Low-Income Patients Beat Stress With Yoga

He’s a Vietnam vet who wears clunky metal rings on nearly every finger and builds computers for fun, but lately the only place David Wilson wants to be is on his yoga mat.

The 50-year-old is homeless, struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and has chronic pain in his neck and back. And until recently, a good night’s sleep meant just two hours of solid snooze time.

But since enrolling in a stress reduction class at the Middletown Community Health Center, Wilson says he’s finally sleeping through the night. Through yoga and meditation sessions, he is controlling his pain and has learned to focus his breathing.

The concept of mind over matter is nothing new to the medical world. Doctors have been prescribing meditation as a form of pain management for years, but now a few pioneers are working to spread the theory into poorer neighborhoods.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 9 Dec 2004
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.