My opinion

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INTRODUCTION:Yoga is an ancient science which has its origins in India. The term yoga literally means to “yoke” from the sanskrit word yug. Yoga if practiced correctly can help in the improvement of many childhood disorders.

MENTAL HEALTH:Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a behavioural disorder, present in up to 5% of school children characterised by inattentiveness, hyperactivity, impulsivity or a combination. These children usually have normal intelligence but poor school performance.  Stimulant drugs like amphetamines and Ritalin are used but one third of the children do not respond or develop side effects to these medications. Behavioural modification is one other treatment modality. Yoga is being increasingly used as an alternative therapy. It enhances relaxation, develops greater attention and ability to concentrate and improves self esteem. It also reduces depression, anxiety, anger and neurotic symptoms. Studies have shown that practicing yoga regularly improves ADHD symptoms significantly when compared to children on drug and behavioural therapy. Yoga also helps in improving mood disorders in adolescents. Yoga may also improve visual and cognitive skills, memory and visual perception.

PHYSICAL HEALTH:Moorthy et al demonstrated that yoga increased the number of children that were able to pass a fitness test which they failed to clear the first time1. Studies have proved that regular yoga helps in improving the cardiovascular fitness, increase the lean muscle mass, improve balance and fine motor skills. Raju et al demonstrated that regular pranayama could result in higher work rates with reduced oxygen consumption without an increase in the blood lactate levels2.

RESPIRATORY DISORDERS:Asthma is one of the most common conditions encountered in pediatric practice. It has multiple aetiologies including allergic, infective, climactic, endocrinal and emotional. The children are usually put on long term drugs and inhalational devices which are very cumbersome.  Jain et al showed that regular yoga increased pulmonary functions and lung capacity in adolescents with asthma3. It also decreased frequency and severity of symptoms and drug requirements. Deep breathing exercises and the calm mental state help in ameliorating most of the multi aetiologies of this condition4. Yoga also helps in improving the lung capacities of children with congenital chest deformities.

PAIN MANAGEMENT:Children with oncological conditions, fibromyalgia, juvenile arthritis, chronic pancreatitis, peripheral neuropathy and hemodialysis are prone to chronic pain and anxiety. Moody et al put children in their hemato-oncological unit on an individualised yoga plan and found a significant reduction in both pain and anxiety5. Children with musculoskeletal problems like arthritis have been shown to have decreased stiffness, pain and prevalence of deformity when on yoga therapy.

OTHER CONDITIONS:Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), migraines, endocrinological disorders like diabetes and sleep disorders are some of the other conditions where yoga is helpful. More studies are required to quantify the degree of usefulness of yoga therapy in dealing with conditions which require an alternative therapy.

Conclusion

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Yoga is a holistic therapy that aims at removal of the basic cause of any disease.  In yoga  the mind is considered central to any diseased condition and strives to return the human body to a state of  inner equilibrium. Yoga therapy would be very useful as an adjuvant therapy for many conditions to which modern medicine has only a partial answer.

References

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1. Moorthy AM. Survey of minimum muscular fitness of the school children of age group 6 to 11 years and comparison of the influence of selected yogic exercises and physical exercises on them. Yoga Mimamsa. 1982;21(12):59–64.
2. Raju PS, Madhavi S, Prasad KV, Reddy MV,Reddy ME, Sahay BK, Murthy KJ. Comparision of effects of  yoga and physical exercise in athletes. Indian J Med Res.1994 Aug;100:81-6.
3. SC Jain. Effect of Yoga Training on Exercise Tolerance in Adolescents with Childhood Asthma. 1991, Vol. 28, No. 6 ,437-442.
4. Murthy KJR, Sahay BK, Sitaramaraju P et al . Effect of pranayama on bronchial asthma.  An open study. Lung India 1984;2:187-191.
5. Moody K. Yoga for pain and anxiety in pediatric hematooncolgy patients. Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology, Vol 8, No 3, 2010: (104).

Source(s) of Funding

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None

Competing Interests

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None

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