1 303 137 AN EMPIRICAL COMPARISON OF MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF BRAIN SIGNALS TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF COMBINED YOGA AND SUDARSHAN KRIYA. TODAY'S FAST PACED LIFE REPORTS SO MUCH STRESS AMONG PEOPLE THAT IT MAY LEAD TO VARIOUS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL ILLNESSES. YOGA AND MEDITATION ARE THE BEST STRATEGIES TO REDUCE THE EFFECT OF STRESS ON PHYSICAL AND MENTAL LEVEL WITHOUT ANY SIDE-EFFECTS. IN THIS STUDY, COMBINED YOGA AND SUDARSHAN KRIYA (SK) HAS BEEN USED AS AN ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF STRESS. THE AIM OF THE STUDY IS TO FIND A METHOD TO CLASSIFY THE MEDITATOR AND NON-MEDITATOR STATES WITH THE BEST ACCURACY. THE 50 SUBJECTS HAVE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN THIS STUDY AND DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS, I.E. STUDY AND CONTROL GROUP. THE SUBJECTS WITH REGULAR PRACTICE OF YOGA AND SK ARE KNOWN AS MEDITATORS AND THE ONES WITHOUT ANY PRACTICE OF YOGA AND MEDITATION WERE KNOWN AS NON-MEDITATORS. ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG) SIGNALS WERE ACQUIRED FROM THESE BOTH GROUPS BEFORE AND AFTER 3 MONTHS. THE STATISTICAL PARAMETERS WERE COMPUTED FROM THESE ACQUIRED EEG SIGNALS USING DISCRETE WAVELET TRANSFORM (DWT). THESE EXTRACTED STATISTICAL PARAMETERS WERE GIVEN AS INPUT TO THE CLASSIFIERS. THE DECISION TREE, DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS, LOGISTIC REGRESSION, SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE (SVM), WEIGHTED K- NEAREST NEIGHBOUR (KNN) AND ENSEMBLE CLASSIFIERS WERE USED FOR CLASSIFICATION OF MEDITATOR AND NON- MEDITATOR STATES FROM THE ACQUIRED EEG SIGNALS. THE RESULTS HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT THE SVM METHOD GIVES THE HIGHEST CLASSIFICATION ACCURACY AS COMPARED TO OTHER CLASSIFIERS. THE PROPOSED METHOD CAN BE USED AS A DIAGNOSIS SYSTEM IN CLINICAL PRACTICES. 2022 2 656 68 EEG SIGNAL BASED CLASSIFICATION BEFORE AND AFTER COMBINED YOGA AND SUDARSHAN KRIYA. NOWADAYS, THE STYLE OF LIVING IS RESTLESS AND BUSY WHICH HAS RESULTED IN INCREASED STRESS AMONG MANY PEOPLE. STRESS CAUSES VARIOUS MENTAL AND HEALTH ILLNESS SUCH AS DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, MOOD DISORDERS, AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR. YOGA AND SUDARSHAN KRIYA (SK) MEDITATION ARE HEALTHY WAYS TO ERADICATE STRESS FROM PEOPLE'S LIVES. BASED ON THE PREVIOUS STUDY, IT HAS BEEN ANALYZED THAT SK PRACTICE HELPS TO ENHANCE RELAXATION, MANAGEMENT OF EMOTION, ALERTNESS, FOCUS, AND ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECT. IN THIS PAPER, THE COMBINED IMPACT OF YOGA AND SK MEDITATION HAS BEEN ANALYZED ON BRAIN SIGNALS BY USING STATISTICAL PARAMETERS. TO THE BEST OF THE AUTHORS' KNOWLEDGE, NO SUCH STUDY HAS BEEN CONDUCTED IN THE PAST. IN THIS STUDY, THE PRE AND POST ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG) SIGNALS WERE CAPTURED FROM THE CONTROL AND STUDY GROUP BEFORE AND AFTER THREE MONTHS REGULAR PRACTICE OF COMBINED YOGA AND SK. DISCRETE WAVELET TRANSFORM (DWT) HAS BEEN USED TO DECOMPOSE THE SIGNAL INTO 6 SUB-BANDS (0-4, 4-8, 8-16, 16-32, 32-64, 64-128) HERTZ (HZ) BY USING DB4 WAVELET FOR ANALYSIS, STATISTICAL FEATURES SUCH AS VARIANCE, STANDARD DEVIATION, KURTOSIS, ZERO CROSSING, MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM HAVE BEEN CALCULATED FROM EACH SUB-BAND. THE OBTAINED PARAMETERS HAVE BEEN VALIDATED BY USING KRUSKAL-WALLIS STATISTICAL TEST. FURTHER, ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK (ANN) HAS BEEN APPLIED ON AFOREMENTIONED STATISTICAL PARAMETERS TO CLASSIFY SUBJECTS AS MEDITATORS AND NON-MEDITATORS. THE EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE PROPOSED METHOD ACHIEVED 87.2% ACCURACY FOR CLASSIFICATION AND COULD BE FURTHER EXTENDED TO CONSTRUCT AN ACCURATE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR DETECTION OF MEDITATORS AND NON-MEDITATORS. THIS STUDY FORMS A SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION TO ENCOURAGE THE USE OF MEDITATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICES. 2019 3 1051 34 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON BRAIN WAVES AND STRUCTURAL ACTIVATION: A REVIEW. PREVIOUS RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THE VAST MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA. YOGA PRACTICE CAN BE DIVIDED INTO SUBCATEGORIES THAT INCLUDE POSTURE-HOLDING EXERCISE (ASANA), BREATHING (PRANAYAMA, KRIYA), AND MEDITATION (SAHAJ) PRACTICE. STUDIES MEASURING MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES HAVE SHOWN DECREASES IN ANXIETY, AND INCREASES IN COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AFTER YOGA INTERVENTIONS. SIMILAR STUDIES HAVE ALSO SHOWN COGNITIVE ADVANTAGES AMONGST YOGA PRACTITIONERS VERSUS NON-PRACTITIONERS. THE MENTAL HEALTH AND COGNITIVE BENEFITS OF YOGA ARE EVIDENT, BUT THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE BRAIN THAT LEAD TO THIS REMAIN A TOPIC THAT LACKS CONSENSUS. THEREFORE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE AND REVIEW EXISTING LITERATURE ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON BRAIN WAVES AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES AND ACTIVATION. AFTER A NARROWED SEARCH THROUGH A SET OF SPECIFIC INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA, 15 ARTICLES WERE USED IN THIS REVIEW. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT BREATHING, MEDITATION, AND POSTURE-BASED YOGA INCREASED OVERALL BRAIN WAVE ACTIVITY. INCREASES IN GRAYGRAY MATTER ALONG WITH INCREASES IN AMYGDALA AND FRONTAL CORTEX ACTIVATION WERE EVIDENT AFTER A YOGA INTERVENTION. YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR A CLINICAL AND HEALTHY AGING POPULATION. FURTHER RESEARCH CAN EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC BRANCHES OF YOGA ON A DESIGNATED CLINICAL POPULATION. 2015 4 2369 35 WHAT ARE THE KNOWN EFFECTS OF YOGA ON THE BRAIN IN RELATION TO MOTOR PERFORMANCES, BODY AWARENESS AND PAIN? A NARRATIVE REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: THE CURRENT BODY OF LITERATURE WAS REVIEWED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON THE BRAIN IN RELATION TO MOTOR PERFORMANCE, BODY AWARENESS AND PAIN. BACKGROUND: YOGA HAS BEEN INCREASINGLY POPULAR IN THE WESTERN COUNTRIES ESPECIALLY FOR ITS UNIQUE INTEGRATION OF THE MIND AND BODY. YOGA HAS BEEN STUDIED MORE INTENSELY IN THE LAST DECADE. ALTHOUGH IT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, FEW STUDIES HAVE LOOKED INTO THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON IMPROVING MOTOR PERFORMANCE, BODY AWARENESS OR PAIN AND THE POSSIBLE UNDERLYING BRAIN MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM. METHODS: A SEARCH OF THE CURRENT LITERATURE WAS MADE USING KEYWORDS SUCH AS: "YOGA BRAIN MOTOR", "YOGA BRAIN PAIN", "EFFECTS YOGA BRAIN" AND "EFFECTS YOGA BRAIN MOTOR PERFORMANCE". THE FINDINGS WERE THEN DISCUSSED IN RELATION TO MOTOR PERFORMANCE, BODY AWARENESS AND PAIN AND THEIR REPORTED MECHANISMS OF ACTION ON THE BRAIN. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 61 ARTICLES WERE SELECTED, OUT OF WHICH 29 WERE EXCLUDED BECAUSE THEY DID NOT MEET OUR CRITERIA. A TOTAL OF THIRTY-TWO ARTICLES WERE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW, WHICH WE FURTHER SUBDIVIDED BY FOCUS: MOTOR PERFORMANCE (N=10), BODY AWARENESS (N=14) AND PAIN (N=8). DISCUSSION: OUR REVIEW SHOWS THAT YOGA HAS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON LEARNING RATE, SPEED AND ACCURACY OF A MOTOR TASK BY INCREASING ATTENTION AND DECREASING STRESS THROUGH A BETTER CONTROL OF SENSORIMOTOR RHYTHMS. YOGA ALSO SEEMS TO IMPROVE SENSORY AWARENESS AND INTEROCEPTION, REGULATE AUTONOMIC INPUT, INCREASE PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND PROMOTE SELF-REGULATION. YOGA WAS ALSO SHOWN TO REDUCE THE THREAT SIGNAL, INCREASE PAIN TOLERANCE, DECREASE PAIN UNPLEASANTNESS AND DECREASE THE ANXIETY AND DISTRESS ASSOCIATED WITH PAIN. THOSE CHANGES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECRUITMENT OF SPECIFIC BRAIN AREAS SUCH AS THE INSULA, THE AMYGDALA AND THE HIPPOCAMPUS. CONCLUSION: BASED ON THE STUDIES REVIEWED IN THIS REPORT, WE FOUND THAT THE PRACTICE OF YOGA SEEMS TO FACILITATE MOTOR LEARNING, TO INCREASE BODY AWARENESS AND TO DECREASE PAIN. THESE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF CHANGES IN TERMS OF BRAIN ACTIVITY AND STRUCTURE. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NECESSARY TO REVEAL ITS PRECISE MECHANISM OF ACTION ON THE BRAIN AND TO VALIDATE ITS WIDER APPLICATION IN CLINICAL SETTINGS. 2019 5 1411 32 IMPACT OF YOGA WAY OF LIFE ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE. BACKGROUND: ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO A NUMBER OF FACTORS. HOWEVER, THERE ARE CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS, THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF WHICH CAN DETERMINE THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF THE ORGANIZATION. THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH ORGANIZATIONS TRY TO IMPROVE THEIR PERFORMANCE BY WORKING ON SUCH FACTORS. IN THE RESEARCH PRESENTED IN THIS ARTICLE, AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO FIND OUT WHETHER ADOPTION OF THE YOGA WAY OF LIFE BY MANAGERS CAN HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON SUCH ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS. AIMS: TO MEASURE EFFECT OF YOGA WAY OF LIFE ON FIVE DIFFERENT INDICATORS THROUGH AN EMPIRICAL STUDY. