Yoga has a proven therapeutic effect in reducing stress and stress-related damage in the brain, said B.N. Gangadhar, director, NIMHANS, according to a press release.
He was inaugurating an international conference on stress, yoga and mind-body medicine at Sri Ramachandra University on Monday.
Dr. Gangadhar said age-related shrinkage of the brain was not seen in people who practised yoga regularly.
It also reduces the stress hormone, cortisol, that affects other organs and creates complications. J. Radhakrishnan, State Health Secretary, said people should adopt lifestyle changes and live in the present and reduce their stress levels.
Vice-Chancellor of the university J.S.N. Murthy released a book, Mind, Body-Medicine , on the occasion.
Other doctors, including S.P. Thyagarajan, dean, research, K.V. Somasundaram, dean of faculties at the university and R. Padmavathi, head of the Physiology Department, Government Kipauk Medical College, also participated.