How does yoga reduce stress? Embodied cognition and emotion highlight the influence of the musculoskeletal system.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine April 1, 2019 Alisha Francis, Rhonda Beemer 38 citations
Yoga is linked to stress reduction, but how it works is not well understood. This theoretical paper proposes that yoga reduces stress by influencing how people appraise stressors, drawing on embodied cognition, Cognitive Appraisal Theory, and the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat. Body position and common yoga practices may affect thoughts about the self and feelings of confidence. The musculoskeletal system may play a direct or indirect role. The authors call for systematic research on the interactions between psychological processes, body position, and musculoskeletal activity during yoga.