YOGA FOR DEPRESSION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Mind-body medical interventions are commonly used to cope with depression and yoga is one of the most commonly used mind-body interventions. The aim of this review was to systematically assess and meta-analyze the effectiveness of yoga for depression.

Medline/PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and IndMED were searched through January 2013. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of yoga for patients with depressive disorders and individuals with elevated levels of depression were included. Main outcomes were severity of depression and remission rates, secondary outcomes were anxiety, quality of life, and safety.