Do you beleive that Yoga/Pranayam can cure any diseases?

Like cancer or aids? I dunno sounds like a stretch. But I have heard of similar stuff that you just mention helping with lots of peoples ailments that you would never expect.

Maybe:

1. Hypertension: 34 hypertensive patients were assigned at random either to six weeks’ treatment by yoga relaxation methods with bio-feedback or to placebo therapy (general relaxation). Both groups showed a reduction in blood-pressure (from 168/100 to 141/84 mm. Hg in the treated group and from 169/101 to 160/96 mm Hg in the control group). The difference was highly significant. The control group was then trained in yoga relaxation, and their blood-pressure fell to that of the other group (now used as controls).

2. Osteoarthritis: RESULTS. The yoga treated group improved significantly more than the control group in pain during activity, tenderness and finger range of motion. Other trends also favored the yoga program. CONCLUSION. This yoga derived program was effective in providing relief in hand OA. Further studies are needed to compare this with other treatments and to examine longterm effects.

3. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Results.— Subjects in the yoga groups had significant improvement in grip strength (increased from 162 to 187 mm Hg; P =.009) and pain reduction (decreased from 5.0 to 2.9 mm; P =.02), but changes in grip strength and pain were not significant for control subjects. The yoga group had significantly more improvement in Phalen sign (12 improved vs 2 in control group; P =.008), but no significant differences were found in sleep disturbance, Tinel sign, and median nerve motor and sensory conduction time.

Conclusion.— In this preliminary study, a yoga-based regimen was more effective than wrist splinting or no treatment in relieving some symptoms and signs of carpal tunnel syndrome.

4. Mild depression: RESULTS: Subjects who participated in the yoga course demonstrated significant decreases in self-reported symptoms of depression and trait anxiety. These effects emerged by the middle of the yoga course and were maintained by the end. Changes also were observed in acute mood, with subjects reporting decreased levels of negative mood and fatigue following yoga classes. Finally, there was a trend for higher morning cortisol levels in the yoga group by the end of the yoga course, compared to controls. These findings provide suggestive evidence of the utility of yoga asanas in improving mood and support the need for future studies with larger samples and more complex study designs to more fully evaluate the effects of yoga on mood disturbances.

5. Bronchial asthma: There was a significantly greater improvement in the group who practised yoga in the weekly number of attacks of asthma, scores for drug treatment, and peak flow rate. This study shows the efficacy of yoga in the long term management of bronchial asthma, but the physiological basis for this beneficial effect needs to be examined in more detail.

6. Multiple Sclerosis: Results: Sixty-nine subjects were recruited and randomized. Twelve subjects did not finish the 6-month intervention. There were no adverse events related to the intervention. There were no effects from either of the active interventions on either of the primary outcome measures of attention or alertness. Both active interventions produced improvement in secondary measures of fatigue compared to the control group: Energy and Fatigue (Vitality) on the SF-36 and general fatigue on the MFI. There were no clear changes in mood related to yoga or exercise.

Conclusion: Subjects with MS participating in either a 6-month yoga class or exercise class showed significant improvement in measures of fatigue compared to a waiting-list control group. There was no relative improvement of cognitive function in either of the intervention groups.

Couch Potato-itis.

Anything that gets the blood flowing is bound to help in some way.

Spontaneous cures happen all the time. Only the gullible will try to assiciate an unrelated “cause”, or “cure”.

The body is a self-healing machine, for the most part. Many diseases are probably preventable, and any form of exercise within reason is better than none at all. Lifestyles changes seems to be the buzzword for healthy living these days, and there are plenty of folks offering miracle cures for most of today’s ailments. Many of them are worthless, including the homeopathic nonsense about water having memory. if water has memory, does it remember being dinosaur urine, since the substances on earth like water, oxygen, etc, are part of a closed system, endlessly recycled over and over?

Of course, until there are double blind clinical studies to prove the point of whether such activities or treatments actually work, I’d be skeptical.

Life is about choices, your results may vary.

Most forms of exercise benefit the body therefore making it healthier. As for “curing” certain diseases, I’ve never personally experienced that. I can attest that yoga has absolutely helped with my fatigue, back pain, and general fat person problems.

I see a lot of anit- this anti-that on the internet and media in general. My philosophy is TRY IT. If spinning in 3 circles to the left and standing on your head facing the North makes your flu symptoms better, then do it. Just be careful not to keep feeding the fat wallets of scam artists and don’t neglect your body- move on to another method if it’s not working for you.

Any disease? No. Not without evidence.