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Scientific Research on Yoga

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Substantial research has been done on many of the populations and parts of the body that COVID-19 preys on most. Use this section of Yoga Alliance's website to learn more about scientific research on the effects of yoga on the elderly , respiratory function , anxiety , and depression , to name a few.

Perhaps more than ever, yoga is being widely studied and evaluated for its positive effects and benefits. At Yoga Alliance, we curate the latest and most relevant research on yoga’s applications in health, wellness, and disease. We have filtered it in a digestible manner for our Registered Yoga Schools and Registered Yoga Teachers as well as for the broader yoga community.

This evidence-based research not only reveals the science of yoga, it also explains its therapeutic efficacy when used in conjunction with conventional medicine. Our goal is that this impactful content will be utilized in a way that highlights even more of yoga’s ancient, multi-faceted ability to improve lives.

Our Research Conversation

Our Director of Yoga Research Dr. Sat Bir Singh Khalsa is a renowned yoga research expert and yoga teacher who has committed his professional life to clinical research surrounding yoga’s full spectrum of healing efficacy.

View a collection of brief videos briefly summarizing yoga research on a variety of specific topics, conditions and populations. These are easy to understand for non-scientists and convey many of the scientific principles and rationale in key studies showing yoga’s benefits.

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View upcoming and previous yoga research webinars on a variety of topics hosted by Kim Weeks. Sessions include a brief lecture by Dr. Khalsa summarizing the research and evidence in easy-to-understand language followed by questions and answers from the attendees.

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Volume 5 (2024) of the Journal of Yoga Studies.

ISSN: 2664-1739 DOI:  https://doi.org/10.34000/JoYS.2024.V5

The  Journal of Yoga Studies (JoYS)  is a peer-reviewed, open access e-journal committed to publishing the highest quality academic research and critical discussions on all topics related to the study of all forms of yoga, from ancient to contemporary, across multiple humanities and social sciences disciplines. Note that JoYS does not accept submissions of natural sciences, medical or experimental psychology articles, but would welcome review or analytical articles written by specialists in these fields with the specific aim of reporting relevant findings to non-specialist academic readers. Authors will retain copyright of their articles.

JoYS aims to serve the needs of this emerging field of study by offering a forum for reporting on research findings, discoveries, theoretical discussions and critical debates in the field, and for disseminating critical editions, translations, book reviews and other key reference materials.

As the ‘study of Yoga’ is a broad and varied subject, the scope of JoYS is inclusive of all forms of rigorous intellectual activity including but not limited to Religious Studies, Modern, Medieval and Classical History of South Asia, Indology, Philology, Philosophy, Anthropology, Sociology, Political Studies, Literature and Arts.

To start with, papers will be published on a rolling-basis throughout the year in electronic form only (downloadable PDF). A yearly collection of papers will form a single volume of JoYS . On occasion, a number of papers may be gathered together under a specific thematic heading (article sets).

The scope of JoYS is limited only by the expertise of its editors and peer-reviewers. Guest editors may be invited to oversee the production of a JoYS article set themed towards a specific topic or subject of interest.

JoYS published its two inaugural articles on 1st May 2018.

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A Comprehensive Review of Yoga Research in 2020

Affiliations.

• 1 Advanced Yoga Research Council, AAYM, Germantown, TN, USA.
• 2 Department of Research, Government Yoga and Naturopathy Medical College, Chennai, India.
• 3 Department of Cardiology, NRS Medical College, Kolkata, India.
• 4 Department of Yoga, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, India.
• 5 Department of Yoga, Manipur University, Imphal, India.
• 6 Department of Cardiology, Memphis VA Medical Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
• 7 School of Public Health, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.
• 8 Integrative Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, India.
• PMID: 35099279
• DOI: 10.1089/jicm.2021.0420

Objectives: Accumulated evidence garnered in the last few decades has highlighted the role of yoga in health and disease. The overwhelming mortality and morbidity mediated by noncommunicable epidemics such as heart disease and cancer have fostered a search for mechanisms to attenuate them. Despite overwhelming success in acute care, the efficacy of modern medicines has been limited on this front. Yoga is one of the integrative therapies that has come to light as having a substantial role in preventing and mitigating such disorders. It thus seems trite to analyze and discuss the research advancements in yoga for 2020. The present review attempts to distill recent research highlights from voluminous literature generated in 2020. Methods: This review was conducted on the articles published or assigned to an issue in 2020. The authors searched the PubMed database for clinical studies published in the English language, using yoga (including meditation) as the intervention, and having an adequate description of the intervention. Then, they extracted data from each study into a standardized Google sheet. Results: A total of 1149 citations were retrieved in the initial search. Of these, 46 studies met eligibility criteria and were finally included. The studies were predominantly on mental health and neuropsychology, addressing various issues such as anxiety, postural balance, migraine, academic performance, and childhood neglect. Anxiety, stress, and depression were other common denominators. Eight studies were on cardiorespiratory systems, including exercise capacity, cardiac rehabilitation, myocardial infarction, and hypertension. Three studies were on diabetes, evaluating the effect of yoga. Five studies focused on cognition, health status, and autonomic regulation and few others included cancers, infertility, ulcerative colitis, urinary incontinence, restless leg syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic pain, and metabolic syndrome. Finally, most studies were on noncommunicable diseases with one exception, human immunodeficiency virus; two randomized controlled trials were dedicated to it. Conclusions: Yoga has been studied under a wide variety of clinicopathological conditions in the year 2020. This landscape review intends to provide an idea of the role of yoga in various clinical conditions and its future therapeutic implications.

Keywords: clinical research; meditation; trials; yoga.

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New Research Shows Yoga Reduces Stress and Improves Well-Being

Recent research found improvements in depression and anxiety through yoga..

Posted February 16, 2024 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer

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• Studies published in 2024 demonstrate yoga’s positive effects on feelings of well-being.
• The latest studies show reduced stress and improved well-being through yoga.
• Recent research shows yoga reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Recent world events (including the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as traumatic events worldwide) have undoubtedly increased stress levels in the US, Europe, and across the globe. In addition to traditional counseling, adjunctive and complementary therapies such as yoga may be especially helpful in reducing stress , as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety . Perhaps partially in response to the increased stress levels globally, there appears to be a plethora of recent academic research studies that examine the potential benefits of yoga.

2024 has revealed promising studies demonstrating that yoga may be just such a complementary therapy to assist in improving feelings of well-being, as well as potentially improving sleep quality and social connectedness, among other beneficial effects.

Different Yoga Types for Every Taste

Numerous forms of yoga exist, with a yoga practice for various tastes and preferences. In the West, Hatha Yoga refers to a number of yoga practices which tend to be slower paced and gentle. Restorative Yoga, an even slower-paced yoga, is meant to relax and restore. Then there are more vigorous and athletic types of yoga such as Vinyasa and hot yoga classes. Additionally, yoga varieties extend from yoga practices that hold the positions (called "postures") for longer periods of time (such as Yin Yoga) to the more traditional yogic practices such as Kundalini, which is both physical and spiritual . Fortunately, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, one need not leave the comfort of one’s living room to practice yoga, as there are various online yoga classes to be found.

Latest Yoga Research: Yoga for Stress Reduction and Improved Mood

Three recent (2024) studies found that yoga significantly reduced feelings of stress and improved feelings of well-being. In a study newly published in the March 2024 issue of Acta Psychologica journal, individuals who practiced a particular yoga focused on yogic breathing called Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) demonstrated a significant reduction in stress scores following the yoga intervention. Additionally, the individuals practicing this yoga showed increases in social connectedness scores immediately following the yoga intervention and these scores continued to improve with regular yoga practice.

In February 2024, an online study reported in Frontiers in Public Health revealed that in another form of yoga called Isha yoga, participants reported significantly lower levels of stress and mental distress, as well as higher levels of well-being than individuals who were not practitioners of yoga. Furthermore, the well-being effects of yoga were also examined in the January 2024 issue of the Journal of Health Psychology , which reported on a 6-week randomized controlled trial (RCT), the gold standard of research. In this study, a Kundalini yoga intervention improved participants’ extrinsic affect (ability to express emotions) and their self-compassion, as well as their spiritual well-being.

Additional Recent Yoga Research Backs Up These Findings

Interestingly, the results of these three recent studies have been backed up by additional research published in the last year that examined a large number of yoga studies. The common thread found in a review of various studies was a reduction in symptoms of depression by those practicing yoga. In fact, one study examining older adults during the Covid-19 pandemic found a reduction in depression, anxiety, and stress for those in the experimental (yoga) group. Additionally, they discovered an improvement in their sleep while practicing Hatha yoga. The control group (who did not practice yoga) showed an opposite effect: they had an increase in their depression scores during the study. Additionally, a recent randomized controlled study examining effects of yoga as a complementary therapy for panic disorder also showed positive results in reduction of anxiety and improvement in quality of life.

Taken together, recent research findings indicate yoga may be a promising complementary or integrative therapy for assistance in the reduction of symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as improvement in feelings of well-being. Additional benefits appear to include increased social connection, improved spiritual well-being and better sleep. As a complement to counseling, yoga holds a great deal of promise in improving well-being and we look forward to seeing further yoga research in the future.

