Instead of medicines? Yoga and breathing exercises can relieve depression

Yoga and breathing exercises can relieve depression?
A combination of yoga and breathing exercises can reduce the discomfort of patients with major depression. This could show scientists from the US in a small randomized study. In the study, yoga exercises were combined with breathing exercises designed to increase the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system.

The study was attended by 34 participants. They were divided into two groups. All participants completed 90-minute therapy sessions during which they performed various Iyengar yoga exercises in the first 60 minutes. After ten minutes of relaxation followed by 20 minutes of breathing exercises.

Researchers examined the effects of yoga on existing depression. (Image: WavebreakMediaMicro / fotolia.com)

The difference in the two groups was in the training intensity. The first group practiced 90 minutes three times a week in a yoga class and four times 30 minutes at home. In the other group, patients completed two 90-minute yoga classes and three 30-minute homework sessions per week. A therapy-free control group did not exist. Patients were allowed to continue taking their medication in both groups.

Both groups showed significant relief of depression after 12 weeks. Participants in the more exercise-intensive group had a score of 24.6 points in the BDI-II (Beck Depression Inventory) before the study, indicating moderate-to-severe depression. After the end of treatment, the BDI-II had dropped to 6.0 points. They were below the threshold of 8 points, from which depressive symptoms are present. In the low-intensity group, it fell from 27.7 to 10.1 points. Again, many patients had recovered from their depressive symptoms. The study can be found here.