Yoga in the Art of Science

by Cory Smith

Mind | Body | Soul

First Post!

Greetings world, my name is Cory Smith and today I decided to take action and start sharing my thoughts and experiences towards attaining a vibrant, healthy mind, body and soul. Through a combination of peer reviewed research, ancient yoga wisdom and the art of mastery I will share my thoughts and experiences as I continue my personal quest for positive well-being. I’ve been researching and personally investigating this material for years and building background material and decided today was the time to share with the world.

I am in awe of the rapid revolution in technological advancement that has taken man from sharpening the first stones for basic tools into launching our probes beyond the solar system in the blink of an eye in evolutionary time. It makes me wonder how different we are from the first Homo sapiens that made rudimentary tools. We like to think we are so much more sophisticated and intelligent than them but maybe once we evolved to strike two stones together our path towards interstellar exploration was set.

I am truly grateful to be alive at such a great moment in history when we are witnessing the exponential curve of information technologies approaching their asymptotic ‘knee’ as their growth turns vertical after hundreds of thousands of years of growth that seemed linear. Follow me as I set out to share the bits of scientific research that I integrate into my personal life along with a daily yoga sadhana, or practice. My three main areas of interest that I will be writing about are science, yoga, and art.

Yoga

The word yoga derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’ meaning to yoke or bind together. The same root used for egg yolk which binds the early embryo together and provides the sustenance to mature into a vibrant healthy animal. The practice of yoga provides the practitioner with a philosophy of life and a set of physical movements that bind together the mind, body, and soul. All of yoga can be best introduced by the second line of the Yoga Sutras:

“Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodah”
“Yoga is cessation of the fluctuations of the mind”
-Patañjali

In college I was fortunate to learn Ashtanga yoga from David Williams and vividly recall his story about seeking out a place in India where people grew more flexible and wiser as they aged, as opposed to here where the elderly became weak, fragile and decrepit. He said that Zen, meditation, yoga, they are all describing the same thing. A process to calm the mind to unnecessary distractions. Training the mind to not following the sensory stimulations that lead the mind in circles. Through the prolonged practice of yoga, it primes the body to sit comfortably and achieve a deep state of meditation. Afterwards as you go about your day distractions bring you back into fluctuations of the mind but with practice this state of peace after meditation can ultimately be extended to your entire life.

"Mind is the king of senses. One who has conquered his mind, senses, passions, thought and reason is a king among men. He is fit for Raja yoga." -B.K.S. Iyengar

When asked what yoga is, most people think of advanced pretzel like asana that only gymnasts can perform. This false impression could not be further from the truth and serves as a barrier for people to easily dismiss starting yoga by saying: “I can’t do that, I’m not flexible enough.” I’m here to tell you that you can. Yoga is not about advanced flexibility or gymnast like strength but focused on the breath and mind connection. A gymnast may be in what appears to be an advanced asana but if they are thinking about what they want for lunch or who they should meet with afterwards this person is not practicing yoga. A person with tight hamstrings who cannot touch their toes but is focused on the breath and meditation is more of a yogi than the previous gymnast. Break your expectations about what yoga is and start the practice for yourself. You can read about the theory of yoga for decades but without practice there is no advancement or true understanding.

“The mind can go in many directions in a split second. Its movements are very fast and varied. But the breath cannot go many directions at once. It has only one path: inhalation and exhalation. It can pause for a moment in a state of retention, but it cannot multiply like the mind. Controlling the breath and observing its rhythm brings the consciousness to stillness.” – BKS Iyengar

Patañjali outlined what he called the science of yoga including a path for practitioners to progress through and the distractions or obstacles of the mind (Chitta Viksepa):

  1. Vyadhi – sickness which disturbs the physical equilibrium
  2. Styana – languor or lack of mental disposition for work
  3. Samsaya – doubt or indecision
  4. Pramada – indifference or insensibility
  5. Alasya – laziness
  6. Avirati – sensuality, the rousing of desire when sensory objects possess the mind.
  7. Bhranti Darsana – false or invalid knowledge. Illusion
  8. Alabdha Bhumikatva – failure to attain continuity of thought or concentration so that reality cannot be seen.
  9. Anavasthitattva – instability in holding on to concentration which has been attained after long practice.