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE FIVE INDICATORS ARE JOB SATISFACTION, JOB INVOLVEMENT, GOAL ORIENTATION, AFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR. STATISTICS ANALYSIS: PRE- AND POST-DATA WAS MEASURED USING SELF-REPORTED QUESTIONNAIRE. INDEPENDENT T-TEST (PAIRED) AND PEARSON'S CORRELATION TEST WERE CONDUCTED USING SPSS. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY SHOW THAT YOGA HAS A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE IMPACT ON FOUR OUT OF FIVE OF THESE INDICATORS. ONLY JOB INVOLVEMENT DOES NOT SHOW SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT. THE CONSTRUCT USED FOR MEASURING JOB INVOLVEMENT HAD A CHRONBACH ALPHA OF 0.613, WHICH IS AN INDICATOR OF MODERATE RELIABILITY, WHICH COULD BE THE MAIN REASON FOR NOT GETTING POSITIVE RESULT. 2010 6 427 36 CAN YOGA BOOST ACCESS TO THE BODILY AND EMOTIONAL SELF? CHANGES IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND IN AFFECTIVE EVALUATION BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER A SINGLE SESSION OF YOGA EXERCISE WITH AND WITHOUT INSTRUCTIONS OF CONTROLLED BREATHING AND MINDFUL BODY AWARENESS IN YOUNG HEALTHY WOMEN. EXERCISE IS INDISPENSABLE FOR A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. YOGA EXERCISE CAN HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON WELL-BEING AND ON CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY MAKING IT AN IDEAL INTERVENTION FOR IMPROVING MIND-BODY INTERACTIONS AND RESILIENCE TO PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STRESSORS. EMOTIONS TRIGGER ESPECIALLY STRONG BODILY AND AFFECTIVE-COGNITIVE RESPONSES BECAUSE OF THEIR SOCIAL RELEVANCE FOR THE SELF AND THEIR BIOLOGICAL RELEVANCE OF MOBILIZING THE ORGANISM FOR ACTION. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES WHETHER CHANGES IN EMOTION PROCESSING RELATED TO SELF-OTHER REFERENTIAL PROCESSING AND CHANGES IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY, REFLECTED BY HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV), OCCUR IMMEDIATELY AFTER ALREADY A SINGLE SESSION OF YOGA EXERCISE WHEN YOGA POSTURES ARE PRACTICED WITH OR WITHOUT BREATHING- AND MINDFUL BODY AWARENESS INSTRUCTIONS. WOMEN, ALL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS (N = 34, FINAL SAMPLE: N = 30, N = 25 NAIVE TO YOGA PRACTICE) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO TWO EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS WHO PERFORMED THE SAME YOGA EXERCISES WITH OR WITHOUT CONTROLLED BREATHING AND MINDFULNESS INSTRUCTIONS. EMOTIONAL, SELF-OTHER REFERENTIAL PROCESSING, AWARENESS OF BODILY SIGNALS AND HRV INDICATORS WERE INVESTIGATED BEFORE AND AFTER THE EXERCISE USING STANDARDIZED EXPERIMENTAL TASKS, STANDARDIZED QUESTIONNAIRES, AND MOBILE RECORDING DEVICES. EXERCISING FOR 30 MINUTES CHANGED CARDIAC ACTIVITY SIGNIFICANTLY. HRV MEASURES SHOWED ADAPTABILITY OF CARDIAC ACTIVITY DURING THE EXERCISE AS WELL AS DURING THE AFFECTIVE TASK POST- TO PRE-EXERCISE. EXERCISING WITH BREATHING INSTRUCTIONS AND MINDFUL BODY AWARENESS HAD NO SUPERIOR EFFECTS ON CARDIAC, PARTICULARLY PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY, COMPARED TO PRACTICING THE SAME MOVEMENTS WITHOUT SUCH EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS. SELF-REFERENTIAL PROCESSING DID NOT CHANGE; HOWEVER, PARTICIPANTS WERE FASTER AND MORE ACCURATE IN THEIR AFFECTIVE JUDGMENTS OF EMOTIONAL STIMULI [REGARDLESS OF THEIR REFERENCE (SELF/OTHER)], AND SHOWED BETTER AWARENESS OF BODILY SIGNALS AFTER COMPARED TO BEFORE THE EXERCISE SESSION. THE RESULTS SUPPORT IMMEDIATE, ADAPTIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA EXERCISE ON CARDIAC AND AFFECTIVE-COGNITIVE PROCESSING IN AN ALL-FEMALE HEALTHY SAMPLE. THEREFORE, YOGA EXERCISE COULD BE RECOMMENDED AS A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR BOOSTING CARDIAC AND EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE IN THIS TARGET GROUP. 2021 7 760 38 EFFECT OF SUDARSANKRIYA YOGA PRACTICES ON P300 AMPLITUDE AND LATENCY. THE COGNITIVE ABILITY WHICH WAS PERCEIVED AS A CONSTANT TRAIT, IS NOW UNDERSTOOD TO BE UPGRADED BY ADAPTIVE AND EXTENDED TRAINING. YOGA PRACTICES ARE KNOWN TO SHARPEN THE INTELLECT AND ENHANCE CONCENTRATION. IN THE INITIAL PERIOD OF PRACTICING YOGA AS AN ALTERNATIVE/SUPPORTING TOOL TO MEDICAL LINE OF TREATMENT, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO INVESTIGATE EFFECT OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE ABILITY USING OBJECTIVE METHOD, IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH EVIDENCES. HENCE, AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXPLORE THE EFFECT OF REGULAR PRACTICE OF SUDARSANKRIYA YOGA ON AUDITORY EVENT RELATED POTENTIAL (P300) BY RECORDING AND COMPARING PEAK LATENCY AND AMPLITUDE. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUPS WITH GROUP I AND GROUP II PARTICIPANTS PRACTICING SUDARSANKRIYA YOGA FOR MORE THAN 36 MONTHS AND LESS THAN 36 MONTHS RESPECTIVELY. GROUP III WERE NON-PRACTITIONERS WITH NO PRIOR PRACTICE OF ANY FORM OF YOGA. TWENTY PARTICIPANTS IN EACH GROUP WITH A TOTAL OF 60 PARTICIPANTS BETWEEN 40 TO 65 YEARS OF AGE WERE RECRUITED FOR THE STUDY. RESULTS REVEALED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE FOR MEAN LATENCY AND AMPLITUDE BETWEEN THREE GROUPS. FINDINGS OF THE CURRENT STUDY SUGGEST THAT SUDARSANKRIYA YOGA PRACTICES SLOWS DOWN THE PROCESS OF AGING EFFECT OR MAINTAINS ON COGNITIVE ABILITY IN ADULTS. 2021 8 654 49 EEG BASED INTERPRETATION OF HUMAN BRAIN ACTIVITY DURING YOGA AND MEDITATION USING MACHINE LEARNING: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVES: THE PRESENT INVESTIGATION IS TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF YOGA AND MEDITATION ON BRAIN WAVES CONCERNING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH. THERE ARE MAINLY THREE STAGES (STEPS) IN THE BRAIN WAVE CLASSIFICATION:(I) PREPROCESSING, II) FEATURE EXTRACTION, AND III) CLASSIFICATION. THIS WORK PROVIDES A REVIEW OF INTERPRETATION METHODS OF BRAIN SIGNALS (ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG)) EEG DURING YOGA AND MEDITATION. PAST RESEARCH HAS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ADVANTAGES WITH YOGA AND MEDITATION. METHODS: THE RESEARCH TOPIC REVIEWED FOCUSED ON THE MACHINE LEARNING STRATEGIES APPLIED FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF BRAIN WAVES. IN ADDRESSING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS HIGHLIGHTED EARLIER IN THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION, WE CONDUCTED A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH OF ARTICLES FROM TARGETED SCIENTIFIC AND JOURNAL ONLINE DATABASES THAT INCLUDED PUBMED, WEB OF SCIENCE, IEEE XPLORE DIGITAL LIBRARY (IEEE), AND ARXIV DATABASES BASED ON THEIR RELEVANCE TO THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND DOMAIN TOPIC. THE SURVEY TOPIC IS RELATIVELY NASCENT, AND THEREFORE, THE SCOPE OF THE SEARCH PERIOD WAS LIMITED TO THE 20-YEAR TIMELINE THAT WAS DEEMED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RESEARCH TOPIC UNDER INVESTIGATION. THE LITERATURE SEARCH WAS BASED ON THE KEYWORDS "EEG", "YOGA*" AND "MEDITATION*". THE KEY PHRASES WERE CONCATENATED USING BOOLEAN EXPRESSIONS AND APPLIED TO SEARCH THROUGH THE SELECTED ONLINE DATABASES YIELDING A TOTAL OF 120 ARTICLES. THE ONLINE DATABASES WERE SELECTED BASED ON THE RELEVANCY OF CONTENT WITH THE RESEARCH TITLE, RESEARCH QUESTIONS, AND THE DOMAIN APPLICATION. THE LITERATURE REVIEW SEARCH, PROCESS, AND CLASSIFICATION WERE CAREFULLY CONDUCTED GUIDED BY TWO DEFINED MEASURES; 1.) INCLUSION CRITERIA; AND 2.) EXCLUSION CRITERIA. THESE MEASURES DEFINE THE CRITERIA FOR SEARCHING AND EXTRACTING RELEVANT ARTICLES RELATING TO THE RESEARCH TITLE AND DOMAIN OF INTEREST. RESULTS: OUR LITERATURE SEARCH AND REVIEW INDICATE A BROAD SPECTRUM OF NEURAL MECHANICS UNDER A VARIETY OF MEDITATION STYLES HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED. A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS MENTAL STATES USING ZEN, CHAN, MINDFULNESS, TM, RAJAYOGA, KUNDALINI, YOGA, AND OTHER MEDITATION STYLES HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED BY MEANS OF EEG BANDS. CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL STATES USING KNN, SVM, RANDOM FOREST, FUZZY LOGIC, NEURAL NETWORKS, CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS HAS BEEN DESCRIBED. SUPERIOR RESEARCH IS STILL REQUIRED TO CLASSIFY THE EEG SIGNATURES CORRESPONDING TO DIFFERENT MENTAL STATES. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR A CLINICAL AND AGING POPULATION. ADVANCED RESEARCH CAN EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC BRANCHES OF YOGA ON A DESIGNATED CLINICAL GROUPING. YOGA AND MEDITATION INCREASED OVERALL HEALTHY BRAIN ACTIVITY. 