Scientists from Boston University found that yoga and breathing exercises improve symptoms of depression and anxiety in the short term and cumulatively in the longer term.
The findings suggest yoga can be a helpful complementary treatment for clinical depression or major depressive disorder.
The research is published in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice and was conducted by Chris Streeter et al.
Scientific studies already support yoga practice as a means to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.
In the study, the team divided a group of 30 clinically depressed patients into two groups.
Both groups engaged in lyengar yoga and coherent breathing with the only difference being the number of instructional and home sessions in which each group participated.
Over three months, the high-dose group (HDG) spent 123 hours in sessions while the low-dose group (LDG) spent 87 hours.
The team found that within a month, both groups’ sleep quality strongly improved. Tranquility, positivity, physical exhaustion, and symptoms of anxiety and depression strongly improved in both groups.
Depression, a condition that affects one of every seven adults in the US at some point in their lives, is treated with a variety of modalities, including counseling (especially through cognitive-behavioral therapy) and medication.
Research has shown combining therapy and medication has greater success than either treatment alone.
Although studies with more participants would be helpful in further investigating its benefits, this small study indicates adding yoga to the prescription may be helpful.
The team says providing evidence-based data is helpful in getting more individuals to try yoga as a strategy for improving their health and well-being.
These data are crucial for accompanying investigations of underlying neurobiology that will help elucidate ‘how’ yoga works.
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