What does research show about yoga for wellness?

Studies have suggested possible benefits of yoga for several aspects of wellness, including stress management, mental/emotional health, promoting healthy eating/activity habits, sleep, and balance.

• Stress management. 
  • A 2020 review of 12 recent studies (672 total participants) of a variety of types of yoga for stress management in healthy adults found beneficial effects of yoga on measures of perceived stress in all the studies.
  • Of 17 older studies (1,070 total participants) of yoga for stress management included in a 2014 review, 12 studies showed improvements in physical or psychological measures related to stress.
• Mental/emotional health. In a recent review of 14 studies (involving 1,084 total participants) that assessed the effects of yoga on positive aspects of mental health, most found evidence of benefits, such as improvements in resilience or general mental well-being.
• Promoting healthy eating/activity habits. A 2018 survey of young adults (involving 1,820 participants) showed that practicing yoga regularly was associated with better eating and physical activity habits. In interviews, people who took the survey said they thought yoga supported healthier habits through greater mindfulness, motivation to participate in other forms of activity, and eating healthier. In addition, the yoga community itself was characterized as a social circle that encouraged connection, where healthy eating was commonplace.
• Sleep. Yoga has been shown to be helpful for sleep in several studies of cancer patients, women with sleep problems, and older adults and in individual studies of other population groups, including people with arthritis and women with menopause symptoms.
• Balance. In a 2014 review, 11 of 15 studies (688 total participants) that looked at the effect of yoga on balance in healthy people showed improvements in at least one outcome related to balance. An additional study, published in 2016, showed that both yoga and stretching-strengthening exercises were effective in improving balance (as well as strength and flexibility) in healthy, previously sedentary older adults.