MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCE JOURNAL 2022 AUGUST VOL.6 (02) Medical and Health Science Journal Available at http://journal2.unusa.ac.id/index.php/MHSJ; DOI: 10.33086/mhsj.v6i2.3212 pISSN 2549-7588. eISSN 2549-7596 REVIEW ARTICLE A Brief Review of Beneficial Effects of Yoga on Physical and Mental Health Syed Sadat Ali 1*, Muhammad Akram2, Abid Rashid2, Muhammad Talha Khalil2, Hina Anwar2, Umme Laila2, Rida Zainab2, Ghulam Mohiuddin2 1Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, Sri Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences, T- Begur, Nelamangala Taluk, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru – Karnataka, India 2Department of Eastern Medicine, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan Bengaluru Rural, Karnataka, India ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received : July 18, 2022 Received in revised form: August 20, 2022 Accepted : August 26, 2022 Keywords: Yoga, Physical Health, Mental Health, Quality life years, Depression, anxiety. *) Corresponding author: drsadatali@gmail.com ABSTRACT Yoga is focussed as an essential form of spiritual discipline based on an extremely subtle science bringing harmony between mind and body. It is an art and science of healthy living consisting largely of asanas. It is found to be one of the best exercises for physical and mental health. There is more need of supportive therapy for maintaining physical and mental health apart from current treatment by different forms of medicine. It is known to relax body, promote immunity and thereby prevent illness seeing as effective, acceptable and cost-effective for body and mind to relieve stress. An online search for studies done using medline terms like yoga, physical health & mental health were done. The studies have shown that it improves physical illness and promotes mental calmness by removal of anxiety, depression & stress thereby excel the treatment of diseases. These gives positive change such as well-being and happiness to the individual and increase the quality life years. Medical and Health Science Journal http://journal2.unusa.ac.id/index.php/MHSJ Ali et al MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCE JOURNAL 2022 AUGUST VOL.6 (02) Page 31 of 34 INTRODUCTION Yoga is word derived from Indian philosophy which is related to physical exercise and postures. Yoga exercise not only relax or gives flexibility to mind and body but removes stress, gives strength and breathing deepening in yoga along medication removes anxiety and depression1. Other benefit is to it gives fitness to body by regulating BP, mood and metabolism2. Yoga has therapeutic effects mainly in respiratory, cardiovascular and psychiatric disorders3. Yoga has therapeutic effects on body which gives positive effects on physical and mental health. Yoga is an exercise of postures that improves physical and mental health. Anxiety and depression are largest contributor of disease after ischemic heart disease. Yoga is as therapeutic to prevent illness and promote mental well-being. Mental health improvement approaches the roots of problem and help to prevent diseases 4-6.Yoga prevents diseases and treat anxiety and depression and brings mental health balance. Yoga Yoga is word from Sanskrit having paths 1.Moral codes 2.Self-discipline 3.Postures 4.Breath practice 5.Concentration 6.Sensory transcendence 7.Meditation 8.State of bliss Yoga is best practice in Asia to join mind and body to promote physical and mental health collectively 7.Yoga is exercise which has interconnects and union in life7 Yoga practice is in world because of its benefits and linked because it has therapeutic effects 8.Yoga is physical exercise which has aim to union in life 7.Yoga is an individual practice that anyone can perform and has positive social interactions. It is performed because of low cost and to get peace and healthier body. Yoga and mental health There are many studies on yoga because of its benefits from medical services. The benefits of current research on yoga have brought peace and improves mental health. Different researches are performed on concentration, exercise, self-discipline, position and conclude it to be best to improve mental health and prevent disorders by giving inner satisfaction. Few studies have shown that performing yoga regularly under trained guru has improved mental health and better health randomly9. Figure 1: Benefits of Yoga on mental Health Copyright: vocal.media/longevity/importance-of-yoga-for-mental- wellness A study has found Yoga practice of quieting the mind10. A sound mental health can permit all to participate in curricular activities, can face stress, learn his or her abilities ,can get inner peace, can work better and contribute in every field of life11. Currently, research is going to perform on improving the mental health and life quality by preventing disorders. These are four publications on therapeutic effects of yoga in diminishing depression6, 12 and one is breathing deeply in yoga13 and one summary14. Researchers have found depression caused from various sources, its elevation and its increasing symptoms in everyday life. Many researchers have shown that yoga removes the symptoms of depression from people. In comparison to other exercises yoga actively control depression12. Yoga practices brings change in neurotransmitter chemicals by electrophysiological changes and removes depression mainly by GABA6, 13. This also has found to alleviate fatigue in healthy people and those who are suffering from asthma, sclerosis, cancer, fibromyalgia, dialysis and pancreatitis15. Along with medication, yoga has seen to have therapeutic effects in decreasing anxiety in a study.1 