Yoga builds balance and calm, and the style you choose shapes the risk

Key takeaways

• In 2022, about 1 in 6 U.S. adults practiced yoga, and 8 in 10 of them did it to restore their overall health, federal survey data show¹.
• Yoga’s roots as a practice for stilling the mind go back more than 2,000 years, but the posture-centered yoga most Americans know took shape in the early 20th century²³.
• In a 2016 review of six trials, yoga improved balance a small amount and mobility a moderate amount in adults 60 and older⁷.
• In an Australian trial of 700 adults aged 60 and older, reported so far only as a 2025 conference abstract, a standing-balance yoga group fell more often than a seated relaxation group, so don’t count on yoga alone to prevent falls⁹.
• In one 90-minute class at 105°F, 7 of 20 experienced hot-yoga students reached core temperatures above 103°F, so start with cooler, shorter classes and drink water whenever you need it¹¹.

The Sanskrit word for a yoga posture, asana, literally means a seat, or the act of sitting down³.

That fits the history. For most of yoga’s long past, the aim was a quiet mind, and holding poses was a minor part of the practice²³.

Today, posture is what most Americans picture first. In 2022, 16.9% of U.S. adults said they had done yoga in the past year, in a class or on their own, according to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)¹. Women were more than twice as likely as men to practice: 23.3% compared with 10.3%¹.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), part of NIH, reports 15.8% from the same survey⁶. The two agencies calculate the estimate differently; both come to about 1 in 6.

Most come for their health. In the NCHS survey, 80% of practitioners did yoga to restore their overall health, and 28.8% used it to manage pain¹. More than half meditated as part of their practice¹. This guide covers what yoga can do for your body, and where the evidence runs out.

Yoga began as a path to a still mind, but the postures came later

Yoga’s story starts with seekers, not athletes. Its earliest practitioners, says the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, were wandering Hindu, Buddhist and Jain ascetics who used breath and body control to calm the mind, sometime between 500 and 200 BCE². Its basic ideas and language took centuries to settle, and most were fixed by the 600s CE².

The Yoga Sutras, from around the second to fourth century and credited to Patanjali, a sage who may be legendary, laid out eight stages of practice³. The goals varied. A 2013 Smithsonian exhibition catalogue traced three: spiritual enlightenment, worldly power, and health and well-being³.

Hatha yoga joined postures to breath control, body “seals” and “locks,” and cleansing techniques³. One of its classic manuals, the Hathapradipika (“Light on Hatha”), dates to the 15th century³.

Still, poses were rarely the main event. In the curators’ reading of the evidence, no yoga tradition before modern times put them at the center². Modern yoga’s starting point, in the museum’s account, is a book: Swami Vivekananda’s Raja Yoga, published in 1896, which treated postures as minor²³.

Pose-centered yoga, the kind most classes teach today, took shape in the early 1900s through teachers in India². Among them, T. Krishnamacharya (1888–1989) is often called the father of modern postural yoga³.

His students included Indra Devi and B.K.S. Iyengar, whose name now labels a yoga style³⁶.

For natural-health readers, that history is a strength, not a letdown. Yoga has adapted to people’s needs for centuries, and its poses sit inside a larger tradition of ethics, breath and attention that many teachers keep alive. You can learn the movements and still honor where they came from.

Find your yoga: styles differ in pace, heat and effort

The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, researchers’ standard list of how much energy activities use, puts most yoga styles in the light range⁴. A MET is the energy you burn sitting still, and anything under 3 counts as light activity under federal guidelines⁵.

This is a surprise: vinyasa, which the federal guidelines list as an example of moderate activity, gets a Compendium value of 2.7, just under that line⁴⁵. Sun salutations rate 3.5⁴. Effort depends on the class, but a gentle one won’t count toward your weekly cardio minutes.

Studios use style names loosely, so ask what a class involves. This table is our own rough guide; only the energy figures come from research.

