EDITOR’S WELCOME NOTE
Abha Gupta, YSN Editor
Abha Gupta, YSN Editor
Namaste!
Welcome to this February 2024 issue of YogaSetu Newsletter! Please click on the titles of each item in red below, for linking to their write-ups within this website!
In the rhythm of life, February often dances to the tune of love, but here in our yoga community, love flows ceaselessly throughout the year. As we embrace the essence of love in every breath and stretch, we’re thrilled to share the latest edition of our newsletter.
Take a deep inhale and exhale, for within these digital pages, you’ll discover the pulse of our collective breath—the lifeline that connects us all. In this edition, we delve into the profound impact of breath work on our emotional landscape and cognitive harmony, in the two featured research articles that have been referenced below:
(1) Effects of Yoga Respiratory Practice on Anxiety, Affect, and Brain Functional Connectivity, published in ‘Frontiers in Psychiatry’ (2020). Explore how the ancient art of pranayama shapes our emotional terrain, fostering tranquility and connectivity within.
(2) Brief Structured Respiration Practices Enhance Mood and Reduce Physiological Arousal, published in “Cell Reports Medicine” (2023). Discover the subtle nuances of breathwork that uplift our spirits and anxiety as well as reducing physiological arousal (respiratory rate, heart rate, and heart rate variability). The study suggests that daily five-minute breathwork produces greater improvement in mood and reduction in respiratory rate, compared with mindfulness meditation.
Let these scholarly voyages inspire our practice and deepen our understanding of yoga’s transformative influence on our holistic well-being. Don’t miss out on the profound poetry by Dr. Ajmal Sobhan below, titled, “The Evaporation of Identity” — a timeless view of reality that invites us to see the reality for what it is by letting go of the labels that we carry. This same theme is continued in the quote from Gita under the “Inspirational Quotes” section.
Thank you to Catherine Houlahan, our esteemed Staff Editor and Production Manager, for infusing the emailed edition of this issue with creative colorful design.
May our yoga practice be infused with grace, and may our hearts be forever open to the infinite possibilities that yoga offers.
~ Abha Gupta, YSN Editor-in-Chief
For your safety and that of the community, to be able to continue to “meet” for our weekly yoga therapy sessions, a yoga sessions will be offered online every Sunday evening. The Restorative Yoga session will focus on traditional yoga, and will be conducted between 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm.
See https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo7k9Di3t831Af6xgmk32lQ/featured?disable_polymer=1 for copies of our past sessions.
A brief description of each session and the information required to join the sessions via Zoom are provided on our website here: https://yogasetu.org/onlineyogatherapysessions
~ GUIDED MEDITATION FOR ABIDING CALMNESS
IN TURBULENT TIMES ~
by Dr. Ajmal Sobhan
Meditation is the first step in learning to focus on being the best you can be, not only for your own good but also that of the people around you, especially during these trying times. The following link leads to a sample of guided meditation for calming. Please listen, as Dr. Ajmal Sobhan guides you in his serene voice to your inner space of stillness and tranquility.