Gamonal-Limcaoco, S., Montero-Mateos, E., Lozano-López, M. T., Maciá-Casas, A., Matías-Fernández, J., & Roncero, C. (2021). Perceived stress in different countries at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine , 57 (4), 309–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/00912174211033710

Kanchibhotla, D., Harsora, P., & Subramanian, S. (2024). Influence of yogic breathing in 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., & Kutty, B. M. (2024). Practice and proficiency of Isha Yoga for Better Mental Health Outcomes: Insights from a COVID-19 survey. Frontiers in Public Health , 12 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1280859

Brandão T, Martins I, Torres A, Remondes-Costa S. Effect of online Kundalini Yoga mental health of university students during 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). Effectiveness of Yoga for major depressive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in 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). The effect of web-based Hatha Yoga on psychological distress and sleep quality in older adults: A randomized controlled trial. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice , 50 , 101715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101715

Yadla, V. S., NJ, P., Kamarthy, P., & Matti, M. R. (2024). Effect of integrated yoga as an adjuvant to standard care for panic disorder: A randomized control trial study. Cureus . https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.53286

Tamara Goldsby, Ph.D. , is a Clinical Research Psychologist affiliated with the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and a sound healing researcher. Her goal is to bring healing to people on a large scale through her research and writing.

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Research Theses

Research theses guided by VaYU faculty.

Master's Theses, June 2023

• Effect of Trataka (Yogic Visual Practices) on Reducing Visual Strain and Improving Concentration in Adults using Tele-Yoga Student : Dr. Rajni Garg Guide(s): Dr. Manjunath Sharma, Dr. P.S. Swathi, Dr. TS Sreekumar
• Influence Of An Integrated Yoga Module On The Levels Of Perceived Stress And Anxiety Scores In Students And Working Professionals Student : Vandana Pathak Guide(s): Dr. Manjunath Sharma, Dr. Vijaya Majumdar, Dr. TS Sreekumar
• Does Yoga Reduce Anxiety And Increase A Sense Of Purpose In Life? Student : Eddie Stern Guide(s): Dr.Raghavendra Bhat, Dr.Manjunath Sharma, Dr.TS Sreekumar

Master's Theses, June 2022

• Trends of use of yoga and other fitness measures in patients with Parkinson's disease - A pilot Cross Sectional study Student Name: Keskar , Shruti Guide: Dr. Manjunath Sharma & Dr. Apar Avinash Saoji Degree awarded: 2022
• Impact of an integrated yoga intervention on the symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children Student Name: Surpur , Anil Guide: Dr. Richard Fletcher, Dr. Manjunath Sharma & Dr. Judu Ilavarasu Degree awarded: 2022
• Influence of Trataka and Pranayama practices on adolescents with extended exposure to Digital Display (computer screen and mobile phones) Student Name: Vasan , Latha Guide: Dr. Manjunath Sharma & Dr. Apar Avinash Saoji Degree awarded: 2022
• Evolution of Yoga from traditional to modern times Student Name: Warah , Jagjit Singh Guide: Dr. Manjunath Sharma, Dr. Sreekumar T.S. & Dr. Deepeshwar Singh Degree awarded: 2022
• Effect of Add-On of Yoga Therapy to Physiotherapy in the Management of Spinal Cord Injury Patients https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/handle/10603/276272 Student Name: Monali Madhusmita Guide: Dr. John Ebnezar, Prof. T. M. Srinivasan, Dr. Patitapaban Mohanty & Dr. Deepeshwar Singh PhD Awarded: 2020
• Effect of Add-On of Yoga Therapy on Social Cognition in Schizophrenia https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/handle/10603/216115 Student Name: Ramajayam G Guide Name: Dr. N K Manjunath Dr. Shivarama Varambally PhD Awarded: 2019
• Measurement of Health and Pathological condition using Acugraph https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/handle/10603/216002 Student Name: Kuntal Ghosh Guide Name: Prof. T. M. Srinivasan, Prof. Alex Hankey PhD Awarded: 2018
• Acute Effect of Mobile Phone Radiations on Brain Hemodynamics, Cognition and Subtle Energy Levels of Teenagers and Protective Value of Yoga Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Study. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/handle/10603/220350 Student Name: Hemant Bhargav Guide Name: Prof. T. M. Srinivasan Dr. Shivarama Varambally PhD Awarded: 2017
• Effect of Remedial Yoga Module in The Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/handle/10603/218463 Student Name: Vijaya Lakshmi Kavuri Guide Name: Dr. R Nagarathna, Senthamil R Selvan PhD Awarded: 2016
• Neuronal activity and cerebral blood flow in meditation defined in traditional yoga texts https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/handle/10603/79121 Student Name: Deepeshwar Singh Guide Name: Dr.Naveen K V, Dr.H R Nagandra PhD Awarded: 2015
• Evaluation of the Psychological and immune effect of long term yoga practice on Breast Cancer Survivors: A cross sectional explorative study. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/handle/10603/22710 Student Name: Amritashu Ram Guide Name: Raghavendra Rao, Dr. Manjunath N K PhD Awarded: 2014
• Psychophysiological effects of two meditative states described in Yoga texts. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/handle/10603/7397 Student Name: Raghavendra Bhat Guide Name: Shirley Telles, Dr. H R Nagendra PhD Awarded: 2013
• Effect of IAYT (Integrated Approach of Yog therapy) In Osteoarthritis of Knee Joint – A Comparative Study Student Name: John Ebnezar Guide Name: Dr.H R Nagendra, Dr. R Nagarathna PhD Awarded: 2012
• Effect of Yoga Therapy As a Psychotherapeutic Intervention in Breast Cancer Patients https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/handle/10603/7781 Student Name: Vadiraja HS Guide Name: Dr. Nagedra H.R. Dr. Nagrathna R. Dr.Gopinath K.S. PhD Awarded: 2011

Master's Theses

• Effect of surya-namaskar and circuit training on muscular and cardiovascular endurance in high school children Student Name: Ramu Naidu Meesala Guide: Dr. Soubhagyalaxmi Mohanty Degree awarded: 2018
• Effect of yoga on psycho – physical fitness among ncc army cadets. Student Name: Satyajitsinh Dharmendrasinh Zala Guide: Dr. Vikas Rawat, Ph.D Degree awarded: 2016
• Immediate effects of mind sound resonance technique (msrt-ayogic relaxation technique) on cardiovascular variables in patients with hypertension Student Name: Zan Yuni Wang Guide: Dr. Kashinath G Metri Degree awarded: 2018
• Effect of yoga on blood pressure, cognition and altitude adaptation in novice low land trekking population Student Name: Uma Bastola Guide: B Ragavendrasamy Degree awarded: 2016
• Effect of IAYT on DNA Damage Student Name: Ms. Amrita Ghimire Guide: Dr. Ramesh M. N. Degree awarded: 2014
• Effect of cyclic meditation on sleep quality, Mindfulness and preservative cognition in corporate employees: A Controlled Trail Student Name: Deepmala Rao Guide: Dr. Ragavendrasamy Degree awarded: 2016
• Immediate effect of 2 yoga-based relaxation techniques on fatigue, state anxiety, and vigor in adults: A Comparative Study Student Name: Arvind Kumar Guide: Rajesh SK., PhD. & Vijaya Majumdar., PhD. Degree awarded: 2017
• Effect of integrated approach of yoga therapy on symptoms of sensory processing disorder in autistic individuals Student Name: Kankan Gylati Guide: Dr. Niveththia Loganathan & Dr. Amrapali Lahiri Degree awarded: 2016
• Characterising and comparing EEG signatures of perseverative cognition for yoga and non - yoga practitioners Student Name: Krupa Thakkar Guide: B. Ragavendrasamy, Judu ilavarasu and Rajesh SK Degree awarded: 2019
• Study of spiritual well-being, quality of life, biochemical and anthropometric variables among pancagavya diet population Student Name: Neeraj Guide: Itagi Ravi Kumar Degree awarded: 2018

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Yoga Research: How to Identify and Interpret Research Methods in Yoga Studies

As you start to find research articles that may help you see and communicate what science says about yoga, you can sprinkle in questions like the ones that follow, to stoke your curiosity and build your fluency:

What is meant by the word yoga (or meditation)? Often, journal articles don’t specify or distinguish among lineages and practice approaches nor provide a particular sequence or protocol. It’s hard to tell what form of yoga was offered.

What was the “best alternative” to yoga’s possible benefits—another intervention, comparison, or “control” condition(s)? Is it walking, stretching, reading an educational text, and/or nothing? Here’s a useful journal article on this: “Comparison Groups in Yoga Research: A Systematic Review and Critical Evaluation of the Literature” (1)

How to Recognize Yoga Research Methods

What were the research methods? Here are quick explanations of the basic menu of options. Most studies combine methods:

• Literature Review : To collect and summarize all that’s been written on a topic, usually presented in the format of a very detailed bibliography plus a narrative interpretation that synthesizes the key findings and areas for further inquiry.
• Surveys : We live in the era of surveys, whether it’s a quiz on social media, a set of questions from presidential candidates, or the number of stars we give to rate our ride to the airport. Validated survey instruments are those that have been developed and tested across populations multiple times to see if the questions and the results are dependable and can be repeated.
• Biological Data Collection : Gather body tissues and fluids, measuring physiological indicators like heart rate and pulse, using in-person visits as well as newer, take-home technologies (e.g., FitBit).
• Participant Self-Reports : The participants track, record, and communicate their observations of their own experience during the course of the study using journal formats, interviews, and other media.
• Individual Participant Interviews : Researchers interview participants at various points before, during, and after the intervention.
• Focus Groups: A group interview on a specific topic or key questions.
• Case Studies: In-depth examination or description of one or more “cases”—an individual person or event, for example—to illustrate research questions, methods, and interventions. This is a “close-up” research strategy that can’t be easily generalized but can amplify specifics.
• Researcher or Instructor Observation : A member of the research or intervention team(s) records notes on their observations of participants and the interventions.

Participant self-reports and interviews are likely to be nuanced and subjective, textured yet difficult to verify or generalize. And they are essential to understanding movement and contemplative practices. In their methods, how did the researchers tackle the first-person experience?

Unlike taking a pill versus a placebo, participants and researchers usually know which intervention is offered, for example, if you’re in the movement group or the control group that’s doing something other than movement. How did the design address that for a “blind” or “double-blind” study?

