Home » STUDY: YOGA CAUSES MENTAL ILLNESS

STUDY: YOGA CAUSES MENTAL ILLNESS

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. – A large new study done by scientists at Cambridge University prove that yoga helps lower back pain but causes mental illness.
The largest study ever done about the benefits of yoga examined over 5,800 people who did yoga regularly over a two-year period.  It concluded that yoga is extremely effective at relieving lower back pain, but yoga caused mental deficiencies in 80% of those studied and some kind of mental illness in over 72% of participants.
The study, funded by the British Institute of Health in collaboration with the U.S. National Institute of Health was published on Monday.

Smaller studies in the past have suggested that yoga, which involves stretching exercises along with a mental component of deep breathing and other relaxation techniques, was moderately effective at easing symptoms of chronic lower back pain and that people felt more “at peace.”
For years yoga experts (gurus) have claimed that yoga relieves stress, but while some people in the study did report less stress when doing yoga they felt more stress when they missed a yoga class.
“We were all surprised to learn that yoga had such a detrimental effect on a person’s mental health, and shocked to learn that it lowers IQ and causes the onset of dementia,” said Professor Karen Engelbert from the Cambridge University.
Look at this man.  He was a successful investment banker in London, but gave it all up to do this three hours a day:

The benefits of yoga are attributable to the physical benefits of stretching and the “good feeling” people get when stretching and manipulating their bodies in a hot room with other people.  “Yoga does have many benefits for the body – even aerobically – but if you do it too much, many people lose interest in other aspects of their lives and tend to have trouble concentrating and doing simple tasks like tying their shoelaces,” said Engelbert.
The study found that many people who do yoga wind up walking around with a purple (or blue) mat even when they are not going to a yoga class.  It found that  yoga is “addictive” and recommends that a Yoga Anonymous (YA) be started in the United States so people who do yoga obsessively can get treatment, before they completely lose all their mental faculties.

Yoga affects women and men in the same way, but women do more yoga then men.  Of the 5,800 people in the study, 69% of those who went to yoga class regularly were women.   It did not matter if the people went to a yoga class or did yoga at home – the results were the same. Dementia.
People that participated in the study were also five times more likely to be on anti-depressants, anti-psychotic medicine and marijuana.  They were also more likely to own scented candles.
The bottom line:   yoga is good for the back, bad for the brain.

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123 thoughts on “STUDY: YOGA CAUSES MENTAL ILLNESS”

  1. This is a very interesting post. My first thought in reading it was a question I asked my father, as a child: Daddy, what makes a person "crazy"?. His answer was this: When people think, act, believe or experience life differently from the rest of the world, the world thinks they are crazy, but really, they're just different.
    As a yoga "expert" of a different kind, I have developed a form of yoga for the mind based on the same principle upon which Yoga is founded. It is a method by which an individual can become more mentally flexible and strong, more self-aware, and gain access to more choices and make better decisions in life and enjoy more success. This method also addresses feelings, and the ability to quickly shift one's overall state of being according to one's own choice.
    I want to thank you for this article, Frank, for I believe it is always best to contemplate multiple sides to any issue.
    Sincerely,

    Reply
    • Well if the true essence of doing Yoga is Meditation and not to be trapped by a "sick" mind its very laughable that those who were doing the research were indulging that of the mind and not of the spirit. So could I put it this way if someone is already menatlly ill and they lose their mind aren't you doing them a favour?in letting them lose a sick mind. Plus if an investment banker gave up a high pressured job to work on his self 3 hours per day?Isn't that logic in the respect that he can't take the money with him when he's gone but he's gonna take himself. plus he's got to live in his body until hiis dying day on this planet. Whats the point in having the cash if you haven't got the health to enjoy it. Yoga is about balance First Breath then Strength then Flexibility the middle one this article missed out completely. I could go on about this for ages but hey anyone who practices see's the funny side of this and how rdidculous it sounds 🙂 Love & Peace

  2. Yoga is good in very few ways but unfortunately it's a dairy product and such products create certain genes in your system which cause hair loss in those most susceptible especially when you come of age. I wouldn't be so prompt to eat yoga. Try to love yourself more an not let others lead you so eager to eat things that may harm you.

