1 850 121 EFFECT OF YOGA ON SHORT-TERM HEART RATE VARIABILITY MEASURE AS A STRESS INDEX IN SUBJUNIOR CYCLISTS: A PILOT STUDY. SUBJUNIOR ATHLETES EXPERIENCE MENTAL STRESS DUE TO PRESSURE FROM THE COACH, TEACHERS AND PARENTS FOR BETTER PERFORMANCE. STRESS, IF REMAINS FOR LONGER PERIOD AND NOT MANAGED APPROPRIATELY CAN LEADS TO NEGATIVE PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND COGNITIVE IMPACT ON CHILDREN. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS AIMED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) MEASURE AS A STRESS INDEX IN SUBJUNIOR CYCLISTS. FAST FURRIER TRANSFORM TECHNIQUE OF FREQUENCY DOMAIN METHOD WAS USED FOR THE ANALYSIS OF HRV. WE HAVE FOUND A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) COMPONENT BY 14.64% (P < 0.05) AND DECREASE IN THE LOW FREQUENCY COMPONENT (LF) OF HRV SPECTRUM BY 5.52% (P < 0.05) AND A DECREASE IN LF/HF RATIO BY 19.63% (P < 0.01) IN YOGA GROUP. IN THE CONTROL GROUP, THERE WAS DECREASE IN THE HF COMPONENT AND, NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE LF COMPONENT OF HRV SPECTRUM AND LF/HF RATIO. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT YOGA PRACTICE DECREASES SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND CAUSES A SHIFT IN THE AUTONOMIC BALANCE TOWARDS PARASYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE INDICATING A REDUCTION IN STRESS. IN CONCLUSION, YOGA PRACTICE HELPS TO REDUCE STRESS BY OPTIMIZING THE AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS. SO, IT IS SUGGESTED TO INCORPORATE YOGA MODULE AS A REGULAR FEATURE TO KEEP SUBJUNIOR ATHLETES BOTH MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY FIT. 2013 2 1988 43 SPECTRAL PARAMETERS OF HRV IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS, ATHLETES AND SEDENTARY MALES. PHYSICAL INACTIVITY IS AN IMPORTANT RISK FACTOR FOR CARDIOVASCULAR MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY. EXERCISE IS CONSIDERED AN ACCEPTABLE METHOD FOR IMPROVING AND MAINTAINING PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH. ALTHOUGH YOGA IS HISTORICALLY A SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE, A GROWING BODY OF EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THE BELIEF THAT YOGA BENEFITS PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE HEART RATE VARIABILITY WHICH REFLECTS AUTONOMIC CONTROL OF HEART AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS, ATHLETES AND INDIVIDUALS WITH SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE. THE STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF PHYSIOLOGY AT MAMC AGROHA, HISAR AND PT. BD SHARMA PGIMS ROHTAK, HARYANA. THE STUDY GROUP COMPRISED OF 1200 HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS OF 16 TO 55 YEARS OF AGE. THE STUDY GROUP WAS DIVIDED INTO FOUR AGE GROUPS: GROUP A OF AGE 16 TO 25 YEARS; GROUP B OF AGE 26 TO 35 YEARS; GROUP C OF AGE 36 TO 45 YEARS AND GROUP D OF AGE 46 TO 55 YEARS. ALL AGE GROUPS WERE FURTHER DIVIDED INTO THREE CATEGORIES I.E ATHLETE (RUNNER), YOGA (YOGA PRACTITIONERS) AND SEDENTARY IN WHICH INDIVIDUALS WITH SEDENTARY LIFE STYLE WERE INCLUDED. THE BASAL RECORDING OF ECG IN LEAD II WAS DONE FOR 5 MINUTES. THE POLYRITE-D ECG DATA WAS USED FOR ANALYSIS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY BY FREQUENCY DOMAIN METHOD. TWO SPECTRAL COMPONENTS WERE RECORDED NAMELY HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) COMPONENT (0.15-0.4 HZ), AN INDICATOR OF VAGAL EFFERENT ACTIVITY AND LOW FREQUENCY (LF) COMPONENT (0.04-.15 HZ), REPLICATOR OF COMPOSITE SYMPATHO-VAGAL INTERPLAY. HF COMPONENT IN NORMALIZED UNIT WAS FOUND SIGNIFICANTLY HIGH IN AGE GROUP B AND C IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND ATHLETES AS COMPARED TO SEDENTARY INDIVIDUALS AND IN AGE GROUP D SIGNIFICANTLY HIGH IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS AS COMPARED TO ATHLETES AND SEDENTARY INDIVIDUALS. SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED LF/HF RATIO WAS FOUND IN AGE GROUP B AND C IN YOGA AND ATHLETE SUBJECTS AS COMPARED TO SEDENTARY INDIVIDUALS AND IN AGE GROUP D IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS AS COMPARED TO ATHLETES AND SEDENTARY INDIVIDUALS. THIS INDICATES THAT PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY IS SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. 