Headstand on beach

Do yoga inversions help drain lymph?

Do yoga inversions help drain lymph? Basically, yes. In the same way that inversions, such as headstand and shoulder stand, help return blood to your heart, turning upside down can assist lymph drainage from your legs. However, it isn’t necessary to invert to keep lymph moving. Your body has other means to accomplish the same…

Research review: The effects of bhastrika in the elderly, part 3

In my last post about this study (1), I described how four months of pranayama practice affected respiratory function in elderly yoga practitioners. Today, we take a look at how the practice of bhastrika impacted heart rate variability and the functioning of the autonomic nervous system. Before delving into heart rate variability, a review of the autonomic nervous system is in order. The autonomic nervous system…

Research review: The effects of bhastrika in the elderly

You don’t need to know anything about science to practice yoga. The ancient yogis didn’t. Their method was introspection. They discovered the effects of yogic practices through sustained attention to their own internal physical and mental states. Given how much variation there is between individuals, that’s probably still the best way for you to determine the effects of your own…

Yoga class outside

Hyperventilation: Is kapalabhati hyperventilation? (part 4)

The Sanskrit word kapalabhati means “skull-shining.” I often begin my day with kapalabhati after using the neti pot. It leaves me feeling both mentally energized and calm–a very different feeling from the agitation that accompanies hyperventilation. And, in fact, despite appearances, kapalabhati isn’t hyperventilation, as long as it’s done properly. The technique To practice kapalabhati, sit in a comfortable, upright posture…

Satellite view of earth with lung shape

Hyperventilation: Why breathing more isn’t necessarily better (part 3)

In the 1930s, Dr. William Kerr proposed that chronic, low-level hyperventilation could be behind a host of non-specific symptoms in patients suffering from anxiety, where no organic dysfunction could be found. This has sometimes been called the “fat folder syndrome” for the thickness of the patient’s medical file. These patients complained not only of anxiety or panic, but also feelings…

Hyperventilation: Why breathing more isn’t necessarily better (part 2)

In part one of this series, I covered what might seem like a paradoxical outcome of hyperventilation—that breathing more than necessary actually reduces the amount of oxygen to the brain. In this installment, I’ll explore two more effects of my experience of over-breathing: involuntary muscle spasms while hyperventilating and long periods of apnea (not breathing)…

Hyperventilation: Why breathing more isn’t necessarily better (part 1)

Recently, when I was in California I spent an evening practicing holotropic breathwork. I didn’t know much about this beforehand, and you might not either, so I’ll just set the scene. There were about 20 or so of us in a circle, along with a facilitator (whose instructions generally only increased my mystification). After a…