P-03 The Efficacy of Yoga for Treating Depression in At-Risk Populations

Methods: A systematic review was conducted to identify stress-reduction techniques, specifically yoga, to treat mental health and depression in underserved communities. Secondary data was obtained from articles. The sample that met the inclusion criteria was fourteen (14) documents. Thematic coding was utilized to arrive at results.

Results: Stress-reduction techniques such as yoga provide positive health outcomes when treating depression. Depression in the global population continues to have a negative impact on the health of individuals. Data shows there is an increase in the use of anti-depressant pharmaceuticals for treating depression in particular for underserved and at-risk populations. This paper supports the practice of yoga as a form of treatment for depression. The authors evaluates current systemic research and randomized clinical trial studies that support the efficacy of healing benefits of yoga and their positive impact on decreasing depression.

Conclusion: Health care providers and the medical community as a whole need to embrace yoga as a treatment for acute and chronic conditions, in this case, depression. Researchers will continue to have a challenge in trying to measure the subjective nature and intangible aspect of yoga. The traditional approach to research and measurement cannot fully individualize, from a functional medicine standpoint, the health benefits one obtains from yoga as it relates to depression. It is unique to each person. However, traditional research approaches do and can support the benefits of yoga in a broad sense and the need to integrate yoga interventions into a patient’s treatment and wellness plan.