Yoga may offer more than heart health benefits. A new study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2026 suggested that yoga-based cardiac rehabilitation can improve quality of life and physical functioning in people living with heart failure.

Researchers led by the Centre for Chronic Disease Control in India found that a structured yoga-based rehabilitation program improved quality of life in people with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), compared with enhanced standard care.

However, it did not significantly reduce the combined risk of death, hospitalisation or stroke. The findings are preliminary and have not yet been peer-reviewed.

Why Is Yoga-Based Cardiac Rehab Important?

Also read: Yoga May Help Conditions Ranging From Male Infertility to Arthritis, Say AIIMS Doctors

Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically guided program for people who have experienced a heart attack, heart failure or heart surgery. It combines exercise guidance, education on healthy living and counselling to help patients improve their ability to carry out daily activities and reduce the risk of further cardiac events.

However, access remains limited, and participation rates are low, particularly among women, older adults and some other population groups.

“Cardiac rehab programs are inaccessible to many, and their uptake is poor in many countries,” said lead study author Dorairaj Prabhakaran, executive director of the Centre for Chronic Disease Control in India.

He said yoga could provide several benefits of cardiac rehabilitation at a lower cost and may be easier to scale up in countries such as India.

What Did The Study Find?

The trial included 3,492 adults with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction across 16 medical centres in India. Participants had a median age of 57 years, and 27% were women.

They were randomly divided into two groups:

• Yoga-based rehabilitation group: 1,737 participants received the Yoga-CaRe program, which combined structured yoga practices, health education and individual health goals.
• Enhanced standard care group: 1,755 participants received three health education sessions over three months.

At three months, participants in the yoga group showed significantly greater improvements in quality of life. Their scores on the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire improved by about eight points compared with the standard care group. Lower scores on this questionnaire indicate better quality of life.

The yoga group also showed improvements in physical functioning. Participants walked an average of 25.5 metres farther in the six-minute walking test than those receiving enhanced standard care.

Read More: Heart Failure Gets A New Definition: How It Could Improve Prevention, Diagnosis And Treatment

Did Yoga Reduce Deaths Or Hospitalizations?

Despite improvements in quality of life and physical function, yoga-based rehabilitation did not significantly reduce the combined risk of death, hospitalization or stroke.

During a median follow-up of 15 months, 364 participants (21%) in the yoga group experienced one of these events, compared with 401 (22.8%) in the standard care group.

The researchers said the findings support the potential of yoga-based rehabilitation in settings where conventional cardiac rehabilitation is difficult to access.

Can Yoga-Based Cardiac Rehab Be An Affordable Alternative?

Prabhakaran said the program could be scalable and sustainable, particularly in healthcare settings with limited resources.

A single board-certified yoga and naturopathy practitioner delivered the structured program, which also recorded high participation in supervised sessions and home practice.

However, the researchers have not yet conducted a formal cost-effectiveness analysis. They said further research is needed to evaluate how the program can be implemented at scale and in other healthcare settings and countries.

There are a lot of myths around the efficacy of Ayurveda. Its pace of inducing therapeutic and healing effects is one of them. But Ayurveda experts at the third edition of the Times Network India Health Summit 2026 in New Delhi explained how Ayurveda is the “safest and fastest” acting form of medicine. Apart from that, the discussion also revolved around the need for greater investment in AYUSH systems, more research and access to traditional medicine.

Held under the theme “The Blueprint for a Future-Ready Healthcare Ecosystem – Innovation. Access. Self-Reliance,” the summit brought together healthcare professionals and industry stakeholders to discuss innovation, access to treatment and policy approaches shaping India's healthcare sector.

During a fireside chat, Dr. Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury, founder of BRC Clinics Health, and Dr. Tanmay Goswami, founder of Goswal, discussed Ayurveda's legacy, uses, and the challenges in integrating it with western medicine.

Talking about the country's identities as Hindustan, and Bharat, Dr Goswamy said Ayurveda's legacy originated in Bharat. He also said that it was "one of the most important medical systems" until around 1900 right when Western medicine was introduced in India during British colonial rule.

Ayurveda's Applications In Emergencies & Trauma

Dr. Chowdhury addressed the common myth that Ayurveda takes longer to act. He said, "Ayurveda is fastest, safest and works faster even in medical emergencies and trauma,” he said.

