A meta-analysis published in the journal iScience, from Cell Press, analyzed 22 randomized clinical trials with a total of 1,720 participants aged 18 to 65 from Asian populations, using yoga programs lasting between 5.5 and 24 weeks, to study their effect on type 2 diabetes management.
The authors found that yoga interventions of 12 weeks or longer achieved a significant reduction in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), while programs shorter than 12 weeks showed no statistically significant difference compared with the control group.
The finding suggests that, to see real benefits for glycemic control, the length of a yoga program may matter as much as practicing it at all — in line with what's already known about other types of exercise in type 2 diabetes: consistency over time seems to matter more than one-off intensity.