Mind-body medicine

from the OmniVista Health Learning News Desk

It’s time to trade the couch for the mat, in more ways than one. At least, that’s the takeaway of one recent study on the mental healing power of yoga.

Researchers reviewed 16 trials examining the link between yoga practice and a long list of psychological conditions. These included depression, schizophrenia, and ADHD.

Results showed that yoga practice had a positive effect on all of these diagnoses. Which means that this form of exercise could be as powerful as therapy and medication in the battle against mental illness. It also fights inflammation and oxidative stress.

In a nutshell, yoga helps to restore balance to your whole body—not least of all, your mood, as this new review shows.

You can find yoga classes through most YMCAs and community centers.

SOURCE:
“Yoga on our minds: a systematic review of yoga for neuropsychiatric disorders.” Front Psychiatry. 2012; 3: 117.