A research team from the Boston University School of Medicine have discovered that yoga may be one of the best forms of exercise due to its beneficial effects on mood and anxiety.
The study - which was published online in the August issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine - followed two randomized groups over a period of 12 weeks. One group practiced hourly sessions of yoga three times a week, while the second group walked for the same amount of time.
Lead author Chris Streeter and his colleagues used magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging to scan the participants' brains before the study began. During the last week, they measured the brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels of both groups before and after their final exercise session.
They found that the people who had practiced yoga reported a significant reduction in anxiety and greater improvements in mood compared to those who had walked.
"Over time, positive changes in these reports were associated with climbing GABA levels," said Streeter.
The team believes that further study is needed to examine the relationship between yoga and mood, and that the exercise may be a useful therapeutic strategy to deal with some mental disorders.
