How does yoga reduce stress? A systematic review of mechanisms of change and guide to future inquiry

@article{Riley2015HowDY,
  title={How does yoga reduce stress? A systematic review of mechanisms of change and guide to future inquiry},
  author={Kristen E. Riley and Crystal L. Park},
  journal={Health Psychology Review},
  year={2015},
  volume={9},
  pages={379 - 396}
}
Yoga is increasingly used in clinical settings for a variety of mental and physical health issues, particularly stress-related illnesses and concerns, and has demonstrated promising efficacy. Yet the ways in which yoga reduces stress remain poorly understood. To examine the empirical evidence regarding the mechanisms through which yoga reduces stress, we conducted a systematic review of the literature, including any yoga intervention that measured stress as a primary dependent variable and… Expand
View on Taylor & Francis
spiritualitymeaningandhealth.uconn.edu
100 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
2
Background Citations
39
Methods Citations
2
Results Citations
5

100 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

How Does Yoga Reduce Stress?, A Clinical Trial Testing Psychological Mechanisms.
TLDR
Five potential psychosocial mechanisms that have been proposed to explain yoga's impact on stress were tested and increases in each mechanism were strongly associated with decreases in both measures of stress between T1 and T2 and decreases in perceived stress from T1 to T3. Expand
A Systematic Review of Mechanisms of Change in Body-Oriented Yoga in Major Depressive Disorders.
TLDR
Preliminary studies suggest that alterations in cortisol, BDNF, and HRV may play a role in how yoga exerts its clinical effect, and there is a need for more rigorous designs that can assess greater levels of causal specificity. Expand
How does yoga reduce stress? Embodied cognition and emotion highlight the influence of the musculoskeletal system.
TLDR
A theoretical perspective is presented that encourages systematic research regarding the relationship between yoga, stress, and musculoskeletal activity and highlights the importance of expanding investigations of psychological processes, body position, musculo- skeletal activity during yoga, and the interactions between those variables. Expand
Yogic Breathing and Mindfulness as Stress Coping Mediate Positive Health Outcomes of Yoga
Despite accumulating research on yoga and its positive impact on both physiological and psychological health, it is still unclear how yoga improves health. Two central components of yoga, yogic… Expand
Yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction and stress-related physiological measures: A meta-analysis
TLDR
Practices that include yoga asanas appear to be associated with improved regulation of the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system in various populations. Expand
Exploring how different types of yoga change psychological resources and emotional well-being across a single session.
TLDR
How an acute session of yoga related to pre- to post- session changes in proposed mechanisms (psychological resources) and whether those changes were associated with positive changes in emotions was investigated. Expand
Effects of Yoga on Stress Among Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review.
TLDR
It is revealed that most types of yoga have positive effects on stress reduction in heathy populations and it is suggested to consider age as a risk factor affecting the effect of yoga on stress. Expand
Randomized controlled trial of bikram yoga and aerobic exercise for depression in women: Efficacy and stress-based mechanisms.
TLDR
Bikram yoga showed descriptively similar efficacy to aerobic exercise and both may work, in part, by helping individuals interrupt negative thinking. Expand
Effectiveness of Workplace Yoga Interventions to Reduce Perceived Stress in Employees: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
TLDR
Quantitative analysis showed that workplace Yoga interventions were more effective when compared to no treatment in work-related stress management, and further high-quality studies are needed to improve the validity of these results. Expand
A Comparison of the Acute Effects of Different Forms of Yoga on Physiological and Psychological Stress: A Pilot Study
TLDR
Comparisons of meditative and power yoga on indices of physiological and psychological stress indicate that acute engagement in meditative yoga decreases markers of psychological and physiological stress, while power yoga does not impart a significant stress-relieving benefit. Expand
...
1
2
3
4
5
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 83 REFERENCES
The health benefits of yoga and exercise: a review of comparison studies.
TLDR
The studies comparing the effects of yoga and exercise seem to indicate that, in both healthy and diseased populations, yoga may be as effective as or better than exercise at improving a variety of health-related outcome measures. Expand
The effects of yoga on anxiety and stress.
TLDR
Evaluation of the current primary literature is suggestive of benefits of yoga in relieving stress and anxiety, but further investigation into this relationship using large, well-defined populations, adequate controls, randomization and long duration should be explored before recommending yoga as a treatment option. Expand
Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: a review and meta-analysis.
TLDR
MBSR showed a nonspecific effect on stress reduction in comparison to an inactive control, both in reducing stress and in enhancing spirituality values, and a possible specific effect compared to an intervention designed to be structurally equivalent to the meditation program. Expand
Effects of yoga on stress management in healthy adults: A systematic review.
TLDR
Positive effects of yoga on stress reduction in healthy adult populations are revealed, however, the result should be interpreted with caution due to the small number of studies and the associated methodological problems. Expand
A review of the literature examining the physiological processes underlying the therapeutic benefits of Hatha yoga.
  • Karen D. Dunn
  • Psychology, Medicine
  • Advances in mind-body medicine
  • 2008
TLDR
An historical overview of the field of integrative medicine, which conceptualizes yoga as a mind-body practice, is provided and a brief description of Hatha yoga is provided that describes the purported relationship between yoga and the relaxation response. Expand
Feasibility, acceptability, and effects of gentle Hatha yoga for women with major depression: findings from a randomized controlled mixed-methods study.
TLDR
A randomized, controlled, mixed-methods community-based study comparing an 8-week yoga intervention with an attention-control activity in 27 women with MDD found there was a decrease in depression over time in both the yoga group and the attention- control group, with the Yoga group having a unique trend in decreased ruminations. Expand
Exploring the therapeutic effects of yoga and its ability to increase quality of life
TLDR
Results from this study show that yogic practices enhance muscular strength and body flexibility, promote and improve respiratory and cardiovascular function, promote recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improve sleep patterns, and enhance overall well-being and quality of life. Expand
Rapid stress reduction and anxiolysis among distressed women as a consequence of a three-month intensive yoga program.
TLDR
Women suffering from mental distress participating in a 3-month Iyengar yoga class show significant improvements on measures of stress and psychological outcomes. Expand
Effects of hatha yoga and african dance on perceived stress, affect, and salivary cortisol
TLDR
Both African dance and Hatha yoga reduced perceived stress and negative affect and even when these interventions produce similar positive psychological effects, the effects may be very different on physiological stress processes. Expand
How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective
TLDR
Several components through which mindfulness meditation exerts its effects are explored, suggesting that the mechanisms described here work synergistically, establishing a process of enhanced self-regulation. Expand
...
1
2
3
4
5
...