Yoga treatments can improve anxiety symptoms
Research Study At A Glance
Research Study At A Glance
The Research Question Asked
Can we use yoga as an effective treatment to manage anxiety?
Type of Study
Systematic review and meta-analysis
Study Participants (Sample)
The authors selected eight individual randomized control trial studies for this larger review and meta-analysis, for a total of 319 participants. Mean age of participants was 30-38.5 years old.
Methods
The researchers conducted a meta-analysis (meaning a larger analysis done on multiple smaller combined studies) for randomized control trials which evaluated the effects of yoga treatments on “anxiety disorders or elevated levels of anxiety”. The individual randomized control trials measured the effects of yoga treatments on anxiety level, remission rate, depression level, and quality of life. The trials also evaluated safety of the treatments. The authors conducted their search for relevant randomized control trial studies to include in the larger review study through: PubMed, Cochrane library, Scopus, PsychINFO, and IndMED.
Results
Yoga treatments produced small positive effects on anxiety and small reductions in depression when compared with no treatment. But, they found larger positive effects on anxiety in studies that compared yoga treatments to other types of treatments.
Conclusion
Yoga treatments do seem to reduce anxiety in those experiencing anxiety related disorders. Yoga treatments have potential to help manage anxiety.
Background
Generalized anxiety and anxiety disorders are estimated to affect as much as 4% of the US population. Symptoms of anxiety disorders can affect many different areas of someone’s life, including their long-term physical health. Common treatments include medications, psychological therapies, and self help treatments, like support groups. Small clinical trials have indicated that yoga treatments also have the potential to positively affect anxiety.
Research question
Is yoga an effective treatment for anxiety?
Research methods
The authors combined the data from eight individual randomized control studies in a larger analysis (a meta-analysis). They searched for relevant randomized control trials to include in the study through: PubMed, Cochrane library, Scopus, PsychINFO, IndMED through October 2016. There were 319 total participants included in the analysis when all of the smaller studies were combined. The sample size in the individual randomized control trials ranged from 12 to 78. The total sample was largely female (median percentage in individual studies was 73.7%) and caucasian (median percentage in individual studies was 78%). Mean age was 30 to 38.5 years old.
Yoga treatments in individual randomized control trials included yoga postures, breathing, or meditation, or combined some aspects of those activities. Individual studies measured some or all of the following after yoga treatments: anxiety level, remission rates, depression levels, quality of life, and safety of yoga treatments.
Results
The authors of this review paper found that yoga treatments resulted in small, short-term positive effects on anxiety and small reductions in depression, when compared to no treatment. They found large positive effects on anxiety when yoga treatments were compared to other types of treatments. Yoga treatments were not correlated with any negative effects such as increased anxiety or injuries. This suggests that it is a safe treatment for anxiety-related disorders.
Why is this relevant to yoga practitioners?
Traditional yoga texts such as, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, state that yoga purports to increase equanimity, so it makes sense then that yoga practice could offer tools to work with clinical anxiety disorders. This review paper suggests that yoga may in fact reduce anxiety compared to either no treatment or other types of treatments. Yoga may be one tool that we can use to manage anxiety.
What is not included in this paper due to the nature of the type of study (a review study) is specific information about which yoga postures, breathing practices, and meditation practices were done, as well as for what duration and how many times per week. However, the authors of the review paper reported that each of those categories of practices (asana, breath control, and meditation) were included in at least one of the smaller studies. That suggests that each of those categories of practice may potentially contribute to reducing symptoms of anxiety-related disorders.
In a previous post, we shared research that suggests the common thread among many yogic practices is a focus on breathing It’s the breathing which stimulates the vagal nerve and positively affects the parasympathetic nervous system. It’s possible that this is the commonality among all of the yogic practices that positively affected anxiety symptoms as well. We need more research to say that for sure.
Conclusion
As yoga practitioners we’re aware that there are many tools available to us that make up the broader practice of yoga. It is certainly possible that some yoga practices may be more effective than others at alleviating clinical anxiety. This review paper suggests that it is worth doing further research to address that question. Even across different types of yoga treatments, yoga had a positive effect on reducing clinical anxiety.