(January 3, 2007) -- New research shows practicing yoga induces a feeling of well-being in the healthy.
Yoga can even help out-of-shape people reverse some of the symptoms associated with metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of heart-disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and obesity.
Dr. R.P. Agrawal, of the SP Medical College, Bikaner, India, and colleagues evaluated the beneficial effects of yoga and meditation in 101 adults with features of metabolic syndrome.
In the study, 55 adults received three months of regular yoga including standard postures and Raja Yoga, a form of transcendental meditation daily, while the remaining received standard care.
Waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar, and triglycerides were significantly lower, and "good" HDL cholesterol levels were higher in the yoga group as compared to controls, Agrawal's team reports in the journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.