1 72 129 A FUNCTIONAL NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY STUDY OF HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING COMPARED TO BREATH AWARENESS. BACKGROUND HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (BREATH RATE OF 2.0 HZ) HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN OXY-HEMOGLOBIN IN THE PREFRONTAL REGION OF THE BRAIN. THE PRESENT STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) AT 1.0 HZ ON FRONTAL OXY-HEMOGLOBIN (OXY-HB) AND DEOXY-HEMOGLOBIN (DEOXY-HB). MATERIAL AND METHODS FORTY HEALTHY MALE PARTICIPANTS WERE RECRUITED FOR THE STUDY. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP CONSISTED OF 20 PARTICIPANTS 23-40 YEARS OLD (GROUP MEAN +/-S.D., 26.4+/-4.7 YEARS) WITH AT LEAST 3 MONTHS OF EXPERIENCE PERFORMING HFYB (GROUP MEAN +/-S.D., 16.3+/-9.8 MONTHS). THE CONTROL GROUP CONSISTED OF 20 PARTICIPANTS AGES 23-38 YEARS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- S.D., 27.4+/-4.1 YEARS), WHO WERE SEATED QUIETLY FOR THE SAME DURATION AND THEIR AVERAGE EXPERIENCE OF YOGA PRACTICE WAS (+/-S.D.) 4.3+/-2.7 MONTHS. EACH PARTICIPANT IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WAS ASSESSED AT 2 SESSIONS (HFYB AND BREATH AWARENESS [BAW]) ON ALTERNATE DAYS. HEMODYNAMIC CHANGES WERE ASSESSED USING A FUNCTIONAL NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY SENSOR PLACED OVER THE FOREHEAD. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING REPEATED-MEASURES ANALYSES OF VARIANCE FOLLOWED BY POST HOC BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT. RESULTS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION WAS OBSERVED IN OXY-HB DURING AND AFTER HFYB ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES COMPARED TO VALUES BEFORE. WE ALSO FOUND A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN DEOXY-HB DURING AND AFTER THE QUIET SITTING CONTROL SESSION COMPARED TO PRE-SESSION VALUES ON LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES. CONCLUSIONS THE DECREASE IN OXY-HB DURING AND AFTER HFYB SUGGESTS THAT THERE WAS NO FRONTAL ACTIVATION DURING HFYB WHEN PRACTICED AT THE RATE OF 1.0 HZ. 2016 2 1726 64 PERFORMANCE IN A CORSI BLOCK-TAPPING TASK FOLLOWING HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING OR BREATH AWARENESS. BACKGROUND: UNINOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES HAVE IMPROVED SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES. THERE HAS BEEN NO ASSESSMENT ON THE EFFECT OF HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) ON WORKING MEMORY AND SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES USING THE CORSI BLOCK-TAPPING TASK (CBTT). OBJECTIVES: THE PRESENT STUDY WAS PLANNED TO ASSESS THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF HFYB AND BREATH AWARENESS (BAW) COMPARED TO A CONTROL SESSION ON PERFORMANCE IN A CBTT. METHODS: FIFTEEN PARTICIPANTS OF BOTH SEXES WITH AGES BETWEEN 18 AND 24 YEARS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION, 20.0 +/- 1.6 YEARS; 10 FEMALES) WERE RECRUITED FOR THE TRIAL FROM A UNIVERSITY IN NORTH INDIA. EACH PARTICIPANT WAS ASSESSED IN THREE SESSIONS CONDUCTED ON 3 SEPARATE DAYS AT THE SAME TIME OF THE DAY. THE THREE SESSIONS WERE (I) HFYB, (II) BAW, AND (III) QUIET SITTING (QS). THE DURATION OF THE INTERVENTION WAS 18 MIN. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER ALL THE THREE SESSIONS. REPEATED-MEASURES-ANALYSES OF VARIANCE FOLLOWED BY POST HOC TESTS WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT WERE PERFORMED TO COMPARE DATA BEFORE AND AFTER ALL THE THREE SESSIONS. RESULTS: BAW RESULTED IN AN IMPROVEMENT IN BACKWARD TOTAL SCORES (P < 0.05) AND THE BACKWARD CORSI SPAN (P < 0.05; ONE TAILED). CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT BAW IMPROVES PRIMARY WORKING MEMORY, SPATIAL MEMORY, AND SPATIAL ATTENTION. HFYB DID NOT CAUSE ANY CHANGE. 2019 3 417 48 BODY TEMPERATURE IN PRACTITIONERS OF A YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUE CONSIDERED TO BE HEAT GENERATING. CONTEXT: SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA IS TRADITIONALLY DESCRIBED AS "INCREASING THE INNER FIRE" AND IS BELIEVED TO BE HEAT GENERATING. AIMS: THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED AT DETERMINING WHETHER THE SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE WOULD INCREASE AFTER SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA PRACTICE COMPARED WITH SITTING QUIETLY FOR THE SAME DURATION AS A CONTROL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: NINETEEN PARTICIPANTS WITH EXPERIENCE OF SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA PRACTICE (GROUP MEAN EXPERIENCE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION, 30.2 +/- 22.8 MONTHS) WERE ASSESSED IN 3 SESSIONS ON SEPARATE DAYS. THE SESSIONS WERE (I) SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA WITH PHYSIOLOGICAL LOCKS OR BREATH RETENTION, (II) SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA WITHOUT PHYSIOLOGICAL LOCKS OR BREATH RETENTION, AND (III) QUIET SITTING (CONTROL SESSION). THE AXILLARY SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE WAS MONITORED IN ALL THREE SESSIONS BEFORE (5 MIN), DURING (15 MIN), AND AFTER (5 MIN) THE INTERVENTION. AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY IN THE RECORDING CABIN USED FOR TESTING WERE NOTED. FROM THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY, THE HEAT INDEX WAS DERIVED. