YOGA PROTECTS THE BRAIN FROM DEPRESSION

YOGA PRACTICE BETTER THAN FITNESS WALKING
FOR DRIVING AWAY MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDERS

www.living.oneindia.in - Good news for people who practice Yoga! A new study had proved that Yoga is superior to other exercises in checking mood swings, anxiety, depression and other stress disorders. Practicing yoga really does relax your mind as well as your body more than other types of exercise, a new study claims. Researchers have found that three sessions of the exercise a week can help fight off depression as it boosts levels of a chemical in the brain which is essential for a sound and relaxed mind. Scientists found that the levels of the amino acid GABA (brain Gamma-aminobutyric) are much higher in those that carry out yoga than those do the equivalent of a similarly strenuous exercise such as walking. The chemical is essential to the function of brain and central nervous system and which helps promote a state of calm within the body. Low GABA levels are linked to depression and other anxiety disorders. The GABA levels of the people who have taken up Yoga and others who took up walking as an exercise were compared.

Scientists from the Boston University School of Medicine, USA, spent 12 weeks monitoring two groups of healthy individuals, half of whom walked for three hours each week, while the other half spent the same time doing yoga. Participants brains were scanned before and after the study using magnetic resonance spectroscopic (MRS) imaging, while they were also asked questions about their psychological wellbeing throughout the study. One group practiced Yoga for an hour, three times a week, wile the other resorted to walking for fitness for the same duration. At week 12, the researchers compared the GABA levels of both groups before and after their final 60-minute session. The participants of Yoga showed a significant decrease in anxiety and stress and an increase in checking mood swings when compared to those who walked. "Over time, positive changes in these reports were associated with climbing GABA levels," said lead author Chris Streeter. He also considered the practice of Yoga as a potential therapy for mental disorders. The findings appear on-line at Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.


Yoga soothes and tones the nerves. When we bend, stretch, rotate and shrink our bodies, the internal organs are bathed in blood and vitality. Yoga also regulates our endocrine system, improves digestion and evacuation, strengthens our respiratory system and is the most effective tool to relieve stress and depression, “the scourge of modern society.”

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Today we live in a world of constant stress, always facing the outside, which prevents us from knowing our essence or inner nature. This makes us feel frustrated, anxious, tense and thus, ill. From the Yoga point of view, the disease is a lack of vitality and the important thing is to discover its causes. When a problem arises we take drugs to hush those signals that the body emits and then we do not realize that just by stretching out, relaxing, a conscious living, refusing to negative influences, breathing in a slow and controlled manner, having a natural and healthy diet, we can restore our health and prevent diseases. Well, yoga is to implement a series of techniques that help us to get that full health. These techniques include relaxation exercises, body positions or asanas, pranayama or breath control exercises and techniques of internalization and concentration that lead us to a fullness.

Yoga Inbound :
“Hatha Yoga - Overall Benefits of Asanas: Full Health”
http://www.yogainbound.org/ws/hatha-yoga
http://www.yogainbound.org/ws/hatha-yoga/30-articulos-interes/
http://www.yogainbound.org/ws/hatha-yoga/30-articulos-interes/213-salud-plena