He gave an example of how Russians used honey by Russians during World War II to stop bleeding, backing its effectiveness in trauma emergencies. He also spoke about its potential in combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Also read: PCOS And Yoga: How Early Intervention May Help Manage Hormones, Insulin And Inflammation

Ayurveda's For Lifestyle Disorders

Dr Chowdhury also spoke about The D.I.P. Diet (Disciplined and Intelligent Person's Diet), a plant-based eating plan created by him. The diet focuses on raw, whole, and seasonal foods to help manage weight and improve digestion. He claimed that three days of Ayurvedic medication could help lower blood pressure and blood sugar levels

He also advocated Ayurveda for treating pain and seizures, claiming that onions can be used on a patient having fits. But these claims require strong clinical evidence as they concern serious medical conditions and emergencies.

Goswami added that Ayurveda focuses on four key areas - liquids, diet, lifestyle, and medicine. He said its medicines use natural ingredients and raw materials intended to address individual needs and health conditions.

Experts Call For Raising AYUSH Budget Allocation

Goswami spoke about the estimated valuation of $17–18 billion for India's Ayurveda sector, compared to approximately $30 billion for China's traditional medicine sector.

Dr. Chowdhury also said that budgetary support for AYUSH systems should be increased, stating the current allocation accounts for only 0.1% of India's budget.

Dr. Goswami also urged pharmaceutical companies to support AYUSH systems in terms of research and development. He also highlighted the potential of AYUSH to strengthen India's global image and showcase its traditional medical heritage.

The summit brings together policymakers, healthcare leaders, clinicians, researchers, innovators, and industry stakeholders to discuss the future of India's healthcare ecosystem.

Polycystic ovary syndrome has long been explained through hormonal imbalance alone. But Dr. Rima Dada, Professor at the Laboratory for Molecular Reproduction and Genetics, Department of Anatomy, AIIMS Delhi, says that's incomplete. "Not only has hormonal imbalance been seen, but recent studies have shown there are many other factors, like mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, sleep irregularities, which further compound the problem for hormonal imbalance," she said. "And in all these, we have seen that yoga had a lot of effect at every angle."

Catching it early changes everything

Dr. Dada draws a sharp line between early and late intervention. "If very late patients come, like suppose they come at 30-35, they are different, they are not adolescent. Then we have to give them insulin sensitizing drugs, anti-androgenic drugs. Testosterone has increased, we will manage infertility," she said. "But if we get hold of yoga beforehand, we can tackle all the problems."

Her recommended practice includes Surya Namaskar and simple asanas like the butterfly pose and Viparita Karani, along with Bhramari and a focus on pranayama. "It has been seen that there is a lot of balance in hormonal levels, and menstrual regularity comes," she said. "Testosterone levels, the number of main hormones, their number also normalizes."

Also Read: PCOS and Nutrition: Why Eating Healthy Is About Balance, Not Cutting Foods

The science behind it

Dr. Dada points to two mechanisms. "It normalizes the function of the defects of the fetus," she said, and separately, yoga raises sex hormone-binding globulin, or SHBG, which has an inverse relationship with inflammation. "As the inflammation increases, the amount of steroid hormone-binding globulin decreases. Yoga has a very important role in reducing inflammation. And as the inflammation decreases, the levels of steroid hormone-binding globulin increase, due to which the amount of free testosterone in the circulating blood decreases." That drop, she said, is what reduces "the severity of acne, hair fall, unwanted hair on the face and other places." She added that FSH and LH levels normalize over time as well.

She also connects yoga to cellular-level repair. "There is oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage, which disturbs ovarian function and oocyte function, which is also normalized," she said. "There is a lot of improvement in ovarian function."

Insulin, gut bacteria and sleep

On metabolism, Dr. Dada said regular yoga lowers insulin levels in women with PCOS who often carry excess weight and insulin resistance. "The function of the insulin receptor in the downstream genes improves," she said, which helps regulate both carbohydrate and lipid levels. A 12-week metabolomic study by her team, she said, found that metabolite levels began normalizing with regular practice.

Her most recent finding looks at gut bacteria. "There are many bacteria in the gut microbiome which are associated with increased diabetes and testosterone levels. The number of harmful bacteria in the gut microbiome decreases. And the number of beneficial bacteria which reduce inflammation and oxidative stress increases," she said. She also linked yoga to higher melatonin and antioxidant levels and a better-regulated sleep-wake cycle, which she said "improves our hormonal and immune function."