    Reply
  3. I started Yoga a few years back to lose weight and gain flexibility for lovemaking. Since then I have lost 27lbs (now only 163lbs to go!). The coolest thing about it is our instructor always imparts wise soothing thoughts while we are practicing like , "It is written, that the weaver who uses the reeds of the sacred Ganges, computes his worth in man hours per foot pound."

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  4. Are you kidding me. With all the worthless stuff in this world of ours who would want to choose one of the most beneficial practices to lead us to meditation and peace of mind to say it is harmful. If peace of mind is considered to cause mental deficiencies then I say bring it on. The mind can only work efficiently in conjunction with a healthy active and flexible body. So there you go, is it possible that we use our intellect a bit too much anyway. I say do more yoga, relax and enjoy your life. If you want to talk about deficiencies, lets talk about how drugs and alchohol kill brain cells and tell people to get off drugs and stop drinking and do more yoga.

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  5. If a person can no longer tie their shoes, its not the fault of yoga, its the fault of the human themselves. This is one of the worst case studies I've ever read. And I cannot believe money was actually spent on this study!! Perhaps the person should have spent the money to actually do a yoga training and then see if the training would cause mental illness. Because I'm perfectly fine and I've had nothing but positive effects from yoga!! Yoga is way more than poses!! But then again, if they actually studied yoga…they would have known this!!

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  6. Hahaha. Brilliant. Might be a bit too subtle for some.
    'they were also more likely to own scented candles'
    Lol, as my Nag Champa burns next to my mat. Must be time for a spliff. Quack quack fizzle Zune dweebie. Nokka Nokka, miaow. This Is The News.

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  7. Some of us who are Christians have always known that Yoga is detrimental to ones mind. First of all, it is a far eastern discipline that involves opening ones mind – very dangerous thing to do as it opens you to demonic possession of all sorts. These far eastern disciplines are sugar coated occultic practices designed to deceive people into becoming possesed by demons – I have read an actual testimony from a one time yoga instructor who converted to Christianity. In short, mental illness is caused by demons so don't engage in anything that opens up your mind. Always have control and allow God's Holy Spirit to minister unto you!

    Reply
    • LMAO, he was trolling. This was a joke. The whole article was a joke. This comment was a joke… You all got trolled!

    • The bible says “the spirit of control is as witchcraft”. Far East? Wow, thats where all tge bad stuff is right? Don’t engage in anything that opens up your mind? Seriously?! Religion is a borrowed belief of anothers experience, abdication of your own faculties. Spirituality is the living experience. The Bible is one of the most occult texts in existence. This comment begs belief!

  8. Yoga is about Balance. Too much of anything is not good for us. To claim that yoga causes mental illness may shy some away from a practice when done correctly and in healthy moderation has so many positives. This is so very disappointing to say the least.

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  9. the very word yoga means to link up or connect to the Supreme (in either the impersonal Brahman feature of the personal Bhagavan feature) as well as to yoke or restrain the senses from animalistic behavior. To think that yoga as espoused by Patanjali or Krishna has no link to religion, or the process by which one develops their love for god, is in denial. It can be commercialized or sterilized as much as you want but the performance of yoga is ultimately meant for divine realization of the Absolute truth and not just for a tight butt.

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  10. Apparently doing yoga also causes some people to lose any trace of a sense of humour- assuming they had one to start with… I can see this article being way too subtle for some people though.

