Researchers
from Boston University School of Medicine recently found that subjects who
practiced yoga for one hour, three times a week, over a 12-week period,
exhibited increased levels of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)—our nervous
system’s primary inhibitory transmitter. (Low GABA levels have been linked to
anxiety and mood disorders.)
A
separate study published in the January 30 issue of Psychiatry
Research: Neuroimaging found that participants in an eight-week meditation
program showed marked changes in gray matter concentration in areas of the
brain associated with learning, memory, self-perception, and emotional
regulation.
