- Anxiety and depression. A 2010 literaure review of the research on the use of yoga for treating depression said that preliminary research suggests that yoga may be effective in the management of depression. Both the exercise and the mindfulness meditation components may be helpful. However the review cautioned that "Although results from these trials are encouraging, they should be viewed as very preliminary because the trials, as a group, suffered from substantial methodological limitations."
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A 2010 Cochrane Review concludes that there is insufficient evidence to assess the effectiveness of meditative practices such as yoga in the management or improvement of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- Back pain. There is evidence that yoga may be effective in the management of chronic, but not acute, low back pain.
- Blood pressure. Although some evidence exists to suggest yoga might help people with high blood pressure, overall this evidence is too weak for any recommendation to be made, and little is known of the safety implications of such an approach.
- Cancer. Practice of yoga may improve quality-of-life measures in cancer patients. It is unclear what aspect(s) may be beneficial or what populations should be targeted. Other studies show improvements in how participants cope with symptoms from more physical conditions, like cancer. Learning breathing and relaxation techniques help patients manage pain, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and fatigue. The patients reported that their overall quality of life significantly improved in addition to mood, distress, sleep quality, and severity of cancer symptoms. In a study performed by Susan DiStasio, women with breast cancer stated that they experienced lower pain on the day they practiced yoga, and men with prostate cancer said their stress decreased through yoga. The positive effects of yoga can be soothing to survivors as well and help them to deal with post-cancer distress
Yoga for Health
January 15, 2014
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