A study believed to be the largest of its kind suggests that the physical aspects of yoga are effective at relieving low back pain, but it didn’t find any evidence that yoga provided broader mental benefits.
But the current study found both yoga and stretching were equally as effective, suggesting the benefits of yoga are attributable to the physical benefits of stretching and not to its mental components, said the study’s lead author, Karen J. Sherman, senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute.
Um, duh. Yoga is basically stretching and breathing. The only part that I don’t enjoy about yoga is the hippy dippy om’ing. I put up with it because I love the feel of stretching and relaxing on the floor half asleep whilst pretending to meditate on something, but let’s all be honest…it is mostly stretching and strengthening. I’m glad that now I can feel free to cut out the hippy stuff and enjoy yoga for where the real worth is (and save 30 minutes of practice time).
Namaste.
