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Yoga as a Treatment for Anxiety and Depression

The practice of Yoga has been used for centuries in India to maintain personal health. The three areas of yoga, asanas, meditations, and pranayamas, all aid in the practice of one another and have an effect on the body both physically and psychologically. More recently it has become a popular complementary treatment for mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. In addition to improving flexibility and muscle strength, yoga has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety in an individual. Whether the reduction is powerful enough to help alleviate patients suffering from a disorder has been a topic of much debate leading to scientific research to determine its efficacy as a treatment.

Mood Disorders
Depression, also know as major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common mental illnesses in the united states, and is marked by a persistent depressed mood (Mehta, P, Sharma, M, 2010)(Forbes ET AL 2008). Often co-morbid, or occurring simultaneously with depression is an anxiety disorder, characterized by a persistent worry and helplessness. They also both often lead to other physical illnesses such as cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and a general unhealthy lifestyle due to the heightened stress levels(Gupta ET AL 2010). Treatment for both disorders typically include some form of medication along with psychotherapy. In addition to the cost and side effects often associated with this treatment regime, many patients still suffer from residual symptoms.

Complementary & Alternative Medicine
Yoga is a mind-body complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)  and consists of postures, or asanas, breathing techniques or pranayamas, and meditations. CAM are a diverse area of practices, and products that are not considered part of conventional medicine, and do not need to be administrated by a health professional. Yoga is frequently used to help individuals suffering from physical ailments such as back pains. The postures provide therapeutic stretches for muscles and as a result it increases flexibility, range of motion, and relaxation. (Pilkington ET AL 2005). Recently however, it has been turned to as an alternative or complementary treatment for mental illness. The breathing and meditation techniques have been noted to increase self awareness and permit relaxation (Mehta, P, Sharma, M, 2010). Practicing these methods can bring about changes to the autonomic nervous system, which in turn reduces the sympathetic nervous system, alleviating stress (Pilkington ET AL 2005). In addition the meditations have an effect on the limbic system, and the postural stretches permits further relaxation of the neuromuscular system (Pilkington ET AL 2005).

Asanas
The asanas are the postures associated with yoga. Most areas of yoga use the asanas to gently stretch muscles, and as an aid in concentration for the pranayamas and meditations (Burgin, 2007). The practice of asanas has been shown to bring about physical changes in the brain, 15 minute daily practice has been reported to improve autonomic activity, thus reducing stress (Ghasemi ET AL 2009). Also, a 27% increase of GABA levels was found in participants who underwent a 60 minute session of asanas from before the session (Telles ET AL 2009). Another study investigating hatha yoga amongst depressed woman noted a reduction in the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety test with 41.2% cases of state anxiety before intervention and only 20.6% of cases after amongst the experimental group (Ghasemi ET AL 2009).

Pranayamas
The pranayamas are the breathing techniques incorporated into yoga practice, they are typically slow, steadied, and deep breaths through the nose (Burgin, 2007). The pranayama techniques allows the practitioner to develop a better mind-body relationship where control and removal of negative thoughts and tensions are enhanced (Telles ET AL 2009). A significant reduction in certain bodily mechanisms associated with anxiety such as heart and respiratory rate, and blood pressure was found after just 10 minutes of pranayama practice (Telles ET AL 2009). Studies have also shown reductions in the Beck Depression Inventory and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory after practice (Telles ET AL 2009)(Descilo ET AL 2010)(Uebelacker ET AL 2010).

Meditation
The meditative aspect is closely linked with the pranayamas of yoga, the latter often used to achieve the former. Meditation is simply focused thought, by concentration on the breath an individual can block distractions from their mind (Burgin, 2007). Numerous studies have shown that meditation promotes self awareness and mindfulness, and achieve calmness and self acceptance which in turn alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety (Kozasa ET AL 2008)(Ando ET AL 2009). Yoga's ability to allow patients to experience these traits may be beneficial in aiding the individual cope with their disorder

Future Research
While yoga as an accepted therapy for various physical ailments in Western society is well established, the idea of using it as a mental therapy is still quite novel. Very little research has been conducted on yoga as a treatment for mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. The research that has surfaced however suggests that it has the ability to improve both the physical and psychological imperfections associated with the disorders. For now, the medical community seems to agree that yoga as a complementary treatment, in addition to the more traditional regime, is beneficial to the patients. Due to the high cost of psychotherapy and medication, along with the harmful side effects of the latter and the relatively low cost, and absence of associated side effects, more research should be conducted to show if yoga therapy alone is sufficient to treat patients.