If you do one thing this week . . . open your mind to yoga

Can yoga help to boost mental health? It seems intuitive that the physical exercise, deep breathing, self-awareness and contemplation that yoga promotes should have a positive impact on mood, but what happens when you measure the effect?

One small study in Japan recently looked at the effects of regular yoga practice on stress levels (as measured by enzymes in saliva) and gathered data on how the participants felt.

What they found was that 90 minutes of practice involving asanas, pranayama and meditation one to two times a week over a month was linked with a reduction in stress and anxiety levels.

The findings, which were published this year in the International Journal of Yoga suggest that “yoga has both immediate as well as long-term effect on anxiety reduction”, write the authors.

“Thus yoga helps to improve mental health.”