What can you learn about the researchers and their motivations, from this and other publications? What are their funding sources? Do authors and/or acknowledgments include the yoga consultants, teachers, or therapists who developed or delivered the protocols? Does the article suggest strategies for education or dissemination of findings?

Remember, principal investigators and designers of studies may not have a direct, personal understanding of the practices that they are designing into the studies. Many arrive at their work as researchers via academic, intellectual, and professional pursuits, and have not necessarily started out as avid yoga practitioners, although some may have had experiences with yoga and contemplative practices that led them to want to do research.

Lastly, you may take note of how often we see the following or similar (in)conclusive phrases and caveats, reminding us with humor and humility: “More methodologically rigorous studies are required!”

Now that we’ve covered the basic anatomy of understanding research, it’s time for a deeper dive into dissecting a journal article! For example, I did a quick search on Pubmed (“yoga and neck”) and was delighted to see an article about the effects of yoga on patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain.(2) It’s a recent (2019) systematic review! Let’s take it apart together, shall we? View the pdf file of this analysis (link below-3).

For more information, read this article for information on how to read and absorb a yoga research study and this article on how to identify quality studies on yoga and meditation.

Reprinted with permission from  Sequencewiz.org  and Rachel Lanzerotti of  Fiveriversyoga.com.

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Strong evidence that yoga protects against frailty

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Mind-body practice boosts walking speed, other capabilities in review of 33 studies

Based on randomized controlled studies, researchers found yoga may improve known predictors of longevity, including walking speed and leg strength.

The mind-body practice involves physical poses as well as other elements such as breathing and meditation, and has previously been shown to improve balance, mobility, and mental well-being in older adults.

To investigate whether yoga can improve frailty researchers at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital and other collaborators reviewed 33 studies, which included 2,384 participants over 65. Their findings, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, suggest that yoga increases walking speed and the ability to rise from a chair, both associated with less frailty and increased longevity.

Yoga’s benefit to physical health has never been assessed against validated definitions of frailty, such as the Fried physical phenotype and Rockwood cumulative deficit models. Therefore, the authors reviewed studies that reported how yoga affected individual metrics of frailty included in these models, like gait or walking speed, balance, handgrip strength, lower extremity strength and endurance, and various multicomponent physical performance measures.

Across the studies reviewed, improved walking speed was found to have the strongest association with a yoga intervention compared to control groups who were inactive or who received educational interventions. The authors emphasized the clinical importance of this finding, given prior research showing that slower walking speeds are connected to higher risk of death in older adults.

“It’s never too late to start a yoga practice or exercise regimen to help with your overall health status in your later years.” Julia Loewenthal, Division of Aging at BWH

Similarly, the authors were encouraged by the finding that yoga may improve leg strength, which affects daily activities like rising from a chair or bed. There was less evidence that yoga improved balance; however, the authors note that some of the yoga practices in the reviewed studies were chair-based programs, and therefore may not have offered the same benefit to balance as standing poses. Handgrip strength, another metric of frailty, was not found to improve with yoga practice. Yoga was also not shown to offer benefits for frailty that extend beyond those associated with exercise or other mind-body practices like tai chi.

“There are many contributing factors to frailty, such as difficulties with walking and balance, cognitive impairment, and certain chronic conditions. When you look at a whole person, especially an older person, there may be a number of difficulties that each contribute to frailty,” said first author  Julia Loewenthal of the  Division of Aging . “Since yoga is an integrative practice that impacts multiple areas of health, it may be effective for preventing a syndrome like frailty, which has multiple causes.”

The authors note several limitations to the study, including the small sample sizes of many trials and the lack of consistency in the types of yoga practices evaluated. Their findings suggest that Iyengar-based styles of practice, which are customizable and amenable to the use of props, may be especially effective for frailty prevention. Going forward, the researchers hope to use validated definitions of frailty, such as the Fried physical phenotype or Rockwood cumulative deficit test, to assess the effect of a yoga intervention on frailty in older adults. Determining whether yoga is more effective as an early intervention for frailty at younger ages is also of interest to the researchers, who note that the mean age of the participants was 72 years.

“There’s a potential for movement-based mind-body practices to be really helpful for promoting healthy aging over the lifespan because they provide a physical and cognitive health benefit, but also because they have a spillover effect that can lead to having a healthier lifestyle overall,” Loewenthal said. “It may be helpful to get involved in a healthy practice like this at a younger age, but with that said, we still saw clinically meaningful results in an older population. It’s never too late to start a yoga practice or exercise regimen to help with your overall health status in your later years.”

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102 Yoga Topics to Write about

🏆 best yoga project ideas and examples, 📌 most interesting yoga topics for presentation, 👍 good yoga research topics, ❓ yoga research paper topics.

• Yoga for Stress Management For instance, Karma yoga, which is one of Yoga types, aids in controlling stress through the development of appropriate attitudes in relation to work environment coupled with enhancing the ability to respond positively to professional […]
• Yoga Philosophy in Bhagavad Gītā Epic It is in the form of a dialogue. Arjuna is the prince of Pandava.
• The Art of Yoga and Meditation Breathing, i.e, circulation of air through the body, and consequently circulation of inadequate blood measure through different parts of the body, happens to be the mainstay of the healing process of Yoga.
• Benefits and Drawbacks of Yoga and Meditation in Schools Educators and mental health professionals contributed considerably to the development of a wide range of programs aimed at improving the overall well-being of students in all areas of their life.
• The Different Disciplines of Yoga Additionally, it gives the general characteristics of people who practice yoga as well as their view on the importance of the practice to their health.
• Health Benefits of Yoga and Pilates In this state, it is capable of regulating the body’s processes, can conceive of the events that are occurring around it and yet remain unaffected and unconcerned with these issues as it works to heal […]
• Yoga Practice and Its Benefits Long before I joined yoga, I used to think “going to the yoga mat” referred to going to the hall in which yoga was practiced.
• Sri Aurobindo: integral yoga These varieties of philosophies and religions all have a clue of the truth in them, or an aspect of the truth. This transformation from a human soul to a divine soul is what Sri said […]
• Stress Management Techniques for Students: Yoga Yoga’s most major benefits are its capacity to relieve stress and exhaustion, to stimulate and revive, and to be used for anti-aging and calming treatment.
• Benefits of Yoga Analysis The aim of Yoga is to unite the body, mind and the spirit. The mind and the body are one and if taken to the right environment and given the right tools, it can find […]
• Yogic Meditation Practice in Personal Experience I was looking forward to the third session of meditation as it had to be a relaxation after the difficult day.
• Yoga and its separation from tradition The disconnection between traditional practices and outcomes is evident, in that disbelief and inability to concentrate and practice overtake the benefits and positives of yoga.
• Analysis of Yoga’s Effect on Health Yoga is a concept that signifies a set of spiritual, mental, and physical practices aimed at managing the cognitive and physiological functions of the body.
• Preventing the Injuries of Athletes: Yoga and Soft Exercises The injuries sustained by athletes can pose a serious threat to the career of these people. This paper will focus on the use of yoga and soft exercises as the techniques that can be useful […]
• Yoga Classes at Torrens University If not enough students pay attention to the initiative, a more effective and targeted marketing campaign in social media can be conducted, involving additional motivation.
• Zaccari et al. (2020). “Yoga for Veterans With PTSD”: Content, Strength, and Weaknesses This discussion reviews the strengths and weaknesses of the method, sampling, and validity of Zaccari et al.research. The assertions reported in the article are supported by cited and referenced scientific studies, which enhances the validity […]
• Catholic-Hindu Dialogue: Yoga and Lent Jesus welcomes us to slacken our hold on the common concerns and to arrange ourselves to what in particular is generally fundamental: to cherish each other, to focus on the entirety of creation, and to […]
• School-Based Yoga Program for Adolescents’ Mental Health The central aim of the research was to find the effectiveness of the therapeutic intervention. The central focus of the research was to validate the effectiveness of a yoga-based program.
• The Case of Body-Positive Yoga The described problems seem to be the basis of why body shaming has such a negative impact today. Body positivity is the only way to face the body-shaming challenge today.
• Workplace Yoga Reducing Stress in Employees Since the key idea of a project is to sell the yoga and meditation practice program to the other departments of a firm, it is important to understand the expected benefits.
• Prenatal Yoga: Description, Aspects, and Benefits Practicing yoga leads to the overall conditioning of the mind and body of the yoga student. In addition to this, the classes present a good opportunity for connections to be made as to the various […]
• Unique Characteristics of Hinduism and Its Methods: Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, and Raja Yoga It is a part of Vedanta tradition, which is a school of Hindu philosophy. That is why there is a platform with sacred religious books, such as The Texts of Taoism and The Bible.
• Yoga and Stress Reduction The aim of practicing yoga is to “unite” one’s body, mind and spirit. Raja yoga is yoga of the mind.
• Hinduism in the West and Transformation of Yoga The religious encounter issue examined in this case study is appropriation and transition of the Hindu religious and cultural practice of yoga for mass adoption in the West.
• Yoga Center’s Extended Service Marketing Mix From the case study, the yoga center faces fluctuation in demand across the seasons, and in the day, it lacks customer retention capacity, problems in booking programs, and, finally, the yoga faces challenges of training […]
• The Documentary “Origins of Yoga: Quest for the Spiritual” In the film, it is noted that people who decided to devote their lives to the practice of yoga would leave their homes, “abandon the conventional life” and the “householder stage” to “wander around in […]
• Current Evidence of the Clinical Effects of Yoga Studies were done to study the effects of yoga on the fitness levels of the elderly. Therefore, it is difficult to determine the effect of yoga outside of controlled studies.
• Yoga for Depression and Anxiety A simple definition of yoga will lead people to generalize it as a system of exercise and a kind of mindset that would result in the union of mind and body.
• The Disconnect Between Tradition and Contemporary Practice in Yoga Traditional yoga is the epitome of spirituality for it seeks to cease the agitation of the consciousness. The spirituality of yoga is concerned with the human condition and how to manage the flaws of humanity.
• Prenatal Yoga for Women Health Sleeping abdominal stretch pose, and flapping fish pose are effective in preventing constipation during pregnancy while half butterfly pose is helpful in alleviating edema in during pregnancy.
• Yoga Relaxation Exercises To begin with, guided relaxation is one of the best relaxations that involve relaxing all the body muscles in a comfortable position as one imagines a smile. This exercise is referred to as eyes on […]
• The Meditation and the Yoga as the Spiritual Performance
• Should Yoga be Made a Part of Physical Education in Public Schools
• An Analysis of the Age-Old Set of Exercise Known in the West as Yoga
• Evaluating the Addition of Hatha yoga in Cardiac Rehabilitation
• The Science Of Yoga And How Does It Affect Human Beings
• The Benefits of Yoga to High School Students
• How Can Yoga Help You With Loosing Your Weight
• Yoga and Music Therapy as Effective Methods of Stress Management
• Effect Of Yoga Nidra On Blood Pressure
• How Yoga Affects The Mind And Academics
• An Analysis of the Methods of Yoga in the Meditation
• Yoga: Yoga and Breathing Techniques
• Yoga and Mental Health – the Benefits of Yoga on Stress and Anxiety in Adults
• The Benefits of Yoga and Mindfulness on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• An Analysis of Yoga’s Paths to Enlightenment in Hinduism
• Examining the Impacts of Regular Bikram Yoga Practice on Health, Stress and Anxiety
• The Effects Of Yoga On The Human Body
• The Psychological Benefits Of Yoga And Meditation
• Healing the Body and Mind with Yoga
• The Treatment Of Trauma And How Yoga May Be An Integral
• Distinction Between Chinese Yoga And Japanese Yoga
• The Important Role Of Yoga In Digestive System
• The Yoga Sutras, The Science Of The Mind, Body And Spirit
• The Principles, Benefits, and Modern Day Practices of Yoga
• Yoga For Modern City Life Yoga Helps Ease Modern Stress
• The Attitude Of Modern People To Yoga
• Yoga For Beginners How To Take Those First Steps Into Yoga
• Yoga and its Positive Effects on the Mind and Body
• Yoga in Buddhism and Hinduism
• The Beneficial Impact of Spiritual Cleansing and Meditative Yoga Exercise on an Individual’s Physical and Mental Health
• The Practice of Yoga and Its Positive Effects on the Body and Soul
• Harvard’s Jack Welch Award and Yoga Master Bikram Choudhury
• How To Find Centers For Top Luxury Yoga Retreats
• How to Relieve Stress and Anxiety Through Yoga
• Analysis of the Market Offer for Women’s Yoga Clothing of Lululemon
• The Use Of Yoga And Standard Physical Therapy
• The Effect Of Yoga On Young Adolescents
• How Yoga Can Help Relieve The Stress That College Students
• How Yoga Can Be Used to Improve the Health of AIDS Patients
• Use Of Yoga In An Urban School For Children With Emotional Behavioral Disorders
• What Is the Importance of Yoga in Our Daily Life?
• What Is the Best Yoga for Beginners?
• What Is the Latest Trends in Yoga?
• What Yoga Postures Help With Back Pain?
• What Is Dark Yoga?
• What Are the Basic Steps to Do Yoga for a Beginner?
• What Are the Health Benefits of Yoga?
• When Is the Best Time of Day to Practice Yoga?
• What Should Everyone Know About Yoga?
• What’s the Difference Between Meditation and Yoga?
• Which Yoga Reduce the Stomach Fat?
• Which Is Better, Yoga or a Morning Walk?
• What Are the Negative Effects of Yoga?
• What Are the Disadvantages of Yoga?
• Can Yoga Help in Reducing Hair Fall?
• Is Yoga a Sin in Christianity?
• How Is Yoga a Stress Remover?
• What Is an Alternative to Yoga?
• How Much Time Does It Take To Lose Weight Doing Yoga?
• What Is the Best Type of Yoga for Fitness?
• Why Don’t People in India Use Yoga Specific Wears While Performing Yoga?
• How Does One Learn Yoga by Oneself?
• What Does Catholic Church Say About Yoga?
• Does Super Brain Yoga Really Work?
• How Can Yoga Affect Your Mental Health?
• Does Yoga Promote Muscle Growth?
• Are There Any Yoga Asanas to Increase Height?
• Is It Better to Do Naked Yoga or Clothed Yoga?
• Which Is the Best Yoga for Diabetes?
• What Are the Advantages of Yoga and Medititation?
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IvyPanda. (2023, November 30). 102 Yoga Topics to Write about. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/yoga-essay-topics/

