Yoga Asana Sessions Increase Brain GABA Levels: A Pilot Study

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare changes in brain γ-aminobutyric (GABA) levels associated with an acute yoga session versus a reading session. It was hypothesized that an individual yoga session would be associated with an increase in brain GABA levels.

Design: This is a parallel-groups design.

Settings/location: Screenings, scan acquisitions, and interventions took place at medical school–affiliated centers.

Subjects: The sample comprised 8 yoga practitioners and 11 comparison subjects.

Interventions: Yoga practitioners completed a 60-minute yoga session and comparison subjects completed a 60-minute reading session.

Outcome measures: GABA-to-creatine ratios were measured in a 2-cm axial slab using magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging immediately prior to and immediately after interventions.

Results: There was a 27% increase in GABA levels in the yoga practitioner group after the yoga session (0.20 mmol/kg) but no change in the comparison subject group after the reading session ( −0.001 mmol/kg) (t = −2.99, df = 7.87, p = 0.018).

Conclusions:These findings demonstrate that in experienced yoga practitioners, brain GABA levels increase after a session of yoga. This suggests that the practice of yoga should be explored as a treatment for disorders with low GABA levels such as depression and anxiety disorders. Future studies should compare yoga to other forms of exercise to help determine whether yoga or exercise alone can alter GABA levels.