New Review Finds Regular Yoga Improves Spiritual Well-Being and Mental Health

A scholarly review published Feb 16, 2026 synthesizes clinical and observational research and concludes that regular yoga practice is associated with beneficial mental health outcomes and enhanced spiritual well‑being. The review brings together evidence on stress, anxiety, burnout, depression, sleep quality, and life satisfaction, and explores whether yoga acts directly on psychological health or indirectly by bolstering spirituality.

Quantified links between spirituality and body‑ and mind‑related outcomes appear in Frontiersin excerpts: spiritual readiness correlated with body awareness (r = 0.29, p < 0.01), body responsiveness (r = 0.31, p < 0.01), and body satisfaction (r = 0.297, p < 0.01) in Dittmann and Freedman, 2009. Nandeesh et al., 2016 reported that spiritual well‑being was negatively associated with depression (r = -0.47, p < 0.01), anxiety (r = -0.28, p < 0.01), and stress (r = -0.54, p < 0.01). Frontiersin also states that “both yoga and various aspects of spirituality are associated with beneficial mental health effects.”

The Frontiersin material highlights possible pathways and class‑level moderators. “We can assume that yoga practice can affect psychological health in at least two ways: either directly or through enhancing spirituality,” the paper says, and it notes that “attitude or characteristics of the yoga teacher may also play a role in this process.” Frontiersin cites Csala et al., 2020 and Park et al., 2020 to report that even exercise‑based hatha yoga can evoke aspects of spirituality for beginners and regular practitioners, and it records that teacher warmth and friendliness positively correlated with self‑transcendence.

A systematic review excerpt from PMC/NCBI/NIH frames the occupational context and intervention evidence, using the term NPS (term used in PMC source). The PMC conclusion states, “This systematic review provides evidence that yoga interventions are effective in reducing stress, anxiety, burnout, depression, and other mental health issues among NPS.” The PMC excerpt points to prior analyses including a 2021 systematic review of 25 studies focused on health professionals and students and Cohen’s 2023 systematic review of 33 studies showing workplace interventions, including yoga, improve well‑being and resilience. The PMC authors add that “As the mental health burden among healthcare professionals continues to rise, yoga offers a promising, accessible, and cost‑effective solution to support their mental health and well‑being.”

Complementary evidence summarized on Noiryogabk connects spiritual practice to presence and community: “Connection to the Present Moment: Spirituality in yoga often revolves around being fully present in the moment.” That source also cites physical‑health meta‑analyses, including a European Journal of Preventive Cardiology review of 37 studies on cardiovascular risk factors and a Journal of Pain Research study reporting pain reduction and improved function after consistent practice, though Noiryogabk is presented in the excerpts as a non‑academic source.

Authors of the consolidated material agree on next steps: Frontiersin notes “further specific studies are needed to explore the relationship of yoga, spirituality, and mental health (MacDonald, 2013),” and PMC calls for refining intervention protocols and exploring long‑term outcomes. Outstanding details for follow‑up include defining the PMC term NPS, extracting inclusion criteria and effect sizes from the Feb 16 review, and retrieving full texts for the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology meta‑analysis and the Journal of Pain Research study cited in the Noiryogabk excerpt.