While this study did not focus on an intervention directly related to yoga, the resistance part of the intervention could very well be duplicated using yoga exercises; and the balance and tone training part of the article mentions using "tai chi–based forms."
The study compared the effect of once-weekly and twice-weekly resistance training with that of twice-weekly balance and tone exercise training on the performance of executive cognitive functions in 155 community-dwelling women aged 65 to 75 years living in Vancouver. The women were "allocated to once-weekly (n = 54) or twice-weekly (n = 52) resistance training or twice-weekly balance and tone training (control group) (n = 49). . . . Both resistance training groups significantly improved their performance on the Stroop test compared with those in the balance and tone group (P < or = .03). Task performance improved by 12.6% and 10.9% in the once-weekly and twice-weekly resistance training groups, respectively; it deteriorated by 0.5% in the balance and tone group. Enhanced selective attention and conflict resolution was significantly associated with increased gait speed.. . .
CONCLUSION: Twelve months of once-weekly or twice-weekly resistance training benefited the executive cognitive function of selective attention and conflict resolution among senior women. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00426881. Abstract: PubMed. Published as: "Resistance training and executive functions: a 12-month randomized controlled trial," Archives of Internal Medicine [2010 Jan 25;170(2):170-8]
