Depiction of the chakra system

Yoga as a life style combines asanas (physical postures), pranayama (breathing exercises), yama (moral behavior), meditation, and philosophy. The purpose of yoga is to reach Samadhi, a higher consciousness, while balancing the mind, body and spirit.

Yogis claim that practicing yoga regularly has wide-ranging and positive effects on your health. But let’s say you suggest it to your ultra conservative brother-in-law when he complains of stress and side effects of high blood pressure medication. You tell him   how much your yoga practice has changed your life for the better and he responds “I don’t believe in that stuff. I need to see peer reviewed medical science.” Well here it is.

Thousands of research studies have been undertaken to prove that a regular yoga practice gives people the power to control stress, blood pressure, body weight, and body temperature among many other bodily functions. Many of these health problems are commonly treated with prescription drugs. If you are looking for an alternative, yoga may be the answer. 

Stress: A group of researchers at the University of Minnesota enrolled 21 organ transplant recipients into a study that found “mindfulness-based stress reduction” in the form of gentle hatha yoga “is an effective treatment in improving the quality and duration of sleep.” It is also an “accessible and low-cost intervention,” suggesting that a gentle yoga practice “could significantly change overall health and well-being.”

Blood Pressure: At least 8 studies have shown that yoga reduces blood pressure in healthy adults. Another 16 studies have found a decrease in blood pressure for those suffering from chronic diseases like hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. All of these studies used a range of yoga styles and durations. Subjects came from a variety of socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. Overall they tended to see a reduction in blood pressure during the yoga program and a still further decrease once the program had ended.

Body Weight: Dozens of studies have shown significant weight loss that is attributed to a regular yoga practice. One study found that after 3 months, healthy adults lost an average of 12.6lbs (Schmidt, et al. 1997).  Not bad for a weight loss program, especially considering that with continued practice all over weight subjects reached and sustained a normal weight with in one year (Yogendra, et al. 2004). 

Cholesterol Level: Across the board, a long term yoga practice is found to significantly reduce cholesterol levels in subjects with or at risk for cardiovascular disease & diabetes, healthy adults and those suffering from hypertension. Yoga was found to reduce age-related cardiovascular deterioration and has been shown to improve total cholesterol as well as LDL, HDL and very-LDL.  

Body Temperature: In 1982, Nature, one of the leading scientific journals, published a study based on heat yoga of the Dalai Lama and other advanced Tibetan Buddhists. Scientists had found that the subjects were capable of increasing the temperature of their fingers and toes by up to 8.3° C.

Currently the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health, is funding scientific research to investigate yoga’s effects on blood pressure, chronic low-back pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, diabetes risk, HIV, immune function, inflammatory arthritis, knee osteoarthritis, insomnia, multiple sclerosis and smoking cessation.


References:
Kreitzer MJ, Gross CR, Ye X, Russas V, Treesak C. Longitudinal impact of mindfulness meditation on illness burden in solid-organ transplant recipients. Prog Transplant ( 2005;) 15:: 166–72.

Schmidt T, Wijga A, Von Zur Muhlen A, Brabant G, Wagner TO. Changes in cardiovascular risk factors and hormones during a comprehensive residential three month kriya yoga training and vegetarian nutrition. Acta Physiol Scand Suppl ( 1997;) 640:: 158–62.

Yogendra J, Yogendra HJ, Ambardekar S, Lele RD, Shetty S, Dave M, et al. Beneficial effects of yoga lifestyle on reversibility of ischaemic heart disease: caring heart project of International Board of Yoga. J Assoc Physicians India ( 2004;) 52:: 283–9.

Bharshankar JR, Bharshankar RN, Deshpande VN, Kaore SB, Gosavi GB. Effect of yoga on cardiovascular system in subjects above 40 years. Indian J Physiol Pharmaco ( 2003;) 47:: 202–6.

Bijlani RL, Vempati RP, Yadav RK, Ray RB, Gupta V, Sharma R, et al. A brief but comprehensive lifestyle education program based on yoga reduces risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. J Altern Complem Med ( 2005;) 11:: 267–74.

Benson, H. Lehmann, J., Malhotra, M.S., et al. Body temperature changes during the practice of g Tum-mo yoga. Nature (1982) 295:: 234-36

Bower JE, Woolery A, Sternlieb B, et al. Yoga for cancer patients and survivors. Cancer Control. 2005;12(3):165–171.

Khalsa SBS. Yoga as a therapeutic intervention: a bibliometric analysis of published research studies. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. 2004;48(3):269–285.

Lipton L. Using yoga to treat disease: an evidence-based review. Journal of the American Academy of Physican Assistants. 2008;21(2):34–41.

Oken BS, Zajdel D, Kishiyama S, et al. Randomized, controlled, six-month trial of yoga in healthy seniors: effects on cognition and quality of life. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2006;12(1):40–47.

Raub, JA. Psychophysiologic effects of hatha yoga on musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary function: a literature review. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2002;8(6):797–812.

Sherman K, Cherkin D, Erro J, et al. Comparing yoga, exercise, and a self-care book for chronic low back pain. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2005;143(12):849–856.

Williams KA, Petronis J, Smith D, et al. Effect of Iyengar yoga therapy for chronic low back pain. Pain. 2005;115(1–2):107–117.

Yang K. A review of yoga programs for four leading risk factors of chronic diseases. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2007;4(4):487–491.