The Effectiveness of Yoga for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Systematic Review

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic psychiatric disorder characterized by intrusive and repetitive behaviors impairing daily life. Although cognitive-behavioral therapy and medications are primary treatments, recent studies highlight yoga potential benefits.

This study aimed to summarize the effectiveness of yoga in managing OCD symptoms and improving overall mental well-being.

A comprehensive literature review was conducted across PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases, identifying a total of 252 records. After removing 124 duplicates, 128 articles were screened based on title and abstract. Studies were excluded if they were reviews, meta-analyses, editorials, case reports (N = 26), and lacked yoga-based interventions (N = 11), or focused on conditions other than OCD (N = 45). Forty-six full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, with 39 exclusions for being reviews, editorial, case reports (N = 21), addressing conditions other than OCD (N = 4), or being out of topic (N = 14). Seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed in this review. Qualitative rating of included studies was performed by the Qualitative Assessment Tool for quantitative studies.

The included studies showed that yoga interventions led to significant reductions in OCD symptom severity, as measured by standardized assessment tools such as the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). Various forms of yoga, including kundalini and rajyoga, were associated with improved mental health outcomes, reduced anxiety levels, and enhanced overall well-being. However, the generalizability of these findings is limited due to heterogeneity in study design, small sample sizes, and variations in intervention protocols.

The findings suggest that yoga-based interventions may be effective as adjunctive therapies alongside conventional treatments for OCD. However, well-designed randomized controlled trials with standardized methodologies are needed to establish definitive conclusions.