An appreciation of yoga-therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia. (Machleidt & Ziegenbein, 2008) Abstract

Just found this interesting article speaking of the use of Yoga (or perhpas acupuncture) as a treatment for schizophrenia. Personally, I would stay on my meds until a whole body of literature proves it true.... 8-O

Since I don't have the time to go into the real articles, following is the abstract for the paper..

An appreciation of yoga-therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia. (Machleidt & Ziegenbein, 2008)

Comments on an article by Duraiswamy and colleagues (see record 2007-11830-010). Arun Jha comments in the Letter above on the study by Duraiswamy and colleagues published in the Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica September issue 2007 reporting unexpectedly positive results. In the Indian cultural environment patients suffering from schizophrenia can possibly be more easily motivated to undergo a yoga therapy than they may be in Europe or South America, as Indian patients are well versed culturally in this method. In Central Europe, in Germany for example, autogenic training has been successfully recommended to patients with schizophrenia for stress reduction. Active physical measures such as running, swimming and cycling, for example, have also been increasingly advocated. The transcultural superiority of yoga therapy over all other CAM may be confirmed some day, as has been the case with acupuncture treatment for pain, but at the moment this open question necessitates a great deal of systematic research across cultural boundaries. It would not be found unwelcome should yoga therapy for schizophrenics come to be accorded the same world wide recognition that acupuncture enjoys for the treatment of pain.