Yoga better than conventional methods

Yoga, compared to conventional methods, can be a better treatment for chronic lower back pain, a new major study has suggested.

The study, led by the University of York, found that people offered a specially-designed 12-week yoga programme experienced greater improvements in back function and more confidence in performing everyday tasks than those offered conventional forms of GP care.

Although improvements in back function were more pronounced at three months, researchers found there was still an improvement in people's ability to perform tasks such as walking more quickly, getting dressed without help or standing up for longer periods of time even nine months after the classes had finished.

The trial involved two groups of people who were both receiving GP care for chronic or recurrent back pain

A 156-strong group were offered group yoga classes specially designed to improve back function, while a second control group of 157 people were offered GP care alone.

The trial showed that there was more reduction in pain in the yoga group than the usual care group, but of marginal statistical significance.

The findings are published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Bad boss may ruin your family life

Having a bad boss not only has negative impact on mental and physical health of employees, but also on the well-being of their family, researchers say.

According to a study by Dr Nicolas Gillet and his team from Universite Francois Rabelais in France, over-controlling managers who use threats as a way to motivate employees frustrate our basic needs for autonomy, a sense of competence, and how we relate to others, the Age reported.

This, in turn, is likely to have a negative effect on our wellbeing.

Even though these findings may not be surprising, but it is apparently the first study that gives evidence for the mediating role of need satisfaction in the relationships between perceptions of a supervisor's inter-personal style and a worker's wellbeing.

In certain cases, a worker can become so ill as to be at risk of a heart attack.

A Swedish study revealed that the more a worker feels their boss is incompetent, the higher chance they have of having a heart attack.

Clinical Psychologist, Jo Lamble insisted that she sees a number of patients suffering as a result of supervisor workplace bullying.

"They are showing all the signs of stress including sleep difficulties, irritability, poor concentration and decision making, drug and alcohol abuse (to self-medicate), loss of confidence and anger," she said.

And a recent study from Baylor University found that the stress and tension caused by an abusive boss at work filters through to an employee's personal relationships at home.

"Our study showed how the job incumbent carries that over to the family through greater work-family conflict and by experiencing more relationship tension with the spouse. As a result this harms the family as the job incumbent is more tense and less able to engage fully in the family life," Dr Dawn Carlson author of the study, Professor of Management, said.

Jo Lamble insisted that the findings come as no surprise.

"We spend so much time at work, so if work is unpleasant, then it will affect our mood and can make us irritable and intolerant when we get home," she said.

"Many people who work for a bad boss will feel the need to vent about it when they come home, which can become very tiring for the family who start wishing you would talk about anything else," she added.

The study has been published in the Journal of Business and Psychology.

Fish Oil can be beneficial in people with Mental Disorders

Omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil) can be effective in the treatment of psychiatric symptoms.

Researchers at Zucker Hillside Hospital's Recognition and Prevention (RAP) Program studied the teenagers at risk for serious mental illness for the past decade. They wanted to test whether Omega-3 fatty acids improve clinical symptoms and help adolescents and young adults (ages 12-25) who are at elevated risk for severe psychiatric disorders function better in school, work and other social environments.

Barbara Cornblatt, Ph.D., director of the Recognition and Prevention (RAP) Program and investigator at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research stated:

"Most of 300 adolescents who have participated in the RAP Program, have shown substantial improvement. Omega 3 could be a natural alternative to the range of medications and therapies now offered to RAP participants."

The RAP Program study will randomly assign participants to either Omega 3 supplementation or to a placebo and will compare the groups on key measures of symptoms and functioning after six months. Participants in both groups will be monitored closely on a monthly basis and compensation will be provided. All supplements are offered free of charge.

How to lose weight without dieting

While there are plenty of fad diets that may help you lose weight, they also leave you feeling hungry and food-deprived. For all those who don't have the time or inclination to undertake a crash diet or even hit the gym, we've got some great news. If you want to slim down the healthy and painless way, try the following strategies. After all, it's not what you eat but how you eat.

CHEW MORE, EAT LESS Studies show that the longer time you spend chewing, the lesser calories you consume. Chewing for longer prevents over-eating, by giving the brain more time to receive signals from the stomach that it is full. It is not only great for digesting, but it also helps in limiting your portion size. Try chewing your food 35 to 50 times per mouthful.

DON'T SKIP BREAKFAST No matter how late you are running to work, avoid missing breakfast. There is a reason why it is called the most important meal of the day. Your body (rather your brain) expects to be refueled a few times each day, so when you skip breakfast, you feel so hungry that when lunch time comes, you overeat or maybe choose foods items that are not the healthiest choices. Missing breakfast slows down your metabolism. More importantly, always eat your breakfast, within an hour of waking up, as your body has gone without food the entire night.

CONCENTRATE ON YOUR FOOD How many times has your mother reprimanded you to not talk, read or watch TV while eating food? Not without a reason. When you are multitasking during meal times, your brain isn't focussing on the amount of food that you are consuming and you are more prone to piling on pounds. This doesn't mean that you cannot enjoy a meal with your friends. You can do so, but just pay attention to what you are putting in your mouth!