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1. IvyPanda . "102 Yoga Topics to Write about." November 30, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/yoga-essay-topics/.

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IvyPanda . "102 Yoga Topics to Write about." November 30, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/yoga-essay-topics/.

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Yoga and mental health: Prevention, management of mental health disorders and mechanism of action

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According to the World Health Organization one in four people around the world will suffer from mental disorders at some point in their lives. Stressful life situations, experiencing traumatic events and the use of illegal drugs are regarded as important risk factors for mental illness. In the last few ...

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Useful Databases for Finding Articles Relating to Yoga

• CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window Find journal articles, conference proceedings and professional practice information relating to all aspects of nursing and allied health, which includes yoga and yoga poses. If interested in other similar topics, consider using the broader CINAHL Headings "Mind Body Techniques" or "Alternative Therapies"

Preview the new look for SPORTDiscus SPORTDiscus is the main database for finding Physical Activity & Exercise related literature. It contains more than 670 full-text journals, Books, Book chapters, Conference proceedings, Journal articles and more.

• Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition This link opens in a new window Use Nursing & Allied Health Source to find journal articles, conference proceedings and professional practice information in numerous nursing & allied health-related publications.

• PubMed This link opens in a new window Use PubMed to find evidence-based biomedical literature relating to Yoga. Use PubMed's "Medical Subject Heading Database" to identify appropriate search terms for finding information on other mind body therapies & techniques. When looking for information on a wider range of complementary/alternative therapies for a given disease, problem or condition, consider use of the "Complimentary Medicine" subject filter.
• APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new window Find journal articles & book chapters encompassing numerous aspects of psychology, mental health and human behavior.
• Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window Find articles relating to national as well as international sociological aspects of yoga, meditation, mindfulness & wellness.
• Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new window Find articles relating to philosophical aspects of yoga, meditation, mindfulness & wellness.
• Atla Religion Database with AtlaSerials PLUS This link opens in a new window Great source of articles discussing religious and philosophical aspects of yoga, meditation, mindfulness, health & wellness.
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RESEARCH BASED KNOWLEDGE

YOGA and PHILOSOPHY are topics widely discussed together outside of the university classroom and in the wider community of yoga and meditation practitioners. And yet, there is a remarkable lack of  research based  knowledge on both. 

Even among academics with an interest in both yoga and philosophy, the prevalent lack of serious sustained research into both results in the circulations of old myths, half truths, and orientalist stereotypes that undermine our appreciation of both yoga and philosophy.  To gain knowledge of both, one must be informed by historical research into Yoga, but also philosophical research into philosophy, according to disciplinary (yogic) considerations of philosophy. To engage in that variety of research is to be a philosopher.  At present, academia is filled with the non-philosophical inquiry into yoga and Indian philosophy (from where we learn about Yoga) , via social-scientific inter-disciplines, such as Religious Studies, or Linguistics (Sanskrit Studies, Philology). Indeed, the lack of serious, pure, philosophical research into Indian philosophy, from where we learn about Yoga, resulted in many stereotypes about Indian philosophy (such as that it is religious, mystical, or unconcerned with practical, moral and political problems), that Dr. Shyam Ranganathan (founder of Yoga Philosophy) has spent 20 years addressing. His research uncovers how these myths come about and how we can avoid such erroneous, stereotypical thinking in the future.  Such myths arise from a combination of politics and a failure of logical thinking on the part of scholars---the kind of logical thinking one learns in basic Critical Thinking classes taught by philosophers. In the end, they arise from a failure to take the yoga (discipline) of Philosophy seriously as its own autonomous means of research and knowledge. 

Yoga Philosophy provides FREE , cutting-edge, research based knowledge and instructional material on both topics, Yoga and Philosophy, from experts.   

Yoga Philosophy was founded by Dr. Shyam Ranganathan, a philosopher, researcher, scholar, translator, author and teacher. For more information on Dr. Ranganathan's work,    please see here.  

He is a member of the Department of Philosophy, and York Center for Asian Research, York University, Toronto. For a selection of r elevant publications, see here .  

Dr. Shyam Ranganathan

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Pelvic floor yoga not superior to general physical conditioning program for women with urinary incontinence

by Elana Gotkine

A 12-week pelvic floor yoga program is not superior to a physical conditioning program for women with daily urinary incontinence, according to a study published online Aug. 27 in the Annals of Internal Medicine .

Alison J. Huang, M.D., from the University of California San Francisco, and colleagues examined the effects of a therapeutic pelvic floor yoga program versus a nonspecific physical conditioning program on UI among ambulatory women aged 45 years or older in a study conducted at three sites in California.

The intervention consisted of a 12-week program of pelvic floor-specific Hatha yoga techniques (pelvic yoga) versus equivalent-time instruction and practice of general muscle stretching and strengthening (physical conditioning).

Of the 240 women reporting daily urgency-, stress -, or mixed type-UI, the mean baseline UI frequency was 3.4 episodes per day, including 1.9 and 1.4 urgency-type and stress-type episodes, respectively, per day.

