Americans in ever-increasing numbers—18 million, according to Yoga Journal—are flocking to a range of styles from more traditional hatha and Iyengar yoga to new variations like Bikram yoga, which is practiced at room temperatures ranging from 90 to 100 degrees, and "power" yoga, which blends the peaceful Eastern tradition with elements of aerobics. A recent number of studies lend support to the beneficial aspects of yoga:

Two small studies published in the February 2000 issue of the journal Rheumatic Diseases Clinics of North America found that yoga helps with pain associated with osteoarthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome.

A study published in the April 2000 issue of Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology showed that yoga may be as effective as drug therapy in controlling hypertension. (However, until this is more firmly established by additional research, yoga is better regarded as an adjunct to drug treatment rather than a replacement. Needless to say, any changes to your drug regimen should be made in consultation with your doctor.)

A second study in the same journal documented that a four-month yoga regimen significantly increased feelings of good health, as rated by a standardized "Subjective Well-Being Inventory."

A Stanford University review of the research on complementary treatments found that mind-body techniques including yoga were efficacious primarily as complementary treatments for musculoskeletal disease and related disorders.

Other studies, like the one at the Roosevelt University Stress Institute in Chicago, have found that yoga stretches reduce physical stress while increasing physical relaxation.