By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on January 26, 2013

Practicing yoga may help relieve the symptoms of several types of mental disorders, according to a new review.

Researchers compiled the findings of 16 significant studies that examined the effects of yoga on mental illness.

The results conclude that yoga may offer positive effects for people with depression and sleep problems even if they dont take medication, as well as for individuals with schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who are taking medication.

No benefit was found, however, for people with eating or cognitive disorders.

Yoga research has suggested that the practice positively influences chemical messengers in the brain, inflammation in the body, and other biological factors in much the same way as antidepressants and psychotherapy, said study researcher Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, a professor of psychiatry and medicine at Duke University Medical Center.

In one study of 69 older adults with mild depression, weekly yoga sessions reduced depression scores by 40 percent at six months. A comparison group of adults who did not practice yoga, and a group that practiced a form of complementary medicine called Ayurveda, did not show changes in depression scores.

In another study, seven weeks of yoga improved sleep quality and reduced the need for sleep aids in 39 adults who were experiencing insomnia while undergoing chemotherapy. Individuals who did not take the yoga sessions (control group) showed no improvement in sleep.

If the promise of yoga on mental health was found in a drug, it would be the best selling medication world-wide, added Doraiswamy.

The studies in the review did have some limitations, however. Most of the studies that were focused on depression involved patients with mild depression, so its not clear if the results would be replicated for those with more severe forms of the disorder.

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Yoga Helps Relieve Depression, Sleep Problems

EAGLE-VAIL, Colorado On Thursday, certified yoga teacher Kristen Burns will be guiding a workshop to introduce students to Baptiste Power Yoga.

Revolution Power Yoga has just celebrated its one-year anniversary, and studio manager Mariah Schuette says RPY is still bringing the heat. She says this upcoming workshop will introduce students of all abilities to a life-changing power yoga practice.

The Intro To Baptiste Power Yoga workshop will be a great way for yogis in the valley to explore this invigorating and empowering practice, says Schuette. Not only will students be able to get to know the principles and foundations of Baptiste, but they will also have the opportunity to connect with the amazing community we have here.

This power yoga practice encompasses a methodology of strength, flexibility and mindfulness. The breath-to-movement flow offers a rigorous and structured practice, but allows students to explore creative variations and helpful modifications.

Certified yoga teacher Kristen Burns will be leading the workshop, and she says the two-hour intensive will be great way to break through barriers and make moves in your life.

Through this practice of meditation, yoga practice, and inquiry, we can get out of our heads, into our bodies and into our hearts, says Burns. Baptiste is about getting to your true core-your essence. The workshop will be a way to connect with others and open up to something new.

For more information visit revolutionpoweryoga.com or call 970-748-3176.

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Eagle-Vail class introduces students to Baptiste yoga

Anthony L. Komaroff Universal Uclick

DEAR DOCTOR K: I know yoga has a lot of physical benefits, but is it true yoga can help reduce stress aswell?

DEAR READER: Many people initially come to yoga to become physically fit, but they soon discover the psychological benefits. In addition to being great exercise, yoga is one of the best antidotes to the stress of modernliving.

The first person I ever knew who regularly practiced yoga was an intense and ambitious young doctor. Any conversation with him was short and difficult; he completed your sentences for you and interrupted you at will. He was very

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DEAR DOCTOR K: I know yoga has a lot of physical benefits, but is it true yoga can help reduce stress aswell?

DEAR READER: Many people initially come to yoga to become physically fit, but they soon discover the psychological benefits. In addition to being great exercise, yoga is one of the best antidotes to the stress of modernliving.

The first person I ever knew who regularly practiced yoga was an intense and ambitious young doctor. Any conversation with him was short and difficult; he completed your sentences for you and interrupted you at will. He was very smart and had a lot of valuable things to say, but that didnt mean you looked forward to talking withhim.

Then something odd happened. I had a conversation with him in which he didnt interrupt me. A few weeks later, I had another. What was going on? I learned from his wife that shed suggested, strongly, that he try yoga and he lovedit.

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Yoga can be antidote to stress - Tue, 29 Jan 2013 PST

Quick links to other pages on this site | Still can't find it? see Site Index Brad Nettles/StaffRachel Glowacki leads Melissa Brandts first-grade class in yoga exercises at Sullivans Island Elementary School.

Rachel Glowacki wears black yoga pants and a peaceful smile, poised to show 50 adults some basic yoga breaths and stretches. But before they start, she issues a note of caution.

For centuries, yoga has been integral to Hinduism, Buddhism and other world religions although the practice of yoga appears to originate before those faiths. Scholars are not certain about the precise origins of yoga, which predates written history.

Archaeologists have discovered stone carvings of figures in what appear to be yoga positions in the Indus Valley dating back 3,000 years or more.

The written term first appears in the oldest sacred Hindu texts, the Rig Veda, around 400 B.C. Buddha also stressed meditation and the use of physical postures.

Hindu monks brought yoga to the West in the late 1800s. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of health exercises.

In Sanskrit, the term means to join or yoke together. What is commonly referred to as yoga in the U.S. often is a system of breathing, stretching and exercise techniques used to unite the mind and body.

Today, there are more than 100 schools of yoga used throughout the world.

Sources: American Institute of Vedic Studies, American Yoga Association, Yoga Journal

Nothing incorporates a religion, says Glowacki, teacher and partner at Kids Yoga Journey.

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Does yoga violate religious freedoms in public schools? Local teachers say it doesn't have to

Washington, Jan 27:

Yoga the 5,000-year-old Indian meditative practice may have positive effects on major psychiatric disorders, including depression, schizophrenia and sleep problems, according to a review of over 100 studies.

A systematic review of the exercise on major clinical psychiatric disorders by Indian origin researchers found yoga has positive effects on mild depression and sleep complaints, even in the absence of drug treatments, and improves symptoms associated with schizophrenia and ADHD.

The review focusing on 16 high-quality controlled studies looked at the effects of yoga on depression, schizophrenia, ADHD, sleep complaints, eating disorders and cognition problems.

However, yoga has become such a cultural phenomenon that it has become difficult for physicians and patients to differentiate legitimate claims from hype, researchers said in a statement.

Our goal was to examine whether the evidence matched the promise, they wrote in the study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Researcher P. Murali Doraiswamy, professor of psychiatry and medicine at Duke University Medical Center, US, explained that the emerging scientific evidence in support of yoga on psychiatric disorders is highly promising and showed that it may not only help to improve symptoms, but also play ancillary role in the prevention of stress-related mental illnesses.

Biomarker studies

The review found evidence from biomarker studies showing that yoga influences key elements of the human body thought to play a role in mental health in similar ways to that of antidepressants and psychotherapy.

One study found that the exercise affects inflammation, neurotransmitters, oxidative stress, lipids, growth factors and second messengers.

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'Yoga may help in depression, sleep and psychiatric problems'