Yoga Asana- Effect on Mood, Anxiety and Brain GABA Levels

Effects of Yoga Versus Walking on Mood, Anxiety, and Brain GABA Levels: A Randomized Controlled MRS Study

Yoga has a greater positive effect on a person’s mood and anxiety level than walking and other forms of exercise, which may be due to higher levels of the brain chemical GABA according to an article in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available free online. 

Subjects: The sample comprised 8 yoga practitioners and 11 comparison subjects.

Interventions: Yoga practitioners completed a 60-minute yoga session and comparison subjects completed a 60-minute reading session.

Outcome measures: GABA-to-creatine ratios were measured in a 2-cm axial slab using magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging immediately prior to and immediately after interventions.

Results: There was a 27% increase in GABA levels in the yoga practitioner group after the yoga session (0.20 mmol/kg) but no change in the comparison subject group after the reading session ( −0.001 mmol/kg) (t = −2.99, df = 7.87, p = 0.018).

Conclusions:These findings demonstrate that in experienced yoga practitioners, brain GABA levels increase after a session of yoga. This suggests that the practice of yoga should be explored as a treatment for disorders with low GABA levels such as depression and anxiety disorders. Future studies should compare yoga to other forms of exercise to help determine whether yoga or exercise alone can alter GABA levels.

*The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2007.6338