Improve your lipid profile, bone density, and mood
We are aware of the great effort involved in implementing changes to already established daily routines, but if one of those changes is starting physical exercise, we know that the effort can feel three times greater. If you are looking to improve your health and well-being, yoga may be the key to achieving it. Discover how this physical and mental practice can transform your life.
Stepping out of our comfort zone can often be a challenge, although it is well known that leaving that zone helps you grow and discover aspects of yourself you didn’t even know existed.
In this case, you have surely thought or been advised many times something like: “you should move more”, “you should exercise”… but the first thought is usually “I don’t have time”, the second one tends to be “and how do I do it and where do I start?” And the first thing to keep in mind is that, in order to achieve long-term adherence, what really matters is that you like it and feel comfortable.
Unless you have already practiced physical exercise before, it is quite common not to be familiar with the wide variety of sports activities that can be practiced either individually or in groups, with a personal trainer, with friends, and so on.
Today we want to introduce a form of physical activity whose benefits are strongly supported by scientific evidence: yoga. It is common that when you hear the word yoga, if you are not very keen on meditation, the first thing that comes to mind is “ugh, I don’t have the patience for so much breathing or meditation”. And here’s the thing: there are many types of yoga, from meditative styles to those that make you sweat from head to toe due to their aerobic and strength-based nature. Keep reading and I’ll tell you about its main benefits.
Did you know that practising yoga improves your lipid profile?
Yoga reduces triglyceride levels, LDL or “bad cholesterol”, and total cholesterol, while increasing HDL or “good cholesterol”, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis based on articles published from 1991 to the present day. Yoga is capable of preventing or improving the process of atherosclerosis and can even help reduce abdominal obesity.
Did you know that practising yoga improves bone mineral density and helps prevent osteoporosis?
In a study published in 2021, yoga—and in this case also Pilates—was shown to maintain bone mineral density (BMD) in adult women, while also improving balance and muscle strength.
Bone health disorders are characterised by a deterioration in bone health indicators such as bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC), which in turn increase the risk of osteoporosis-related fractures. These disorders can be influenced by our genetics, more specifically by the presence of variants in genes such as LRP5 and VDR. Knowing this information can help you better focus on the type of physical activity you should practise.
Did you know that practising yoga improves your mood and mental health?
In addition to improving posture and balance, there is evidence supporting yoga as a complementary treatment to pharmacological therapy in cases of depression. It has been shown to improve symptoms and reduce anxiety in people with depression, a condition that in some cases may be influenced by the presence of genetic variants related to serotonin, such as HTR1A. Even in other populations—such as pregnant women, individuals with anorexia nervosa, rheumatic diseases, or high stress levels—yoga improves mental health and subjective well-being.
At this point, the science-backed benefits of practising yoga are clear. Therefore, once your needs have been assessed, including this practice at least once a week should be considered essential.
References
Ghazvineh D, Daneshvar M, Basirat V, Daneshzad E. The Effect of Yoga on the Lipid Profile: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. Front Nutr. 2022;9:942702. Published 2022 Jul 14.
Shantakumari N, Sequeira S, El deeb R. Effects of a yoga intervention on lipid profiles of diabetes patients with dyslipidemia. Indian Heart J. 2013;65(2):127-131.
Fernández-Rodríguez R, Alvarez-Bueno C, Reina-Gutiérrez S, Torres-Costoso A, Nuñez de Arenas-Arroyo S, Martínez-Vizcaíno V. Effectiveness of Pilates and Yoga to improve bone density in adult women: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2021;16(5):e0251391. Published 2021 May 7.
Hernandez CJ, Beaupré GS, Carter DR. A theoretical analysis of the relative influences of peak BMD, age-related bone loss and menopause on the development of osteoporosis. Osteoporos Int. 2003;14(10):843-847.
Mizuguchi T, Furuta I, Watanabe Y, et al. LRP5, low-density-lipoprotein-receptor-related protein 5, is a determinant for bone mineral density. J Hum Genet. 2004;49(2):80-86.
Zhang L, Yin X, Wang J, et al. Associations between VDR Gene Polymorphisms and Osteoporosis Risk and Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women: A systematic review and Meta-Analysis [retracted in: Sci Rep. 2021 Apr 21;11(1):9030]. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):981. Published 2018 Jan 17.
Wu Y, Yan D, Yang J. Effectiveness of yoga for major depressive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Psychiatry. 2023;14:1138205. Published 2023 Mar 23.
Villar-Alises O, Martinez-Miranda P, Martinez-Calderon J. Prenatal Yoga-Based Interventions May Improve Mental Health during Pregnancy: An Overview of Systematic Reviews with Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(2):1556. Published 2023 Jan 14.
Ziv A, Barnea-Melamed S, Meisman A, et al. Yoga as an intervention to promote bone and mental health in adolescent females with anorexia nervosa: a pilot study [published online ahead of print, 2023 Apr 4]. Eat Disord. 2023;1-7.
De Orleans Casagrande P, Coimbra DR, de Souza LC, Andrade A. Effects of yoga on depressive symptoms, anxiety, sleep quality, and mood in patients with rheumatic diseases: Systematic review and meta-analysis [published online ahead of print, 2022 Jun 20]. PM R. 2022;10.1002/pmrj.12867.
