Yoga could be as effective as a pill at cutting blood pressure, a study suggests.

The research found that volunteers with elevated levels saw improvements after doing just 15 minutes of the activity daily.

Around 12 million adults take drugs for high blood pressure, which is the single biggest trigger of heart disease and stroke.

The new research involved 60 volunteers with raised blood pressure.

Doing just 15 minutes of exercises like the “downward dog” five times a week was found to reduce their readings by around ten per cent.

Scientists said it is a similar drop as patients would see from taking a water pill, which are commonly given for high blood pressure.