Style	Typical pace and feel	Heat	Energy cost4	Often suits	Ask or watch for
Hatha (general)	Basic poses, often held for a few breaths	Room temperature	2.3 METs (light)	Beginners learning the poses	How much floor work and how fast
Vinyasa or flow	Poses linked in a continuous sequence, timed to the breath	Room temperature or warm	2.7 METs (light)	People who like to keep moving	Speed, and whether easier versions are shown
Power yoga	A brisk, strength-focused flow	Varies	4.0 METs (moderate)	Fit people who want a workout	Whether you can rest when you need to
Iyengar	Careful attention to alignment, usually with props such as blocks and straps	Room temperature	Not listed	Beginners who like detail	Whether the teacher adapts poses for your joints
Restorative	A few poses resting on supports such as supports	Room temperature	Not listed	Rest and stress relief	It does little for strength or balance
Yin	Floor poses held for long periods	Room temperature	Not listed	Quiet practice and flexibility	Deep forward folds and twists need changes if you have osteoporosis14
Hot or Bikram	Bikram is a set series of 26 poses over 90 minutes11	About 105°F in Bikram; hot rooms typically run 90°F to 95°F1112	3.0 METs for hot yoga (moderate)	Healthy students who tolerate heat	Overheating and dehydration; avoid in pregnancy6
Chair yoga	Poses done seated or holding a chair	Room temperature	Not listed	Limited balance or mobility, wheelchair users, desk breaks	Use a sturdy chair that won’t roll or tip

What yoga does for strength, flexibility and balance

A 2016 review in Age and Ageing pooled six fairly well-run trials with 307 people aged 60 and older⁷. Yoga improved balance by a small amount and mobility by a moderate amount, though only three of the trials measured mobility⁷.

A larger 2019 review of 17 trials with 967 people, as reported in The BMJ, found similar gains in balance and leg strength compared with doing nothing⁸. Compared with other active programs, yoga’s edge in balance wasn’t clear, but its edge in leg strength held up⁸.

NCCIH’s summary agrees: in older adults, yoga beat other physical activities for lower-body flexibility and leg strength⁶.

Strength is the part people underrate. The federal guidelines say yoga may count as muscle-strengthening activity, depending on the type and the postures⁵. Chair pose, warrior poses and plank all load your legs, arms and trunk. To count yoga toward your two weekly strength days, pick classes that make your muscles work hard⁵.

Better balance didn’t mean fewer falls in a big 2025 trial

In 2020, a team writing in The BMJ found no randomized trials testing whether yoga prevents falls⁸. Their advice: recommend yoga for physical function and well-being, not specifically for fall prevention⁸. The authors disclosed that they were running yoga trials of their own, including SAGE⁸.

A first answer arrived in 2025. In the SAGE trial, researchers at the University of Sydney randomly assigned 700 adults aged 60 and older to one of two programs⁹. Their average age was 66, and 82% were women⁹.

Half were offered 80 supervised Iyengar-based classes built around standing balance poses, moved to video calls during COVID-19⁹. The other half got two group sessions of seated yoga relaxation⁹.

The balance group fell more: 0.87 falls per person per year, compared with 0.64, a 33% higher rate⁹. They did become more active and more confident about their balance⁹. Quality of life, physical function, pain and sleep didn’t differ between groups⁹.

The researchers’ likely explanation: more confidence and activity put people in risky situations without enough balance gain to offset it⁹. They don’t recommend the program, as designed, for fall prevention⁹.

Read this with care. The results come from a poster abstract at the 2025 World Physiotherapy Congress, not a full peer-reviewed paper we could review, so details may change.

The lesson isn’t that yoga is dangerous. Feeling steadier isn’t the same as falling less. If falls worry you, our balance articles cover the programs with the best fall-prevention record.

Back pain, stress and blood pressure: real but modest

NCCIH, drawing on a 2022 Cochrane review, says yoga probably brings only a small improvement in chronic low-back pain compared with no exercise, and works about as well as other exercise for daily function⁶. The American College of Physicians lists yoga among first-line nondrug options⁶.

Later articles in this library cover therapeutic yoga and back pain in depth.

For mood, NCCIH reports growing evidence that yoga may help depression. It may also ease anxiety tied to hard situations, such as coping with an illness, though there’s less evidence for anxiety disorders⁶. Yoga can be part of care, not a replacement for it. If you’re in crisis, call or text 988.

