Mindfulness was in the news! The results of a new study comparing mindfulness-based stress reduction and an anti-anxiety medication just came out. For practitioners, this isn’t a surprise. Having the science to back up our experience matters, though. Today I wanted to explore the implications of this study and the relationship between yoga and science in general.

The great exploration

I started my yoga journey with no training in the health and wellness fields and no mindfulness practice. Since I didn’t know any better, I went on a great exploration of yoga. During a workshop, I was slathered with so many essential oils that the thought of it makes me gag to this day. Someone parked a didgeridoo on my chest and blew before an entire throng of 50+ students went into a fit of ecstatic dancing. I had an impromptu tarot reading, drank cacao, and chanted japa under my breath on the bus. I learned what a sound bath was and took a dip in the swirling currents of gongs and crystal bowls. I rebuilt my body in my recovery and navigated the waters of military life while I found a new voice and a new way of walking in the world.

This yoga thing has been one heck of a ride. Along the way, I’ve heard teachers speak definitively about which poses do what, and what such and such a practice is good for. (Full disclosure: I’ve also been the one speaking definitively. I’m not absolved.) Some of it is solid information. A healthy dose of imagination and a matter-of-fact tone keep the less-solid ideas afloat. From that amalgam, I found what works for me.

I think that’s a journey every practitioner must make for themselves. Which practices resonate? Which ideas are unfounded and meant to serve a very limited group of people or manipulate others? When I started my exploration, I didn’t have to tools to question what authority figures were saying. As you learn more, you can ask better questions.

What about science?

Some yoga and yoga-adjacent activities that we participate in have no backing in science. It could be that the science just hasn’t caught up with what we’re doing, which is what has happened with the new study I mentioned. A few of the things we hold to be significant as practitioners come from very old science. This stuff was ahead of its time, and with new tools, we can see the connection between modern science and what long ago smart people were thinking.

What science gives us are verifiable and replicable results of specific practices. We can now say, “In this randomized clinical trial of 276 adults with anxiety disorders, 8-week treatment with mindfulness-based stress reduction was non-inferior to escitalopram.” In other words, the impacts of mindfulness-based stress reduction were comparable to a medicine given to people with anxiety.

If you’re like me, you were thrilled to see the news… and then you had a lot of questions. What do they mean by “mindfulness-based stress reduction”? What was the mindfulness regimen the subjects were using? What were the results of the subsequent follow-ups after the 8-week mark for people taking the anti-anxiety medication versus those practicing mindfulness? Are there plans to do this test again with a larger sample size and greater demographic reach? Unfortunately, I can’t access the full study. (You can see what I was able to read here, and those of you with access to academic journals will be able to find peer-reviewed article in JAMA . )

How this could go sideways

After hanging out in the yoga world for a few years, I have noticed an unfortunate stigma around medications. I’m afraid that some authority figures in the industry might read this study and see it as proof that people do not need medicine. Yikes!

I bring this up because I’m thinking about the vulnerability that comes with being a new student. Until I developed my discernment, I believed just about everything. I wanted so much to be “good at yoga” that I would have gone to great lengths to do what my teachers said. Luckily, my teachers weren’t interested in abusing that power, but there are enough Netflix documentaries about yoga to prove that that isn’t always the case.

When we become yoga teachers, we operate within a scope of practice. I cannot tell you what medication you should and should not take. I do not have the training. Most of your teachers do not have that kind of training. I can say that if you’re struggling, please seek the help of a medical professional to work out a treatment program that will work for you. Whether or not that involves medication is for you and the medical professionals to decide together.

To put this another way, there is nothing more mindful than using the tools available to you to get yourself well. Don’t let anyone shame you if medicine is what works for you, and especially don’t let them misuse yoga and a study of 276 individuals as justification for the shaming. At Union Yoga, we’re not into shaming and very much into discernment. Use your discernment. I’ve got your back.

What’s great about this research

That being said, this research is so exciting. First, it gives folks options. Perhaps mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques will work as a standalone treatment for some of us. Maybe it will inspire more people to turn to mindfulness to augment what they’re already doing to feel well.

Without this study, plenty of mental health professionals have recommended yoga. With more science, specific yoga and meditation practices could be covered by insurance, which would make a wider range of practices accessible to people who can benefit but might not have the means.

Research has the potential to help us translate the value of yoga to those who may not understand or value it. This could remove some common misunderstandings about what yoga is.

We’re on the same team

I realize this might ruffle a few feathers, but it just has to be said: Yoga and science aren’t at odds with one another. They are different ways of explaining our experiences. We can take up these practices with a deep respect for the history and tradition of yoga while also realizing that these practices can induce certain responses. We can know that by observing meditation, asana, pranayama, yama, and niyama, we can attain deeper states on the 8-limbed path. It is also true that when we manipulate our breath, we can impact our nervous system. How wonderful it is that we live in a world in which both these things are true.

What do you think of the intersection of science and yoga? Does this topic bring up strong feelings for you? Stay curious, my friends!