1 857 101 EFFECT OF YOGA ON VIGILANCE, SELF RATED SLEEP AND STATE ANXIETY IN BORDER SECURITY FORCE PERSONNEL IN INDIA. BACKGROUND: MILITARY OCCUPATIONS REQUIRE HEIGHTENED VIGILANCE WITH RESULTANT SLEEP DISTURBANCES, INCREASED ANXIETY AND REDUCED VIGILANCE. OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE YOGA WITH PHYSICAL TRAINING TO REDUCE INSOMNIA, ANXIETY AND INCREASE VIGILANCE IN SECURITY PERSONNEL. METHODS: ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE BORDER SECURITY FORCE PERSONNEL (BSF GROUP, MALES; MEAN AGE+/-SD = 30.4+/-7.4 YEARS) WERE COMPARED WITH 112 PERSONNEL OF A PRIVATE SECURITY FIRM (SIS GROUP). THE BSF GROUP RECEIVED YOGA FOR NINE DAYS AND THE SIS GROUP RECEIVED PHYSICAL TRAINING FOR THE SAME PERIOD. ASSESSMENTS WERE AT BASELINE AND AFTER 9 DAYS, WITH THE DIGIT VIGILANCE TEST (DVT), SPIELBERGER'S STAI-S, AND A SLEEP RATING QUESTIONNAIRE. RESULTS: (1) BETWEEN GROUPS: (I) AT BASELINE THE BSF GROUP HAD HIGHER VIGILANCE AND MORE DAYTIME NAPS COMPARED TO THE SIS GROUP AND (II) AFTER NINE DAYS THE SIS GROUP HAD HIGHER STATE ANXIETY COMPARED TO THE BSF GROUP (ANOVA, BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST-HOC COMPARISONS; SPSS VERSION 24.0) (2) IN POST-PRE INTERVENTION COMPARISONS (I) THE BSF GROUP INCREASED VIGILANCE AND DECREASED STATE ANXIETY AFTER YOGA, WITH IMPROVED SLEEP, WHILE (II) THE SIS GROUP SHOWED INCREASED VIGILANCE AFTER PHYSICAL TRAINING. CONCLUSION: YOGA MAY IMPROVE SLEEP, REDUCE ANXIETY WHILE INCREASING VIGILANCE IN OCCUPATIONS REQUIRING VIGILANCE. 2019 2 464 38 CHANGES IN VIGILANCE, SELF RATED SLEEP AND STATE ANXIETY IN MILITARY PERSONNEL IN INDIA FOLLOWING YOGA. OBJECTIVES: TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF 9 DAYS OF YOGA ON SELF-RATED SLEEP, STATE ANXIETY AND PERFORMANCE IN A VIGILANCE TEST AMONG BORDER SECURITY FORCE (BSF) PERSONNEL. SEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO BSF PERSONNEL TOOK PART IN THE TRIAL. THEY WERE ALL MALES, WITH AN AVERAGE AGE OF 30.9 +/- 7.4 YEARS. ALL OF THEM WERE INVOLVED IN GUARDING THE COUNTRY'S BORDER. THEY WERE DEPUTED FOR 9 DAYS RESIDENTIAL TRAINING IN YOGA. BEFORE AND AFTER TRAINING THEY WERE ASSESSED FOR SELF-RATED SLEEP, STATE ANXIETY AND VIGILANCE. RESULTS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THE BENEFITS OF YOGA IN BSF PERSONNEL. THE BSF PERSONNEL SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SCORES IN THE VIGILANCE TEST, A DECREASE IN STATE ANXIETY, AND IMPROVED SELF-RATED SLEEP. 2018 3 298 30 ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING REDUCED BLOOD PRESSURE WHILE INCREASING PERFORMANCE IN A VIGILANCE TEST. BACKGROUND REPORTS SUGGEST THAT VIGILANCE OR SUSTAINED ATTENTION INCREASES SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY. A PERSISTENT INCREASE IN SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY CAN LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN BLOOD PRESSURE. ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE USEFUL TO (I) IMPROVE ATTENTION AND (II) DECREASE THE SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE. EARLIER STUDIES DID NOT REPORT SIMULTANEOUS RECORDINGS OF THE BLOOD PRESSURE AND PERFORMANCE IN VIGILANCE TESTS AFTER ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING. WITH THIS BACKGROUND, THE PRESENT STUDY WAS PLANNED TO DETERMINE IF 15 MINUTES OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING COULD IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE IN A VIGILANCE TEST WITHOUT AN INCREASE IN BLOOD PRESSURE. MATERIAL AND METHODS FIFTEEN HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY (GROUP MEAN AGE +/-SD, 22.4+/-2.4 YEARS). PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED ON 3 SEPARATE DAYS IN 3 DIFFERENT