Yoga Medical News Daily

Medical Student Wellness Program at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine

The Vanderbilt Medical Student (VMS) Wellness Program, described in this article, consists of three core components: The Advisory College Program, The Student Wellness Committee, and VMS LIVE. Each of the core components includes separate and unique individual programs, but each of these three components collaborates with the other two to accomplish the broad wellness goal of maximizing student health, happiness, and potential. 

Commentary within the article includes references to the Student Wellness Committee and such activities as mindful eating, yoga, as well as references to mindfulness.

"The VMS Wellness Program is the first published model of a comprehensive medical student wellness initiative. The development and design of the program described in this article may serve as a framework for other institutions."  Appearing as "A Comprehensive Medical Student Wellness Program—Design and Implementation at Vanderbilt School of Medicine," Academic Medicine [85(1), January 2010; 103-110]  More details:  Vanderbilt University Medical Center Student Wellness Committee.

Yogic exercises and health--a psycho-neuro immunological approach

Published in the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology [2009 Jan-Mar;53(1):3-15]. "Relaxation potential of yogic exercises seems to play a vital role in establishing psycho-physical health in reversing the psycho-immunology of emotions under stress based on breath and body awareness. . . This study focuses on two major pathways of information processing involving cortical and hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) interactions with a deep reach molecular action on cellular, neuro-humoral and immune system in reversing stress mediated diseases. Further, the proposed HIP-PNE model has ample of experimental potential for objective evaluation of yogic view of health and fitness." Abstract: PubMed. 

Effect of integrated yoga on stress and heart rate variability in pregnant women

This trial, described in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics (2009, March;104 (3): 218-22), conducted by Satyapriya M,  Nagendra HR, Nagarathna R, and Padmalatha, V, at the Division of Yoga and Life, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation, Bangalore, India, studied "the effect of integrated yoga practice and guided yogic relaxation on both perceived stress and measured autonomic response in healthy pregnant women. METHOD: The 122 healthy women recruited between the 18th and 20th week of pregnancy at prenatal clinics in Bangalore, India, were randomized to practicing yoga and deep relaxation or standard prenatal exercises 1-hour daily. The results for the 45 participants per group who completed the study were evaluated by repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: Perceived stress decreased by 31.57% in the yoga group and increased by 6.60% in the control group (P=0.001)." Abstract: PubMed.

Yoga as an intervention for stress reduction and enhanced wellbeing in African American athletes

This doctoral dissertation by Jennifer Fallon (Utah State University, 2009) "explored the preventive impact of a brief Hatha yoga program on stress-reduction and enhanced wellbeing in a sample of healthy African American college athletes. African Americans suffer higher rates of hypertension and sudden cardiac death syndrome, both linked to stress. Study design was single case, with six replications, utilizing comparison of pre- and post-intervention scores on physiological and psychological indicators of distress and wellbeing."  The author concludes that "Given the brevity and cost-effectiveness of the intervention, limited positive results suggest more intensive studies are warranted." Abstract and full-text PDF for download at:  PQDT Open.