Review articleEvidence based effects of yoga in neurological disorders

- Though yoga is one of the widely used mind-body medicine for health promotion, disease prevention and as a possible treatment modality for neurological disorders, there is a lack of evidence-based review.
- Hence, we are providing a comprehensive review on the effect (beneficial and adverse) of yoga in various neurological disorders based on the scientific articles available from 1963 to 14 December 2016.
- We hope, the information that is available in this review will be more useful for the neurologist as well as the patients who are looking for mind-body medicine including yoga.

Though yoga is one of the widely used mind-body medicine for health promotion, disease prevention and as a possible treatment modality for neurological disorders, there is a lack of evidence-based review. Hence, we performed a comprehensive search in the PubMed/Medline electronic database to review relevant articles in English, using keywords “yoga and neurological disorder, yoga and multiple sclerosis, yoga and stroke, yoga and epilepsy, yoga and Parkinson's disease, yoga and dementia, yoga and cerebrovascular disease, yoga and Alzheimer disease, yoga and neuropathy, yoga and myelopathy, and yoga and Guillain-Barre syndrome”. A total of 700 articles published from 1963 to 14th December 2016 were available. Of 700 articles, 94 articles were included in this review. Based on the available literature, it could be concluded that yoga might be considered as an effective adjuvant for the patients with various neurological disorders.