According to a small study from the United Arab Emirates, practicing yoga may help improve the livelihood of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The study, which was conducted on 47 individuals, found that patients who completed 12 sessions of Raj yoga (one of the gentler styles of yoga) showed significant improvement in disease activity scores. There was no significant improvement on the quality of life scale, however.

Raj yoga, also known as classical yoga, is a technique that combines simple phsyical exercises, breathing techniques and concentration and meditation.

“Most patients with RA do not exercise regularly despite the fact that those who do report less pain and are therefore more physically active,” Humeira Badsha, a rheumatologist and founder of the Emirates Arthritis Foundation, Dubai, UAE, said in a press release. “While our study has been conducted in a small group of patients the results show clear benefits for patients who regularly practice Raj yoga.”

“We believe that practicing yoga longer term could in fact result in further significant improvements and hope our study drives further research into the benefits of yoga in RA.”