New Research on Yoga for Stress Relief
April 20th, 2010 -- Posted in Self-Care | No Comments »By Elizabeth Scott, MS
You may already know that yoga is a great stress reliever–the breathing, mild to moderate exercise and sense of presence involved can all add up to reduced stress and greater feelings of wellbeing. Now new research from the United Kingdom shows more specific benefits that yoga can bring–mainly, a relatively small amount of yoga can bring lasting benefits to mood and performance, and increased resilience to stress, and could bring real benefits to employers by reducing job stress and increasing productivity in workers.
For the study, which was a randomized controlled trial at a British university, researchers recruited 48 employees and randomized them into either a yoga or a wait-list control group. The yoga group was offered six weeks of Dru Yoga, comprising one hour-long lunchtime class per week with a certified Dru Yoga instructor. The wait-list control group received no intervention during this six-week study. Participants were administered psychological tests that measured mood and wellbeing before and after the six-week period.
Results showed that the yoga group–a group that practiced yoga only once a week for an hour for six weeks–reported marked improvements in feelings of clear-mindedness, composure, elation, energy, and confidence. In addition, the yoga group reported increased life purpose and satisfaction, and feelings of greater self-confidence during stressful situations. Researchers concluded that even a short program of yoga is effective for enhancing emotional well-being and resilience to stress in the workplace. They suggest that employers should consider offering yoga classes to their employees, and I think this is a terrific idea as well. (Employers, are you listening?)
So you might just want to forward this research to your boss, but if your company doesn’t offer lunchtime yoga, this is another reminder that fitting yoga into your life, even if it’s just once a week for a few weeks, can bring real benefits to your health and wellbeing. You can break it into two or three shorter sessions. You can practice during lunch, in the morning, or even before bed. You can grab a buddy and take classes at a local yoga center or gym, or you can get a video, a book or visit a yoga-focused website. (I highly recommend About.com’s own yoga site, which has excellent and thorough content.) The point is, a little effort can go a long way with yoga, and it’s well worth whatever you put into it.
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