Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Feel Better by Doing Yoga: Study

Yoga benefits veterans suffering from Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , according to a study.

Wars, natural calamities or disasters have a massive impact on the mental health of some soldiers and others who have witnessed the events. Living under prolonged stressful situations can result in frequent bouts of depression, severe stress and anxiety.

Recently, the University of Wisconsin's Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center in Madison found that yoga is the best treatment to relieve stress and PTSD. Their research evaluated the efficacy of  Sudarshan Kriya yoga, an ancient yoga method on 21 soldiers with PTSD conditions of whom 10 were placed in a control group. The yoga sessions also included deep breathing exercises and it was observed that stress, anxiety and PTSD symptoms reduced drastically in all subjects, reports the HealthSite.

According to the data by the RAND Corp, over 20 percent of soldiers who have returned from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD. PTSD over-activates the autonomic nervous system leading to increase in heart rate, rise in release of  stress hormones or fight or flight reactions. The condition affects the way a person reacts to his or her surroundings or events.

Sudarshana kriya focuses on halting reactions that over-stimulate the autonomic nervous system by controlling breathing and respiration. This prevents heightened response to stress and reduces fear, depression and other mental conditions that give rise to suicidal behaviors in veterans.

"This was a preliminary attempt to begin to gather some information on whether this practice of yogic breathing actually reduces symptoms of PTSD," said Richard J. Davidson, study author and founder of CIHM, reports the CBS News.

"Secondly, we wanted to find out whether the reduction in symptoms was associated with biological measures that may be important in hyper-arousal," he adds. 

"It's important to stress that this is a very small preliminary study, but the results are promising. Because some veterans are not interested in talking about their trauma or taking medications, there is a need for new programs that can offer relief from PTSD symptoms," Maria Steenkamp, co-researcher and assistant professor of PTSD research program in New York University, told CBS News.

"Because there are no negative side effects with this breathing technique, this type of program could potentially be helpful to all PTSD survivors, not just vets," she said.