Yoga and Benefits of Chronic Inflammation

Every regular yoga practitioner felt at one point the healing effects of yoga practice on everyday life, from physical health to psychological well-being. Beyond that, if you have practiced a guaranteed time, you have experienced great healing in the face of a physical or mental illness. The benefits of yoga practice are obvious to those who practice it. How these benefits appear, however, is not very clear. Studies continue to unfold and come up with astonishing conclusions. In addition to other benefits, studies claim that yoga reduces inflammation in the body.

In 2014, a large study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that regular yoga practice had a substantial effect on the levels of inflammation in breast cancer survivors. The study at Ohio State University tracked 200 survivors of breast cancer who have never stepped on a yoga mat. Over the course of twelve weeks, they introduced half of the study participants into a yoga practice that consisted of a series of 90-minute courses. In addition to classroom sessions held twice a week, the group also received home-based DVDs and was highly encouraged to practice and on their own. Three months after treatment ended, participants who practiced and practiced yoga at least twice a week reported lower fatigue levels and higher levels of energy, unlike their non-practitioners.

However, the study was not based solely on the verbal reports of the participants. Researchers also performed a series of blood tests before and after the study, investigating the presence of three markers of inflammation. In yoga subjects, all three markers were smaller by 10-15%, which demonstrates that the feeling of well-being of yoga is not simply a placebo effect. When we think of inflammation, we tend to think of a slightly red area around a cut or muscle pain. This is a natural reaction to injury or irritation, an important part of the body's ability to heal.

There is, however, another type of inflammation, called silent inflammation, which we can not perceive or feel. Chronic inflammation, which does not stop, is a different problem. Chronic inflammation has in fact been linked to a number of diseases including heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, stroke and cancer. Research has shown that chronic inflammation can damage heart valves and including brain cells. It can also contribute to strokes and can be a factor in insulin resistance that leads to diabetes.

Other smaller studies have shown, by measuring the biological markers, that expert yoga practitioners had lower inflammatory responses to stress than novice yoga practitioners; . .