Yogic Breathing Exercise May Alleviate PTSD Symptoms, Study Says

Lisa Franchi September 12, 2014

Researchers from the Centre for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Centre of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US offers hope for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their study demonstrates that a breathing-based meditation practice called Sudarshan Kriya Yoga can be an effective treatment for PTSD.

Individuals with PTSD suffer from intrusive memories, heightened anxiety, and personality changes. The hallmark of the disorder is hyperarousal, which can be defined as overreacting to innocuous stimuli, and is often described as feeling "jumpy” or easily startled and constantly on guard. Hyperarousal is one aspect of the autonomic nervous system, the system that controls the beating of the heart and other body functions, and governs one’s ability to respond to his or her environment. Scientists believe hyperarousal is at the core of PTSD and the driving force behind some of its symptoms.

Currently, PTSD is treated either through medications or psychotherapy. Some individuals are prescribed antidepressants and do well while others do not; others are treated with psychotherapy and still experience residual effects of the disorder.

The CIHM team was interested in Sudarshan Yoga because of its focus on manipulating the breath, and how that in turn may have consequences for the autonomic nervous system and specifically, hyperarousal. Theirs is the first randomized, controlled, longitudinal study to show that the practice of controlled breathing can benefit people with PTSD. Their study included 21 soldiers: an active group of 11 and a control group of 10. Those who received the one-week training in yogic breathing showed lower anxiety, reduced respiration rates and fewer PTSD symptoms.

"This was a preliminary attempt to begin to gather some information on whether this practice of yogic breathing actually reduces symptoms of PTSD," says Richard J. Davidson, founder of CIHM and one of the authors of the study. "Secondly, we wanted to find out whether the reduction in symptoms was associated with biological measures that may be important in hyperarousal."

Davidson would like to further the research by including more participants, with the end goal of enabling physicians to prescribe treatment based on the cognitive and emotional style of the individual patient.