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Far Eastern Yoga is an effective adjunctive therapy for mental disorders
The different forms of mental disorders are relatively widespread in the population and the treatment is sometimes quite difficult. Here, physical yoga as an accompaniment to therapy could significantly improve the success of treatment, according to a recent study by psychologists from the University Hospital and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena. "Yoga is a treatment option for mental disorders," according to the University Hospital.
In their meta-analysis, the Jena psychologists evaluated previous studies on the effectiveness of body-oriented yoga in mental disorders and found that yoga with breathing and physical exercises can offer a promising complementary approach to the treatment of mental disorders. The benefits are clear, according to the researchers. Because yoga is a widespread recreational activity and thus a low-threshold, well-accepted therapeutic approach, which is not only cost-effective, but also brings little risks or side effects. The study results were published in Deutsches Ärzteblatt.
Yoga shows a clear effect on mental disorders and is well suited as a complementary therapy. (Image: BillionPhotos.com/fotolia.com) Effect of yoga exercises for mental disorders checked
The positive effect of yoga on physical ailments such as chronic pain or even cardiovascular disease is well documented, according to the researchers. But so far, the question remained open as to how effective body-oriented yoga is in the treatment of mental disorders. Study Director PD Dr. med. Jenny Rosendahl from the Institute for Psychosocial Medicine and Psychotherapy at the University of Jena and colleagues have selected from 2600 specialist publications on the subject ultimately 25 studies with suitable quality requirements, by which they examined the effect of yoga exercises in mental disorders.
Effect of Yoga on Depression, Schizophrenia and Co.
"Essential for the selection was that the examinations contrasted groups with and without yoga, and the distribution of study participants into these groups was random," explains Rosendahl. In addition, according to the study leader, yoga had to be explicitly labeled "Hatha Yoga" or include breathing and physical exercises..
In total, the studies considered included more than 1,300 subjects and a majority of them were conducted in the US or India. According to the University Hospital, the majority of the patients considered patients with schizophrenia and depression. "But even with substance dependency, anxiety and other disorders, the subjects completed yoga exercises - always in groups and under the guidance of a yoga teacher," said the message from the University of Jena.
Significant relief of symptoms
Yoga was used in the studies considered for the treatment of various mental disorders and "most of the training was complementary to a drug treatment, which was also partially accompanied by other therapeutic interventions," says Jenny Rosendahl. In some studies, however, yoga was also used as the sole therapy. The control groups usually did not receive additional treatment, but in some studies, yoga was compared to exercise, attention control, or psychotherapy. "Overall, there was a significant effect of yoga in terms of alleviating the symptoms of the disorders considered," the study director concludes. However, the detectable effects in the studies were "very heterogeneous".
Further studies required
According to the researchers, yoga was found to be slightly more effective in comparing yoga exercises to sports or attention control, while it was about as effective as standard psychotherapeutic treatment as a complement to drug treatment. In the opinion of the researchers, further influencing factors now have to be investigated. For example, recent work has found a lesser positive effect of yoga, possibly due to the increasing standardization of the studies. In addition, a weaker effect of the yoga has been shown in patients who were outpatients or inpatients in treatment.
The severity of the disorder can play a role. In view of the current study results, however, body-oriented yoga as a supplementary treatment option for mental disorders should always be taken into consideration, emphasizes Rosendahl. It could "reduce symptoms specific to the disorder and contribute to the improvement of well-being and quality of life." However, further high-quality studies are necessary to be able to better evaluate the specific effects of yoga. (Fp)