User talk:Drshama65

Mrs. Shamanthakamani Narendran, M.D., Ph.D.In order to understand Yoga in all its dimensions, I have delved into philosophy, taking a Masters Degree in it from Bangalore Open University. I have undertaken a systematic study of Kannada, as one of the vehicles of traditional wisdom, taking a Masters Degree in it also from Mysore University, and familarised myself with Sanskrit and the Bhagavadgita. I have come to look upon these two streams of my life, not as antagonistic forces, but potentially as mutual reinforcers. I have come to believe that the confluence of these two streams, specifically in the field of Neonatology in association with Obstetrics on the one hand and Yoga on the other will be more beneficial than the isolated practice of either, especially for our children, yet to be born, who deserve the best that we can give them. In arriving at this approach I was inspired by David Barker’s Hypothesis “Health has its genesis in the womb” and equipped by the pioneering work  under the aegis of the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana [sVYASA] in which I worked in close association with Dr. H. R. Nagendra, President of sVYASA & Vice Chancellor of Vivekananda Yoga Mahavidyapeetham [VYOMA] and with Dr. R. Nagarathna, the chief physician of VYOMA. The central question we addressed through sVYASA was “Can Yoga be useful to solve the challenges of our society such as stress, psychosomatic ailments, social disharmony, student unrest, family divorces, increasing gun culture, terrorism, drug culture and so on?” We started this exploration by taking up Yoga as a therapeutic tool and as an instrument of stress relief. From this and from our studies emerged the Integrated Approach of Yoga Therapy [IAYT], on a basis culled out from Taittireya Upanishad and Yoga Vasista. We applied IAYT to the treatment of various categories of diseases along with systematic documentation of the measurements made on patients before and after Yoga, bringing out highly significant improvements in health status. From this background, my concern, as a pediatrician and neonatologist aided by David Barker’s Hypothesis “Health has its genesis in the womb”, I was drawn to the application of Yoga to the children in the womb and their pregnant mothers. As a life long scholar and practitioner of Medical Science, knowing human anatomy and physiology, I hypothesized that Yogic asanas regularly practised by pregnant women will be very beneficial and safe, reduce the frequency of Caesarian births as well as prenatal and natal complications and provide a better start in life for neonates. Western exercises embodied in allopathy have obvious benefits which as an allopathic doctor I could professionally transmit to my pregnant and pediatric patients. But I found it necessary to complement this with a holistic and comprehensive intervention and through other therapeutic modalities to alleviate pain, suffering and disease for the pregnant mother and for the child in the womb and the neonate. Such a holistic and comprehensive intervention is Yoga, which not only addresses the physical dimension, but also encompasses the other sheaths of human existence and consciousness and thus has a reach far beyond what is conceptualized and attempted by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Guidelines [ACOG] on exercise in pregnancy. Thus it was that I chose the subject of my Study “Efficacy of Integrated Approach of Yoga on outcome of Pregnancy”, for my Ph.D. for which I was registered with the Bangalore University At the outset I had to allay and remove the apprehensions of medical colleagues and the pregnant patients themselves. I am grateful to them for being responsive to my explanations and for appreciating the rationality of my approach and for their cooperation. While there are studies independently on Yoga and Yogic therapy on the one hand and studies bearing on pregnancy and pre-neonatology on the other, since those who profess and practise these two live in their separate worlds, in isolation of each other, there are no studies linking the two. The synthesis that emerges from my research in this study and its findings are thus pioneering, and I trust this will help in the process of scientifically synthesising modern knowledge and traditional wisdom for the benefit of the individual, from the prenatal to the final mortal stage, and thereby to the benefit of the larger community. Write up in Deccan Herald on September 15, 2007 - interviewed by Bharathi Prabhu http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Sep152007/she.asp

Dr. Shamanthakamani Narendran# 716, 7th Main, J.P.Nagar III Phase, Bangalore - 560 078, Karnataka, India PIN 560-078. Phone: 091-080-2658-3824; Mobile: +91-98459-66610; e-mail: drshama65@hotmail.com, drshama65@gmail.comwebsite:  www.drshama.bravehost.com