Kaivalyadhama Health & Yoga Research Center, USA

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Breath flow, flexibility and stability: three things Marines can improve by doing yoga

Amy Segreti

Staff reporter

Yoga in motion: Retired Sgt. Major Philip Smith holds tree pose, or vrksasana in Sanskrit.

When retired Sgt. Major Philip Smith stepped into Mercedes Stewart’s yoga class at the Children’s Community Dance Center in Richlands five years ago, one of the first things he told her was, “Keep the hippy [stuff] to yourself. I just want some flexibility.”
Since then, Smith, who will be 70 in August, has come to accept yoga as an integral part of his well-being, and although he’s still skeptical about some aspects — “the chanting still seems a bit kooky” — he appreciates what the practice has done for him mentally and physically.
Yoga originated in India as a spiritual practice. There are several types of yoga, each one a step in the path to enlightenment. In the West, the term yoga refers to hatha yoga and consists of various physical postures, or asanas. In Western yoga classes, students perform the asanas with a focus on pranayama, or breath work.
Smith came to yoga second-hand after his wife, Audrey, was diagnosed with cancer. Yoga was recommended to her as a way to ease her suffering, and together the couple studied with Dr. Vartika Dubey, an instructor who received extensive training from her father, Om Prakash Tiwari, and Swami Digambarji of the Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute in India. After his wife passed away, Smith stuck with the practice and began classes with Stewart, who co-founded Kaivalyadhama USA in Jacksonville with Dr. Dubey after taking a six-week intensive course in India to earn her teaching certificate.
“I don’t follow yoga as a religion, persay,” Smith said. “But when I started, I couldn’t lift my arm straight up over my head and now I can. It’s the little things yoga does for me that make me live and feel better.”
Smith says that Stewart’s focus on breathing as an important part of linking mind and body has helped him immensely. “I’ve stopped using my puffer completely,” Smith said of the albuterol inhaler that had been prescribed to him to ease his asthma. “In today’s society, we pant like dogs. Yoga teaches you to utilize your oxygen better.”
Traci Johnson of Jacksonville has also benefited from doing yoga with Stewart. She came to class with a back injury and her back pain has gradually reduced through her practice. She also has asthma and through performing pranayama exercises she, like Smith, no longer feels a need for her inhaler.
Stewart’s concentration on breathing is unique. While many studios now teach hundreds of variations of the asana postures, Dr. Dubey and Stewart focus on the 26 original poses. They stress the importance of breathing as the key to meditation, and unlike many Western studios, focus on its significance separately from the asanas.
“When performing the postures, your body will breathe how it’s naturally supposed to,” said Stewart. According to Dr. Dubey, the asanas help stretch muscles and pranayama helps focus energy constructively. “Together, the postures and breath work are the greatest allies we have to deal with stress,” said Dr. Dubey.
In addition to his breathing, Smith’s balance and flexibility have improved, causing him to wish he had known about yoga during his 26 years in the Corps. “It would have been very useful to do,” he said. “And it doesn’t take much space, only a mat.”
Stewart, whose husband was a Marine, agreed that practicing yoga is very beneficial for military members. “Marines are trained to be reactionary, to be prepared for combat situations,” she said. “Yoga teaches them to also be prepared for life situations. It can give them the tools to come out of that mindset when they have to and to be able to relax and breathe better.”
Smith said that Marines engage in some of the aspects of yoga without even realizing it. “On the rifle range, you start out with breath being the focus,” he said. “It’s ‘breathe, relax, aim, slack, squeeze,’ and focusing on your breath is very important.”
Stewart added, “When Marines are in a relaxed position on their stomachs shooting rifles, stability is important and yoga teaches that as well.”
Yoga can also be helpful for Marines who are recovering from physical and mental trauma. Teresa Tinklenberg, a licensed therapist in Jacksonville specializing in marriage and family counseling for active-duty military members and their dependents, recommends yoga to her clients. “I was skeptical of it at first, but your breathing really improves and you become much more relaxed,” she said. “Some of my patients have post-traumatic stress from being in Iraq, some can’t even talk, and yoga does them a lot of good.”
Smith is wholly satisfied with the way yoga has changed his life and in particular, his breathing. “I’m 69 years old and when I go to the doctor and he uses his stethoscope on me he doesn’t hear anything wrong,” he said.
Smith attends Stewart’s hour-and-a-half long yoga class three times a week in addition to doing breathing exercises for fifteen minutes every morning.
“Some people are swimmers, some are runners,” he said. “I’m a breather.”