2021 9 406 41 BIOLOGICAL MARKERS FOR THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AS A COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE. FROM THE LAST FEW DECADES, THERE ARE INCREASING INCIDENCES OF DISORDERS LIKE PREMATURE AGING, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, FIBROMYALGIA, AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IN ADDITION TO MEDICATION, RESEARCHERS HAVE FOUND THAT YOGA, A MIND-BODY THERAPY, CAN BE USED AS AN ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE. YOGA COMBINES SPECIFIC PHYSICAL POSTURES, BREATHING TECHNIQUES, RELAXATION AND MEDITATION THAT IMPROVE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH OF THE BODY. THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW IS TO COLLATE THE RESEARCH EVIDENCES CLAIMING HEALTH BENEFITS OF PERFORMING TRADITIONAL YOGIC PRACTICES. WHAT ARE THE BIOLOGICAL AND OTHER RELIABLE INDICATORS TO SUGGEST THAT DOING ASANAS, PRANAYAMA, AND MEDITATION COULD REDUCE OR TREAT WIDE RANGE OF LIFE STYLE DISORDERS ARE DISCUSSED. IMPORTANTLY, THESE INDICATORS ARE OTHERWISE USED TO ASSESS THE SEVERITY OF DISORDERS. IN MANY OF THE STUDY IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT YOGA IMPROVES THE REDOX HEALTH OF BODY WHOSE IMBALANCE HAS BEEN WELL PROVEN TO CAUSE MANY HEALTH COMPLICATIONS. THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES HAVE REVEALED THAT IT REVERSES MEMORY LOSS, REDUCE ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND STRESS, THE BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS OF DISEASE. HOWEVER, MOST STUDIES HAVE SEVERAL LIMITATIONS AND THEREFORE FURTHER RESEARCH INTO YOGA IS NEEDED TO VALIDATE THESE FINDINGS. 2019 10 1587 24 MEDICAL YOGA THERAPY. MEDICAL YOGA IS DEFINED AS THE USE OF YOGA PRACTICES FOR THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF MEDICAL CONDITIONS. BEYOND THE PHYSICAL ELEMENTS OF YOGA, WHICH ARE IMPORTANT AND EFFECTIVE FOR STRENGTHENING THE BODY, MEDICAL YOGA ALSO INCORPORATES APPROPRIATE BREATHING TECHNIQUES, MINDFULNESS, AND MEDITATION IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE MAXIMUM BENEFITS. MULTIPLE STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT YOGA CAN POSITIVELY IMPACT THE BODY IN MANY WAYS, INCLUDING HELPING TO REGULATE BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS, IMPROVE MUSCULOSKELETAL AILMENTS AND KEEPING THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM IN TUNE. IT ALSO HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE IMPORTANT PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS, AS THE PRACTICE OF YOGA CAN HELP TO INCREASE MENTAL ENERGY AND POSITIVE FEELINGS, AND DECREASE NEGATIVE FEELINGS OF AGGRESSIVENESS, DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY. 2017 11 2429 27 YOGA AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE - A REVIEW AND COMPARISON. YOGA IS A MULTIFACETED SPIRITUAL TOOL WITH ENHANCED HEALTH AND WELL-BEING AS ONE OF ITS POSITIVE EFFECTS. THE COMPONENTS OF YOGA WHICH ARE VERY COMMONLY APPLIED FOR HEALTH BENEFITS ARE ASANAS (PHYSICAL POSTURES), PRANAYAMA (REGULATED BREATHING) AND MEDITATION. IN THE CONTEXT OF ASANAS, YOGA RESEMBLES MORE OF A PHYSICAL EXERCISE, WHICH MAY LEAD TO THE PERCEPTION THAT YOGA IS ANOTHER KIND OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE. THIS ARTICLE AIMS AT EXPLORING THE COMMONALITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOGA AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE IN TERMS OF CONCEPTS, POSSIBLE MECHANISMS AND EFFECTIVENESS FOR HEALTH BENEFITS. A NARRATIVE REVIEW IS UNDERTAKEN BASED ON TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE FOR YOGA, ALONG WITH SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES AVAILABLE ON YOGA AND EXERCISE INCLUDING HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARATIVE TRIALS WITH HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS AND PATIENTS WITH VARIOUS DISEASE CONDITIONS. PHYSICAL EXERCISES AND THE PHYSICAL COMPONENTS OF YOGA PRACTICES HAVE SEVERAL SIMILARITIES, BUT ALSO IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES. EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT YOGA INTERVENTIONS APPEAR TO BE EQUAL AND/OR SUPERIOR TO EXERCISE IN MOST OUTCOME MEASURES. EMPHASIS ON BREATH REGULATION, MINDFULNESS DURING PRACTICE, AND IMPORTANCE GIVEN TO MAINTENANCE OF POSTURES ARE SOME OF THE ELEMENTS WHICH DIFFERENTIATE YOGA PRACTICES FROM PHYSICAL EXERCISES. 2016 12 1951 21 SCIENCE OF THE MIND: ANCIENT YOGA TEXTS AND MODERN STUDIES. THE PRACTICE OF YOGA IS GAINING IN POPULARITY WITH A WIDE RANGE OF PRACTICES. RECENT RESEARCH AND DESCRIPTIONS FROM THE ANCIENT TEXTS ARE OFTEN CONCURRENT WITH REGARD TO THE EFFECTS OF THE PRACTICE, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT EXPECTED DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MODERN SCIENTIFIC TERMS AND THOSE USED IN THE ORIGINAL TEXTS. VOLUNTARILY REGULATED YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES FORM A BRIDGE BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND MENTAL CHANGES. THE VOLUNTARILY REGULATED YOGA BREATHING HAS DISTINCT EFFECTS ON METABOLISM, THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, HIGHER BRAIN FUNCTIONS, AND MENTAL STATE. THE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND MENTAL STATE ARE EVEN CLEARER. 