Yoga can’t be considered a routine intervention for patients with asthma, but it can be considered an alternative to breathing exercises for asthma patients interested in complementary interventions, according to new research published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology,

Researchers examined 14 previously published studies to determine the effectiveness of yoga in the treatment of asthma.

“Many people practice yoga for its health benefits, including asthma sufferers,” said Holger Cramer, PhD, lead author of the study. “We reviewed the available data to see if it made a difference and found only weak evidence that it does.”

In the review, 824 adults were part of 14 studies examined for evidence that yoga improves control, symptoms, quality of life and lung function in patients with asthma. Participants in the studies were from North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Because only one trial included children, the effects of yoga on children couldn’t be evaluated.