Thursday, 3 August 2017

How yoga makes us happy according to Science

August 03, 2017
by

CREATIVITY & DISRUPTION How yoga makes us happy according to Science
By Agnieszka Golec de Zavala & Dorottya Lantos

Can we really unlock our personal power by adopting “powerful” body postures? Unfortunately, the findings that link these so-called “power poses” beloved of certain politicians with a real sense of power and control are difficult to replicate. We may not yet understand the mechanism through which body postures influence our psychological states, but our recent study suggests that we may draw insights from the rapidly expanding research on the psychological benefits of yoga.

Yoga is the practice of non-competitive, physical exercise involving held poses (in Sanskrit, asana) combined with regulated breathing (pranayama) and meditation techniques. The past few decades have seen a great increase in the practice of yoga in the West. Over 31m adults in the US have practised yoga at some point in their lives. Multiple studies point to the positive effects of yoga on mental and physical health, as well as on personal development.