SESSIONS. THESE WERE (I) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, (II) BREATH AWARENESS, AND (III) SITTING QUIETLY AS A CONTROL. BLOOD PRESSURE AND THE DIGIT VIGILANCE TEST WERE SIMULTANEOUSLY ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER EACH SESSION. RESULTS SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (P<0.01), MEAN ARTERIAL BLOOD PRESSURE (P<0.05), AND THE TIME TAKEN TO COMPLETE THE DIGIT VIGILANCE TEST (P<0.05) SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED FOLLOWING ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING. THE TIME TAKEN TO COMPLETE THE DIGIT VIGILANCE TEST DIFFERED SIGNIFICANTLY BETWEEN SESSIONS (P<0.05). THE TIME TAKEN TO COMPLETE THE DIGIT VIGILANCE TEST WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED AFTER SITTING QUIETLY (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING APPEARS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN THE DIGIT VIGILANCE TEST, ALONG WITH A REDUCTION IN SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE. THIS IS SUGGESTIVE OF BETTER VIGILANCE WITHOUT SYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION. 2017 4 1132 26 EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR SUSTAINED ATTENTION IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. SUSTAINED ATTENTION (SA) IS A VITAL FUNCTION MEDIATED BY THE RIGHT FRONTAL - PARIETAL CORTEX. THE DIGIT VIGILANCE TEST (DVT) MEASURES SA. ASSESSMENT OF SA IN STUDENTS FOR THEIR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE IS CONSIDERED TO BE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF A NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY IS TO DETERMINE SA IN STUDENTS UNDERGOING TRAINING OF INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE (IYM). A TOTAL OF 66 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AGED BETWEEN 18-37 YEARS PARTICIPATED IN THIS STUDY WITH A SINGLE GROUP PRE-POST DESIGN. THE DVT DATA WAS COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE IYM. STATISTICAL PACKAGE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES VERSION 19 WAS USED FOR DATA ANALYSIS. THE KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV TEST SHOWED THAT THE DATA WERE NOT NORMALLY DISTRIBUTED. THE WILCOXON'S SIGNED RANKS TEST WAS USED TO COMPARE MEANS OF DATA. THE DATA ANALYSIS SHOWED 11.66% DECREASE (P < 0.001) IN TOTAL TIME TAKEN FOR DVT AND 31.90% DECREASE (P < 0.001) IN ERROR SCORES FOR DVT. THE PRESENT STUDY SUGGESTS THAT IYM CAN RESULT IN IMPROVEMENT OF SA AMONG STUDENTS, THUS PAVING THE WAY FOR THEIR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE. ADDITIONAL WELL-DESIGNED STUDIES ARE NEEDED BEFORE A STRONG RECOMMENDATION CAN BE MADE. 2013 5 1351 37 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 6 2234 29 THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON TEACHERS' SELF-RATED EMOTIONS. OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS (I) IF TEACHERS' AGE OR GENDER COULD PREDICT THEIR BASELINE LEVELS OF MENTAL WELL-BEING AND ANXIETY AND ANY CHANGE AFTER YOGA. (II) WHETHER MENTAL WELL-BEING OR ANXIETY CHANGED FOLLOWING 15 DAYS OF YOGA IN PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS. PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS TOOK PART IN THIS SINGLE GROUP LONGITUDINAL TRIAL (N = 302, GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD; 41.8 +/- 5.90 YEARS). THEY RECEIVED 240 MIN OF YOGA PRACTICE AND 120 MIN OF YOGA THEORY EACH DAY. AT BASELINE AND AFTER 15 DAYS OF YOGA THE ASSESSMENTS WERE (I) MENTAL WELL-BEING (WARWICK-EDINBURGH SCALE) AND (II) STATE ANXIETY (SPIELBERGER'S STATE TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY). RESULTS: GENDER ACTED AS A SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR FOR MENTAL WELL-BEING SCORES (P = 0.001) AND STATE ANXIETY (P = 0.005) IN THE GROUP AT BASELINE. FEMALES SHOWED HIGHER ANXIETY SCORES AND LOWER MENTAL WELL-BEING SCORES. FOLLOWING YOGA THE TEACHERS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN MENTAL WELL-BEING BY 5.84% AND A DECREASE IN STATE ANXIETY BY 4.48%. TRIAL REGISTRATION THE TRIAL WAS REGISTERED RETROSPECTIVELY (AUGUST 15, 2019; TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN90253431). 