There are approximately 14,500 clinics and programs in America that provide treatment for all types of addictive behaviors we call "Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS)". While most of these have good intentions to provide needed help to the victims of RDS, we propose herein that most of their efforts, especially during periods of aftercare, are not based on the existing scientific evidence. We use "aftercare" to refer to any form of program or therapy following primary treatment including 12-Step programs. Very few programs actually provide any evidenced-based treatment approaches during this most vulnerable period in recovery. In this trieste we are suggesting that a hypodopaminergic trait (genetic) and/or state (epigenetic) is critical in terms of continued motivation to use/abuse of alcohol or other drugs and can lead to relapse. While there is evidence for the approved FDA drugs to treat drug addiction (e.g. alcohol, opiates, nicotine) these drugs favor a short-term benefit by blocking dopamine. We argue instead for the utilization of long-term benefits that induce "dopamine homeostasis", or in simpler terms "normalcy". We suggest that this could be accomplished through a number of holistic modalities including, but not limited to, dopamine-boosting diets, hyper-oxygenation, heavy metal detoxification, exercise, meditation, yoga, and most importantly, brain neurotransmitter balancing with nutraceuticals such as KB220 variants. We embrace 12-step programs and fellowships but not as a stand-alone modality, especially during aftercare. We also provide some scientific basis for why resting state functional connectivity (rsfMRI) is so important and may be the cornerstone in terms of how to treat RDS. We postulate that since drugs, food, smoking, gambling, and even compulsive sexual behavior could reduce rsfMRI then modalities (following required research), that can restore this impaired cross talk between various brain regions (e.g. Nucleus accumbens, cingulate gyrus, hippocampus etc.) should be incorporated into the aftercare plan in all treatment programs in America. Anything less will ultimately lead to the so called "revolving door" for as many as 90% of treatment participants.
BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to determine whether hatha yoga is an efficacious adjunctive intervention for individuals with continued depressive symptoms despite antidepressant treatment. METHOD: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of weekly yoga classes (n = 63) v. health education classes (Healthy Living Workshop; HLW; n = 59) in individuals with elevated depression symptoms and antidepressant medication use. HLW served as an attention-control group. The intervention period was 10 weeks, with follow-up assessments 3 and 6 months afterwards. The primary outcome was depression symptom severity assessed by blind rater at 10 weeks. Secondary outcomes included depression symptoms over the entire intervention and follow-up periods, social and role functioning, general health perceptions, pain, and physical functioning. RESULTS: At 10 weeks, we did not find a statistically significant difference between groups in depression symptoms (b = -0.82, s.e. = 0.88, p = 0.36). However, over the entire intervention and follow-up period, when controlling for baseline, yoga participants showed lower levels of depression than HLW participants (b = -1.38, s.e. = 0.57, p = 0.02). At 6-month follow-up, 51% of yoga participants demonstrated a response (50% reduction in depression symptoms) compared with 31% of HLW participants (odds ratio = 2.31; p = 0.04). Yoga participants showed significantly better social and role functioning and general health perceptions over time. CONCLUSIONS: Although we did not see a difference in depression symptoms at the end of the intervention period, yoga participants showed fewer depression symptoms over the entire follow-up period. Benefits of yoga may accumulate over time.
An Chinese language compilation of articles by various authors regarding the status and management of Tibetan environment, resources, and wildlife.
<b>Aim: </b> To compare maternal and neonatal outcomes of Tibetan and Han Chinese women delivering vaginally at high altitude (3650 meters) in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China.<br><b>Method: </b> Comparative analysis of data from a prospective observational study of Tibetan (<i>n</i> = 938) and Han Chinese (<i>n</i> = 146) women delivering at three hospitals between January 2004 and May 2005.<br><b>Results: </b> Han Chinese women had higher rates of pre-eclampsia/gestational hypertension than Tibetan women, (10.3% vs 5.9%, <i>P</i> = 0.04). There was no difference in rates of postpartum hemorrhage between Tibetan and Han women (12.8% vs 17.1%, <i>P</i> = 0.15). Han newborns weighed significantly less than Tibetan newborns (<i>P</i> < 0.01), and were twice as likely to be small for gestational age, (24.5% vs 11.6%, <i>P</i> < 0.01). Tibetan newborns were less likely to have poor neonatal outcomes than Han newborns (<i>P</i> < 0.01).<br><b>Conclusion: </b> In high altitude deliveries in Tibet, adverse outcomes were significantly more common among Han Chinese.