Additional obstacles:

I. Duhka – pain or misery
II. Davrmansya -despair
III. Angamejayatva – unsteadiness of the body
IV. Svasa prasvasa – unsteady respiration

When I first read of these distractions that prevent the practitioner from doing yoga it shocked me how accurate they were having experienced them as the reasons I would stop a practice. When I experienced these distractions myself, I felt embarrassed or unsure why I was feeling and thinking these negative thoughts but pushing through these barriers is something that every yogi must go through. Knowing the roadmap with outlined potholes to avoid inspired me to train the mind to get past these weaknesses.

My path to Yoga

My first glancing experience with yoga occurred around 1997 when I was training Shotokan Karate under the guidance of Mark Linksman who occasionally taught us yoga as a complementary mind-body practice. While this experience only included a few guided sessions, it primed my muscle memory for the later yoga sessions that I would have a decade later.

In the fall of 2007, I attended an Ashtanga Yoga workshop taught by David Williams.  Through a series of postures linked by breath a rhythmic flow of energy accelerates all the particles inside every cell in your body.  The internal heat creates changes within the body.  The glands and internal organs are massaged and bathed in fully oxygenated blood, the nervous system is relaxed and revitalized.  As the heat builds unwanted toxins are burned up and excreted through perspiration. After the hour of daily practice, the body is primed for deep relaxation.  Deep relaxation has been shown to have the opposite physiological response to the fight-or-flight stress response.  The Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine has performed a transcriptional profile to determine gene expression changes of yoga practice.  Genes involved in inflammation, the handling of free radicals, and programmed cell death.  Changes in expression of these same genes were seen in disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder but the relaxation response changes were opposite those of the stress response.  Since that workshop I have practiced yoga typically 6 times or more per week.  I aim to incorporate yoga into personalized medicine.  After understanding how specific human variation alters physiology, are there specific yoga sequences that would be especially effective at revitalizing key areas of the body that would prevent the onset of anticipated disease? B.K.S Iyengar wrote many ‘science of yoga’ sections of his books claiming this exact thing. I believe that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

After my first Ashtanga yoga practice I was overwhelmed by the impact a single hour and a half session had on my body.  I had stumbled onto a very powerful and deeply transformative way to connect the mind, body, and soul with enthusiasm, optimism, and gratitude. I recognized immediately that this was exactly what I had been looking for to achieve a profound positive impact in regard to personal health and wellness. To be free from chronic illness and pain by attaining a vibrancy in life by persistent practice.

The life force you have extracted within the breathing, the prana. It gives a chance for the body to absorb it and to channel it throughout the entire system. You are calming the nervous system and relaxing the mind. Deep relaxation after a session of vinyasa allows every cell in your body to absorb all energy of the practice and find equipoise for the day to come. The prolonged practice of yoga brings about four characteristics that all can strive for:

  1. Maitri – friendliness
  2. Karuna – compassion
  3. Mudita – delight
  4. Upeksa – disregard

“A lamp does not flicker in a place where no wind blows; so it is with a yogi, who controls his mind, intellect and self, being absorbed in the spirit within him. When the restlessness of the mind, intellect, and self is stilled through the practice of Yoga, the yogi by the grace of the spirit within himself finds fulfillment. He knows the joy eternal which is beyond the pale of the senses which his reason cannot grasp. He abides in this reality and moves not therefrom. He has found the treasure above all others. There is nothing higher than this. He who has achieved it, shall not be moved by the greatest sorrow. This is the real meaning of yoga - a deliverance from contact with pain and sorrow.” - B.K.S. Iyengar

After years I keep coming back to this quote for inspiration and will often repeat the first line when I encounter uncertainty or fear. It reminds me that I am the flame and not the turbulent winds that surround. By setting up the right habits and continuing yoga the mind is made resilient to such stresses and does truly provide solace in troubling times. When I did my first deep dive into the yoga literature this quote, and others motivated me to deepen my practice and understanding of the philosophy behind it.

