title: A yoga intervention for young adults with elevated symptoms of depression.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Yoga teachers and students often report that yoga has an uplifting effect on their moods, but scientific research on yoga and depression is limited.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effects of a short-term Iyengar yoga course on mood in mildly depressed young adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Young adults pre-screened for mild levels of depression were randomly assigned to a yoga course or wait-list control group.
  
  
  METHODS
  College campus recreation center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-eight volunteers ages 18 to 29. At intake, all participants were experiencing mild levels of depression, but had received no current psychiatric diagnoses or treatments. None had significant yoga experience.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects in the yoga group attended two 1-hour Iyengar yoga classes each week for 5 consecutive weeks. The classes emphasized yoga postures thought to alleviate depression, particularly back bends, standing poses, and inversions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Profile of Mood States, morning cortisol levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects who participated in the yoga course demonstrated significant decreases in self-reported symptoms of depression and trait anxiety. These effects emerged by the middle of the yoga course and were maintained by the end. Changes also were observed in acute mood, with subjects reporting decreased levels of negative mood and fatigue following yoga classes. Finally, there was a trend for higher morning cortisol levels in the yoga group by the end of the yoga course, compared to controls. These findings provide suggestive evidence of the utility of yoga asanas in improving mood and support the need for future studies with larger samples and more complex study designs to more fully evaluate the effects of yoga on mood disturbances.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles, USA. awoolery@ucla.edu
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Woolery
authors.forename: Hector
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sternlieb
authors.forename: Lonnie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zeltzer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015013:Yoga