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Healing the Healer Mindfulness, Yoga, and Lifestyle Medicine for Medical Students
| Author/Editor : | Rajeev Aravindakshan MD, Dr. Athulya G. Asokan, MD, FRCP (London), Dr. Sarikonda Sandhyarani |
|---|---|
| Pages : | 134 |
| Specialty : | Yoga |
| Book Type : | Academic & Professional |
Healing the Healers: Mindfulness, Yoga and Lifestyle Medicine for Medical Students arises from a growing recognition that those who care for others must also learn to care for themselves. Modern medical education prepares students to handle complicated conditions, act quickly, and handle the emotional demands of patient care. Yet, the personal well-being of the medical learner is often overlooked. Stress, exhaustion, compassion fatigue, and burnout have become common experiences across medical training and practice. This book proposes that to sustain meaningful, humane, and effective healthcare, we must first cultivate the internal resources of the healer.
The core idea of this text is simple: Well-being is foundational to the practice of medicine. Medical personnel are more capable of listening, reasoning, empathizing, and healing when they are physically healthy, emotionally balanced, and mentally centered. Mindfulness, yoga, and lifestyle medicine are discussed here as evidencebased strategies that promote both clinical competence and personal resilience rather than as supplementary or alternative practices.
Mindfulness is introduced as a disciplined practice of paying attention with intention and without judgment. For medical students, mindfulness improves emotional regulation, reduces anxiety, and increases focus—skills essential to learning and patient interaction. It also encourages deeper presence, which fosters trust and therapeutic connection in clinical encounters. Mindfulness is portrayed as a useful and approachable skill that can be progressively developed through regular awareness and organized exercises.
Yoga is integrated into the text as a therapeutic movement and breath-based system that aligns the body, steadies the mind, and regulates the nervous system. The gentle, scientifically explained techniques presented here are aimed at improving musculoskeletal balance, posture, and breath awareness. Yoga is framed as viii Healing the Healer: Mindfulness, Yoga, and Lifestyle Medicine for Medical Students mindful embodiment rather than performance, with each pose serving as a chance to observe, release, and rejuvenate.
Lifestyle medicine is the more comprehensive clinical framework that these practices fit into. Growing evidence confirms that lifestyle-related factors—nutrition, physical activity, sleep quality, stress levels, and social support—play a decisive role in the development or prevention of modern chronic diseases.
Medical students who comprehend and apply these concepts are more likely to embrace them on a personal level and communicate them effectively to patients This book highlights how small, steady steps, encouraging surroundings, and internal motivation lead to sustainable behavior change.
This book is written in accessible language, supported by scientific evidence, and designed for gradual learning and practice. It may be used in classroom teaching, skills training, clinical orientation, reflective learning groups, or personal study. It promotes experiential engagement by asking readers to do more than just read the content; they are also encouraged to practice it, see how it affects them, and consider its applicability.
A defining feature of this work is its emphasis on the healer’s inner life. Healing is not limited to medical facilities or procedures; it can also be fostered within the practitioner’s own body and mind. The personal experience of the medical professional directly influences diagnostic clarity, compassion, communication, and ethical decision-making. Thus, learning to maintain one’s own well-being is a professional and ethical requirement rather than a sign of self-indulgence.
This book is an invitation to slow down, pay attention, realign, and keep in mind that healing is both given and lived. May it be a companion, a guide, and a reminder that we must we must also learn to heal the heale.
Foreward v
Preface vii
Acknowledgement ix
1. Introduction to Mindfulness and its Application in Medical Practice 1
2. The Evolution of Lifestyle Medicine: Understanding the Roots and Principles of Lifestyle Medicine 11
3. Yoga Poses for the Head and Neck: A Mindful Exploration 29
4. Mindful Yogic Poses for the Upper Arm: Anatomy and Awareness 44
5. Mindful Yoga with Muscle Awareness: Upper Body (Chest and Shoulders) 62
6. Mindful Yoga with Muscle Awareness–Abdomen 70
7. Mindful Yoga with Muscle Awareness–Lower Limb 76
8. Mindful Yoga with Muscle Awareness–Involving Multiple Body Parts: Question & Answers 84
9. Integrating Mindful Yoga into a Stressful Medical Journey 94
10. Integrating Lifestyle Medicine into a Stressful Medical Journey 100
11. The Skeletal Map: A Progressive Journey through Bones to deep Relaxation 111
References 119
Dr. Rajeev Aravindakshan, MD, is a Professor and Head of the Department of Community and Family Medicine at AIIMS Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh. He is the author of the book "Doctors Go Bloom". A dedicated proponent of medical education philosophies, he advocates for the integration of traditional and modern interdisciplinary approaches within the field. With a significant scholarly impact reflected in over 1,500 citations and an h-index of 22, his work encompasses public health and digital health.
Dr. Athulya G. Asokan, MD, FRCP (London), is an Assistant Professor in the Department of General Medicine at Government Medical College, Kottayam, Kerala. An accomplished clinician and educator, she completed her MBBS from Government Medical College, Kottayam, and her MD in General Medicine from Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru, Karnataka. With over fifteen years of teaching experience in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, Dr. Asokan has a strong interest in innovative teaching–learning methods and faculty development. She has completed the Advanced Course in Medical Education and is deeply committed to enhancing the quality of medical training.
A practitioner of yoga, she actively advocates the integration of yoga and mindfulness into medical education and clinical practice, emphasizing holistic well-being and self-care for healthcare professionals.
Dr. Sarikonda Sandhyarani, Ph.D, is presently a Tutor/Demonstrator in the Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Mangalagiri Andhra Pradesh and avid follower of Brahma Kumaris movement.
Subject Category : Yoga
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