Yoga Boosts Your Immune System?

A study reported Monday at the American Physiological Society, showed that the Iyengar method of Yoga improved the immune system in breast cancer patients:

Psychosocial tests showed that the "demands of illness," which reflects the burden of hardship of being a breast cancer survivor, fell in the yoga participants.

"Psychosocial variables indicated improved quality of life with Iyengar yoga," Schultz said.

Importantly, these improvements correlated with decreased activation of an important immune system protein called NF-kB, which is a marker of stress in the body.

"So it's possible," Schultz said, "that decreased activation of NF-kB indicates decreased stress in the body, which would be a positive thing. NF-kB can be activated by any type of stress in the body, like physical stress and mental stress."

Maybe I'll take a closer look at yoga...