Ali et al MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCE JOURNAL 2022 AUGUST VOL.6 (02) Page 32 of 34 Yoga has beneficial effects in treating anxiety and trials have been performed in which it is shown to be beneficial in diminishing anxiety which yoga fulfil criteria16. It also removes posttraumatic stress disorder. Studies have shown that it has helps in diminishing stress, sadness, disturb sleep and anxiety17. Yoga and physical fitness Yoga practise is one of best exercise which keeps body fit even in old age. Studies have shown that yoga gives fitness physically with respect to balance, body relaxation, function, strengthening body and weight loss18. In yoga along with physical fitness, yoga brings inner calm, improves function, abilities positively and self-confidence in adults. It also improves social involvement and self-esteem. It has effects in physical fitness by sympathetic and parasympathetic activation and vagal nerves. Yoga shifts sympathetic to parasympathetic system by releasing hormone or neurotransmitter by vagal stimulation19. It is reported that yoga gives strength to muscles of heart20. Effect of yoga on life Yoga has one of best to improve quality of life in healthy and ill both people by decreasing fatigue, anxiety and depression. In comparison to other forms of exercise, yoga has more benefits by alleviating depression & stress, also benefit for cardiorespiratory function and in patients of mood disorders21. Figure 2: Health benefits of Yoga Copyright: Harvard Health publications Many forms of treatment by medicine has toxic side effects but yoga has no side effects but also enhance the quality of life22. Yoga also improves physical and mental health in prison23. Yoga is best to improve health of women during pregnancy and help to cope in sexual relationship by strengthening muscles24. It removes stress, depression in breast cancer therapy25 and also improves health in other people who are not psycho26. Yoga is used as adjunctive therapy27. A study has found supportive role of Yoga benefitting to help in treatment of depression28 It is equal to antidepressants 29. Yoga and antidepressants along are more beneficial30. Yoga experience Patient feels good after practising yoga and use it positively. It motivates patients by removing stress, depression and they cope with their abilities which improves their performance. Yoga effects on body Yoga has one important impact on body is prevention of diseases, removing anxiety and depression, promoting health both physically and mentally. It has also an effect on heart, respiratory system and brain and it gives inner peace to fight with stress and keep calm. When it effects on brain it stimulate GABA(Gamma amino butyric acid) by parasympathetic system which are affected by vagal nerves31. Yoga by breathing & postures, body movement is found to be best among patients with cardiac illness. Yoga gives positive expressions in immune cells32. In yoga, breathing is slow which acts as link between body and mind to give relaxation to body which acts on principle of yoga. Slow and deep breaths fulfil the body needs of oxygen. It gives relaxation and stability to mind and body and improves mental health and function. Yoga by relaxing mind gives relaxation to body effectively and it helps to decrease mood disorder, depression, stress, anger and gives inner satisfaction and happiness. Many of the postures are like tree, snake, animals like cat, dog etc33. One of best pose is corpse pose in which limbs are relax by lying down as deep rest. Yoga-practice in schools, colleges, workshops and health care is best to promote physical and mental health of people34. Yoga and cardiopulmonary system It is reported that yoga practicing help in controlling BP or hypertension in which it is studied that it lowers both systolic and diastolic blood pressure 19.One research conclude that yoga lowers both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in without comparing to medicine treatment35. Yoga helps in improving lung function in patients of asthma and bronchitis because of deep breathing20. Yoga and metabolic syndrome Ali et al MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCE JOURNAL 2022 AUGUST VOL.6 (02) Page 33 of 34 Yoga practicing has effect on insulin resistance syndrome which it has effect in controlling glucose 19T2 diabetes mellitus36 and its management which it can control glucose level for short term not for long term37. It is treated by duration of yoga from 20 min to varying session from 3-5 days for 90 min and it has beneficial therapeutics effects. Yoga studied evidence that it has menopausal effect which is insufficient38. In menopausal symptom yoga has effective intervention in psychiatric, urogenital, vasomotor and somatic symptoms 39 Yoga and musculoskeletal condition Yoga practising is beneficial in physical fitness and relaxation of muscles which treats pain. Researches are performed on function of muscles40, 41and on chronic pain42, 43including lower back pain and joints pain or arthritis. Studies concluded that yoga is favourable in treating pain like headache, migraine, backache, arthritis and labour pain. Acknowlegment The financing is obtained independently Conflicts of Interest There are no conflicts of interest declared by the author. References 1. Kirkwood G, Rampes H, Tuffrey V, et al. Yoga for anxiety: a systematic review of the research evidence.British journal of sports medicine; 2005; 39: 884-891. 2. Yang K. A review of yoga programs for four leading risk factors of chronic diseases.Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine; 2007; 4. 3. Jeter PE, Slutsky J, Singh N, et al. 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