Higher education is being severely criticized on a number of fronts. This article argues that a major problem with the university is that it is still rooted in dualism. Contemplation is generally practiced within a nondualistic framework that allows for genuine Self Integration. This article describes the efforts of the author to bring contemplative practice into a graduate school of education. Student experiences with various forms of meditation are described, illustrated by excerpts from students' journals.
The article informs that contemplation is a form of self-learning that helps students deal with the stresses of life and makes teaching a joy and delight. One important reason for requiring meditation is that it can be a form of self-learning. Students are introduced to six different types of meditation which include meditation on the breath, loving-kindness (sending thoughts of peace and wellness to self and others), mantra, movement (e.g., walking), visualization, and contemplation on poetry or sacred texts. The small sample findings and case studies indicate that contemplation and spiritual practices can be offered in a non-dogmatic way in public institutions and deepen the educational experience.
Meditation is a simple and practical activity that can enrich our lives and work in innumerable ways. It allows us to connect more deeply to ourselves and others and to the environment. In this book, John P. Miller, an expert in the field of holistic education, looks at mediation and how it can be integrated into one’s work and daily life.Twenty years after it was first published, Miller’s book remains one of the best guides to applying contemplative practice, covering a variety of theoretical, empirical, historical, and cross-cultural approaches. For this new edition, Miller has updated the text to reflect the growth of the mindfulness movement, new research into the brain, and his years of experience teaching and practising contemplation in teacher education.Whether one is interested in exploring how meditation can be used in the classroom or the workplace, or simply seeking to integrate it into one’s personal life, The Contemplative Practitioner is the perfect companion.
This issue focuses on the use of contemplative writing as a practice (or set of practices) used in the context of writing across the curriculum and in the disciplines. As explored in the essays within this issue, contemplative writing is most commonly one aspect of carefully constructed contemplative pedagogies and integrated into classes in scaffolded and deliberate ways that might encourage nonjudgmental awareness, embodied or spiritual experience, honor for the interconnectedness of all beings, and more. Most of the scholars in this issue speak of contemplative writing as a practice, much like one might speak of prayer or meditation as a practice. The scholars included in this special issue are building a broader definition of contemplative writing as they offer additional wisdom about contemplative writing and metacognition, contemplative writing and grading, contemplative research writing, and much more.
<p>The article introduces the topic of decision-making among farming families. The first section discusses the general idea of people's participation in agricultural development. The second section briefly describes the geographic, social, and economic context in which decisions are made by farming families in the area of the Palpa district, which was selected for the study. In the third section, an example of decision-making is given and analyzed. The final section raises a few uncomfortable questions and ends with suggestions. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-01-22)</p>
Most of Australia's largest mammals became extinct 50,000 to 45,000 years ago, shortly after humans colonized the continent. Without exceptional climate change at that time, a human cause is inferred, but a mechanism remains elusive. A 140,000-year record of dietary delta(13)C documents a permanent reduction in food sources available to the Australian emu, beginning about the time of human colonization; a change replicated at three widely separated sites and in the marsupial wombat. We speculate that human firing of landscapes rapidly converted a drought-adapted mosaic of trees, shrubs, and nutritious grasslands to the modern fire-adapted desert scrub. Animals that could adapt survived; those that could not, became extinct.
Education and the Soul is the first book to comprehensively address how the soul can be nourished in educational settings. The book explores the nature of the soul and offers teaching/learning approaches that can be used to nurture the development of students souls. It also examines how institutions such as schools have souls and what can be done to care for a schools spiritual life.
Education and the Soul is the first book to comprehensively address how the soul can be nourished in educational settings. The book explores the nature of the soul and offers teaching/learning approaches that can be used to nurture the development of students souls. It also examines how institutions such as schools have souls and what can be done to care for a schools spiritual life.
A collection of classic essays by two highly regarded scholars on the development of yoga and its rapport with other religious traditions.Georg Feuerstein, one of the world's foremost scholars of yoga, and Jeanine Miller, long recognized for her insightful commentaries on the RgVeda, here pool their considerable talents in a look at the development of yogic thought across the ages and its similarities with the Christian mysticism of Meister Eckhart. Two of their essays included here, one concerning the essence of yoga and the other looking at the meaning of suffering in yoga, have long been singled out by indologists for correcting prevalent misconceptions and providing a conceptual framework for many of the subsequent studies in that field. The reprinting of these important essays in The Essence of Yoga gives new readers a chance to share some of the authors' earliest insights into yoga and their deep conviction that these discoveries are of the highest significance for a proper understanding of the human condition.
