A study was released in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association that talks about how practicing regular mindful yoga can improve androgen levels – which therefore lowers testosterone – in women that have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PCOS is considered one of the most common causes of infertility in women, “affecting 6% to 12% (as many as 5 million) of US women of reproductive age.” But it’s also important to note that this medical condition can be a lifelong one for many.
One of the diagnostic criteria for PCOS are the high levels of androgens, like testosterone. These levels tend to be the symptoms that exacerbate issues like excess facial and body hair, as well as causing acne and irregular periods to occur for those that are diagnosed with the disease.
The randomized yet controlled study involved 31 different women in Australia who were all diagnosed with PCOS. The volunteers were separated into two groups, with the first group having no intervention, and the second being made to do an hour of yoga at least three times a week.
Participants from both groups were tested for their endocrine, cardio-metabolic, and psychological measurements at the start and end of the three-month experiment. The factors that were tested were free testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone, waist-to-hip ratio, body mass index, fasting blood glucose and insulin levels, as well as their anxiety and depression scores.
The results at the end of the three months showed that the group that regularly practiced yoga ‘had significantly lower free testosterone levels.’ The positive effects were also said to have lasted for several months after those first three months were up.
The practice of yoga is esteemed for its well-known physical and mental benefits for those people that practice it. And for the participants in the study, they also shared how they could feel improvements in their anxiety and depression measures as well.
Although there is sadly no cure for PCOS, there are forms of management that help deal with the wide-range of symptoms that come with this condition like taking medication and following particular lifestyle changes, depending on each person’s particular case. More often than not, women are normally advised to lose or manage their weight in order to improve their PCOS symptoms, although unfortunately, a number of patients find it difficult to shed off the extra pounds.
One main benefit from this study was finding out that practicing yoga still had positive benefits for those suffering from PCOS even if they didn’t lose any weight.
The fact that yoga can be done by people in any fitness level, meaning from beginners to more advanced practices, makes it much easier for any patient to do. There are also quite a lot of instructional videos that can be found via app or online to make it accessible, while there are also particular poses to practice that are best suited to treating PCOS.
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