After my first yoga practice, I knew my body wanted more of this type of movement. Research is growing on the benefits of yoga, including its role in reducing stress and depression. For example, a large study of 1,080 participants showed that doing weekly yoga sessions (between 20 and 90 minutes per session) for just over two months significantly reduced depressive symptoms compared to having no treatment or the patient’s typical treatment. The more often and the longer the yoga practice, the bigger the impact.
Recently, researchers explored whether hatha yoga can improve cognitive health among older adults, specifically its impact on attention, memory, and reasoning skills.
What is hatha yoga?
Hatha yoga is a type of yoga that emphasizes the balance between body and mind with physical postures (asanas) and breathing techniques (pranayamas). During a hatha yoga practice, you’ll work through slow and controlled movements and hold poses for extended periods compared to faster types of yoga like vinyasa or power yoga.
Hatha yoga incorporates breathing techniques and spiritual aspects like meditation, along with muscle-strengthening and flexibility-boosting poses like downward-facing dog, Warrior pose, triangle pose, and child’s pose. It’s considered a more accessible type of yoga for people of all experience levels.
The study
In a recent study published in the Journal of Aging & Research, the researchers noted that the typical sedentary lifestyle of many older adults leads to a deterioration of quality of life and overall well-being. The study involved 45 healthy older adults aged between 65 and 80 years (26 men and 19 women). The participants lived in a retirement home and were divided into three groups:
- Group one (the yoga group) participated in yoga sessions.
- Group two took part in sports and physical activity sessions.
- Group three was the control group, which didn’t engage in any activities.
Participants completed two weekly 45-minute workout sessions for a total of 24 sessions. Individuals also completed test sessions to assess their attention, memory, and reasoning before and after 12 weeks. The researchers analyzed the differences between the groups and over time.
The results
Here are the results, and they’ll probably want to make you pick up a yoga mat and get to work:
- The yoga group registered significantly greater improvements in their cognitive test sessions after 12 weeks of yoga practice.
- There was a significant difference between the yoga group and both the physical activity group and the control group with regard to the attention and reasoning parameters on the 12-week test scores. In other words, the yoga group performed much better on their attention and reasoning compared to the other two groups. These results are statistically significant.
This study highlights the importance and potential of hatha yoga to boost the mental well-being and cognitive skills of older adults. I think I’ll unroll my cushiony yoga mat later and treat my body to some poses. My brain will probably thank me.