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSES OF VARIANCE WERE PERFORMED TO COMPARE VALUES BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE 3 SESSIONS, USING SPSS VERSION 24.0. RESULTS: THE SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE INCREASED DURING AND AFTER SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA WITH PHYSIOLOGICAL LOCKS (P < 0.001; P < 0.001), SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA WITHOUT PHYSIOLOGICAL LOCKS (P < 0.01; P < 0.001), AND QUIET SITTING (P < 0.001; P < 0.001) COMPARED TO THE RESPECTIVE BEFORE VALUES. CONCLUSION: THE CONTROL (I.E., QUIET SITTING) AND EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS (I.E., SURYABHEDA WITH LOCKS AND SURYABHEDA WITHOUT LOCKS) SHOWED A COMPARABLE INCREASE IN THE SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE. HENCE, THE INCREASE IN SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE DURING AND AFTER EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO THE PRANAYAMA TECHNIQUES. THE POSSIBLE FACTORS WHICH MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO INCREASED SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE IN THE CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED. 2020 4 1354 31 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF THREE YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES ON PERFORMANCE ON A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK. THE EFFECTS OF THREE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES WERE EVALUATED ON PERFORMANCE ON A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK WHICH IS A LEFT-HEMISPHERE DOMINANT TASK. THE THREE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES (RIGHT, LEFT, AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING) WERE SELECTED BECAUSE UNILATERAL FORCED NOSTRIL BREATHING STIMULATES THE CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE. THERE WERE 20 MALE VOLUNTEERS WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 20 TO 45 YEARS (M AGE=28.4 YR., SD=5.7). ALL SUBJECTS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER FOUR SESSIONS, I.E., RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, LEFT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, AND BREATH AWARENESS AS A CONTROL. THE LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED, I.E., THERE WERE FEWER ERRORS FOLLOWING RIGHT AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (WILCOXON PAIRED SIGNED-RANKS TEST). THE IMPROVED PERFORMANCE MAY BE RELATED TO THE ENHANCEMENT OF CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE FUNCTION FOUND WITH SELECTIVE NOSTRIL BREATHING. 2007 5 2362 49 VOLITIONAL YOGA BREATHING INFLUENCES ATTENTION AND ANXIETY: AN EXPLORATORY RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER STUDY. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS STUDIES ASSESSED YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES INDIVIDUALLY. THIS EXPLORATORY, RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER STUDY ASSESSED ATTENTION AND ANXIETY FOLLOWING FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES, BREATH AWARENESS, AND QUIET SEATED REST. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIRTY-EIGHT MALE VOLUNTEERS BETWEEN 20 AND 37 YEARS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD; 24.08 +/- 4.01 YEARS) WERE ASSESSED IN SIX SESSIONS IN RANDOM ORDER (WWW.RANDOMIZER.ORG) ON SEPARATE DAYS. THE SESSIONS WERE: (I) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, (II) BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING, (III) BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING, (IV) HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING, (V) BREATH AWARENESS, AND (VI) QUIET SEATED REST. THE SESSIONS WERE FOR 18 MIN EACH. SIX LETTER CANCELLATION TEST (SLCT) AND SPIELBERGER'S STATE TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY-STATE (STAI-S) WERE ADMINISTERED PRE AND POST EACH SESSION. DATA ANALYSIS USED GENERAL LINEAR MIXED MODEL ANALYSIS, WITH FIXED EFFECT OF STATES (PRE AND POST) AND SESSIONS. RESULTS: A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT OF STATES WAS OBSERVED ON TOTAL ATTEMPTED (F1,407 = 5.374, P = 0.021) AND NET ATTEMPTED SCORES (F1,407 = 6.178, P = 0.013) OF THE SLCT, WITH A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SCORES FOLLOWING HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.031 FOR TOTAL ATTEMPTED SCORES; PADJ = 0.029 FOR NET ATTEMPTED SCORES). ALSO, A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT OF STATES ON STAI-S SCORES WAS OBSERVED (F1,407 = 33.979, P < 0.001), WITH A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN SCORES FOLLOWING ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.001), BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.008), BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.002), AND HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.042) COMPARED TO THE CORRESPONDING PRE STATE. