Inflammation is involved in almost every disease process. Yoga can decrease inflammation in the body and make you feel lighter and more energetic. Read on to learn about recent data showing the positive effects yoga can have on inflammation

inflammation

A complex defense mechanism that our body ramps up for our protection. It intends to help, but an uncontrolled presence for a long time can cause a laundry list of problems. You may have sprained an ankle or broke a finger before and have witnessed the startling effects of inflammation. The area becomes swollen, red and warm with possible bruising and almost always pain. Less visible is the inflammation that happens to us internally, like in our organs and vascular system (veins and arteries).

If you drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, live a sedentary lifestyle or are overweight, the body senses these as injuries and turns on the inflammatory cascade. This also happens depending on what foods we choose because excess sugars and fats can cause inflammation in our digestive system.

We do need inflammation – a little bit.

Acute inflammation that resolves in hours to days is tolerable and even beneficial for the body to heal. When you have high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, IBS or drink/smoke you are living in a constant state of inflammation_^(1). Chronic inflammation is greater than 3 months. After working hard for this long the inflammatory cells start to make mistakes by firing up at the wrong times.

Chronic inflammation can damage healthy cells, tissues and organs, and may cause internal scarring, tissue death and damage to the DNA_⁽³⁾. Chronic inflammatory diseases are the most significant cause of death in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks chronic disease the greatest threat to human health_⁽²⁾.

Our organs need blood to work. If your arteries are inflamed then less blood will get to the organ. Less blood means the organ won’t function as well.

cytokines are a major player

Cytokines can cause tissue damage if present for a prolonged period of time. I like to envision them as little ninja throwing stars, causing unintentional tissue damage on the route to its target.

Having an excessive amount of inflammatory cytokines is not ideal because it can lead to

tissue damage, blood pressure changes, heart rate changes, and organ failure_^(4). 

Inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are caused by cytokine-driven reactions in the gut. The resulting chronic inflammation wreaks havoc on the intestines and puts the person at risk for larger issues like gastrointestinal cancer.

Are you experiencing chronic inflammation?

• body stiffness, joint aches and pains?
• sleep disturbances?
• digestive issues like acid reflux, constipation or diarrhea?
• mood disorders like depression and/or anxiety?

---

Yoga Can Decrease Inflammation

Yoga can decrease inflammation in the body which will improve the functioning of your internal systems. If more blood flow can get to your heart it will work better.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive proteins (CRP) are also immune cells released during inflammation. A study was done comparing expert yogis against beginner yogis. It found that

beginner yogis had 41% higher levels of IL-6 than the experts AND were over 4X more likely to have detectable CRP levels_^(5).

These baseline differences are largely due to Yoga’s ability to improve the way we respond to stress physically and mentally. If your body has a lesser reaction to a stressful situation, then you will release less damaging inflammatory cells and stress hormones (cortisol). Yoga can decrease inflammation by decreasing stress that may cause it.

Heart failure is linked to elevated levels of CRP and IL-6.

There was a clinical trial that compared twice weekly yoga with standard medication therapy in heart failure patients. After only 8 weeks there were superiorly significant reductions in both IL-6 and CRP levels in the yoga participants as well as improved quality of life _^(6).

Yoga can decrease inflammation seen in Rheumatoid Arthritis

an auto immune disease fueled by inflammation in the joints, can cause awful pain, and over time, can limit mobility. A randomized controlled trial was performed with 72 participants split into two groups. One would continue their medical therapy with the addition of a yoga practice. While the other group stuck with their regular medical therapy only. As a result of doing yoga for 8 weeks, blood samples showed a decrease in disease severity reflected by

significantly lower levels of IL-6 and CRP in the body

and improved health assessment questionnaires filled out before and after_⁽⁷⁾. Results also showed a statistically significant decline in depression scores that continued to improve as the participants kept practicing Yoga_⁽⁷⁾.

These inflammatory markers are well known players in many disorders; diabetes, obesity, COPD and cancer. If you lower the amount of inflammation in your body, then you decrease the potential harmful effects of having them chronically present. Signals of cellular aging in the body significantly improved after 12-weeks of yoga_^(10). Researchers saw

decreased levels of DNA damage, cortisol and IL-6.

A bonus discovery was increased levels of Brain-derived neurotrophic factor which is responsible for the survival of neurons in our nervous system as well as our ability to learn and remember_⁽⁸⁾.

---

how to start yoga

Good news. Its free.

Grab your yoga mat. Don’t have one? Grab a towel. Do it on a rug or a blanket. Pretty much anything that offers some padding to the bottom of your feet, knees. and elbows. Obviously, a yoga mat is great but you don’t have to go spend money to realize how amazing a yoga session is.

Start soon.

20 minutes is better than nothing. Strive for a few times a week and go from there. You can learn a lot on Youtube but remember to listen to your body. “Follow what feels good”, a line from my favorite yoga teacher on Youtube, Yoga with Adriene