At Minded, we don’t believe in instant fixes to mind–body health but what if a single session could still make a meaningful difference? What if one class, one breath-led movement experience, could reduce anxiety and stress in people who desperately need relief, even if just for a while?
It turns out it can. And that’s a message worth sharing.
Many living with anxiety feel nothing can help and become so overwhelmed they end up doing nothing but worrying. (Minded Founder Heather Mason often shares this was her own experience.) The idea that one session could offer genuine relief might give someone the strength to try and maybe even return, discovering that yoga can change their life.
A new scoping review by Ikai-Tani and colleagues (2025), published in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry, confronts this provocative possibility. Drawing on an analysis of 30 studies, the review maps evidence on the effects of a single yoga session on anxiety and stress in adults, including those with diagnosed mental illnesses. The implications are striking, not just for research, but for clinical care.
From 3,024 records, 30 studies were included. Most sessions were over 45 minutes, group-based Hatha yoga, including breathwork, postures, and rest.
In adults with mental illness:
- 75% reported reduced anxiety
- 66.7% reduced stress
In healthy adults:
- 70% reported reduced anxiety
- 66.7% reduced stress
Dr. Chris Streeter showed yoga could raise GABA, the brain’s main calming neurotransmitter, after just one session. That was 15 years ago. This new review confirms it: one class can shift the system. This latest review deepens the case, and at Minded, we’re thrilled to see more compelling evidence added to the pot.
