New Study Casts Doubt on the Benefits of Yoga
This headline is catchy, but is it true?. Yesterday I was watching Joy Behar on TV. She and Bette Midler were talking about health and fitness, and the subject of yoga came up. Joy said, “I know you like to do yoga, but now they (who shall go nameless) say it’s not really that beneficial.” As a strong proponent of yoga being a mind/body practice, I had to investigate her claim.
Turns out there was an article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. It concerned a recent research study funded and conducted by the National Institute of Health. Their conclusion? The physical aspects of yoga may be more beneficial than the mental aspects. How does one measure the mental benefits of something? I know when I wrenched my hips overdoing Wii Boxing, I was not in a very good mood. My body hurt, I couldn’t do much of anything without being in pain and my energy level was lower than usual. All this didn’t make me happy. On the other hand, when I swim laps in a warm pool and my body feels pliable, without aches or pains, I go through my day feeling really good. Those are the days when my answer to the question asked at the grocery store, “How are you doing today?,” comes back not as “Okay,” but as “Great!”
Yoga, although it has only gained recent popularity in the United States, is a 5,000 year old, Hindu disciple used specifically to promote control of the body and mind. You would think if the NIH study is true, someone, in 5,000 years, would have come up with the same conclusion, that the physical aspects of yoga far outweigh the mental aspects.. In my new book, “You Can Shoot 70 at 70,” I list some of the well-known health benefits of the practice, benefits agreed upon for as long as they were measurable.
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