"posted on this site with permission from Amy Serengeti (author) "

Kaivalyadhama Asana Sadhana

By Nancy Feduke (Yoga Student )

Five years ago, I began practicing yoga on my own at home. At first, from books and videos as learning tools.   Then, seeking assistance with Asanas and wanting to learn Pranayama, I began classes.

As a student of Dr. Vartika Dubey, I am learning the traditional Hatha yoga style based on the studies and findings of Pantanjali.

In this class, I am studying mindfulness and awareness while integrating mind, body, and breath. I have learned that there are definite scientific findings supporting the many benefits of yoga. Dr. Dubey has also enlightened us with some of the interesting history behind yoga.

My own experiences have been very positive, some effects morse subtle than others.   I now have a greater lung capacity, enabling deeper breathing, and I am learning terrific techniques for calming, quieting, cleansing, or invigorating. I’ m anxious to learn much more about Pranayama.

The slow, repetitive Asanas in this class encourage focus, concentration, letting go, flexibility, and stress-relief; all of which I have personally shown improvement. I have learned to tone inner organs as well as strengthening muscles and joints. In addition to greater lung capacity, I believe I have better digestion, improved my bone mass by 2 %, and I am learning to be more calm in our fast-paced Western world! To that I must add that I can’t recall the last time I had a cold and my sinuses are much clearer. Everyone can reap the benefits of yoga for mental and physical well-being. There are always so many options and variations for the Asanas, that anyone at any age or level can practice. I am never bored and always learning!   In my opinion, yoga is a wonderful journey to the inner-self and good overall health, having many different paths to explore.

Those wanting knowledge about traditional yoga, its history and proven scientific findings, will enjoy Dr. Dubey’s teaching technique.

By Rose Williams

I would like to express my thanks and appreciation for the wonderful benefits I have been experiencing since taking the Yoga and Hypertension class offered by Kaivalyadhama USA and taught by Vartika Dubey.

Although I had very low blood pressure when I was younger, after the birth of my two sons my blood pressure became quite elevated. Since that time, I’ve had to take medication to keep my blood pressure under control. In addition, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and hypothyroidism a couple of years ago. After my treatment for breast cancer (including chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation), I decided to become more proactive about improving my health. Through exercise, I was able to recover my strength, and bring my blood pressure down to the 120-125/70-80 range. Not bad, but it used to be much better . . .

I decided to take Vartika’s class in the hope of further improving my blood pressure, and to try to recover some of the flexibility I had lost. From the beginning, I was impressed not only with her comprehensive knowledge of yoga (in all of its aspects), but with her ability to discern the best way for me to proceed given my physical limitations. Her approach has been a gradual one, never rushed, and always with the utmost patience and gentleness. Not surprisingly, at my last doctor’s appointment I was happy to find that my blood pressure was 114/62 – the lowest it has been in over a decade.

Another thing that is especially noteworthy is the effect that the practice of yoga is having on me as a cancer survivor. My body underwent a great many changes as a result of my treatment including “instant menopause” and the after-effects of extensive surgery. It is nothing short of amazing how much Yoga has been increasing my body awareness, and therefore helping me to work with my “new” body as it is now.

Given the hectic pace of life today, I believe that Yoga can benefit anyone. However, for those of us who have undergone physical upheaval such as cancer, it may be especially beneficial. My only other concern is that those who would like to pursue the practice of Yoga find a qualified teacher. I have been most fortunate in being able to study under Vartika Dubey, and I sincerely believe that teachers as dedicated and knowledgeable as Vartika are few and far between !

Rose WilliamsTitle: Lecturer Fac/Staff: Faculty Department: Computer Science at Binghamton University ,SUNY

Degree: M.S.,

Email: rosew@binghamton.edu

(607) 777-6250