Science of yoga session

Yoga is an ancient practice that allows for the development of the skills of mind-body awareness/mindfulness, self-regulation of internal physical and psychological state, and physical fitness.  Yoga is popular for the promotion and maintenance of health and wellness, as preventive medicine, and also as an adjunct therapeutic intervention.  Yoga practice leads to benefits that are not readily available within the repertoire of modern medicine, including improvements in physical flexibility and self-efficacy, respiratory function, stress reduction and coping, resilience to stress, emotion regulation, mind-body awareness and mindfulness, subjective well-being, quality of life, and life meaning and purpose.  This presentation will overview the scientific evidence on the underlying mechanisms of yoga practice supporting the rationale for these applications of yoga, and will also review the published clinical trial evidence for its efficacy in wellness, prevention and therapy for a variety of common medical and psychological conditions.

About Sat Bir Khalsa

Sat Bir S. Khalsa, PhD, is assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Research Director for Kripalu. Through the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living, he is the primary investigator for yoga studies establishing Kripalu program efficacy, contributes to yoga teacher training and guest programs, and convenes yoga research symposia. His research on yoga for mental health in public schools, insomnia, anxiety disorders, and chronic stress, and his Harvard ebook Your Brain on Yoga, and upcoming edited medical textbook The Principles and Practice Yoga in Health Care has established him as a world-renowned yoga researcher, collaborator, author, and speaker.

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