2019 7 768 32 EFFECT OF TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ON MEMORY SCORES AND STATE ANXIETY. BACKGROUND: A YOGA PRACTICE INVOLVING CYCLES OF YOGA POSTURES AND SUPINE REST (CALLED CYCLIC MEDITATION) WAS PREVIOUSLY SHOWN TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN ATTENTION TASKS MORE THAN RELAXATION IN THE CORPSE POSTURE (SHAVASANA). THIS WAS ASCRIBED TO REDUCED ANXIETY, THOUGH THIS WAS NOT ASSESSED. METHODS: IN FIFTY-SEVEN MALE VOLUNTEERS (GROUP AVERAGE AGE +/- S.D., 26.6 +/- 4.5 YEARS) THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF TWO YOGA RELAXATION TECHNIQUES WAS STUDIED ON MEMORY AND STATE ANXIETY. ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER (I) CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) PRACTICED FOR 22:30 MINUTES ON ONE DAY AND (II) AN EQUAL DURATION OF SUPINE REST (SR) OR THE CORPSE POSTURE (SHAVASANA), ON ANOTHER DAY. SECTIONS OF THE WECHSLER MEMORY SCALE (WMS) WERE USED TO ASSESS; (I) ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION (DIGIT SPAN FORWARD AND BACKWARD), AND (II) ASSOCIATE LEARNING. STATE ANXIETY WAS ASSESSED USING SPIELBERGER'S STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY (STAI). RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE SCORES OF ALL SECTIONS OF THE WMS STUDIED AFTER BOTH CM AND SR, BUT, THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE WAS MORE AFTER CM COMPARED TO AFTER SR. THE STATE ANXIETY SCORES DECREASED AFTER BOTH CM AND SR, WITH A GREATER MAGNITUDE OF DECREASE AFTER CM. THERE WAS NO CORRELATION BETWEEN PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN MEMORY SCORES AND STATE ANXIETY FOR EITHER SESSION. CONCLUSION: A CYCLICAL COMBINATION OF YOGA POSTURES AND SUPINE REST IN CM IMPROVED MEMORY SCORES IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PRACTICE AND DECREASED STATE ANXIETY MORE THAN REST IN A CLASSICAL YOGA RELAXATION POSTURE (SHAVASANA). 2009 8 1442 33 INCREASED MENTAL WELL-BEING AND REDUCED STATE ANXIETY IN TEACHERS AFTER PARTICIPATION IN A RESIDENTIAL YOGA PROGRAM. BACKGROUND REDUCING STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE IMPROVES MENTAL HEALTH. TEACHING IS OF SOCIAL IMPORTANCE, BUT IT MAY RECEIVE INADEQUATE RECOGNITION AND REWARDS. THE PRESENT STUDY COMPARED MENTAL WELL-BEING AND STATE ANXIETY IN PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS WHO PRACTICED 15 DAYS OF YOGA IN A RESIDENTIAL SETTING WITH THOSE WHO CONTINUED THEIR USUAL ROUTINE. MATERIAL AND METHODS WE ENROLLED 236 PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY. WE ASSIGNED 118 PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS (GROUP MEAN +/-S.D., AGE 41.5+/-6.0 YEARS, 74 FEMALES) TO THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP; THEY UNDERWENT 15 DAYS OF YOGA TRAINING FOR 6 HOURS/DAY) IN A RESIDENTIAL YOGA CENTER. THE NON-YOGA CONTROL GROUP (GROUP MEAN +/-S.D., AGE 42.3+/-6.0 YEARS, 79 FEMALES) CONSISTED OF 118 TEACHERS WHO CONTINUED WITH THEIR NORMAL TEACHING ROUTINE. RESULTS AFTER 15 DAYS IN THE RESIDENTIAL YOGA PROGRAM, THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN OVERALL MENTAL WELL-BEING (P<.001) AND LOWER STATE ANXIETY (P<.01) (REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA, FOLLOWED BY POST HOC MULTIPLE COMPARISON TESTS). AT BASELINE, THE NON-YOGA CONTROL GROUP HAD HIGHER LEVELS OF STATE ANXIETY, PRESUMABLY RELATED TO THEIR REMAINING IN THE WORKPLACE. CONCLUSIONS THE STUDY WAS A 15-DAY, COMPARATIVE, CONTROLLED TRIAL. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT AFTER 15 DAYS OF PARTICIPATION IN THE RESIDENTIAL YOGA PROGRAM, PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS INCREASED ALL ASPECTS OF MENTAL WELL-BEING AND HAD REDUCED STATE ANXIETY. 2018 9 820 30 EFFECT OF YOGA ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF MENTAL HEALTH. STATE ANXIETY, SOMATIZATION OF STRESS, QUALITY OF LIFE, SELF-RATED QUALITY OF SLEEP, AND DISCOMFORT DUE TO OVER-BREATHING WHICH OCCURS WHEN STRESSED WERE STUDIED. OUT OF A TOTAL OF 140 PARTICIPANTS, SEVENTY PARTICIPANTS SELF-SELECTED TO BE IN A YOGA GROUP FOR STRESS RELIEF (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD, 33.0 +/- 6.5 YEARS; 37 MALES). SEVENTY AGE AND GENDER MATCHED PARTICIPANTS WERE IN A CONTROL GROUP. STATE ANXIETY, SOMATIZATION OF STRESS, QUALITY OF LIFE, DISCOMFORT AND SELF-RATED QUALITY OF SLEEP WERE ASSESSED USING THE STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY, SYMPTOM CHECKLIST-90-R, SF-12, NIJMEGEN DISCOMFORT EVALUATION SCALE AND A SLEEP RATING QUESTIONNAIRE RESPECTIVELY. ASSESSMENTS WERE MADE AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE WEEK. REPEATED MEASURES ANOVAS WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST-HOC ANALYSES SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN STATE ANXIETY (P < 0.001), SOMATIZATION OF STRESS (P < 0.01), IMPROVED HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (P < 0.01), SELF-RATED QUALITY OF SLEEP (P < 0.01), AND DECREASE IN DISCOMFORT DUE TO OVER-BREATHING (P < 0.001). NO CHANGES (EXCEPT DECREASED DISCOMFORT DUE TO OVER-BREATHING; P < 0.01) OCCURRED IN THE CONTROL GROUP. THIS STUDY SUGGESTS THAT A BRIEF YOGA PROGRAM MAY BE BENEFICIAL IN DECREASING ANXIETY, SOMATIZATION OF STRESS AND DISCOMFORT, IMPROVING HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AND SELF-RATED SLEEP QUALITY. 2012 10 832 25 EFFECT OF YOGA ON MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT AND MOTOR FUNCTIONS IN PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER USERS. THE SELF-RATED MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT, HAND GRIP STRENGTH, TAPPING SPEED, AND LOW BACK AND HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY (BASED ON A SIT AND REACH TASK) WERE ASSESSED IN 291 PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER USERS. THEY WERE THEN RANDOMIZED AS YOGA (YG; N=146) AND WAIT-LIST CONTROL (WL; N=145) GROUPS. FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENTS FOR BOTH GROUPS WERE AFTER 60 DAYS DURING WHICH THE YG GROUP PRACTICED YOGA FOR 60 MINUTES DAILY, FOR 5 DAYS IN A WEEK. THE WL GROUP SPENT THE SAME TIME IN THEIR USUAL RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES. AT THE END OF 60 DAYS, THE YG GROUP (N=62) SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE FREQUENCY, INTENSITY AND DEGREE OF INTERFERENCE DUE TO MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT, AN INCREASE IN BILATERAL HAND GRIP STRENGTH, THE RIGHT HAND TAPPING SPEED, AND LOW BACK AND HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY (REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA AND POST HOC ANALYSIS WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT). IN CONTRAST, THE WL GROUP (N=56) SHOWED AN INCREASE IN MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT AND A DECREASE IN LEFT HAND TAPPING SPEED. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PRACTICE IS A USEFUL ADDITION TO THE ROUTINE OF PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER USERS. 