A new study shows that yoga is being successfully used to bring peace of mind to the lives of returning service personnel in the USA.
Of the 2.3 million American veterans who returned from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, up to 20% go on to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a report in The Washington Post.
Now, a new study published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress shows that yoga can be used to bring better mental balance. It examined the effects of a breathing-based meditation intervention, Sudarshan Kriya yoga, on returning soldiers.
The charity Yoga for America already runs programmes for serving US soldiers and war veterans.
The new study is the first to provide “scientific support for the benefits of yoga’s breathing techniques for PTSD patients in a randomised and controlled (though small) long-term study which monitored the effects of yoga over the course of the year,” the Washington Post reported.
It cited Agnieszka Golec de Zavala, senior lecturer in psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London, as saying that yoga’s benefits included moving people away from their negative thoughts.
Some of the most damaging consequences of seeing combat can take place in the mind. The effects of PTSD can include intrusive memories, heightened anxiety and personality changes.
The Department of Veterans Affairs says that 22 American veterans take their lives every day. Standard treatments for PTSD generally involves antidepressants and psychotherapy.
Source: OM Yoga Magazine.
