Abstract
During recent decades numerous yoga-based practices (YBP) have emerged in the West, with their aims ranging from fitness gains to therapeutic benefits and spiritual development. Yoga is also beginning to spark growing interest within the scientific community, and yoga-based interventions have been associated with measureable changes in physiological parameters, perceived emotional states, and cognitive functioning. YBP typically involve a combination of postures or movement sequences, conscious regulation of the breath, and various techniques to improve attentional focus. However, so far little if any research has attempted to deconstruct the role of these different component parts in order to better understand their respective contribution to the effects of YBP. A clear operational definition of yoga-based therapeutic interventions for scientific purposes, as well as a comprehensive theoretical framework from which testable hypotheses can be formulated, is therefore needed. Here we propose such a framework, and outline the bottom-up neurophysiological and top-down neurocognitive mechanisms hypothesized to be at play in YBP.
Highlights
Reviewed by: Wendy Hasenkamp, Mind and Life Institute, USA Bessel A
In this paper we propose a definition of yoga-based practices (YBP) with the aim of providing a comprehensive theoretical framework applicable within Western science, from which testable scientific hypotheses can be formulated
We begin by presenting a brief overview of the extant literature investigating the effects of YBP in healthy populations, with a specific focus on physiological parameters, body awareness, self-reported emotional states and stress, and cognitive functioning
Summary
Reviewed by: Wendy Hasenkamp, Mind and Life Institute, USA Bessel A. A clear operational definition of yoga-based therapeutic interventions for scientific purposes, as well as a comprehensive theoretical framework from which testable hypotheses can be formulated, is needed. We propose such a framework, and outline the bottom-up neurophysiological and top-down neurocognitive mechanisms hypothesized to be at play in YBP. We will not focus on yoga from the perspective of a specific lineage, but instead outline a framework for YBP as modern psychophysiological therapeutic practices that employ a series of movement-, breath- and attention-based techniques inspired by a variety of yogic traditions.
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