Yoga Therapy Gains Respect Among Doctors

According to an article in the News & Observer, yoga is gaining increasing respect among doctors. More than 1,000 studies have already been conducted to measure the health benefits derived from yoga therapy. Among the most recent is Duke University’s study on yoga as therapy for hot flashes, sleep deprivation and increase energy levels for postmenopausal women with early breast cancer. The study found significant improvement among the women who took yoga therapy classes compared to a group who did not.

The study is just one of many. Studies have found that yoga therapy may help people suffering from anxiety, hypertension, arthritis, chronic back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, stress, depression, diabetes and epilepsy.

Yoga’s legitimacy as a measurable means to increase positive health benefits has even been accepted by the National Institutes of Health, which now funds studies on yoga therapy and its affect on diseases.

Among the thousand studies on the effects of yoga therapy conducted all over the world, a sample of results includes studies on yoga for depression. Patients diagnosed with depression who used yoga therapy for depression experienced less anger, anxiety and neurotic symptoms according to researchers in California, Russia and Italy.

One of the reasons that yoga may have such wide-reaching benefits is that it helps relieve stress. According to Laura Porter, co-author of the Duke University study, yoga used as therapy dampens stress reactivity, both through the physical poses and the more cognitive aspects of the practice. Stress is a well recognized precursor of numerous health problems. By minimizing stress with yoga therapy, many of the health problems caused by stress naturally begin to heal.