Effect of Yoga on Anxiety

Abstract

Problem: Anxiety disorders are the most common form of psychiatric disorders in the US. They affect up to 40 million adults, or 18% of the population aged 18 and older. Anxiety disorders are comorbid with depression at a rate of 60% . Design: Literature Review.Purpose: Reiterate the effect of yoga on anxiety. Methods: A thorough literature research was completed searching PubMed, Cochrane, Medline, Elsevier, Psych Info as well as well as some pschiatric textbooks. Over 10 articles were selected with the keywords yoga and anxiety, since it is the treatment modality selected for the improvement of anxiety disorder for the purpose of this paper. However, many of these articles did not mention solely the effective of yoga on anxiety, but other mental health disorders, such as depression and mood disorders. These articles were then saved on Zotero, a free software available to collect, save, share and cite research articles. Findings: While the goal of yoga historically has been to create a spiritual state of unity, it is also practiced to produce physical and emotional well being. Research suggests that yoga can improve anxiety. Yoga is not only limited to be effective to mental health disorders, but physical disorders as well. Conclusion: The relevance of integrating yoga into the psychiatric nursing practice is of priority. Yoga will be integrated and promoted into my future practice as a psychiatric nurse practitioner.