Yoga and meditation at the cellular level

PLoS ONE published an article today comparing long-term meditation and yoga practitioners to a group of controls and a group who had taken an 8-week relaxation training course. The researchers found differences in the expression of over 2200 genes, some of which affected cellular metabolism and response to oxidative stress in the long- and short-term "relaxation group". The study concluded that relaxation training can protect cells against damage related to chronic stress. You can read more here.

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