Positive thinking

   Dr Ned Hartfiel, Bangor University and Rhiannon Tudor Edwards, Bangor University Back pain is the single leading cause of disability in the world. In the US, four out of every five people experience back pain at some point in their life. In the UK, back pain is one of the most common reasons for visits to the doctor , and missed work . In fact, absence from work due to back problems costs British employers more than £3 billion every year . But there is a potentially easy way to prevent this problem: yoga. Our new research has found that exercises from the ancient Indian practice can have very positive benefits for back problems. Our findings suggest that yoga programmes consisting of stretching, breathing, and relaxation methods can reduce sickness absence due to back pain and musculoskeletal conditions. Wellness at work There has already been plenty of research demonstrating the benefits of yoga for NHS patients, showing that patients with chronic...

     Agnieszka Golec de Zavala, Goldsmiths, University of London and Dorottya Lantos, Goldsmiths, University of London Can we really unlock our personal power by adopting “powerful” body postures? Unfortunately, the findings that link these so-called “power poses” beloved of certain politicians with a real sense of power and control are difficult to replicate . We may not yet understand the mechanism through which body postures influence our psychological states, but our recent study suggests that we may draw insights from the rapidly expanding research on the psychological benefits of yoga. In our study, some participants performed two simple yoga poses for two minutes, while others performed “power poses” for two minutes. Afterwards, those who held the yoga poses reported improved subjective feelings of energy, sense of power, and self-esteem compared to the other group. What could lie behind this apparent boost? One theory is that yoga’s...