Research Studies

Rachel designed protocols and taught for research studies at the University of California, San Francisco and San Diego. Research affirms the benefits of body-mind approaches for low back pain recovery, as well as cancer survivorship and heart health. Details and links below for studies on: Low Back Pain, Cancer Survivorship, and Cardiovascular Health.

Low Back Pain

YoMa Study — Yoga for Chronic Low Back Pain at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. This pilot study followed protocols for National Institutes of Health-funded studies (2005, 2011) that had overwhelmingly positive results and supported further research that may benefit the many people who suffer with back pain.

YoMA II — UCSF Yoga and its Mechanism of Action: Implications of Strength and Stretch research study on chronic low back pain, a self-directed mind-body program or weekly yoga classes and instruction for yoga home practice.

Cancer Survivorship

Yoga During Chemotherapy Study with Dr. Anand Dhruva. The overall goal is to develop and test the optimal yoga intervention for patients receiving chemotherapy. We iteratively refine components of yoga—including breathing practices, restorative yoga, and flowing movement sequences, determine the optimal combination of yoga components, and test delivery methods to encourage adherence in this chemotherapy patient population.

IACS Study — Integrative Approaches to Cancer Survivorship at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. This is a novel research project based on Ayurveda that explores the effects of individual lifestyle, nutritional, and physical activity recommendations for managing cancer related symptoms and improving overall quality of life. 

Cardiovascular Health

Project INSPIRE — Mindful Breathing for Blood Pressure with a five-year study with the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine investigated the effects of mindful breathing in pre-hypertensive women, related to stress-induced breathing inhibition. This study can lead to new knowledge related disordered breathing to blood pressure regulation, and may be relevant to the search for non-pharmacological methods to prevent some forms of chronic hypertension.

Practicing Restorative Yoga or Stretching for the Metabolic Syndrome (PRYSMS) — Relaxation/Stretching for Metabolic Syndrome at the University of California (San Francisco and San Diego) investigated the benefits of stretching and restorative yoga for the Metabolic Syndrome, a cluster of health conditions related to higher risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.