The researchers found that total UI frequency decreased by an average of 2.3 and 1.9 episodes per day during a 12-week time period with pelvic yoga and physical conditioning, respectively. There was a per-day decrease of 1.2 and 1.0 episodes of urgency-type UI in the pelvic yoga and physical conditioning groups, respectively. No difference was seen in the reductions in stress-type UI frequency between the groups.

"As a pleiotropic behavioral intervention , yoga may offer greater therapeutic benefit for urgency UI as an inherently more complex syndrome," the authors write. "However, changes in type-specific UI were secondary outcomes only and require more investigation."

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Yoga for Health: What the Science Says

Clinical Guidelines, Scientific Literature, Info for Patients:  Yoga for Health

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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends yoga as a safe and potentially effective therapy for children and adolescents coping with emotional, mental, physical, and behavioral health conditions. Yoga can help children learn to self-regulate, focus on the task at hand, and handle problems peacefully. Yoga may also improve balance, relieve tension, and increase strength when practiced regularly. Because some yoga poses are harder than others, the AAP cautions that even children who are flexible and in good shape should start slowly.

What Does the Research Show?

• In a  2019 study , 5-year-old kindergartners doing yoga twice a week in school in place of standard physical education showed less inattention and hyperactivity and completed a task faster than 5-year-olds doing physical education or no exercise.
• A  2016 review  found that school-based yoga programs seem to help improve adolescents’ health. 
• A  2015 systematic review  of 16 studies (including 6 randomized controlled trials, 2 nonrandomized preintervention-postintervention control-group designs, 7 uncontrolled preintervention-postintervention studies, and 1 case study) for yoga interventions addressing anxiety among children and adolescents concluded that nearly all studies included in the review indicated reduced anxiety following a yoga intervention. However, the reviewers noted that because of the wide variety of study populations, limitations in some study designs, and variable outcome measures, further research is needed to enhance the ability to generalize and apply yoga to reduce anxiety.

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Yoga’s popularity among older Americans is growing. National survey data show that 6.7 percent of U.S. adults age 65 and over practiced yoga in 2017, as compared to  3.3 percent in 2012, 2.0 percent in 2007,  and 1.3 percent in 2002.

Older adults who practice yoga should put safety first. It’s a good  idea to start with an appropriate yoga class—such as one called  gentle yoga or seniors yoga—to get individualized advice and learn correct form. Chair yoga is an even gentler option for seniors with limited mobility. And it’s important for older people with medical issues to talk to both their health care providers and the yoga  teacher before starting yoga.

• A  2015 study  funded by NCCIH compared 14 experienced yoga practitioners to 14 physically active control participants of similar ages. In the control group, the amount of gray matter was lower in older participants than younger ones. In the yoga practitioners, there was no relationship between gray matter and age. Among the yoga practitioners, the volume of certain brain regions increased with the number of years of yoga experience and weekly amount of yoga practice.

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Only a small amount of research has investigated yoga for general well-being, such as improving sleep and reducing stress, and the findings have not been completely consistent. Nevertheless, some preliminary research results suggest that yoga may have several different types of benefits for general well-being. 

• Stress Management . Some research indicates that practicing yoga can lead to improvements in physical or psychological aspects of stress. 
• Balance . Several studies that looked at the effect of yoga on balance in healthy people found evidence of improvements. 
• Positive Mental Health . Some but not all studies that looked at the effects of yoga on positive aspects of mental health found evidence of benefits, such as better resilience or general mental well-being.
• Health Habits . A survey of young adults showed that practicing yoga regularly was associated with better eating and physical activity habits, such as more servings of fruits and vegetables, fewer servings of sugar-sweetened beverages, and more hours of moderate-to-vigorous activity. But it wasn’t clear from this study whether yoga motivates people to practice better health habits or whether people with healthier habits are more likely to do yoga. In another study, however, in which previously inactive people were randomly assigned to participate or not participate in 10 weeks of yoga classes, those who participated in yoga increased their total physical activity. 
• Quitting Smoking . Programs that include yoga have been evaluated to see whether they help people quit smoking. In most studies of this type, yoga reduced cigarette cravings and the number of cigarettes smoked. Findings suggest that yoga may be a helpful addition to smoking cessation programs. 
• Weight Control . In studies of yoga in people who were overweight or obese, practicing yoga has been associated with a reduction in body mass index. An NCCIH-supported comparison of different yoga-based programs for weight control showed that the most helpful programs had longer and more frequent yoga sessions, a longer duration of the overall program, a yoga-based dietary component, a residential component (such as a full weekend to start the program), inclusion of a larger number of elements of yoga, and home practice.

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Yoga may help relieve low-back pain and neck pain, but it has not been shown to be helpful for some other painful conditions such as headache, arthritis, fibromyalgia, or carpal tunnel syndrome.

• In 2017, the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) evaluated non-pharmacologic therapies, including complementary health approaches, and issued  revised recommendations  for the management of fibromyalgia. The strength of these recommendation is “based on the balance between desirable and undesirable effects (considering values and preferences), confidence in the magnitude of effects, and resource use. A strong recommendation implies that, if presented with the evidence, all or almost all informed persons would make the recommendation for or against the therapy, while a weak recommendation would imply that most people would, although a substantial minority would not.” Based on the evaluation of acupuncture, meditative movement practices (e.g., tai chi, qi gong, and yoga), and mindfulness-based stress reduction, the recommendation for each was weak for use of the therapy.
• A  2015 Cochrane review  of 61 trials involving 4,234 predominantly female participants with fibromyalgia concluded that the effectiveness of biofeedback, mindfulness, movement therapies (e.g., yoga), and relaxation techniques remains unclear as the quality of evidence was low or very low.
• A  2018 report  by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality evaluated 8 trials of yoga for low-back pain (involving 1,466 total participants) and found that yoga improved pain and function both in the short term (1 to 6 months) and intermediate term (6 to 12 months). The effects of yoga were similar to those of exercise. 
• A  2017 Cochrane review  of 12 trials involving 1,080 participants found low- to moderate-certainty evidence that yoga compared to non-exercise controls results in small to moderate improvements in back-related function at 3 and 6 months. Yoga may also be slightly more effective for pain at 3 and 6 months, however the effect size did not meet predefined levels of minimum clinical importance.
• A  2017 review  of 3 studies (involving 188 total participants) found that yoga had short-term benefits for both the intensity of neck pain and disability related to neck pain.
• A  2015 attempt  to review the research on this topic found only one study with 72 participants that could be evaluated. That study had favorable results, with decreases in headache intensity and frequency.
• A  2018 meta-analysis  of 13 clinical trials involving 1557 patients with knee osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis found that regular yoga training may be useful in reducing knee arthritic symptoms, promoting physical function, and general wellbeing in arthritic patients.
• A  2017 review  of two studies found some beneficial effect on pain, but due to the high risk of bias in both studies, the reviewers gave a weak recommendation for yoga in rheumatoid arthritis. Yoga incorporates several elements of exercise that may be beneficial for arthritis, including activities that may help improve strength and flexibility.

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• Cancer . Quite a few studies have been done on yoga for people with cancer, especially on women with breast cancer. These studies have produced some evidence that yoga can help improve quality of life and reduce fatigue and sleep disturbances. Other forms of exercise may have similar benefits. 
• Multiple Sclerosis . A small amount of research in people with multiple sclerosis found that yoga has short-term benefits on fatigue and mood, but it doesn’t affect muscle function, reasoning ability, or quality of life. The effects of yoga on fatigue are similar to those of other kinds of exercise. 
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) . Studies in people with COPD have shown that yoga may improve physical ability (such as the capacity to walk a certain distance in a specific length of time), lung function, and quality of life. 
• Asthma . Studies of yoga in people with asthma have shown that it probably leads to small improvements in symptoms and quality of life.

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• Anxiety or Depression . Yoga may be helpful for anxiety or depressive symptoms associated with difficult life situations. However, the research on yoga for anxiety disorders, clinical depression, or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), although mildly positive, is still very preliminary. 
• Cardiovascular Risk Factors . Stress and a sedentary lifestyle increase people’s risk of cardiovascular disease. Because yoga involves physical activity and may help reduce stress, it might help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, not much research has been done on this topic. Some studies have suggested that yoga may improve some risk factors, such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels, but the findings aren’t definitive. 
• Diabetes . Some research has suggested that participating in yoga programs is associated with better blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes, at least on a short-term basis. 
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) . Some research has suggested that yoga may help to decrease IBS symptoms and severity, but the findings aren’t strong enough for definite conclusions to be reached. 
• Menopause Symptoms . Growing research indicates that yoga may help to reduce some menopause symptoms, and it’s at least as effective for menopause symptoms as other types of exercise. 
• Sleep Problems . Some research has indicated that practicing yoga may improve sleep in a variety of groups of people, including people with cancer, older adults, people with arthritis, pregnant women, and women with menopause symptoms.

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Yoga is generally considered a safe form of physical activity for healthy people when it’s done properly, under the guidance of a qualified instructor. But it’s possible to get hurt practicing yoga—just as when participating in other physical activities.

The most common injuries associated with yoga are sprains and strains. Serious injuries are rare. The risk of injury associated with yoga is lower than that for higher impact sports activities.

Older adults, women who are pregnant, and those who have health conditions should discuss their needs with their health care providers and yoga instructor. They may need to modify or avoid some yoga poses and practices.

