Yoga Philosophy Is Brain Science: How Your Practice Rewires Your Mind

It always amazed me how yoga made me feel SO much better. It helped me manage stress, feel more grounded, and reconnect with myself when life felt chaotic. But I didn’t fully understand why—not on a physiological level. 

In recent years, as I began reading more about neuroscience, I realised I was already familiar with many of the concepts; not from science studies but from yoga! The language of brain plasticity, stress regulation, and nervous system balance started mirroring what yoga philosophy had taught me. Concepts I’d once “believed” because they felt true, were being validated by academic journals. 

Yoga is often presented as wafty or "spiritual" as if that makes it unreal. But it is actually deeply scientific, yoga teachings are collectively described as Sanatana Dharma- the perennial truth or everlasting truth.

Yogis would practice and test every yogic concept to see if it held true; is it true now and in the past and in the future. It is tested to see is it a projection of the mind. Only if it passes the truth tests, is it considered "real", and embedded in the philosophical teachings. The practices of yoga are techniques to help us uncover the underlying truth the ultimate reality, and that is why it is such an incredible practice to support mental health and brain health.

Yoga provides a safe inner space, because it helps us to balance our nervous systems, to feel safe in this world, to uncover what is real when things can be so confusing. Let's explore a few practices and how they relate to what we now know about the brain (the the yogis obviously knew a lot earlier!)

Let's examine just 3 areas of yoga practice and reflect on the neuroscience for whats going on. We will look at:

1. Pratipaksha Bhavana- offering an opposite thought

2. Yoga asana (versus other exercise)

3. Yoga Nidra and restorative yoga to support sleep

1. Opposite thought- Pratipaksha Bhavana

Patipaksha Bhavana is the idea that we can offer ourselves an opposite thought when we are caught in a negative loop. I use it all the time to reassure myself, this might feel true- but is it? What else might be true.

Patanjali introduces Pratipaksha Bhavana in Yoga Sutra 2.33 as a way to work with the mind:

“Vitarka badhane pratipaksha bhavanam.”
When negative or unhelpful thoughts arise, cultivate their opposites.

This isn’t about suppressing how we feel, it’s about deliberately shifting mental patterns. In modern terms, it aligns with cognitive reappraisal, a strategy used in neuroscience and psychology to change the way we interpret and respond to difficult thoughts. It’s a way of teaching the brain new pathways—literally rewiring how we think and feel.

I started using this in small ways. When I caught myself looping in anxiety, I would pause and intentionally invite steadier thoughts. Not to bypass, but to redirect. Over time, that redirection became easier. And eventually, it became my default. Yoga, I began to understand, wasn’t just helping me feel calm in the moment. It was reshaping my brain. Science is catching up to what yogis have known for centuries: the mind is not fixed. It’s trainable. And yoga is one of the most powerful tools we have to train it.

How to share this in class (or with ourselves)

In teaching I bring it in a few times during class, in quiet moments during a pose or before or after shavasana. "Notice the thoughts you are holding towards yourself, are they kind? Are they generous? If you are caught in a negative loop, is it possible to come towards yourself with more kindness?"

Reframing Trauma

If we feel really stuck in a spiral of negative thinking we can offer ourselves a new perspective by shifting to what someone else would think of us, someone who loves us. Then we can gradually see there IS another perspective. "What would my friend say of me, or my students, or someone who loves or respects me." Get really clear on the different perspective and then practice seeing that for yourself. 

2. Yoga vs. Exercise: A Different Kind of Brain Training

It’s well established that physical activity benefits the brain. Aerobic exercise boosts blood flow, reduces inflammation, and supports neuroplasticity. But yoga seems to offer something different, a unique blend of movement, breath regulation, and focused attention that may enhance cognitive function in ways traditional exercise doesn’t. This is because we combine both bottom up approaches- moving the body and noticing sensations ie stimulating the neural pathways from body to brain. But we also control the body consciously in very precise ways, we turn the hip more or balance one one leg or try a tricky arm balance. 

Yoga uniquely engages top-down mechanisms of self-regulation, meaning it trains the brain to control the body. While the heart rate is raised through movement we still control the breath and observe thoughts. These skills train our executive function, critical for decision-making, emotional intelligence, and impulse control.

Alongside some of the benefits of traditional exercise like glucose regulation, and new neural pathways- neurogenesis. Yoga, also trains attention, self-awareness, and emotional resilience. We get the training of the whole "operating system" of the brain!

Researching asana: 

In a 2014 randomized controlled trial, Gothe et al. compared yoga to a stretching-and-toning control group in older adults. After just eight weeks, the yoga group showed significantly greater improvements in cognitive functioning, lower cortisol levels, and reduced anxiety.

Another study (Gothe et al., 2013) had college women do either 20 minutes of yoga or aerobic exercise. The yoga group—not the aerobic group, showed marked improvements in reaction time, memory, and accuracy immediately after practice.

Even short, gentle sessions appear effective. In a 2019 study, Telles et al. found that just 10 minutes of yoga improved cognitive performance and reduced mood disturbances in sedentary young men.

3. A Brief Word on Sleep: The Brain’s Cleanup Crew

There’s one more piece of the brain-health puzzle that we are so often crazing- sleep.

