The Evidence Proves It - Yoga Heals

While both yoga (in some form) and disease have been part of the human experience since the beginning of our time, it is only in the last few decades that the evidence is found in the research! Yes, it has been proven through empirical-evidence that alternative or complementary health practices, such as yoga/meditation/mindfulness do have healing effects on both the body and the mind. The proof is pervasive across many different demographics. Science is catching up with what the Connection Coalition already knew - the practice of yoga, mindfulness, and meditation provide tools to help heal through many of the most common mental health disorders our world faces today, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD.  

Multiple studies have been launched, in hopes of identifying if and how these practices positively affect those experiencing anxiety, depression, and PSTD symptoms. One study, which focused on veterans diagnosed with PTSD concluded that, “ trauma-sensitive yoga intervention demonstrated decreased PTSD symptomatology.” Another study reported, “a significant positive correlation between the duration of the practice of yoga and mental wellbeing, perception of quality of life, psychological aspects of quality of life, quality of life related to the environment, and total quality of life,” in patients who were experiencing chronic illness due to a non-life threatening condition.

Take a sweet, long, deep breath in - and exhale.

But wait - there’s more. Although the more researched (and that could contribute to its identification of being “more effective” in treating trauma/PTSD) psychotherapeutic interventions are the initial go-to for health professionals to use when treating patients who have experienced trauma and meet criteria for a PTSD diagnosis, a meta-analytic review shines light on the high drop-out rate of these treatments. Trauma-intensive psychotherapy is intense and due to the drop-out rate (up to 50%) many people continue to experience residual symptoms. Yoga (identified as an “integrative intervention”) has been shown to help reduce the physiological arousal in PTSD patients by improving somatic regulation and body awareness.

Take a deep breath in - and exhale.

So we know that yoga helps to decrease symptoms associated with PTSD (which if you want to see the entire list, check out the DSM diagnosis criteria here), improves somatic regulation, body awareness, introspection, sense of self-sufficiency, independence, emotional resilience, self esteem and perception of well-being. Oh, and a study on the effects of classroom-based yoga, shows how yoga decreases the levels of cortisol secretion (this is one of the chemicals associated with stress) and “significantly” improves social interaction, ability to concentrate, ability to stay on task, academic performance, ability to deal with stress/anxiety, increases confidence and overall mood. Let me not forget to mention the reported improvements that were noticed in the child-participants included their creativity, ability to control their behavior, and ability to manage anger.

Deep breath. 

What I’ve shared with you above is the “evidence,” and I use that word lightly because at Connection Coalition, we’ve known about all of this since 2003, when we started providing these tools to at-risk youth. 

The powerful tools of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness should not only be available as interventions, once we have a chronic illness, or a mental health diagnosis, or “out-of-control” behaviors. These tools need to be accessible from the beginning of learning, just like the alphabet is. 

Learning to regulate our breath, our emotions and our thoughts is a human right.

If  you already know about the miraculous (and not scientific!) benefits of yoga/meditation/mindfulness - or if you are just learning about the powerful effects of these practices and your juices are pumped and you're inspired to learn more - check us out here to find out more about our mission and services!