For thousands of years, people have been practicing yoga for its obvious benefits to the mind, body and spirit. But what has not been so obvious is how to quantify its health benefits.

According to the Harvard Medical School, it turns out that Hatha Yoga may be just as beneficial to your heart as aerobic exercise. Based on 37 clinical trials, research showed that practicing yoga lowered blood pressure, heart rate, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and other cardiovascular risk factors, in amounts similar to those seen with cardio exercises.

Dr. Larry Phillips, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, told Reuters Health that yoga’s benefits had been long suspected. “I think what we’ve seen is with yoga and Continue reading →