Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing

Dr. McCall is the medical editor of Yoga Journal and many readers are familiar with his excellent articles in that prestigious publication. In 2002, Yoga Journal asked Dr. McCall to write a book on yoga therapy, but he was already working on Yoga as Medicine for two years. The author is a board-certified specialist in internal medicine and was a practicing physician for more than 12 years in the Boston area. At the beginning, Dr. McCall says that he approached yoga "in the same spirit that I'd brought to salsa dancing and tai chi", but then, as he was deepening into his practice, he began to notice important changes in his posture, his breathing, and many other aspects of his daily life. In 2000, he decided to devote himself full-time to investigate the value of yoga as a therapeutic instrument. He has visited many yoga centres and ashrams in the United States and India, exploring, asking students and instructors about the therapeutic value of their yoga practice, and collecting valuable information that is very difficult to access. The book consists of three parts. Part 1: "Yoga as Medicine", makes a succinct presentation of the scientific basis of yoga and its contributions to health care. Part 2: " The Practice of Yoga", has numerous tips on how to establish a safe practice, how to choose a safe yoga style, and how to select a teacher. Part 3 " Yoga Therapy in Action", has 20 chapters devoted to a large array of conditions (arthritis, asthma, back pain, cancer, depression, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and many others). Dr. McCall, with information provided by leading yoga therapists, offers a brief overview of each condition, discusses in detail the scientific evidence of the contribution made by yoga to the treatment of the condition, and concludes with a series of recommended exercises appropriate for each condition, highlighting the benefits and the contraindications of each exercise. An appendix is devoted to the prevention of yoga injuries. This book offers an unusual view of yoga. Dr. McCall uses crisp and clear language, his book is lucid and easy to understand, and scientific proofs are fully documented. Being both a competent physician and a skilled yoga practitioner who has explored many yoga traditions, Dr. McCall has the authority to disregard false claims from both sides and insists that a correct perspective is to recognize the complementarities of both approaches. He insists that yoga therapy is not a "magic bullet", but asserts that the characteristics of such therapy (being holistic, with increased effects over time, positive side effects, requiring patient's participation, major emphasis on prevention, etc.) makes yoga therapy ideal for the treatment of some chronic problems, such as diabetes, or arthritis. Dr. McCall is not hesitant to use many of the classical yoga terms (asanas, Pranayama, nadis, etc.), but he alerts us by affirming: "If notions like chakras and prana turn you off, just think of them as metaphors. We use this kind of metaphorical thinking in the West all the time... Good metaphors can help us understand, as yogis put it, 'what is' ". Many people remember his sense of humour from the video, Yoga Unveiled, which has a section on "Yoga as Therapy"; he mentions that on one occasion he was asked: "Will smoke get in the way of yoga?" and he replied "No, but if you are a smoker, yoga might get in the way of smoking." The book is a treasure of information. It contains photographs of the exercises recommended for each condition. It has a comprehensive index, a list of Sanskrit words and names for the asanas, and a comprehensive list of sources of information, including the web sites of yoga therapists and institutions. This work is the best of its kind and it is the principal source of reference for those interested in discovering the therapeutic value of yoga. On the front cover of the book you will see the opinion of Dr. Mehmet Oz, Director of the Cardiovascular Institute of the New York Presbyterian Hospital: "Read this to find out why we teach our patients YOGA".

As a massage therapist and a yoga teacher I was extremely well pleased with this manual. Yoga as medicine makes a wonderful reference book to have in the studio or at home, Jam packed with excellent information from the author (a board certified Physician and yoga practitioner) and many Excellent leading yoga practitioners who each address a different chapter on subjects such as arthritis, Asthma, back pain, menopause, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, cancer and many other conditions and diseases. There are passages on how to address the individual physically, mentally, and emotionally. The author approaches healing from both western and eastern philosophies, blending the two beautifully in this brilliant book. What I really love is that each illness, condition or disease is divided into sections and addressed by different leading practitioners and Philosophers. All sections have a sequence to follow with good clear black and white photos (even portrait photos of the different authors of each chapter and short Bio's), advice, tips, contraindications, breathing techniques, visualizations and scientific and yogic perspectives and statistics. AAdil Palkhivala writes about High blood pressure in Chapter 20. Roger Cole (my personal hero (unbeknown to him), I eat up all his anatomy articles on yoga)writes about how to deal with Insomnia in chapter 23. Judith Hanson lassater writes about Back Pain in Chapter 11. Richard Freeman writes the section on overeweight and obesity chapter 27. Elise Browning Miller covers Menopause in Chapter 25. Nischalla Joy Devi discusses heart disease. Rodney Yee talks about headaches in chapter 18. Gary Kraftsow's contribution is about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There are many more contributors, Shakta Shanti Kaur Khalsa, John Friend,Michael Lee, Sam Dworkis and many others. I think this is definitely a book every yoga teacher should own and any Massage therapist who is serious about empowering their clients to help themselves on the path to healing, educating them and guiding them to to make healthy lifestyle changes. Get this book!

I have been teaching a class at a senior retirement place (Chair/Seated Tai Chi, Qigong and Yoga for seniors and the physically challenged) for many years and I am always looking for material to increase my overall knowledge. I recently purchased this giant 569 page soft cover book (Yoga as medicine: The yogic prescription for health and healing by Timothy McCall, M.D.) from Amazon for a bargain price. Unlike most other books on yoga this one was written by a medical doctor and he approaches the subject from a unique and interesting perspective. This book does not just cover one system of yoga but presents material from several yoga methods. The book is organized into three parts. The first part explains using yoga as a part of overall health and medicine. The second part focuses on the practice of yoga including safety factors and choosing a style of yoga. The final part is the longest and covers yoga therapy in action and using the asana (postures) for a wide range of issues such as the following: Anxiety and panic attacks, arthritis, asthma, back pain, cancer, depression, diabetes, headaches, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome and many more health and medical issues. This excellent book has so much information and detail that it should be considered a reference source for anyone teaching yoga. A very informative volume on yoga. Rating: 5 Stars. (Author: Training alone in Combatives and self-defense)

I love this book it's so interesting to match Science with holistic theory. Delivery was quicker than expected too.

This is a really excellent book if you are interested in yoga as therapy or simply how to help your students with various issues. It is very easy to read and full of information complete with suggestions and photos of poses that will help certain conditions. It doesn't contain any of the more spiritual side of yoga which is a bonus int his type of book when you are looking for medical information. A good buy for anyone seriously interested in teaching yoga.

It was my first book covering the concept of yoga therapy. It has so much information that it took me a while to finish the book ... I was going deeper in every thematic and coming back at it frequently.

Ein tolles wichtiges Buch. Ein muss für Yogalehrerin, die mehr interessiert als gut auszusehen sondern Yoga auch als Therapie verstehen.

i would suggest this book to anyone who wants to know more about the benefits of yoga. theory and practice go side by side. a different teacher and a different approach for each health issue the book deals with. very interesting, and a source for yoga teachers as well! many references and ideas for further personal study.