A chronic inflammatory disorder of the respiratory airways, asthma is characterized by bronchial airway inflammation resulting in increased mucus production and airway hyper-responsiveness. The resultant symptomatology includes episodes of wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. Asthma is a multifactorial disease process with genetic, allergic, environmental, infectious, emotional, and nutritional components. The underlying pathophysiology of asthma is airway inflammation. The underlying process driving and maintaining the asthmatic inflammatory process appears to be an abnormal or inadequately regulated CD4+ T-cell immune response. The T-helper 2 (Th2) subset produces cytokines including interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-5, IL-6, IL-9, IL-10, and IL-13, which stimulate the growth, differentiation, and recruitment of mast cells, basophils, eosinophils, and B-cells, all of which are involved in humoral immunity, inflammation, and the allergic response. In asthma, this arm of the immune response is overactive, while Th1 activity, generally corresponding more to cell-mediated immunity, is dampened. It is not yet known why asthmatics have this out-of-balance immune activity, but genetics, viruses, fungi, heavy metals, nutrition, and pollution all can be contributors. A plant lipid preparation containing sterols and sterolins has been shown to dampen Th2 activity. Antioxidant nutrients, especially vitamins C and E, selenium, and zinc appear to be necessary in asthma treatment. Vitamins B6 and B12 also may be helpful. Omega-3 fatty acids from fish, the flavonoid quercetin, and botanicals Tylophora asthmatica, Boswellia serrata and Petasites hybridus address the inflammatory component. Physical modalities, including yoga, massage, biofeedback, acupuncture, and chiropractic can also be of help.
Mindfulness has been promoted as a way to increase resiliency during times of stress. Universities are reporting that record numbers of undergraduate students are seeking mental health services related to stress. This study assessed the feasibility of layering brief mindfulness-based practice within a large-scale university course. Data were collected from 115 participants enrolled in a third-year psychology course. The intervention took approximately 5 min of the 80-min class time on alternating course days, resulting in no deleterious effects on learning outcomes. 53.6% of the students indicated that they had used the practice outside of class, possibly leading to long-term positive effects in multiple areas. One-fifth of students reported seeking out other opportunities to learn about mindfulness in the same semester. Participants reported increased stress and decreased mindfulness over the course of the study, which corresponded to the assessment points within the semester, but may also highlight the impact of mindfulness training on awareness of both positive and negative emotional states. Future research should consider the role of brief mindfulness interventions in stress reduction, anxiety reduction, overall coping, and academic engagement in the undergraduate large-class environment.
<p>This article looks at the two Tibetan grammatical treatises, often recognized as the foundation of Tibetan grammatical studies, as they were known by the Sakya Pandita (Sa skya Paṇḍita) . (Mark Premo-Hopkins</p>
Background. The purpose of this article is to review the evidence for the efficacy of hatha yoga for depression and possible mechanisms by which yoga may have an impact on depression, and to outline directions for future research. Methods. Literature review and synthesis. Results and conclusions. A literature search for clinical trials examining yoga for depression uncovered eight trials: 5 including individuals with clinical depression, and 3 for individuals with elevated depression symptoms. Although results from these trials are encouraging, they should be viewed as very preliminary because the trials, as a group, suffered from substantial methodological limitations. We would argue, however, that there are several reasons to consider constructing careful research on yoga for depression. First, current strategies for treating depression are not sufficient for many individuals, and patients have several concerns about existing treatments. Yoga may be an attractive alternative to or a good way to augment current depression treatment strategies. Second, aspects of yoga-including mindfulness promotion and exercise-are thought to be "active ingredients" of other successful treatments for depression. Third, there are plausible biological, psychological, and behavioral mechanisms by which yoga may have an impact on depression. We provide suggestions for the next steps in the study of yoga as a treatment for depression. (Journal of Psychiatric Practice 2010;16:22-33)
Background. The purpose of this article is to review the evidence for the efficacy of hatha yoga for depression and possible mechanisms by which yoga may have an impact on depression, and to outline directionsfor future research. Methods. Literature review and synthesis. Results and conclusions. A literature search
for clinical trials examining yoga for depression uncovered eight trials: 5 including individuals with clinical depression, and 3 for individuals with elevated depression symptoms. Although results from these trials
are encouraging, they should be viewed as very preliminary because the trials, as a group, suffered from
substantial methodological limitations. We would argue, however, that there are several reasons to consider constructing careful research on yoga for depression. First, current strategies for treating depression are not sufficient for many individuals, and patients have several concerns about existing treatments. Yoga may
be an attractive alternative to or a good way to augment current depression treatment strategies. Second, aspects of yoga—including mindfulness promotion and exercise—are thought to be “active ingredients” of other successful treatments for depression. Third, there are plausible biological, psychological, and behavioral mechanisms by which yoga may have an impact on depression. We provide suggestions for the next steps in the study of yoga as a treatment for depression.
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