15 YogaTherapyToday June 2010

Shirley Telles, MBBS, MPhil, PhD (Neurophys-iology), DSc (Yoga), is the director of research atPatanjali Yoga Peeth, Hardiwar, Uttarakhand inthe north of India. She also heads the ethics bodyfor research in India, called the Indian Council ofMedical Research, which has specifically fundeda center for advanced research in Yoga and neu-rophysiology where research on meditation is aspecial focus.

When I contacted Dr. Telles for this inter-view compelled by the sheer volume of Yogaresearch she publishes, she quickly accepted viaemail with an attached list of her publishedresearch on Yoga that included 95 studies. Gulp.We then spoke by phone.

Julie: What is your secret to publishing somuch in the field of Yoga research?

Dr. Telles: The chance to combine two thingsthat I like: Yoga and writing.

Julie: What made you decide to have aresearch focus on Yoga? Did you grow upwith Yoga?

Dr. Telles: I didn't grow up with Yoga at all.My mother had and still has a book on Yoga,but I had never read it. My background is inconventional medicine and then I got into aresearch career in order to study neurophys-iology. My interest was to do a basic degreein medicine and follow that with a PhD atthe National Institute in the south of India. Iwas interested in understanding what hap-pens to the brain in different states of con-sciousness such as asleep and awake. It wasdecided that I would study the neurophysi-ological changes in people who were coma-tose. But as it turned out, I didn't find thatinspiring. So then I asked my guide, is thereanything else that you can think of that Icould do? He said I could do something inthe area of Yoga. At that stage I did notknow anything about it so he gave mebooks to read and arranged for me to meeta person who practiced Yoga. I got reallyhooked by the theory and by the practice.

Julie: Do you believe that science canexplain consciousness?

Dr. Telles: In a very simplistic sense, a neu-rologist understands consciousness as anawareness and responsiveness to one's envi-ronment. To that extent, science can studythe spectrum of consciousness. But con-sciousness is something far beyond that,and I believe that there are various dimen-sions of consciousness that current scientifictools cannot study.

Julie: Why do you choose to study higherstates of consciousness induced by medita-tion?

Dr. Telles: The sage Patanjali has describedthat as a person progresses into higher statesof meditation certain faculties become par-ticularly active, like the ability to pay atten-tion, to direct one's attention at will, and soon. If this is really so, it would have a num-ber of applications in daily life and even intherapy.

Julie: Please talk a little more about thepurpose of researching information foundin classical Yoga texts. Could some of theinformation be wrong? Misinterpreted?

Dr. Telles: It's important to understandwhether these writings about the effects of

Yoga practice which are very old (for exam-ple, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras probably originat-ed around 900 BC), would hold up today andcan be verified in the laboratory. The classicaltexts are based partly on the experiences ofthe sages, passed on by word-of-mouth, untilthis compilation by Patanjali. The environ-ment at the time was very different from theenvironment today and in a sense our physi-ology itself, our bodies, have evolved. Thelevel of activity, the types of stresses to whichwe're exposed, the types of foods we eat aredifferent now. Much has changed.

Julie: You're now able to work in this veinat Patanjali Yoga Peeth, are you not?

Dr. Telles: It is an opportunity really, to lookin-depth at practices emphasized there suchas the importance of breath and pranayama.And, yes, I've been looking at that from anumber of the ancient texts. I've been tryingto read in more detail one text in particularwhich dates back to so many years ago thatits origin cannot be traced, and that's theSwara Yoga text. Swara means breath or thesound of the breath.

Julie: Besides the classical texts, where doyour research ideas come from?

Dr. Telles: We have a patient population sowe can plan studies assessing whether Yogais effective as a therapy, and the mecha-nisms involved. Other projects are oftenneed-based. Institutions we are affiliatedwith approach us to have a Yoga programfor a particular group and then I say let'sconvert it into a research project so that wecan really understand to what extent theprogram is benefiting the people. We evalu-ate the effects at different stages so that wecan modify it, if needed.

