Study: Heated Yoga could Help treat Depression

Those who participated in heated yoga sessions had significantly reduced depressive symptoms than those who did not in a randomized controlled clinical trial of people with moderate-to-severe depression, according to new research.

The trial's findings, which were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry and led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of Mass General Brigham (MGB), suggest that heated yoga could be a feasible therapeutic option for people suffering from depression.

In the eight-week trial, 80 participants were randomized into two groups: one that received 90-minute sessions of Bikram yoga practiced in a 105°F room and a second group that was placed on a waitlist (waitlist participants completed the yoga intervention after their waitlist period). A total of 33 participants in the yoga group and 32 in the waitlist group were included in the analysis.

Participants in the intervention group were prescribed at least two yoga classes per week, but overall, they attended an average of 10.3 classes over eight weeks.

After eight weeks, yoga participants had a significantly greater reduction in depressive symptoms than waitlisted participants, as assessed through what's known as the clinician-rated Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS-CR) scale.

Also, investigators observed that 59.3 percent of yoga participants had a 50% or greater decrease in symptoms, compared with 6.3% of waitlist participants. Moreover, 44% in the yoga arm achieved such low IDS-CR scores that their depression was considered in remission, compared with 6.3% in the waitlist arm.

Depressive symptoms were reduced even in participants who received only half of the prescribed yoga "dose," suggesting...