2013 13 1590 21 MEDITATION AND YOGA CAN MODULATE BRAIN MECHANISMS THAT AFFECT BEHAVIOR AND ANXIETY-A MODERN SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE. MEDITATION AND YOGA TECHNIQUES ARE RECEIVING INCREASED ATTENTION THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, DUE TO THE ACCUMULATION OF EVIDENCE BASED RESEARCH THAT PROVES THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT BENEFITS OF SUCH PRACTICES. BASED ON STUDIES CONDUCTED SO FAR, IT HAS BEEN FOUND THAT THE PRACTICE OF MEDITATION TRIGGERS NEUROTRANSMITTERS THAT MODULATE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS SUCH AS ANXIETY. THIS PAPER WILL REVIEW THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THE PRACTICE OF MEDITATION, THE ROLE OF NEUROTRANSMITTERS, AND STUDIES USING EEG AND FMRI. 2015 14 2736 35 YOGA POSES INCREASE SUBJECTIVE ENERGY AND STATE SELF-ESTEEM IN COMPARISON TO 'POWER POSES'. RESEARCH ON BENEFICIAL CONSEQUENCES OF YOGA FOCUSES ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGIC BREATHING AND MEDITATION. LESS IS KNOWN ABOUT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF PERFORMING YOGA POSTURES. THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA POSES ON SUBJECTIVE SENSE OF ENERGY AND SELF-ESTEEM. THE EFFECTS OF YOGA POSTURES WERE COMPARED TO THE EFFECTS OF 'POWER POSES,' WHICH ARGUABLY INCREASE THE SENSE OF POWER AND SELF-CONFIDENCE DUE TO THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH INTERPERSONAL DOMINANCE (CARNEY ET AL., 2010). THE STUDY TESTED THE NOVEL PREDICTION THAT YOGA POSES, WHICH ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH INTERPERSONAL DOMINANCE BUT INCREASE BODILY ENERGY, WOULD INCREASE THE SUBJECTIVE FEELING OF ENERGY AND THEREFORE INCREASE SELF-ESTEEM COMPARED TO 'HIGH POWER' AND 'LOW POWER' POSES. A TWO FACTORIAL, BETWEEN PARTICIPANTS DESIGN WAS EMPLOYED. PARTICIPANTS PERFORMED EITHER TWO STANDING YOGA POSES WITH OPEN FRONT OF THE BODY (N = 19), TWO STANDING YOGA POSES WITH COVERED FRONT OF THE BODY (N = 22), TWO EXPANSIVE, HIGH POWER POSES (N = 21), OR TWO CONSTRICTIVE, LOW POWER POSES (N = 20) FOR 1-MIN EACH. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT YOGA POSES IN COMPARISON TO 'POWER POSES' INCREASED SELF-ESTEEM. THIS EFFECT WAS MEDIATED BY AN INCREASED SUBJECTIVE SENSE OF ENERGY AND WAS OBSERVED WHEN BASELINE TRAIT SELF-ESTEEM WAS CONTROLLED FOR. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE EFFECTS OF PERFORMING OPEN, EXPANSIVE BODY POSTURES MAY BE DRIVEN BY PROCESSES OTHER THAN THE POSES' ASSOCIATION WITH INTERPERSONAL POWER AND DOMINANCE. THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATES THAT POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE CAN OCCUR AFTER PERFORMING YOGA POSES FOR ONLY 2 MIN. 2017 15 1424 30 IMPROVEMENT IN PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AFTER 6 MONTHS OF YOGA PRACTICE. YOGA IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON COGNITION, ATTENUATION OF EMOTIONAL INTENSITY AND STRESS REDUCTION. PREVIOUS STUDIES WERE MAINLY PERFORMED ON EASTERN EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS OR UNHEALTHY SUBJECTS UNDERGOING CONCOMITANT CONVENTIONAL THERAPIES. FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS NEEDED ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PER SE, AS WELL AS ITS POSSIBLE PREVENTIVE BENEFITS ON HEALTHY SUBJECTS. WE INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON MEMORY AND PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS RELATED TO STRESS, COMPARING YOGA PRACTICE AND CONVENTIONAL PHYSICAL EXERCISES IN HEALTHY MEN (PREVIOUSLY YOGA-NAIVE). MEMORY TESTS, SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS AND STRESS, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION INVENTORIES WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER 6 MONTHS OF PRACTICE. YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWED IMPROVEMENT OF THE MEMORY PERFORMANCE, AS WELL AS IMPROVEMENTS IN PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS. THE PRESENT RESULTS SUGGEST THAT REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE CAN IMPROVE ASPECTS OF COGNITION AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. AN INDIRECT INFLUENCE OF EMOTIONAL STATE ON COGNITIVE IMPROVEMENT PROMOTED BY YOGA PRACTICE CAN BE PROPOSED. 