As a family physician, I was trained to apply a mutli-disciplinary approach to patient care and to consider non-pharmacologic options as a first line treatment. A recent study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, shed new light on how yoga and coherent breathing can have a powerful effect on mood disorders.
Patients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder completed a 12 week yoga intervention and ultimately resulted in improved mood “by increasing the activity of the gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) level”. But this increase in GABA levels isn’t permanent. The solution: incorporating at least one yoga intervention a week to maintain and elevate mood. Our bodies have an amazing ability to heal themselves if we work at it.
Full article available here.