Yoga: Effectiveness and Safety

Written By Juliette Ambrogi

Original publication posted on National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

The following content has been directly sourced from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), an organization that provides public domain information to encourage widespread sharing and use. This material is offered here for informational purposes and should not substitute for professional medical advice. For personalized guidance, consult with a qualified healthcare provider.

What is yoga and how does it work?

Yoga is an ancient and complex practice, rooted in Indian philosophy. It began as a spiritual practice but has become popular as a way of promoting physical and mental well-being.

Although classical yoga also includes other elements, yoga as practiced in the United States typically emphasizes physical postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), and meditation (dyana). 

There are many different yoga styles, ranging from gentle practices to physically demanding ones. Differences in the types of yoga used in research studies may affect study results. This makes it challenging to evaluate research on the health effects of yoga.

Yoga and two practices of Chinese origin—tai chi and qigong—are sometimes called “meditative movement” practices. All three practices include both meditative elements and physical ones.

What are the health benefits of yoga?

Research suggests that yoga may:

  • Help improve general wellness by relieving stress, supporting good health habits, and improving mental/emotional health, sleep, and balance.

  • Relieve neck pain, migraine or tension-type headaches, and pain associated with knee osteoarthritis. It may also have a small benefit for low-back pain.

  • Help people with overweight or obesity lose weight.

  • Help people quit smoking.

  • Help people manage anxiety symptoms or depression.

  • Relieve menopause symptoms.

  • Be a helpful addition to treatment programs for substance use disorders.

  • Help people with chronic diseases manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life.

What does research show about yoga for wellness?

Studies have suggested possible benefits of yoga for several aspects of wellness, including stress management, mental/emotional health, promoting healthy eating/activity habits, sleep, and balance. 

More

Can yoga help with pain management?

Research has been done on yoga for several conditions that involve pain, including low-back pain, neck pain, headaches, and knee osteoarthritis. For low-back pain, a large amount of research has been done, and the evidence suggests a slight benefit. For the other conditions, the evidence looks promising, but the amount of research is relatively small.

More

Is practicing yoga a good way to lose weight?

There’s evidence that yoga may help people lose weight.

More

Can yoga help you quit smoking?

There’s evidence that yoga may help people stop smoking. 

  • A 2019 NCCIH-funded study with 227 participants compared yoga classes with general wellness classes as additions to a conventional once-weekly counseling program. The people in the yoga group were 37 percent more likely to have quit smoking by the end of the 8-week program. However, 6 months after treatment, there was no difference between the groups in the proportion of people who were still not smoking.

  • A study published in 2020 showed a reduction in cigarette cravings after a single yoga session, as compared with a wellness education session. The study participants were people who were trying to cut back or stop smoking.

How does yoga affect mental health?

Yoga can be a helpful addition to treatment for depression. It may also be helpful for anxiety symptoms in a variety of populations, but there’s little evidence of a benefit for people with anxiety disorders. Yoga might have benefits for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Depression

Anxiety

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Can yoga help with menopause symptoms?

Yoga seems to be at least as effective as other types of exercise in relieving menopause symptoms. A 2018 evaluation of 13 studies (more than 1,300 participants) of yoga for menopause symptoms found that yoga reduced physical symptoms such as hot flashes as well as psychological symptoms such as anxiety or depression.

Is yoga helpful for substance use disorders?

A small amount of research has looked at the possible benefits of incorporating yoga into treatment programs for various types of substance use disorders (opioid, alcohol, or tobacco use disorders or others). In a 2021 review of 8 studies (1,889 participants), 7 studies showed evidence of beneficial effects in terms of reduced use of the substance or reduction in symptoms such as pain, stress, or anxiety.

Is yoga helpful for people with chronic diseases?

There’s promising evidence that yoga may help people with some chronic diseases manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life. Thus, yoga could be a helpful addition to treatment programs. 

More

What does research show about practicing yoga during pregnancy?

Physical activities such as yoga are safe and desirable for most pregnant women as long as appropriate precautions are taken. Yoga may have health benefits for pregnant women, such as decreasing stress, anxiety, and depression.

More

Does yoga have benefits for children?

Research suggests that yoga may have several potential benefits for children.

  • A 2020 review of 27 studies (1,805 total participants) of yoga interventions in children or adolescents found reductions in anxiety or depression in 70 percent of the studies, with more promising results for anxiety. Some of the studies involved children who had or were at risk for various physical or mental health disorders and others involved groups of children in schools. The quality of the studies was relatively weak, and the results cannot be considered conclusive. 

  • A 2021 review evaluated 9 studies (289 total participants) of yoga interventions for weight loss in children or adolescents with obesity or overweight. Some of the studies evaluated yoga alone; others evaluated yoga in combination with other interventions such as changes in diet. The majority of the yoga interventions had beneficial effects on weight loss and related behavior changes. The studies were small, and some did not use the most rigorous study designs.

  • There is a growing body of evidence on the use of yoga in school settings. 

