IMR Press / FBS / Volume 13 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.52586/S553
Open Access Review
Yoga in major depressive disorder: molecular mechanisms and clinical utility
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1 Laboratory for Molecular Reproduction and Genetics, Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, 110029 New Delhi, India
2 Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, 110029 New Delhi, India
*Correspondence: rima_dada@rediffmail.com (Rima Dada)
Front. Biosci. (Schol Ed) 2021, 13(1), 56–81; https://doi.org/10.52586/S553
Submitted: 28 October 2020 | Accepted: 25 November 2020 | Published: 30 June 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The science of mind-body practices)
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by BRI.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mind-body disorder. Cellular aging has been implicated in the pathogenesis of MDD with the altered mind-body communication markers like stress response, immune response, nutrition sensing, and a range of other regulatory feedback systems. In this age of super specializations, one specific target and interventions (preferably a drug) on it are being rigorously sought by the health care community and industry, but have failed in it in the last fifty years in spite of advances in technology. Since, depression is a complex disorder associated with increased incidence of other complex disorders, it must be treated by an integrated holistic approach that can address the complexity of MDD. Interventions targeting accelerated biological aging to increase cellular health in whole body have potential to manage complex conditions like MDD and its overlapping symptoms and comorbidities. Yoga has the potential to be the nexus between, clinical management of MDD and other lifestyle diseases.

Keywords
Depression
Disorder
Mind
Body
Inflammation
Sleep
Review
Figures
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