Yoga

Yoga

Yoga is a system of physical, mental, and spiritual practices originating in ancient India about 3000 years ago with the aim to create union between body, mind, and spirit and to establish physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Yoga practice includes 3 principal components:

 – Asanas (physical exercises for strength and flexibility)

 – Meditation (contemplative exercise)

 – Pranayama (breathing exercises)

 

All of these components improve breathing patterns, thus contribute to the overall benefits of conscious breathing as mentioned above.

There is an extensive number of different evidence-based studies referring to the beneficial effects of yoga on health and these benefits are largely multifactorial.

Yoga exercise causes targeted perfusion and oxygenation of different organs and joints, enhances physical fitness, flexibility, self-perception, concentration and awareness and diminishes emotional reactivity, psychiatric disturbances or neuro-immuno-hormonal imbalance.

Some examples of the impact of YOGA on different health conditions:

  • Depression: diminution of depressive symptoms in mild and moderate non-hospitalized depression, which is due to different mechanisms, such as: non-judgmental and observational awareness, acceptance of one’s limitations, enhanced self-esteem, alertness and calmness (parasympathetic activity).
  • Overcoming chronic disease: significantly better outcome in yoga practitioners in the context of enhanced discipline, focused mind, calmness, stronger feeling of control about the ongoing illness, all of which lead to optimism and a positive outcome
  • Pregnant women regularly exercising yoga from the 26th to 37th gestation week have demonstrated better birth outcomes compared to the non-practicing ones: decreased number of preterm labor, caesarian section or episiotomy, along with a better Apgar score in newborn
  • Diabetes 2: better outcome and favorable control of blood pressure (BP), obesity, depression and anxiety, all of which frequently occur with diabetes disease.
  • Cardiac system: positive effect on cardiac dysrhythmias due to the regulation/ harmonization of the autonomous nervous system (increased vagal tone, decreased sympathetic activity), control of atrial fibrillation (AF) and of high blood pressure (BP)
  • Immune system: attenuation of the systemic inflammatory response, decrease in cortisol and inflammatory markers IL6 and CRP.
  • Healthy habits: studies present that yoga practice improves stress management, weight loss in obese people, quitting smoking, and sleep quality.

 

Mechanism: How does YOGA improve health?

On the physical level, yoga practice strengthens muscles (especially of the body’s core), stretches tendons, and increases the range of the joints. The deep diaphragmatic rhythmic breathing helps to increase lung capacity, enhances lymphatic drainage of inner organs, and stimulates the vagus nerve. Vagal nerves make up part of the parasympathetic nervous system and contribute to the immune and anti-inflammatory response. It is estimated that higher vagal tonus supports immune response, recovery, and growth.

Yoga practice significantly increases practitioner’s awareness of their deep postural and stabilization system, which contributes to the prevention of injury and enhances the effectiveness of other physical exercises.

Awareness of balance, breathing patterns, and spatial positioning of the body helps to focus the mind, enhance concentration, and regulate subconscious mental processes. Yoga practitioners demonstrate attenuated emotional reactivity and increased self-regulation in response to unpleasant emotions and distress.

The impact of yoga is multifactorial. Since regular practice requires self-discipline, patience, and perseverance, these qualities also contribute to better health, quality of life, and inner satisfaction.

Author of the review: Kristina Höschlová