Studies show yoga has multiple benefits

Reuters | Wednesday, 02 January 2008


Yoga induces a feeling of well-being in healthy people, and can reverse the clinical and biochemical changes associated with metabolic syndrome, according to results of studies from Sweden and India.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and high blood sugar.

Dr RP Agrawal, of the SP Medical College, Bikaner, India, and colleagues evaluated the beneficial effects of yoga and meditation in 101 adults with features of metabolic syndrome.

In the study, 55 adults received three months of regular yoga including standard postures and Raja Yoga, a form of transcendental meditation daily, while the remaining received standard care.

Waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar, and triglycerides were significantly lower, and "good" HDL cholesterol levels were higher in the yoga group as compared to controls, Agrawal's team reports in the journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.

In the second study, published online December 19 in BioMed Central Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Dr Anette Kjellgren from the University of Karlstad, Sweden and colleagues evaluated the beneficial effects of yoga-like breathing exercises on healthy volunteers.

Fifty-five adults were advised to practice "Sudarshan Kriya," which involves cycles of slow normal and rapid breathing exercises. The exercises were practiced for an hour daily, six days a week for six weeks, while 48 controls were advised to relax in an armchair for 15 minutes daily.

At the end of the study period, feelings of anxiety, stress and depression were significantly lower and levels of optimism significantly higher in the yoga group compared to the control group, Kjellgren and colleagues report.

Yoga induces a "relaxation response" associated with reduced nervous system activity and a feeling of well-being probably due to an increase in antioxidants and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, they suggest.

Yoga not only helps in prevention of lifestyle diseases, but can also be "a powerful adjunct therapy when these diseases arise," co-investigator Dr Faahri Saatiglou, from the University of Oslo, told Reuters Health. "We do not emphasise this point enough in our Western health care."

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Yoga Relaxes Body and Heart

Two studies by Indian and Swedish researchers respectively have brought to light the health benefits of yoga; according to their findings yoga has the ability to reverse the clinical and biochemical changes associated with metabolic syndrome and relax the body as a whole.

The first study conducted by Dr. R.P. Agrawal and colleagues at the SP Medical College, Bikaner was focused on assessing the benefits gained from yoga and meditation by patients with metabolic syndrome. The condition is a cluster of heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, and high blood sugar. 101 adults with metabolic syndrome were covered by the researchers.

Split into two groups, 55 patients were put on a daily regimen of regular yoga including standard postures and Raja Yoga (a form of transcendental meditation) for three months while the remaining participants were placed under standard care. The researchers kept tabs on various health factors of participants in both groups through out the study period.

At the end of the three months, the researchers found that the yoga group had significantly lower waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides, and higher levels of “good” HDL cholesterol compared to the control group.

In the other study, Swedish researchers led by Dr. Anette Kjellgren at the University of Karlstad, evaluated the benefits gained by healthy volunteers from yoga-like breathing exercises. They advised 55 adult volunteers to practice “Sudarshan Kriya,” a form of yoga which involves cycles of slow, normal and rapid breathing exercises for an hour daily. They did this for six days a week for six weeks. 48 other volunteers were placed in a control group and asked to relax in an armchair for 15 minutes daily.

After six weeks, the researchers found that the yoga group volunteers reported significantly lower feelings of anxiety, stress and depression while feeling highly optimistic compared to the control group volunteers.

According to the researchers, yoga most probably reduces nervous system activity, increases antioxidants and lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol, all of which create a feeling of relaxation and well-being.

Yoga not only helps in prevention of lifestyle diseases, but can also be “a powerful adjunct therapy when these diseases arise,” co-investigator Dr. Faahri Saatiglou, from the University of Oslo, said. “We do not emphasize this point enough in our Western health care.”

Findings of the Indian study have been reported in the journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice while the Swedish study has been published online in BioMed Central Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

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