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• Agarwal RP, Maroko-Afek A.  Yoga into cancer care: a review of  the evidence-based research .  International Journal of Yoga . 2018;11(1):3-29. 
• American Academy of Pediatrics. Permission To Unplug: The Health Benefits of Yoga for Kids. Healthychildren.org website.  https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/emotional-wellness/Pages/Permission-to-Unplug-The-Health-Benefits-of-Yoga-for-Kids.aspx  
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.  Committee opinion no. 650: physical activity and exercise during pregnancy and the postpartum period . Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2015;126(6):e135-142.   
• Babbar S, Shyken J.  Yoga in pregnancy .  Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology . 2016;59(3):600-612. 
• Black LI, Barnes PM, Clarke TC, Stussman BJ, Nahin RL.  Use of yoga, meditation, and chiropractors among U.S. children aged 4–17 years. NCHS Data Brief, no 324 . Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2018.  
• Bridges L, Sharma M.  The efficacy of yoga as a form of treatment for depression .  Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine . 2017;22(4):1017-1028. 
• Chugh-Gupta N, Baldassarre FG, Vrkljan BH.  A systematic review of yoga for state anxiety: Considerations for occupational therapy .  Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy . 2013;80(3):150-170. 
• Clarke TC, Barnes PM, Black LI, Stussman BJ, Nahin RL.  Use of yoga, meditation, and chiropractors among U.S. adults aged 18 and older. NCHS Data Brief, no 325 . Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2018. 
• Cramer H, Anheyer D, Lauche R, et al.  A systematic review of yoga for major depressive disorder .  Journal of Affective Disorders . 2017;213:70-77. 
• Cramer H, Anheyer D, Saha FJ, et al.  Yoga for posttraumatic stress disorder – a systematic review and meta-analysis .  BMC Psychiatry . 2018;18:72. 
• Cramer H, Krucoff C, Dobos G.  Adverse events associated with yoga: a systematic review of published case reports and case series .  PloS One . 2013;8(10):e75515. 
• Cramer H, Lauche R, Anheyer D, et al.  Yoga for anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials .  Depression and Anxiety . 2018;35(9):830-843. 
• Cramer H, Lauche R, Azizi H, et al.  Yoga for multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis .  PLoS One . 2014;9(11):e112414. 
• Cramer H, Lauche R, Klose P, et al.  Yoga for improving health-related quality of life, mental health and cancer-related symptoms in women diagnosed with breast cancer . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2017;(1):CD010802. 
• Cramer H, Lauche R, Langhorst J, et al.  Yoga for rheumatic diseases: a systematic review .  Rheumatology . 2013;52(11):2025-2030. 
• Cramer H, Ostermann T, Dobos G.  Injuries and other adverse events associated with yoga practice: a systematic review of epidemiological studies .  Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport . 2018;21(2):147-154. 
• Cramer H, Peng W, Lauche R.  Yoga for menopausal symptoms—a systematic review and meta-analysis .  Maturitas . 2018;109:13-25. 
• Cramer H, Ward L, Saper R, et al.  The safety of yoga: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials .  American Journal of Epidemiology . 2015;182(4):281-293. 
• Dai C-L, Sharma M.  Between inhale and exhale: yoga as an intervention in smoking cessation .  Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine . 2014;19(2):144-149. 
• Domingues RB.  Modern postural yoga as a mental health promoting tool: a systematic review .  Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice . 2018;31:248-255. 
• Hartley L, Dyakova M, Holmes J, et al.  Yoga for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2014;(5):CD010072. 
• Kelley GA, Kelley KS.  Meditative movement therapies and healthrelated quality-of-life in adults: a systematic review of meta-analyses .  PloS One . 2015;10(6):e0129181. 
• Kim S-D.  Effects of yoga exercises for headaches: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials .  Journal of Physical Therapy Science . 2015;27(7):2377-2380. 
• Li C, Liu Y, Ji Y, et al.  Efficacy of yoga training in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis .  Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice . 2018;30:33-37. 
• Li Y, Li S, Jiang J, et al.  Effects of yoga on patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain. A PRISMA systematic review and meta-analysis .  Medicine . 2019;98(8):e14649. 
• Lipton L.  Using yoga to treat disease: an evidence-based review .  Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants . 2008;21(2):34-36, 38, 41. 
• Mooventhan A, Nivethitha L.  Evidence based effects of yoga practice on various health related problems of elderly people: a review .  Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies . 2017;21(4):1028-1032. 
• Ng Q-X, Venkatanarayanan N, Loke W, et al.  A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of yoga-based interventions for maternal depression during pregnancy .  Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice . 2019;34:8-12. 
• Qaseem A, Wilt TJ, McLean RM, et al.  Noninvasive treatments for acute, subacute, and chronic low back pain: a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians .  Annals of Internal Medicine . 2017;166(7):514-530. 
• Rioux JG, Ritenbaugh C.  Narrative review of yoga intervention clinical trials including weight-related outcomes .  Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine . 2013;19(3):32-46. 
• Schumann D, Anheyer D, Lauche R, et al.  Effect of yoga in the therapy of irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review .  Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology . 2016;14(12):1720-1731. 
• Sharma M.  Yoga as an alternative and complementary approach for stress management: a systematic review .  Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine . 2014;19(1):59-67. 
• Skelly AC, Chou R, Dettori JR, et al.  Noninvasive Nonpharmacological Treatment for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review . Comparative Effectiveness Review no. 209. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2018. AHRQ publication no. 18-EHC013-EF. 
• Stussman BJ, Black LI, Barnes PM, Clarke TC, Nahin RL.  Wellness-related use of common complementary health approaches among adults: United States, 2012 . National health statistics reports; no 85. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2015. 
• Swain TA, McGwin G.  Yoga-related injuries in the United States from 2001 to 2014 .  Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine . 2016;4(11):2325967116671703.  
• Thind H, Lantini R, Balletto BL, et al.  The effects of yoga among adults with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis .  Preventive Medicine . 2017;105:116-126. 
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans . Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2018. Accessed on October 17, 2019.
• Villemure C, Čeko M, Cotton VA, Bushnell MC.  Neuroprotective effects of yoga practice: age-, experience-, and frequency-dependent plasticity .  Frontiers in Human Neuroscience . 2015;9:281.
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NCCIH Clinical Digest is a service of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, DHHS. NCCIH Clinical Digest, a monthly e-newsletter, offers evidence-based information on complementary health approaches, including scientific literature searches, summaries of NCCIH-funded research, fact sheets for patients, and more.

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New research busts the myth that crossbred 'designer dogs' are healthier than pedigrees

The Conversation

Topic: Dogs

Are designer dog mixes actually healthier than their purebred cousins? ( Unsplash: KaLisa Veer )

Labradoodles, puggles, dorgis, cavoodles, cavapoos: whatever you call them, there’s no escaping the explosion of designer crossbreeds parading along our streets and through our dog parks these days.

People have flocked to these hybrid dogs as the health problems associated with pedigree breeds became more widely known. As the theory goes, crossbreed designer dogs are more genetically diverse, so are less likely to suffer the health issues plaguing purebreds.

But are these designer mixes actually healthier than their purebred cousins? This was the question researchers from the United Kingdom’s Royal Veterinary College set out to answer in a new paper published earlier this week .

The study focused on three common poodle crossbreeds: cockapoos, labradoodles and cavapoos. It found they were no more or less healthy than their pure-breed counterparts. The researchers hope the findings will help dog owners make more informed, evidence-based decisions when selecting their next furry friend.

Designer crosbreeds

Most dogs alive today were not bred under human control. Regardless, humans have created more than 400 modern dog breeds in around 200 years, each with their own looks and temperaments.

Some popular dog breeds, such as the golden retriever, have mixed-breed origin stories . However, many are "pedigree dogs" bred from a limited gene pool.

Advocates for purebred dogs say they have more predictable health, behaviour and appearance. And many pedigree registers no longer permit the inclusion of crossbreed dogs.

The poodle-cross dogs and comparable founder-breed dogs shared health outcomes most of the time. ( Unsplash: Janosch Diggelmann )

Over time, however, this lack of genetic diversity among purebreds has led to extreme body types and serious welfare problems for many dogs.

To overcome these issues, some breeders have turned to "out-crossing": deliberately mating two dogs from different breeds. The goal is to dilute inherited physical or behaviour problems, producing healthier puppies. The aspiration being that the offspring will prove more robust than their parents, also known as " hybrid vigour " .

This has led to a rise in "designer crossbreeds". In particular, poodles have been crossed with other breeds, such as:

• the cavalier King Charles spaniel-cross, known as the cavoodle in Australia and cavapoo in the United Kingdom
• the cocker spaniel-cross, known as the spoodle in Australia and cockapoo in the UK
• The labrador retriever-cross, known as the labradoodle. This mix was originally bred by an Australian , to create a non-allergenic guide dog

Oodles of health issues?

The research from the Royal Veterinary College involved a survey of about 9,400 people.

Some owned a cross-bred dog — either a cockapoo (spoodle), cavapoo (cavoodle) or labradoodle. Others owned one of their purebred "progenitor" or founder breeds — either a cavalier King Charles spaniel, cocker spaniel, labrador retriever or poodle. All dogs were aged under five years.

The authors tested the assumption that designer crossbreeds have less chance of suffering common disorders compared to their founder breeds.

They compared odds for the 57 most common health disorders across the three designer crossbreeds with each of their founding (progenitor) breeds. In all, 342 comparisons were made.

The research raises important questions about our furry friends and where they come from. ( Unsplash: Jude Wilson )

Common health issues included eye and ear infections, diarrhoea, and cruciate ligament rupture.

And the results? The poodle-cross dogs and comparable founder-breed dogs shared health outcomes 87 per cent of the time.

Crossbreeds were more likely to experience a small number of disorders (7 per cent). But they were less likely to experience a small number (6 per cent) of other disorders.

Overall, there was no compelling evidence in these poodle crossbreeds of "hybrid vigour". There was also no evidence purebreds were significantly healthier than the designer crossbreed dogs.

What does this all mean?

The authors concluded that, given their results, prospective dog owners wondering which dog to buy should consider other factors such as breeding conditions, temperament and the health of a puppy’s parents.

