Recent research from the University of Hong Kong has demonstrated that a regular yoga practice can have a favourable effect on metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of health effects that includes increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels. Having the syndrome increases your risk of fatty liver, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Yoga with kittens or goats or whatever sounds cool. Patanjali might turn in his grave but if it gets people safely on to the mat then it's a good thing. On the other hand, chicken nugget yoga is a reminder not to take ourselves too seriously.

Namaste.

Research show that yoga can the best practice for developing a healthy relationship between the body and the mind. It can be especially helpful if things have happened that have harmed the body (for example: cancer, anorexia, assault), where someone's way of coping is to live strongly in their head, or where the person's way to cope with distressing experiences is to look outside to addictions.

Yoga brings unity to you, your mind and your body, and helps you to understand that you are enough. 

A recent study by Texas State University researchers, showed significant improvements in memory and cognitive functions from 6 60 minute sessions of yoga. Imagine what ongoing yoga practice could do for you?

Childhood cancer is frightening and horrible. Not just for the child, but for their families too. Being told that your child has cancer is like finding out that scary monsters under your own childhood bed are in fact real. 

The immediate issue is a life and death one and the treatment that your child will have to endure. One parent may lose their job while they take time off to care for the sick child, and there will be scars. Emotional, physical, and spiritual.

How fantastic it is that we do have treatments and that many children are able to become warrior survivors, but this often comes at the cost of life long side effects and vulnerabilities to further illness.

Yoga is one method of helping childhood cancer fighters, and their families, both during active treatment, and in the long haul afterwards.  Recent research from Connecticut Children's Medical Center addressed concerns about yoga while on active treatment. It also showed that yoga can help increase energy and emotional resilience. The researchers concluded:

Parents and patients found the intervention highly acceptable. Conducting the intervention in the context of active cancer treatment proved feasible. Despite limited statistical power, [quality of life] of patients doing yoga improved. Our findings support the notion that yoga for pediatric cancer patients during active treatment is feasible and potentially helpful in improving both patients' and parents' well-being.

A recent American Study has proved that depression is likely to improve if yoga is practised. In this study, the yoga group only practised twice a week, yet after 8 weeks the participants had experienced a "statistically and clinically significant reduction in depression severity".