2015 3 1388 39 IMPACT OF SHORT-TERM PRACTICE OF YOGA ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS A SCIENCE THAT FACILITATES HOMEOSTASIS, AN ANCIENT WAY OF LIFE INTENDED TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF AN INDIVIDUAL. PRACTICE OF YOGA IS PROPOSED TO ALTER THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM AND AFFECT THE CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTIONING. THIS STUDY WAS INTENDED TO ASSESS THE INFLUENCE OF SHORT-TERM PRACTICE OF YOGA FOR A MONTH ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). MATERIALS AND METHODS: TOTALLY, 40 HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS IN THE AGE GROUP OF 30-60 YEARS WILLING TO PRACTICE YOGA FOR A MONTH WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY. HRV WAS ASSESSED USING HRV DEVICE (RMS VAGUS, INDIA). PREINTERVENTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF HRV WAS DONE IN THESE SUBJECTS. PRACTICE OF YOGA THAT INCLUDED A SET OF PHYSICAL POSTURES (ASANAS), BREATHING TECHNIQUES (PRANAYAMA), AND MEDITATION (DHYANA) WERE PERFORMED FOR AN HOUR DAILY FOR 1 MONTH UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF A CERTIFIED YOGA INSTRUCTOR. POSTINTERVENTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF HRV WAS DONE. THE VALUES WERE EXPRESSED IN MEDIAN AND THEIR INTERQUARTILE RANGE, AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WAS DONE TO COMPARE THE CHANGES USING WILCOXON SIGNED RANK TEST. RESULTS: THIRTY-TWO OF 40 SUBJECTS RECRUITED FOR YOGA PRACTICE COMPLETED THE STUDY PROTOCOL. ANALYSIS OF HRV REVEALED THAT IN TIME DOMAIN PARAMETERS, SDNN INCREASED FROM 33.60 (31.41-44.82) TO 42.11 (34.43-57.51), RMSSD INCREASED FROM 22.00 (16.00-33.80) TO 25.6 (17.0-34.8), AND PNN50 INCREASED FROM 2.45 (0.80-15.38) TO 7.35 (1.40-18.57) AFTER INTERVENTION. IN THE FREQUENCY DOMAIN PARAMETERS, THE LOW-FREQUENCY (LF) POWER SPECTRUM REDUCED FROM 39.30 (25.1-46.25) TO 30.40 (22.75-40.62) AND LF/HIGH-FREQUENCY RATIO WAS REDUCED FROM 2.62 (1.91-4.07) TO 2.28 (1.4-3.07) AFTER 1 MONTH PRACTICE OF YOGA. P < 0.05 WAS CONSIDERED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. CONCLUSION: AUTONOMIC BALANCE TILTS TOWARD PARASYMPATHETIC PREDOMINANCE AFTER 1 MONTH PRACTICE OF YOGA. 2016 4 797 46 EFFECT OF YOGA INTERVENTION ON SHORT-TERM HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER. BACKGROUND: AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) IS A NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY IMPAIRMENT IN SOCIAL INTERACTIONS, COMMUNICATION, RESTRICTED, AND REPETITIVE BEHAVIORS. EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR ASD ARE LIMITED. YOGA IS PRACTICED BY OVER 20 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE, AND MULTIPLE STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED YOGA AS A POSSIBLE EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION FOR CHILDREN WITH ASD. AIM: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA INTERVENTION ON SHORT-TERM HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) IN CHILDREN WITH ASD. METHODOLOGY: IN THIS STUDY, 50 CHILDREN (38 BOYS AND 12 GIRLS) WITH ASD WERE RECRUITED FROM SWABHIMAAN TRUST, PALAVAKKAM, CHENNAI. THEY WERE RANDOMLY GROUPED INTO ASD WITH YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP (N = 25) AND ASD WITHOUT YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP (N = 25) BY SIMPLE LOTTERY METHOD. YOGA GROUP CHILDREN UNDERWENT YOGA TRAINING FOR 3 MONTHS, AND THE CONTROL GROUP DID NOT RECEIVE ANY SUCH TRAINING. FOR SHORT-TERM HRV, 15 MIN ELECTROCARDIOGRAM RECORDING IN SITTING POSTURE WAS RECORDED IN LEAD II USING A SIMPLE ANALOG AMPLIFIER. RESULTS: IN HRV, TIME DOMAIN PARAMETERS SUCH AS MEAN RR INTERVAL (0.72 [0.74] TO 0.94 [0.92]), STANDARD DEVIATION OF THE NN INTERVALS (52.04 [54.23] TO 74.48 [72.80]), AND ROOT OF THE MEAN SQUARED DIFFERENCES OF SUCCESSIVE NN INTERVAL (32.60 [34.40] TO 40.83 [42.90]) SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN ASD CHILDREN AFTER YOGA INTERVENTION. IN FREQUENCY-DOMAIN PARAMETERS, HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) IN N. U (48.08 [47.24] TO 58.37 [59.22]) SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE AND LOW FREQUENCY (LF) IN N. U (52.4 [51.82] TO 40.51 [40.12]), AND LF/HF RATIO (1.29 [1.31] TO 0.78 [0.79]) SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN ASD WITH YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP CHILDREN AFTER 3 MONTHS OF YOGA TRAINING. CONCLUSION: YOGA INTERVENTIONS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN BRINGING PARASYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE IN ASD CHILDREN, AND THE GREATER ADVANTAGE IS BEING A NONINVASIVE WAY OF INTERVENTION TO SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH ASD AND HELP THEM TO ACHIEVE PHYSIOLOGICAL AS WELL AS PSYCHOLOGICAL BALANCE. 