http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27334125

The Appearance Matters conference took place at the Royal College of Surgeons in London last week; an international gathering of experts in the field of body image and appearance research. The wide array of fascinating speakers included Susie Orbach, James Partridge OBE and Nichola Rumsey OBE amongst others. Throughout the three days, the latest research on visible differences, eating disorders and body dysmorphia was presented. Yog...a was mentioned both by Dr. Tracy Tylka and Dr. Rachel Calagero who have worked tirelessly to bring attuned exercise programmes, which include elements of yoga, to eating disorder treatment programmes in England and the UK.

In the study linked here, the effects of a single yoga group exercise class were compared to a resistance group exercise class on state body satisfaction and social physique anxiety in women. Both types of exercise class were associated with improvements in body image, with greater improvements following the yoga class. This study provides evidence of the positive effects of yoga for reducing state social physique anxiety and increasing state body satisfaction, adding to correlational evidence suggesting that yoga can be particularly beneficial for improving body image-related outcomes in women.