In May 2010 a study was reported in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine that found yoga to be beneficial to those looking to quit smoking.
Smoking is still the biggest cause of early death in women. About 17% of women in the USA smoke and many of these will develop heart disease or cancer as a result. New research is being planned by the Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University to see if yoga may be able to play an important role in helping women to give up smoking.
The research will compare women who do yoga plus a standard Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) course to help quit smoking with women who go on a Wellness program and also do the CBT.
The proposal for the study discusses how the stresses imposed on quitting smoking as well as a gaining in weight all make quitting smoking much harder. Many women start smoking again after quitting for a short period due to stress. Fear of weight gain is almost as problematic as actual weight gain.
Exercise is thought to be an effective way to help people quit smoking as it generally reduces the chances of weight gain and also reduces stress and other withdrawal symptoms. Previous research has shown that exercise combined with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) does increase the success rate of women quitting smoking.
Yoga combines more traditional exercises with an element of mental focus and concentration which both also help to reduce stress and boost confidence. Yoga is also effective at managing weight.
The style of yoga to be used in this study is Vinyasa. Women will train twice per week for one hour, with 45 minutes of the training being the postures, the remaining time spent doing breathing and cool down exercises. Vinyasa is similar to Ashtanga yoga in that asanas (postures) are performed in routines where one posture flows into another. This makes the workout more aerobic than isometric and raises heart rate as well as helping to improve strength and flexibility.
Hopefully the study will receive backing and the results published soon. Current research in yoga, exercise, stress and smoking do suggest that yoga combined with CBT may well be a better way to quit smoking.