Sleep is not just rest; it’s a vital housekeeping function where the brain clears metabolic waste, consolidates memory, and restores neural function. Poor sleep can impair neuroplasticity, shrink gray matter, and increase inflammation.

The good news is that in a modern day with many suffering from insomnia and disturbed sleep, yoga can help. By downshifting the nervous system, reducing cortisol, and improving vagal tone, yoga helps increase time spent in slow-wave sleep, the deepest, most restorative stage.

Studies show that regular yoga practice improves both sleep quality and sleep efficiency, which are directly linked to cognitive function and long-term brain health. The key is to discover which practices will enhance neural adaptation and the nervous system adaptability. Because if we do a really strong practice it can adversely affect sleep. But if we only do very gentle yoga, it might not create the adaptability we need. So here are some things to consider...

How to Integrate in daily life and class

There’s so much more to say about this, but in brief explore for yourself and your students:

- some stronger movement

- plus practices like yoga nidra, breathwork, and restorative yoga to improve the nervous system ability to both up and down-regulate. This is because often we are "stuck" in a narrow bandwidth of nervous system experience and cannot shift readily to healthy sleep. 

In daily life we need to consider that whole day as an arc towards sleep, giving time to come down from stressful situations, with genuine brain rest- not more scrolling and a glass of wine tempting though it is!

What the Research Says: Yoga Reshapes the Brain

The idea that the mind is trainable isn’t just philosophical, it’s measurable. Neuroscience has shown that the brain is not static; it’s shaped by experience, attention, and even intention. This capacity for change is called neuroplasticity, and yoga is proving to be a powerful catalyst for it.

Increases Gray Matter Volume

MRI studies show that regular yoga practitioners have greater gray matter volume in key areas of the brain. These include the hippocampus (associated with memory and learning), the prefrontal cortex (linked to attention and decision-making), and the anterior cingulate cortex (involved in emotional regulation and self-awareness).

A 2014 study by Villemure et al. found that the more years someone practiced yoga, the more gray matter volume they had in these regions—suggesting cumulative, long-term effects.

Similarly, Gothe et al. (2018) found that even short-term yoga interventions can lead to measurable increases in brain volume in older adults.

Enhances Functional Connectivity

Yoga and meditation also improve the way different brain networks communicate. One important system is the Default Mode Network (DMN), which is active during rest, reflection, and self-referential thinking. Overactivity in the DMN is associated with rumination and anxiety. Yoga appears to help regulate this.

Gard et al. (2014) found that yoga practitioners had stronger connectivity between the DMN and executive control networks—suggesting improved attention, emotional regulation, and mental flexibility.

This matches what yoga teaches through practices like breathwork and mindfulness: awareness and redirection of mental patterns.

Reduces Stress and Inflammation

One of the most powerful impacts of yoga is its effect on stress physiology. Chronic stress raises cortisol levels, impairs memory, shrinks the hippocampus, and suppresses neurogenesis—the formation of new brain cells.

Streeter et al. (2012) demonstrated that yoga practice increased GABA levels (a calming neurotransmitter), reduced cortisol, and shifted nervous system activity from the sympathetic (“fight or flight”) to the parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) branch.

This shift has profound implications for both mental health and long-term brain structure.

Improves Vagal Tone and Autonomic Regulation

Yoga doesn’t just relax you—it rewires how your body and brain respond to stress. Practices like pranayama (yogic breathing) and chanting stimulate the vagus nerve, a key pathway in the parasympathetic nervous system.

Brown and Gerbarg (2005) found that controlled breathwork activates vagal pathways and improves autonomic regulation, which is essential for learning, memory consolidation, and emotional resilience.

This vagal stimulation enhances what's called interoception—your ability to feel and respond to internal bodily states. Interoception is increasingly recognized as a marker of both emotional intelligence and trauma recovery.

I also love to explore the connection between Bandhas, Breath and Vagus nerve (see course.)

Supports Myelination and White Matter Integrity

Beyond gray matter, there’s emerging evidence that yoga may support the health of white matter—the brain’s communication infrastructure. Healthy white matter means faster, clearer signaling between brain regions.

Fields (2008) and Tang et al. (2012) suggest that mindfulness practices reduce neuroinflammation and promote myelination, the process of insulating nerve fibers for efficient signaling.

This could explain improvements in executive function (planning, focus, and self-regulation) seen in yoga practitioners.

Closing thoughts

Yoga is a spiritual practice in that it teaches us to live with more connection to ourselves and to each other, with more truth. But it is also a deeply scientific philosophy embedded in practices that actually work! 

But the yoga, when we let it, will change us. It will give us pathways to peace, within our daily lives. Show us  how us how to live more lightly or more gently. This is not easy in contemporary life, because there is always something pulling us to do more and to be more. But the shift towards "I am enough" is within you right now, it's just a practice, that gets easier with time, every time you remind yourself. 

 Three short courses that might interest you:

1. Join me for ways to explore sleep and how brain changes affect us in the Empowered Menopause Method, where we apply yogic principles of acceptance and compassion to this challenging period.

2. Explore Neurology and healing with the Yoga for Anxiety & trauma training.

3. Healing the vagus nerve with Breath + Bandhas  

Explore the overlap between vagus nerve stimulation & the bandhas, in my Healing with Bandhas course here.