And breathe...
A crowd gathers under the Eiffel Tower in
Paris to mark International Yoga Day on
21 June 2015. Yoga originated in India around
5,000 year s ago. At f ir s t , it wa s prac tised by
religious ascetics. Today, chances are you
pa ss at lea s t one yoga s tudio on your way
to work. And where once you might have
laughed at bizarre terms like ‘downward
dog’ and ‘cow f ace pose’, now they ’re par t
of our everyday vocabulary.
The millions who practise yoga say it
delivers a host of benefits, including
increased strength and flexibility, stress
relief and heightened energy levels. But
what does the science say? Well, yoga seems
to alleviate depression caused by insomnia ,
as it regulates melatonin levels in the blood,
which aids sleep patterns. Research has also
found that ‘ yogis’ have more grey matter in
their brains, which correlates with increased
pain tolerance. Furthermore, MRI scans
have shown differences in a number of brain
regions, which could explain why the grey
matter of yogis declines more slowly.
PHOTO: REUTERS