Science

Early scientific interests

I have been intrigued by the physics, chemistry and biology of heredity from an early age. I will share two childhood experiences that confirmed I was a scientist at heart. One of my earliest memories is observing a dragonfly nymph (aquatic dragonfly larvae) undergoing metamorphosis. They would crawl up on the ladder of the dock or other elevated areas to open their new wings which must dry for several minutes. During this time, they are completely vulnerable but when I was there to protect them, they were never eaten. Throughout my life I find myself repeating a quote from the movie The Fifth Element: “I must protect life.” Emerging from their old molt they begin to flutter their twin sets of wings and launch off into the air. Able to hover and dart they are aerial predators for a few weeks of flight after years of aquatic digging. I had no fear and only love for these creatures until I caught one in my hand and it bit me as hard as it could. Ouch! This early observation of how life can transform itself into something so different left me in awe of nature and with a strong desire to learn more about how life achieves such amazing feats. Richard Feynman said that the function of most biology can be ascertained by “just [looking] at the thing.”

The second early memory was the first experiment that I conducted to learn about the world around me. At a young age my first distinct memory is recalled by olfactory recognition of a blueberry muffin, our ancestral sense of smell is still the most linked to early memories. I was eating a tasty sweet blueberry crumble muffin that my mom had made on our boat on a lake in Florida. I touched the black fabric of the seat and was shocked by the heat of it. I then noticed that the white and blue sections were not as hot and conducted my own tactile experiment to confirm my initial observations. This was my first collection of experimental data that changed my view of the physical world. It stuck with me and empowered me to investigate the world around me by direct interrogation and set-up my life as a scientist.

Reading DNA

The molecular instructions for life are encoded in a carbon-based polymer known as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The sum DNA of a single cell is referred to as the genome of an organism and contains the fractal instructions in 2D (linear sequence of nucleotides) that is ultimately translated into an amino acid sequence that folds into a 3D structure known as a protein. The word protein derives from the Greek word proteios meaning primary or holding first place as these molecules compose the most mass in living organism (dry mass). Through this compression of information into a linear sequence life can pass on its instructions to the next generation. We live in an exciting era of time when the person who first discovered “the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material" is still alive and was one of the first people to have their whole genome sequenced (James Watson).

I took my passion for genetics and heredity into my University studies majoring in Microbiology and Cell Science at the University of Florida. Learning about the molecular and technological process of DNA sequencing fascinated me and I knew I wanted to learn as much as I could and master the techniques to sequence DNA with my own hands. I was heavily influenced by two great professors at the University of Florida, Dr. Eric Triplett and Dr. Bill Farmerie, who taught a class on DNA sequencing that included a hands-on tutorial on how to do it ourselves, and analyze the results. This was the era of so-called ‘Next Generation Sequencing’ (NGS) that dramatically reduced the cost of genomics making it available to nearly all research labs around the world opening up the promise of personalized medicine to tailor individual treatment towards their specific genetic predispositions as opposed to the average individual. While some diseases are caused by a single base change in DNA, most disease is complex including many genetic variants and are influenced by interactions with the environment.

Writing DNA

Now that we can read DNA the next obvious step is to learn to write DNA. Rudimentary forms of DNA manipulation were first developed in the 1970s using a set of enzymes known as restriction endonucleases. These tools allowed researched to cut and paste DNA leading the first recombinant DNA and allowing for medical advancements such as the isolation and production of insulin for patients with diabetes. With this basic ability to alter existing DNA scientists could clone genes into viral vectors and got way ahead of themselves pushing human trials in the 1990’s. After a series of failures including the death of Jesse Gelsinger who suffered from ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency. After receiving a viral vector-based therapy to restore this broken gene he died four days later after a massive immune response to virus leading to multiple organ failure. These first-generation human gene therapies were put on hold for more than a decade to develop more precise means of genetic alteration that don’t integrate randomly into the genome or cause a severe immune reaction.

A revolution in DNA editing occurred when scientists revealed a method to precisely modify DNA in nearly any organism based on a bacterial immune system known as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats or CRISPR. In nature bacteria encode this DNA targeting and cutting enzyme to build up a repertoire of invasive virus’s that can be destroyed selectively based on their DNA sequence. Many people report that scientists ‘invented’ this technology, but they merely discovered a natural system and adapted it towards biotechnology applications. This simple tool allows researchers to alter their gene of interest in a way that was previously not within their budget or technical capacity. After billions of years of experience nature and life truly are grand engineers. But are they a blind watchmaker as described by Richard Dawkins?

