University of Pennsylvania study finds yogic breathing alleviates depression

Apr 10th, 2017
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Yogic breathing helps fight major depression according to a study by researchers of the Perelman School of Medicine (PSM) at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn).

A Penn Medicine release 22 says: controlled breathing practices show promise in patients who don’t fully respond to antidepressants.

The release indicated that a breathing-based meditation practice known as Sudarshan Kriya yoga helped alleviate severe depression in people who did not fully respond to inflatable water slide antidepressant treatments, quoting reports of the new study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, and added: The study bolsters the science behind the use of controlled yogic breathing to help battle depression.

In a randomized, controlled pilot study, researchers found significant improvement in symptoms of depression and anxiety in medicated patients with major depressive disorder who participated in the breathing technique compared to medicated patients who did not partake. More than half of the 41 million Americans who take antidepressants do not fully respond.

This meditation technique, which is practiced in both a group setting and at home, includes a series of sequential, rhythm-specific breathing exercises that bring people into a deep, restful, and meditative state:  slow and calm breaths alternated with fast and stimulating breaths.

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