The United States Government funds yoga research to protect and help the public. Learn about the health benefits they found.
Yoga Is Generally Considered Safe
Yoga is a legitimate component of complementary and alternative medicine, according to a statement from the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCAAM) – a division of the National Institutes of Health. The NCCAM states that yoga is “generally considered to be safe in healthy people when practiced appropriately.” Thus, Is yoga good for you? Well, thus far, the NCCAM says that its likely not bad for you.
What Are the Emotional and Physical Benefits?
The NCCAM doesn’t endorse yoga as a way to prevent or cure any health condition. However, the agency does say that based on clinical research, doing it might provide the following benefits:
Emotional Benefits
- improve your mood
- elevate your sense of well-being
- counteract your brain’s ability to create the chemicals that produce stress
- reduce anxiety
Physical Benefits
- alleviate insomnia
- increase lung capacity
- improve muscle relaxation
- result in a higher muscle to fat ratio
Thus, Is yoga good for you mentally and physically? Yes, there are clinically proven benefits.
NCAAM, a US Government Agency, Funds Yoga Research
The NCCAM funds research to discover and confirm whether yoga is good for yo. According to its website, research topics under investigation include the effects on blood pressure, chronic low-back pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, diabetes risk, and HIV. The research funded by the NCCAM is also investigating the effect on immune function, inflammatory arthritis and knee osteoarthritis insomnia, multiple sclerosis, and smoking cessation.
Contraindications for Yoga per the NCCAM
If you have a health condition, yoga might not be good for you. Thus, talk with your health practitioner before going to your first class. Despite the myriad ways yoga is good for you, the NCCAM wants the public to know there are risks, too. As stated by the NCCAM, medical conditions contraindicated for yoga include, but are not limited to
- disc disease of the spine
- extremely high or low blood pressure
- glaucoma
- retinal detachment
- fragile or atherosclerotic arteries
- risk of blood clots
- ear problems
- severe osteoporosis
- cervical spondylitis
Communicate any necessary health information to your instructor before class, so he can suggest possible modifications to ensure you’re practicing poses that are beneficial to your unique body and concerns.
