A recent study found that yoga can improve depression and anxiety.
There is no doubt that recent world events (including the COVID-19 pandemic and shocking events around the world) have increased stress levels in the United States, Europe, and around the world. In addition to traditional counseling, adjunctive and complementary therapies, such as yoga, can be particularly helpful in reducing stress and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Perhaps in response to rising stress levels worldwide, there seems to have been a large amount of recent academic research investigating the potential benefits of yoga.
By 2024, yoga may just be a complementary therapy that helps improve your sense of well-being, and may improve sleep quality and social connections, among other beneficial effects. Promising research has emerged demonstrating that
Different types of yoga to suit your tastes
There are many forms of yoga, and yoga practices suit different tastes and preferences. In the West, hatha yoga refers to a number of yoga practices that tend to be slow-paced and gentle. Restorative yoga, a slower-paced form of yoga, is aimed at relaxing and restoring. There are also more active and athletic types of yoga, such as vinyasa and hot yoga classes. Additionally, types of yoga range from yoga practices that involve holding postures (called “postures”) for long periods of time, such as yin yoga, to more traditional yoga practices such as physical and mental kundalini . Fortunately, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, there are a variety of online yoga classes, so you don’t have to leave the comfort of your living room to practice yoga.
Latest yoga research: Yoga to reduce stress and improve mood
Three recent (2024) studies found that yoga significantly reduces feelings of stress and improves feelings of well-being. In a new study published in the March 2024 issue, Acta Psychologica According to the journal, people who practiced a specific type of yoga that focuses on yogic breathing techniques called Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) demonstrated a significant reduction in stress scores after the yoga intervention. Additionally, those who practiced this yoga showed increased social connectedness scores immediately after the yoga intervention, and these scores continued to improve with regular yoga practice.
Reported in February 2024 in an online survey. Frontiers of public health Another form of yoga, called Isha Yoga, revealed that participants reported significantly lower levels of stress and mental distress and higher levels of well-being than those who did not practice yoga. Additionally, the health benefits of yoga were also investigated in his January 2024 issue of The Magazine. Journal of Health Psychology, reported on a 6-week randomized controlled trial (RCT), the gold standard of research. In this study, the Kundalini Yoga intervention improved participants’ extrinsic affect (ability to express emotions) and self-compassion, as well as their psychological well-being.
Additional recent yoga research supports these findings
Interestingly, the results of these three recent studies are supported by an additional study published last year that looked at a number of yoga studies. A common thread found in a review of various studies was that people who practiced yoga experienced reduced symptoms of depression. In fact, one study of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic found that older adults in the experimental (yoga) group had reduced depression, anxiety, and stress. They also found that their sleep improved while practicing hatha yoga. The control group (the group that did not practice yoga) had the opposite effect, with their depression scores increasing over the course of the study. Additionally, a recent randomized controlled study examining the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary therapy for panic disorder also showed positive results in reducing anxiety and improving quality of life.
Taken together, recent research findings indicate that yoga may be a promising complementary or integrative therapy for reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety and improving feelings of well-being. Additional benefits appear to include increased social connections, improved mental well-being, and improved sleep quality. As a complement to counseling, yoga holds great promise in improving health conditions, and we look forward to further research into yoga in the future.
References
Gamonal-Limcaoco, S., Montero-Mateos, E., Lozano-Lopez, M.T., Macia-Casas, A., Matias-Fernández, J., Roncero, C. (2021). Different countries experienced stress in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 57(4), 309–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/00912174211033710
Kanchibhotla, D., Harsora, P., and Subramanian, S. (2024). The impact of yogic breathing on increasing social connectedness among Indian adults. Acta Psychologica, 243, 104164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104164
Malipeddi, S., Mehrotra, S., John, J.P., and Kutty, B.M. (2024). Isha yoga practice and proficiency for improving mental health: Insights from the COVID-19 survey. Frontiers of public health, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1280859
Brandão T, Martins I, Torres A, Remondes-Costa S. Impact of online Kundalini yoga on the mental health of university students during the Covid-19 pandemic: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Health Psychology. 2024;0(0). doi:10.1177/13591053231220710
Wu, Y., Yan, D., Yang, J. (2023). The effects of yoga on major depressive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. frontiers of psychiatry, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1138205
Baklouti, S., Fekih-Romdhane, F., Guelmami, N., Bonsaksen, T., Baklouti, H., Aloui, A., Masmoudi, L., Souissi, N., Jarraya, M. (2023). Effects of web-based hatha yoga on psychological distress and sleep quality in older adults: A randomized controlled trial. Complementary therapy in clinical practice, 50, 101715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101715
Yadra VS, NJ P., Camerthy, P., and Matti MR (2024). Effects of integrative yoga as an adjuvant to standard treatment for panic disorder: A randomized controlled trial study. Creus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.53286