Regular yoga sessions could be beneficial for a person’s heart, according to findings from researchers in India.

Studies carried out by the Indian Institute of Technology support the beliefs of most people who practise yoga that the discipline helps to regulate heart rate.

The studies involved 84 male participants and scientists found that those who practised yoga were able to control their parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems and thereby regulate their heart-rate variability (HRV).

Controlling HRV increases a person’s ability to cope with physical stresses caused by eating, arousal or the ‘flight or fight’ reaction.

Yoga is also linked to other benefits such as improving postural problems and reducing stress levels.