Photo by Min An.

Every year new studies are published showing how beneficial a yoga practice can be to our health and well-being. If you’ve ever been a yoga practitioner, you’ve probably noticed things most fans of the discipline notice, such as improved ability to relax, a sense of ease in the joints and length in the muscle tissue, and perhaps even an enhanced ability to focus the mind.

Yet, not everyone clicks with the modality. Some may not enjoy stretching, others find it slow and boring, and some reject the spirituality often inaccurately attached to yoga. However, as more and more evidence gathers that yoga is truly good for you, a more balanced approach to the practice has emerged and just about everyone can find a way to fit under its ever-widening and all-inclusive umbrella.

Science catches up with tradition

Mindful movement needn’t be painfully slow, nor is it required that you worship multi-limbed deities.

For years, through yoga’s commercial boom starting in about the 1980s, detractors often declared that there was no science backing up the anecdotal reports of yoga’s benefits. Often, the media focused on the dangers of a poorly guided practice, warning of injuries from stretching too far while trying to get into a pretzel-like shape that might land you on the cover of Yoga Journal. 

Now, however, the wisdom of the ancients is more and more being validated by science, and medical providers, physical therapists, mental health providers, and even all levels of sports teams are regularly using yoga to improve health outcomes as well as therapeutic and training regimens.

Mindful movement needn’t be painfully slow, nor is it required that you worship multi-limbed deities as you chant in Sanskrit while standing on one foot, and stretching itself turns out to be a discipline with so many limbs you’ll likely find one that works for you. Many people are surprised to learn how much of yoga can involve significant muscle strengthening (and therefore bone maintenance). Others prefer the mental disciplines of meditation. Still others find they click with breath practices, some of which are formal, others more casual.

The growing body of research

Yoga has been shown to decrease insulin resistance in type 2 diabetics.

Here’s a brief digest of research that has been published in the last few years, adding to an already pretty tall mountain of scientifically known as well as subjectively experienced benefits.

From Harvard Health Publishing, a 2024 report mentions improved exercise capacity in participants who practiced at least 3 hours per week, spread over several sessions. Not only did flexibility improve, but muscle strength, endurance and even cardiorespiratory fitness got a boost.

Also from Harvard, due to yoga’s effect of enhancing “baroreceptor sensitivity” it can help those with hypertension lower their blood pressure through various slow and mindful breathing techniques. Poor baroreceptor sensitivity can lead to sudden dramatic changes in blood pressure, so an improvement can also minimize those spikes.

Yoga has been shown to decrease insulin resistance in type 2 diabetics and even can help improve blood lipid levels.

Studies have shown that yoga improves quality of life more than physical therapy.

Mindfulness that follows practitioners of yoga off the mat can help with improved eating habits and weight loss.

The journal Neurology released a 2023 study showing that yoga resulted in a greater than 50% reduction in seizure frequency among epileptics.

Studies have shown that yoga improves quality of life more than physical therapy for sufferers of multiple sclerosis.

A research paper published in 2019, looking at MRIs of the brains of long-time yoga practitioners compared to those of non-practitioners showed improvements in areas of the brain associated with cognitive decline, and not just because they stood on their heads a lot.

In other brain research, yoga has been shown to increase levels of “gaba” (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter that slows down brain activity associated with anxiety. Improved mood and lower anxiety levels were reported by participants after finishing a 12-week yoga course.

Bone health can be positively affected by a yoga practice that utilizes various postures and gravity to create the kind of good tension on hip and spinal bones that stimulates bone regrowth.

Research has also found that mindfulness practices including yoga and meditation lead the body to produce fewer cytokines, the chemical responsible for the body’s inflammation response. A single stressful event produces cytokines necessary for temporary inflammation to ward off infection or send healing agents to an injury. However, modern life is perceived by the nervous system as a never-ending marathon of stress. Because chronic inflammation is seen as a major contributing factor in many serious diseases ranging from metabolic issues to cancer, why not do a few downward-facing dogs to chase the cytokines away? 

A practical step toward wellness

You will improve your quality of life and lessen your risk for many diseases.

Will you live forever if you take up yoga? Probably not, and you won’t likely levitate either, but you will improve your quality of life and lessen your risk for many diseases. Plus, there is now science to back you up when your friend looks at you as if you’ve succumbed to terminal woo-woo as you emerge from your yoga class with that special glow.

SoHum Health sponsors yoga and fitness classes that include many elements of yoga such as breath awareness, attention to detail, and an unwavering dedication to the principle of non-harming. For more information on class content and schedule, email Ann at annconstantino@gmail.com.

Ann Constantino, submitted on behalf of the SoHum Health’s Outreach department.