Science&Health: Students can reap benefits from relaxation

Some college students say they can barely spare precious morning
minutes to microwave instant oatmeal for breakfast, let alone
consider incorporating deep meditative breathing into their daily
routines.

But something as simple as taking the time to breathe can be
restorative and relaxing and, under certain circumstances, may
provide an alternative to modern medicine for treatment, said Dr.
Pamela Viele, interim executive director for student development
and health at the Student Affairs office.

Viele, an expert on mind-body techniques, said a student who
experiences anxiety or stress exhibits shallow breathing. This
limits the student’s ability to function in stressful
situations and can be very taxing over long periods of time.

“A lot of anxiety, worry and distress is rooted in either
thinking about the past or worrying about the future, neither of
which we have any ability to access,” Viele said.

But along with a variety of techniques such as mediation,
progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery, breathing can
combat this experience and lead to mindfulness, which Viele
described as the ability to be available to present experience.

Students involved in myriad activities ““ quickly moving
from classes to meetings to study groups to intramural sports
practices ““ may have reason to attempt to cultivate
mindfulness.

“Being mindful … optimizes our ability to be present in
our experience, and that sharpens all of our faculties ““
cognitive and emotional ““ and leads to a feeling of
centeredness and connectedness rather than fragmentation and
feeling overwhelmed,” Viele said.

Kara Price, an instructor at Yoga Works in Westwood, has been
teaching yoga for more than 20 years. Though yoga is a physical
experience, the yogic lifestyle, which includes frequent practice,
a nutritive diet and meditation, is an ongoing restorative process
for many.

“(The physical branch of yoga) prepares one to be able to
sit and meditate. It has to be the physical poses in order to
create a healthful body and a calm mind,” Price said.

“It was invented in order to allow the individual to
meditate because if one had many ailments ““ all other kinds
of aches, pains, whatever ““ one could not sit and
meditate,” Price said.

Price said she does not believe yoga and other forms of
alternative medicine should be viewed in opposition to modern
medicine. She also said the research of Dr. Dean Ornish, author of
five New York Times bestselling books, showed that yoga reduces
heart disease when paired with a diet low in fat.

Price said it would be a mistake to identify either Eastern
medicine or modern medical practices as superior. She and Viele
both emphasized that modern medicine and alternative techniques
work in conjunction with each other.

However, Price also noted that alternative practices such as
regulated breathing and meditation do not work for everyone and
certainly should not be considered an alternative to surgery or
modern treatments.

“You shouldn’t put down Western medicine, because
that’s a blessing too,” she said.

But she did say she believes people sometimes run to modern
medicine too quickly.

“If I had a major illness, I would approach it hand in
hand with alternative medicine. If I didn’t have a major
illness, I would go to alternative medicine first,” she said.
“Then if that didn’t work, I would try Western
medicine.”

A nutritious diet is integral to any holistic approach to
healing. Though food is not always thought of as medicinal, poor
nutrition works against general health and mindfulness, Viele
said.

In 1987, Price was the cooking and nutritional adviser for a
grocery store catering to health-conscious individuals. She
recommends foods with no fats, sugars or denatured or chemically
treated products. She also suggests reducing one’s intake of
white flour, white sugar, white rice and caffeine.

“Reducing significantly these types of non-nutritional
food can lead to a change in health (and help individuals) not only
easily return to ideal weight, but also feel more clear, have fewer
colds and flus, fewer headaches and less ailments in
general,” Price said.

Andrew Lewis, a second-year business economics and political
science student, has his own take on alternative medicine.

“I think it’s an important balance. I don’t
think it should be the sole form of medication, but I think
it’s a good counterbalance to Western medication,” he
said.

Lewis also has some experience with Kiatsu, a healing massage
therapy used to support the practice of Aikado, a
mind-body-centered martial art.

He could not remember a time this massage practice failed to
cure a headache.

“Hey, I’m just saying ““ it works,” he
said.