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT OF SESSIONS (F5,407 = 3.043, P = 0.010) ON STAI-S SCORES, WITH SCORES POST ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN POST BREATH AWARENESS (PADJ = 0.037). CONCLUSION: FOLLOWING HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING SUSTAINED ATTENTION WAS BETTER THAN BEFORE WHILE STATE ANXIETY DECREASED IN POST-PRE COMPARISONS OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING, BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING, AND HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BREATHING PRACTICES MAY BE DUE TO DIFFERENCES IN DEGREE OF VOLITIONAL REGULATION OF BREATHING AND IN THE BREATH PATTERNS MODIFIED VOLITIONALLY. THE GENERALIZABILITY OF THE FINDINGS WAS LIMITED BY INCLUDING AN ALL MALE, YOGA EXPERIENCED SAMPLE. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD INCLUDE PARTICIPANTS OF BOTH GENDERS AND COULD INCLUDE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF YOGA EXPERIENCE, WITH ASSESSMENTS INCLUDING OBJECTIVE MEASURES OF ATTENTION AND ANXIETY. 2022 6 1610 62 METABOLIC AND VENTILATORY CHANGES DURING AND AFTER HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING. BACKGROUND PRACTICING HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) INDUCED A HYPERMETABOLIC STATE IN A SINGLE SUBJECT DURING THE PRACTICE BUT THE EFFECT HAS NOT BEEN STUDIED IN MULTIPLE PRACTITIONERS. MATERIAL AND METHODS HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS (N=47, GROUP MEAN AGE +/- S.D., 23.2 +/- 4.1 YEARS) WERE RECRUITED AS AN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AND ANOTHER TWENTY VOLUNTEERS WERE RECRUITED AS A CONTROL GROUP. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP PRACTICED EITHER HFYB (BREATH RATE 1.0 HZ) OR BREATH AWARENESS (BAW) ON TWO SEPARATE DAYS. THE SEQUENCE WAS REVERSED FOR ALTERNATE PARTICIPANTS. THE CONTROL GROUP WAS ASSESSED UNDER SIMILAR CONDITIONS WHILE SITTING AT EASE. THE BREATH RATE (RR), TIDAL VOLUME (VT), VENTILATION (VE), VO2, VCO2, ARTERIAL PCO2 AND ENERGY EXPENDITURE (EE KCAL/DAY) WERE ASSESSED FOR 35 MINUTES USING AN OPEN CIRCUIT OXYGEN CONSUMPTION ANALYZER. THE ASSESSMENT PERIOD WAS DIVIDED INTO BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER CONDITIONS. REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSES OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) WERE USED TO COMPARE DATA RECORDED DURING AND AFTER THE TWO PRACTICES WITH DATA RECORDED BEFORE. BEFORE-AFTER COMPARISONS IN THE CONTROL GROUP WERE WITH PAIRED T-TESTS. RESULTS THE MOST RELEVANT SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE INCREASES IN VE, VO2, VCO2 AND EE DURING HFYB, WHILE THE SAME VARIABLES DECREASED DURING THE CONTROL PERIOD. HOWEVER AFTER HFYB THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN VO2 OR EE, ALTHOUGH VE DECREASED AS IT DID AFTER THE CONTROL PERIOD. CONCLUSIONS HFYB INDUCES A HYPERMETABOLIC STATE FOR THE DURATION OF THE PRACTICE WHICH RETURNS TO BASELINE AFTER HFYB SUGGESTING A POSSIBLE APPLICATION FOR HFYB IN HYPOMETABOLIC STATES. 2015 7 295 34 AGE RELATED DIFFERENCES OF SELECTED HATHA YOGA PRACTICES ON ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS, MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY OF HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. BACKGROUND: PHYSIOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF YOGA ON VOLUNTEERS OF A PARTICULAR AGE GROUP ARE AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, REPORTS ON EFFICACY OF A SPECIFIC YOGA PACKAGE ON THE POPULACE OF DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS FROM SIMILAR OCCUPATIONAL BACKGROUND IS STILL VERY LIMITED. THEREFORE, THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO APPRAISE THE EFFECT OF A SPECIFIC HATHA YOGA PACKAGE ON ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS, FLEXIBILITY AND MUSCULAR STRENGTH OF HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS OF DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS FROM SIMILAR OCCUPATIONAL TRADE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 71 PARTICIPANTS (GROUP ALL) FROM INDIAN AIR FORCE GROUND PERSONNEL VOLUNTEERED AND AGE WISE DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUPS - (I) GROUP I (GR. - I) (N1 = 27, 20-29 YEARS), (II) GROUP II (GR. - II) (N2 = 21, 30-39 YEARS) AND (III) GROUP III (GR. - III) (N3 = 23, 40-49 YEARS). ALL THE PARTICIPANTS UNDERGONE SELECTED HATHA YOGA TRAINING FOR 1 H DAILY FOR A PERIOD OF 12 WEEKS. PARAMETERS WERE RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER THE TRAINING. PRE AND POST TRAINING DIFFERENCES