For people who smoke and are addicted to nicotine, doing gentle yoga helps reduce their urge to smoke and changes how their brain works when trying to control impulses, but working out harder doesn’t help reduce cravings—even though it gets the heart pumping more. This suggests that more intense exercise isn’t always better for quitting cigarettes.

If you're a smoker trying to quit, doing yoga for 30 minutes might help reduce your urge to smoke more than going for a brisk walk or jog—even though both activities make you feel less down or stressed.

After just 30 minutes of yoga, adult smokers who are trying to quit show less brain activity when trying to stop themselves from reacting — even though they stop just as well as after a workout. This might mean their brains are working more efficiently.

For adults who smoke and are addicted to nicotine, doing just one 30-minute session of yoga or moderate exercise doesn't make them better at controlling impulses in a computer test—even though their brains show some activity changes.

If you're a smoker trying to quit, both a 30-minute yoga session and a 30-minute brisk walk can help lift your mood equally well—neither one is better than the other.