Izabel Guest Blogs: Yoga for Caregivers

This Guest Blog Post is from Izabel Khalili, one of Dr. T’s Health Psychology students:

When people become victims of prevalent diseases, their caregivers also become victims in a way, suddenly taking on stress and depression. According to a research done by the scientists in the University of California Los Angeles, it seems that a low-cost yoga program can improve the quality of life for caregivers and help them cope with their hardships. Researchers found out that meditation helps in reducing depression and increasing mental health. They also found that daily yoga practices, as short as 12 minutes per day, could reduce stress and improve cognitive functioning in caregivers. Meditation also increased caregivers’ telomerase activity and thus reduced cellular aging. These benefits, which only appeared in the researchers’ experimental group in eight weeks, suggest that incorporating a yoga program for the caregivers mentally help them deal with the difficulties they face in caring for the ill.