3 surprising ways yoga can boost your health, backed by science

Supplement your fitness routine with a yoga class and improve your physical and mental health dramatically.

The ancient practise of yoga has become incredibly popular in today’s busy society, with over two million Aussies practising regularly. Devotees of downward dog and flying pigeon have long sworn by a regular commitment to spend time on the mat, finding emotional and physical benefits. But for outsiders it can be easy to dismiss this series of poses as little more than structured meditation.

For most people, the initial hook is that yoga can be a great mood booster. But once you commit to it, the benefits can roll into other parts of life. You’ll start to feel them in both body and mind.

Only recently have there been moves to substantiate the claims of the dedicated through research. And so far, the results are providing significant evidence of the broad-ranging benefits of yoga, both as a treatment and preventative form of health care.

Whether you’re already a regular yogi, slightly cynical or keen to try something new, we look at three recent studies of yoga and how those findings can boost your health.

A comprehensive study, published in Frontiers of Immunology found that far more disease-fighting genes were active in the bodies of long-term practitioners of yoga and meditation. In particular, they found genes that protect from disorders such as pain, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis and infertility were all “switched on” in people that practise yoga regularly. These changes, according to the researchers, were induced by what they dubbed “the relaxation effect” bought on by a regular yoga and meditation practice.

By now we know the effects of stress on the body can be far reaching. But research shows that the active emphasis on the breath shown in yoga can help change your mood and autonomic function.

With each breath, millions of sensory receptors in the respiratory system send signals via your nerves to the brainstem. If you’re stressed out and breathing fast, your brain is pinged at a higher rate triggering it to activate via the sympathetic nervous system – dialling up the stress hormones like cortisol, heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety.

When you slow your breath through a practise like yoga, you induce the parasympathetic nervous system, dialling down all of those stress responses and instead turning up relaxation, calm and mental clarity.

Basically, it depends on the type of yoga but more strenuous types like Ashtanga or Bikram can definitely boost your cardiovascular system and build your muscles,

For example, in a few high-quality studies have shown that certain types of yoga can contribute to increased strength. One small, randomised trial in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research compared eight weeks of Bikram classes with no intervention in 32 young, healthy adults. It found that regular classes improved participant’s deadlift strength. It also found that it didn’t improve aerobic capacity.