Yoga for Rebuilding Trust in Your Body

Discover the tools you need to form a deeper connection with your body and find your way back to health- By Susi Amendola

After a heart attack, it can be hard to regain trust in your heart, and for that matter, your entire body. Even though you may have overlooked the care of your body in the past and feel afraid of the future, it’s important to focus on rebuilding a trusting, compassionate and a healthy relationship with your heart.

It’s a process of befriending and rebuilding trust and compassion for your body. Paying attention to our nutrition, fitness and relationships all play an important role in finding our way back to health. There are also important stress management techniques that offer us powerful tools for trusting our bodies and mending and befriending our hearts.

Foster Deep Listening: When we step onto our yoga mat, we also step into a relationship with our body that is focused on deep listening and conscious responding. We start to pay attention to our body’s language and we become an advocate for that voice by honouring what it’s telling us about ourselves.

Tools For Listening:

Move More Slowly in Your Postures.: This is so you can hear and feel what the body is saying. If we move too quickly, we can get lost in letting our mind overpower, or even bully, our body into a position. When we slow down we are better able to listen to that first small signal that tells us we are nearing our edge of discomfort. When we notice that edge, we can pause to see if we can maintain our breathing and balance. Then we can ask ourselves these questions:

• “Should I pull back a little or is there room for me to soften right where I am?”
• “Is there anything I am willing to let go of (physical or emotional) that isn’t necessary for the maintenance of this pose?”
• “Could I stay here and breathe or does it feel better to come out just a little?”
• “If there is a way to let go, does it allow me to move in just a little deeper to the next edge, or is staying here on this edge enough?”

We must ask and we must listen. As we develop the conversation with our own bodies, we start to trust what it is telling us and we begin to honour the intelligence and wisdom it offers. We not only honour our body, but we may even expand our capacities in a gentle way. We move on the mat with this awareness and wisdom, and we can then bring these methods to our lives off the mat by learning to respect and honour our limits and capacities.

Talk to Your Heart
We can do this anytime and anywhere, but it may be most effective when we are lying down or sitting quietly with our eyes closed. This is when our body can relax and our mind rests in our heart. In our gentlest internal voice, we can start to befriend our heart. We might start the conversation by saying.

• “You are such a wise and loving heart. I am so grateful for you.”
• “What is it that you need from me to be healthy and whole? What can I do to help you heal?”
• “Is there anything you want me to pay attention to that I may be missing or overlooking?”

These questions can be followed with a moment of silence and deep listening. The heart may not answer in words, but it may send a feeling or image, or sense of knowingness. Sometimes it doesn’t respond at all, but you may get an answer later. What matters most is the process of asking and listening. This is what strengthens your relationship to your own heart and your inner healer. In time it allows you to begin to trust the wisdom of your own heart.

Foster A Grateful Heart

The more we look to the positive qualities of our own hearts, the more focus and attention we bring to those qualities, and the more trust we gain in our heart. A 2015 study published by the American Psychological Association found that that a more grateful heart was indeed a healthier heart. Researchers at the University of California said that patients with asymptomatic heart failure who recognized and were grateful for the positive aspects of their life displayed better mood, better sleep, less fatigue and lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers related to cardiac health.

In addition, researchers at the University of Connecticut found that gratitude can have a protective effect against heart attacks. Studying people who had experienced one heart attack, the researchers found that those patients who saw benefits and gains from their heart attack—such as becoming more appreciative of life—experienced a lower risk of having another heart attack.

These practices quietly transform the heart that once seemed as if it was our enemy into a loving and faithful friend.

Ms. Geona Tomy IIIrd B.Pharm

STRESS- THREAT TO LIFE

 

Stress is actually a normal part of life. At times, it serves a useful purpose. But if you don't get a handle on your stress and it becomes long-term, it can seriously interfere with your job, family life, and health. According to surveys, 40% of people experience work stress as a major threat. Life stresses also have a major impact just like some past accidents due to which, faced trauma have a high risk to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Intensive thinking leads to stress. Is it really worth to worry about things that have no control over. Stress makes one feel burdened deep inside which leads to insomnia, anxiety, depression, etc. It is said that life is 10% of what happens and 90% how we react; it depends on the person how well he or she handles the situation. It’s difficult to completely get rid of stress but can reduce it to some extent. Firstly, you need to know whether these thoughts are for real or are the worries are just illusions and will it cause any harm. Secondly, if it causes any harm always believe that you can handle the things; be optimistic. Thirdly, keep some time for yourself, like doing things that make you feel happy with no pressure i.e. listening songs, reading comics, distract yourself at least for a short span of time. Try to share your burden with someone trustworthy or consult psychologist, here, never pretend to be strong the main point is to open up yourself. These may help up to some extent to overcome stress.

