Jaidev Gollakota*, Nimisha Prakasan
Yoga is an art form, popularly known for its psychological benefits, which mainly includes reducing stress in the fast paced modern world. Recent studies have started to show that Yoga might have additional effects on the body, such as an effect one pigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of phenotypic changes in genes due to external environment and body activities which does not alter the DNA sequence. Yoga has been found to target the same genes that are also the targets for stress, hence reversing and mitigating its effects. Regular practice has been found to reduce cytokines and other transcription factors that are responsible for inflammation. Thus, Yoga can be used to treat the incorrect reading of genes by the body and can be a form of treatment to many ailments, either genetic or lifestyle.
