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Yoga is a discipline which is in trend. Born on the banks of the Indus river more than 4000 years ago, every day more people join this ancient practice. It comprehends a whole philosophy, the study of human mind, and different techniques of postural control (asanas), energy control through breath (pranayama), body hygiene (kriyas) and meditation.

Today we will speak about its most popular and visible face: the Yoga poses or asanas. We will tell you 3 benefits that are known and documented since centuries and some piece of example of what modern science has to say.

Whichever the modern Yoga style you practice, the poses you are doing come from Hatha Yoga. And here you may be thinking “But I don’t do Hatha, I practice Asthanga, or Hot, or Vinyasa, or Yin…”. Well let us tell you that this also applies, regardless the commercial name and modality you are doing. The current Yoga postures are derived from the medieval lineage of Nath Yogis, also known as Hatha Yogis. They not only documented the practices but their benefits that they were experiencing too.

Among these documents, one of the most important books is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (could be translated like “The small lamp of Hatha Yoga”), written by the great Hatha Yogi Swami Svatmarama circa the 15th century.

In its first chapter, the main 3 benefits of the Yoga poses or asanas are described:

1. Stability (sthairyam)

   Not only in the sense of balance or the stability of the pose or the posture, but mind balance.

2. Health (āroghyam)

   Or lack of disease (roghyam). Improve of general health and prevention of diseases.

3. Lightness of the body (āngalāghavam)

   Lightness (lāghavam) of the extremities or body parts (āngas). Sensation of less tension, more flexibility and mobility.

 All this sounds good but, what does modern science has to say about that? During the last years several studies are being carried on the benefits of asanas and Yoga techniques. A very interesting one for instance was conducted by researchers at the Saint Petersburg State Medical Academy.

In the experiment the trained a control group in Yoga to perform Bhujangasana (Cobra pose). Then they measured the blood serum level of the hormones Cortisol (the stress hormone) and Testosterone (key for health not only in males but in females, decreasing for example the risk of suffering osteoporosis) in an interval no longer than 5 minutes.

They noted a decrease of 11 % of Cortisol with a reliability of 99% and an increase of Testosterone levels of 16 %, with a reliability of 95 %.

Somehow science is able to confirm what yogis already knew and what we Yoga practitioners experience and sense.

References:

Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Minvaleev, R.S., Nozdrachev, A.D., Kir'yanova, V.V. et al. Postural Influences on the Hormone Level in Healthy Subjects: I. The Cobra Posture and Steroid Hormones. Human Physiology 30, 452–456 (2004).