Yoga as a Workplace Intervention for Burnout and Stress in Healthcare Professionals: A Narrative Review
International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research June 4, 2026 DOI: 10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i03.80314 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Narrative review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Healthcare professionals |
| Intervention | Yoga |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Psychological intervention Context archaeology Health care Stressor Intervention counseling Occupational stress Emotional exhaustion Clinical psychology Occupational burnout Nursing Systematic review Narrative review Gratitude |
| Key findings | Yoga reduces emotional exhaustion, negative stress perceptions, anxiety, and depression in healthcare professionals. A network meta-analysis of 15 RCTs found yoga the most effective physical relaxation method for occupational stress. Evidence quality was limited by methodological issues, and organizational reforms are needed to address structural burnout factors. |
Abstract
Background: Burnout syndrome has become endemic to healthcare professions and is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of accomplishment. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced additional burdens to pre-existing stressors and has left the global healthcare workforce, including those in India, with an ongoing psychological crisis.
Objective: The aim of this narrative review is to evaluate the efficacy, the physiological dimensions, and the implementation of yoga-based interventions to burnout and occupational stress of healthcare professionals. Methodology: The narrative synthesis included 31 peer-reviewed studies (RCTs, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, an umbrella review and epidemiological surveys) extracted from Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Major
Findings: Yoga reduces emotional exhaustion and negative perceptions of stress and decreases anxiety and depression. Of the 15 RCTs included in a network meta-analysis, yoga was found to be the most effective method of physical relaxation to relieve occupational stress. The results of the studies varied in the context of the physiological biomarkers. In the studies, brief, virtual, and mHealth interventions were found to be more feasible than in-person programs. The evidence was of poor quality due to the self-selected sample, high participant dropout, self-reporting and lack of long-term follow-up.
Conclusion: Yoga can be introduced as an additional intervention to relieve burnout of healthcare professionals. To ensure the yoga programs are effective and ethically implemented, organizational reforms to address structural factors that contribute to burnout must be undertaken.