2019 5 1027 33 EFFECTS OF YOGA BREATHING PRACTICE ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN HEALTHY ADOLESCENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AMONG HEALTHY ADOLESCENTS TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA BREATHING PRACTICE (BHRAMARI PRANAYAMA, BHR.P) TOWARDS CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) PARAMETERS. METHODS: OF THE 730 ELIGIBLE SUBJECTS SCREENED, 520 HEALTHY ADOLESCENTS WHO MET THE INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER YOGA BREATHING GROUP (N=260) OR CONTROL GROUP (N=260). THE YOGA BREATHING GROUP PRACTICED BHR.P. FIVE DAYS A WEEK FOR A DURATION OF SIX MONTHS WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP CONTINUED WITH THEIR DAILY ROUTINE WITHOUT ANY INTERVENTION. OUTCOME MEASURES WERE TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN OF HRV IN BOTH GROUPS WHICH WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION USING LEAD II ECG. LINEAR MODELS WERE USED IN THE ANALYSIS OF SHORT TERM HRV. RESULTS: AFTER 6 MONTHS OF YOGA BREATHING, THE TIME DOMAIN PARAMETERS OF SHORT TERM HRV SHOWED SIGNIFICANT (P<0.05) IMPROVEMENT TOWARDS THE PARASYMPATHETIC DOMAIN. FREQUENCY DOMAIN PARAMETERS ALSO SHOWED THE SAME DIRECTION OF CHANGES. IN CONTRAST, CONTROL GROUP SUBJECTS SHOWED A TREND TOWARDS A SYMPATHETIC DOMAIN. CONCLUSION: THE PRESENT STUDY SHOWED A POSITIVE SHIFT IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC MODULATION TOWARDS PARASYMPATHETIC PREDOMINANCE AFTER 6 MONTHS OF YOGA BREATHING PRACTICE AMONG APPARENTLY HEALTHY ADOLESCENTS. 2020 6 890 42 EFFECT OF YOGA-BASED CARDIAC REHABILITATION ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL IN PATIENTS POST-MI. AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION IS AN INDEPENDENT PREDICTOR OF CARDIOVASCULAR AND ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY AFTER MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION (MI). WE TESTED THE EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEK YOGA-BASED CARDIAC REHABILITATION PROGRAM ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) IN 80 PATIENTS POST-MI. THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH TWO PARALLEL GROUPS WAS CARRIED OUT IN A TERTIARY CARE INSTITUTION IN INDIA. THE YOGA GROUP RECEIVED 13 HOSPITAL-BASED STRUCTURED YOGA SESSIONS AS AN ADJUNCT TO STANDARD CARE. CONTROL GROUP PARTICIPANTS RECEIVED ENHANCED STANDARD CARE INVOLVING THREE BRIEF EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS WITH A LEAFLET ON THE IMPORTANCE OF DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. HRV WAS MEASURED IN ALL PARTICIPANTS WITH LEAD II ELECTROCARDIOGRAM (ECG) SIGNALS. ONE YOGA GROUP PATIENT'S DATA WERE EXCLUDED DUE TO ECG ABNORMALITIES. BASELINE MEASUREMENT WAS DONE 3 WEEKS POST-MI, AND POSTINTERVENTION ASSESSMENT TOOK PLACE AT THE 13TH WEEK. HRV FREQUENCY AND TIME DOMAIN INDICES WERE ANALYZED. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES IN THE HRV TIME DOMAIN INDICES. FREQUENCY DOMAIN INDICES SHOWED SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES IN HF POWER (ABSOLUTE) (YOGA VS. CONTROL: 114.42 [-794.80-7,993.78] VS. -38.14 [-4,843.50-1,617.87], P = 0.005) AND TOTAL POWER (NU) (YOGA VS. CONTROL: 44.96 [21.94] VS. -19.55 [15.42], P = 0.01) WITH HIGHER HF POWER AND TOTAL POWER (NU) IN THE YOGA GROUP. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THESE RESULTS CANNOT BE GENERALIZED TO HIGH RISK PATIENTS. RESPIRATORY FREQUENCY CONTROL TO CHECK FOR INFLUENCE OF RESPIRATORY RATE ON RR INTERVAL WAS NOT EVALUATED. THIS SHORT-TERM YOGA-BASED CARDIAC REHABILITATION PROGRAM HAD ADDITIVE EFFECTS IN SHIFTING SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE TOWARD PARASYMPATHETIC PREDOMINANCE WHILE INCREASING OVERALL HRV IN OPTIMALLY MEDICATED POST-MI PATIENTS. 2019 7 553 40 CORRELATION OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY WITH CAROTID INTIMA MEDIA THICKNESS AFTER 6 MONTH OF YOGA INTERVENTION IN PREDIABETICS. INTRODUCTION: ATHEROSCLEROTIC CAROTID INTIMAMEDIA THICKNESS (CIMT) MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH ALTERATIONS IN THE AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF 6-MONTH YOGA INTERVENTION ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) AND CIMT IN ELDERLY SUBJECTS AND THE CORRELATION BETWEEN HRV AND CIMT. METHODOLOGY: THIS WAS A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY, IN WHICH A TOTAL OF 250 SUBJECTS WERE ENROLLED. RANDOMIZATION AND ALLOCATION IN YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS WERE PERFORMED USING COMPUTER-GENERATED RANDOM NUMBERS. THE CIMT WAS DETERMINED BY B-MODE ULTRASONOGRAPHY, AND CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION WAS DETERMINED THROUGH FREQUENCY DOMAIN PARAMETER OF HRV MEASURES AT BASELINE AND AFTER 6 MONTHS OF YOGA INTERVENTION. RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS HAD A MEAN AGE OF 45.4 +/- 6.4 YEARS, AND A MEAN CIMT IN CONTROL (0.70 +/- 0.05) AND STUDY GROUP (0.69 +/- 0.073), AND LOW FREQUENCY/HIGH FREQUENCY (LF/HF) RATIO IN CONTROL (2.20 +/- 1.05) AND STUDY GROUP (0.57 +/- 0.54). YOGA GROUP HAD EVIDENCE OF INCREASED VAGAL ACTIVITY IN THE FREQUENCY DOMAIN (HF AND LF/HF RATIO, P < 0.001) WITH RESPECT TO CONTROL GROUP. MOREOVER, A STUDY GROUP SHOWED LOWER INTIMAMEDIA THICKNESS (IMT) THAN CONTROL SUBJECTS (P < 0.01). IN THE WHOLE POPULATION, LF/HF RATIO POSITIVELY AND SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATED (R = 0.665, P < 0.01) TO IMT. CONCLUSION: THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATED THAT, AFTER YOGA INTERVENTION, LF/HF RATIO IS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH CIMT, A PUTATIVE INDEX OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS, CONFIRMING CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NEUROPATHY AS A PART OF THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PATHWAY FOR ATHEROSCLEROSIS. IT CONFIRMS THAT THE REGULAR YOGA REPRESENTS A VALUABLE STRATEGY TO COUNTER IMPAIRMENTS OF CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY AND ARTERY STRUCTURAL CHANGES. 2021 8 492 39 COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR EVALUATION BASED ON PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AMONG YOUNG HEALTHY SUBJECTS WITH YOGA AS INTERVENTION. OBJECTIVE: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICE ON COGNITIVE SKILLS, AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY BY ANALYZING PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS. METHODS: THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ON 30 NORMAL YOUNG HEALTHY ENGINEERING STUDENTS. THEY WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED INTO TWO GROUPS: YOGA GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED YOGA ONE AND HALF HOUR PER DAY FOR SIX DAYS IN A WEEK, FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE MONTHS. RESULTS: THE YOGA PRACTISING GROUP SHOWED INCREASED ALPHA, BETA, AND DELTA EEG BAND POWERS AND SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THETA AND GAMMA BAND POWERS. THE INCREASED ALPHA AND BETA POWER CAN REPRESENT ENHANCED COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS SUCH AS MEMORY AND CONCENTRATION, AND THAT OF DELTA SIGNIFIES SYNCHRONIZATION OF BRAIN ACTIVITY. THE HEART RATE INDEX THETA/ALPHA DECREASED, NEURAL ACTIVITY BETA/THETA INCREASED, ATTENTION RESOURCE INDEX BETA/(ALPHA + THETA) INCREASED, EXECUTIVE LOAD INDEX (DELTA + THETA)/ALPHA DECREASED, AND THE RATIO (DELTA + THETA)/(ALPHA + BETA) DECREASED. THE YOGA PRACTICE GROUP SHOWED IMPROVEMENT IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY, INCREASED SDNN/RMSSD, AND REDUCTION IN LF/HF RATIO. CONCLUSION: YOGA PRACTISING GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN VARIOUS COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, SUCH AS PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT, NEURAL ACTIVITY, ATTENTION, AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION. IT ALSO RESULTED IN INCREASE IN THE HEART RATE VARIABILITY, PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY, AND BALANCED AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM REACTIVITY. 2015 9 846 38 EFFECT OF YOGA ON PULSE RATE VARIABILITY MEASURED FROM A VENOUS PRESSURE WAVEFORM. THE BENEFITS OF YOGA HAVE BEEN STUDIED IN DIFFERENT FIELDS, FROM CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS TO MENTAL DISORDERS, SHOWING THAT IT CAN HELP TO IMPROVE THE OVERALL HEALTH. IN PARTICULAR, IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THAT YOGA ALSO IMPROVES THE AUTONOMIC FUNCTION. HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) AT REST IS COMMONLY USED AS A NON-INVASIVE MEASURE OF AUTONOMIC REGULATION OF HEART RATE. ALTERNATIVELY, PULSE RATE VARIABILITY (PRV) HAS BEEN PROPOSED AS A SURROGATE OF HRV. VOLUMETRIX HAS DEVELOPED A NOVEL TECHNOLOGY THAT CAPTURES VENOUS WAVEFORMS VIA SENSORS ON THE VOLAR ASPECT OF THE WRIST, CALLED NIVABAND. THIS STUDY AIMS TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA IN THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM BY