Antidepressants remain the primary treatment for depression, but they may not benefit all patients. It is estimated that around 10 to 30 percent of patients with depression either fail to respond to antidepressants or experience only mild improvements paired with severe side effects.
With this in mind, researchers are on the hunt for new interventions that can boost current treatments for depression. Could yoga meet this need?
Yoga is a mind-body practice that has seen a significant rise in popularity over recent years. According to figures from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, around 13 million U.S. adults have practiced yoga in the past 12 months. Of these adults, 58 percent report practicing yoga to help maintain their health and well-being.
Alleviation of back pain and stress are among the most common reasons cited for practicing yoga, but studies have increasingly suggested that it could also be used to help treat depression.
One study reported by Medical News Today last year, for example, associated breathing-based yoga with improvements in depressive symptoms in a small number of patients with the condition.