Yoga Benefits Confirmed by Science

By Unus

In a small preliminary study, the ancient art of yoga appeared to halve the number of episodes of a potentially dangerous irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation.

Three sessions of yoga a week also improved quality of life, lowering levels of the anxiety and depression which often plagues patients with this condition, according to research to be presented Saturday at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans.
(Source)

The more scientific studies are done on the benefits of yoga practice, the more evidence is found of the health benefits that this ancient art of healing provides.

For example, a "study done by Ohio State University researchers and just reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, showed that women who routinely practiced yoga had lower amounts of the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) in their blood" (source). IL-6 is an inflammatory protein normally linked to aging and stress.

In another study, two groups of heart disease patients were tracked over five years. The first group took medication only. The second group took medication and also adopted a lifestyle based on yoga principles incorporating exercise, meditation, diet, relaxation and group support. This study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1997, showed that the medication-only group had experienced two and a half times as many heart attacks and deaths as the yoga lifestyle group.

Australian researcher Pauline Jensen recently completed a small randomized control trial through the University of Sydney. The study assessed the effects of yoga on boys aged 8-13 diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Once a week, the boys did a gentle form of yoga, in addition to techniques which involved postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation. After 20 weeks, she found that the boys doing yoga were less moody, angry, restless and impulsive than those in the control group.

These are just some of the studies that show the benefits of yoga practice. As more studies are done and as the gap between science and Spirit narrows there is no doubt there will be more evidence of the benefits, the best ways to practice, etc.

Of course the Teachings of Maitreya in THOTH and on the Mission website teach us that everything in this universe can be of three kinds: From knowledge (satva), from passion (raja), and from ignorance (tama). Also, everything can depend on the time, place, and people involved. So even yoga practice should be done from knowledge and according to the place, time and people involved. ATTG.