The medical establishment is going 'om' too.

Doctors are catching on to the health benefits of yoga and even tapping it as an alternative form of treatment.

In 2005, the American Council on Exercise, America's non-profit fitness advocate, said practising yoga offers improvements in flexibility, balance and relaxation.

A 2006 study on breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy concluded that twice or thrice weekly sessions of yoga improved their social functioning and reduced fatigue, anxiety and insomnia.

Other studies have found that a regular yoga regimen can help patients with conditions like asthma, chronic back pain, arthritis and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Classes such as hot or hatha yoga take a person through various sequences that are designed to gradually increase muscle length (and hence improve flexibility), said DrCormac O'Muircheartaigh, the acting medical director & sports physician in the sports medicine department at the Singapore Sports Council.

'Through adopting different poses and various breathing techniques, the effect of improved muscle length and joint range of motion can be achieved,' he said.

Power (a continuous series of yoga positions) and Ashtanga yoga can increase one's strength by using an individual's body weight to perform repetitions or to maintain certain positions, he added.

Dr Tan Jee Lim, a consultant orthopaedic sports surgeon at JL Sports Medicine and Surgery at Gleneagles Medical Centre, said yoga is helpful in managing backache by stretching the back muscles and improving posture.

It creates a greater awareness of posture and deeper muscles.

As with all exercise regimens, it is important to highlight underlying medical conditions like pregnancy or recent surgery to the yoga instructor and to consult your doctor before starting a regular routine.

Dr Patrick Goh, a consultant sports physician at SportsMed Central, said that ligament, joint capsule and muscle tears are possible risks of yoga.

'Many yoga poses demand a high level of flexibility which not many individuals may be able to achieve,' he said.

If the joint is forced into a range it is incapable of doing, a tear will result in the capsule, ligament or muscle overlying the joint. The expertise of the instructor is important in preventing such injuries, he added.

Dr Roger Tian, from Changi General Hospital's Changi Sports Medicine Centre, said an experienced instructor will be able to modify the exercises for a participant's fitness level and medical history, for example, using a half lotus posture instead of a full lotus for students with knee pain.

But he added that pregnant women should avoid exercising in hot, humid environments like in Bikram yoga and stretches with bouncing movements. Those with back problems or osteoporosis involving the spine should avoid postures that require trunk flexion as this increases pressure on the spine.

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This article was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times.

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