In a trial of 60 people, a 16-year-old high school student has demonstrated how yoga can help reduce blood pressure, the Daily Mail reported.
Ashok Pandey presented his findings at his school science fair in Cambridge, Ontario. His research was so compelling that he also presented it at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Munich, which is attended by 30,000 doctors.
Yoga has barely been studied according to modern scientific methods, he believes.
"There isn’t really much research looking at how yoga might have this benefit," Ashok told the Daily Mail. "It's been looked at as an unknown or as magical in some way."
His research revealed 15 minutes of yoga five times a week over a period of three months reduced blood pressure by 10%.
"This study suggests that some components of yoga, such as deep breathing and stretching, may individually have some blood pressure lowering effects," Professor Metin Avkiran, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, told the Daily Mail.
The young researcher is currently working with a team from Laval University in Quebec, on a trial that includes 500 participants to confirm his findings.