WERE ASSESSED BY STUDENT'S T-TEST. RESULTS: BODY WEIGHT (ALL, GR. - II AND GR. - III [ALL P < 0.05]), BODY MASS INDEX (GR. - II AND GR. - III [BOTH P < 0.01]) AND FAT% (GR. - II AND III [BOTH P < 0.05]) WERE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. NECK CIRCUMFERENCE WAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN GR. - I (P < 0.05) BUT DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN GR. - III (P < 0.05). CHEST CIRCUMFERENCE (ALL (P < 0.001), IN GR. - I AND II [BOTH P < 0.05]), GRIP STRENGTH (ALL [LEFT: P < 0.01 AND RIGHT: P < 0.05], IN GR. - I [LEFT: P < 0.05 AND RIGHT: P < 0.01], IN GR. - II [RIGHT: P < 0.05] AND IN GR. - III [LEFT: P < 0.05 AND RIGHT: P < 0.01]), BACK LEG STRENGTH (GROUP WISE P < 0.001, P < 0.05, P < 0.01 AND P < 0.05 RESPECTIVELY) AND FLEXIBILITY (ALL P < 0.001) WERE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: HATHA YOGA CAN IMPROVE ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS, MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY AMONG VOLUNTEERS OF DIFFERENT AGE GROUP AND CAN ALSO BE HELPFUL IN PREVENTING AND ATTENUATING AGE RELATED DETERIORATION OF THESE PARAMETERS. 2015 8 898 19 EFFECT OF YOGASANAS ON THE VISUAL AND AUDITORY REACTION TIME. VISUAL AND AUDITORY REACTION TIME (VRT, ART) WAS STUDIED IN 83 HEALTHY MALE SUBJECTS OF 30-40 YEARS OF AGE WHO HAD NEVER PRACTICED YOGASANAS BEFORE. THESE SUBJECTS WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS VIZ. GROUP A WHOSE VRT AND ART WAS DETERMINED AFTER 1 HR. YOGASANAS AND GROUP B WHOSE ART AND VRT WAS DETERMINED AFTER 6 WEEKS YOGASANAS TRAINING PROGRAMME. VRT AND ART SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN GROUP A (P LESS THAN .05) AND GROUP B (P LESS THAN .001). 1989 9 1351 39 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF A YOGA BREATHING PRACTICE ON ATTENTION AND ANXIETY IN PRE-TEEN CHILDREN. PRE-TEEN CHILDREN FACE STRESSORS RELATED TO THEIR TRANSITION FROM CHILDHOOD TO ADOLESCENCE, WITH A SIMULTANEOUS INCREASE IN ACADEMIC PRESSURE. THE PRESENT STUDY COMPARED THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF 18 MIN OF (I) HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING WITH (II) YOGA-BASED BREATH AWARENESS AND (III) SITTING QUIETLY, ON (A) ATTENTION AND (B) ANXIETY, IN 61 PRE-TEEN CHILDREN (AGED BETWEEN 11 AND 12 YEARS; 25 GIRLS). ATTENTION WAS ASSESSED USING A SIX LETTER CANCELLATION TASK AND SPIELBERGER'S STATE TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY STAI-S WAS USED TO MEASURE ANXIETY BEFORE AND AFTER THE THREE PRACTICES, PRACTICED ON SEPARATE DAYS. REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA, FOLLOWED BY BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST-HOC ANALYSES SHOWED AN INCREASE IN TOTAL ATTEMPTS AND NET SCORES AFTER HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (P < 0.05), WHILE WRONG ATTEMPTS INCREASED AFTER YOGA BASED BREATH AWARENESS (P < 0.05). ANXIETY DECREASED COMPARABLY AFTER ALL THREE INTERVENTIONS. THE 25 GIRLS IN THE GROUP HAD THE SAME TREND OF RESULTS AS THE WHOLE GROUP WITH RESPECT TO THE ATTENTION-BASED CANCELLATION TASK, WHILE BOYS SHOWED NO, HOW SINCE CHANGE. FOR BOTH GIRLS AND BOYS, ANXIETY DECREASED AFTER ALL THREE 18MIN INTERVENTIONS. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING COULD BE A SHORT, USEFUL SCHOOL BASED PRACTICE TO IMPROVE ATTENTION AND REDUCE ANXIETY. 2019 10 821 29 EFFECT OF YOGA ON EXERCISE TOLERANCE IN NORMAL HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. TWELVE NORMAL HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (6 MALES AND 6 FEMALES) UNDERGOING YOGA TRAINING FOR 90 DAYS WERE STUDIED FOR THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON EXERCISE TOLERANCE. THEIR AGES RANGED FROM 18 TO 28 YEARS. THE VOLUNTEERS WERE TAUGHT ONLY PRANAYAMA FOR THE FIRST 20 DAYS AND LATER ON YOGIC ASANAS WERE ADDED. SUB-MAXIMAL EXERCISE TOLERANCE TEST WAS DONE ON A MOTORIZED TREADMILL BY USING BALKE'S MODIFIED PROTOCOL, INITIALLY, AFTER 20 DAYS (PHASE-I) AND AFTER 90 DAYS OF YOGA TRAINING (PHASE-II). PYRUVATE AND LACTATE IN VENOUS BLOOD AND BLOOD GASES IN CAPILLARY BLOOD WERE ESTIMATED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER THE EXERCISE. MINUTE VENTILATION AND OXYGEN CONSUMPTION WERE ESTIMATED BEFORE AND DURING THE TEST. POST EXERCISE BLOOD LACTATE WAS ELEVATED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING INITIAL AND PHASE-I, BUT NOT IN PHASE-II. