Enlightened Events

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is perhaps the most common heart rhythm disorder in the world. It affects approximately 240 000 Australians and it is also a risk factor for stroke. This type of irregular heart beat has been shown to improve with regular Yoga practice.

AF is a disturbance of the heart’s electrical system, causing the upper chambers of the heart (the atria) to quiver rather than beat normally. This can mean that the heart does not pump blood around the body as efficiently as it should.

There have been studies on the benefit of yoga as a complementary treatment for atrial fibrillation, including one in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study found that after 3 months of a 60 minute, twice weekly Iyengar Yoga class, the participants had fewer AF episodes. In addition, 22% of the participants who had AF episodes before they started yoga had none while they participated in yoga classes. While the study was small, it shows promising results for the application of Yoga in cardiovascular disease, specifically in relation AF.

We are looking forward to having Dr Harry Gibbs present research into Yoga and AF and other cutting edge Yoga research at the Australian Yoga Therapy Conference. Dr. Gibbs is an expert in cardiology and vascular medicine, is the Deputy Director of General Medicine and the Medical Director of the Vascular Laboratory at the Alfred Hospital and Director of Medicine at Sandringham Hospital in Melbourne. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at James Cook University and at Monash University. It is significant for the yoga therapy community that a medical professional of Dr. Gibbs' standing is interested at presenting in a forum such as the Australian Yoga Therapy Conference.

I hope you are able to join us at the Australian Yoga Therapy Conference so you can learn about cutting edge research that you can use to assist your students and clients!