Yoga can ease pressure on health service, says Prince Charles

The Prince of Wales has said yoga could help save "precious and expensive" NHS resources because of its effectiveness as a tool for "health and healing".

The Prince, who is known to be a firm believer in the power of alternative medicine, said the ancient practice of yoga had "proven beneficial effects on both body and mind".

His statement came as one of England's top health chiefs promised to ensure more government funding for yoga classes, reiterating the Prince's message that the activity was proven to help health and well-being.

In a written address to the Yoga in Healthcare conference, the Prince said: "For thousands of years, millions of people have experienced yoga's ability to improve their lives … The development of therapeutic, evidence-based yoga is, I believe, an excellent example of how yoga can contribute to health and healing.

"This not only benefits the individual, but also conserves precious and expensive health resources for others where and when they are most needed."

Yoga classes had "tremendous social benefits" and built "discipline, self-reliance and self-care", which he said contributed to improved general health. The Prince was "delighted" to discover that the conference examining the health benefits of yoga - the first of its kind in the UK - was taking place.

"I will watch the development of therapeutic yoga in the UK with great interest and very much look forward to hearing about the outcomes from your conference," he wrote to delegates.

Duncan Selbie, the chief executive of Public Health England, told yoga therapists at the event, held last weekend at the University of Westminster in London, that some of the additional funding pledged under the NHS Long Term Plan would be spent on yoga classes.

The plan, announced by Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, last month, sets out how the service will improve care and the general health of the population over the next decade.

Mr Selbie said he wanted yoga to benefit from some of the millions of pounds of extra healthcare funding targeted at reducing deprivation and keeping more people out of hospital.

A "significant part" of the promised cash for social prescribing - a scheme where health professionals can prescribe non-medical activities - would go towards making yoga more accessible.

He said there was "clear evidence" that yoga provided people with a form of exercise, social contact and mindfulness that were all vital for good mental and physical health. It could improve muscle strength in the elderly, helping to reduce the number of falls, which cost the NHS around £2billion a year.

Mr Selbie told the conference: "The evidence is clear … yoga is an evidenced intervention and a strengthening activity that we know works." Britons needed to be more responsible for their health, such as by proactively taking part in exercise classes and cutting down on alcohol, he said.

He promised yoga therapists and teachers he would work to ensure they had "visibility and legitimacy" in the social prescribing system, telling them: "I think it is your time".

Studies have suggested yoga could help with arthritis and back pain, as well as reducing the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and depression.