Since arriving in the U.S. from Bhutan, many refugees escaping ethnic cleansing there have shown strikingly high rates of mental illness and suicide. A University of Kansas doctor who spent years in the Himalayas has been working on addressing the problem. When conventional medical solutions didn’t work, he decided to explore more cultural-oriented treatments. He’s found considerable success by using yoga, a practice that is native to the refugees’ culture but was inaccessible to them during their difficult lives. The doctor believes yoga holds great promise for other Bhutanese refugees in the U.S. suffering from the same problems.
