Yoga and Climate Distress Literature Review

WIL Publication | By Global Health Interns Rosa Mirshashi & Lisa Freire

Summary of Key Findings

Today, uncertainty is more prevalent than ever. Climate change is becoming unignorable, with researchers coining “climate distress” as a term used to refer to ongoing distress resulting from the climate crisis. Emotional responses associated with climate distress include anxiety, grief, and fear for the future. These emotions emphasize how climate change can cause long-term negative impacts on individuals mental health.

The effects of climate change are no longer distant—they take on the form of wildfires, floods, and extreme heat. These ecological disasters impact the lives of vulnerable populations, not only leaving individuals with physical scars but also emotional and psychological trauma. Researchers have begun to identify yoga as an adaptable and widely accessible practice that allows populations to cope with feelings associated with climate distress. Although yoga is often perceived as a physical practice, it heavily relies on the connection between the mind and body to regulate stress and promote emotional well-being. This literature review will investigate how yoga can be applied as an effective tool to combat climate distress and encourage healing and pro-environmental behaviours in communities affected by climate-related events. This research will also identify gaps in current studies to explore how yoga can be applied in broader contexts to support climate adaptation and mental health.

Yoga as a Coping Mechanism

Climate change poses both an environmental and psychological crisis. Globally, many individuals experience climate-induced distress like anxiety and helplessness in response to ecological disasters. However, yoga has emerged as a promising tool for managing stress and fostering emotional resilience amid the climate crisis. Qualitative studies have explored how yoga could be applied as a coping mechanism among individuals experiencing climate distress—indicating yoga is a mechanism to process distress and complex emotions associated with ecological grief and climate anxiety. Yoga practices incorporating mindful movement, meditation, and breath awareness enhance calmness and clarity, increasing participants’ abilities to remain grounded in the present moment in times of stress.

Further studies have investigated the psychological benefits of the Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) meditative breathing technique. SKY was detected to reduce anxiety, increase emotional resilience, and regulate stress responses. Studies suggest that yoga practices like SKY are effective for individuals with heightened levels of psychological distress in response to adverse climate events. Therefore, yoga combined with mindfulness-based exercises can help individuals manage emotional distress induced by the climate crisis. While more scholarly literature is required, current findings suggest that yoga can be an effective tool for fostering emotional resilience during climate uncertainty.

Yoga and Mental Health

Furthermore, individuals who are directly impacted by ecological disasters induced by climate change can develop long-term psychological trauma symptoms like anxiety, emotional numbness, and insomnia. Yoga has been analyzed as a mechanism to support climate trauma victims in post-disaster settings.

Individuals living in regions commonly affected by ecological disasters like recurrent floods are particularly vulnerable to long-term trauma responses. After applying yoga, individuals self-reported notable improvements in mood, decreased anxiety, and increased feelings of relaxation. Participants who had undergone the yoga program applied breathing regulation, postures, and meditative exercises. These techniques increased participants’ feelings of self-control despite growing climate uncertainties. Further studies in Sonoma County, California, showed how yoga could be applied as a community-based intervention after experiencing devastating and historic wildfires. The study found that trauma-informed yoga classes had provided positive results by reducing emotional distress and improving psychological well-being among wildfire survivors. The trauma-informed yoga sessions provided tailored experiences for disaster survivors, allowing them to remain grounded in the present, preventing trauma symptoms. These findings demonstrate how yoga can support survivors of ecological disasters, enhancing emotional grounding, bodily awareness, and nervous system regulation. Yoga can be applied as an effective and affordable mechanism to process stress, particularly in communities where mental health resources and services are limited.

Yoga and Pro-Environmental Behaviours

In today’s world, people have less exposure to nature, which damages their sense of connectedness to the environment. Therefore, a key component of addressing climate change involves strengthening individuals’ relationship with nature, often leading to greater environmental care and a willingness to protect it. In a study on the Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), after practicing this meditative breathing technique, participants reported significant improvements in their sense of connectedness to nature, and sensitivity to environmental issues while being more willing to engage in eco-friendly behaviours. The researchers attributed these results to the overall boost in the participants’ health, well-being, and general happiness. SKY and associated meditation techniques have shown great potential to become a practical approach to protecting the environment. Thus, yoga can be an effective tool in promoting environmental consciousness and helping individuals cultivate a deeper relationship with nature. Feeling more connected not only encourages greater care for the environment but also supports personal healing. By healing ourselves, we become equipped to heal the world around us.

