Do Yoga, Be Happy

Do Yoga, Be Happy 

By Holly St. Lifer

As a mood booster, yoga beats walking.  Feeling blue?  Try a downward-facing-dog pose.  A new study from Boston University School of Medicine found that yoga boosted mood more effectively than walking.  Doing an hour of yoga 3 times a week, for 12 weeks, increased GABA levels by 13 percent, as measured in the study’s healthy participants right after a session.  GABA, a neurotransmitter in the brain, is lower in people who are depressed;  levels rise with the use of meds.  The walkers showed no significant increase in GABA levels.  “This is the first study to find a behavioral intervention – yoga, in this case – that has an effect on brain chemistry similar to that of antidepressants,” says study author Chris Streeter, M.D.