Carol's picks:
Luciano Bernardi, Peter Sleight, etc. Effect of rosary prayer and yoga mantras on autonomic cardiovascular rhythms: comparitive study. The above study is a bit to wade through, but has fascinating observations on the origin of rosary prayer and the effect of both rosary recitation and mantra recitation on heart rhythm. The link should take you to the complete article rather than the abstract, but there is a lot of white space between the headline and the body of text.

and

Carol's pick: Keicolt-Glaser, JK and others: Adiponectin, leptin, and yoga practice. Physiol Behav. 2012 Jan. 27: (Don't worry too much about the biochemical words: Leptin is proinflammatory and adiponectin has anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation is involved in arthritis, asthma, heart disease, etc.) Frequency of self-reported yoga practice showed significant negative relationships with leptin; more weeks of yoga practice over the last year, more lifetime yoga sessions, and more years of yoga practice were all significantly associated with lower leptin, with similar findings for the adiponectin to leptin ration. Novices and experts did not show even marginal differences on behavioral and physiological dimensions that might represent potential confounds, including BMI, central adiposity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and diet. . . . Longer-term and/or more intensive yoga practice could have beneficial health consequences . . . ..