This is Your Brain on Yoga

The practice of yoga dates back over 2000 years to ancient India, with a focus on the unification of the mind, body, and spirit through the practice of physical movements, meditation, and breathing exercises. Today, yoga is practiced by more than 300 million people worldwide because when you step out of a yoga class, no doubt you feel better from head to toe: Your muscles feel more relaxed and there’s a mental clarity only om-ing can bring, which begs the question, exactly how does a simple sun salutation or tree pose give you a feeling of relaxed euphoria?

Though it's been around for thousands of years, Western science is just beginning to understand how yoga exerts its effects. It will certainly be interesting to follow the research as it continues to reveal just what yoga is doing in the body and brain. But as of now, we know that when you pop in and out of downward-facing dog, your brain releases all sorts of chemicals including, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins, that not only help you relax but also lower your stress and anxiety levels. All five neurotransmitters are the targets of various mood medications like antidepressants (e.g., SSRIs) and anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) drugs.

Using MRI scans, Chantal Villemure and Catherine Bushnell of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Bethesda, Md, detected more brain cells in certain brain areas in people who regularly practiced yoga, as compared with control subjects. “We found that with more hours of practice per week, certain areas were more enlarged,” Villemure said, a finding that hints that yoga was a contributing factor to the brain gains.

Yogis had larger brain volume in the somatosensory cortex, which contains a mental map of our body, the superior parietal cortex, involved in directing attention, and the visual cortex, which Villemure postulates might have been bolstered by visualization techniques. The hippocampus, a region critical to dampening stress, was also enlarged in practitioners, as were the precuneus and the posterior cingulate cortex, areas key to our concept of self.

Eleven other studies examining the effects of yoga practice on the brain structures, function and cerebral blood flow collectively demonstrate yoga’s positive effect on the structure and/or function of the hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, and other brain networks. The studies offer promising early evidence that yoga may help to mitigate age-related and neurodegenerative brain declines, as many of the regions identified are known to demonstrate significant age-related atrophy.

What is it about yoga that provides such a brain boost? According to Neha Gothe, director of the exercise psychology lab at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, “We believe one of the key mechanisms could be that regular yoga practice impacts emotional regulation, that is, it helps reduce stress, anxiety, and other negative emotional responses.” Other studies have shown that improving your mood is related to better brain health and functioning, she says.

The right “dose” of yoga required to experience the brain benefits depends upon the person. But most people in the studies found a benefit after practicing yoga just once or twice a week, for 10 to 24 weeks.

And if that’s not enough to get you to roll out your mat, other research suggests that yoga can improve your sleep, increase mindfulness, relieve anxiety, and even help you stick to healthy habits in other aspects of your life.

Ready to power up your brain? Click the button below to sign up for yoga class with Rachel at Success Studio’s Ivy location either virtually or in person! Namaste.