This book is a most valuable source of information for those who would like scientific evidence of the benefits of yoga as a component of a mental therapy. The three authors are regarded as leading authorities on the application of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) to mental health treatment. They have outstanding academic credentials as researchers and psychiatry professors and clearly affirm through the entire book that CAM procedures, particularly yoga, are mainly complementary, rather than alternative strategies. The book is organized in ten chapters dealing with specific mental health conditions ranging from anxiety and mood disorders to schizophrenia and substance abuse, and has a general introductory chapter about the basic principles of integrative mental health care. Their major focus of attention is on those CAM treatments that the authors have found helpful in clinical practice, are easy to administer, and have low side effects. Each chapter has a comprehensive presentation of the mental condition under consideration and the most common treatments used by specialists, as well as the research evidence and clinical experience in applying both traditional and CAM treatments. This encyclopaedic book is a rich source of information on the positive contribution of CAM procedures, including yoga practices; it has an abundant bibliography and has many case examples illustrating the complementary results of traditional and CAM approaches. There are also well-prepared summaries, charts, tables, 'clinical pearls,' a selected list of websites, and appendixes about finding safe and effective nutrients and herbal products. This review is limited to the yoga contribution to the management of mental health issues.
From a yoga perspective, the authors take a holistic approach that incorporates not only various Asanas, but also precise breathing and relaxation techniques, meditation, and yoga philosophy. Their major source of inspiration comes from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation, and creator of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY). This yoga school gives particular emphasis to various Pranayama ('breath control') practices that include Ujjayi ('victorious breath'), Bhastrika ('bellows breath' or 'breath of fire'), and Nadi shodanam ('alternate nostril breathing'). The authors say that SKY calms the sympathetic nervous system, activates the parasympathetic nervous system and elevates serum levels of brain-derived neurotropic factors, which is an indicator of increased neuroplasticity. In one of their 'clinical pearls' (page 113), they conclude that yoga can enhance psychotherapy because it may reduce the need to avoid emotions through repression, suppression, denial, numbing, and dissociation; it reduces anxiety, over reactivity, and sleep difficulties; it improves cognitive-emotional integration; and it reduces trauma-related somatic experiences, and strengthens the therapeutic alliance through patient empowerment and collaboration. This book is necessary read, not only for mental health care clinicians, but also for anyone curious about the assistance provided by yoga and other complementary and alternative approaches.
Dr. Richard P. Brown is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University. He has been practicing yoga, Zen meditation, QiGong and Aikido for more than 30 years. In addition to his training in psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychobiology, his personal interest in the therapeutic use of herbs prepared him to become a leading authority on CAM treatments for mental health. Dr. Brown has played a major role in offering workshops and guidance to members of the September 11 Community (Serving those Who Serve - STWS). Dr. Patricia L. Gerbarg, is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at New York Medical College. With her husband, Dr. Brown, she wrote about the use of Rhodiola rosea to combat stress. And Dr. Philip R. Muskin is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University and a specialist in geriatric psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine. He has written about the uses of yoga and CAM in psychiatry, and founded the Comforter Program at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital to provide emotional support to families of patients in intensive care units.
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