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  11. Who funded it Vatican? Very convenient finding especially so soon after that fundamentalist Father Gabriel Amorth talks through his Cross. This smacks of uniquely patented Pharma Cos "discovering" new 'drugs' ramming it through FDA through motivated pre-determined end result studies and finding it to be potentially risky even to life when the Patent runs out and Generics step in by introducing another more deadly concotion. Pharma Cos find it easy to get such motivated researchers desperately in need of funding and they are found dime a dozen Hence no surprise that such studies backed with all the hoarded vatican wealth (from the days of El Dorado and Inquistion!) Now all that remains for the proselytizing bigots is to impale Yoga Gurus.
    As Count Louis Hamilton ("Cheiro" as popularly known) has written about how the Church actively suppressed palmistry and astrology because it was jealous of its Hindu origin at a time when the power of the Church was beginning to be felt outside the domain of religion, and how the Church was intolerant to knowledge that did not proceed from its teachings. Palmists and astrologers were branded pagans, heathens, sorcerers, witches etc and were impaled.
    But can these Vatican funded "researchers" produce another study that Bible says that the Earth was not flat and neither 64 miles square and the Bible talked of the precession of the equinoxes much like the Hindus did from time immemorial who factored it in their Horoscope casting by a very accurate figure a concept which Western astronomers "discovered" in the 1930's. Maybe the Pope or his virulent assistant Father Gabriel Amorth will equest Yoga Gurus to be impaled lest the shepherded "flock" disappear to a more sustainable though system.
    As Koenraad Elst concludes in the "Psychology of Prophetism – a secular look at the Bible" Quote …"Prophetism has caused innumerable hardships without giving anything valuable in return. Not one of the valuable things in the cultures dominated by it, can be traced to their prophetic-monotheistic component. Its source has more often than not been mental darkness. Today, there is no justification for keeping humanity in the mental prison of prophetism any longer. " Unquote

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  12. this proves that science can be a method which proves whatever you want to prove.
    some people are afraid the values, living forms change & so they might loose the power of manipulating people

    Reply
  13. This news is not real, that is checked with Cambridge University. Please find the message I received below from Communications Officer of Science Research from Office of External Affairs and Communications at Cambridge University:
    "Thank you for your email. However, that article was a joke – as is the entire Weekly World News website…Again, there were never any such research, and there were definitely no such findings."
    Ayca Gurelman / Istanbul Yoga Center

    Reply
  14. There a lot of books written by psycologists ang psychiatrits speaking about the benefits of yoga . People suffering from great mental problems have improved considerably thanks to the help of yoga .
    When you take ansiolitics and similar medicines regularly , the muscular relaxation you get thanks to this medicines , disappears considerably due to a phonomena called "habituation " .
    However , practising yoga or another relaxation method such as Jacobson relaxation , if you do it properly , your muscles are always going to get relaxed .
    Finally , I'd like to comment that it's true that if you are always doing yoga or some type of relaxation , you are going to feel too relaxed and with little motivation to carry out some activities that are beneficial for mental health such as communication , going out for a drink , etc . It's like if we were in a state of certain apathy . So remember that a certain level of anxiety or tension is ne cessary for carrying out many daily activities .

    Reply
    • I study at Cambridge, so I tried to look up Professor Karen Engelbert in the lookup service. Guess what? No result. No publication. Nothing. (which shouldn't really come as a surprise).

  15. This article is thoughtful process to spread negative about YOGA by vested interested people. Yoga is a beautiful science for living healthy and Happy life. And this is the purpose of Human LIFE.

    Reply
    • Crazy people tend to not realize they are crazy. This is true, I know at least 15 people who have gone insane by doing yoga. It's down right dangerous.

  16. this is totally idiotic, even to be said yoga helps in improving your IQ and ur different sensory perceptions it also relieves stress in the way how u practice it and how u think about it .iam a yoga doctor iam practising it daily even advance series i know what happend and how i have changed , so i really wont accept this, this is totally idiotic. My opinion about this wrong concept-yoga should be practised with different steps 1, before yoga u should clean ur bowel & bladder. 2, And after the practice u should give 1 or 1/2 hour gap for ur intakes like ur food , water everything if not u will face vital changes like increase in blood pressure, uncomfortableness in body and mind co-ordination, and internally ur elimination process affects bcs ur body gets much stretched so u should relax urself and make ur body vital to come down.And also after the practice of yoga ur body nerve conductivity increases with ur brain activity. so u should allow ur body and ur mind to be in rest not only physiologically but also psycological. And after the relaxation after practising yoga u will feel really energtic and ur activity performed by u in tht day will be increased and also it will be without stress . so dont ever say yoga makes some one ill,it makes u to know the meaning of life and increases ur will power until u practice it correctly. this fact what u said about it is due to incorrect practice,and the truth about yoga depends on how do u practice and train them . THIS FAULT DOES NOT COMES ON YOGA EXACTLY ,THIS FAULT CONCEPT GETS TRUE ONLY WHEN U PRACTICE IT INCORRECTLY WITHOUT PROPER STEP SO PUPILS PLZ DONT BE IGNORANT BY READING SOME FAILURE RESEARCH CONCEPTS. yoga is not a joke it is beyond everything what u think. NEVER INSULT UR ANCIENT AND ANCESTORAL type of practices given to us by our ancestors. yoga makes urself how u think about it. so dont insult it plz like this and dont be ignorant.value everything

