Yoga in Clinical Practice

As the popularity of yoga has increased in mainstream society, its role as a form of complementary healthcare in clinical settings continues to grow as well. However, until recently, the popularity of yoga as a cultural phenomenon has not been matched by a commensurate increase in the rigor of research methods designed to assess its effectiveness in healthcare settings. Because of yoga’s growing popularity, it is important for clinicians to have an empirically based working knowledge of its potential benefits and limitations. This paper reviews 52 clinical research studies of yoga published since 2011, limiting attention exclusively to randomized controlled trials in the interest of both rigor and economy of space. Promising trends and persistent limitations in the literature are explored in depth. The majority of the studies reported positive outcomes in the yoga intervention groups, but further research is needed to validate yoga as an effective intervention for various populations.