Health Impacts of Yoga and Pranayama: A State-of-the-Art Review

Abstract

Thousands of years ago yoga originated in India, and in present day and age, an alarming awareness was observed in health and natural remedies among people by yoga and pranayama which has been proven an effective method for improving health in addition to prevention and management of diseases. With increasing scientific research in yoga, its therapeutic aspects are also being explored. Yoga is reported to reduce stress and anxiety, improves autonomic functions by triggering neurohormonal mechanisms by the suppression of sympathetic activity, and even, now-a-days, several reports suggested yoga is beneficial for physical health of cancer patients. Such global recognition of yoga also testifies to India's growing cultural influence.

Keywords: Anxiety; cancer; hypertension; pranayama; stress; yoga.

Figure 1

Hypothesized pathways by which yoga intervention may enhance cardiovascular risk profile

Figure 2

The impact of stress on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system. *Yoga has been shown to have significant beneficial effects in these items

Figure 3

Demonstrates positive outcomes of Yoga program for cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer survivors