Don‘t push yourself hard, it’s better to move with the flow. Stress is what a person feels when he or she has high hopes with life, work-related matters. Time and happiness is the only way to heal. Keeping a healthy mental state is necessary, so meditate, and exercise.

Ms. Elmy IInd Pharm.D

THE POWER OF MIND OVER MEDICINES: THE PLACEBO EFFECT

All of us have come across the detail of stress being a risk factor for the majority, almost all, of the health conditions. To our knowledge, we know that this is due to the release of inflammatory mediators by our body, under the influence of stress leading to the development of such pathological conditions. If stress, by modulating our mind, can produce this effect on our body, what truly is the power our mind has over our body?

The idea of the power the mind has over the body has been an undeniably fascinating topic for the scientist around the world. The body and the mind have been divided into two separate entities for the sake of administering treatment for various illnesses the body has to go through. However, it is only rational to know that the mind and the body interact, for e.g.: when you are confronted with unfortunate news, you can feel your heart skip a beat. For ages, the idea of “healing through thoughts” has been enchanting, but when it comes to the real scenario, when we hear of such claims from therapists stating the cure for cancer by controlling the mind or the cure of paralysis, we are inclined to dismiss these statements are mere bizarre and grotesque. Recently a group of scientific researches suggest that our mind can, in fact, play an important role in healing our body.

So what’s the deal?

Your mind can be a powerful healing tool when given the chance. The idea of “placebo- effect” the tricking of mind into thinking that it has been treated with an actual medicine rather than a fake one and thus stimulating healing has been proven to be as effective as traditional medicine under the right circumstances. “The placebo effect is more than just positive thinking; believing a treatment or procedure will work, creating a stronger connection between the brain and the body and how they will work together” as stated by Professor Ted Kaptchuk of Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, whose research focuses on the placebo effect. People often believe that treatments such as acupuncture, reiki have produced a reformation in their health even though these treatments are not backed up with scientific evidence. The scientific explanation for the benefits the people experience has been postulated to be because of the interplay of factors such as social support, positive expectations from the treatment that can trigger physiological changes that can ease the symptoms. In a study concerning the placebo effect, testing how people reacted to the pain medication, one group had received the real pain medication and the other group did not. In the following days both the groups were given placebos and it was found that the group that had received the pain medication earlier had been to tolerate pain more effectively than the other group. This type of learned response after a personal experience is call conditioning effect, which seems to be a part of the so-called placebo effect. Many ancient cultures depended on mind-body connections to treat illness. The people treating the diseases may not have viewed their treatment s as placebos but could have produced healing effect through the strong belief of the patient or it could have been the case of a patient who was going to get better anyway. Another potential area where a placebo has proven its efficacy is in the immune response. Here when we take the drug for a few days the body learns the relationship between the drug and our suppressed immune system. So after a few days of treatment, if we continue by taking placebos, our body responds to it by producing the same suppressed immune response. This effect had happened by the mere action of only taking a pill and not because of the drug, which must have imparted a feeling of safety and support and a feeling that their condition is going to improve. This phenomenon can also be attributed to biological conditioning.

What could have been the mechanism behind this effect?

The role our mental state plays in perceiving the extend of the symptoms such as pain, nausea, fatigue we experience is critical. Taking a placebo painkiller can actually cause relief of pain to some to extend as the brain is tricked into thinking that it has been given some treatment. It responds by releasing endorphins that can elevate the pain we feel. Why is this so? Because the entire process, i.e. the feeling of pain to its perception and the elevation of pain is all controlled by our brain. So when we trick it into thinking that it has been given treatment, it produces a proportional result. The same can be explained by a simple daily life example: when we feel stressed, alone or under threat, our brain starts releasing warning signals and when we get out of the situation or when we feel supported and cared for, the feeling of optimism and safety floods us as the warning signals issued by the brain ease off once the crisis is over. Similarly, the experience of receiving medical attention-whether real or fake- can have this effect on our brain and can reduce the symptoms.  Although the mechanism of action of placebos are not fully understood it is said to involve a complex biochemical neurobiological reaction that ranges from the release of endorphins and dopamine to greater activity in the certain regions of the brain linked to moods, emotional reactions, and self-awareness. All of this can have some therapeutic effect.

The placebo effect, however, has not shown any significantly relevant changes in the condition of the patients taking chemotherapy for cancer, statins or that of diabetes. Here there is an absolute need of a chemical agent.

How can we make use of the placebo effect?