ANALYZING THE PRV OBTAINED FROM THE NIVA SIGNAL. TEMPORAL (STATISTICS OF THE NORMAL-TO-NORMAL INTERVALS), SPECTRAL (POWER IN LOW AND HIGH FREQUENCY BANDS) AND NONLINEAR (LAGGED POINCARE PLOT ANALYSIS) PARAMETERS ARE ANALYZED BEFORE AND AFTER A YOGA SESSION IN 20 HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. THE PRV ANALYSIS SHOWS AN INCREASE IN PARAMETERS RELATED TO PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND OVERALL VARIABILITY, AND A DECREASE IN PARAMETERS RELATED TO SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND MEAN HEART RATE. THESE RESULTS SUPPORT THE BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF YOGA IN AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, INCREASING THE PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY. 2019 10 277 24 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 11 1301 27 HATHA YOGA ON BODY BALANCE. BACKGROUND: A GOOD BODY BALANCE REQUIRES A PROPER FUNCTION OF VESTIBULAR, VISUAL, AND SOMATOSENSORY SYSTEMS WHICH CAN BE REACH WITH EXERCISE PRACTICE AND/OR YOGA. AIM: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF A 5-MONTH HATHA YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM ON BODY BALANCE IN YOUNG ADULTS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS STUDY USED A CONTROLLED, NONRANDOMIZED DESIGN, WHERE THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP UNDERWENT A 5-MONTH TRAINING PROGRAM AND WERE THEN COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP THAT HAD A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE. A CONVENIENCE SAMPLE OF 34 OUT OF 40 MEN AGED 25-55 YEARS OLD (34.0 +/- 0.9) WERE DEEMED ELIGIBLE FOR THIS STUDY. THEY WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS: EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS. SUBJECTS IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WERE ENGAGED IN 60 MIN SESSIONS OF HATHA YOGA THREE TIMES A WEEK FOR 5 MONTHS. WE EVALUATED POSTURAL CONTROL BY MEASURING THE LIMIT OF STABILITY AND VELOCITY OF OSCILLATION (VOS) IN THREE CONDITIONS OF THE BALANCE REHABILITATION UNIT (BRU) AND THROUGH FIELD PROCEDURES (FOUR POSITION, PLANE, FLAMINGO, HOPSCOTCH, AND DYNAMIC TEST). RESULTS: WE OBSERVED DIFFERENCES (P < 0.05) IN POSTINTERVENTION SCORES BETWEEN THE GROUPS REGARDLESS OF BRU PARAMETERS AND FIELD PROCEDURES (EXCEPT FOR FLAMINGO) EVEN AFTER ADJUSTING FOR PREINTERVENTION SCORES, SUGGESTING THAT THESE CHANGES WERE INDUCED BY HATHA YOGA TRAINING. THE PARTIAL ETA SQUARED ON BRU PARAMETERS RANGED FROM 0.78 (VOS1)-0.97 (COP2), AND FROM 0.00 (FLAMINGO)-0.94 (FOUR POSITION) FOR THE FIELD PROCEDURES. CONCLUSIONS: OUR RESULTS PROVIDE SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE THAT POSTURAL CONTROL IN HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS CAN BE IMPROVED THROUGH PRACTICING HATHA YOGA. 2014 12 2085 30 THE EFFECT OF LONG TERM COMBINED YOGA PRACTICE ON THE BASAL METABOLIC RATE OF HEALTHY ADULTS. BACKGROUND: DIFFERENT PROCEDURES PRACTICED IN YOGA HAVE STIMULATORY OR INHIBITORY EFFECTS ON THE BASAL METABOLIC RATE WHEN STUDIED ACUTELY. IN DAILY LIFE HOWEVER, THESE PROCEDURES ARE USUALLY PRACTICED IN COMBINATION. THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE NET CHANGE IN THE BASAL METABOLIC RATE (BMR) OF INDIVIDUALS ACTIVELY ENGAGING IN A COMBINATION OF YOGA PRACTICES (ASANA OR YOGIC POSTURES, MEDITATION AND PRANAYAMA OR BREATHING EXERCISES) FOR A MINIMUM PERIOD OF SIX MONTHS, AT A RESIDENTIAL YOGA EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER AT BANGALORE. METHODS: THE MEASURED BMR OF INDIVIDUALS PRACTICING YOGA THROUGH A COMBINATION OF PRACTICES WAS COMPARED WITH THAT OF CONTROL SUBJECTS WHO DID NOT PRACTICE YOGA BUT LED SIMILAR LIFESTYLES. RESULTS: THE BMR OF THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN THAT OF THE NON-YOGA GROUP, AND WAS LOWER BY ABOUT 13 % WHEN ADJUSTED FOR BODY WEIGHT (P < 0.001). THIS DIFFERENCE PERSISTED WHEN THE GROUPS WERE STRATIFIED BY GENDER; HOWEVER, THE DIFFERENCE IN BMR ADJUSTED FOR BODY WEIGHT WAS GREATER IN WOMEN THAN MEN (ABOUT 8 AND 18% RESPECTIVELY). IN ADDITION, THE MEAN BMR OF THE YOGA GROUP WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN THEIR PREDICTED VALUES, WHILE THE MEAN BMR OF NON-YOGA GROUP WAS COMPARABLE WITH THEIR PREDICTED VALUES DERIVED FROM 1985 WHO/FAO/UNU PREDICTIVE EQUATIONS. CONCLUSION: THIS STUDY SHOWS THAT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED BMR, PROBABLY LINKED TO REDUCED AROUSAL, WITH THE LONG TERM PRACTICE OF YOGA USING A COMBINATION OF STIMULATORY AND INHIBITORY YOGIC PRACTICES. 