Does yoga impact your gene expression?
Research Study At A Glance
The Research Question Asked
How do yoga and meditation affect gene expression in healthy populations and populations with particular conditions?
Type of Study
Narrative review study
Methods
The researchers conducted a comprehensive literature search for previously published studies that explored the effects of yoga on gene expression.
Results
Yoga positively affected inflammation, anti-viral response, ocular function, and brain function through aspects of gene expression.
Conclusion
Yoga may positively affect many body systems and processes through aspects of gene expression.
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Background
Yoga’s positive effects on health and wellness have been well-established. Research supports yoga’s positive impacts on flexibility, strength, and balance. Additionally, research reports psychological benefits of yoga on levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. However, we know much less about how yoga works. Researchers have proposed some models hypothesizing that nervous system modulation may be part of how yoga creates the effects that it does.
Another part of how yoga influences our body may be through yoga’s influence on gene expression. Yoga is not going to change our actual DNA sequence, of course. What it does have the potential to affect, though, is gene expression. Gene expression refers to the process of how genes create specific products, like proteins. Our genes interact with our environment, including the internal environment of our body. This interaction influences the particular cascade of effects that result from our genetic code. The way that your DNA is held together and its effects are collectively referred to as your epigenetics. The research team on the study we summarized here was interested in how yoga affects our gene expression and epigenetics.
Research question
How do yoga and meditation affect gene expression in healthy populations and populations with particular conditions?
Research methods
The researchers conducted a comprehensive literature search using these databases: PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science. They included previously published studies in their review if the individual studies were randomized clinical trials or comparative cohort studies that explored the effects of yoga on gene expression.
Results
The researchers found 12 individual studies that met their criteria for inclusion in the larger review study. Among those, all but one reported one or more positive impacts of yoga, meditation, or related practices on gene expression.
Specific effects reported:
- Yoga positively influenced inflammation-related gene expression in breast cancer patients
- Meditation positively affected gene expression involved in anti-inflammation and antiviral response in patients experiencing significant life stress
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction practice positively influenced gene expression related to cognitive function in an elderly population
- Meditation in a retreat environment positively affected gene expression related to the stress response
- Yoga positively affected gene expression related to inflammation and metabolic health in healthy women
- Yoga positively influenced immune-system-related gene expression in one marker of women experiencing psychological distress
- Yogic breathing positively affected anti-inflammatory-related gene expression
- Yoga positively influenced lung function and inflammation-related gene expression for men in a polluted industrial environment
- Mindfulness meditation in conjunction with other medical therapies positively affected inflammation-related gene expression related to ocular tissues of glaucoma patients
- Yoga was associated with repaired DNA damage in type-2 diabetes patients
- Yoga with Vitamin D intake positively influenced gene expression related to immune cell survival in breast cancer survivors
The remaining study reported inconclusive results of a yoga-based lifestyle intervention on genetic expression in obese adults.
Why is this relevant to yoga practitioners?
As yoga practitioners, we already know that we feel better when we practice. The positive effects that we experience in our daily lives are what draw us back to the mat day after day. How yoga actually works to provide those positive impacts may be less important than simply knowing that yoga does have an effect. But, as practitioners receiving all the benefits of a yoga practice, it is also understandable that we would be curious about how yoga does what it does. Review studies like the one we summarized here help us develop a bigger picture of how yoga works by reporting the results of many smaller studies. We can then get a sense of the broader trends of yoga’s effects. For people experiencing a particular condition, these reports can also help patients gain an idea of when yoga might be a helpful adjunct therapy.
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Conclusion
The review study we summarized here suggests yoga may positively affect many body systems and processes through how our genes are expressed. Specifically, individual studies included in the review found that yoga positively affected inflammation, anti-viral response, ocular function, and brain function through the various ways our genes are expressed.