Yoga Based Lifestyle for Prevention of Medical Emergencies

Most common medical emergencies may be categorized into following major categories: 1) Acute complications of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), 2) Injuries due to accidents and assaults, 3) Complications of infections, 4) Pregnancy related complications and 5) those due to poisoning and drug over-dosage. Lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity, sleep, substance abuse and psychological stress, are important direct or indirect contributors towards these emergencies. We performed a integrative literature review consulting databases of ‘pubmed’ and ‘google scholar’ from the year 2000 to 2015 using following key words: ‘medical emergency’, lifestyle’, ‘yoga’, ‘meditation’, ‘prevention’ and ‘complications’. Randomized controlled trials, controlled trials, uncontrolled trials, systematic reviews and metanalyses were included in this integrative literature review. We also classified these emergencies into four categories depending on their prevalence and usefulness of yoga based lifestyle: 1) Yoga based lifestyle to manage common NCDs and Prevent Complications; 2) Yoga based lifestyle to reduce Stress, Aggression and Substance Abuse in Youth; 3) Yoga Based lifestyle for Prevention and Management of Infections; 4) Yoga based lifestyle for preventing pregnancy related complications. We found that Yoga based lifestyle (YBL) has been effectively used for prevention and management of various chronic medical illnesses. Yoga techniques that include physical postures, regulated breathing, meditation and relaxation help manage the life style better have the potential of bringing down the prevalence of medical emergencies through various direct and indirect mechanisms.