2006 13 1571 22 MANAGEMENT OF MYOFASCIAL PAIN DYSFUNCTION SYNDROME WITH MEDITATION AND YOGA: HEALING THROUGH NATURAL THERAPY. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY WERE TO STUDY THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RAJ-YOGA MEDITATION AND PRANAYAMA IN PATIENTS WITH MYOFASCIAL PAIN DYSFUNCTION SYNDROME (MPDS) AND COMPARED THE EFFECTS WITH ONGOING CONVENTIONAL NONINVASIVE TREATMENT MODALITIES. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE STUDY COMPRISED 30 PATIENTS DIVIDED EQUALLY (10 EACH) INTO 3 GROUP, I.E., CONTROL GROUP (CONVENTIONAL, NONINVASIVE TREATMENT), EXPERIMENTAL A GROUP (CONVENTIONAL, NONINVASIVE TREATMENT WITH RAJ-YOGA MEDITATION THERAPY AND PRANAYAMA), AND EXPERIMENTAL B GROUP (RAJ-YOGA MEDITATION THERAPY AND PRANAYAMA ONLY). PARAMETERS SUCH AS PAIN, MOUTH OPENING, MANDIBULAR DEVIATION, INFLAMMATION, SWELLING, CLICKING, OCCLUSION, AND PSYCHOLOGIC EVALUATION SUCH AS ANXIETY, STRESS, AND DEPRESSION WERE ASSESSED BEFORE THE START OF THE STUDY AND AT WEEKLY INTERVALS FOR 3 MONTHS. RESULTS: POSTTREATMENT PAIN AND INFLAMMATION IMPROVED BOTH IN THE CONTROL GROUP AND EXPERIMENTAL A GROUP, BUT STATISTICALLY IT IS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT IN THE EXPERIMENTAL A GROUP. FURTHERMORE, IT IS EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY AS WELL AS FOR A LONG PERIOD IN EXPERIMENTAL A GROUP. IMPROVEMENT IN MOUTH OPENING WAS STATISTICALLY HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT IN CONTROL GROUP BUT NOT IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS. POSTTREATMENT ANXIETY AND STRESS STATUS WAS IMPROVED WITH STATISTICALLY HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT RESULT IN THE EXPERIMENTAL A AND B. THE POSTTREATMENT DEPRESSION STATUS ALONG WITH MANDIBULAR DEVIATION, SWELLING, CLICKING, AND OCCLUSION HAS NOT IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY IN ANY OF THE GROUPS. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: RAJ-YOGA MEDITATION AND PRANAYAMA IN COMBINATION WITH CONVENTIONAL, NONINVASIVE, TREATMENT MODALITIES SHOWED PROMISING RESULTS IN MPDS PATIENTS AS COMPARED TO EITHER MODALITIES ALONE. 2018 14 371 23 AWARENESS AND PRACTICE OF AEROBIC EXERCISE AND YOGA AMONG HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS IN ANAND CITY. BACKGROUND: AEROBIC EXERCISE IS HELPFUL IN REDUCING ELEVATED BLOOD PRESSURE (BP). IT WAS ALSO FOUND THAT YOGA IS USEFUL IN REDUCING RAISED BP. THUS, THEY BOTH CAN BE USED IN PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF HYPERTENSION. HENCE, THE STUDY AIMED TO OBSERVE BOTH AWARENESS AND PRACTICE OF AEROBIC EXERCISE AND YOGA AMONG HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS IN ANAND CITY. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL DESCRIPTIVE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED. A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS PREPARED CONTAINING 24 QUESTIONS ABOUT AWARENESS AND PRACTICE OF AEROBIC EXERCISE AND YOGA AMONG HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS. THE QUESTIONS WERE EXPLAINED TO ALL THE PATIENTS, AND 200 PATIENTS WERE RECRUITED FROM ANAND CITY THROUGH CONVENIENCE SAMPLING. RESULTS: TWO-HUNDRED PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED IN THIS STUDY, OF WHICH 100% WERE AWARE OF HYPERTENSION. 67.68% WERE AWARE OF THE ROLE OF AEROBIC EXERCISE IN HYPERTENSION, OF WHICH 58.29% PRACTICED THEM. THE AWARENESS OF THE ROLE OF YOGA IN HYPERTENSION WAS NOTED IN 33.67% OF PATIENTS, OF WHICH ONLY 13.07% PRACTICED PRANAYAMA AND 9.50% PRACTICED ASANAS. CONCLUSION: THERE WAS A COMPLETE AWARENESS OF HYPERTENSION AMONG HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS. A LARGE NUMBER OF PATIENTS WERE AWARE OF THE ROLE OF AEROBIC EXERCISE IN HYPERTENSION, BUT ONLY FEW OF THE PATIENTS PRACTICED THEM. HOWEVER, THERE WAS LESS AWARENESS OF THE ROLE OF YOGA IN HYPERTENSION AND EVEN LESSER NUMBER PRACTICED THEM. 2019 15 182 32 A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS REACTIVITY IN 6TH GRADE STUDENTS. THERE IS AN INCREASING INTEREST IN DEVELOPING SCHOOL PROGRAMS THAT IMPROVE THE ABILITY OF CHILDREN TO COPE WITH PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS. YOGA MAY BE AN APPROPRIATE INTERVENTION AS IT HAS DEMONSTRATED IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ABILITY OF CHILDREN TO MANAGE PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS. YOGA IS THOUGHT TO IMPROVE THE CONTROL OF REACTIVITY TO STRESS VIA THE REGULATION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. THE CURRENT STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA COMPARED TO A PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASS ON PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE (BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) AND HEART RATE (HR)) TO BEHAVIORAL STRESSOR TASKS (MENTAL ARITHMETIC AND MIRROR TRACING TASKS). DATA ANALYSIS OF BP AND HR WAS PERFORMED USING A 2 X 2 X 4 REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA (TIME X GROUP X STRESSOR TIME POINTS). 