Short Yoga Sessions Stimulate Brain Function and Improve Cognition

by Ram

Monarchs Feeding by Melina Meza

Both Nina and Baxter emphasized the need to have a short session of yoga as a quick practice especially during long travel or while taking a break from work (see Mini Office Yoga Practice).  And I recently wrote a piece about the ill effects of prolonged sitting, and suggested taking short breaks and bringing in office yoga or supplementary yoga (see Yoga, Your Compantion Through the Day). All these articles advocated incorporating at least 10-15 minutes of yoga that could not only add new life to the dull and routine tasks of everyday life but also keep us fit physically and emotionally.

One may question the benefits, if any, from a short session of yoga. Not surprisingly, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Illinois, a single 20-minute session of yoga awakens and sharpens the mind significantly, comparable to walking or jogging. The study involved 30 participants who were either given a 20-minute yoga class or asked to carry out a moderate aerobic exercise regimen for the same period of time. In addition to standing, sitting and reclined yoga poses, the session also included a short meditation practice where participants were encouraged to focus on their breath. In the comparison group, participants worked out an aerobic exercise session, which was also shown to provide a cognitive boost of its own.

When participants were tested for cognitive performance, the authors found some significant difference between the two groups.  Those who’d been practicing yoga and meditation performed significantly better in the assessment tests. Following the yoga practice, the participants were not only able to focus better, they were also processing new information quickly and accurately, and were able to recall the new information more effectively than after performing an aerobic exercise. While there are several scientific studies that indicate that practice of asanas and meditation has beneficial effects on the emotional well-being and general mental acuity, what’s remarkable about this specific study is that even a short yoga session of 20 minutes is sufficient to stimulate brain function and improve cognition. Yoga does so through multiple cellular mechanisms, including:

• releasing brain chemicals that contribute to a feel-good response and ward off anxiety and mental stress
• normalizing blood pressure and stabilizing the heart beats
• reducing anxiety and depression

Simple and short though the yoga session may be, the outstanding benefits are surely long lasting. Got office yoga or supplementary yoga?

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The Ill Effects of Prolonged Sitting

by Ram

Van Gough's Chair by Vincent van Gough

A quick question: are you sitting while reading my blog post? If you are, then maybe you should stand up to read it! According to a new study, sitting for long periods puts you at a risk of early death. (This sentence definitely made you stand, correct?) Most people in present day society spend the majority of their time sitting. A typical U.S. adult sits for an average of ten hours per day. Too much sitting is associated with numerous problems, including obesity, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer among others. Prolonged sitting does the following:

• decreases the activity of an enzyme which helps burn fat
• reduces bone mineral density and blocks new bone formation, raising the risk of fracture
• increases cholesterol levels and reduces the diameter of arteries putting the individual at risk for heart disease
• decreases insulin sensitivity and triggers type-2 diabetes

For many of us sitting for eight hours a day at our job is inevitable. Compounded with extra sitting outside of work is what makes it hazardous. Most importantly, the ill effects of prolonged sitting occur regardless of the individual’s physical activity. Those who exercise daily may assume that their vigorous training regimen protects them from the harmful effects of prolonged sitting. Unfortunately, it doesn't. Several independent research studies show that even an intense activity will not undo the deleterious effects that come from sitting for 8-10 hours in a day. Thus, too much sitting is harmful even if you're getting enough exercise. This means you could be meeting the recommended guidelines for a daily exercise but you will still be at higher risk of disease if you sit for long periods each day.

Recall that in my earlier posts The Power of Mental Exercise, Part 1 and Part 2, I emphasized incorporating mental exercises as a daily regimen to keep physically and mentally fit.  Now it appears that simply sitting or remaining sedentary changes certain brain cells such that it affects not just the brain but the heart as well, putting the individual at risk of heart disease. Findings from a recent study showed that individuals who sat for more than 11 hours daily were 40 percent more likely to die within the next three years than those who sat for four hours or less daily—even when their physical activity at other times of the day was accounted for. Prolonged sitting has become the norm rather than an exception. In today’s society it is very easy to end up sitting 12-15 hours a day. If you have a commute of 1-2 hours round trip, work in an office that requires you to sit for an average of 8 hours and follow it up by watching TV for a couple of hours of each night, you end up spending the vast majority of hours sitting.

This is against the evolutionary norms for humans as the human body simply is not built to sit for prolonged hours. Go back to history and notice that the cave man was always active—often quite strenuously—to get food, find shelter and simply survive. They naturally spent a lot of time outdoors, walking, hunting, gathering, and performing various other physically oriented tasks. To them this was not a physical exercise or "working out." It was just normal life.  In today’s world, activity/exercise is primarily an intervention; it is something we do to guard against the negative impacts of a sedentary lifestyle.

