I am happy to share this article I wrote for the Wellness Program Newsletter of Tufts Medical School where I have been teaching for the last ten years:

According to verse 1.2 Patanjali’s ‘Yoga Sutras,’ an early text (1st-2nd century CE) that delves into the science of Yoga and the eight-limbed path to enlightenment, Yoga is defined as the quieting/restraining of the modifications of the mind.

The sixth of these limbs, called Dharana, is the focused concentration of the mind. In Yoga, meditation, and other mindfulness practices, we learn to utilize a variety of tools to focus our mind’s attention and ground ourselves in the present moment, i.e., the breath, physical actions and sensations, mantras, and visualizations. As our minds wander or become distracted, we practice catching ourselves without judgement or reaction and begin again, recentering attention back to our focus point. Exercising this single-minded focused concentration trains the mind for more expansive and ‘absorbed’ states of meditation.

Patanjali’s text also explains that ‘practice’ must be done regularly and without attachment. Practice is defined as “the sustained effort to rest in that stillness…that is Yoga” (Sutra 1.13, translated by Chip Hartranft from The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali).

The scientific community has begun investigating the practices of Yoga, meditation, and mindfulness-based practices to measure their effectiveness. It is exciting to see how preliminary research findings support the many benefits and claims I have heard, read about in texts like the Yoga Sutra, and personally witnessed in my students’ and my own practice over the years. (See links to a few studies below)

In nineteen years of personal practice, I have experienced and witnessed the transformative effects of strengthening present moment awareness. I have seen this manifest in an enhanced ability to cultivate openness and stay focused through distractions and hardships, a softening of the heart, and an overall loosening of firmly held ideas about right and wrong. The transformation I witness the most among practitioners is an increased ability to reside more peacefully within themselves, and to be more accepting of life’s challenges and other people. This practice is not a linear path; but rather an up-and-down, sideways, rewind-and-start-again path.

Over the course of my 10 years’ experience teaching at Tufts Medical, students have shared with me how Yoga practice has helped them both physically and mentally. For some, Yoga practice provides a rejuvenating fruitful break from study that reduces stress levels and pain, and enhances their clarity and focus. Some others have experienced more self-awareness, and consciousness of their breathing, while others simply felt better.

There has been a growing cultural acceptance and popularity of Yoga and mindfulness practices and a greater availability of both. It will be interesting to see the evolution of these practices as they intersect with growing scientific research.

It has been great to witness the expansion of resources that support student wellness at Tufts Medical, and to continue teaching Yoga weekly on Thursdays. Please let me know if I can answer any questions. I am happy to support your journey of self-discovery wherever you find yourself at this moment.

Yoga for Concentration, Cognition, and Memory: Studies Show It Works

Brief, daily meditation enhances attention, memory, mood, and emotional regulation in non-experienced meditators

The Effect of Mindfulness-based Programs on Cognitive Function in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis