Recent studies have discovered that [tag]yoga practice[/tag] could increase brain substances, which if otherwise low, could lead to anxiety and depression.
At the moment, pharmaceutical treatment boosts the level of neurotransmitters known as gamma-aminobutyric (GABA), the lack of which is considered to be the cause behind anxiety and depression.
Research was conducted to find out if yoga practice helped in treating disorders linked to low GABA levels that led to anxiety and depression.
The researchers used resonance spectroscopic imaging, and compared the GABA levels of eight patients before and after one hour of practice of yoga with eleven patients who never practiced yoga, and instead read for an hour.
The yoga practitioners group exhibited a twenty seven percent increase in GABA levels, but, the other group had no change in their GABA levels after their reading session.
The researchers concluded that yoga has revealed promising results associated with depression, epilepsy and anxiety symptoms.
Chris Streeter, Asst. Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine said “Our findings clearly demonstrate that in experienced yoga practitioners, brain GABA levels increase after a session of yoga.”
Perry Renshaw, Director of Brain Imaging Center, Havard-affiliated McLean Hospital, mentioned “The development of an inexpensive, widely available intervention such as yoga that has no side effects but is effective in alleviating the symptoms of disorders associated with low GABA levels has clear public health advantage.”