What’s relaxing about yoga?

Yoga and I have never been friends. I have a natural, um, gift of waking up as though I’ve already had 10 cups of coffee, which means BAM! I’m off—racing around with to-do lists of to-do lists of lists I-really-have-to-do….Let’s just say more than one person over the years has suggested that I try yoga to help me relax. Or, as my mom put it: “Yoga could help you be less of a high-strung nut-job.” That’s a compliment, right? Thanks, mom.

So fine, I can take a hint. I bought myself a yoga DVD a couple years back, and gave myself a pep talk that yes, I can bend it like Gumby. Right. I’ll spare you the entire story, but my first try was my last try: During a particularly delicate pose where my foot somehow made it up near my head, I looked over just in time to see an airborne blur of black and white fur barreling towards me, landing full-force on my stomach. The hairball with feet was Sniffles, my ridiculous cat, who’d been in hot pursuit of an imaginary mouse. And so my yoga session ended with fur flying, bad words being uttered, and Sniffles and I not speaking to each other for the rest of the day.

Which brings me to this morning when I was sitting at my desk, busily drafting the third version of today’s to-do list, when I saw an article headline, “New study finds connection between yoga and mood.” Eh? If it means a bad not-loving-my-cat kinda mood, I can relate. On further investigation (don’t worry, I added “further investigate yoga and mood” to my to-do list), it turns out that a new study from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows a link between yoga, increased GABA levels, (a neurotransmitter in the brain that helps create a calm state—of which I seem to be lacking entirely) and decreased anxiety. Now we’re talking. I contacted the lead study author, Chris Streeter, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at BUSM to see what’s up with the study (i.e., what’s in it for me).

Here’s the gist of the findings:

· Study participants—random, healthy, yoga rookies—who practiced yoga three times a week for one hour, reported a more significant decrease in anxiety and greater improvements in mood than those who walked for the same period of time.

· This is the first study to demonstrate an association between yoga, increased GABA levels, (low GABA levels have been linked with depression and anxiety) and decreased anxiety.

· Regularly practicing yoga could be a potential therapy for certain anxiety issues due to yoga’s positive effect on  GABA levels.

Okay, but what if, oh, I don’t know, there’s someone who’s had a poor yoga experience in her past, meaning the thought of doing it three times a week for an hour each time sounds about as fun as cleaning out a litter box—even though this person could, perhaps, benefit from a little relaxing? Well, while there’s no specific data on different doses of yoga, says Dr. Streeter, bottom line: Any yoga is better than none—that is, as long as it’s done under the instruction of a trained professional, and preferably without any imaginary mice that need pursuing. And so for people with anxiety (and really, who doesn’t have anxiety?), it may be time to start getting familiar with some serious downward dogging.

That’s it, Sniffles. You, me, and the yoga DVD have a date tonight. Wish me luck.

-Amy, KIWI articles editor

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