Peachy the Magazine April May 2014 | Page 136

Yoga as Medicine to the participants who followed traditional medical therapies for back pain, those who participated in the yoga arm had significant improvement in control of pain and overall mood. In a 2010 study reported in The Journal of Pain, participants who were diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain syndrome, were placed either a yoga group or a medication group. Those in the yoga group reported that they experienced pain relief which was as effective as medication. 134 PEACHY HYPERTENSION A study out of Yale University looked at the effect of yoga on blood pressure. People with mild to moderate hypertension were enrolled into a yoga practice. Researchers found that both systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly improved. Overall blood pressure was reduced as compared to those in the medication group. ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION Researchers at Boston University looked at the effect of yoga on anxiety.