Effect of yoga practices on hormonal functions (a meta-analysis)

Background: Yoga appears to be a vital factor for improving health and behavior to achieve better physical and mental well-being. Therefore, it is now considered as a form of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Aim: This meta-analysis attempts to find out the beneficial effect of yoga on various hormonal functions. The aim of the study is to evaluate the findings of the selected articles and to provide the comprehensive review regarding the effect of yoga on hormonal functions. Methods and Materials: The studies included were collected from online databases such as Science Direct, Pub Med, Wiley Online Library and Google Scholar. The articles published from January 2000 to December 2020 were considered. The main keywords were “yoga,” "hormones” and “athletes”. The total studies, identified were N=5866 and the studies included for critical analysis were N=10. Results: This study provides data in regards to statistics of male and female sample size, age of sample and duration of treatment protocol which are very useful and can be used as a basis for further investigation. Conclusions: In addition, the present study provides ample evidence to prove that yoga treatment improves and maintains hormonal functions.