The question is: how can you avoid the dreaded effects that come from prolonged sitting? The only available option is to drastically change your lifestyle. Standing for long hours by no means is the answer or a panacea. Prolonged standing comes with its own baggage of ill health, especially to the legs, knees and lower back. For optimal health we need to reduce sitting time and increase "non-exercise" physical activity. Most experts recommend a 50:50 sit-stand allowance. Experts also agree that it is beneficial to interrupt sitting time as often as possible. One way to do this is to move or stretch for at least 10 minutes for each hour of sitting time.

Here are a few strategies to lessen the sitting hours and help incorporate more physical activity throughout the day:

1. Do not sit for more than two hours continuously. Take a break to do yoga or walk. Try poses from our office yoga series (see Mini Office Yoga Sequence and Office Yoga Sequence. And remember to bring supplemental yoga with you. Stand up for at least two minutes for each hour of sitting. Short breaks can make a big difference. If you have trouble remembering to take a break from sitting, use an alarm to draw your attention.

2. If your occupation involves sitting for long periods, you can work at a standing desk. The potential benefits from a standing desk are manifold, including, higher productivity, reduced absenteeism and lower health care costs among many. And if you are attending meetings that require long hours of sitting, try standing midway through the meeting. If you're worried about any impending stares from your colleagues or manager, just hand over this article to them.

3. Take every opportunity you can to walk. Use the stairs instead of the elevators to get to your location. Use the bathroom on the ground floor or the basement and take the stairs to go down. In the parking lot, try parking farthest away from the building’s entrance door. If you are in the shopping mall or grocery store, try parking farthest away, not only from the store entrance but also from the parking cart corrals. A yoga trick you can try while you are walking—as long as you’re not carrying anything—is to cross your arms behind your back and hold your elbows or forearms. This will open your chest and stretch the fronts of your shoulders, which become tight from typing, driving, and so on.

4. Walk or bicycle to work. If you live too far away to walk or ride, consider driving part of the way and walking or using the bicycle for the remainder. For people who cycle regularly, you can use your yoga practice to balance your body (see Yoga and Cycling).

5. Instead of sitting on a couch while you are watching TV, reading, listening to music and/or socializing, try sitting on the floor in different seated positions, including Seated Crossed Legs, Cobbler’s pose, Hero pose, Thunderbolt pose, Wide Angle pose (Nina likes to fold laundry in that pose), and so on. Try to change positions every 10 minutes or so. And add activity to your TV time by doing supplemental yoga during commercial breaks.

Notice that all the household furniture from lunch tables to computer desks is designed with sitting in mind. So an upright, activity-centered lifestyle will require modifications to the furniture setting.

There is no doubt that excessive time spent in sedentary behavior is not only having an impact on public health but also has effects on the life span of the individual. Those who maintain a reasonable amount of activity, particularly across the middle and later years, are twice as likely to avoid early death and serious illness. However, it appears that it is never too late to make some changes and experience these positive outcomes. The antidote for these obstacles and their consequences are awareness, focus and determination. So take my advice, get off the couch/chair and seek some enjoyable activity that involves some movement.

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Yoga, Your Companion Through the Day

by Ram

Upward Bound Hands

One of the main tenets of yoga philosophy is “Yogas chitta vritii nirodhah,”which means achieving a union of the body, mind and spirit when all mental fluctuations/turbulences cease. Now, imagine waiting at the airport for nearly two hours to board an international flight. Or, you get held up in a traffic accident and the traffic has come to a standstill. Or, while negotiating over the phone with a credit card company, the customer service representative keeps you on hold. These are all situations where your emotions can flare up and yet, going by the above doctrine, you need to maintain your composure. So these situations call for supplementary yoga as a means to lighten up the situations and bring more cheer. It’s like giving a new life to the dull and routine tasks of everyday life.

Supplementary yoga can be done at the spur of the moment. It does not require a mat or other props, it does not require you to be in proper yoga attire and it does not call for a full-fledged asana sequence. In addition, if you have practiced yoga for at least six months and know the basics, supplementary yoga can really come in handy. With supplementary yoga, you have taken the power in your own hands to rein in your emotions and keep physically fit. Here are some situations based on my experience where supplementary yoga can turn life situations more interesting. You may modify the sequence or bring in your own set of poses.

