Yoga improves memory, says Illinois study
"Yoga practice improves executive function by attenuating stress levels", according to a study conducted by researchers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in USA.
An abstract of the study posted online from the December 2016 edition of Biological Psychology journal, stated: An 8-week Hatha yoga intervention attenuated stress response in an older adult sample.
It concluded: Eight weeks of regular yoga practice resulted in improved working memory performance that was mediated by an attenuated response to stress.
According to UIUC News Bureau: Researchers found that eight weeks of hatha yoga classes moderated stress levels and led to better performance on challenging cognitive tests. This study, supported by National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health, was conducted at Exercise Psychology Laboratory of UIUC directed by Professor Edward McAuley.
Yoga, referred as 'a living fossil', was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, noted.
Rajan further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.
According to US National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to a '2016 Yoga in America Study', about 37 million Americans now practice yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated with having a positive self image. Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Zed added.
UIUC, founded in 1867, claims to be a "world-class leader in research, teaching, and public engagement" and "pioneer innovative research that tackles global problems".
News Posted: 19 November, 2016
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