, invigoration and vitality and its anti-aging properties and its application for relaxation therapy. For more information on the healthful benefits of Yoga click here.

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