An elderly woman sits on a meadow in the forest in a lotus seat

Study on yoga for depression

Sudha Prathikanti et al.

March 2017

Mental health

Yoga (individual)

This study examined the effectiveness of an 8-week hatha yoga intervention as a stand-alone treatment for mild to moderate depression.

38 adults from San Francisco with depression were randomly assigned to either a yoga group or an attention control training group.

The results showed that participants in the yoga group experienced a significantly greater reduction in the severity of depression compared to the control group.

In addition, a larger proportion of yoga practitioners achieved remission. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of self-efficacy and self-esteem.

The study concludes that Hatha yoga can be an effective and clinically significant treatment option for adults with mild to moderate depression.

The most important information on the study at a glance

Indications: Depression
Institution: University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
Title: Study on yoga for depression
Brief description: The study shows that Hatha yoga reduces the severity of mild to moderate depression to a greater extent and is therefore effective.
Original title: Treating Major Depression With Yoga: A Prospective, Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial
Link to the study: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT01210651