Yoga and Emotional Regulation: Neurobiological Correlates

Abstract

Emotional regulation is one of the psychological processes that is necessary to recognize, regulate and respond to emotional experience. As more and more individuals embrace yoga as a complete mind-body practice, yoga has been steadily garnering attention in the realm of mental health—particularly in its various forms, which incorporate a wide range of physical positions, breathing methods, meditation and mindfulness. This paper examines the relationship between Yoga-emotional regulation from the perspective of the neurobiology, drawing on the research of the modern neuroscience, psychology and behavioural health. This review provides a summary of the practice of yoga's effects on regions of the brain that regulate emotional processing: the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, insular cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. It will also review how processes within the brain including modulation of the autonomic nervous system, vagal tone, regulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, modulation of neurotransmitter activity and neuroplasticity affect adaptive emotional responses. Evidence shows yoga practice is related to reduced physiological stress, improved cognitive control, greater self-awareness and improved resistance to emotional stressors. Moreover, Yoga seems to help in restoring functional connectivity between neural networks in attention, executive functioning and affective regulation, promoting long-term emotional stability. According to the therapeutic importance of adjunctive use of Yoga, highlighted are the stress related disorders, anxiety and depression, emotional dysregulation. While promising results have been reported, the methodological differences in the studies in terms of study design, time of the intervention, participant characteristics and neuroimaging techniques, suggest the need for further systematic longitudinal and experimental studies. The authors suggest that yoga could be a useful, low cost, and integrated approach to enhancing emotional regulation, in measurable neurobiological ways. The integration of neuroscientific evidence with clinical and behavioural concepts broadens knowledge of the effects of yoga on mental health and informs evidence-based mental health yoga interventions.