Tag: Immune response

Online Classes: Yoga and Science – Putting It All Together

Please note: I’ve included links to various items below, none of which I’m compensated for. If I’m writing about them, it’s because I think they’re excellent and worth recommending to others.

In my never-ending quest to bring more peace into my life, and with the extra time I’ve found in COVID-19 lockdown, I’ve been taking advantage of online class on platforms such as edX and Coursera, and have been impressed with the breadth of courses that are available.

Currently, I’m mid-way through a class on Coursera from New York University (NYU) connecting yoga and science, called “Engineering Health: An Introduction to Yoga and Physiology,” and I am thoroughly enjoying it. This class can be audited for free, or $49 gets you access to the quizzes, a certificate once you’re done (that can be posted on LinkedIn) and no time limit on access to the materials.

The course is taught mainly by three individuals: (1) Prof. Alexandra (Ali) Seidenstein, lecturer and research scientist in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at NYU, who is also a yoga teacher; (2) Eddie Stern, NYC-area yoga teacher and author, co-founder of the international Yoga and Science Conference and creator (along with Deepak Chopra, Sergey Varichev and musician Moby) of the highly-rated Breathing App for mobile devices; and (3) Prof. Tommy Lee, senior lecturer in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at NYU. In addition, there are interviews with other scientists who have studied or made use of yoga in their research. For me, as someone who’s always looking for scientific validation, this combination of yoga and physiology is very gratifying.

First and foremost, the class teaches basic physiology. If you took survey classes in high school and college, the material will be familiar, and it’s presented in a clear manner with lots of visuals. Topics include physiological systems such as nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular, immune, digestive and much more. Additionally, there are discussions of homeostasis, epigenetics, and the effect of stress on human physiology.

As a cancer survivor, I find it so empowering to see the science behind how yoga affects my physiology, especially strengthening my immune system!

But woven in between all of these topics are instructions on breathwork and yoga movements for beginners, and this is what really ties the course together for me. The yoga is expertly taught by Eddie and Ali, both of whom make the experience very positive and not intimidating. With each lesson, they take the time to connect the physiology topics with what is being taught in the yoga class. This is a novel approach that I have found very empowering: there is a direct link between the work being done in the yoga lessons with functioning of the body.

For me, making that connection leads to a sense of self-efficacy and patience with myself, as it is with consistency of practice that we make change. Even more than that is the feeling that I can affect my immunity against disease (and cancer?) by keeping my stress levels in check. I have always felt that stress played a role in the development of my cancer, and although I cannot prove this, knowing that there is good science behind using such relaxation techniques as yoga and meditation in prevention of inflammation and subsequent disease gives me a sense of control in a situation that has often felt completely outside my control.

As mentioned, I am only at the midpoint of this class. I look forward to the second half and will report back about my overall impression once I am finished. In the meantime, if this post has piqued your interest, I highly encourage you to check the class out!

Sleep, the Ultimate Good

I hold sleep as one of the most critical elements of self-care in our lives. Get enough sleep and the whole world looks brighter. But ignore the call of the mattress and dire consequences await.

This is especially true for me, as I slog through the ever-changing side effects of my current anti-cancer therapy (Tamoxifen). The amount and quality of sleep I get sets the tone of my day and determines my resilience to work and life stress. In addition, sufficient sleep has a significant positive effect on my cognitive functioning, which took a hit from cancer treatment.

But this is not limited to my personal experience. The more we learn about the science of sleep, the more we understand how our electronics-driven lifestyles disrupt sleep patterns and affect us as a society.

Dr. Matt Walker (UC Berkeley) is a strong proponent of sleep, and for good reason. He outlines in his TED talk (19:19) below some of the latest research on the repercussions of not getting enough shut-eye, and it’s not pretty. As a cancer survivor, I find this information particularly sobering. While I’ve written about the downside of placing superhuman expectations on ourselves, having THIS kind of superpower, getting sufficient sleep, is literally life-preserving.

Let’s start with “testicles”…

Dr. Walker’s two main suggestions for good sleep? (14:16 in the video)
1) Keeping a regular sleep schedule, retiring and rising at the same time regardless of day of the week.
2) Keeping your bedroom temperature at about 65°F (no mean feat without A/C in the summer months!).

For many of us, improving the amount and quality of our sleep will take concerted planning and possibly sacrifices. We live in a 24-hour-a-day world and sometimes we try to keep up with that ’round-the-clock pace; ultimately, however, we pay the price for it. There should be no question that sleep is critical to our well-being and it’s time that we give it the priority that it deserves.