The ethical obstacle being faced with the use of placebos is that it gives an idea that the patient is being fooled as they are thinking that they’ve received a true drug when in reality they are not. But there are interesting researches going on with the use of placebos with complete awareness of the patient as the placebos have shown to work with the patient even though the patient is fully aware that it is a placebo. The effect is not as comparable with that of the drug itself but significant results can be provided. Trials done in irritable bowel syndrome, depression etc has shown that. Since the act of taking medicines can provide significant results, it can be said that the effect of a drug can be attributed to its chemical entity as also partly to the placebo effect. Hence in all the trials where the patient is well aware that it is a placebo, there can still be significant results. We can, therefore reduce the dose of the drug by means of placebo and still achieve the benefits. It could also reduce the incidence of tolerance, toxicity as well as to attain cost reduction.

Researches in settle have developed a virtual reality landscape called Snow World. It is meant to work as a painkiller, based on the fact that the brain has a limited capacity for attention and hence if the virtual reality has claimed the attention, there is very little capacity left for experiencing pain. Researches like this explore the psychological approaches one can take to handle or treat pain; thereby maximizing the effectiveness of drugs and in some cases to replace them.

Give yourself a placebo.

How can we do this without taking a pill? Practising self- help: engaging in healthy living- eating healthy, exercise, meditation, yoga, quality time with people can all add up to the placebo effect. These practices can act as a positive interaction with oneself thereby providing us with emotional support and attention that can go a long way.

Ms.Aneeta Jeeson, 3^rd PharmD

CREATING A COVID-19 VACCINE IS HARD, BUT DISTRIBUTION MAY BE MORE DAUNTING!

The entire world, craving to return to normal from COVID-19, is on a race to develop a safe and effective vaccine. The pandemic has definitely created a buzz within the scientific community. A number of vaccines are being attempted in ways that have never been deployed before. As Chandrakant Lahariya, a New Delhi based epidemiologist, vaccine expert and public health specialist said, “The scientists can be compared to the 15th-century sea explorers who went on a voyage to find the ‘new world’. All the routes were tried at and whoever was lucky found a new place. Vasco da Gama arrived in Goa and Christopher Columbus ended up on the shores of what we call today the US, thinking he had reached India. The scientific community is following a similar approach to find a vaccine for Covid-19. All of us hope that more than one of them succeeds.”

With the development of potential vaccines for Covid-19 coming into the picture, it’s time to plan and invest in infrastructure for the distribution and delivery of the vaccine. In this context, the policymakers must consider two key questions, how will their country get access to a COVID-19 vaccine? And if it does how to ensure fair and equitable distribution among its population? The answer to this is a rational and objective strategy that ensures an effective timeframe for availability and addresses the challenges which could be faced pertaining to the logistics and distribution which should be carefully planned and worked out. As Bill Gates rightly said, “During a pandemic, vaccines and antivirals can’t simply be sold to the highest bidder. They should be available and affordable for people who are at the heart of the outbreak and in greatest need. Not only is such distribution the right thing to do, it’s also the right strategy for short-circuiting transmission and preventing future pandemics.”

It is likely that after a Covid-19 vaccine becomes available, initially the vaccine will not be available for everyone, and will only be offered to high-risk individuals such as health workers, elderly and people with co-morbidities. Even to cater to this small population, billions of doses will need to be manufactured, meaning collaboration between industry, regulators and the scientific community will be pivotal. Moreover, since we need to get them out to every part of the world, and we need all of this to happen as quickly as possible, global coordination is very crucial. Keeping this in mind, establishment of manufacturing plants and maintenance of reliable supply chains is a must. Since most vaccines need to be kept between two and eight degrees Celsius. New technologies such as solar direct drive refrigerators can help especially in places where the electricity sources are unreliable. Accordingly, there needs to be a global agreement on distributing stocks to countries around the world and if that doesn’t happen, the result will be political tensions like those currently prevalent in the world over the allocation of personal protective equipment, ventilators, and test kits.

Therefore, the only way to ensure a robust production and a universal administration of the vaccine would be by mapping out effective distribution policies and protocols. As Seth Berkley, CEO of vaccine alliance GAVI has said, “We have a global problem that requires a global solution. We need the best science in the world. We need the best manufacturing in the world. And obviously we need industries from around the world to engage. If we have anybody left over anywhere as a reservoir of virus, it not only threatens them, but threatens the world.” So, while we keep our fingers crossed for the much awaited miracle, that is, a safe and effective vaccine, we need to continue to take preventive measures such as wearing face masks in public, regularly washing our hands with soap (or sanitise with alcohol-based disinfectant), following cough etiquettes and maintaining social distancing, which would continue to be key weapons in our fight against the Covid-19.

Ms. Christy Sojan, III PharmD