Yoga, the holistic practice that connects body, breath and mind, is nice for solving many health issues akin to stress, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Researchers have now found scientific evidence for its role in improving memory.

In a study, a team of researchers from UCLA Health, California, found that a delicate yoga posture, often called Kundalini yoga, could be used as a preventive technique against Alzheimer’s in older women.

Kundalini yoga involves a series of repetitive poses that mixes chanting, singing and respiratory exercises. It’s aimed toward activating Kundalini energy, a spiritual energy believed to be situated at the bottom of the spine.

The team evaluated the impact of Kundalini yoga on various areas and sub-areas of the brain using a particular type of Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). They observed increased connectivity within the hippocampus – the realm of the brain related to stress and memory decline.

Dr. Helen Lavretsky, the psychiatrist who led the study, had previously done research on the impact of yoga on Alzheimer’s patients. But, the most recent study aimed toward using it as a preventive technique, she said.

“We’re focusing now on women who usually are not as impaired as in my previous study, but still in danger for cognitive decline. And the thought is to get to the extent where doing yoga would prevent future cognitive decline and development of Alzheimer’s disease,” Lavretsky said.

The study evaluated 22 participants, mostly of their 60s with reported memory decline and incidence of a recent heart attack and diabetes, which is understood to raise the chance of developing Alzheimer’s. One group of participants practiced yoga, while the opposite group followed memory enhancement training (MET) that uses verbal and visual association as practical strategies to enhance memory. Each groups followed 60-minute in-person training sessions for over 12 weeks.

The MRI readings suggested long-term neural advantages of kundalini yoga as participants who followed the practice had increased activity within the hippocampus in comparison with those that did MET. Nevertheless, participants who did MET were higher at integrating information from their senses into their memories.

The findings of the study were published within the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

“The important thing takeaway is that this study adds to the literature supporting the advantages of yoga for brain health, especially for ladies who’ve greater perceived stress and subjective memory impairment. This gentle type of yoga, which focuses more on respiratory and mental engagement than on movement, like other types of yoga, is right for older adults who could have some physical limitations,” Lavretsky said.

Published by Medicaldaily.com