    • A 2022 review of 21 studies (2,227 participants) of school-based yoga interventions in students age 5 to 15 showed promising results suggesting that yoga may enhance mental health among children and adolescents.

    • Yoga interventions in educational settings have also been studied in preschool-aged children (age 3 to 5). A 2021 review of studies of yoga and mindfulness practices in this age group suggested that these practices may have benefits for social-emotional functioning, although more research is needed before definite conclusions can be reached.

    • A small amount of evidence suggests that school-based yoga programs may have academic and psychological benefits for neurodiverse children.

What are the risks of yoga?

Yoga is generally considered a safe form of physical activity for healthy people when performed properly, under the guidance of a qualified instructor. However, as with other forms of physical activity, injuries can occur. The most common injuries are sprains and strains, and the parts of the body most commonly injured are the knee or lower leg. Serious injuries are rare. The risk of injury associated with yoga is lower than that for higher impact physical activities.

Older adults may need to be particularly cautious when practicing yoga. The rate of yoga-related injuries treated in emergency departments is higher in people age 65 and older than in younger adults.

To reduce your chances of getting hurt while doing yoga:

  • Practice yoga under the guidance of a qualified instructor. Learning yoga on your own without supervision has been associated with increased risks.

  • If you’re new to yoga, avoid extreme practices such as headstands, shoulder stands, the lotus position, and forceful breathing.

  • Be aware that hot yoga has special risks related to overheating and dehydration.

  • Pregnant women, older adults, and people with health conditions should talk with their health care providers and the yoga instructor about their individual needs. They may need to avoid or modify some yoga poses and practices. Some of the health conditions that may call for modifications in yoga include preexisting injuries, such as knee or hip injuries, lumbar spine disease, severe high blood pressure, balance issues, and glaucoma.

How popular is yoga in the United States?

According to a national survey, the percentage of U.S. adults who practiced yoga increased from 5.0 percent in 2002 to 15.8 percent in 2022.

For children, there are data from 2017; in that year, 8.4 percent of U.S. children age 4 to 17 practiced yoga.

Why do Americans practice yoga?

National survey data from 2012 showed that 94 percent of adults who practiced yoga did it for wellness-related reasons, while 17.5 percent did it to treat a specific health condition. Some people reported doing both. 

Do different groups of people have different experiences with yoga?

Much of the research on yoga in the United States has been conducted in predominantly female, non-Hispanic White, well-educated people with relatively high incomes. Other people—particularly members of minority groups and those with lower incomes—have been underrepresented in yoga studies.

Different groups of people may have different yoga-related experiences, and the results of studies that did not examine a diverse population may not apply to everyone.

More

Research Funded by NCCIH

NCCIH is sponsoring a variety of yoga studies, including:

  • An evaluation of emotion regulation as a mechanism of action in yoga interventions for chronic low-back pain.

  • A study of yoga for chronic pain in people who are being treated for opioid use disorder.

  • A study of the effects of yoga postures and slow, deep breathing in people with hypertension (high blood pressure).

Tips To Consider

  • Don’t use yoga to postpone seeing a health care provider about a medical problem.

  • Ask about the training and experience of the yoga instructor you’re considering.

  • Take charge of your health—talk with your health care providers about any complementary health approaches you use. Together, you can make shared, well-informed  decisions.

For More Information

NCCIH Clearinghouse

The NCCIH Clearinghouse provides information on NCCIH and complementary and integrative health approaches, including publications and searches of Federal databases of scientific and medical literature. The Clearinghouse does not provide medical advice, treatment recommendations, or referrals to practitioners.

Toll-free in the U.S.: 1-888-644-6226

Telecommunications relay service (TRS): 7-1-1

Website: https://www.nccih.nih.gov

Email: info@nccih.nih.gov

Know the Science

NCCIH and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provide tools to help you understand the basics and terminology of scientific research so you can make well-informed decisions about your health. Know the Science features a variety of materials, including interactive modules, quizzes, and videos, as well as links to informative content from Federal resources designed to help consumers make sense of health information.

Explaining How Research Works (NIH)

Know the Science: How To Make Sense of a Scientific Journal Article

Understanding Clinical Studies (NIH)

PubMed®

A service of the National Library of Medicine, PubMed® contains publication information and (in most cases) brief summaries of articles from scientific and medical journals. For guidance from NCCIH on using PubMed, see How To Find Information About Complementary Health Approaches on PubMed.

Yoga for Health—Systematic Reviews/Reviews/Meta-analyses

Yoga for Health—Randomized Controlled Trials

Website: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Key References

Other References

Acknowledgments

NCCIH thanks Inna Belfer, M.D., Ph.D., and David Shurtleff, Ph.D., NCCIH, for their review of the 2023 update of this publication.

This publication is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. Duplication is encouraged.

NCCIH has provided this material for your information. It is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your health care provider(s). We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with your health care provider. The mention of any product, service, or therapy is not an endorsement by NCCIH.

Last Updated: August 2023

Original publication posted on National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

Juliette Ambrogi
Previous

Illinois passes SB 2872, promotes yoga and meditation in schools