Altered Responses of Saliva Cortisol and Mood Status by Long-period Special Yoga Exercise Mixed with Meditation and Guided Imagery

To clarify the psycho-neuro-endocrinological effects of yoga exercise with meditation and guided imagery on healthy adults, we examined stress hormone, saliva cortisol and mood status before and after yoga exercise. Twenty-five volunteers with mean age of 38.3 years (6 males and 19 females) participated in the session for 3.5 hours. Before and after the session, they answered a questionnaire covering shortened construction of a multiple mood scale (MMS), and a shortened questionnaire upon mental imagery (QMI) vividness of imagery scale and health practices. We also collected saliva samples to measure salivary cortisol (s-cortisol) levels. The group with the regular habit of doing yoga with this method (meditation, breathing, and self-guided imagery) showed lower scores of negative mood scale and higher scores of positive mood scale of MMS, lower levels of s-cortisol, and higher scores of QMI in common situation than those of the group without this regular habit. These results suggest that this method is associated with releasing tension or stress.