Free Your Body w/Yoga

Dharma Seeds Yoga ~ LGBTQ+ focused, Trauma-Informed, Accessible, Ability Injury Minded

Research

https://linktr.ee/DharmaSeedsYoga 

Yoga Scientific Research

Defining Yoga-Nidra: Traditional Accounts, Physiological Research, and Future Directions

National Institute for Health ~ https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-what-you-need-to-know 

Yoga: What You Need To Know

What is yoga and how does it work?

Yoga is an ancient and complex practice, rooted in Indian philosophy. It began as a spiritual practice but has become popular as a way of promoting physical and mental well-being.

Although classical yoga also includes other elements, yoga as practiced in the United States typically emphasizes physical postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), and meditation (dyana). 

There are many different yoga styles, ranging from gentle practices to physically demanding ones. Differences in the types of yoga used in research studies may affect study results. This makes it challenging to evaluate research on the health effects of yoga.

Yoga and two practices of Chinese origin—tai chi and qi gong—are sometimes called “meditative movement” practices. All three practices include both meditative elements and physical ones.

What are the health benefits of yoga?

Research suggests that yoga may:

  • Help improve general wellness by relieving stress, supporting good health habits, and improving mental/emotional health, sleep, and balance.
  • Relieve low-back pain and neck pain, and possibly pain from tension-type headaches and knee osteoarthritis.
  • Help people who are overweight or obese lose weight.
  • Help people quit smoking.
  • Help people manage anxiety or depressive symptoms associated with difficult life situations.
  • Relieve menopause symptoms.
  • Help people with chronic diseases manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life.

Although there’s been a lot of research on the health effects of yoga, many studies have included only small numbers of people and haven’t been of high quality. Therefore, in most instances, we can only say that yoga has shown promise for particular health uses, not that it’s been proven to help.

What does research show about yoga for wellness?

Studies have suggested possible benefits of yoga for several aspects of wellness, including stress management, mental/emotional health, promoting healthy eating/activity habits, sleep, and balance.

More

  • Stress management.
    • A 2020 review of 12 recent studies (672 total participants) of a variety of types of yoga for stress management in healthy adults found beneficial effects of yoga on measures of perceived stress in all the studies.
    • Of 17 older studies (1,070 total participants) of yoga for stress management included in a 2014 review, 12 studies showed improvements in physical or psychological measures related to stress.
  • Mental/emotional health. In a recent review of 14 studies (involving 1,084 total participants) that assessed the effects of yoga on positive aspects of mental health, most found evidence of benefits, such as improvements in resilience or general mental well-being.
  • Promoting healthy eating/activity habits. A 2018 survey of young adults (involving 1,820 participants) showed that practicing yoga regularly was associated with better eating and physical activity habits. In interviews, people who took the survey said they thought yoga supported healthier habits through greater mindfulness, motivation to participate in other forms of activity, and eating healthier. In addition, the yoga community itself was characterized as a social circle that encouraged connection, where healthy eating was commonplace.
  • Sleep. Yoga has been shown to be helpful for sleep in several studies of cancer patients, women with sleep problems, and older adults and in individual studies of other population groups, including people with arthritis and women with menopause symptoms.
  • Balance. In a 2014 review, 11 of 15 studies (688 total participants) that looked at the effect of yoga on balance in healthy people showed improvements in at least one outcome related to balance. An additional study, published in 2016, showed that both yoga and stretching-strengthening exercises were effective in improving balance (as well as strength and flexibility) in healthy, previously sedentary older adults.

Can yoga help with pain management?

Research has been done on yoga for several conditions that involve pain. Studies of yoga for low-back pain and neck pain have had promising results, and yoga is among the options that the American College of Physicians recommends for first-line treatment of chronic low-back pain. Preliminary evidence suggests that yoga may also be helpful for tension headaches and knee osteoarthritis pain.

  • Low-back pain.
    • A 2020 report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality evaluated 10 studies of yoga for low-back pain (involving 1,520 total participants) and found that yoga improved pain and function in both the short term (1 to 6 months) and intermediate term (6 to 12 months). The effects of yoga were similar to those of exercise.
    • The American College of Physicians recommends using nondrug methods for the initial treatment of chronic low-back pain. Yoga is one of several suggested nondrug approaches.
  • Neck pain. A 2019 review of 10 studies (686 total participants) found that practicing yoga reduced both the intensity of neck pain and disability related to neck pain and improved range of motion in the neck.
  • Headaches. A 2020 review of 6 studies (240 participants) of yoga for chronic or episodic headaches (tension-type headache or migraine) found evidence of reductions in headache frequency, headache duration, and pain intensity, with effects seen mostly in patients with tension-type headache rather than migraine. Because of the small numbers of studies and participants, as well as limitations in the quality of the studies, these results should be considered preliminary.
  • Knee osteoarthritis.
    • A 2019 review of 9 studies (640 total participants) showed that yoga may be helpful for improving pain, function, and stiffness in people with osteoarthritis of the knee. However, the number of studies was small, and the research was not of high quality.
    • A 2019 guideline from the American College of Rheumatology and the Arthritis Foundation conditionally recommended yoga for patients with knee osteoarthritis based on similarities to tai chi, which has been better studied and is strongly recommended by the same guideline.

Is yoga a good way to lose weight?

