Long-term yoga practitioners experience less joint pain and fewer headaches, according to a new George Washington University study.
Presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine and Second World Congress on Exercise is Medicine, the study shows that yoga offers long-term health benefits that cardiovascular exercise and weight training do not.
“We surveyed the participants on psychological well-being, as measured by anxiety, depression, coping, mindfulness, perceived stress and general health symptoms,” said Brittanie DeChino, lead researcher.
The 163 participants from the Washington, DC, area included regular exercisers and long-time yoga practitioners. Researchers found that while both groups reported similar levels of depression and anxiety, the yogis had higher scores for mindfulness and coping skills and lower levels of stress.