Research Critique 3
Personal Communication
One of the things I was looking forward to the most during this trip to India was to have the opportunity to practice yoga with a teacher here. I have been interested in learning more about yoga and practicing it myself. I had practiced yoga before in the United States and wanted to see how it was similar and different. During my time here in Mysore, India, we had a yoga teacher, Shiva. We had class with him six days a week at 6:30am. During class, he would share with us his knowledge of yoga practice. He shared with us the form of yoga, Ashtanga, which was developed by his guru, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, in Mysore, India. Shiva would also share words of wisdom every day during his classes and messages to help encourage and uplift us.
There were a few times when my friend and fellow classmate, Juliana, and I had discussions with Shiva. Shiva is a yoga teacher, but he said that he teaches mainly for volunteering. He does not make a business out of it. Shiva said that he has his own business that he takes care of, but he likes to share yoga with as many people as he can. Often, he would say that too much money can be corrupting. It can lead to less peace in your heart. In order to have a couple conversations with Shiva, I sought him out for us to have a discussion.
I asked Shiva why he started practicing yoga, and he said for peace of mind. This aligns with me wanting to research yoga because I think yoga can help people have more peace of mind and live in a healthier mental state. I asked Shiva if he thinks that yoga can help people with mental illnesses such as depression, and he said yes that it can help people spiritually, physically, and mentally. He teaches yoga to people who visit Mysore, and he also teaches schoolchildren yoga. I think it is great that he teaches yoga to schoolchildren, because if children learn yoga while they are young, it can help with their development. It can help them to form healthy habits, so that they will be mentally, physically, and spiritually healthy overall later in life as well. Hagen and Nayar (2014) suggested that yoga can be used as a potential tool for children to deal with stress and regulate themselves. Yoga can help contribute to healthy development and good mental health for young people. Yoga can be used in schools to help students improve resilience, mood, and self-regulations skills for dealing with their emotions and stress (Hagen & Nayar, 2014). Yoga can be an important life skill for children and young people to learn as a way to cope with stress and as a training of mind and body to bring emotional balance (Hagen & Nayar, 2014). Hagen and Nayar (2014) stated that some potential outcomes of yoga practice for children combined with support from school, family, and society are improved concentration and memory, respect for peers and others, self-regulation, self-confidence, feeling of wellbeing, emotional balance, and physical fitness.
While visiting the JSS hospital, I listened to a lecture from Dr. Mahesh PA in which he spoke about a study in Bangalore that was related to stress in exam going children. Children had differential responses to the stress of taking the exam. Some children had values that reached autoimmune levels that failed to reduce quickly after the stressor was removed (completing exam). This shows how exams can cause high stress levels for children, and some children can develop diseases because of stress. Stress can also relate to mental illness for children. This shows the importance of needing to work on managing stress. Like I mentioned above, yoga can help children and adults with alleviating stress. Practicing yoga can help calm the heart rate, which signals the brain to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (Hagen & Nayar, 2014). Yoga can guide relaxation by reducing sympathetic activity (Hagen & Nayar, 2014; Vempati & Telles, 2002). The sympathetic nervous system, also called fight or flight, becomes engaged in children when they are exposed to sensory overload. Using yoga to activate the parasympathetic system can increases children’s ability to focus, learn, and reduce their stress (Hagen & Nayar, 2014). Clinical studies have indicated that yoga can improve academic performance (Hagen & Nayar, 2014; Van Pelt, 2011). In light of this, it would be beneficial for children to practice yoga to help decrease their stress levels and help them perform better academically.
1. What did this person view as the key needs or challenges that need to be addressed when considering the health phenomenon you are studying? How does this support or refute what the current research says?
The health phenomenon I am studying is mental illness, and I want to research ways to help prevent and treat mental illness. The challenge is how to help people gain more peace of mind and live in a healthy mental state that does not disrupt their daily functioning. One way is to help people develop coping strategies to manage stress and live a happier life. Shiva has said that yoga can be a path to have peace of mind. So, the key needs are to be of service to others, and share yoga with others.
2. What values/ belief systems unique to Indian society influence this issue according to this person? Why is it so important to understand these unique Indian values/ belief systems?
Since yoga has originated in India, it has an influence on Indian society, beliefs, and values. I asked Shiva if people from India practice yoga, and he said that there are many types and forms of yoga developed in India. It is important to understand unique Indian values and belief systems because it helps people understand Indian culture and their actions better. It is difficult to help people if you do not understand them or what they need or want. It can help me more to contextualize treatment and interventions that will be conducive and more fitting for Indian society.
3. What role does this person see that the global community has in addressing these issues? How realistic is this based upon the current research findings?
As for the role that the global community has in addressing mental and physical health issues, I think it comes down to what Shiva said was most important for people to do, which is to be kind and do good to others. I think this is one way for the global community to address issues of mental health. If we are more kind and loving to each other, it will help everyone be more healthy and to have a happy heart. I think that yoga can be one way to share peace with others as well. Shiva was correct in saying, yoga is not a one-man’s property and should be shared.
4. What role does this person see that individuals like you have in addressing these issues? How realistic is this based upon your own perspectives and the current research findings?
I asked Shiva what role he thinks individuals like me have in addressing mental health issues and promoting a positive well-being through yoga. He said that I should learn more about myself and practice yoga. I think it is good to learn yourself first because then you can better understand how to help people, and share the knowledge with others. I also want to be a researcher who can conduct research to find ways to help people cope with mental illness and promote a healthy well-being. I also want to research ways to promote a healthy development among young people as well as mental health awareness, and ways to prevent suicide among youth.
References
Hagen, I., Nayar, U. S. (2014). Yoga for children and young people’s mental health and well-being: Research review and reflections on the mental health potentials of yoga. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 5(35), 1-6. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00035
Van Pelt, J. (2011). Yoga and children’s mental health. Soc Work Today, 11(6), 8.
Vempati R.P., & Telles, S. (2002). Yoga-based guided relaxation reduces sympathetic activity judged from baseline levels. Psychol Rep, 90(2), 487-494. doi:10.2466/pr0.2002.90.2.487