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Yoga on Our Minds: A Systematic Review of Yoga for Neuropsychiatric Disorders

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Balasubramaniam, Meera, Telles, Shirley, Doraiswamy, P. Murali·2013·Frontiers in Psychiatry
DOI 10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00117PMC PMC3555015
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: The demand for clinically efficacious, safe, patient acceptable, and cost-effective forms of treatment for mental illness is growing. Several studies have demonstrated benefit from yoga in specific psychiatric symptoms and a general sense of well-being. OBJECTIVE: To systematically examine the evidence for efficacy of yoga in the treatment of selected major psychiatric disorders. METHODS: Electronic searches of The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and the standard bibliographic databases, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO, were performed through April 2011 and an updated in June 2011 using the keywords yoga AND psychiatry OR depression OR anxiety OR schizophrenia OR cognition OR memory OR attention AND randomized controlled trial (RCT). Studies with yoga as the independent variable and one of the above mentioned terms as the dependent variable were included and exclusion criteria were applied. RESULTS: The search yielded a total of 124 trials, of which 16 met rigorous criteria for the final review. Grade B evidence supporting a potential acute benefit for yoga exists in depression (four RCTs), as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy in schizophrenia (three RCTs), in children with ADHD (two RCTs), and Grade C evidence in sleep complaints (three RCTs). RCTs in cognitive disorders and eating disorders yielded conflicting results. No studies looked at primary prevention, relapse prevention, or comparative effectiveness versus pharmacotherapy. CONCLUSION: There is emerging evidence from randomized trials to support popular beliefs about yoga for depression, sleep disorders, and as an augmentation therapy. Limitations of literature include inability to do double-blind studies, multiplicity of comparisons within small studies, and lack of replication. Biomarker and neuroimaging studies, those comparing yoga with standard pharmaco- and psychotherapies, and studies of long-term efficacy are needed to fully translate the promise of yoga for enhancing mental health.

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  • Yoga practices that emphasize relaxation techniques (e.g., Yoga Nidra) and concentration on a single object of meditation, such as the breath, lead to increased relaxation and a reduction in stress.

    “relaxation techniques (e.g., Yoga Nidra), as well as concentration on a single object of meditation, such as the breath for a prolonged period of time (and are therefore similar to Theravada and Mahayana forms of meditation) also lead to increased relaxation and a reduction in stress.”

    From The Influence of Buddhist Meditation Traditions on the Autonomic System and Attention (2015) · cites this paper as [104]

    The Background (page unavailable) says yoga incorporates deep relaxation, breathing, and meditation, and reports physiological effects associated with improved relaxation. It does not establish that Yoga Nidra or prolonged concentration on the breath specifically reduces stress, nor does it make the comparison with Theravada and Mahayana meditation. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Cited by

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Authors
Balasubramaniam, M., Telles, S., & Doraiswamy, P. M.
Affiliations
Duke University (US)
Corresponding author
Balasubramaniam, Meera
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2013
Volume
3
Pages
117-117
ISSN
1664-0640 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00117
PMC
PMC3555015
OpenAlex
W2159138564
Cited by
376
References
4
Citations by year
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FWCI
4.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Greater South Information System
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
Keywords
yoga, neuropsychiatric disorders, depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, sleep complaints, cognitive disorders, eating disorders, adjunct pharmacotherapy, well-being, psychotherapy

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