Yoga for Mental Health

This is a timely and very well-informed volume building on the increased use of yoga for mental and physical health as well as its considerable growth in popularity over the last few years – in the US, 2012 figures indicate that 20.4 million people were practising yoga, while the 2016 figure was 36 million. At the same time, Western societies face unprecedented levels of mental health challenges, to which yoga can evidently make an effective and economical contribution. While the book is primarily aimed at mental health professionals interested in yoga interventions, it can profitably be read by those more generally interested in yoga and its evolving integrative approach. The editors point out in their introduction that yoga has its very basis in mental health in the widest sense, incidentally promoting well-being while also a path to Enlightenment.

Research indicates many beneficial effects, for instance on the nervous system, but also in the practice of mindfulness during postures. There are specific chapters on anxiety, depression, ADHD, insomnia, trauma, eating disorders, schizophrenia, and children and adolescents, followed by a final consideration of future directions. Each individual chapter contains an overview, potential approaches, research studies, the rationale for using yoga in relation to the particular condition, and recommendations for practice. Some chapters also have very useful tables describing potential interventions. There is then a comprehensive list of references at the end of each chapter – here again, there was a threefold increase in yoga research from 2004 to 2013, but much still remains to be done. This is surely a landmark volume in the field.