A recent study supported by funding from he National Institute on Aging compared a group of people ages 55 to 70 who practiced Hatha Yoga three times a week and a similar group who did simple stretching and toning exercises.

After eight weeks, the yoga group was speedier and more accurate in cognitive tasks and less apt to be distracted.

“The meditative exercises in yoga aim to help you focus and be aware within the moment by trying to keep distracting thoughts away,” says researcher Neha P. Gothe, assistant professor of kinesiology, health and sport studies at Wayne State University in Detroit. “These mental exercises seem to affect the way you think outside of yoga practice.” Source: Wall Street Journal