Researchers from the University of Illinois have uncovered information that might link the regular practice of hatha yoga to improve the cognitive abilities of older, more sedentary people.
Hatha yoga is a variation of the popular meditative exercise, with "hatha" being a combination word that means "sun" (ha-) and "moon" (-tha), in reference to the balance of the active masculine and cool feminine aspects of the routine. This was developed as a means of aligning a person's skin to his bones and muscles. People who practice hatha yoga says that the postures that are executed during that routine are able to effectively open channels that allow the person's energy to flow freely throughout the body. "Hatha yoga is a path toward creating balance and uniting opposites. In our physical bodies we develop a balance of strength and flexibility. We also learned to balance her effort and surrender eat in each pose."
Lead author and a graduate of the University of Illinois, Neha Gothe, says that, "Hatha yoga Requires focused effort in moving through the poses, controlling the body, and breathing at a steady rate. It is possible that this focus on one's body, mind, and breast during yoga practice may have generalized to situations outside of the yoga classes, resulting in improved ability to sustain attention." The research entailed the recruitment of over 100 participants between the ages of 55 and 79. Over half the subjects were assigned to take regular hatha yoga sessions, while the rest had regular toning and stretching exercises. The researchers found that the control group taking yoga classes were getting higher scores on tests that evaluated their mental flexibility, information recall, and task switching abilities then they had before yoga. In contrast, the non-yoga group showed no improvement in their cognitive abilities.
Gothe explains, "These studies suggest that yoga has an immediate quieting effect on the sympathetic nervous system and on the body's response to stress. Since we know that stress and anxiety can affect cognitive performance, the eight-week yoga intervention may have boosted participants' performance by reducing their stress.