COVID19 and Yoga

Psychology, Medicine

Date : Apr., 2021

Source : ScienceDirect

COVID-19 Pandemic is affecting the psychological health of the people. A worldwide survey was conducted over 243 studies, to assess the benefit of the practice of yoga (Hatha yoga, mindfullness meditation, sahaj yoga, and others) on the mental health parameters. It indicates moderate to positive effects of yoga on mental health, and provides recommendations. In India the Ministry of Public Health publishes guidelines to boost immunity during COVID-19 pandemic, recommending practicing daily Yoga for 30 minutes.

Read more : ScienceDirect

Shaivistic Samkhya Yoga in Balinese Tradition

Philosophy, Religion

Date : Dec. 2020

Source : Archipel Journal

Bali (Indonesia) textual traditions was built long time ago with a mixture of Hinduism which were brought more than one thousand years ago in the Island. It is a blending of Samkhya, Yoga, and Advaita Vedanta, three of the six Darshanas of Old India. This combination of dualist and monist approaches is synthesized in the Aji Sangkya, a recent compilation (1947). A new analysis of this tradition was published as a comparative study between the various Hinduisms on which it is based. It highlights the process of creation with the tattvas, which has a lot of parallels with the theosophical constitution of man.

Read More : Archipel Journal

The Metaphysics of the Four Yogas

Philosophy, Religion

Date : Oct. 2020

Source : MDPI – Religions

Swami Vivekananda claims that the four yogas – Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja-Yoga and Jnana-Yoga – are independent and equally effective paths to Self-realization and liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Ultimately, there are as many yogas as many individuals beings seeking liberation. He said that “The ultimate goal of all mankind, the aim and the end of all religions, is but one-re-union with God, or, what amounts to the same, with the divinity which is every man’s true nature.” A recent paper discusses and explains this diversity leading to unity.

Read More : MDPI

The Amritasiddhi – A Hathayoga Source Text

Religion, Parapsychology

Source : University of Virginia

Date : March 2020

The Amritasiddhi, an Ancient Indian Tradition text from the 11th-12th century, is presenting the occult physiology of man, and practices to enhance longevity.

This study paper highlights similar teachings in the later Buddhist Tradition (Vajrayana), specially linked to the Esoteric Buddhism as embodied in the Kalachakra Tradition.

Subtle centers – Chakras, subtle energies – Pranas, and subtle drops – Bindus, are the main components of this Eastern alchemy which leads the Buddhist disciple to the awakening and finally to the perfected state – Mahamudra.

Read more : MDPI

Yoga and Mindfulness Improve Emotional Health of Third-Graders

Psychology

Education

Health and Medicine

Date: December, 2017

Source: Science Daily, Psychology Research and Behavior Management

A study made by Tulane University showed that third graders who manifest anxiety were helped in their well-being and emotional health after practicing yoga and mindfulness activities.

A group of 20 students underwent special yoga practice while a control group of 32 students underwent the usual school care including counseling. The yoga practice included breathing exercises, guided relaxation and yoga postures. The researchers used two instruments to assess the change in the students: the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale-Peabody Treatment Progress Battery version and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory.

“The intervention improved psychosocial and emotional quality of life scores for students, as compared to their peers who received standard care,” said principal author Alessandra Bazzano, associate professor of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences at Tulane University School of Public Health. “We also heard from teachers about the benefits of using yoga in the classroom, and they reported using yoga more often each week, and throughout each day in class, following the professional development component of intervention.”

Sources:

  • www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180410100919.htm
  • Alessandra N Bazzano, Christopher E Anderson, Chelsea Hylton, Jeanette Gustat. Effect of mindfulness and yoga on quality of life for elementary school students and teachers: results of a randomized controlled school-based studyPsychology Research and Behavior Management, 2018; Volume 11: 81 DOI: 10.2147/PRBM.S157503