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  17. Its a wellknown fact tbat yoga was introduced by Gootan to undermine earth society. No wonder we suffer from so many social ills!

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  18. Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain

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  19. sarcasm.
    there is a bit of truth in it but it is incomplete, therefore a lie.
    To clear your mind means you try to stop thinking about unnecessary stuff and be able to concentrate more efficiently on something that requires your attention, I would not do so to relax, but to put thoughts in order or take important decisions. Relaxing——>concentrating on idleness and/or simple things, this could be very bad for the brain and have long term consequences that could result in lower brain performance, following the logic that you get stronger by doing work and weaker by doing less work. Study a lot for a long time and you become a genius, don't study at all and just look at how pretty the birds are for a long time and you end up forgetting how to do a simple multiplication. My advice, if you want to get away from stressful things it is ok, just don't neglect your brain by going blank too much. Concentrate on something like equation solving or logic problems, I guarantee your IQ will get higher if you do.

    Reply
  20. this is the false study done to suppress the effects of yoga
    if yogic concept is wrong i dont think vedic literature which dated back 5000 years will have the concept of airplane, concept of nine planet without using satellites, knowledge that earth is round without travelling the earth, i dont think jesus is wrong, goutham buddha is wrong, swami vivekananda is wrong because they are originated from yoga

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  21. Ooh, better stop listening to that "zen" music before I get dementia. 😉
    ..

    …..
    *is amazed at the amount of people who took this seriously*

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  22. hahaha this is hilarious… lagging around mats even when not doing yoga… hahahaha the writter and professor is an idot! You've got to love how creatively stupid people are 😛

    Reply
  23. I have been doing yoga for the past four years and i loved it so much that i decided to become an instructor shortly after i began practicing. This article states that Yoga causes mental illness, but i can assure you that it does nothing of the sort. Yoga helped cure me of my mental afflictions. Prior to practicing yoga, I suffered from bulimia and anorexia, as well as other mental disorders. But, shortly after participating in the discipline, i became increasingly aware of my body and my current self-destructive nature. With time and practice, my mind began to clear and presently i have never been happier. Yoga does not make "people lose interest in other aspects of their lives and [cause them] to have trouble concentrating and doing simple tasks like tying their shoelaces."
    Yoga helps us understand ourselves and the world around us. It helps us see clearly and especially see through the illusion of our broken world. Everything that the mainstream media tells you is to benefit the corporate agenda because the big corporations are the ones that own the media. Yoga helps us to discover truth, both inner and outer. Perhaps that banker turned yogi decided to do so because he realized that the system he was working for is nothing but fraudulent.
    I am a Yogi and I stand for Truth, Justice and Liberty.

    Reply
  24. ofourse it may be good. NASA not yet they told that Alien exist. but its is not sure that Aliens exist in the way of NASA government…
    as i personally i trust, coz iam Ufologist, i am Alien Hunter, we doing Research about Aliens….. i telling that Aliens exist. DNA came from Space only. all Earth creature developed by DNA , that DNA sent by Aliens only….for more details please contact me
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    mail me: info7puls@gmail.com

    Reply
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  26. I am more than happy to read this article. The benefits of Yoga are both for you physic and mental health and there are so many yoga exercises. It was the second important thing that i have learned about the yoga. The first one was about the benefits and the reasons why we should wear a yoga shoes, just like this girl Nicolle has mentioned in her post http://www.more-shoes.com/yoga-shoes/

    Reply
  27. Yoga and mental illness? I would love to see the research on this!
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    Reply
  28. This article is hilarious – It should be posted at onion.com. Yoga is bad for the brain- haha! can we get an actual link to the study please? Hmm perhaps not!