30 (17 MALE) 6TH GRADERS PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. YOGA DID NOT PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN STRESS REACTIVITY COMPARED TO A PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASS (GROUP X TIME: SYSTOLIC (F(1,28) = .538, P = .470); DIASTOLIC (F(1,28) = .1.061, P = .312); HR (F(1,28) = .401, P = .532)). THE LACK OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES MAY BE DUE TO THE YOGA INTERVENTION FAILING TO FOCUS ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AND/OR THE STRESSOR TASKS NOT ADEQUATELY CAPTURING ATTENUATION OF STRESSOR RESPONSE. 2013 16 2890 22 YOGA: POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR PERSONS WHO STUTTER. YOGA HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO MODULATE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY, DECREASING ANXIETY AND STRESS, AND IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE. THIS PRELIMINARY STUDY SOUGHT TO EXAMINE THE USE OF YOGIC TECHNIQUES ON PERSONS WHO STUTTER GIVEN THE INTERACTION BETWEEN PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL/ANXIETY AND STUTTERING THAT CURRENT MULTIFACTORIAL MODELS OF STUTTERING PROPOSE. FOUR PARTICIPANTS (M = 52 YR, SD = 10; 2 FEMALE, 2 MALE), RECRUITED FROM LOCAL STUTTERING SUPPORT GROUPS IN THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERED TO PARTICIPATE. STUTTERING SEVERITY, ANXIETY, AND EXPERIENCES REGARDING STUTTERING AND COMMUNICATION WERE MEASURED AT BASELINE, POST INTERVENTION, AND AT 4 MONTHS FOLLOW-UP. THE PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED GROUP YOGA SESSIONS AND ENGAGED IN HOME PRACTICE. DESCRIPTIVE RESULTS REVEALED THAT PARTICIPANTS SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS OUTCOME MEASURES, WITH THE MOST IMPROVEMENT RELATED TO ANXIETY. PARTICIPANTS ALSO REPORTED IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR PERCEPTIONS ABOUT COMMUNICATION AS PER QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF RESPONSES TO THE OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRES. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR PERSONS WHO STUTTER AND WARRANTS FURTHER STUDY USING AN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN. 2016 17 2461 31 YOGA AS A NOVEL ADJUVANT THERAPY FOR PATIENTS WITH IDIOPATHIC INFLAMMATORY MYOPATHIES. CONTEXT: RECENT STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS WELL TOLERATED BY PATIENTS WITH IDIOPATHIC INFLAMMATORY MYOPATHIES (IIMS) AND CAN HAVE ADDITIONAL BENEFITS AS AN ADJUVANT THERAPY TO PHARMACOLOGIC AGENTS, ESPECIALLY IF STARTED EARLY. TO DATE, NO STUDIES HAVE EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PATIENTS WITH IIMS. AIMS: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON SELF-REPORTED DIFFICULTY IN PERFORMING ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING (ADL) AND MUSCLE STRENGTH IN PATIENTS WITH MILD-TO-MODERATE IIMS. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A LONGITUDINAL COHORT STUDY IN WHICH PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED USING THE MYOSITIS ACTIVITIES PROFILE (MAP) AND MANUAL MUSCLE TESTING (MMT) BEFORE AND AFTER THE COMPLETION OF AN 8-WEEK INSTRUCTOR-GUIDED YOGA COURSE WAS PERFORMED. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: WILCOXON SIGNED-RANKED TEST WAS PERFORMED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. RESULTS: THE AVERAGE POSTTREATMENT MAP SCORES OF SIX PARTICIPANTS DEMONSTRATED AN INCREASE OF 2.51 POINTS, WHILE THE AVERAGE MMT SCORE OF FOUR PARTICIPANTS DEMONSTRATED AN INCREASE OF 11 POINTS. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY IS THE FIRST STUDY TO DATE TO EXAMINE THE EFFECT OF YOGA AS AN ADJUVANT COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY FOR PATIENTS WITH IIM. CONTINUED RESEARCH SHOULD BE DONE ON THE EFFECT OF YOGA AS AN ADJUVANT THERAPY, FOR IN ADDITION TO INCREASE IN MUSCLE STRENGTH AND ABILITY TO PERFORM ADL, YOGA MAY OFFER POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS IN MOOD, MENTAL HEALTH, AND SLEEP. 