Yoga as Lifestyle Medicine: Prescription for Healthy living

Abstract

Regardless of its spiritual origins, yoga has become a popular route to physical and mental well-being and has been adapted for use in complementary medicine internationally. This development is paralleled by the increased research on yoga as a therapeutic lifestyle intervention for chronic illness prevention and management. Based on the U.K. Medical Research Council’s framework for complex interventions, this presentation will outline the development, effects and implementation of a mindfulness yoga program for stress and symptom management for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Between 40–50% of patients with PD experience anxiety and depression, associated with impaired physical function, high care dependency and mortality. Clinical practice guidelines support exercises for PD rehabilitation, however, existing evidence of yoga for stress and symptom management is scarce. This presentation will cover the research findings of (i) a systematic review and meta-analysis of mind-body exercises for PD, including Yoga, Tai Chi, and dance, (ii) a sequential exploratory mixed-method study exploring the illness experience and unmet care needs amongst people with PD, and (iii) a full-scaled, assessor blinded randomized controlled trial investigating the comparable effects of mindfulness yoga and conventional stretching and resistance training exercise for psychological distress and symptom management for PD. The presentation will also discuss how the safety of yoga has been addressed and how the practices are applied and adapted to people living with special conditions and physical limitations such as PD. The mindfulness yoga program appeared to be a safe and favorable coping strategy for PD patients to address their emotional and physical needs. Compared with conventional stretching and resistance training exercise, mindfulness yoga showed additional benefits on psychological distress, spiritual well-being, and health-related quality of life, with comparable benefits related to motor symptoms and mobility. By adopting a mind-body lifestyle approach, yoga – that teaches mindfulness along with physical activity – is well suited for stress and symptom management in PD patients. Last but not least, the presentation will highlight the future research directions on the implementation science of yoga for PD rehabilitation, including the application of mHealth to increase the reach and sustainability of evidence-based yoga practices.