The Effect of Yoga on Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in Women.

BACKGROUND: In recent decades, several medical and scientific studies on yoga proved it to be very useful in the treatment of some diseases. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of yoga on stress, anxiety, and depression in women living in Ilam, Iran.

METHODS: This study is a quasi-experimental study with pre-post test. To collect data, the questionnaire of DASS-21 (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21) was used. For eligible samples, hatha yoga exercises and training sessions were held for 4 weeks (3 time/weeks; 60-70 min each) by a specialist. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.

RESULTS: 52 women with a mean age of 33.5 ± 6.5 were included for analysis. Depression, anxiety, and stress decreased significantly in women after 12 sessions of regular hatha yoga practice ( P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Yoga has an effective role in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. Thus, it can be used as complementary medicine.