2012 16 1083 41 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS AMONG HEALTHY ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. BACKGROUND: YOGA WAS RECOMMENDED IN BOTH CLINICAL AND NONCLINICAL POPULATIONS AS THERAPY METHODS. THE DIVERSITY OF YOGA PRACTICE AS A THERAPY METHOD HAS RARELY BEEN DISCUSSED AND IT IS ESSENTIAL TO ADDRESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS. PRIMARY STUDY OBJECTIVE: THIS ARTICLE AIMS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF YOGA ON STRESS IN HEALTHY POPULATION. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE AUTHORS INTENDED TO FIGURE OUT YOGA EFFECTS ON STRESS SYSTEMATICALLY. METHODS/DESIGN: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED TO IDENTIFY ARTICLES THAT ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND YOGA-RELATED INTERVENTIONS ON STRESS REDUCTION IN NONCLINICAL POPULATIONS. STUDIES WERE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE LENGTH OF THE INTERVENTION, YOGA TYPE, AND MEASURES OF OUTCOME. THE STUDIES WERE SELECTED THROUGHOUT LAST 5 YEARS (JANUARY 2014 TO NOVEMBER 2018) BY USING THE KEY SEARCHING TERM YOGA AND STRESS INCORPORATION WITH TENSION AND PRESSURE. THE SELECTION PROCESS FOLLOWED THE PRISMA FLOW DIAGRAM. RESULTS: TOTALLY, 12 ARTICLES ELABORATING ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA OR YOGA-RELATED INTERVENTIONS ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AND REMISSION WERE INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW. THIS REVIEW INCLUDED VARIOUS TYPES OF YOGA PRACTICE (E.G., HATHA YOGA, BIKRAM YOGA, KUNDALINI YOGA, SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA, KRIPALU YOGA, YIN YOGA). A TIME SPECTRUM WAS CONDUCTED FROM 4 WKS TO 28 WKS. THIS REVIEW REVEALED THAT MOST TYPES OF YOGA HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON STRESS REDUCTION IN HEATHY POPULATIONS. CONCLUSION: FURTHER STUDIES ARE RECOMMENDED TO EXAMINE THE LONG-TERM EFFECT OF YOGA AND UNDERLYING PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS CAUSING STRESS AND MENTAL RESTRAIN. IN ADDITION, IT IS SUGGESTED TO CONSIDER AGE AS A RISK FACTOR AFFECTING THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON STRESS. 2020 17 1918 28 ROLE OF YOGA AND MEDITATION AS COMPLIMENTARY THERAPEUTIC REGIME FOR STRESS-RELATED NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS: UTILIZATION OF BRAIN WAVES ACTIVITY AS NOVEL TOOL. DURING RECENT DECADES, STRESS-RELATED NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS SUCH AS ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, CHRONIC TENSION HEADACHE, AND MIGRAINE HAVE ESTABLISHED THEIR STRONGHOLD IN THE LIVES OF A VAST NUMBER OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE. IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THIS GLOBAL PHENOMENON, INTENSIVE STUDIES HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT LEADING TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF DRUGS LIKE ANTI-DEPRESSANTS, ANXIOLYTICS, AND ANALGESICS WHICH ALTHOUGH HELP IN COMBATING THE SYMPTOMS OF SUCH DISORDERS BUT ALSO CREATE LONG-TERM SIDE EFFECTS. THUS, AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO SUCH CLINICAL PRACTICES, VARIOUS COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES SUCH AS YOGA AND MEDITATION HAVE BEEN PROVED TO BE EFFECTIVE IN ALLEVIATING THE CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS OF DIFFERENT NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. THE ROLE OF ALTERED BRAIN WAVES IN THIS CONTEXT HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AND NEEDS TO BE PURSUED AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. THUS, THE CURRENT STUDY PROVIDES A REVIEW FOCUSED ON DESCRIBING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND MEDITATION ON ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AS WELL AS EXPLORING BRAIN WAVES AS A TOOL FOR ASSESSING THE POTENTIAL OF THESE COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES FOR SUCH DISORDERS. 2020 18 1972 32 SHORT-TERM SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION TRAINING MODULATES BRAIN STRUCTURE AND SPONTANEOUS ACTIVITY IN THE EXECUTIVE CONTROL NETWORK. INTRODUCTION: WHILE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN NEURAL CHANGES IN LONG-TERM MEDITATORS, THEY MIGHT BE CONFOUNDED BY SELF-SELECTION AND POTENTIAL BASELINE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEDITATORS AND NON MEDITATORS. PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDIES OF THE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION IN NAIVE SUBJECTS ARE MORE CONCLUSIVE WITH RESPECT TO CAUSAL INFERENCES, BUT RELATED EVIDENCE IS SO FAR LIMITED. METHODS: HERE, WE ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF A 4-WEEK SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION TRAINING ON GRAY MATTER DENSITY AND SPONTANEOUS RESTING-STATE BRAIN ACTIVITY IN A GROUP OF 12 MEDITATION-NAIVE HEALTHY ADULTS. RESULTS: COMPARED WITH 30 CONTROL SUBJECTS, THE PARTICIPANTS TO MEDITATION TRAINING SHOWED INCREASED GRAY MATTER DENSITY AND CHANGES IN THE COHERENCE OF INTRINSIC BRAIN ACTIVITY IN TWO ADJACENT REGIONS OF THE RIGHT INFERIOR FRONTAL GYRUS ENCOMPASSING THE ANTERIOR COMPONENT OF THE EXECUTIVE CONTROL NETWORK. BOTH THESE MEASURES CORRELATED WITH SELF-REPORTED WELL-BEING SCORES IN THE MEDITATION GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT OF A BRIEF MEDITATION TRAINING ON BRAIN REGIONS ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENTION, SELF-CONTROL, AND SELF-AWARENESS MAY REFLECT THE ENGAGEMENT OF COGNITIVE CONTROL SKILLS IN SEARCHING FOR A STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE, A DISTINCTIVE FEATURE OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. THE MANIFOLD IMPLICATIONS OF THESE FINDINGS INVOLVE BOTH MANAGERIAL AND REHABILITATIVE SETTINGS CONCERNED WITH WELL-BEING AND EMOTIONAL STATE IN NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS. 2019 19 2102 38 THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON COPING STRATEGIES AMONG INTENSIVE CARE UNIT NURSES. INTRODUCTION: NOWADAYS, IT HAS BEEN KNOWN THAT INDIVIDUALS HANDLE COPING STRATEGIES WHEN FACED WITH STRESSFUL EVENTS. THESE STRATEGIES PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN INDIVIDUALS. NURSES ARE EXPOSED TO HIGH STRESS, WHICH DIRECTLY AFFECTS THEIR JOB SATISFACTION AND THE QUALITY OF THEIR SERVICES. THEREFORE, THE PRESENT STUDY TRIED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON STRESS COPING STRATEGIES AMONG NURSES WORKING IN INTENSIVE CARE UNITS (ICUS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: IN THIS QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY, 34 FEMALE NURSES WORKING IN ICU WHO WERE QUALIFIED TO ENTER THE STUDY WERE SELECTED. YOGA EXERCISES WERE ADMINISTRATED TWO SESSIONS A WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS IN THE STUDY GROUP. CS-R QUESTIONNAIRE WAS FILLED BEFORE AND AFTER INTERVENTION. THE DATA WERE ANALYZED BY DESCRIPTIVE AND INFERENTIAL (T TEST) STATISTICAL TESTS. RESULTS: THE RESULTS OF STATISTICAL TESTS SHOWED THAT THE HIGHEST APPLICATION OF STRESS COPING STRATEGIES WAS FOR INCONSISTENT STRESS COPING STRATEGY. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE MEAN SCORES OF COPING STRATEGIES OF STRESS FOCUS, EMOTION FOCUS, AND INEFFECTIVENESS AFTER YOGA EXERCISES COMPARED WITH THOSE BEFORE THE YOGA SESSIONS. DISCUSSION: WITH REGARD TO THE FINDINGS, 8 WEEKS EXERCISES OF YOGA CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENT TO AMEND STRESS COPING STRATEGIES. FURTHER STUDIES IN THIS FIELD ARE SUGGESTED. 2012 20 2409 31 YOGA AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) HAS BEEN USED AS A PROXY FOR HEALTH AND FITNESS AND INDICATOR OF AUTONOMIC REGULATION AND THEREFORE, APPEARS WELL PLACED TO ASSESS THE CHANGES OCCURRING WITH MIND.-BODY PRACTICES THAT FACILITATE AUTONOMIC BALANCE. WHILE MANY STUDIES SUGGEST THAT YOGA INFLUENCES HRV, SUCH STUDIES HAVE NOT BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWED. WE AIMED TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW ALL PUBLISHED PAPERS THAT REPORT ON YOGA PRACTICES AND HRV. A COMPREHENSIVE SEARCH OF MULTIPLE DATABASES WAS CONDUCTED AND ALL STUDIES THAT REPORTED A MEASURE OF HRV ASSOCIATED WITH ANY YOGA PRACTICE WERE INCLUDED. STUDIES WERE CATEGORIZED BY THE STUDY DESIGN AND TYPE OF YOGA PRACTICE. A TOTAL OF 59 STUDIES WERE REVIEWED INVOLVING A TOTAL OF 2358 PARTICIPANTS. MOST STUDIES WERE PERFORMED IN INDIA ON RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBERS OF HEALTHY MALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS DURING A SINGLE LABORATORY SESSION. OF THE REVIEWED STUDIES, 15 WERE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WITH 6 HAVING A JADAD SCORE OF 3. THE REVIEWED STUDIES SUGGEST THAT YOGA CAN AFFECT CARDIAC AUTONOMIC REGULATION WITH INCREASED HRV AND VAGAL DOMINANCE DURING YOGA PRACTICES. REGULAR YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE ALSO FOUND TO HAVE INCREASED VAGAL TONE AT REST COMPARED TO NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS. IT IS PREMATURE TO DRAW ANY FIRM CONCLUSIONS ABOUT YOGA AND HRV AS MOST STUDIES WERE OF POOR QUALITY, WITH SMALL SAMPLE SIZES AND INSUFFICIENT REPORTING OF STUDY DESIGN AND STATISTICAL METHODS. RIGOROUS STUDIES WITH DETAILED REPORTING OF YOGA PRACTICES AND ANY CORRESPONDING CHANGES IN RESPIRATION ARE REQUIRED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON HRV. 2016