Each year more and more of us are doing yoga- over 37 million people practiced it in some form or other in the US in 2016.. but is there any evidence for the benefits claimed for body and mind?

Science is starting to catch up. Much recent research has focused on Bikram yoga, a series of 26 poses with breathing exercises performed in sequence for 90 minutes in a humid room heated to 40degrees Celsius. A regular session can improve muscle strength but there is no effect on aerobic fitness, found by Brian Tracy at the University of Colorado and his colleagues. With a Bikram class burning around 460 calories for men and 330 for women on average

Perhaps unsurprisingly the true benefits could be psychological. Women with signs of depression, stress and emotional eating problems who did two Bikram classes a week reported a decrease in negative symptoms that was three times greater than that of a control group that did not do yoga.

Meanwhile there is broader evidence pointing to health gains from activities like yoga, tai chi and meditation. These mind-body practices can switch off genes involved in inflammation – an immune system overreaction implicated in numerous diseases- according to a review of studies by Ivana Buric at Coventry University in the UK and her colleagues in 2017

That could help to explain why yoga reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, and can improve the quality of life for people with diabetes and some forms of cancer. It may even shrink the brain areas responsible for fear and anxiety, found Sarah Lazar at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Catherine de Lange, New Scientist Jan 2018