Yoga has conventionally been accepted as a meditative practice that simply promotes personal serenity and health. Now, however, researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine, in collaboration with McLean Hospital, believe yoga also can be used to treat depression. The researchers' findings, published in the May issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, claimed that practicing yoga boosts the brain's levels of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA. Depression is typically characterized by low levels of GABA. The researchers separated individuals into two groups: those who practiced yoga for an hour and those who read for an hour. Using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic imaging, or MRS, the researchers measured GABA levels before and after the hour-long trials. The results found not only that the yoga group's members had higher GABA levels but that they also had less anxiety and better moods. As a result, the researchers believe yoga could be used as treatment for a wide range of anxiety disorders, which might be particularly appealing to individuals because it is "inexpensive, and widely applicable," said Perry Renshaw, the study's senior author.
-compiled by Aradhya Nigam
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