The types of yoga we offer can be broken down into several broad categories: physical yoga or asanas, breathing, meditation, and relaxation (including sleep yoga). All are important in building a healthy, whole human being, but at different times of your life some aspects may become more important. For example, if you are in a poor physical condition, simpler asanas, or doing them while seated in a chair, may work best for you. If even that isn't possible, you can still use the breathing, meditative and relaxation practices to increase your overall health.

There is much research showing the potential benefits of yoga for all types of people including children, older adults, and people with physical or mental health issues. Yoga at school, or work, or in retirement villages can help people to be at their best. It is a good investment. Hypnosis is different from the deep relaxation that can be achieved in yogic practices and, for some clients, hypnotherapy may be more appropriate to achieve their goals, while for others, both types of practices may be best.

Some recent yoga research is discussed below.

​Mindfulness and mindful breathing and the effect on anxiety​
  • ​The Effectiveness of Daily Mindful Breathing Practices on Test Anxiety of Students: In a recent research study, academics demonstrated that mindful breathing training can help students to cope better with exam stress and anxiety: "both mindful breathing practice and cognitive reappraisal practice yielded large effect sizes in reducing test anxiety. In addition, the mindful breathing condition scored significantly higher on positive thoughts than the cognitive reappraisal and control conditions... however, mindful breathing increased positive automatic thoughts to a greater extent than cognitive reappraisal."
  • ​Mindfulness Reduces Anxiety Among Medical Students - A recent study has shown that the regular practice of mindfulness can significantly reduce anxiety. In this study medical students were the subjects. In addition to reducing anxiety, "the mindfulness group reported reduced nervousness, worry, and irritability". Mindfulness practice  can also help children to:​​​​ "be more attuned to their thought processes and reactions in the present moment, rather than racing ahead in a negative thought cycle. Students learn to tune in and listen to their body – how it feels, where they feel tension, and how to release that tension in specific areas."
Yoga and depression:
  • ​Perceptions of hatha yoga amongst persistently depressed individuals enrolled in a trial of yoga for depression - There is research on the positive impact that yoga can have on depression. Depressed people may struggle to undertake basic tasks or the physical component of yoga. This recent research from the US shows that even when people struggle with the physical aspects of yoga, the repeated bringing of the attention back to the present moment, and simple breathing techniques, can assist. It is important that the yoga instructor is kind, warm and non-judgmental.
  • A recent American Study has shown that depression is likely to improve if yoga is practised. In this study, the yoga group only practised twice a week, yet after 8 weeks the participants had experienced a "statistically and clinically significant reduction in depression severity".
Yoga and the metabolic syndrome: 
  • Effects of a 12-Week Hatha Yoga Intervention on Metabolic Risk and Quality of Life in Hong Kong Chinese Adults with and without Metabolic Syndrome :  The metabolic syndrome increases the risk of heart disease, liver disease, diabetes and stroke. In this study it was shown that regular yoga practice improved many health related issues relating to the metabolic syndrome:​ "Analysis involving the entire study population revealed that the yoga group achieved greater decline in waist circumference (p<0.001), fasting glucose (p<0.01), triglycerides (p<0.05), and MetS z score (p<0.01). Yoga training also improved general health perceptions (p<0.01), physical component score (p<0.01), and social functioning (p<0.01) domains score of HRQoL"
Yoga and the brain:​
Meditation and the brain:
  • Increased Gamma Brainwave Amplitude Compared to Control in Three Different Meditation Traditions: Hungarian researchers have demonstrated that experienced meditators are able to favourably effect their brain waves and general brain functioning, noting that:​​​ "Together these studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of meditative practices on perception [4, 5], cognition [6, 7], emotional processing [8, 9], and neuroplasticity [10–12]. A recent meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies over about 300 meditation practitioners has shown that meditation practice is consistently associated with changes in morphology of the prefrontal cortex and body awareness regions" ​
Yoga and the immune system: 
Mindfulness can help you lose weight:
  • Can Mindfulness Meditation Reduce Belly Fat? It has been shown that consistent mindfulness meditation can lower belly fat through people becoming more mindful of their eating habits, which tends to reduce mindless eating and binge eating, with the result that eating becomes more satisfying and a  healthier weight is achieved.
Yoga and fall prevention:
  • Yoga’s effect on falls in rural, older adults - Falls are a common problem in the elderly. Recent research demonstrates that regular physical or meditative yoga reduces in the incidence of falls and improves balance and flexibility. Other research has shown that yoga instruction can reduce the rate of falls in older adults by 75%.
Yoga and arthritis:
  • Research published by Johns Hopkins University, shows that gentle yoga builds strength, better joint health, energy, balance and flexibility, all of which are important to people affected by arthritis and for older people in general. Johns Hopkins Arthritis ran a large clinical trial and it found that:

    "In our study we provide critical new evidence showing that in people with arthritis who are sedentary, yoga appears to be safe, feasible, and enjoyable for people with both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, and that it results in important physical and mental health benefits for people who practice it regularly."

    People with health issues may need talk to their doctor before beginning yoga training, however, the evidence is that gentle, beginner level yoga training over several weeks can make a big difference to quality of life.
Yoga and cancer related quality of life:
  • Yoga is one method of helping childhood cancer fighters, and their families, both during active treatment, and in the long haul afterwards.  Recent research from Connecticut Children's Medical Center addressed concerns about yoga while on active treatment. It also showed that yoga can help increase energy and emotional resilience. The researchers concluded: Parents and patients found the intervention highly acceptable. Conducting the intervention in the context of active cancer treatment proved feasible. Despite limited statistical power, [quality of life] of patients doing yoga improved. Our findings support the notion that yoga for pediatric cancer patients during active treatment is feasible and potentially helpful in improving both patients' and parents' well-being.
  • Yoga Improves Quality of Life in Patients With Lung Cancer - Recent research has shown that yoga can improve the quality of life of both patients and care givers, increasing stamina, physical fitness, and mental health, while reducing fatigue. The feeling of having time out from the cancer, while nurturing themselves through yoga, was also perceived as a bonus by study participants.
  • Yoga Improves Sleep in People Being Treated For Cancer - This study dealt with breast cancer patients who practised yoga at least twice a week at home. The experienced better quality sleep, and less fatigue, than those who did not practice.
Yoga and addiction:
  • Yoga for Addictions: a Systematic Review of Randomised Clinical Trials
    The types of addictions included in these studies were alcohol, drug and nicotine addiction. The results suggested that yoga led to significantly more favourable results for addictions compared to various control interventions
  • Using Meditation in Addiction Counseling. Studies have shown that meditation can help people with addiction issues to develop anger management skills, strengthen their motivation to recover, manage stress better, boost personal well  being, and boost psychological balance. Given that an inability to deal well with stress is one of the strongest predictors of relapse, developing a regular meditation practice to better manage stress, could be a life saver.