Abstract

Stress and anxiety have been implicated as contributors to many chronic diseases and to
decreased quality of life, even with pharmacologic treatment. Efforts are underway to find
non-pharmacologic therapies to relieve stress and anxiety, and yoga is one option for
which results are promising. The focus of this review is on the results of human trials
assessing the role of yoga in improving the signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety. A
significant decrease in stress and/or anxiety symptoms when a yoga regimen was
implemented; however, many of the studies were also hindered by limitations, such as
small study populations, lack of randomization, and lack of a control group. Biochemical
and physiological markers of stress and anxiety, but yielded inconsistent support of yoga
for relief of stress and anxiety. Evaluation of the current primary literature is suggestive of
benefits of yoga in relieving stress and anxiety, but further investigation into this
relationship using large, well-defined populations, adequate controls, randomization and
long duration should be explored before recommending yoga as a treatment option.