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Useful facts and tips for spa professionals.
UCLA Research Reveals Science
Behind Stress-Reduction
through
Yoga
U
niversity of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA)
scientists have discovered how yoga is able to
relieve stress—by reducing the biological mechanisms that increase the immune system’s
inflammation response.
Published in the online journal of
Psychoneuroendocrinology, data from the study revealed that
genes of the 45 family dementia caregivers who were used as
test subjects for this research had a different biological response
after practicing Kirtan Kriya meditation.
Dr. Helen Lavretsky, senior author and professor of psychiatry at
the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior,
and colleagues discovered a reduction of cellular inflammation
among the research subjects after a 12-minute meditation, performed
daily for eight weeks.
To test biological responses, blood samples were taken at the
beginning of the study and at the end of the eight-week
research period. In an article written by Mark Wheeler
and published on Newsroom.UCLA.edu, Lavretsky
was quoted: “The goal of the study was to
determine if meditation might alter the
activity of inflammatory and antiviral
proteins that shape immune cell gene
expression. Our analysis showed a reduced activity
of those proteins linked directly to increased inflammation.”
This is great news for the spa industry looking for some scientific
data to support claims on yoga benefits for their clients. Share this
information with your clients when promoting your yoga services via
e-newsletters, post this Pulse information on your Facebook wall to
generate good conversations or tweet about it to educate your
followers on how yoga could reduce stress.
12 PULSE
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November 2012