In India there are quite a large numberof young people working in the softwareindustry. Many of them are in their early20's and have already developed severemusculoskeletal problems—even as severeas carpal tunnel syndrome—, very high lev-els of mental stress, many of them on anti-anxiety medication, very unhealthy life-

Interview by Julie Deife

Dr. Shirley Telles, Yoga Researcher

June 2010 YogaTherapyToday 16

styles, and so on. Some of the software com-panies in India have approached us todevelop and evaluate a Yoga module forthem. We did put together a 45-minutemodule targeting visual strain, muscu-loskeletal discomfort, and mental stress.

Julie: Do these become long-range studies?

Dr. Telles: In some cases. One of the reallybig difficulties we encounter is a high drop-out rate—take computer professionals forexample. We tried to communicate withthem and do a follow-up at least a year later.Most of them were in different parts ofIndia. Some of them were out of the countryso the follow-up was virtually impossible.We did try to get in contact with them byemail but that is very difficult. So, one of thethings which is difficult in Yoga research ofthis kind is the long-term follow-up.

Julie: What are some other challenges inresearching Yoga?

Dr. Telles: One of the main research chal-lenges is doing a randomized controlled

trial—which is what is expected in order topublish the findings in a good journal. It isvery difficult to have a situation where youcan actually randomize people to Yoga andto say, a conventional treatment becausepeople usually either come forward forYoga on their own or, if you do the random-ization, sometimes you find some peopleare unwilling to be in the Yoga group andwant the conventional treatment. It's notlike a drug trial where you have a drug anda placebo. Also, I have certain doubts abouthow well this model [randomized con-trolled trial] really suits studies on Yoga.

Julie: Should Yoga research have a place inYoga therapy training programs?

Dr. Telles: Undoubtedly, yes. In fact, in Indiawe are now moving toward evidence-basedYoga therapy. The corporate hospitals in

India are ready to use those practices thathave been researched and found to be use-ful in the Yoga module in larger hospitals.For example, cardiologists, who want torefer patients, first want to see the availableliterature on Yoga for cardiac problems. Weare in the process of making such a compila-tion based on the available literature.

Those in Yoga therapy training pro-grams should be aware of studies that haveshown the good effects of Yoga practice aswell as those which have shown negativeeffects or adverse effects of the practices. Ifthey're not aware of these studies, there is arisk that they could be teaching people prac-tices that are not so good for them.

Julie: What happens to the spiritualitycomponent of Yoga in all of this?

Hall at Patanjali Yoga Peeth, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India where 10,000 can practice Yoga.

(continued on page 17)

One of the main research challenges is doing a randomizedcontrolled trial—which is what is expected in order to publishthe findings in a good journal… Also, I have certain doubtsabout how well this model really suits studies on Yoga.

17 YogaTherapyToday June 2010

Dr. Telles: It's very difficult to say. Spirituali-ty is an inherent part of Yoga. One of thethings which may surprise you is that whenwe do public programs in India, we cannotalways emphasize it because when we talkabout spirituality it often gets linked withreligious beliefs and the people in India whomay attend a Yoga program will be from dif-ferent belief systems. We have people ofIslamic belief or Christians as well as Hindusand if one emphasizes the spiritual aspectsometimes people do not like it. So insteadthe emphasis is placed on principles of liv-ing, including philosophical principleswhich are good and applicable to anyoneanywhere, irrespective of their religiousbeliefs. This is good, as this is really theessence of spirituality.

Julie: You wrote an essay in that regard andit won the John Templeton FoundationAward for creative ideas in neurobiology.Would you comment on that, please?

Dr. Telles: The gist of the research idea wasthat using neuro-imaging I would like tocompare what happens to the brain whenpeople do either prayer or meditation relatedto different faiths. It need not be specific toany one belief, but could be related to beliefsof Hinduism or Buddhism or Christianity orJudaism, or whatever. In India we have peo-ple representing almost every faith, every rit-ual belief, and so I thought that it would benice to draw people from different faiths andactually see if we could show that irrespec-tive of religious practices, the changes in thebrain and the changes in the body are fairlycomparable. It would have a unifying effect.

Since then we have applied to the Tem-pleton Foundation for funding. If the projectis funded we would probably have at leastsome answers a year from now.

Julie: Does it trouble you that makingavailable on the Internet the results of yourYoga research may encourage people to tryYoga practices without knowing much, ifanything at all, about Yoga?