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF MINUTE VENTILATION AND OXYGEN CONSUMPTION ONLY IN MALES IN PHASE-I AND II AT THE TIME WHEN THE VOLUNTEERS REACHED THEIR 80% OF THE PREDICTED HEART RATE. FEMALE VOLUNTEERS WERE ABLE TO GO TO HIGHER LOADS OF EXERCISE IN PHASE-I AND II. 1986 11 769 32 EFFECT OF UNILATERAL LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING (CHANDRA ANGA PRANAYAMA) ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN HEALTHY YOGA-NAIVE INDIVIDUALS: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED, PILOT STUDY. INTRODUCTION: BREATHING MODULATES CORTICAL NEURONAL ACTIVITY. VARIOUS BREATHING EXERCISES ARE PURPORTED TO HAVE SPECIFIC EFFECTS ON EMOTIONAL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF UNILATERAL LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING (ULNB) ON NONLATERALIZED, OVERALL COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS USING COMPUTERIZED PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS. METHODS: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED, PILOT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AMONG 20 HEALTHY YOGA-NAIVE MEDICAL STUDENTS. ULNB WAS PERFORMED FOR 15 MIN BY THE TEST GROUP (N = 10) AND BREATH AWARENESS BY THE CONTROL GROUP (N = 10). ATTENTION AND PROCESSING SPEED, MEMORY, AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION WERE ASSESSED USING THE LETTER-DIGIT SUBSTITUTION TEST, STERNBERG MEMORY TASK, AND VICTORIA STROOP TEST, RESPECTIVELY. BASELINE, PRE- AND POSTINTERVENTION SCORES WERE RECORDED. RESULTS: THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS IN BASELINE SCORES. IN THE STERNBERG MEMORY TASK, A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN RESPONSE TIME WAS SEEN IN THE TEST (T(9) = 3.855, P = 0.004) AS WELL AS THE CONTROL GROUP (T(9) = 3.120, P = 0.012); THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS. NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT OF UNLB WAS SEEN IN THE LETTER-DIGIT SUBSTITUTION TEST AND STROOP TEST. CONCLUSIONS: OUR STUDY SHOWED NO DIFFERENCE IN THE EFFECTS OF 15-MIN PRACTICE OF ULNB AND BREATH AWARENESS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS; BOTH IMPROVED MEMORY BUT NOT ATTENTION OR EXECUTIVE FUNCTION. 2020 12 509 40 COMPARATIVE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT YOGA ASANAS ON HEART RATE AND BLOOD PRESSURE IN HEALTHY YOUNG VOLUNTEERS. INTRODUCTION: THIS STUDY PLANNED TO COMPARE IMMEDIATE CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT YOGA ASANAS IN HEALTHY YOUNG VOLUNTEERS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HEART RATE (HR), SYSTOLIC PRESSURE (SP), AND DIASTOLIC PRESSURE (DP), BLOOD PRESSURE (BP), WERE RECORDED USING THE NON INVASIVE BLOOD PRESSURE (NIBP) APPARATUS IN 22 HEALTHY YOUNG SUBJECTS, BEFORE AND AFTER THE PERFORMANCE OF DHANURASANA (DA), VAKRASANA (VA) (BOTH SIDES), JANUSIRASASANA (JSA) (BOTH SIDES), MATSYASANA AND SHAVASANA FOR 30 S. HR AND BP WERE FURTHER RECORDED DURING SUPINE RECOVERY AT 2, 4, 6, 8, AND 10 MIN. A REPEATED MEASURE OF ANOVA WAS USED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. RESULTS: THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN HR AND BP BOTH IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ASANAS AS WELL AS DURING THE RECOVERY PERIOD. OVERALL COMPARISONS OF % CHANGES IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ASANAS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WITH REGARD TO HR THAT INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER DA. IN THE RECOVERY PHASE, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT INTERGROUP DIFFERENCES FROM 2 MIN ONWARD IN BOTH SP AND DP. THE DECREASE OF SP AFTER VA (RIGHT SIDE) (VA-R) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN SHAVASANA (4(TH), 6(TH), AND 8(TH) MIN) AND JSA (LEFT SIDE) (JSA-L) AT 6(TH) AND 8(TH) MIN. DP DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER PERFORMING JSA-L COMPARED TO VA-R AT THE 6(TH) AND 8(TH) MIN. DISCUSSION: THE CARDIOVASCULAR CHANGES IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ASANAS AND DURING THE RECOVERY PHASE REVEAL INHERENT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SELECTED POSTURES. THE RISE OF HR IN DA MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO INCREASED SYMPATHETIC RESPONSE DUE TO THE RELATIVE DIFFICULTY OF THE POSTURE AS WELL AS ABDOMINAL COMPRESSION OCCURRING IN IT. THE EFFECT OF SUPINE RELAXATION IS MORE PRONOUNCED AFTER THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ASANAS AS COMPARED TO MERE RELAXATION IN SHAVASANA. THIS MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO A NORMALIZATION AND RESULTANT HOMEOSTATIC EFFECT OCCURRING DUE TO A GREATER, HEALTHIER DE-ACTIVATION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM OCCURRING TOWING TO THE PRESENCE OF PRIOR ACTIVATION. THERE WERE ALSO SUBTLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE RIGHT SIDED AND LEFT SIDED PERFORMANCE OF VA AND JSA THAT MAY BE OCCURRING DUE TO THE DIFFERENT INTERNAL STRUCTURES BEING EITHER COMPRESSED OR RELAXED ON EITHER SIDE. CONCLUSION: OUR STUDY PROVIDES INITIAL EVIDENCE OF DIFFERENTIAL CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS OF ASANAS AND SUBTLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RIGHT AND LEFT SIDED PERFORMANCE. FURTHER, CARDIOVASCULAR RECOVERY IS GREATER AFTER THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ASANAS AS COMPARED TO SHAVASAN; THUS, IMPLYING A BETTER RESPONSE WHEN EFFORT PRECEDES RELAXATION. 