Evidence-based integration of yoga in psychiatric practice

Indian J Psychiatry. 2023 Jan;65(1):5-11. doi: 10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_813_22. Epub 2023 Jan 13.

Abstract

Yoga has been put to test in clinical medicine to build evidence. There has been a steep rise in yoga research through 2010, threefold in the next decade. Despite challenges, clinicians have explored yoga intervention in several disorders. The available data have been examined using meta-analysis when there are more studies. Psychiatric disorders treated with yoga have attracted more research. Some examples include depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), somatoform pain, addiction, mild cognitive impairment, and elderly and childhood disorders. Current manuscript focuses on highlighting the major steps towards generating evidence that have led to integration of yoga into psychiatry practice. It also discusses various challenges and the way forward.

Keywords: Evidence-based integration; psychiatric practice; yoga.