How Can Yoga Improve my Health?
Many people who do Yoga on a regular basis are full of stories about how Yoga has improved their life and well-being. Yoga can relax and revive you, improve your mood and strengthen your body. You can do it at for no cost and with little side effects.
In the West, the term "yoga" is typically associated with Hatha Yoga and its asanas (postures) or as a form of exercise.
Yoga is a mind-body technique that can reduce stress. A study found that after seven weeks the group treated with yoga reported significantly less mood disturbance and reduced stress compared to the control group. Another study found that Mind-Body Stress Reduction had showed positive effects on sleep anxiety, quality of life, and spiritual growth.[1]
The three main focuses of Hatha yoga (exercise, breathing, and meditation) make it beneficial to those suffering from heart disease. Overall, studies of the effects of yoga on heart disease suggest that yoga may reduce high blood pressure, improve symptoms of heart failure, enhance cardiac rehabilitation, and lower cardiovascular risk factors.[2]
Long-term yoga practitioners in the United States have reported musculoskeletal and mental health improvements, as well reduced symptoms of asthma in asthmatics.[3] Regular yoga practice increases brain GABA levels and is shown to improve mood and anxiety.[4]
Yoga has the power to build strength and confidence, to improve flexibility and balance, and to foster spiritual peace and contentment.
[1] Smith K, Pukall C. An evidence-based review of yoga as a complementary intervention for patients with cancer. Psycho-Oncology [serial online]. May 2009;18(5):465-475.
[2] Yoga could be good for heart disease. Simultaneous focus on body, breathing, and mind may be just what the doctor ordered. (2010). Harvard Heart Letter: From Harvard Medical School, 21(3), 5. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
[3] Birdee, Gurjeet S. et al. "Characteristics of Yoga Users: Results of a National Survey." Journal of General Internal Medicine. Oct 2008, Volume 23 Issue 10. p1653-1658
[4] Streeter, Chris C. et al. "Effects of Yoga Versus Walking on Mood, Anxiety, and Brain GABA Levels: A Randomized Controlled MRS Study." Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine. Nov 2010, Volume 16 Issue 11, p1145-115
Yoga - Your path to better health through exercise
