New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yoga (alternative medicine)

Yoga is a healing system of theory and practice, its a combination of breathing exercises, physical postures, and meditation, practiced for over 5,000 years.

A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine focused on who used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), what was used, and why it was used in the United States by adults age 18 years and over during 2002. According to this survey, Yoga was the 5th most commonly used CAM therapy (2.8%) in the United States during 2002. Yoga is considered a mind-body intervention that is used to reduce the health effects of generalized stress. Yoga is believed to calm the nervous system and balance the body, mind, and spirit. It is thought by its practitioners to prevent specific diseases and maladies by keeping the energy meridians open and life energy (Prana) flowing. Yoga is usually performed in classes, sessions are conducted at least once a week and for approximately 45 minutes. Yoga has been used to lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve coordination, flexibility, concentration, sleep, and digestion.

Related Stories
 


Health & Medicine News

November 27, 2025

University of Queensland researchers visualized yellow fever virus particles at near-atomic detail, uncovering major structural differences between vaccine and virulent strains. The insights could lead to better vaccines and treatments for yellow ...
The study reveals that widely used heart-attack risk calculators fail to flag nearly half of those who will soon experience a cardiac event. Even the newer PREVENT model misclassifies many patients as low-risk. Since most people develop symptoms ...
Spermine, a small but powerful molecule in the body, helps neutralize harmful protein accumulations linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. It encourages these misfolded proteins to gather into manageable clumps that cells can more efficiently ...
Texas A&M researchers found a way to make stem cells produce double the normal number of mitochondria using nanoflower particles. These energized stem cells then transfer their surplus “power packs” to weakened cells, reviving their energy ...
A 20-year project in Bangladesh reveals that lowering arsenic levels in drinking water can slash death rates from major chronic diseases. Participants who switched to safer wells had the same risk ...
Scientists studying young adults with obesity discovered early indicators of brain stress that resemble patterns seen in cognitive impairment. The group showed higher inflammation, signs of liver strain and elevated neurofilament light chain, a ...
A massive veteran study found a strong connection between untreated sleep apnea and a higher chance of Parkinson’s. CPAP users had much lower odds of developing the condition. Researchers believe that repeated dips in oxygen during sleep may ...
Rheumatoid arthritis begins years before pain ever appears, and scientists have now mapped the hidden immune battle that unfolds long before symptoms. By studying people with RA-linked antibodies over seven years, researchers discovered sweeping ...
Researchers at Stanford found a way to cure or prevent Type 1 diabetes in mice using a combined blood stem cell and islet cell transplant. The procedure creates a hybrid immune system that stops autoimmune attacks and eliminates the need for ...
Scientists discovered that lowered brain energy signaling in the hippocampus can lead to both depression- and anxiety-like behaviors in mice. Stress reduced ATP, a molecule important for cell energy and communication. Altering a protein called ...
Scientists discovered that more muscle and less hidden abdominal fat are linked to a younger biological brain age. Deep visceral fat appeared to accelerate brain aging, while muscle mass offered a protective ...
Scientists have found that a mutation tied to Alzheimer’s disrupts the production and quality of exosomes—tiny cell-made communication packets. Cells with the defective SORLA protein generate fewer exosomes and ones far less able to support ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:56 pm ET