    Reply
    • do not find it funny. In fact, it's shame I wasted my time for readin this. Would be good if author made it clear from the beginning that the information is not factual. It's misleading this way!

  29. That is ridicules. Since when walking with the blue mat is a sign of mental illness? Going to club every weekend and getting dressed up must be sign of mental illness, Hitting the gym and walking with big bag every so often must be the sign of mental illness too…. Come on people… Cambridge should sue the article writer for making bad reputation for its university. :)))
    Yoga is healthy thing, good for back pain and all spine but also very relaxing.

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  30. I have been a Yoga person for many years and have great all round health both mentally and physically. Taking anything to an extreme can be OK as long as the level of extreme doesn't cause damage rather than good health.

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  31. I'd never have thought that something like yoga could be detrimental to mental health! Yoga is prescribed time and time again as an effective way to keep yourself healthy and fit! So it does come as a slight surprise! Not sure if I completely agree that it causes as much damage as suggested though.
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    Reply
  32. Well just when you think that exercise is good for you lol i guess you just never know.I guess you just have to use your own judgement when it comes to it
    how to relieve stress
    If you do get stressed out its always good to have ways to deal with it 🙂

    Reply
  33. Bahahaha! In other news from this website:
    "Facebook Will End On May 15 2013"
    "U.S. Confirms Existence of Mermaids"
    "Killer Bees Target Women"
    "Alien Balls in Mexico"
    "Tupac is Alive"
    And, alas,
    "World's Biggest Butt"
    Don't believe everything you read folks. But do be aware of meditation as that can cause psychological problems. But, still no sign of them Yogaholics carrying their mats around in the local grocery store.

    Reply
  34. Some of my friends are doing Yoga everyday to release their stress from works. They also recommended me do so. It is the first time to know if people do Yoga too much, they will be effected negatively. I should let me friends know about it.

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  35. You can't be serious. Just by physiology alone, it is proven in medical journals, and by using common sense that improving your ability to increase oxygen levels to your brain and throughout your body will increase your mental capacity, not take away from it. Ludicrous.

    Reply
  36. Yoga is a good sport for women who are under pressure. I have two friends, one recommended yoga to me because it released pressure for her. But another friend told me it is not so good as she has normally no stress. So it depends on which person does it.

    Reply
  37. Yoga cures mental illness…not causes it. Yoga is about Oneness, Love and Compassion….anyone lacking in these is crazy…yoga shows the way to higher states of awareness where all living being are interconnected and part of the One Consciousness that pervades ALL.

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  38. Yoga teaches to love your body, if that is known as being addicted and lowering IQ that I guess the person who conducted the survey was demented

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  39. What a load of old garbage! I've never heard so much rubbish in my life. Why is it that when there is anything good in life, someone or some group of so called Einsteins want to promote entire waves of negativity. I don't buy it!

    Reply
  40. The benefits of yoga are attributable to the physical benefits of stretching and the “good feeling” people get when stretching and manipulating their bodies in a hot room with other people.

    Reply
  41. I think it's more like being an investment banker in London causes dementia. I think that something that promotes a more natural lifestyle can't be bad up against having one of the most unnatural jobs in the world. Yoga is spreading accept it or die never knowing how peaceful and happy life was meant to be.

    Reply
  42. Wait! Investment banker looses interest in money??? God forbid we all wake up to the utter stupidity of our modern society and all it's trappings, P.S. Where the Heck are your sources, I could provide more substantial evidence that people can affect machines with their minds! Yeah don't believe me, Google "P.E.A.R."
    Yoga reduces IQ… Maybe now the people are thinking about things that aren't measured by IQ tests. If you gave a English speaking genius an IQ test in Chinese the score would not be so good eh?

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  43. Buy it is a good choice of words. The government (organized crime) loses money from people who practice yoga not having to buy expensive meds.

    Reply

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