Hypertension is a worldwide public health concern. It is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Pharmacological therapy is the most popular method to control hypertension, but yoga has been identified as a promising alternative and complementary therapy to costly drugs. A systematic review is presented below to determine the efficacy of yoga. The criteria for study to be included were as follows: (a) published in the English language, (b) between January 1972 and March 2012, (c) included any form of yoga as an intervention (with or without pharmacological therapy), (d) used any quantitative study design, and (e) measured blood pressure as an outcome. A total of 19 studies met these criteria. Of the 19 studies systematically analyzed, 12 demonstrated a significant change in blood pressure using yoga as part of the intervention. Limitations include a lack of theory-based approach, self-reporting errors, and few randomized controlled trials.

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