Editor's Choice Academic Journal Main Category: Sports Medicine / Fitness Also Included In: Complementary Medicine / Alternative Medicine;Psychology / Psychiatry;Alzheimer's / Dementia Article Date: 08 Jun 2013 - 0:00 PDT

Current ratings for: Yoga Improves Brain Function More Than Aerobic Exercises

The authors, as background information, explained that yoga has become more popular over the last decade. However, there is not much research that focuses on the relationship between yoga exercise and cognition.

Study leader, Professor Neha Gothe and team set out to determine what the effects of an acute yoga exercise session, compared to aerobic exercise, might be on cognitive performance.

Cognitive performance refers to a person's mental processes, including memory, attention, producing and understanding language, learning, problem solving, reasoning, and decision making.

The team recruited 30 volunteers, all of them college-aged females from the University of Illinois. Their average age was 20 years. They completed three counterbalanced testing sessions:

The researchers found that after the yoga exercise, the participants' cognitive performance had improved much more compared to after their aerobic sessions or at baseline.

In fact, cognitive performance after aerobic exercise was not statistically different from the readings measured at baseline, contradicting some previous study results.

Prof. Gothe said:

The researchers suggested that perhaps enhanced self-awareness that comes with meditational-type exercises is possibly one of the mechanisms that helps cognition. We know that meditation and breathing exercises reduce anxiety and stress, which in turn may lead to better cognitive performance.

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Yoga Improves Brain Function More Than Aerobic Exercises

A single session of yoga improved brain function. An Israeli does a yoga pose on a salt crust in the Dead Sea during an Israeli and international environmental and social protest float at dawn against the deterioration of the Dead Sea. UPI/Debbie Hill

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill., June 7 (UPI) -- A single 20-minute session of Hatha yoga improved brain function better than moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise, U.S. researchers say.

Edward McAuley, a professor and director of the Exercise Psychology Laboratory at the University of Illinois, said the study involved 30 subjects who were young, female, undergraduate students.

"Yoga is an ancient Indian science and way of life that includes not only physical movements and postures but also regulated breathing and meditation," Neha Gothe, who led the study while a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said in a statement.

Gothe, a professor of kinesiology, health and sport studies at Wayne State University in Detroit, said the practice involves an active attentional or mindfulness component but its potential benefits have not been thoroughly explored.

The yoga intervention involved a 20-minute progression of seated, standing and supine yoga postures that included isometric contraction and relaxation of different muscle groups and regulated breathing. The session concluded with a meditative posture and deep breathing.

The participants also completed an aerobic exercise session where they walked or jogged on a treadmill for 20 minutes.

Gothe and colleagues said they were surprised to see participants showed improvement in their reaction times and accuracy on cognitive tasks after yoga, while the aerobic exercise session showed no significant improvements on the working memory and inhibitory control scores.

The findings appear in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.

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Yoga improved brain function better than aerobic exercise

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwired - June 07, 2013) - CorePower Yoga, a Denver-based yoga brand with a commitment to making yoga accessible to all, opened its 2nd Seattle yoga studio on Friday, June 7th (79th studio nationwide). Located in the hip Capitol Hill neighborhood, the Capitol Hill studio will offer a variety of yoga styles for all levels, including CorePower Yoga's dynamic heated Power Yoga in beginner to advanced formats, Yoga Sculpt and Hot Power Fusion.

Offered at convenient times, CorePower Yoga's classes feature popular music and promote physical and mental benefits. Consistent class formats and certified instructors help students advance through different levels of classes as they progress in their yoga practice. Lifestyle programs, such as boot camps and wellness cleanses, are offered to complement yoga and provide students with cross-training opportunities. The Capitol Hill studio will also offer CorePower Yoga's transformational Yoga Teacher Training Programs.

"CorePower Yoga classes offer an individualized experience for every student, regardless of their fitness level or familiarity with yoga. We are thrilled to expand our presence in the Seattle area and be a part of this lively community!" says Bryna Fahrner, Studio Manager of the new Capitol Hill studio.

The Capitol Hill studio is home to one large, beautiful yoga room and features a range of amenities including changing rooms with showers and private lockers. A full retail boutique will showcase men's and women's active wear and accessories for all of your yoga and lifestyle needs.

Students who are new to CorePower Yoga will receive one week of unlimited free yoga classes. A variety of membership package options are also available.

The Capitol Hill studio is located at 501 Broadway Ave E. and is one of several studios to open in 2013. CorePower Yoga has approximately twenty studios lined up to open this year in markets that include Chicago, D.C., Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Santa Barbara and Boston. Click here for additional studio opening information and here to download a press kit.

About CorePower Yoga

CorePower Yoga strives to increase awareness and widespread adoption of yoga by making yoga accessible to everyone through a variety of yoga styles for beginners and more advanced yoga students. The company's unique and physically challenging style of heated power yoga combines energy, music, breath, movement and community to create a one-of-a-kind yoga experience. CorePower Yoga classes encompass a wide variety of poses, and are taught by certified yoga instructors. In addition to yoga classes, CorePower Yoga offers transformative integrated Wellness Programs and Yoga Teacher Training Programs to empower students to live a health-focused and extraordinary life. CorePower Yoga is committed to sustainable practices, and uses recyclable and reusable products, selects sustainable fixtures and materials for studios and maintains recycling and waste management programs. CorePower Yoga's climate-controlled environments utilize the latest technology to efficiently heat its yoga rooms. CorePower Yoga was founded in 2002 and has nearly 80 studios in 10 states. For more information, visit http://www.corepoweryoga.com.

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CorePower Yoga Opens 79th Studio (2nd Seattle Studio)