It has been proved beyond doubt that Yoga decreases stress, depression, and anxiety, reduces pain and insomnia, and increases quality of life. Now research shows that Yoga helps in increasing the gray matter in several areas of the brain. This simply means that with the help of Yoga one can have a younger and more efficient brain. It will help older people to have a better working memory. It improves decision making.
Neuroscientist Sara Lazar, of Mass General and Harvard Medical School, found that –
…meditators had more gray matter in another brain region, this time linked to decision-making and working memory: the frontal cortex. In fact, while most people see their cortexes shrink as they age, 50-year-old meditators in the study had the same amount of gray matter as those half their age.
The first study was done on long term yoga practitioners. To find out the effect on Yoga beginners a different study was conducted.
Even an eight week Yoga program on volunteers showed that their brains changed for better.
There was thickening in several regions of the brain, including the left hippocampus (involved in learning, memory, and emotional regulation); the TPJ (involved in empathy and the ability to take multiple perspectives)…
Significant positive changes can be seen even if a person meditates for 15 to 20 minutes.
You can read the study here at US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health