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Denise Christie, a second-year economics and international area studies student, uses yoga to get

Some college students say they can barely spare precious morning minutes to microwave instant oatmeal for breakfast, let alone consider incorporating deep meditative breathing into their daily routines.

But something as simple as taking the time to breathe can be restorative and relaxing and, under certain circumstances, may provide an alternative to modern medicine for treatment, said Dr. Pamela Viele, interim executive director for student development and health at the Student Affairs office.

Viele, an expert on mind-body techniques, said a student who experiences anxiety or stress exhibits shallow breathing. This limits the student’s ability to function in stressful situations and can be very taxing over long periods of time.

“A lot of anxiety, worry and distress is rooted in either thinking about the past or worrying about the future, neither of which we have any ability to access,” Viele said.

But along with a variety of techniques such as mediation, progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery, breathing can combat this experience and lead to mindfulness, which Viele described as the ability to be available to present experience.

Students involved in myriad activities – quickly moving from classes to meetings to study groups to intramural sports practices – may have reason to attempt to cultivate mindfulness.

“Being mindful ... optimizes our ability to be present in our experience, and that sharpens all of our faculties – cognitive and emotional – and leads to a feeling of centeredness and connectedness rather than fragmentation and feeling overwhelmed,” Viele said.

Kara Price, an instructor at Yoga Works in Westwood, has been teaching yoga for more than 20 years. Though yoga is a physical experience, the yogic lifestyle, which includes frequent practice, a nutritive diet and meditation, is an ongoing restorative process for many.

“(The physical branch of yoga) prepares one to be able to sit and meditate. It has to be the physical poses in order to create a healthful body and a calm mind,” Price said.

“It was invented in order to allow the individual to meditate because if one had many ailments – all other kinds of aches, pains, whatever – one could not sit and meditate,” Price said.

Price said she does not believe yoga and other forms of alternative medicine should be viewed in opposition to modern medicine. She also said the research of Dr. Dean Ornish, author of five New York Times bestselling books, showed that yoga reduces heart disease when paired with a diet low in fat.

Price said it would be a mistake to identify either Eastern medicine or modern medical practices as superior. She and Viele both emphasized that modern medicine and alternative techniques work in conjunction with each other.

However, Price also noted that alternative practices such as regulated breathing and meditation do not work for everyone and certainly should not be considered an alternative to surgery or modern treatments.

“You shouldn’t put down Western medicine, because that’s a blessing too,” she said.

But she did say she believes people sometimes run to modern medicine too quickly.

“If I had a major illness, I would approach it hand in hand with alternative medicine. If I didn’t have a major illness, I would go to alternative medicine first,” she said. “Then if that didn’t work, I would try Western medicine.”

A nutritious diet is integral to any holistic approach to healing. Though food is not always thought of as medicinal, poor nutrition works against general health and mindfulness, Viele said.

In 1987, Price was the cooking and nutritional adviser for a grocery store catering to health-conscious individuals. She recommends foods with no fats, sugars or denatured or chemically treated products. She also suggests reducing one’s intake of white flour, white sugar, white rice and caffeine.

“Reducing significantly these types of non-nutritional food can lead to a change in health (and help individuals) not only easily return to ideal weight, but also feel more clear, have fewer colds and flus, fewer headaches and less ailments in general,” Price said.

Andrew Lewis, a second-year business economics and political science student, has his own take on alternative medicine.

“I think it’s an important balance. I don’t think it should be the sole form of medication, but I think it’s a good counterbalance to Western medication,” he said.

Lewis also has some experience with Kiatsu, a healing massage therapy used to support the practice of Aikado, a mind-body-centered martial art.

He could not remember a time this massage practice failed to cure a headache.

“Hey, I’m just saying – it works,” he said.