Yoga may be 5,000 years old, but it's still full of surprises. Four new studies reveal mind/body benefits, from easing back problems to relieving test anxiety. Here are the newest insights into this age-old health practice, which combines physical exercise, breathing techniques, and relaxation.
Back Problems
A new study in Annals of Internal Medicine offers some of the best evidence to date that yoga can be strong medicine. The study included more than 300 patients with chronic or recurrent low back pain. All received their usual medical care, and half also were randomly assigned to take part in three months of yoga classes. Researchers then tracked the patients for another nine months. The two groups had similar levels of back pain and general health throughout the study, but the yoga group had less back-related trouble with doing daily activities.
Fibromyalgia Pain
One way that yoga may help people cope with chronic pain is by promoting a calm and collected state of mind. A preliminary study from York University in Toronto included 22 women with fibromyalgia, a disorder characterized by muscle pain, fatigue, and multiple tender points around the body. All the women took a twice-weekly yoga class for two months. As a group, they reported decreased pain by study's end. They also said they felt less helpless, more accepting of their condition, and less prone to viewing their situation as disastrous.
Test Anxiety
In addition, yoga may help keep anxiety and physiological stress at bay. An intriguing study from a medical college in India included 60 students who were enrolled in a three-month course, which culminated in a difficult exam. The students were randomly assigned to either a yoga group, which practiced daily, or a control group, which didn't. When test time rolled around, the yoga group experienced a less dramatic increase in anxiety than the control group. They also showed fewer physiological signs of stress at exam time. Unlike the controls, their heart rate and blood pressure didn't shoot up, and their cortisol level didn't rise as much either.
Brain Chemistry
A study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine sheds further light on the biochemistry of how yoga may fight anxiety. Participants were randomly assigned to either do yoga or walk three hours a week for three months. Those in the yoga group reported greater improvements in anxiety and mood than the walkers. They also had higher levels of GABA, a brain chemical that tends to be underactive in people with anxiety or mood disorders.
As a mind/body practice, yoga clearly has staying power - and researchers are finally asking important questions about why. As the answers accumulate, they may teach us a lot about effective ways of managing pain, stress, and anxiety.
Linda Wasmer Andrews is a journalist who specializes in writing about health, psychology, and the mind/body connection. Follow her on Twitter. Find her on Facebook. Visit her online.
