Yoga On the Mind

We’ve long known that cardio exercise is great for brain power, but new research suggests there’s something even better: Yoga...

 

 

Yoga seems to always be breaking through perceived peak popularity barriers. You probably already do it, in fact, and know its many benefits. So it may come as no surprise that researchers have found that in addition to reducing stress, increasing mobility and enhancing a positive outlook on life, it also increases brainpower. And is good for the whole family.

Conventional wisdom has been that if you hit a wall with work, school or a creative project, a quick bout of aerobic exercise is what’s needed to recharge the brain, allowing for higher quality work and more productivity. But researchers at University of Illinois found that subjects who engaged in a 20-minute bout of hatha yoga significantly enhanced their working memory, mental agility and brain speed immediately afterwards, and here’s the thing: in much higher proportions than when they performed intense aerobic exercise or did nothing at all before taking the tests of cognitive function.
The yoga included not only standing and sitting postures, but also meditative deep breathing. Researchers theorize that it’s not only the movements in the yoga that help cognitive function, but the meditative aspects that aim to keep distractions at bay and maintain focus. It appears to carry over into our thought processes outside the yoga shala and into all other areas of life.