Dr. Telles: It does. And to my email address,which is cited in most of the publications, Iget large numbers of such queries. There'sjust a single, very clear, straightforwardmessage that we give to everyone whosends a query about using a technique in acertain way. The answer is that one shouldnever learn Yoga or practice it based onsomething you've read until you've contact-ed a qualified teacher who can verify thatwhat you're doing is alright because whileYoga can actually help in the managementof a large number of conditions if doneproperly, it is equally likely if it is done in awrong way it can create damage. I'm reallyclear about this.

Julie: What research could you point outthat you feel most proud of?

Dr. Telles: I will cite one study in which I feltinvolved both academically and personally.One month after the Boxing Day tsunami inSouth Asia, we went to the AndamanIslands, an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal,to give them medical relief, first of all, andYoga, if possible. At this stage we had noclear plans to do a research study. There

Interview continued

Featured presenters at 8th Integrated Medicine Symposium: Yoga and Qi Gong, June 27, 2009, organized by theChinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong). Dr. Telles fourth from left and Sat Bir Khalsa, fifth from left.

June 2010 YogaTherapyToday 18

were about 1,000 people housed in a largecamp, with very minimal facilities. Theywere keeping the camp clean and were get-ting food supplies. However there were fre-quent aftershocks and people were all veryfearful and hopeless about their future. Weended up teaching them Yoga, documentingthe findings, and publishing them.

More recently we have seen that Yogacan also help people who are subjected torepetitive trauma, in the form of floods inthe north Indian state of Bihar. I am pleasedto say that a week of Yoga practice reducedtheir feelings of sadness and reduced theiranxiety. These results have appeared inBMC Psychiatry this year [2010]. Unlike theearlier study on tsunami survivors, I did nottravel to Bihar myself, so my involvementhere was more academic.

In connection with these studies, I maymention that one of the most satisfying out-comes was when I was approached by aperson in the U.S. after the southern stateswere affected by a hurricane. The paper ontsunami survivors was out and someonecontacted me and said I would like to useyour work. I think she did and we were intouch for a while, but I never really got toknow if it helped the people or how longshe carried on with it. It is very satisfying ifresearch reaches people.

Julie: What about effects of Yoga researchon Yoga?

Dr. Telles: It depends on the extent to whichthe findings reach the common man. InIndia we have quite an active press. I amoften queried and very soon after an article,based on the manuscript, is published in awidely read paper, then there are a largenumber of people sending queries andwanting to practice Yoga for the reasonmentioned in the study. I don't know how itworks in the west, but my experience hasbeen within maybe the first four monthsafter I publish a paper I get quite a numberof queries from magazines and newspapersto cover it.

Julie: Do you foresee Yoga becoming partof the mainstream of health care?

Dr. Telles: We're moving that way. In the lastfive years it's been much quicker, probablybecause on one side people are seeing bene-fits of Yoga and on the other side people arefrustrated with certain diseases in whichconventional medicine doesn't bring aboutthe relief to the extent they would haveimagined. So the two have combined toreach a state where people are now muchmore receptive to Yoga as a therapy and yes,I do believe that the future is good.

Julie: Would you share a few of your goalswith us?

Dr. Telles: There are many practical applica-tions that I want to look at. I'm very keen onlooking at Yoga for children, and in factYoga Peeth is very keen on introducing it inschools. I believe that change should hap-pen early in life. I would like to have begunpracticing Yoga earlier than I did. I wouldlike children to learn Yoga as early as possi-ble and see even more how it impacts theirlives over a period of time. I also feel thatpromotion of positive health is important inthe prevention of disease. We can study peo-ple who are regularly practicing Yoga nowand over a five-year period see how manyof them develop a disease compared to agroup of people who do not practice Yoga.Over here we get really large numbers com-ing to the institution, easily 3,000 come for acamp—you probably can't imagine suchnumbers. We're planning to monitor theeffect Yoga has on their lives.

Julie: What would you like to say in closing?

Dr. Telles: If you have a way of making Yogaa lifestyle in its entirety probably the bene-fits will be many, many times more thanwhat we see when we separate the compo-nents and have just, say, a 30-minute prac-tice every day. I do feel very strongly aboutthat. YTT

Those in Yoga therapy training programs should be aware ofstudies that have shown the good effects of Yoga practice aswell as those which have shown negative effects or adverseeffects of the practices.