2021 18 1629 25 MINDFULNESS-BASED YOGA FOR YOUTH WITH PERSISTENT CONCUSSION: A PILOT STUDY. OBJECTIVE: WE EXPLORED THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF MINDFULNESS-BASED YOGA (MBY) FOR YOUTH WITH PERSISTENT CONCUSSION BY EXAMINING OCCUPATION-BASED AND NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL OUTCOMES. METHOD: IN THIS CASE SERIES DESIGN STUDY, 6 YOUTHS AGES 13-17 YR WITH CONCUSSION SYMPTOMS FOR >4 WK PARTICIPATED IN AN 8-WK MBY INTERVENTION, 1X/WK FOR 45 MIN. PARTICIPATION, SELF-EFFICACY, AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY (24 HR) WERE COLLECTED BEFORE, AFTER, AND 3 MO AFTER THE INTERVENTION. HEART RATE VARIABILITY WAS ALSO MEASURED DURING EACH SESSION. RESULTS: TRENDS OF INCREASED SELF-EFFICACY IN ACADEMIC, SOCIAL, AND EMOTIONAL DOMAINS WERE FOUND AFTER MBY AND MAINTAINED AT 3-MO FOLLOW-UP. TRENDS OF INCREASING HEART RATE VARIABILITY WERE ALSO FOUND PRE- TO POSTINTERVENTION AND WITHIN THE EIGHT MBY SESSIONS. CONCLUSION: PRELIMINARY RESULTS REVEAL POSITIVE TRENDS AFTER A NOVEL, SAFE INTERVENTION FOR YOUTH WITH PERSISTENT CONCUSSION SYMPTOMS AND THE VALUE OF EXPLORING BOTH OCCUPATION-BASED AND NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURES. FUTURE RESEARCH WITH A LARGER SAMPLE AND CONTROL GROUP IS WARRANTED. 2019 19 2757 26 YOGA PRACTICES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF STUDENT NURSES. YOGA HAS BEEN WITH US SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL, BUT IT IS ONLY DURING RECENT YEARS THAT IT HAS ASSUMED WORLDWIDE IMPORTANCE. THE AIM OF THE STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE CT OF SELECTED YOGA PRACTICES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING. IN THIS QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL ONE GROUP PRE-TEST AND POST- TEST STUDY, 83 UNDER GRADUATE STUDENT NURSES. WERE TAUGHT SELECTED YOGA EXERCISES. THE SE- LECTED YOGA EXERCISES WERE SYSTEMATIC RELAXATION, BREATHING, AND STRETCHING THAT WERE PER- FORMED IN THE FORMATIVE MANNER. THE' INTERVENTION WAS CARRIED OUT FOR THE MINIMAL DURATION OF ONE HOUR PER DAY, THREE DAYS A WEEK FOR A PERIOD OF 6 WEEKS. ASSESSMENT WAS- CARRIED OUT ON THE FIRST AND LAST- DAY OF THE INTERVENTION, USING-A MODIFIED HINDI VERSION OF POSITIVE AFFECT AND NEGATIVE AFFECT SCALE, (PANAS-H). IT,HAS 10 QUESTIONS EACH TO MEASURE POSITIVE (PA) AND NEGA- TIVE AFFECT (NA). SINCE THE DATA WAS TESTED AND FORMED A NORMAL DISTRIBUTION, THE PAIRED 'T' TEST WAS USED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. THE. MEAN PA SCORE OF 42.92 AFTER YOGA PRACTICE WAS STATISTI- CALLY HIGHER THAN THE MEAN PA SCORE OF 32. 50 BEFORE YOGA PRACTICE (P=O. 01). THE MEAN NA SCORE OF 20.75 AFTER YOGA PRACTICE WAS LOWER THAN THE MEAN NA SCORE OF 23.33 BEFORE YOGA PRACTICE (P=0.427). THE YOGA PRACTICE CAN BE TAUGHT TO NORMALPARTICIPANTS AS IT MAY REDUCE NEGATIVE AFFECT AND INCREASE THE POSITIVE AFFECT WITHIN A FEW WEEKS. 2015 20 2745 36 YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVES THE BODY MASS INDEX AND BLOOD PRESSURE: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: YOGA, AN ANCIENT INDIAN SYSTEM OF EXERCISE AND THERAPY IS AN ART OF GOOD LIVING OR AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE BODY, MIND, AND INNER SPIRIT. REGULAR PRACTICE OF YOGA CAN HELP TO INCREASE BLOOD FLOW TO THE BRAIN, REDUCE STRESS, HAVE A CALMING EFFECT ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, AND GREATLY HELP IN REDUCING HYPERTENSION. AIM: AIM OF THE PRESENT STUDY IS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF 1-MONTH YOGA PRACTICE ON BODY MASS INDEX (BMI), AND BLOOD PRESSURE (BP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICE ON 64 PARTICIPANTS (AGE 53.6 +/- 13.1 YEARS) (EXPERIMENTAL GROUP) WHEREAS THE RESULTS WERE COMPARED WITH 26 HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (CONTROL GROUP). WE EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN A 1-MONTH PILOT STUDY. MOST OF THE PARTICIPANTS WERE LEARNER AND PRACTICED YOGA FOR 1 H DAILY IN THE MORNING FOR 1 MONTH. BMI AND BP (SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC) WERE STUDIED BEFORE AND AFTER 1 MONTH OF YOGA PRACTICE. RESULTS: YOGA PRACTICE CAUSES DECREASED BMI (26.4 +/- 2.5-25.22 +/- 2.4), SYSTOLIC BP (136.9 +/- 22.18 MMHG TO 133 +/- 21.38 MMHG), AND DIASTOLIC BP (84.7 +/- 6.5 MMHG TO 82.34 +/- 7.6 MMHG). ON THE OTHER HAND, NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN BMI AND BP OF CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: THIS STUDY CONCLUDES THAT YOGA PRACTICE HAS POTENTIAL TO CONTROL BMI AND BP WITHOUT TAKING ANY MEDICATION. 2017