Nih article on Yoga, Cortisol and my own experiences with hormones, there are no experts !!!!!!!!!

unknown variables .. yoga and music of which i practice both.... interesting in the study they are searching for how yoga affects posterior hypothalamus, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein and cortisol....interestingly enough i am tested regularly for C reactive protein, not sure why i have to research, but not Cortisol levels.  There is a connection and i am not sure how but the time of day , when your Cortisol is highest in the mornings to wake is up , does matter. so if i do yoga or exercise in the morning .. it does  matter.... it does matter if i do exer / yoga then eat breakfast .....

it also matters if i eat between meals... i can feel the full impact of estrogen if i force myself to wait at least 2 hrs between meal, it matters how i eat, how fast,what i eat and how often i eat.....

so yoga, music, exercise , diet do matter and how , what and when you do them matters too. this is my experience ...... all of this may be linked to what scientist and researchers call the unknown factor of hormones ... mitochondria...which has been shown to be changed with depression... opps it actually is called the missing link.... the physical and mental part perhaps?????

my best guesses and exp so far.. this research article from 2015 ..... and researchers have no idea how yoga works .... i wish i could find the whole article wo paying for it 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25559560

Health Psychol Rev. 2015 Apr 15:1-18. [Epub ahead of print]

How does yoga reduce stress? A systematic review of mechanisms of change and guide to future inquiry.

Riley KE¹, Park CL.

Author information

• ¹a Department of Psychology , University of Connecticut , Storrs , CT , USA.

Abstract

Yoga is increasingly used in clinical settings for a variety of mental and physical health issues, particularly stress-related illnesses and concerns, and has demonstrated promising efficacy. Yet the ways in which yoga reduces stress remain poorly understood. To examine the empirical evidence regarding the mechanisms through which yoga reduces stress, we conducted a systematic review of the literature, including any yoga intervention that measured stress as a primary dependent variable and tested a mechanism of the relationship with mediation. Our electronic database search yielded 926 abstracts, of which 71 were chosen for further inspection and 5 were selected for the final systematic review. These five studies examined three psychological mechanisms (positive affect, mindfulness and self-compassion) and four biological mechanisms (posterior hypothalamus, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein and cortisol). Positive affect, self-compassion, inhibition of the posterior hypothalamus and salivary cortisol were all shown to mediate the relationship between yoga and stress. It is striking that the literature describing potential mechanisms is growing rapidly, yet only seven mechanisms have been empirically examined; more research is necessary. Also, future research ought to include more rigorous methodology, including sufficient power, study randomisation and appropriate control groups.