ARPF Includes Yoga, Meditation in New Brain Therapy Training Program to Prevent Alzheimer’s

The Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation (ARPF) will launch a new Brain Longevity Therapy Training Program to educate wellness and healthcare workers on the four pillars of Alzheimer’s disease prevention: diet, stress management, exercise and spiritual fitness.

The spiritual fitness segment focuses on yoga and meditation techniques, specifically the application of “Kirtan Kriya,” a yoga meditation exercise used to support brain longevity. Kirtan Kriya exercise uses the power of primal sounds – everyday, reflexive, emotionally motivated sounds that all humans make from birth such as sighing, whimpering, crying out and yelling — and is meant to improve attention, concentration, focus, short-term memory and mood.

The program takes place Oct. 19-22 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, and follows a set of conclusions drawn at the last Alzheimer’s Association International Conference about the need for more preventive approaches. Registration costs anywhere from $684 to $999 depending on when a participant signs up.

Those wishing to practice ahead of the program can find Kirtan Kriya Yoga singing exercise instructions here.

“The science behind this course has shown in our research at UCLA that yoga and Kirtan Kriya helped reduce depression, improve mental health and cognitive functioning, as well as reverse cellular aging and inflammation, and provide brain fitness effects in stressed dementia caregivers when compared to relaxation while listening to music,” Dr. Helen Lavretsky, a psychiatry professor at UCLA, said in a press release. “Research also found positive effects of Kundalini yoga practice on mood, memory and executive function, and brain connectivity in older adults with mild cognitive impairment compared to memory training.”

ARPF founders Dharma S. Khalsa and Kirti Khalsa will conduct the training, along with Lavretsky and clinical psychologist Chris Walling, who is president of the U.S. Association of Body Psychotherapy.

The program is designed as a multi-module system of training, so that topics and materials can be used individually as well. Each module has a certain amount of accredited continuing education units, allowing students more flexibility as they become better acquainted with the field of longevity medicine.