2009 11 678 21 EFFECT OF A YOGA PRACTICE SESSION AND A YOGA THEORY SESSION ON STATE ANXIETY. YOGA TECHNIQUES PRACTICED FOR VARYING DURATIONS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO REDUCE STATE ANXIETY. IN THIS STUDY, THERE WERE 300 NAIVE-TO-YOGA PERSONS OF BOTH SEXES WHO WERE ATTENDING A YOGA THERAPY CENTER IN NORTH INDIA FOR STRESS RELIEF AS DAY VISITORS AND WERE NOT RESIDING AT THE CENTER. THEY WERE ASSIGNED TO TWO GROUPS, YOGA PRACTICE AND YOGA THEORY, AND THEIR STATE ANXIETY WAS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER A 2-HR. YOGA SESSION. A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN SCORES ON STATE ANXIETY WAS FOUND IN THE YOGA PRACTICE GROUP (14.7% DECREASE), AS WELL AS IN THE YOGA THEORY GROUP (3.4% DECREASE). THE DIFFERENCE IN SCORES FOLLOWING THE SESSIONS WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. HENCE, YOGA PRACTICE AS WELL AS LEARNING ABOUT THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF YOGA APPEAR TO REDUCE STATE ANXIETY, WITH A GREATER REDUCTION FOLLOWING YOGA PRACTICE. 2009 12 277 27 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 13 1726 35 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 14 746 29 EFFECT OF SAHAJ YOGA ON NEURO-COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM MAJOR DEPRESSION. COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS ARE IMPAIRED IN MAJOR DEPRESSION. STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS HAVE SHOWN IMPROVEMENT IN MEMORY, VIGILANCE AND ANXIETY LEVELS. 30 PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM MAJOR DEPRESSION (AGE 18 TO 45 YEARS) WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS: GROUP 1: (10 MALES AND 5 FEMALES) PATIENTS WHO PRACTISED SAHAJ YOGA MEDITATION AND ALSO RECEIVED CONVENTIONAL ANTI-DEPRESSANT MEDICATION. GROUP 2: (9 MALES AND 6 FEMALES) PATIENTS WHO ONLY RECEIVED CONVENTIONAL ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION. GROUP 1 PATIENTS WERE ADMINISTERED SAHAJ YOGA PRACTICE FOR 8 WEEKS. NEURO-COGNITIVE TEST BATTERY CONSISTING OF LETTER CANCELLATION TEST (LCT), TRAIL MAKING TEST 'A' (TTA), TRAIL MAKING TEST 'B' (TTB), RUFF FIGURAL FLUENCY TEST (RFFT), FORWARD DIGIT SPAN (FDS) & REVERSE DIGIT SPAN TEST (RDS) WAS USED TO ASSESS FOLLOWING COGNITIVE DOMAINS: ATTENTION SPAN, VISUO-MOTOR SPEED, SHORT-TERM MEMORY, WORKING MEMORY AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS. AFTER 8 WEEKS, BOTH GROUP 1 AND GROUP 2 SUBJECTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN LCT, TTA & TTB BUT IMPROVEMENT IN LCT WAS MORE MARKED IN GROUP 1 SUBJECTS. ALSO, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN RDS SCORES IN ONLY GROUP 1 SUBJECTS (P < 0.05). THE RESULTS THEREBY, DEMONSTRATE THAT SAHAJ YOGA PRACTICE IN ADDITION TO THE IMPROVEMENT IN VARIOUS OTHER COGNITIVE DOMAINS SEEN WITH CONVENTIONAL ANTI-DEPRESSANTS, CAN LEAD TO ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENT IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS LIKE MANIPULATION OF INFORMATION IN THE VERBAL WORKING MEMORY AND ADDED IMPROVEMENT IN ATTENTION SPAN AND VISUO-MOTOR SPEED OF THE DEPRESSIVES. 2006 15 463 37 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 16 858 44 EFFECT OF YOGA OR PHYSICAL EXERCISE ON PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL MEASURES IN CHILDREN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SEPARATELY REPORTED THE EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND YOGA IN CHILDREN, SHOWING PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL BENEFITS. OBJECTIVES: THE PRESENT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA OR PHYSICAL EXERCISE ON PHYSICAL