What ultimately controls if dogs are healthy, long-lived and happy is us. ( Unsplash: FLOUFFY )

The study focused only on young adult dogs. Crossbreeding may bring health benefits that don’t emerge until later in life. So a study that repeats these questions when the dogs are seniors would help us understand how designer crossbreeds age, and identify risk factors so we can help them age well.

Importantly, the study only looked at three types of crossbreeds, all involving poodles. Other designer crossbreeds may experience better health than their purebred cousins.

For example, flat-faced dogs such as pugs and French bulldogs are likely to experience breathlessness and skin and eye problems. Crossing these breeds with other dogs would reintroduce a proper muzzle to their face, bringing health and welfare advantages .

Who could dogs be?

All this raises important questions. Where do the animals in our lives come from? How are they bred, and is this information transparent ? Are we OK with current breeding practices? And if not, what must change?

It stands to reason that, when searching for the perfect canine companion, we want one that will be healthy, long-lived, and happy to live with us.

These attributes are good for the dog. They are also good for their people. A healthy dog means fewer vet bills. Longer-lived equals more time shared together, and living happily with us translates to less stress, and a better quality of life for everyone in the home.

So how do we find that dog?

Some European countries mandate that dogs must meet strict physical, genetic and behaviour requirements before being registered and used for breeding. This requires a nationally consistent licensing regime and well-resourced enforcement — both of which are lacking in Australia .

What ultimately controls if dogs are healthy, long-lived and happy is us. Breeders decide which dogs to mate. Dog lovers decide which puppy to buy. And when we vote, we help decide how governments regulate the breeding industry.

For the sake of our canine friends, I hope we choose well.

Dr Mia Cobb is a research fellow with the Animal Welfare Science Centre at the University of Melbourne. This piece first appeared on The Conversation .

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Research: Consumers Spend Loyalty Points and Cash Differently

• So Yeon Chun,
• Freddy Lim,
• Ville Satopää

Your loyalty strategy needs to consider four ways people value points.

Do consumers treat loyalty points the same way that they treat traditional money? And, how do they choose to spend one versus the other?  The authors of this article present research findings from their analysis of  data describing over 29,000 unique loyalty points earning and spending transactions made during two recent years by 500 airline loyalty program consumers.  They found that points users fell into four distinct categories: 1) Money advocates, who prefer cash over points, even when their value is identical in terms of purchasing power; 2)  Currency impartialists, who regard points and cash interchangeably, valuing them equally based on their financial worth; 3) Point gamers, who actively seek out the most advantageous point redemption opportunities, opting to spend points particularly when their value significantly surpasses that of cash; and 4) Point lovers, who value points more than money even if their purchase power is the same or lower. This article explores the strategic implications of these findings for companies that manage loyalty programs.

In the years since The Economist  spotlighted the astonishing scale of loyalty points — particularly frequent-flyer miles — as a potential global currency rivaling traditional money in 2005, usage has grown rapidly in size and scope. For example, the number of flight redemptions at Southwest Airlines doubled from 5.4 million in 2013 (representing 9.5% of revenue passenger miles) to 10.9 million in 2023 (representing 16.3% of revenue passenger miles).

• SC So Yeon Chun is an Associate Professor of Technology & Operations Management at INSEAD, a  global business school with campuses in Abu Dhabi, France, and Singapore.
• FL Freddy Lim is an Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Analytics at the National University of Singapore, School of Computing in Singapore
• VS Ville Satopää is an Associate Professor of Technology and Operations Management at INSEAD, a  global business school with campuses in Abu Dhabi, France, and Singapore.

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About half of TikTok users under 30 say they use it to keep up with politics, news

The Pew-Knight Initiative supports new research on how Americans absorb civic information, form beliefs and identities, and engage in their communities.

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. Knight Foundation is a social investor committed to supporting informed and engaged communities. Learn more >

TikTok has been so popular among young Americans that presidential campaigns are using it for voter outreach. And some young adults are using TikTok to keep up with politics or get news, a March Pew Research Center survey shows.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand age differences in TikTok users’ views and experiences on the platform. The questions are drawn from a broader survey exploring the views and experiences of TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram users. For this analysis, we surveyed 10,287 adult internet users in the United States from March 18 to 24, 2024.

Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way, nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey was weighted by combining the sample of internet users with data from ATP members who do not use the internet and weighting the combined dataset to be representative of all U.S. adults by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. This analysis is based on those who use TikTok. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and the survey methodology .

This is a Pew Research Center analysis from the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Find related reports online at https://www.pewresearch.org/pew-knight/ .

Our survey explored various reasons people might use TikTok and other social media platforms. Young TikTok users stand out from their older peers on several of these reasons, including:

Keeping up with politics or political issues. For 48% of TikTok users ages 18 to 29, this is a major or minor reason why they’re on the platform.

By comparison, 36% of those ages 30 to 49 and even smaller shares of older users say the same:

• 22% of those 50 to 64
• 24% of those 65 and older

Getting news. We also asked TikTok users if getting news in general is a reason they use the platform – regardless of whether that’s political news or another topic entirely. About half of those under 30 say getting news is a major or minor reason they use TikTok.

That compares with 41% of TikTok users ages 30 to 49 who say getting news is a reason they’re on it. The shares of older users saying so are even smaller:

• 29% of those 50 to 64
• 23% of those 65 and older

TikTok has increasingly become a destination for news, bucking trends on other social media sites. A 2023 Center study showed more Americans – and especially young Americans – regularly get news on the platform compared with a few years ago. 

For more on what motivates TikTok use – like entertainment, which is a major draw for most TikTok users – read our deep dive into why and how people use the platform .

What people see and share on TikTok

Seeing political content

Nearly half of all TikTok users (45%) say they see at least some content about politics or political issues on the platform. That includes 6% of users who say political content is all or most of what they see.

Half of users under 30 say they see at least some political content on TikTok. That’s higher than the 39% of those 50 and older who say the same. However, the shares of 18- to 29-year-old users and 30- to 49-year-old users who say this are statistically similar.

Sharing political content

As on other platforms we’ve studied , far smaller shares post about politics than see political content on TikTok. About one-in-ten users ages 18 to 29 (7%), 30 to 49 (8%) and 50 to 64 (8%) post at least some political content there. That compares with just 2% of TikTok users 65 and older.

But many users – 63% – post nothing at all.

Only 36% of TikTok users say they ever post or share on the platform. Users ages 30 to 49 are most likely to say this, at 44%. That compares with 37% of those 18 to 29, 26% of those 50 to 64 and 15% of those 65 and older.

Seeing news-related content

Regardless of whether TikTok users say getting news is a reason they’re there, most see humor and opinions about news on the platform:

• 84% say they ever see funny posts that reference current events on TikTok
• 80% ever see people expressing opinions about current events
• 57% ever see news articles posted, reposted, linked or screenshotted
• 55% ever see information about a breaking news event as it’s happening

Users under 50 are more likely than older users to say they ever see each of these.

And TikTok users under 30 stand out further in seeing opinions about current events and information about breaking news. They are more likely than any other age group to ever see these two kinds of content.

TikTok and democracy

Debates around TikTok’s impact on the political environment in the United States – including for young voters specifically – are squarely in the national spotlight. We wanted to understand: Do TikTok users think the platform impacts democracy, and how?

Overall, TikTok users are roughly twice as likely to think it’s mostly good for American democracy as they are to think it’s mostly bad (33% vs. 17%). But the largest share of users (49%) think it has no impact on democracy.

TikTok users under 30 are more positive, however – 45% of this group say it’s mostly good for democracy. That compares with:

• 30% of users ages 30 to 49
• 23% of users 50 to 64
• 15% of users 65 and older

Even among users under 30, 39% say the platform has no impact on democracy. That share increases to 66% among users 65 and older.

The March survey found only minor differences by political party among TikTok users in views of its impact on democracy. Still, as lawmakers attempt to ban TikTok over national security concerns , other Center research has found that views of banning the platform have been sharply divided by political party among the general public.

To learn more about how Americans view and experience TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram, read these companion reports:

How Americans Navigate Politics on TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram

How americans get news on tiktok, x, facebook and instagram.

These Pew Research Center reports and this analysis are from the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and the survey methodology .

• News Media Trends
• Politics Online
• Social Media & the News

Colleen McClain is a senior researcher focusing on internet and technology research at Pew Research Center .

How U.S. Adults Use TikTok

6 facts about americans and tiktok, whatsapp and facebook dominate the social media landscape in middle-income nations, most popular.

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Research Trends in the Application of Yoga to Human Health: A Data Science Approach

Chaitra gururaja.

1 Department of Music, Auburn University Auburn, Alabama, USA

D Rangaprakash

2 Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA

3 Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

4 Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Gopikrishna Deshpande

5 AU MRI Research Center, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA

6 Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA

7 Alabama Advanced Imaging Consortium, University of Alabama Birmingham, Alabama, USA

8 Center for Health Ecology and Equity Research, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA

9 Center for Neuroscience, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA

10 School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China

11 Key Laboratory for Learning and Cognition, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China

12 Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.

