No significant difference was found between yoga and exercise .
Conclusions There is promising evidence of yoga on improving cardio-metabolic health .
Background Yoga , a popular mind-body practice , may produce changes in cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) and metabolic syndrome risk factors .
Relaxation therapy and continuous ambulatory blood pressure in mild hypertension: a controlled study.
OBJECTIVE --To determine the long term effects of relaxation therapy on 24 hour ambulatory intra-arterial blood pressure in patients with mild untreated and uncomplicated hypertension . DESIGN --Four week screening period followed by r and omisation to receive either relaxation therapy or non-specific counselling for one year . Ambulatory intra-arterial blood pressure was measured before and after treatment . SETTING --Outpatient clinic in Amsterdam 's university hospital . SUBJECTS--35 Subjects aged 20 - 60 who were being treated by general practitioners for hypertension but were referred to take part in the study . At three consecutive screening visits all subjects had a diastolic blood pressure without treatment of 95 - 110 mm Hg . Subjects were excluded if they had damaged target organs , secondary hypertension , diabetes mellitus , a cholesterol concentration greater than 8 mmol/l , or a history of malignant hypertension . INTERVENTIONS --The group allocated to relaxation therapy was trained for eight weeks ( one hour a week ) in muscle relaxation , yoga exercises , and stress management and continued exercising twice daily for one year with monthly visits to the clinic . The control group had the same attendance schedule but had no training and were requested just to sit and relax twice a day . All subjects were asked not to change their diet or physical activity . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE -- Changes in ambulatory intra-arterial blood pressure after one year of relaxation therapy or non-specific counselling . RESULTS --Mean urinary sodium excretion , serum concentration of cholesterol , and body weight did not change in either group . Diastolic pressures measured by sphygmomanometry were 2 and 3 mm Hg lower in subjects in the relaxation group and control group respectively at the one year follow up compared with initial readings . The mean diastolic ambulatory intra-arterial pressure during the daytime had not changed after one year in either group , but small treatment effects could not be excluded : the mean change for the relaxation group was -1 mm Hg ( 95 % confidence interval -6 to 3.9 mm Hg ) and for the control group -0.4 mm Hg ( -5.3 to 4.6 mm Hg ) . Mean ambulatory pressure in the evening also had not changed over the year , and in both groups nighttime pressure was 5 mm Hg higher . The variability in blood pressure was the same at both measurements . CONCLUSIONS --Relaxation therapy was an ineffective method of lowering 24 hour blood pressure , being no more beneficial than non-specific advice , support , and reassurance -- themselves ineffective as a treatment for hypertension
No significant difference was found between yoga and exercise .
Conclusions There is promising evidence of yoga on improving cardio-metabolic health .
Background Yoga , a popular mind-body practice , may produce changes in cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) and metabolic syndrome risk factors .