Waiting in the Queue

Whether you’re at the cinema hall, airport or coffee bar, waiting in a long queue can be awful. Instead of venting it out, how about performing some standing balancing poses, forward bends or hip stretches, or a combination of all three? Yes, you may attract some curious onlookers but, hey, it’s your body and mind. So ignore the stares and move into the pose. In such situations I like to do Tree pose (Vksasana) as it is a great balancing pose and calms the mind as well. You do not need to do the full pose, just place the sole of your foot against your inner thigh (or calf) and rest your hands on your waist. Make sure your pelvis is in a neutral position and lengthen your tailbone toward the floor. Draw your gaze to the front and send a positive message for the line to move. Stay for 15 seconds, return to the standing position (Tadasana) and repeat on the opposite side for the same length of time.

If the queue is still moving slowly, you can resort to a standing forward bend position. I normally do Hand to Big Toe pose (Padangusthasana) in such situations. Just make sure that as you gently lower into the forward bend, you are not hitting the individual ahead of you. My suggestion to avoid any mishap is to allow the individual ahead of you to move, maintain the gap and finish your pose. Hold this position for 10-15 seconds. Send a positive note for the line to move, inhale, lift your torso and head back to upright position. Notice that you are now first in the line. I did this recently at the DMV office while standing in a long queue for renewing my license and it was fun!

Stuck in Slow Traffic

How many of us deal with slow traffic or stuck-in-traffic situations on a regular basis? Can we seek solace and a calm mind amidst this chaos? I like to do shoulder stretches and neck stretches (my hands are still on the wheel and feet are in their respective position on gas & brakes), and then follow it up with few rounds of Ujjayi pranayama or Victory Breath. Notice that as you direct the exhalation slowly across the back of your throat with a drawn-out “HA” sound, the vehicles in front of you have started moving faster! Repeat several times and not only will you witness prompt soothing effect in your mind, but the traffic would also have cleared. If Olympians have introduced Ujjayi into their routines, you can also do it and reach your destination safe and sound.

Cranking on the Keyboard

Whatever our occupation is, notice how our work has led us to be in front of the computer and to click away on the keyboard with constant use of the mouse. These repetitive movements of joints, fingers and wrist can lead to numerous musculoskeletal problems. Research studies show that one in eight professionals suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) due to these repetitive movements and, among the fingers, the right thumb was revealed to be more susceptible to CTS. In the laboratory, despite bring a bench researcher, my work requires me to do a lot of computing work. So, for every 60 minutes of computing work, I do 5-10 minutes of supplemental yoga. In addition to several stretches, I love doing Upward Bound Hands (Urdhva Baddha Hastasana) as it reestablishes the full range of motion on my collar blades and shoulder blades. Check out Baxter and Nina's post Upward Bound Hands for more on this asana. The other poses I bring in are Eagle pose (Garudasana), Thumb-Big Toe pose (Padangushtasana) and Hand-to-Feet pose (Padahastasana). All these simple but powerful poses deepen the stretch and strengthen the shoulders, arms, hands and wrists, providing the perfect antidote to repetitive actions of the joints, fingers and wrist.

Sitting for Too Long

Our bodies were not designed to be immobile—look back to our hunter-gatherer ancestors and you will understand the need to be more active. (For more I this, check my sequel to follow soon.) Sitting for long hours at work, at a desk, in the car, on the bus or in front of the TV not only adversely affects the neck, shoulders, back, hamstrings but in the process we are also inviting health risks to our lifestyle, including heart attacks, joint problems, spinal issues and cancers. Furthermore, sitting for long periods reduces longevity and increases the risk of an early death. (For more on the risks associated with sitting for long periods, check my article The Dangers of Being Sedentary.)

These days my work requires for me to sit at the office desk for several hours so I bring in my supplemental yoga at work, too. Half Dog Pose at the Wall is an excellent pose that only requires a wall. It provides a good forward bend of the pelvis over the thighbones without curving the lower back. I even do the pose with the hands resting on a desktop or on the seat of my office chair. I also do some standing leg stretches that Baxter and Nina explained in the post Standing Leg Stretches, which provide the same hip opening and leg stretching benefits that one receives from many of the standing poses. I end up doing some shoulder stretches as well, which you can find described in the post Standing Shoulder Stretches.

All the above mentioned poses are good antidotes for hip and leg tightness and for tightness in the lower back. The poses provide an allover stretch, opening your shoulders and stretching your arms, back, hips and legs. Notice how supplemental yoga poses take up less space and you can do them in any location, anywhere there is a wall, chair, desk, ledge or window sill? People around may give you the stare but we yogis don't care, correct?

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