Yoga is an integrative mind-body system of wellbeing developed in India since at least three millennia. Yoga has gained considerable attention in recent decades, partly driven by recent research and evidence about its effectiveness. In this work, we extracted research trends on the effects of Yoga on human health from the US National Library of Medicine’s PubMed database (peer-reviewed journal papers). We found that Yoga research spans all organ systems and system-wide issues such as pain and cancer. Research on the nervous system far outpaces other systems, which is expected because of the effects of breathing and exercise on stress reduction, which has been a major application of Yoga. The next cluster of impact concerns the musculoskeletal system and pain (both related to the exercise [asana] aspects of Yoga), as well as cardiovascular/endocrine (also related to stress) and cancer. Stress and mental health, pain, diabetes, and cancer are health issues for which a permanent cure is not available in a majority of cases in modern medicine, although alleviating treatments are available. This has probably fueled interest in complementary approaches such as Yoga for these health issues. Research timeline shows that Yoga-related research largely expanded only after the 2000s. There was a specific uptick after 2004. Similar trends are seen if we look at just clinical trials or randomized control trials (RCTs) or systematic reviews. The percentage of trials (Clinical and RCT) among published literature is around 10–15 % This is comparable to other fields that gained traction around 2000s (e.g. non-invasive brain stimulation). Geographical distribution shows that 37% of all Yoga related research output originates in the USA, 19% from India, 13% from Europe and 31% from the rest of the world. Therefore, the interest is widespread and global. At least the uptick in Yoga-related research in the US post-2000s can be attributed to a substantial jump in funding between 1998 and 2005 from US National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). We can only surmise that research in this field reached a critical mass in late-1990s, which infused more money into this field, generating more research and creating a positive feedback loop that has sustained the growth so far. We propose that in order to sustain or even accelerate future research in the area, rigor and reproducibility must be enhanced in addition to performing more RCT and clinical trials (increasing % of trials to 20–25% from 10–15%). The fruits of research in the field has to reach the common man in terms of evidence-based solutions to health issues. Without this, accelerated funding in democracies such as India and the USA will not be realizable.

I. INTRODUCTION

Yoga is an integrative mind-body system of wellbeing invented in India at least three millennia ago [ 1 ]. This system has been preserved and advanced over time. In recent decades, Yoga has gained considerable attention outside India, especially in the west. This upsurge has been partly driven by recent research and evidence about the effectiveness of Yoga and its benefits to human health. For instance, Yoga has been found beneficial to reduce stress [ 2 ], enhance concentration [ 3 ], alleviate symptoms of asthma [ 4 ], provide palliative treatment to those with cancer [ 5 ], handle psychiatric disorders [ 6 ] [ 7 ], and more [ 8 ] [ 9 ]. In addition to globalization of Yoga through the efforts of Yoga experts and proponents (such as Yoga gurus) [ 10 ], we believe that scientific evidence has had a considerable contribution to bringing the benefits of Yoga to almost every corner of the world. Scientific evidence has considerably advanced our mechanistic understanding of the effects of Yoga on various facets of our body functioning. There is a need to understand the chronology of progression of Yoga research, as well as which physiological mechanisms and diseases have been most studied under Yoga. This will likely identify factors that have driven scientific research on Yoga and thus provide insights about how to sustain gains made so far and accelerate future research in the field. This study presents a numerical survey of the number of peer-reviewed journal papers published on Yoga in the past 70+ years. Specific emphasis is laid on the number of papers published since 2000, since when research interest in Yoga has been exponentially increasing. We also present how research has progressed in studying the effects of Yoga on different organ systems. It is notable that we only present trends in the number of journal publications and not the contents of those papers.

II. METHODS

We confined our search to the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s PubMed database ( https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ). PubMed indexes papers from verified journals and publishers that adhere to minimum peer-review standards and is the largest database for biomedical research. Hence, PubMed was chosen, and we confined the search to only peer-reviewed journal publications. We extracted research trends on the effects of Yoga on human health from PubMed, which were available on the left panel under “ results by year ”, after searching the database with a search string.

We first explored all Yoga-related journal papers published within various organ systems and system wide domains. The following systems were considered: nervous, digestive, cardiovascular, immune, musculoskeletal, respiratory, urinary, reproductive, skin/integumentary and endocrine. Additionally, cancer and pain were considered as system-wide domains. PubMed shows papers with search terms present anywhere within a paper, in accordance with the logical search string used. The search terms used in PubMed were as follows (not case sensitive):

• Nervous: (Yoga) AND ((brain) OR (nervous) OR (psychiatric) OR (neurological) OR (neuroscience) OR (psychology) OR (mental))
• Digestive: (Yoga) AND ((digestive) OR (stomach) OR (intestine) OR (liver))
• Cardiovascular: (Yoga) AND ((heart) OR (cardiovascular))
• Immune: (Yoga) AND ((immune) OR (immunity) OR (lymphatic))
• Musculoskeletal: (Yoga) AND ((Musculoskeletal) OR (bone) OR (muscle) OR (muscular) OR (balance))
• Respiratory: (Yoga) AND ((pulmonary) OR (lung) OR (respiratory))
• Urinary: (Yoga) AND ((urologic) OR (kidney) OR (renal) OR (urinary))
• Reproductive: (Yoga) AND ((reproductive) OR (ovary) OR (menopause) OR (testes) OR (sexual))
• Skin: (Yoga) AND (skin)
• Endocrine: (Yoga) AND ((diabetes) OR (endocrine) OR (metabolic))
• Cancer: (Yoga) AND (cancer)
• Pain: (Yoga) AND (pain)

Next, we explored a subset of these papers that were only clinical trials. This was done by selecting the “ clinical trial ” and “ randomized controlled trial ” options under “article type” in the left panel in PubMed. After that, we explored review papers by selecting “review ” and “systematic review ” options. Furthermore, the geographical distribution of all published studies was examined as follows:

• India: (Yoga) AND (India[Affiliation])

(Here, each of the 50 states was used in place of the <state> placeholder, which is not mentioned here for brevity).

(Here, each country in Europe was used in place of the <country> placeholder, which is not mentioned here for brevity).

In order to understand the reason for increased research throughput on Yoga (at least in part), we examined funding received towards Yoga-related research by the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) (similar data was not available for other funding agencies outside USA). This was examined through published funding statistics from the NIH ( https://www.nccih.nih.gov/about/budget/nccih-funding-appropriations-history ).

In all cases, data representing the number of papers published per year was downloaded as a spreadsheet from the provided link under “results by year” on the left panel. These data were aggregated, plotted and interpreted.

III. RESULTS

Results are presented for papers published across all time, as well as separately for papers published since the year 2000. We found that Yoga research spans all organ systems and system-wide issues such as pain and cancer ( Figures 1a , ​ ,1b). 1b ). Research on the nervous system far outpaces other systems. The next cluster of impact concerns the musculoskeletal system and pain (both related to the exercise [asana] aspects of Yoga), as well as cardiovascular/endocrine systems (also related to stress) and cancer.

Research trends in Yoga; the graphs show papers published per year for various cases.

Looking at the left column of figures ( Figures 1a , ​ ,1c, 1c , ​ ,1e), 1e ), the research timeline clearly shows that Yoga-related research largely expanded only after the 2000s. Hence, a closer look at years 2000–2019 has been presented in Figures 1b , ​ ,1d 1d and ​ and1e. 1e . Notably, there is a specific uptick after year 2004. Similar trends are seen with clinical trials or randomized control trials (RCTs) ( Figures 1c , ​ ,1d) 1d ) and systematic reviews ( Figures 1e , ​ ,1f). 1f ). The percentage of trials (Clinical and RCT) among published literature is around 10–15 %.

Geographical distribution shows that 37% of all Yoga related research output originates in the USA, 19% from India, 13% from Europe and 31% from the rest of the world ( Figure 2a ). Therefore, the interest is widespread and global. NCCIH funding pattern ( Figure 2b ) shows substantial jump in funding between 1998 and 2005, which consolidated during years after 2005.

Geographical distribution of Yoga research and growth in funding from the US government for Yoga-related research.

IV. DISCUSSION

The aim of this study was to investigate trends in Yoga-related peer-reviewed research, which was achieved by examining PubMed for the number of published Yoga-related papers. Overall, we observed that Yoga-related research began in the 1950s ( Figure 1a ), but truly accelerated only after 2000 ( Figure 1b ). The stagnation prior to year 2000 is evident from the fact that 25 papers were published in 1973 and 31 papers were published in 1999 (literally no growth). However, while only 40 papers were published in the year 2003, nearly a 15-fold increase occurred during 2003–2019 with 580 papers published in 2019. Hence, the primary conclusion of our study is that Yoga-related research accelerated exponentially from 2004 onward.

Looking closer at Yoga-related research on different organ systems and domains, it is apparent that ( Figure 1b ) research on the nervous system far outpaces other systems. This is expected because of the effects of breathing and exercise on stress reduction, which has been a major application of Yoga. Other domains closely behind are endocrine (diabetes), cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and cancer. The musculoskeletal system (and pain) are related to the exercise (asana) aspects of Yoga; the cardiovascular/endocrine systems and cancer are related to the effects of Yoga on stress. Stress, mental health, pain, diabetes, and cancer are health issues for which a permanent cure is not available in a substantial portion of cases in modern medicine, although alleviating treatments are available. This has plausibly fueled interest in complementary approaches such as Yoga for these health issues.

Next, looking at trials (Clinical and RCT) ( Figures 1c , ​ ,1d), 1d ), their percentage among all published literature is around 10–15% (compare Figure 1d against Figure 1b ). This is comparable to other fields that gained traction around 2000s [ 11 ] (e.g. non-invasive brain stimulation). Likewise, reviews account for about 30% of the literature (compare Figure 1f against Figure 1b ), which again is comparable to other fields [ 11 ]. Thus, the progression and advancement of Yoga-related research has been similar to other emerging fields in the biomedical sciences.

The uptick in Yoga-related research in the US post-2000s can be attributed to a substantial jump in funding between 1998 and 2005 by NCCIH ( Figure 2b ). We can only surmise that research in this field reached a critical mass in late-1990s, which infused more money into this field, generating more research. This created a positive feedback loop that has sustained the growth so far. Comparable funding data is not publicly available in India (or elsewhere). We propose that in order to sustain or even accelerate future research in the area, rigor and reproducibility must be enhanced in addition to performing more RCT and clinical trials (increasing % of trials to 20–25% from 10–15%). The fruits of research in the field has to reach the common man in terms of evidence-based solutions to health issues. Without this, accelerated funding in democracies such as India and the USA will not be realizable.

Disclosures : The authors report no competing interests.