During my time in graduate school (2010-2015) I witnessed the CRISPR revolution and was able to apply these technologies in human stem cells to better model hematological disease and better define the off-target risk of these technologies. Now in the Church lab I am working on Genome Project Write to further develop large-scale genome editing technologies to allow for the safe editing of thousands of loci to allow for the radical redesign of mammalian genomes.

Anti-aging research

A story I grew up with in Florida is the quest for immortality by seeking the ‘fountain of youth.’ I visited this historic site in St. Augustine Florida as part of an elementary school field trip and was told the story about Ponce de Leon and his search for a mysterious fountain that was rumored to extend life and possibly bring about immortality. The ultimate goal of the ego is to prolong its existence which has long been desired by many great men and women throughout history. Most people want to live a long and healthy life but setting the habits to accomplish this seem out of reach. You’ve all heard this before and will probably ignore again but we have known for quite a while what common habits are associated with a vibrant life of longevity. How can we encourage our society to better implement these behaviors and make them accessible to all.

• Community
• Enjoyment
• Friends and loved ones
• Satisfaction with what you do for a living
• Eating a healthy diet
• Exercising regularly
• Meditation
• Not drinking too much alcohol
• Not smoking

In future posts I will review the science of aging research and share my experience implementing what

  1. Caloric restriction
  2. Intermittent fasting
  3. heterochronic parabiosis
  4. Sirtuin activating compounds
  5. Pluripotent stem cells

Art

Scientific research is perceived as unapproachable to the majority of the population due to its complex jargon and unrelatable subfields that seem like gibberish to the general population. I strive to make my research relatable to all levels of experience and practice this skill talking with my grandmother, taxi drivers and other random people I encounter. Through this process I found that most people are very interested in these topics and want to learn more. The intersection of art and science speaks in universally understood language of beauty. In addition to what is classically thought of as art I include ancient texts such as the Book of Five Rings and modern science fiction.

Ancient wisdom

A Book of Five Rings is written on the art of mastery and a no-nonsense direct style that through his direct experience of mastering the sword and dueling teaches one to apply this knowledge to the rest of your life. Miyamoto Musashi was a Japanese samurai that was undefeated in his 61 duals noted for his dual bladed technique then writing his philosophy including A Book of Five Rings. Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Void are the five rings composing this book and each teaching the basics of life which apply to 1, 10, and 10,000. This book relates his experience of combat sword fighting to mastery of all skills in a way that appeals to modern businessmen, and academics.

The I-Ching, or the book of changes is an ancient Chinese text that outlines a divination practice to provide guidance on questions asked. It involves a process known as cleromancy, the use of random number generation to create a set of hexagrams pointing towards the relevant text to answer your question. It is one of the oldest Chinese classics that was modified over the years by philosophers including Confucius who added the Ten Wings commentary to the original text. During my early Shotokan training I was introduced to this text and have consulted it for many important decisions throughout my life. By asking a question and receiving universally sound advice your mind can have confidence that you are taking the correct path, removing indecisiveness and uncertainty from the decision.

Science Fiction

Many scientific advancements have first been imagined by writers who shared their thoughts with the world. Although they did not know the means to manifest these technologies, by releasing the idea out into the collective consciousness others with the means begin working towards making it a reality. A relevant example in our daily lives now is the early appearance of smart phone like devices in Dick Tracey's wristwatch, a two way communicator with many of the functions we all now carry around in our pockets. Another great example of this is the author Arthur C Clark of classics like 2001 A Space Odyssey who correctly predicted the following in his stories:

  1. Communication satellites
  2. Asteroid of interstellar origin
  3. Artificial intelligence
  4. Landing on a comet
  5. Gravity assist maneuver

Last year I started a mindfulness practice I call my ‘read ledger’ to record the books I have read, how long it took me and a list I plan to read in the future. Shortly after doing this I built my future read list with over 100 books I wanted to experience next. I aim to build a community to read these stories together and discuss the implications for current science and identify how these imagined future technologies can be brought into reality. Here is a link to my personal Read ledger if you want to use it as a template for your own log or read along with our virtual community. I've also included what I call the Science Fiction Compendium to select future books I want to read and build up this list by finding those with shared interests. I have been inspired by Isaac Arthur who runs the YouTube channel Science and Futurism by Isaac Arthur where he discusses science and futurism often inspired by science fiction. Thanks for reading until the end and I look forward to contributing to this niche of the internet sharing my experience with yoga, science and art.