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

July 18, 2026

Several popular sugar substitutes may not be as harmless as they seem. Adults who consumed the most artificial sweeteners showed substantially faster declines in memory and thinking, especially if they were under 60 or had diabetes. The highest ...
A 12-week intermittent fasting program produced weight-loss benefits that were still visible a year later. Participants who ate within an eight-hour window maintained more weight loss than those who followed their usual longer eating schedule. Both ...
The Mediterranean diet may influence aging through tiny proteins produced inside the cell’s mitochondria. Older adults who followed the diet most closely had higher levels of humanin and SHMOOSE, ...
Tiny plastic particles in drinking water may be doing more than contaminating the environment. New research suggests nanoplastics can actually help harmful bacteria survive by strengthening the slimy biofilms they form inside water systems. These ...
A large laboratory study found that many commonly used sweeteners can directly change the growth of gut bacteria. Researchers identified more than 100 cases in which sweeteners behaved differently when combined with medications, caffeine, or ...
A drug originally developed for spinal cord injury may offer a fresh approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease. In mouse studies, KCL-286 repaired dangerous DNA damage, reduced inflammation, and targeted multiple disease-related pathways instead of ...
A new experimental treatment may have found a way to outsmart glioblastoma’s toughest defense: the blood-brain barrier. Researchers used sugar-coated nanoparticles to ferry genetic instructions ...
An international study found that finerenone slows kidney function decline and reduces the risk of serious kidney and cardiovascular complications in people with chronic kidney disease who do not have diabetes. The results could open the door to a ...
Researchers solved a long-standing mystery behind how a bacterial toxin associated with colorectal cancer damages the colon. The toxin first binds to a receptor called claudin-4, giving it access to attack the cells' protective barrier. After ...
A growing Cyclospora outbreak has sickened more than 400 people in four states, and investigators are still searching for the contaminated food responsible. The CDC warns the actual number of cases is likely much higher and urges anyone with ...
An existing constipation drug may have an unexpected new use: helping clear the "brain fog" that often lingers after depression. In a small clinical trial, people with a history of depression who took the medication prucalopride for about a week ...
Researchers have discovered that a microscopic skeleton inside neurons does much more than hold cells together. It acts as a gatekeeper that controls what brain cells absorb and when they absorb it. ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:56 pm ET