2014 13 463 68 CHANGES IN SHAPE AND SIZE DISCRIMINATION AND STATE ANXIETY AFTER ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING AND BREATH AWARENESS IN ONE SESSION EACH. BACKGROUND YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES LIKE HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) AND BREATH AWARENESS (BAW) HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED PERFORMANCE IN THE SHAPE AND SIZE DISCRIMINATION TASK. A PUBMED SEARCH OF THE LITERATURE REVEALED THAT ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL BREATHING HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN ATTENTION TASKS, BUT THE EFFECT ON TACTILE PERCEPTION HAS NOT BEEN STUDIED. HENCE, THE PRESENT STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB) COMPARED TO BREATH AWARENESS ON SHAPE AND SIZE DISCRIMINATION AND STATE ANXIETY. MATERIAL AND METHODS FIFTY HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS AGES 20-50 YEARS (GROUP MEAN +/-S.D., 28.4+/-8.2 YEARS) WERE RECRUITED. EACH PARTICIPANT WAS ASSESSED IN 3 SESSIONS CONDUCTED ON 3 SEPARATE DAYS AT THE SAME TIME OF DAY. THE 3 SESSIONS WERE (I) ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB), (II) BREATH AWARENESS (BAW), AND (III) QUIET SITTING (QS), AND THE SEQUENCE OF THE SESSIONS WAS RANDOMLY ALLOCATED. THE SHAPE AND SIZE DISCRIMINATION TASK AND STATE ANXIETY WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER ALL 3 SESSIONS. REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (RM-ANOVA) FOLLOWED BY POST HOC TESTS FOR MULTIPLE COMPARISONS, WHICH WERE BONFERRONI-ADJUSTED, WERE PERFORMED TO COMPARE DATA BEFORE AND AFTER ALL 3 SESSIONS USING SPSS VERSION 18.0. RESULTS THE ERRORS SCORES IN THE SHAPE AND SIZE DISCRIMINATION TASK SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION AFTER THE ANYB SESSION (P<0.001). A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION WAS FOUND IN THE LEVEL OF STATE ANXIETY AFTER BREATH AWARENESS (P<0.05) AND QUIET SITTING SESSIONS (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS THE PRESENT RESULTS SUGGEST THAT ANYB: (I) IMPROVES PERFORMANCE IN A TASK WHICH REQUIRES PERCEPTUAL SENSITIVITY AND FOCUSED ATTENTION, BUT (II) DOES NOT REDUCE STATE ANXIETY FOLLOWING THIS TASK. 2019 14 98 47 A NONRANDOMIZED NON-NAIVE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF KAPALABHATI AND BREATH AWARENESS ON EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS IN TRAINED YOGA PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVES: THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO COMPARE THE P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER (1) HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) AND (2) BREATH AWARENESS. DESIGN: THE P300 WAS RECORDED IN PARTICIPANTS OF TWO GROUPS BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION SESSION (1 MINUTE IN DURATION). SETTINGS AND LOCATION: ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE RECEIVING YOGA TRAINING IN A RESIDENTIAL YOGA CENTER, SWAMI VIVEKANADA YOGA RESEARCH FOUNDATION IN BANGALORE, INDIA. SUBJECTS: THIRTY (30) MALE PARTICIPANTS FORMED TWO GROUPS (N = 15 EACH) WITH COMPARABLE AGES (WITHIN AN AGE RANGE OF 20-35 YEARS) AND COMPARABLE EXPERIENCE OF THE TWO TECHNIQUES, THE MINIMUM EXPERIENCE BEING 3 MONTHS. INTERVENTIONS: THE TWO GROUPS WERE EACH GIVEN A SEPARATE INTERVENTION. ONE GROUP PRACTICED A HFYB AT A FREQUENCY OF APPROXIMATELY 2.0 HZ, CALLED KAPALABHATI. THE OTHER GROUP PRACTICED BREATH AWARENESS DURING WHICH PARTICIPANTS WERE AWARE OF THEIR BREATH WHILE SEATED, RELAXED. OUTCOME MEASURES: THE P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL, WHICH IS GENERATED WHEN ATTENDING TO AND DISCRIMINATING BETWEEN AUDITORY STIMULI, WAS RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER BOTH TECHNIQUES. RESULTS: THE P300 PEAK LATENCY DECREASED AFTER HFYB AND THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE INCREASED AFTER BREATH AWARENESS. CONCLUSIONS: BOTH PRACTICES (HFYB AND BREATH AWARENESS), THOUGH VERY DIFFERENT, INFLUENCED THE P300. HFYB REDUCED THE PEAK LATENCY, SUGGESTING A DECREASE IN TIME NEEDED FOR THIS TASK, WHICH REQUIRES SELECTIVE ATTENTION. BREATH AWARENESS INCREASED THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE, SUGGESTING AN INCREASE IN THE NEURAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR THE TASK. 2009 15 695 35 EFFECT OF FOUR VOLUNTARY REGULATED YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES ON GRIP STRENGTH. BILATERAL HAND-GRIP STRENGTH WAS STUDIED IN 21 MALE VOLUNTEERS (M AGE = 25.6 YR., SD = 5.2). ALL WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER FIVE PRACTICE SESSIONS OF 20 MIN. DURATION: RIGHT-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, LEFT-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, BREATH AWARENESS, AND A NO-INTERVENTION SESSION. DATA WERE ANALYZED WITH ANALYSES OF VARIANCE AND AN ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE USING THE NO-BREATH AWARENESS CONTROL CONDITION AS A COVARIATE. