Geeky wellbeing favourites: July 2023
Walking, walking, walking – plus the usual mind–body science highlights
A couple of years ago, my husband and I had an argument. As usually happens with these things, I have no memory of what the argument was about, only that it made me very upset and angry and I had to get out of the house.
And so I went for a walk in the woods nearby – I am lucky enough to live in the city but have lots of parks and green spaces around me. And I walked, and walked, and walked. I’m not sure how long I was out there for but by the end of it the argument had disappeared into nothing and I was ready to go home. The only reason I remember that this happened is that I wrote a poem about it, about the power of walking to diffuse, whether that’s an argument, a bad mood or negative feeling. Walking also has the magical power to drive creativity (see eg here), which is probably why that walk turned into a poem.
I may not be the most disciplined student when it comes to sitting meditation (far from it). But walking (alone) is a different story; no podcasts, no music, no distractions. Just walking. I long for the day when running will be as enjoyable (I suspect it will never be)!
If you are a yoga teacher, or are interested in what it’s like working in the yoga world, you MUST read Norman Blair’s latest article on the pay challenges faced by yoga teachers in the UK.
4 things to engage with this month
Read
This is a really lovely article by a PhD candidate on the benefits of meditative walking and how she uses walking to help resolve challenges that she faces during her write-up. We had a little bit of a discussion on social about whether the benefit comes from focused attention (what she says) or mind-wandering, but regardless, I think we all agree that walking is a great way to help with thinking.
This Guardian report of ASCO 2023 highlights research showing that walking reduces the risk of dying in those living with cancer. See also below from my review of the research on yoga, which are also discussed in the article (and if you are interested in reading the abstract, click here).
Watch
This is the TED talk that explains the research on walking and creativity, including tips on how to use walking for brainstorming. I am kind of surprised that there is no difference between indoor and outdoor walking.
Practice
A lovely and relaxing yoga nidra practice inspired by the new moon.
Mind–body science highlights
Yoga nidra for mental health support among healthcare workers
This small pilot study (79 participants) investigated the effects of yoga nidra practice vs music-based relaxation among healthcare workers during the pandemic; both interventions were delivered online (via Youtube) for 30 minutes every day, for 2 weeks. Yoga nidra was more effective at reducing anxiety, depression and insomnia among healthcare workers than music-based relaxation. (no access to full paper)
Mindfulness-based therapy for neurodegenerative conditions
This review synthesises the evidence of the effects of mindfulness-based therapies (including yoga, tai chi, qi gong, ie any mind–body practice) on neurodegenerative conditions (including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease) and puts together hypotheses on how the practices can have neuro-protective effects. It covers some interesting research I was not aware of on the molecular effects of these practices, including on the length of telomeres, which are little caps at the ends of chromosomes that protect them from damage and that shorten with every round of cell replication, eventually shortening so much that the cell can no longer replicate and dies. It also covers the impact of these practices on inflammation.
AI to accurately detect joint positions in yoga
AI is literally all that people are talking about these days, and there has been concern that a yoga version of ChatGPT will take over yoga teaching (as if free youtube yoga wasn’t bad enough). So I note this paper with some interest and ambivalence – the researchers have developed and tested an algorithm to detect joint position and evaluate the ‘accuracy’ of the yoga pose. They were able to successfully detect all poses tested apart from down dog and plank. They don’t really say how they anticipate the algorithm to be used, but it could be an interesting way of supporting teachers who teach online (rather than replace teachers entirely). I should note that the introduction to this article lists all the already available programmes, so like it or not, this is happening in some form or another.
From the blog
I actually wrote a post this month because I was too excited not to. If you missed it, see below, along with a couple of other posts you might find interesting.
Yoga can help recovery in those living with cancer – ASCO 2023. Two studies presented at this year’s biggest oncology conference highlight the potential beneficial effects of yoga practice for cancer survivors.
Meditation/yoga/other mind–body practice is not for me, and other such myths. This topic has come up in conversation quite a lot recently – how could we add more personalisation to mind-body practices to make them more accessible?
Does yoga nidra ease the pain away? Another example of yoga nidra specifically looking at healthcare workers. In this case, the protocol was iRest, but they didn’t find that it eased pain, although it did increase mindfulness.
Until next month!