Yoga and the Need of Its Integration in Modern Medicine

Yoga offers wide-ranging health benefits including relief from stress, anxiety, depression, and obsessive thoughts, as well as promoting better sleep and helping with post-traumatic stress disorder. Pranayama (breath control) alters autonomic responses by increasing vagal tone and decreasing sympathetic discharge, while yoga increases GABAergic activity for an anxiolytic effect. It reduces stress-induced cortisol release, hyperglycemia, seizure frequencies, and cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease, and aids poststroke rehabilitation. Yoga lowers blood pressure and heart rate, increases heart rate variability, reduces allostatic overload, improves lung vital capacity, musculoskeletal flexibility, and sustained muscle contraction. It serves as an adjunct to drug therapy for depression and anxiety and may be an alternative to psychoanalysis and cognitive behavior therapy.

Study at a glance

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Growing evidences of the health benefits of yoga are available in the literature. But physicians are not aware of it. METHODOLOGY: Databases like PubMed, PubMed Central, Google Scholar, and Scopus are searched for the articles on preventive, therapeutic, and rehabilitation potential of yoga. Scientific evidences available are analyzed and incorporated into the article. RESULT: Yoga provides relief from stress, anxiety, depression, and obsessive thoughts. It promotes better sleep. It relieves psychosomatic disorders. Yoga helps to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Pranayama appears to alter autonomic responses by breath-holding that increases vagal tone and decreases sympathetic discharge and causes relaxation. Yoga increases GABAergic activity that has an anxiolytic effect. Yoga reduces stress-induced cortisol release and reduces hyperglycemia. Yoga reduces seizure frequencies, prevents rapid cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease, and helps in poststroke rehabilitation. Reduction of blood pressure and heart rate are seen with yoga. Yoga increases heart rate variability (HRV) and reduces health consequences of allostatic overload. Pranayama improves the vital capacity of lungs. Yoga improves musculoskeletal flexibility and enhances the ability of sustained isometric muscle contraction. Yoga is proved to be a viable adjunct of drug therapy for depression and anxiety. It is a promising alternative to psychoanalysis and cognitive behavior therapy. Yoga prevents lifestyle disorders. CONCLUSION: Yoga is safe and affordable. Integration of yoga in modern medicine needs intensification because of its various health-promoting, disease-preventing, therapeutic, and rehabilitative effects.