Hot yoga could help treat depression symptoms, Mass General study finds

BOSTON – Doing a certain type of yoga may be especially good for your mental well-being.

According to researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, heated yoga, commonly known as "hot yoga," could help treat symptoms of depression. 

In a randomized controlled trial, 80 adults with moderate to severe depression were randomized to either perform 90 minutes of Bikram yoga in a 105-degree Fahrenheit room at least twice a week for eight weeks or get placed on a waitlist. 

The subjects in the yoga group reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms. 

In fact, nearly 60-percent of the yoga participants had a 50% or greater reduction in symptoms compared to only 6% of the waitlist participants. 

And 44% in the yoga arm had such low depression scores that they were considered in remission. 

They say "hot yoga" could provide a non-medicinal approach to depression treatment with the added bonus of physical fitness.

In:
• Health
• Yoga

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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