Comprehensive review on the benefits and physiological basis of yoga.
Ajaya Kumar Ayyappan Unnithan
World journal of methodology June 20, 2026 DOI: 10.5662/wjm.v16.i2.114072 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Yoga |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Breathing exercise Cognition Inflammation Posture Stress Yoga |
| Key findings | Yoga provides benefits across physical fitness, mental state, cognition, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular and pulmonary function, through mechanisms including stress reduction, neural changes, and neurotransmitter modulation. |
Abstract
Yoga is widely considered as a method to improve psychological and physiological status of humans. A review is done about the benefits of yoga from the literature in modern medicine. The common benefits are in physical fitness, mental state, attention, processing speed, memory, cognitive functions and executive functions. Studies have demonstrated the benefits of yoga in metabolic syndrome with reduction of blood sugar, cholesterol, and hypertension. Yoga reduces the age-related deterioration in cardiovascular functions, improves cardiac performance, and makes pulmonary function better. The physiologic mechanisms of yoga are reduction of stress and inflammation, increased gray matter volume, improved neural network flexibility, and reorganization of attentional network. Several studies showed that yogic practices down-regulate the hypothalamopituitary adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system. Recent clinical in vivo experiments suggests that yoga enhances inhibitory mediator gamma-aminobutyric acid and enhances peripheral oxytocin levels. Serotonin and melatonin levels are also increased.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 21
- The Meditative Mind: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis of MRI Studies BioMed Research International 2015
- Yoga and health Indian Journal of Community Medicine 2014
- Meditation effects within the hippocampal complex revealed by voxel-based morphometry and cytoarchitectonic probabilistic mapping Frontiers in Psychology 2013
- Body Awareness and Yoga Training Perceptual and Motor Skills December 1, 1994
- What Has Neuroimaging Taught Us on the Neurobiology of Yoga? A Review Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience July 8, 2020
and 16 more in the library