Yoko Kamada
Toyo University Graduate School of Information Sciences and Arts,Japan
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Clin Exp Psychol
The worldâ??s yoga population is increasing. Many meta-analyzed papers on the effects of yoga and of mindfulness-based yoga have been published. According to Kanbara and Fukunagas, (2016) hypothesis, the foundation of physical self-awareness is receiving interoception, which mainly involves the anterior insular cortex (part of the cerebral cortex) and the cingulate gyrus (part of the limbic system) and is implicated in the regulation of the autonomic nervous system. In biofeedback therapy, this is where homeostasis is based. We hypothesize that the same applies to yoga therapy. We plan to prepare a program that allows becoming very aware of intraception and to prove its effectiveness. This experiment, as a preliminary step, verifies whether the program in itself is effective. Subjects concentrate their awareness regarding their interoceptive feelings of now, here, this moment. Their objectivity is enhanced doing isometric yoga exercises, a trademark of Japan Yoga Therapy Society, which alternately tenses and relaxes muscles. Matching ones breathing with movements enables us to understand the changes during and after exercise. The 30-minute program includes â??body scanâ?? meditation and breathing exercises. The experiment was conducted on 14 yoga therapy students aged 38 to 74, whose consent was obtained. An abbreviated version of POMS 2 was used and a physical symptom record table before and after practical sessions was completed. No adverse effects were caused by the subjects. POMS 2 indicated a significant reduction of negative feelings and improved physical symptoms, therefore a significant difference was observed. It was recognized that this program encourages selfawareness and the objective of interoceptive sensations is that they influence emotions. In the future, to verify the impact of objectivity and self-awareness, experiments will be conducted with a control group which will not be encouraged to become self-aware and objective.
Yoko Kamada is a yoga therapist certified by the Japan Yoga Therapy Society and The Society for Integrative Medicine in Japan. Currently, she is a board member of the Japan Yoga Therapy Society. Having trained on site with the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Foundation and having participated in the 2001 SVYASA Yoga Instructor Course in Japan, she completed the Yoga Therapist Course in 2005 and was accredited as a yoga instructor and yoga therapist by the Central Government of India. In July 2017, she passed the Indian government’s QCI Yoga Instructor Voluntary Certification Exam level 2. She’s guiding yoga therapy and also doing yoga guidance at a person with disabilities’ facilities. She and her colleagues have been doing yoga therapy as volunteers for the victims of the Great East Japan earthquake. She would like to thank Mr. Keishin Kimura, chairman of JYTS, Prof. Chieko Kato and visiting Prof. Minoru Kamata of Toyo University.
E-mail: s3b101800056@toyo.jp