Claim	Evidence rating	What it rests on
Compared with no exercise, yoga improves balance, mobility and leg strength in adults 60 and older	Strong evidence (small to moderate gains)	Reviews of 6 and 17 trials78
Yoga eases chronic low-back pain a little, about as much as other exercise	Strong evidence	2022 Cochrane review, per NCCIH6
Yoga beats other exercise for leg strength and flexibility in older adults	Promising but early	A few head-to-head trials68
Yoga eases stress and depression symptoms	Promising but early	Growing but mixed research6
Yoga lowers blood pressure	Promising but early	Small effects in people with high blood pressure6
A general hatha class counts as moderate cardio	Evidence says no	Listed at 2.3 METs, below the 3.0 line45
Yoga prevents falls in older adults	Not enough evidence	No trials as of 2020; one 700-person trial, so far only a conference abstract, found more falls89

Injuries are uncommon, rise with age, and heat adds its own risk

For healthy people learning from a qualified teacher, yoga is a low-risk activity, NCCIH says⁶. Serious injuries are rare, and high-impact sports carry more injury risk⁶.

Age changes the math. Researchers Thomas Swain and Gerald McGwin estimated 29,590 yoga injuries treated in U.S. emergency rooms from 2001 to 2014¹⁰. In 2014, people 65 and older were injured at a rate of 57.9 per 100,000 practitioners, almost five times the rate for ages 18 to 44¹⁰.

Nearly half the injuries involved the trunk, and 45% were sprains or strains¹⁰. Emergency-room counts leave out injuries treated elsewhere, so the true total is likely higher.

Heat raises separate concerns. Exercise usually lifts body temperature to about 100°F or 101°F¹². In 2014, a University of Wisconsin–La Crosse team had 20 healthy, heat-adapted Bikram students swallow temperature sensors before a 90-minute class at 105°F and 40% humidity¹¹¹².

On average, the men’s highest readings reached 103.2°F and the women’s 102.0°F. Seven people passed 103°F, and one man hit 104.1°F¹¹. That’s the level where the risk of heat illness starts to climb, the report notes, though no one showed signs of trouble¹¹. The American Council on Exercise, which published the findings, paid for the study¹¹¹².

An earlier study by the same school found no core-temperature concerns in a class held near 93°F¹². The researchers’ advice for hot classes: cap them at an hour, let students drink freely rather than at set breaks, and give newcomers about two weeks to adjust to the heat¹¹. Stop if you get muscle cramps, a headache, lightheadedness or unusual weakness¹¹.

A registered teacher has hours of training, not a license

The Yoga Alliance’s basic credential, RYT 200, means a registered yoga teacher who finished a 200-hour training in technique, anatomy, philosophy and ethics¹³. Registering costs $50, plus $65 a year, and training tuition typically runs $1,500 to $5,000 or more¹³.

Registration isn’t a government license. When Michigan lawmakers weighed a yoga bill in 2016, the state Senate Fiscal Agency recorded supporters’ arguments that yoga instruction isn’t a licensed occupation there and that the Yoga Alliance registry isn’t a certification program¹⁵.

That doesn’t make registered teachers unqualified. It means you do the checking. Prices vary by city and studio, and we found no independent national survey of them. Community and senior centers, and free videos, let you try yoga before you buy a membership.

Questions to ask before your first class:
– What happens in a beginner class here: how fast, how warm and how much floor work?
– What training does the teacher have, and with whom: older adults, prenatal, chair yoga, injuries?
– Will the teacher show easier versions and offer props? Do they ask before any hands-on adjustment?
– Can I rest and drink water whenever I need to?
– What will it cost after the intro offer, and how do I cancel?

A 15-minute beginner sequence

This sequence mixes breath, strength and balance. Move slowly, stop at a stretch, never pain, and keep a sturdy chair or wall nearby.

