Current Approaches to Yoga in U.S. Medical Schools: Scoping Review of the Literature

Authors

Sakura Horiuchi, Department of Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (GW SMHS), Washington, DC, USA.
Yael Flusberg, Department of Medicine, George Washington Center for Integrative Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.
Christine Tara Peterson, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Paul J. Mills, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Deepak Chopra, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Mikhail Kogan, Department of Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (GW SMHS), Washington, DC, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

6-1-2022

Journal

Journal of integrative and complementary medicine

Volume

28

Issue

6

DOI

10.1089/jicm.2021.0183

Keywords

education; health education; integrative medicine; mindfulness; yoga

Abstract

Yoga is described as a system of physical and mental practices originating from India that connects mind, body, and spirit with techniques such as physical exercises, breathing, and meditation to promote health and well-being. Medical students experience an immense amount of stress that unfortunately continues throughout their residency and careers. Yoga represents a tool to reduce stress and support medical student resilience. This study aims to evaluate the current approaches to yoga in U.S. medical schools. A scoping literature review was conducted using search terms such as "medical school," "medical student," "medical education," "yoga," "asana," "pranayama," and "mindfulness." The primary aim of the review was to examine if U.S. medical schools offer accessible yoga to medical students and the characteristics of those yoga programs. The search yielded 1313 primary articles. All titles and abstracts were screened for eligibility. Duplicate articles were removed, and 156 articles were reviewed independently by two authors. A total of eight articles met all the criteria. Yoga is offered in medical schools through three main models: recreational, research, and educational. All of the studies indicated various positive effects on medical students from these yoga programs, including in psychological states, perceived stress, and scores on medical knowledge assessments. Yoga aligns well with the objectives of medical education by combining physician resiliency, mindfulness, and education that can ultimately serve patients. Greater opportunities should be created to engage medical students in yoga through the length of their entire undergraduate and graduate medical training.

APA Citation

Horiuchi, Sakura; Flusberg, Yael; Peterson, Christine Tara; Mills, Paul J.; Chopra, Deepak; and Kogan, Mikhail, "Current Approaches to Yoga in U.S. Medical Schools: Scoping Review of the Literature" (2022). GW Authored Works. Paper 1204.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/1204

Department

Medicine