DON'T OVERCOOK YOUR MEALS Overcooking food kills or reduces the number of nutrients your meal contains, and when you don't get enough nutrients, you don't feel satisfied and soon start to get junk food cravings. To combat this, try eating more raw foods like sushi and salads. Steam, bake, blanch or grill vegetables and grill or bake meat and fish. Avoid microwaving.

FRUITS BEFORE MEALS It is advisable to eat fruits at least 30 minutes before any heavy meal. This way, the fruits will digest quickly. Eating fruits on an empty stomach detoxifies your system and supplies you with a great deal of energy for losing weight.

HAVE SMALLER MEALS, MORE OFTEN Ideally, you should eat five to six times per day, with a two to three hour break between each meal or snack. Eating more frequently gets your metabolism going and keeps it working at an elevated level continuously throughout the day. But don't use this rule as an excuse to overeat.

AVOID EATING AFTER 8 PM It's good to eat your last meal before eight in the evening. This way you don't land up binging on a snack before dinner time. If you find it hard to resist, have some herbal tea or brush your teeth after dinner immediately to switch your mind off from the idea of eating.

THINK AND DRINK While everyone knows it's necessary to drink at least eight to 10 glasses of water, very few know when one should consume it. When you drink is as important as what you drink. If you drink water in-between meals, the liquid slows down digestion, diluting the acid in your stomach and so the nutrients from the food that you eat are not well absorbed. To avoid this try to drink water 15 minutes before or after a meal, and if you really need to drink while you eat, limit yourself to small sips only.

Making workshops work for you

With tighter schedules and more pressures to have a steeper learning curve, there is a greater need for workshops as an effective tool to bring organisational development. Unnati Narang tells you more.

How much can a day long workshop teach you? As the HR fraternity is now focusing on the over-all learning and development of employees, this question is gaining more and more significance. Organisational Development (OD) has now become one of the most critical HR functions in the present scenario.

VK Nair, Head HR, Fermenta Biotech Ltd says, "HR as a function has evolved from administration to personnel, human resources and lastly to human capital. In the evolution, many concepts have been framed, experimented, implemented and examined. OD has been one of the most recent concepts. OD leverages the reach of HR and removes the perceived limitations of a support function. OD tools have changed the face of HR in the organisation and have helped the organisation as a whole."

Fermenta recently conducted a workshop called Human Process Lab for the entire middle management team across all locations. This workshop was an outcome of the Training Needs Identification (TNI). TNI in turn, was done on the basis of changes required in behaviour patterns of an employee vis-a-vis the behavior pattern required by that function. Post these workshops, reports highlight visible changes in the employees, and the level of openness had potentially increased.

Workshops aimed at OD and bringing about a change in the company, often benefit both the employer and the employees. "The work force has changed today. Employees expect much more than salaries from their work. They want challenge, recognition, a sense of achievement, worthwhile and tasks. OD workshops not only help condition them for professional challenges and opportunities but also contribute towards their overall development as individuals. These workshops are specially designed to improve employee effectiveness which ultimately helps them inculcate better skills, leadership and a sense of commitment to their work. Companies who take advantage of OD understand that they are working not for the present moment, but for over a period of time. "This long-term investment can inevitably contribute to employee as well as an organisation's growth," says Kamal Meattle, CEO Paharpur Business Center.

Inspite of the many advantages of OD workshops, these are not easy to plan and execute. They come with their own set of challenges. Rajita Singh, Head HR, Broadridge Financial Solutions (India) Private Ltd adds, "OD is popularly known as a change agent and obviously has its own challenges. We encounter resistance. The impact is large as it changes an individual's mind-set and behavior. It is important to know how differently people see the world. Hence, there is a need to develop different languages to communicate what they see/ understand." Singh also states that some of the key success factors required by the organisations, are increased productivity, work satisfaction and profit for the client. This can be achieved through workshops based on projects/ processes.

"While OD workshops are 100 per cent long-term investments, if implemented properly, they would reap short-term benefits as well. At the same time, what matters is the outcome after conducting the OD workshop. This is a challenge the HR faces. Also, in such workshops the time involved is large. Getting employees to attend such workshops is equally challenging," says Nair.

He aptly sums up with his points of how OD workshops can be successful. "Some of the success factors required are understanding the issues and gathering sufficient knowledge. A genuine effort is the key success parameter. Managers track results in quantitative and qualitative ways. The financials of a company would measure the quantitative part. There are tools to measure the before and after effects of changes in an individual employee after such workshops."

In recent times, many OD workshops have been organised across industries. From focusing on leveraging ourselves as instruments of change, to those pertaining to conflict intervention, expertise is flowing in abundance. The task left for the employees is to make the most of the workshops made available to them. They must participate as much as possible and take home lessons worth remembering.

Most of all, what counts is how much of it they absorb and to what extent is implemented in their every day lifestyle.