Yoga as medication?

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Introduction
Individuals who practice yoga experience an awareness of their body and environment. Yoga helps them to relax and feel at peace with a subtle feeling of stimulation. This paper examines the use of prescription drugs/stimulants that are used to treat ADHD in children, and the use of an alternative that for some can be just as effective to treat ADHD. Yoga has beneficial factors for managing ADHD symptoms. According to the “yoga Journal” through deep breathing exercises, yoga teaches kids to tap into their breath in daily life as a source of mental and physical control. According to a published study in ISRN, pediatrics have researched the benefits of yoga with children, and have found that yoga increases the school performance of children with ADHD(2012). Researchers in India assigned 69 school children with ADHD to a new yoga program called the “Climb-Up” program, meaning that once or twice weekly the 69 children would participate in therapeutic yoga based curriculum. The participants behaviors were then assessed with Vanderbilt questionnaires, leaving the researchers to find that 46 percent of students had significant improvement in teacher ratings of behavior and 92 percent of students in parent ratings(2013). Although there has been a steady increase in using prescribed medications to manage ADHD, the practice of yoga can be a natural alternative to help those diagnosed with ADHD. According to the U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) as of 2011, 11 percent of people ages 4-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD.
ADHD symptoms
Many children have been diagnosed with ADHD; according to the CDC, 8.4 percent of children have been diagnosed with ADHD. Children diagnosed with ADHD have more difficulty paying at...

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...eet]. Retrieved March 31, 2014, from Smh.com website: http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/adhd-diagnosis-may-be-a-distraction-from-the-truth-20140315-34tpz.html

Nevins, N., Do. (n.d.). The benefits of yoga [Fact sheet]. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from American Osteopathic Association website: http://www.osteopathic.org/osteopathic-health/about-your-health/health-conditions-library/general-health/Pages/yoga.aspx

Salamon, M. (2010, November 3). The science of yoga and why it works. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://www.livescience.com/35129-yoga-increases-brain-function-bone-density.html
Stimulant ADHD Medications - Methylphenidate and Amphetamines [Fact sheet]. (2014, January). Retrieved March 31, 2014, from Nationonal Institute on Drug Abuse website: http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/stimulant-adhd-medications-methylphenidate-amphetamines

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