246 Health Benefits of Yoga
Want the facts before you step on the mat? I’ve analysed over 300 different medical studies on the ways in which yoga helps us – with our body and mind. I’ve was amazed to find that there are 246 known benefits of yoga, and I want to share them with you.
Want the facts before you step on the mat? I’ve analysed over 300 different medical studies on the ways in which yoga helps us – with our body and mind. I’ve was amazed to find that there are 246 known benefits of yoga, and I want to share them with you.
The science behind the health benefits of yoga
You can find all of the 300 case studies, medical journals and reports that we used to create this list on YogaMeds, where we have collected all the science behind the benefits of yoga, for the everyday yogi as well as for the treatment of a variety of health conditions and diseases.
Go to http://www.beginnersyogaguide.com/YogaMeds to find links to the studies we used, so that you can read them in depth. Alternatively, hover over these conditions to find information on the benefits of yoga for:
Alcoholism, Alzheimer's, Anxiety, Arthritis, Asthma, Back pain, Cancer, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Depression, Diabetes, Drug addiction, Eating disorders, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Headache/Migraine, Heart disease, High blood pressure, HIV/AIDS, IBS, Infertility, Insomnia, Memory loss, Menopause, Multiple sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Neck pain, Obesity, OCD, Parkinson's, PTSD, Schizophrenia, Sciatica, Smoking, and Stress.
246 health benefits of yoga
- Alleviates anger
- Alleviates belching
- Alleviates bloating
- Alleviates depression
- Alleviates fatigue
- Alleviates flatulence
- Alleviates obsessive compulsive disorder
- Alleviates symptoms
- Beneficial effects on physical function
- Beneficial effects on psychological symptoms
- Beneficial effects on somatic symptoms
- Better coping strategies
- Boosts immunity (buffers CD4+ T lymphocyte declines)
- Boosts vigour
- Changes care-givers perceptions of patients
- Changes in eating behaviour
- Controls systolic and diastolic blood pressure (when combined with a drug regime)
- Controls pulse rate (when combined with a drug regime)
- Controls body weight (when combined with a drug regime)
- Creating a positive state of mind
- Decline in diastolic blood pressure amongst those practicing at home
- Decrease in serum leptin levels
- Decreased HAQ disability index
- Decreased perception of depression
- Decreased perception of pain
- Decreases cortisol levels
- Decreases C-reactive protein
- Decreases criminal activities
- Decreases post-traumatic stress avoidance symptoms
- Decreases time to get to sleep
- Enhances emotional regulation
- Faster recovery from stress (even better in Shavasana than in chair and resting supine posture)
- Fewer disordered eating attitudes
- Fosters relaxation
- Greater emotional acceptance
- Higher levels of acceptance
- Higher levels of invigoration
- Improved balance
- Improved body awareness
- Improved EEG management
- Improved mood
- Improved seizure control
- Improved sleep quality
- Improved symptom management
- Improved upper and lower body flexibility
- Improvement for mild Alzheimer's sufferers in 'Activities of Daily Living' (ADL). Routine activities that well people do everyday without assistance: eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, walking and continence.
- Improvement in average forced vital capacity
- Improvement in Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire Revised (FIQR) score
- Improvement in PEFR, VC, FVC, FEV1, FEV/FEC %, MVV, ESR and absolute eosinophil count
- Improvements in Rheumatoid Arthritis disease parameters
- Improvement in quality of life amongst those practicing at home
- Improvements on the Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale
- Improvements on the Perceived Stress Scale
- Improvements on the Quality of Recovery Index
- Improvements on the Symptoms Checklist-90-R
- Improvements on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS)
- Improves ability to cope
- Improves balance
- Improves cardiovascular rhythm
- Improves cerebral blood flow
- Improves coping behaviour
- Improves daily functioning
- Improves emotional function/wellbeing
- Improves existential wellbeing
- Improves feelings of health and wellbeing
- Improves glycemic control
- Improves handgrip strength
- Improves hormone function
- Improves immune function
- Improves insulin sensitivity
- Improves memory
- Improves mental health
- Improves mood
- Improves mood during detox
- Improves nerve function
- Improves 'Now moments of engagement'
- Improves oxygen uptake
- Improves patient's adjustment to disease
- Improves physical fitness
- Improves physical function
- Improves postural stability
- Improves psychosocial adjustment to disease
- Improves pulmonary function
- Improves quality of life
- Improves quality of life during detox
- Improves RA symptoms and functioning
- Improves reproductive health
- Improves restedness
- Improves self-compassion
- Improves self-control
- Improves self-esteem
- Improves sexual desire
- Improves sleep onset latency (the time taken to transition from wakefulness to sleep)
- Improves sleep quality
- Improves social function
- Improves social wellbeing
- Improves spatial memory
- Improves spiritual wellbeing
- Improves verbal fluency
- Improves vitality
- Improves walking speed and endurance
- Improves well being
- Improves wellbeing
- Improves work performance
- Improving myocardial perfusion
- Increased perceived control
- Increased Sense of Coherence (SoC is a disposition to experience life as meaningful and manageable)
- Increase in exercise tolerance
- Increases ability to relax
- Increases body satisfaction
- Increases daily spiritual experiences
- Increases energy
- Increases flexibility
- Increases in physical activity
- Increases joy
- Increases mindfulness
- Increases pain tolerance
- Increases physiological recovery from alcohol cues
- Increases satisfaction and stability
- Increases sleep duration
- Increases sleep efficiency
- Increases spiritual experience
- Increases stress resilience
- Increases total sleep time
- Increases vitality
- Increases work attendance
- Induces relaxation
- Influences levels of melatonin on breast and prostate tumours
- Lower levels of pain
- Lowers blood glucose
- Lowers blood pressure
- Lowers cholesterol
- Lowers depression
- Lowers fear of recurrence
- Lowers mood disturbance
- Lowers rate of weight gain
- Lowers self-objectification
- Lowers tension
- Lowers triglycerides
- Maintains abstinence over time
- May aid in the management of CVD
- May improve clinical outcomes
- MBCT-TS and maintenance antidepressant treatment are both associated with enduring positive outcomes in terms of relapse or recurrence
- MBCT-TS and maintenance antidepressant treatment are both associated with enduring positive outcomes in terms of residual depressive symptoms
- Modest improvements in balance
- Modest improvements in functional mobility
- Modest improvements in lower-limb strength
- Modulates alcohol attentional bias (the tendency of our perception to be affected by our recurring thoughts)
- Modulates DNA damage in radiotherapy
- Pain acceptance
- Pronounced and significant improvements in perceived stress
- Reduced basal electrodermal (skin conductance level) activity.