There’s evidence that yoga may help people lose weight.

In 2013, a review supported by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) looked at 17 yoga-based weight-control programs and found that most of them led to gradual, moderate reductions in weight. The programs with the best results included at least some of these elements:

  • Longer and more frequent yoga sessions.
  • A longer duration of the overall program.
  • A yoga-based dietary component.
  • A residential component (such as a full weekend to start the program).
  • A larger number of elements of yoga.
  • Home practice.

Another review, in 2016, looked at 10 studies of yoga in individuals who were overweight or obese and found that practicing yoga was associated with reduced body mass index (BMI; a measure of body fat based on height and weight).

How does yoga affect mental health?

There’s evidence that yoga may be helpful for anxiety associated with various life situations, such as medical conditions or stressful educational programs, and for depressive symptoms. The evidence on yoga’s impact on diagnosed mental health conditions is less promising.

  • In a 2013 review of 22 studies (involving 1,728 participants) of yoga for anxiety associated with life situations, yoga seemed to be helpful in some instances but not others. In general, results were more favorable for interventions that included at least 10 yoga sessions. The studies were of medium-to-poor quality, so definite conclusions about yoga’s effectiveness couldn’t be reached.
  • In a review of 23 studies (involving 1,272 participants) of people with depressive symptoms (although not necessarily diagnosed with depression), yoga was helpful in reducing symptoms in 14 of the studies.
  • A 2018 review of 18 studies (1,532 participants) of people who had been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder or depression found that hatha yoga was not more effective in relieving symptoms than treatment as usual or most of the other interventions examined in the studies. However, it was more effective than psychoeducation programs at relieving symptoms of depression. Most of the studies included in the review were not of high quality.
  • A 2018 evaluation of 7 studies (284 participants) of yoga for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found only low-quality evidence of a possible benefit.
  • A 2021 study of Kundalini yoga for generalized anxiety disorder (226 participants, 155 of whom completed the study), supported by NCCIH, found that Kundalini yoga improved symptoms but was less helpful than cognitive behavioral therapy, an established first-line treatment for this condition.

Research Funded by NCCIH

NCCIH is sponsoring a variety of yoga studies, including:

  • An evaluation of the feasibility of at-home telehealth yoga for treating chronic pain.
  • A study of a yoga-based mindfulness relapse prevention program for pregnant women with opioid use disorder.
  • A pilot study of the use of yoga to reduce depression in adolescents.
  • A study of yoga as a treatment for anger management in incarcerated adults.

For More Information

NCCIH Clearinghouse

The NCCIH Clearinghouse provides information on NCCIH and complementary and integrative health approaches, including publications and searches of Federal databases of scientific and medical literature. The Clearinghouse does not provide medical advice, treatment recommendations, or referrals to practitioners.

Toll-free in the U.S.: 1-888-644-6226

tty (for deaf and hard-of-hearing callers): 1-866-464-3615

Website: https://nccih.nih.gov/

Email: info@nccih.nih.gov

PubMed®

A service of the National Library of Medicine, PubMed® contains publication information and (in most cases) brief summaries of articles from scientific and medical journals. For guidance from NCCIH on using PubMed, see How To Find Information About Complementary Health Approaches on PubMed.

Yoga for Health—Systematic Reviews/Reviews/Meta-analyses

Yoga for Health—Randomized Controlled Trials

Website: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Key References

Other References

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Treatment Development of Yoga for Anger Management in Incarcerated Adults ~ https://grantome.com/grant/NIH/R34-AT010172-03 

Prisoners doing yoga may see psychological benefits ~ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130711084920.htm 

Mindfulness and Rehabilitation: Teaching Yoga and Meditation to Young Men in an Alternative to Incarceration Program ~ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26903231/ 

PubMed Articles on Yoga & Research ~ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%22Yoga%22%5BMAJR%5D 

Mindfulness-based interventions for youth in the criminal justice system: a review of the research-based literature ~ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31984055/ 

Exploring the therapeutic effects of yoga and its ability to increase quality of life ~  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193654/ 

PubMed Mindfulness Meditation & Research ~ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?linkname=pubmed_pubmed&from_uid=31984055 

Prison Meditation Movements and Mass Incarceration ~ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25941214/ 

Meditation: In Depth ~ https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-in-depth 

Exploring the therapeutic effects of yoga and its ability to increase quality of life ~ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193654/ 

Latest Research
Rose Kress/LifeForce Yoga

539-202-9455 Email: dharmaseedsyoga@gmail.com 

https://dharmaseedsyoga.wordpress.com/  ~  https://linktr.ee/DharmaSeedsYoga 

POB 740, Okemah, OK 74859-0740

Deva Hardeep Singh, RYT-200,  is an Oklahoman, a Yuchi Indian, enrolled in the Muscogee Nation, studied radio/TV/film in college.  He’s worked as an on-air personality, author, poet, artist, an administrative assistant, petroleum landman, barista, staff writer, paralegal, concert promoter, music artist manager, content producer and graphic designer. He spent 6 months as a National Data Team volunteer for the Bernie Sanders for President campaign. He is a freelance journalist with International papers and magazines with a social justice focus. He’s been a meditator for over 30 years (Buddhist, Chan, Zen), teaches meditation, and provides yoga instruction. Reiki III Master,

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