[Photo: CBS File]
FRESNO, CA (KMJ) -A new study of veterans finds yoga effective at reducing symptoms of depression.
In the study, 21 older male veterans participated in twice-weekly hatha yoga classes for eight weeks.
The research focused on the acceptability and antidepressant effects of hatha yoga, the branch of yoga that emphasizes physical exercises, along with meditative and breathing exercises, to enhance well-being.
“It showed that yoga was highly acceptable, they really enjoyed it and their interviews at the end reported that they benefited a lot from it both physically, and mentally, emotionally.” -Lindsey Hopkins, PhD, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center (seen above).
On a scale from 1-10, the veterans rated their their enjoyment as a 9.4, and all participants saying they would recommend the program to other veterans.
More importantly, those with elevated depression scores before the program had a significant reduction in symptoms after the eight weeks.
“Some people ask what type of yoga, and how often should I practice, and those sorts of things, and we don’t have firm conclusions on that right now, so my recommendation would be just to find a yoga class that you like, and that’s convenient to go to, because the most important thing for any sort of exercise or lifestyle intervention is consistency.” – Lindsey Hopkins, PhD.
Click below to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern
