Fans of yoga claim that yoga is proven to provide anxiety relief. Evidence that yoga provides anxiety relief was scarce about 30 years ago. Given that an estimated 20 percent of Americans now take some sort of pill for a psychological problem, anxiety relief is a major selling point for yoga. However, is there anything more than anecdotal evidence to support this claim? The next time a yoga student asks you this question, here’s how you can respond. There is a lot of research, which you can share with students, friends, family, and yoga skeptics. Please bear in mind, this subject is deep and this article will scratch the surface. This is why so many resources and studies are provided.
Cancer patients or those who have previously had cancer are one of the groups of people most at risk for anxiety disorders. As many as 30 percent to 90 percent of people who have had cancer report that they have trouble sleeping at night; while some of this insomnia is due to cancer treatments, others have sleepless nights due to anxiety over their illness.
Harvard Review of Yoga Studies
– A German study in 2005 looked at women with depression and anxiety. After three months of yoga, these women reduced their self-reported depression by 50 percent and their anxiety by 30 percent.
– In a New Hampshire psychiatric hospital, schizophrenic patients who took yoga classes reported short-term improvements in anxiety, depression, hostility and similar mental problems.
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