Yoga devotees may have a new reason to get out their mats.  A new study in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health says yoga may be a good work out for your brain.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recruited 30 undergraduate women to participate in a 20-minute Hatha yoga session. The participants engaged in three types of poses: seated, standing and supine.  The session concluded with meditation and deep breathing.

The subjects were also asked to complete a 20-minute session of aerobic exercise by either walking or running on a treadmill.  The speed and inclination were adjusted so that each participant reached 60 to 70 percent of maximum heart rate throughout the session.

After each session, the women were tested on their cognitive abilities.  The subjects showed greater accuracy and quicker reaction times after yoga.  There was no significant increase in cognitive performance after the aerobic exercise, contrary to previous findings.

“It appears that following yoga practice, the participants were better able to focus their mental resources, process information quickly, more accurately and also learn, hold and update pieces of information more effectively than after performing an aerobic exercise bout,” said lead researcher Neha Gothe, now a professor of kinesiology at Wayne State University.

In a press release, Gothe says many factors could explain the results.  For example, mediation and breathing exercises are known to reduce stress which may result in stronger cognitive performance.  So could the increased self-awareness that comes with meditation, Gothe notes.

Edward McAuley is the director of the Exercise Psychology Lab where the research was conducted.  He said while the study is small, the results are important.

“Yoga research is in its nascent stages and with its increasing popularity across the globe, researchers need to adopt rigorous systematic approaches to examine not only its cognitive but also physical health benefits across the lifespan,” McAuley noted.

Indeed, 20 million Americans practice yoga, according to the 2012 Yoga in America study published by the Yoga Journal.  That’s a 29 percent increase from the previous study, conducted in 2008.  And yoga is big business.  Practitioners spend about 10 billion dollars on various yoga products including equipment, clothing, vacations and media.

Those practitioners are primarily women (82 percent) and the majority fall between the ages of 18 and 44 (62 percent). Their reasons for practicing yoga are varied and include flexibility, stress reduction, physical fitness and conditioning, and improving overall health.

Do you practice yoga?  What benefits do you get from the practice?  Let us know in the comments section below.