FITNESS, COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE, SELF-ESTEEM, AND TEACHER-RATED BEHAVIOR AND PERFORMANCE, IN SCHOOL CHILDREN. METHODS: 98 SCHOOL CHILDREN BETWEEN 8 TO 13 YEARS WERE RANDOMIZED AS YOGA AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUPS {N = 49 EACH; (YOGA: 15 GIRLS, GROUP MEAN AGE 10.4 +/- 1.2 YEARS), (PHYSICAL EXERCISE: 23 GIRLS, GROUP MEAN AGE 10.5 +/- 1.3 YEARS)}. BOTH GROUPS WERE BLIND ASSESSED AFTER ALLOCATION, USING: (I) THE EUROFIT PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST BATTERY, (II) STROOP COLOR-WORD TASK FOR CHILDREN, (III) BATTLE'S SELF-ESTEEM INVENTORY AND (IV) THE TEACHERS' RATING OF THE CHILDREN'S OBEDIENCE, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, ATTENTION, PUNCTUALITY, AND BEHAVIOR WITH FRIENDS AND TEACHERS. AFTER ASSESSMENTS THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED YOGA (BREATHING TECHNIQUES, POSTURES, GUIDED RELAXATION AND CHANTING), 45 MINUTES EACH DAY, 5 DAYS A WEEK. DURING THIS TIME THE PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUP HAD JOGGING-IN-PLACE, RAPID REPETITIVE MOVEMENTS AND RELAY RACES OR GAMES. BOTH GROUPS WERE ASSESSED AT THE END OF 3 MONTHS. DATA WERE ANALYZED WITH RM ANOVA AND POST-HOC TESTS WERE BONFERRONI ADJUSTED. RESULTS: THERE WAS ONE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS. THIS WAS IN SOCIAL SELF-ESTEEM WHICH WAS HIGHER AFTER PHYSICAL EXERCISE COMPARED TO YOGA (P < 0.05). ALL THE CHANGES REPORTED BELOW ARE BASED ON AFTER-BEFORE COMPARISONS, WITHIN EACH GROUP. BOTH GROUPS SHOWED AN INCREASE IN BMI, AND NUMBER OF SIT-UPS (P < 0.001). BALANCE WORSENED IN THE PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUP, WHILE PLATE TAPPING IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.001). IN THE STROOP TASK BOTH GROUPS SHOWED IMPROVED COLOR, WORD- AND COLOR-WORD NAMING (P < 0.01), WHILE THE PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUP SHOWED HIGHER INTERFERENCE SCORES. TOTAL, GENERAL AND PARENTAL SELF-ESTEEM IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: YOGA AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE ARE USEFUL ADDITIONS TO THE SCHOOL ROUTINE, WITH PHYSICAL EXERCISE IMPROVING SOCIAL SELF-ESTEEM. TRIAL REGISTRATION: THE STUDY WAS REGISTERED IN THE CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY OF INDIA (CTRI/2012/11/003112). 2013 17 2319 31 TREATING THE CLIMACTERIC SYMPTOMS IN INDIAN WOMEN WITH AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO YOGA THERAPY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL STUDY. OBJECTIVE: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON THE CLIMACTERIC SYMPTOMS, PERCEIVED STRESS, AND PERSONALITY IN PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. DESIGN: ONE HUNDRED TWENTY PARTICIPANTS (AGES 40-55 Y) WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO STUDY ARMS, IE, YOGA AND CONTROL. THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO YOGA THERAPY COMPRISING SURYA NAMASKARA (SUN SALUTATION) WITH 12 POSTURES, PRANAYAMA (BREATHING PRACTICES), AND AVARTAN DHYAN (CYCLIC MEDITATION), WHEREAS THE CONTROL GROUP PRACTICED A SET OF SIMPLE PHYSICAL EXERCISES UNDER SUPERVISION OF TRAINED TEACHERS FOR 8 WEEKS (1 H DAILY, 5 DAYS PER WEEK). THE ASSESSMENTS WERE MADE BY GREENE CLIMACTERIC SCALE, PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE, AND EYSENCK'S PERSONALITY INVENTORY BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: OF THE THREE FACTORS OF THE GREENE CLIMACTERIC SCALE, THE MANN-WHITNEY TEST SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS (P < 0.05) IN THE VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS, A MARGINALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE (P = 0.06) IN PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS BUT NOT IN THE SOMATIC COMPONENT. EFFECT SIZES WERE HIGHER IN THE YOGA GROUP FOR ALL FACTORS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER DEGREE OF DECREASE IN PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE SCORES (P < 0.001, INDEPENDENT SAMPLES T TEST) IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPARED WITH CONTROLS (BETWEEN-GROUP ANALYSIS) WITH A HIGHER EFFECT SIZE IN THE YOGA GROUP (1.10) THAN THE CONTROL (0.27). ON THE EYSENCK'S PERSONALITY INVENTORY, THE DECREASE IN NEUROTICISM WAS GREATER (P < 0.05) IN THE YOGA GROUP (EFFECT SIZE = 0.43) THAN THE CONTROL GROUP (EFFECT SIZE = 0.21) WITH NO CHANGE IN EXTROVERSION IN EITHER THE YOGA OR CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: EIGHT WEEKS OF AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO YOGA THERAPY DECREASES CLIMACTERIC SYMPTOMS, PERCEIVED STRESS, AND NEUROTICISM IN PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN BETTER THAN PHYSICAL EXERCISE. 2008 18 523 27 COMPARISON OF CHANGES IN AUTONOMIC AND RESPIRATORY PARAMETERS OF GIRLS AFTER YOGA AND GAMES AT A COMMUNITY HOME. THE HEART RATE, BREATHING RATE, AND SKIN RESISTANCE WERE RECORDED FOR 20 COMMUNITY HOME GIRLS (HOME GROUP) AND FOR 20 AGE-MATCHED GIRLS FROM A REGULAR SCHOOL (SCHOOL GROUP). THE FORMER GROUP HAD A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER RATE OF BREATHING AND A MORE IRREGULAR BREATH PATTERN KNOWN TO CORRELATE WITH HIGH FEAR AND ANXIETY, THAN THE SCHOOL GROUP. SKIN RESISTANCE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN THE SCHOOL GROUP, WHICH MAY SUGGEST GREATER AROUSAL, 28 GIRLS OF THE HOME GROUP FORMED 14 PAIRS, MATCHED FOR AGE AND DURATION OF STAY IN THE HOME. SUBJECTS OF A PAIR WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER YOGA OR GAMES GROUPS. FOR THE FORMER EMPHASIS WAS ON RELAXATION AND AWARENESS, WHEREAS FOR THE LATTER INCREASING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY WAS EMPHASIZED. AT THE END OF AN HOUR DAILY FOR SIX MONTHS BOTH GROUPS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE RESTING HEART RATE RELATIVE TO INITIAL VALUES (WILCOXON PAIRED-SAMPLE REST), AND THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN BREATH RATE, WHICH APPEARED MORE REGULAR BUT NO SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE SKIN RESISTANCE. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT A YOGA PROGRAM WHICH INCLUDES RELAXATION, AWARENESS, AND GRADED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS A USEFUL ADDITION TO THE ROUTINE OF COMMUNITY HOME CHILDREN. 1997 19 1762 30 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 1350 21 IMMEDIATE CHANGES IN MUSCLE STRENGTH AND MOTOR SPEED FOLLOWING YOGA BREATHING. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO ASSESS THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING ON MUSCLE STRENGTH AND MOTOR SPEED. BILATERAL HANDGRIP STRENGTH, LEG AND BACK STRENGTH, FINGER TAPPING AND ARM TAPPING SPEED WERE ASSESSED IN FIFTY MALE PARTICIPANTS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD, 26.9 +/- 6.2 YEARS) BEFORE AND AFTER (A) HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING FOR 15 MINUTES AND (B) BREATH AWARENESS FOR THE SAME DURATION. SESSIONS (A) AND (B) WERE ON TWO DIFFERENT DAYS BUT AT THE SAME TIME OF THE DAY. THE SCHEDULE WAS ALTERNATED FOR DIFFERENT PARTICIPANTS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE (P < 0.05) IN RIGHT HAND GRIP STRENGTH AFTER HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING. BOTH FINGER AND ARM TAPPING IMPROVED AFTER BOTH PRACTICES. THE RESULTS SUGGEST A ROLE FOR HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING IN IMPROVING THE HAND GRIP STRENGTH AS AN IMMEDIATE EFFECT. 2014