Despite all the internet technology and endless expanse of the web, sometimes you still can’t find reliable information about something as simple as yoga pants, let alone a full exercise regime. Luckily, scientific researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts have confirmed that yoga can help one achieve wellness. In fact, the exercise experts have discovered a few important points about yoga that would hold up to even strict scientific examination:
Yoga Can Save People Money
Research reveals that over the past several years, hospitals and other medical treatment centers have reported that almost 80 percent of all doctor’s appointments have been for numerous “stress-related health problems.” Ergo, the total amount of cash spent on anxiety and stress is actually only surpassed by two other health care costs: heart disease and cancer. The Harvard Medical team established that practicing yoga actually lowered the number of physician visits by a good 43 percent. A simple program of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness training focused on unifying both one’s body and mind can reduce stress. Their program resulted in their subjects saving an average amount of $2,360 in medical bills over a period of one year.
Yoga Helps People Sleep Better
The research team also discovered in their continued studies on the possible benefits of a yoga regime, that a regular yoga routine can, over time, actually improve one’s sleep quality. Specifically, taking part in even basic yoga program reduces chronic pain and insomnia which causes sleep disruptions. Why does this matter?
The negative effects of sleep deprivation are well documented. They can damage a person both mentally and physiologically. Online sources even mention a sleep study of more than 400 cancer survivors in which they all stated that they felt less stressed, less fatigued and slept better after they practiced yoga only twice a week.
Yoga Positively Affects People Biologically
Yoga positively impacts people on both a genetic and biological scale. John Denninger, a Harvard psychiatrist, said that a yoga routine can actually turn off certain genes that are related to physical health and stress. He confirms that mindfulness training and yoga have a definite “biological effect” that influences the quality of a person’s aging process and immune system. Furthermore, additional, advanced research in this area demonstrates yoga can positively impact on the release of a specific enzyme, telomerase, which retards the aging process of human cells.
Women Can Practice Yoga Even While They Are Pregnant
Any physician (or even any woman who has had children) can tell you that there is an incredibly long list of different activities that all pregnant women have to avoid. The above-mentioned investigative team, however, also has reported that yoga is not on that list of things not to do. Their study on the subject of pregnant women and yoga shows that all the yoga poses that a test group of pregnant women engaged in did not negatively influence their overall health or the health of their unborn babies.
The research results specifically indicated that noted that each pregnant woman’s heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen level stayed at normal levels as they went through all of the 26 different yoga poses. Indeed, the evidence resulting from this particular study actually convinced a number of other researchers to revisit the impact that practicing yoga has on pregnant women. Other similar studies on the subject showed that yoga can actually reduce pain, discomfort, and depression during a woman’s pregnancy.
The recent controlled studies conducted by the Harvard Medical group are slowly, but surely legitimizing many of the numerous claims that yoga pundits have been promoting for the past few decades. The proven value and positive effects of taking part in yoga training on an individual’s mental and physical health should be more than enough to encourage anyone to buy some yoga clothing and actively pursue a yoga routine.
