This document outlines the many physiological, psychological, cognitive, and biochemical health benefits of practicing yoga. Physiologically, yoga lowers pulse rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate while improving muscle flexibility, strength, and endurance. Psychologically, yoga decreases anxiety and depression while improving mood. Cognitively, yoga enhances functions like memory, attention, and learning. Biochemically, yoga lowers risk factors like glucose, cholesterol, and triglycerides while boosting antioxidant levels.

1. Health Benefits of Yoga

2. Health Benefits of Yoga
Physiological Benefits of Yoga
• Stable autonomic nervous system equilibrium, with a tendency toward
parasympathetic nervous system dominance rather than the usual stress induced
sympathetic nervous system dominance.
• Pulse rate decreases.
• Respiratory rate decreases.
• Blood pressure decreases (of special significance for hyporeactors)
• Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) increases.
• EEG – alpha waves increase (theta, delta and beta waves also increase during
various stage of meditation)
• Cardiovascular efficiency increases

3. Health Benefits of Yoga
• Gastrointestinal function normalizes
• Excretory functions improve
• Musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion increase
• Posture improves
• Strength and resiliency increase
• Endurance increase
• Energy level increases
• Weight normalizes
• Sleep improves
• Immunity increases
• Pain decreases

4. Health Benefits of Yoga
Psychological Benefits
• Somatic and Kinesthetic awareness increase
• Mood improves and subjective well-being increases
• Self-acceptance and Self-actualization increase
• Social adjustment increases
• Anxiety and depression decrease
• Hostility decreases

5. Health Benefits of Yoga
Psycho Motor Benefits of Yoga
1. Psychomotor function improve
2. Grip strength increases
3. Dexterity and fine skills improve
4. Eye-hand coordination improves
5. Choice reaction time improves
6. Steadiness improves
7. Depth perception improves
8. Balance improves
9. Integrated functioning of body parts improves

6. Health Benefits of Yoga
Cognitive Benefits of Yoga
1. Cognitive function improves
2. Attention improves
3. Concentration improves
4. Memory improves
5. Learning efficiency improves
6. Symbol coding improves
7. Depth perception improves
8. Flicker fusion frequency improves

7. Health Benefits of Yoga
Biochemical Benefits
The biochemical profile improves, indicating an anti-stress and antioxidant
important in the prevention of degenerative diseases.
1. Glucose decreases
2. Sodium decreases
3. Total cholesterol decreases
4. Triglycerides decreases
5. HDL cholesterol increases
6. LDL cholesterol decreases
7. VLDL cholesterol decreases

8. Health Benefits of Yoga
8. Cholinesterase increase
9. Catecholamines decrease
10. A TPase increases
11. Hematocrit increase
12. Lymphocyte count
increases
13. Total white blood cell
count decreases
14. Thyroxin increases
15. Vitamin C increase
16. Total serum protein