Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine have conducted a study which suggests that practicing yoga poses may release a hormone in the brain associated with improved mood and decreased stress levels.
Results of the study support inspirational stories told by yoga practitioners for centuries regarding the exercise's ability to improve mental well-being and promote personal growth.
Published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (JACM), the research shows that levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, increase in the brain after individuals practice yoga.
"This is important work that establishes some objective bases for the effects that highly trained practitioners of yoga therapy throughout the world see on a daily basis," said Kim A. Jobst, editor-in-chief of the JACM.
Ilchi Lee, founder of Dahn Yoga, believes that individuals have the potential to tap into their brains through exercises like meditation and yoga in an attempt to strengthen their mind-body-spirit connection and reach enlightenment. While it heals and nourishes the body, yoga also has the ability to make people push beyond their Earthly limitations on their journey toward fulfillment.