Her bigger ask

"Yoga acts on multiple levels," Dr. Dada said. "We can regulate insulin levels. We can regulate sleep and stress. We can reduce inflammation. We can regulate hormones." She went further, suggesting yoga belongs in school curricula altogether. "If we put it in the school curriculum, then maybe this problem will never arise." She pointed to academic stress in children as part of the reason.

Imagine your body as a state-of-the-art hybrid car. It is designed to run effortlessly on two fuel sources: glucose (gasoline) from your kitchen, and ketones (electricity) from your stored fat. Yet, most of us drive this magnificent machine with our foot glued to the gas pedal, constantly refueling. By eating from dawn until midnight, we have welded the fuel switch shut.

This is the essence of metabolic flexibility—your body’s innate ability to seamlessly switch between burning carbohydrates and burning fat based on availability. Today, we face a modern crisis: a generation trapped in metabolic stiffness. We are surrounded by caloric abundance, yet starved of cellular vitality.

The overfed and Under-Energized - a striking modern paradox: we are overfed, yet cellularly starved.

Globally, over 890 million adults live with obesity, while over 1 in 3 adults in nations like the US have prediabetes. We eat to gain energy, but feel chronically exhausted. Why?

The root cause lies in our cellular kitchen. Every time we graze, insulin spikes, acting like a strict warehouse manager that locks the fat stores and forces the body to use incoming glucose. When you eat constantly, your cells get bombarded. Over time, the mitochondria—the powerhouses of your cells—become overwhelmed and "burnt out" by the endless influx of fuel. They lose the ability to burn fat.

This matches the Ayurvedic concept of Ama (toxic, undigested metabolic residue). When the digestive fire (Agni) is never allowed a break, the fuel sits, stagnates and creates metabolic sludge.

What Happens Inside When You Stop Eating?

When you step away from the dinner table, your body triggers a brilliant, step-by-step biological cleanup:

[0-4 Hours] -> [4-16 Hours] -> [16-24+ Hours]

Glucose Spike, Glycogen Exhaustion Autophagy & Ketosis

(Insulin Rises) (Fat Burning Begins) (Cellular Cleanup)

• The 12-Hour Mark (The Switch): Your liver's glycogen (stored sugar) runs low. Your body finally flips the switch to fat-burning mode, releasing fatty acids into the bloodstream.

• The 16-Hour Mark (The Cleanup): This is where magic happens. Your cells initiate autophagy (literally "self-eating"). Winning the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2016, this process describes how your cells clean house, recycling damaged proteins and worn-out mitochondria into pristine, new energy.

In Ayurveda, this cellular recycling is the exact definition of Langhana (lightening therapy)—using the absence of food to digest internal toxins (Ama).

Your Kitchen: The Metabolic Pharmacy

You do not need an expensive wellness retreat to build metabolic flexibility. Your kitchen cabinet holds the exact tools needed to stoke your digestive fire (Deepana) and ease the transition into fasting:

• The Insulin Sensitizer: Cinnamon (Twak). Studies show that less than a teaspoon of cinnamon a day can significantly improve insulin sensitivity, making your cells more receptive to glucose and easing the transition into a fasting window.

• The Mitochondrial Fuel: Ginger (Shunti) & Black Pepper (Maricha). Brewed into a warm tea during your eating window, this classic Ayurvedic combination boosts thermogenesis—the body's natural fat-burning mechanism.

• The Cellular Protector: Turmeric (Haridra). Paired with a pinch of black pepper to increase absorption, its active compound, curcumin, fights the low-grade cellular inflammation caused by metabolic stiffness.

• The Practical Roadmap - To retrain your metabolic engine, start with a simple 14:10 circadian fast. Finish your dinner by 7:00 PM and do not eat breakfast until 9:00 AM. Drink only warm water or herbal teas in between. This gives your liver a full 14 hours to rest, clear out sugar, and gently dip its toes into fat-burning waters.

Fasting is not about deprivation; it is about self-preservation. By giving your body a break from digesting the outside world, you grant it the ultimate luxury: the time to heal itself from within.

The author is Dr. Muralidhar R Ballal, Associate Professor, SDM College of Ayurveda, Udupi, Karnataka. He is also Member Scientific Advisory Board, Pharmacopoeial Commission for Indian Systems of Medicine & Homeopathy, AYUSH, Government of India.

(Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.)