- Reduced waist and hip circumference
- Reduces age-related deterioration in cardiovascular function
- Reduces alcohol consumption
- Reduces and can halt consumption of marijuana
- Reduces anger
- Reduces anxiety
- Reduces binge eating
- Reduces blood pressure
- Reduces BMI
- Reduces bronchoconstriction (EIB)
- Reduces cancer-related distress
- Reduces cancer-related symptoms
- Reduces catastrophic thinking
- Reduces catastrophizing
- Reduces cholesterol
- Reduces cigarette use
- Reduces cognitive disorganization
- Reduces confusion
- Reduces cravings
- Reduces diarrhea
- Reduces disability scores for rheumatoid factor levels
- Reduced drug requirements
- Reduces drug use
- Reduces drug use for those with PTSD
- Reduces effects of daily hassles
- Reduces emotional reactivity
- Reduces fatigue
- Reduces frequency of flushes
- Reduces functional disability
- Reduces gastrointestinal symptoms
- Reduces headache/migraine duration
- Reduces headache/migraine frequency
- Reduces headache/migraine intensity
- Reduces headache/migraine pain rating
- Reduces heart rate
- Reduces irritability
- Reduces medical symptoms
- Reduces medication intake
- Reduces mood disturbance
- Reduces neurotic symptoms
- Reduces pain
- Reduces pain frequency
- Reduces pain intensity
- Reduces pro-inflammatory cytokines
- Reduces psychological distress
- Reduces psychological symptoms
- Reduces PTSD symptoms
- Reduces risk factors for disesases inclduing cardio-respiratory diseases
- Reduces risk of alcohol and drug use
- Reduces salivary cortisol
- Reduces severity of symptoms
- Reduces stiffness
- Reduces stress symptoms
- Reduces stress which balances hormones
- Reduces stress which helps treat mild erectile dysfunction
- Reduces stress which improves sex life
- Reduced symptoms score
- Reduces urinary catecholamines (a response to stress)
- Reduces weekly number of asthma attacks
- Reduction in antihypertensive drug requirements
- Reduction in body mass index
- Reduction in obesity-related inflammation
- Reduction in psychological distress
- Reduction is seizure duration
- Reduction in stress hormone levels
- Regression of coronary lesions
- Renewed participation in an active life
- Significant decrease in seizure frequency
- Significant improvement in Cervical Range of Motion (CROM)
- Significant improvement in Disability of Arm, Shoulder and Hands (DASH) score
- Significant improvement in Neck Disability Index (NDI)
- Significant improvement in parasympathetic parameters
- Significant improvement in Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT) for Trigger Points
- Significant improvement in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)
- Significant improvement in Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
- Significant improvement in Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS)
- Significant improvements in pain
- Significant improvements in rigidity
- Significant improvements in tenderness
- Significant improvements in walking
- Significant increase in the pulmonary functions
- Significantly reduces blood pressure
- Stabilises the autonomic nervous system, towards parasympathetic dominance
- Stress reduction
- Substantial risk factor reduction
- Symptom changes including immediate tremor reduction
- Three-year maintenance of gains on the Hamilton and Beck anxiety scales
- Three-year maintenance of gains on the Hamilton and Beck depression scales
- Three-year maintenance of gains on the Hamilton panic score
- Three-year maintenance of gains on the number and severity of panic attacks
- Three-year maintenance of gains on the Mobility Index-Accompanied
- Three-year maintenance of gains on the Fear Survey
- Twenty percent improvement in in mean forced expiratory volume
- Weight loss
A note from us…
So, there you have it, the science is in. Even the geekiest yogis out there can’t ignore the benefits of yoga for lifestyle and the body.
Feeling inspired to start your yoga journey? Read our inspiring stories from yogis around the world who are sharing in the benefits of yoga every day. (Put in link to yoga stories)
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Lucy Edge
is a yoga advocate and writer with three yoga books to her name, including the beloved travel memoir Yoga School Dropout. She writes regularly for the national press, has authored over 150 guides to types of yoga and yoga
poses, discovered nearly 250 proven health benefits of yoga through her painstaking classification of 300 clinical studies, and collected more than 500 personal testimonials to the real life benefits of yoga. She is also
the creator of our yoga shop – YogaClicks.Store – handpicking yoga brands that are beautifully made by yogis committed to environmental and social sustainability.
