Practices incorporating yoga asanas, which are specific physical postures and body positions practiced in yoga, show positive effects on the physiological regulation of stress, whether or not accompanied by mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques.
Asanas are a central element of yoga practices, designed to strengthen, stretch and balance the physical body while promoting mental concentration and relaxation.
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These practices are associated with several significant physiological benefits, such as a reduction in evening and morning cortisol, ambulatory systolic blood pressure, as well as an improvement in resting heart rate and high-frequency heart rate variability.
In addition, they appear to favorably influence fasting blood glucose, cholesterol and low-density lipoproteins.
Meta-analyses, which are statistical studies combining the results of multiple independent trials on a given subject, indicate that yoga, when asanas are integrated, may have a beneficial effect on stress management by modulating long-term physiological response.
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Sources:
✍️ Yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction and stress-related physiological measures: A meta-analysis.
Pascoe MC, Thompson DR, Ski CF.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2017 Dec;86:152-168. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.08.008.