Yoga Boosts Brain Power: The Research Says So!
The benefits of yoga have been discussed quite a lot within the last decade, especially its effects on physical fitness and stress management. Many workplaces and schools have now adopted in-house yoga classes and/or have reimbursed for yoga classes. Recently however, the research has indicated that yoga can help in another facet of well-being, brain and cognitive function.
The Hippocampus
According to scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a regular yoga practice, even just over a few short weeks, increased the size of the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for memory, which is integral for learning new skills, etc. As we age, our hippocampus shrinks which explains why we have a more difficult time retaining new information, like our five year old’s ten minute, and very descriptive, story of his imaginary land. In all seriousness, how many times do you have to read the same paragraph a few times before it clicks? Add in parenting or pregnancy, and our memory suffers. For kids, yoga might help them retain those facts that they aren’t as quite interested in i.e. tests and our stories! We can even work on this in a tangible manner through mindfulness-specific practices like playing group games such as “zip, zap, zop”, “List 5 Things”, and through storytelling.
The Amygdala
The study also found that people who practiced yoga had enlarged amygdalas. This is a great thing! The amygdala is kind of the emotional command center, but also works with the hippocampus in memory retention. One reason we work with children as young as preschoolers is because we want to aid in their social-emotional development by helping them self-regulate and use their words to talk about how they are feeling. In my experience though, adults have a hard time with this as well. Whether it is due to societal expectations or this all being relatively new knowledge, grown-ups still need a ton of assistance choosing positive regulatory techniques. Practicing yoga further develops this region of the brain, and thus, helps people interact with their environment in healthy manners. One of my favorite ways to work on this in kids and teens is to play games where we have a scenario and we first have to identify the immediate feeling that arises. We then play charades to illustrate the appropriate action to take which includes validating the emotion and experience, communicating our boundary, and working toward resolution. Sometimes, we simply work on dragon belly breaths too. For adults, I like to guide meditations and journaling activities that do the same thing!
The Prefrontal Cortex
Ah, the area of the brain most people are semi-familiar with in general conversation. The Judge! This part of the brain, which isn’t fully developed until well into adulthood (think between 21-25) is multi-tasked with planning, making decisions, and reflecting. All of these require a huge amount of thought and demand tons of caloric input. Scientists are not really sure why this area of the brain is larger and more efficient in people who do yoga, but they think it could be due to the fact that other mechanisms such as cortisol reduction, play a factor. This is critical for teens and adults who lead busy lives that require measurable output of effort such as productivity and test scores. I like to think that meditation allows room for thought processes and encourages us to let go of extraneous BS, but I also think it is related to the part of yoga where we discuss philosophy, often called raja. We learn that our choices matter as we are a part of a global community and that our lives have meaning. In my opinion, having that knowledge means we expend our focus where it matters most, and thus, our prefrontal cortex doesn’t need to be inundated with useless activity.
Of course, all of this is extremely novel insofar as quantitative studies go. More research is needed but I am willing to bet that yoga overall, has a positive effect on the brain and acts as a boost!