1. Settle (2 minutes). Sit on a chair or folded blanket. Breathe in for a slow count of four and out for a count of six.
2. Spine waves (2 minutes). On hands and knees or seated, gently arch your back as you breathe in and round it as you breathe out. Keep the rounding small if you have osteoporosis.
3. Mountain with arm raises (1 minute). Stand tall, feet hip-width apart. Raise your arms as you breathe in and lower them as you breathe out.
4. Chair pose (1 minute). Sit your hips back as if toward a chair, hold for three to five breaths, stand, and repeat three times.
5. Warrior II (2 minutes). Step your feet wide, turn one foot out, bend that knee over the ankle and reach your arms long. Hold for five breaths per side, twice.
6. Tree pose (2 minutes). Stand near a wall. Rest one foot on the opposite ankle or calf, never the knee. Hold for 30 seconds per side, twice.
7. Downward dog at a chair (1 minute). Hands on the chair seat, walk your feet back and hinge at the hips until your back is long.
8. Bridge (1 minute). Lie on your back, knees bent. Lift your hips for three breaths, lower, and repeat five times.
9. Rest (3 minutes). Lie on your back or sit supported. Let your breath slow and notice how your body feels.

Do it two or three times a week. When it feels easy, hold the strength poses longer or try a beginner class.

Questions readers ask

The bottom line

Yoga is an old practice that Americans mostly meet as exercise, and on that score it does real but modest good. In older adults, where most trials were done, it improves balance, mobility and leg strength, and it eases back pain about as well as other exercise. It hasn’t been shown to prevent falls, and gentle classes won’t cover your cardio.

Pick a style that matches your body and goals, ask about the teacher’s training, and go easy on heat and deep bends if you’re older, pregnant or have weak bones. Then show up regularly, and keep the breath and attention that yoga teaches.

Related reading

• Stretching improves flexibility, but most of its other famous promises didn’t hold up
• Balance fades after 50, and a 10-second test shows where you stand
• Most adults skip strength training, though under an hour a week goes a long way
• Tai chi, prayer and journaling: what research can measure and what it can’t
• Pilates is good exercise, but its edge over other workouts for back pain isn’t proven

Sources

1. Elgaddal N, Weeks JD. “Yoga Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2022.” NCHS Data Brief No. 501. National Center for Health Statistics, June 2024. stacks.cdc.gov
2. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. “Yoga: The Art of Transformation” (exhibition press release). January 24, 2014. about.asianart.org
3. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. “Yoga: The Art of Transformation” (exhibition catalogue; essay by Debra Diamond and glossary). Smithsonian Institution, 2013. asia.si.edu
4. Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE, et al. “2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: A third update of the energy costs of human activities.” Journal of Sport and Health Science, 2024;13(1). pacompendium.com
5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition.” HHS, 2018. odphp.health.gov
6. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. “Yoga: What You Need To Know” (e-book). National Institutes of Health, updated August 2024. files.nccih.nih.gov
7. Youkhana S, Dean CM, Wolff M, Sherrington C, Tiedemann A. “Yoga-based exercise improves balance and mobility in people aged 60 and over: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Age and Ageing, 2016;45(1):21-29 (McMaster Optimal Aging Portal summary). mcmasteroptimalaging.org
8. Tew GA, Ward L, Hewitt C, Tiedemann A. “Does yoga reduce the risk of falls in older people?” The BMJ, 2020;370:m3246 (White Rose repository). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
9. Tiedemann A, Sherrington C, Lord SR, et al. “Effect of Iyengar yoga-based exercise program on falls in people aged 60 years and over (SAGE): a randomised controlled trial.” World Physiotherapy Congress 2025, Tokyo (abstract). world.physio
10. Swain TA, McGwin G. “Yoga-Related Injuries in the United States From 2001 to 2014.” Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016 (abstract via Read by QxMD). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
11. Quandt E, Porcari JP, Steffen J, Felix M, Foster C. “ACE-Sponsored Research: What Effect Does Bikram Yoga Have on Core Body Temps?” American Council on Exercise, 2016 (first published in Gundersen Medical Journal, April 2015). acefitness.org
12. University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. News release on the ACE-funded Bikram yoga core-temperature study. UW-La Crosse, May 19, 2015. uwlax.edu
13. Yoga Alliance. “Explore Training Options.” Yoga Alliance, accessed October 2026. yogaalliance.org
14. Osteoporosis Canada. “Too Fit To Fracture: Exercise recommendations for individuals with osteoporosis or osteoporotic vertebral fracture” (patient handout, based on Giangregorio LM, et al., Osteoporosis International, 2014). July 2014. osteoporosis.ca
15. Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency. “Proprietary School Exception: Yoga, S.B. 818” (bill analysis). April 13, 2016. archive.legislature.mi.gov