New research has provided fascinating insights into the benefits of Kundalini yoga, particularly for older women at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s is a disease where the brain slowly breaks down, causing memory loss and affecting other cognitive functions. Several factors can increase the risk of getting Alzheimer’s. Some, like age and genes, we can’t change. But others, like heart health, we can.
Why Yoga?
Many studies have found that yoga is great for heart health. It can reduce blood pressure and improve cardiovascular fitness. Because heart health is linked to Alzheimer’s, yoga might also help prevent or slow down the disease.
What’s Special about Kundalini Yoga?
Kundalini yoga isn’t just your regular yoga. It’s a mix of movements, meditation, chanting, visualization, and focused breathing. It’s especially good for older adults because it covers physical activity, mental stimulation, and relaxation.
Yoga and the Brain
Apart from the heart, yoga might also be directly good for the brain. Studies using brain imaging have shown that practicing yoga can lead to positive changes in the hippocampus, an area of the brain crucial for memory. This region gets affected in Alzheimer’s.
The Study Researchers wanted to see how Kundalini yoga affects brain connectivity in women over 50 who were at risk for Alzheimer’s due to heart-related factors and memory concerns. They chose women because they are more prone to Alzheimer’s than men.
“Women are twice more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than men, especially those with vascular risk factors and subjective cognitive impairment,” said study author Helen Lavretsky, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA and author of “Convergence Mental Health: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Innovation.” “Our earlier studies had shown a promise for yoga to improve cognitive and brain function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, and in this study we examined women 50+ with cardiovascular risk factors and subjective memory complaints who are at risk for Alzheimer’s disease.”
The study had two groups:
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Yoga Group: Practiced Kundalini yoga and meditation.
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Memory Training Group: Learned different memory strategies.
All participants had brain scans at the start and end of the 12-week study.
What did they find?
The yoga group showed more brain connectivity in certain parts of the hippocampus and default mode network (DMN). These areas were mainly linked with self-awareness and visual processing. In contrast, the memory training group showed more connectivity in parts related to sensory information like touch and hearing, as well as cognitive control and attention.
In simple terms, Kundalini yoga might help with stress and visual processing. In contrast, memory training can help with sensory processing and memory-related functions.
The Bigger Picture
Both yoga and memory training can enhance brain health and thinking abilities, but they do it differently. While both impact the hippocampus and DMN, they activate different parts and functions of it.
What next?
Though the findings are promising, the study had a limited number of participants. More extensive studies with different groups, like a control group, would provide clearer results. Furthermore, starting yoga early and practicing it throughout life might offer more protection against cognitive decline.
A Final Thought
According to one of the researchers, Dr. Lavretsky, yoga is a valuable life skill for reducing stress. It doesn’t need a doctor’s prescription and offers multiple benefits when practiced regularly at any age.
“This study showed the differences in brain connectivity between yoga and memory training that refined our understanding of the role of posterior and anterior hippocampus in regulating cognitive tasks that are offered by yoga and memory training,” said Lavretsky.
The study’s findings suggest that Kundalini yoga and memory enhancement training appear to have positive effects on hippocampal subregion connectivity in women who demonstrate memory decline and cardiovascular risk factors.
“Yoga or memory training can help improve brain health and cognition, but they do so via different neuroplastic pathways that can improve structure and function in the hippocampus — a structure important for memory and emotion regulation,” Lavretsky explained. The authors of the study stressed the need for studies in the future to include larger participant groups which incorporated a placebo group to act as a control. “It is unclear when prevention of cognitive decline needs to start and whether practicing yoga by normal young adults or even children can provide such neuroprotection,” said Lavretsky. “We need to start prevention earlier and follow longer to show the delayed onset or prevention of dementia later in life.”
This study, titled “Impact of Yoga Versus Memory Enhancement Training on Hippocampal Connectivity in Older Women at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease,” was a collaborative effort by various experts, including Lisa A. Kilpatrick, Prabha Siddarth, Beatrix Krause-Sorio, Michaela M. Milillo, Yesenia Aguilar-Faustino, Linda Ercoli, Katherine L. Narr, Dharma S. Khalsa, and Helen Lavretsky.
-A Balanced Brain is a Better Brain for a Happier Life-