While key findings suggest yoga is an effective tool for managing climate distress, it is vital to consider that many of the studies analyzed in this literature review relied on small sample sizes, self-selected participants, and short intervention periods, limiting the ability to draw conclusive results. Moreover, while yoga practices like breathwork and mindfulness demonstrate benefits for coping with climate anxiety and stress, they have been studied as complementary strategies rather than exclusive treatments for climate-related mental health challenges. Further empirical studies are needed to examine how yoga could be incorporated into climate-affected communities, environmental education, and climate adaptation programs. Recognizing that yoga is not a replacement but an accessible, holistic option that can increase psychological resilience alongside mental health treatment. The continued investigation of the application of yoga to reduce climate distress and eco-anxiety is pivotal, especially today with the growing impacts of the climate crisis.

Knowledge Synthesis

1. David, T., Buchan, J., & Nalau, J. (2022). Coping and adapting to climate change in Australia: Yoga perspectives. International Journal of Yoga Therapy, 32, Article 15. https://doi.org/10.17761/2022-D-22-00016

This study investigated how long-term Australian yoga practitioners coped and adapted to ecological disasters related to climate change. Researchers employed an interpretive phenomenological approach in eleven telephone interviews to explore how yoga affected the psychological well-being of participants in the study. Participants reported that yoga increased their ability to cope, adapt, and respond to climate-related stressors. Limitations of the study include small sample sizes and the absence of Indigenous and male participants and yoga practitioners. The findings of this study indicate that yoga can be an effective mechanism to cope with climate distress, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary yoga therapies and community-based initiatives in developing climate resilience.

2. Ibrahim, M. (2024). Applying Emotional Regulation Strategies to Manage Climate Distress. Emotional Regulation—Theory and Application Across Clinical Settings. 10.5772/intechopen.1007813

   
   

This study explores the application of yoga as a coping, adaptive, and emotional regulatory response to the climate crisis. The researcher analyzed the efficacy of yoga and climate cafes as methods of reducing climate anxiety and ecologically induced stress responses through the analysis of current literature. Emphasis was placed on studying the effectiveness of yoga in reducing climate anxiety across different demographics, including marginalized communities, and on how climate-related stressors can impact individuals, local communities, and healthcare systems. Limitations include a lack of empirical studies, a scarcity of systematic reviews, and insufficient funding for current research projects examining yoga. The findings of this literature review highlight that yoga, when combined with climate cafes, provides effective coping mechanisms and improves the mental health outcomes of participants by reducing eco-anxiety.

3. Telles, S., Singh, N., & Balkrishna, A. (2012). Managing Mental Health Disorders Resulting from Trauma through Yoga: A Review. Depression research and treatment, 2012, 401513. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/401513

This study investigates the application of yoga as a non-pharmacological remedy for climate-induced trauma responses, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The researchers conducted a literature review of twelve empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of yoga in managing stress responses induced by ecological disasters connected to climate change. Limitations of the study included limitations present in the twelve respective studies analyzed in this paper. The findings of this literature review suggest that yoga can potentially reduce mental health disorders developed after ecological trauma, but limited research on the application of yoga fails to provide conclusive evidence.

4. Heinz, A. J., Wiltsey Stirman, S., Sharin, T., Loskot, T., Mason, D., Jaworski, B. A., & McGovern, M. R. (2021). Rising from the ashes by expanding access to community care after disaster: An origin story of the Wildfire Mental Health Collaborative and preliminary findings. Psychological Services, 19, 58–66. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000553

This study examines the psychological impact of recurring wildfires on the Sonoma County, California, community through the implementation of mind-body yoga programs and training in Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR) for counsellors providing services and yoga programs to survivors. The researchers launched the community-based intervention (SPR) in response to mandatory wildfire evacuations that left the community with negative mental health effects. Limitations of the study include a lack of demographic data collection and delayed responses and program evaluations from community members. The findings of this study highlight the positive effects of community-based yoga interventions on ecological trauma-affected communities—improving mental health outcomes and reducing climate distress.

5. Kanchibhotla, D., Rau, N., Ingole, S., & Kulkarni, S. (2023). The Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) Breathing Technique – Its Inclusion as a Good Practice to Combat Climate Change. Sri Sri Institute for Advanced Research.

This study examines the impact of a structured breathing technique, known as Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), on environmental attitudes and emotional regulation among individuals experiencing climate distress. Researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1,200 participants from 32 countries in order to assess the changes in participants' connection to nature using the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS). The participants who practiced SKY reported notable improvements in their sense of connectedness to nature, environmental concern, and eco-friendly behaviours. SKY is described as a rhythmic breathing practice that helps reduce stress, build emotional resilience, and restore physiological balance. Limitations of the study include reliance on self-report surveys, the absence of a control group, and the fact that the chosen sample consisted of individuals already involved in yoga, which may have influenced the outcomes. Despite these limitations, the research suggests that SKY could help people manage their emotional reactions to climate stress while also encouraging environmentally friendly behaviours.

Research Table

Literature Review Matrix.pdf

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