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES. THE LEFT-HAND-GRIP STRENGTH REDUCED AFTER LEFT-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING. HOWEVER, FINDINGS WERE NOT CONSIDERED SIGNIFICANT, SO METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES IN YOGA RESEARCH WHICH COULD CONTRIBUTE TO NULL FINDINGS AND EVEN MASK ACTUAL CHANGES WERE DISCUSSED. 2009 16 442 50 CEREBROVASCULAR DYNAMICS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA BREATHING AND BREATH AWARENESS. AIMS: BREATH FREQUENCY CAN ALTER CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW. THE STUDY AIMED TO DETERMINE BILATERAL MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERIAL HEMODYNAMICS IN HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) AND SLOW FREQUENCY ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB) USING TRANSCRANIAL DOPPLER SONOGRAPHY. METHODS: HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS WERE ASSESSED IN TWO SEPARATE TRIALS BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER HFYB (2.0 HZ FOR 1 MIN, N = 16) AND ANYB (12 BREATHS PER MINUTE FOR 5 MIN, N = 22). HFYB AND ANYB WERE SEPARATELY COMPARED TO BREATH AWARENESS (BAW) AND TO CONTROL SESSIONS. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: THE DATA WERE ANALYZED USING REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST HOC TESTS. RESULTS: DURING HFYB THERE WAS A DECREASE IN END-DIASTOLIC VELOCITY (EDV) AND MEAN FLOW VELOCITY (MFV) (P < 0.01 FOR LEFT AND P < 0.05 FOR RIGHT MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERIES; MCA) WITH AN INCREASE IN PULSATILITY INDEX (PI) FOR THE RIGHT MCA (P < 0.05). DURING ANYB, THERE WAS A BILATERAL DECREASE IN PEAK SYSTOLIC VELOCITY (P < 0.05 FOR LEFT AND P < 0.01 FOR RIGHT MCA), EDV (P < 0.01) AND MFV (P < 0.01 FOR LEFT AND P < 0.001 FOR RIGHT MCA) AND AN INCREASE IN PI (P < 0.01). DURING BAW OF THE TWO SESSIONS THERE WAS A DECREASE IN LATERALIZED FLOW AND END-DIASTOLIC VELOCITIES (P < 0.05) AND AN INCREASE IN PI (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: CHANGES IN PEAK FLOW VELOCITIES AND PULSATILITY INDICES DURING AND AFTER HFYB, ANYB, AND BAW SUGGEST DECREASED CEREBROVASCULAR BLOOD FLOW AND INCREASED FLOW RESISTANCE BASED ON DIFFERENT MECHANISMS. 2022 17 416 47 BODY TEMPERATURE AND ENERGY EXPENDITURE DURING AND AFTER YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES TRADITIONALLY DESCRIBED AS COOLING. BACKGROUND IN TRADITIONAL YOGA TEXTS, SHEETALI AND SITKARI PRANAYAMAS ARE DESCRIBED AS COOLING. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS AIMED AT RECORDING THE SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE, OXYGEN CONSUMED, AND CARBON DIOXIDE ELIMINATED BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER PERFORMANCE OF SHEETALI AND SITKARI PRANAYAMAS. MATERIAL AND METHODS SEVENTEEN HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS WITH AGES BETWEEN 19 TO 25 YEARS (AVERAGE AGE 20.7+/-1.8 YEARS) WERE ASSESSED IN 4 SESSIONS, VIZ. SHEETALI PRANAYAMA, SITKARI PRANAYAMA, BREATH AWARENESS AND QUIET LYING, ON 4 SEPARATE DAYS, IN RANDOM SEQUENCE. THE AXILLARY SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE (TRUSCOPE II, SCHILLER, CHINA) AND METABOLIC VARIABLES (QUARK CPET, COSMED, ITALY) WERE RECORDED IN 3 PERIODS: BEFORE (5 MINUTES), DURING (18 MINUTES), AND AFTER (5 MINUTES), IN EACH OF THE 4 SESSIONS. THE HEAT INDEX WAS CALCULATED IN THE BEFORE AND AFTER PERIODS, BASED ON RECORDINGS OF AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING SPSS (VERSION 24.0). RESULTS BODY TEMPERATURE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING SHEETALI AND SITKARI (P<0.05, P<0.01; RESPECTIVELY) WHILE IT DECREASED AFTER BREATH AWARENESS AND QUIET LYING DOWN (P<0.01, P<0.001; RESPECTIVELY) WHEN COMPARED WITH RESPECTIVE POST-EXERCISE STATES. OXYGEN CONSUMPTION INCREASED BY 9.0% DURING SHEETALI (P<0.05) AND BY 7.6% DURING SITKARI (P<0.01) WHILE IT DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING (P<0.05) AND AFTER (P<0.01) QUIET LYING DOWN COMPARED TO RESPECTIVE PRE-EXERCISE STATES. CONCLUSIONS THE RESULTS DO NOT SUPPORT THE DESCRIPTION OF THESE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES AS COOLING. THESE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES MAY BE USED TO INDUCE A MILD HYPERMETABOLIC STATE. 2020 18 830 38 EFFECT OF YOGA ON MENTAL HEALTH: COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN YOUNG AND SENIOR SUBJECTS IN JAPAN. BACKGROUND: JAPAN HAS A LARGE NUMBER OF SENIOR CITIZENS. YOGA CAN BE WISELY APPLIED IN OLD AGE CARE. THERE IS NO ANY AGE RESTRICTION TO PRACTICE YOGA. THE EFFECT MAY DIFFER BY AGE. THERE IS A NEED TO STUDY THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF YOGA WITH RESPECT TO AGE. AIM: THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED IN JAPAN TO FIND THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON MENTAL HEALTH BETWEEN YOUNG AND SENIOR PEOPLE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TWENTY-FIVE NORMAL HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS OF BOTH SEXES WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS ACCORDING TO AGE. FIFTEEN PARTICIPANTS OF THE AGE GROUP BETWEEN 65 TO 75 YEARS AND 10 PARTICIPANTS OF THE AGE GROUP BETWEEN 20 TO 30 YEARS WERE SELECTED. THIS STUDY WAS APPROVED BY THE ETHICAL COMMITTEE OF KAWASAKI UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL WELFARE. SELECTED INDIVIDUALS WERE SUBJECTED TO 90 MIN OF YOGA CLASSES ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK FOR A MONTH. SALIVARY AMYLASE ACTIVITY WAS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER YOGA PRACTICE. STATE TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY (STAI) WAS GIVEN BEFORE YOGA ON THE FIRST DAY AND AFTER ONE MONTH OF PRACTICE TO ASSESS THE CHANGE IN STATE ANXIETY AND TRAIT ANXIETY. RESULTS: SENIOR GROUP - SALIVARY AMYLASE ACTIVITY DECREASED FROM 111.2+/-42.7 TO 83.48+/-39.5 KU/L [AVERAGE+/-STANDARD DEVIATION]. YOUNGER GROUP - SALIVARY AMYLASE ACTIVITY REDUCED FROM 60.74+/-31.8 TO 42.39+/-24 KU/L. SENIOR GROUP - STATE ANXIETY SCORE DECREASED FROM 41.13 +/-8.43 TO 30.8+/-6.49, TRAIT ANXIETY SCORE REDUCED FROM 45.66+/-7.5 TO 40.73+/-8.3. YOUNGER GROUP - STATE ANXIETY SCORE REDUCED FROM 38.7+/-4.8 TO 30.8+/-4.1,TRAIT ANXIETY SCORE REDUCED FROM 46.2+/-7.9 TO 42.9+/-9.1. CHANGES WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT WITH P<0.05. CONCLUSION: DECREASE IN SALIVARY AMYLASE ACTIVITY MAY BE DUE TO REDUCTION IN SYMPATHETIC RESPONSE. REDUCTION IN STATE AND TRAIT ANXIETY SCORE SIGNIFIES THAT YOGA HAS BOTH IMMEDIATE AS WELL AS LONG-TERM EFFECT ON ANXIETY REDUCTION. THUS YOGA HELPS TO IMPROVE THE MENTAL HEALTH IN BOTH THE GROUPS. 2011 19 1762 37 POST TRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN BIHAR FLOOD SURVIVORS FOLLOWING YOGA: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. BACKGROUND: AN EARLIER STUDY SHOWED THAT A WEEK OF YOGA PRACTICE WAS USEFUL IN STRESS MANAGEMENT AFTER A NATURAL CALAMITY. DUE TO HEAVY RAIN AND A RIFT ON THE BANKS OF THE KOSI RIVER, IN THE STATE OF BIHAR IN NORTH INDIA, THERE WERE FLOODS WITH LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY. A WEEK OF YOGA PRACTICE WAS GIVEN TO THE SURVIVORS A MONTH AFTER THE EVENT AND THE EFFECT WAS ASSESSED. METHODS: TWENTY-TWO VOLUNTEERS (GROUP AVERAGE AGE +/- S.D, 31.5 +/- 7.5 YEARS; ALL OF THEM WERE MALES) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO TWO GROUPS, YOGA AND A NON-YOGA WAIT-LIST CONTROL GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED YOGA FOR AN HOUR DAILY WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP CONTINUED WITH THEIR ROUTINE ACTIVITIES. BOTH GROUPS' HEART RATE VARIABILITY, BREATH RATE, AND FOUR SYMPTOMS OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS USING VISUAL ANALOG SCALES, WERE ASSESSED ON THE FIRST AND EIGHTH DAY OF THE PROGRAM. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN SADNESS IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.05, PAIRED T-TEST, POST DATA COMPARED TO PRE) AND AN INCREASE IN ANXIETY IN THE CONTROL GROUP (P < 0.05, PAIRED T-TEST, POST DATA COMPARED TO PRE). CONCLUSIONS: A WEEK OF YOGA CAN REDUCE FEELINGS OF SADNESS AND POSSIBLY PREVENT AN INCREASE IN ANXIETY IN FLOOD SURVIVORS A MONTH AFTER THE CALAMITY. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY OF INDIA: CTRI/2009/091/000285. 2010 20 277 32 ADDITIONAL PRACTICE OF YOGA BREATHING WITH INTERMITTENT BREATH HOLDING ENHANCES PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: THE PRACTICE OF YOGA IS ASSOCIATED WITH ENHANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING. THE CURRENT STUDY ASSESSED THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE DURATION OF YOGA PRACTICE WITH STATE MINDFULNESS, MIND-WANDERING AND STATE ANXIETY. ALSO, WE EXAMINED IF AN ADDITIONAL 20 MIN OF YOGA BREATHING WITH INTERMITTENT BREATH HOLDING (EXPERIMENTAL GROUP) FOR 8 WEEKS WOULD AFFECT THESE PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES MORE THAN REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE (CONTROL GROUP) ALONE. METHODS: ONE HUNDRED SIXTEEN SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EXPERIMENTAL (N = 60) AND CONTROL (N = 56) GROUPS. STATE MINDFULNESS ATTENTION AWARENESS SCALE (SMAAS), MIND-WANDERING QUESTIONNAIRE (MWQ) AND STATE ANXIETY INVENTORY WERE ADMINISTERED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF 8 WEEKS. RESULTS: BASELINE ASSESSMENT REVEALED A POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN DURATION OF YOGA PRACTICE WITH SMAAS SCORES AND NEGATIVE CORRELATION WITH MWQ AND STATE ANXIETY SCORES. AT THE END OF 8 WEEKS, BOTH GROUPS DEMONSTRATED ENHANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS, BUT THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP RECEIVING ADDITIONAL YOGA BREATHING PERFORMED BETTER THAN THE GROUP PRACTICING YOGA ALONE. CONCLUSION: AN ADDITIONAL PRACTICE OF YOGA BREATHING WITH INTERMITTENT BREATH HOLDING WAS FOUND TO ENHANCE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS IN YOUNG ADULT YOGA PRACTITIONERS. 2018