1 946 110 EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEKS YOGA INTERVENTION ON MOTOR AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN. SINCE EARLY CHILDHOOD IS REGARDED AS AN IMPORTANT PERIOD OF MOTOR AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT, UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON MOTOR ABILITES AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN HAS MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES THE EFFECTS OF A 12 WEEKS' YOGA INTERVENTION PROGRAM ON MOTOR AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN. PRESCHOOL CHILDREN (N = 45; AGE 5-6 YEARS) ATTENDING REGULAR PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS WERE NON-RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO YOGA INTERVENTION (N = 23; 30 MIN SESSIONS THREE TIMES PER WEEK) OR A CONTROL GROUP (N = 22; NO ADDITIONAL ORGANIZED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM). EXERCISE TRAINING FOR THE INTERVENTION GROUP INCLUDED YOGA PROGRAM. MOTOR ABILITIES (BOT-2 SUBTESTS: FINE MOTOR INTEGRATION, MANUAL DEXTERITY, BALANCE AND BILATERAL COORDINATION), AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES (SCHOOL MATURITY TEST SUBTESTS: VISUAL MEMORY, STACKING CUBES AND CODES) WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION PERIOD IN BOTH GROUPS. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA. PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP IMPROVED FINE MOTOR INTEGRATION (P = 0.022), FINE MOTOR SKILLS IN GENERAL (0.029), BILATERAL COORDINATION (0.000), BALANCE (0.000), AND BODY COORDINATION (0.000). PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S PARTICIPATION IN THE PRESCHOOL YOGA INTERVENTION SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED THEIR MOTOR ABILITIES, BUT NOT THEIR COGNITIVE ABILITIES. 2021 2 562 34 CREATIVE YOGA INTERVENTION IMPROVES MOTOR AND IMITATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER. BACKGROUND: THERE IS GROWING EVIDENCE FOR MOTOR IMPAIRMENTS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD), INCLUDING POOR GROSS AND FINE MOTOR PERFORMANCE, POOR BALANCE, AND INCOORDINATION. HOWEVER, THERE IS LIMITED EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTS OF MOTOR INTERVENTIONS FOR THIS POPULATION. OBJECTIVE: IN THE PRESENT STUDY, THE EFFECTS OF A PHYSICAL THERAPY INTERVENTION USING CREATIVE YOGA ON THE MOTOR AND IMITATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH ASD WERE EVALUATED. DESIGN: THIS STUDY HAD A PRETEST-POSTTEST CONTROL GROUP DESIGN. METHODS: TWENTY-FOUR CHILDREN WITH ASD AGED BETWEEN 5 AND 13 YEARS RECEIVED 8 WEEKS OF A PHYSICAL THERAPIST-DELIVERED YOGA OR ACADEMIC INTERVENTION. CHILDREN WERE TESTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION USING A STANDARDIZED MOTOR MEASURE, THE BRUININKS-OSERETSKY TEST OF MOTOR PERFORMANCE-2ND EDITION (BOT-2). THE IMITATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN USING FAMILIAR TRAINING-SPECIFIC ACTIONS (IE, POSES FOR THE YOGA GROUP AND BUILDING ACTIONS FOR THE ACADEMIC GROUP) WERE ALSO ASSESSED. RESULTS: AFTER THE INTERVENTION, CHILDREN IN THE YOGA GROUP IMPROVED GROSS MOTOR PERFORMANCE ON THE BOT-2 AND DISPLAYED FEWER IMITATION/PRAXIS ERRORS WHEN COPYING TRAINING-SPECIFIC YOGA POSES. IN CONTRAST, CHILDREN IN THE ACADEMIC GROUP IMPROVED THEIR FINE MOTOR PERFORMANCE ON THE BOT-2 AND PERFORMED FEWER IMITATION ERRORS WHILE COMPLETING THE TRAINING-SPECIFIC BUILDING ACTIONS. LIMITATIONS: THE STUDY LIMITATIONS INCLUDE SMALL SAMPLE SIZE AND LACK OF LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP. CONCLUSIONS: OVERALL, CREATIVE INTERVENTIONS, SUCH AS YOGA, ARE PROMISING TOOLS FOR ENHANCING THE MOTOR AND IMITATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH ASD. 2019 3 30 40 12 WEEKS OF KINDERGARTEN-BASED YOGA PRACTICE INCREASES VISUAL ATTENTION, VISUAL-MOTOR PRECISION AND DECREASES BEHAVIOR OF INATTENTION AND HYPERACTIVITY IN 5-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN. THE PRESENT STUDY ASSESSES THE IMPACT OF KINDERGARTEN-BASED YOGA ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE, VISUAL-MOTOR COORDINATION, AND BEHAVIOR OF INATTENTION AND HYPERACTIVITY IN 5-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN. IN THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, 45 CHILDREN (28 FEMALE; 17 MALE; 5.2 +/- 0.4 YEARS) PARTICIPATED. OVER 12 WEEKS, 15 CHILDREN PERFORMED HATHA-YOGA TWICE A WEEK FOR 30 MIN, ANOTHER 15 CHILDREN PERFORMED GENERIC PHYSICAL EDUCATION (PE) TWICE A WEEK FOR 30 MIN, AND 15 CHILDREN PERFORMED NO KIND OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES, SERVING AS CONTROL GROUP (CG). PRIOR TO (T 0) AND AFTER 12 WEEKS (T 1), ALL PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED VISUAL ATTENTION AND VISUOMOTOR PRECISION SUBTESTS OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION BATTERY AND TEACHERS EVALUATED CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR OF INATTENTION AND HYPERACTIVITY WITH THE ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) RATING SCALE-IV. AT T 0, NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS APPEARED. REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE REVEALED THAT FOLLOWING BONFERRONI-HOLM CORRECTIONS YOGA, IN COMPARISON TO PE AND CG, HAD A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPMENT ON BEHAVIOR OF INATTENTION AND HYPERACTIVITY. FURTHER, YOGA HAS A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE IMPACT ON COMPLETION TIMES IN TWO VISUMOTOR PRECISION TASKS IN COMPARISON TO PE. FINALLY, RESULTS INDICATE A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE EFFECT OF YOGA ON VISUAL ATTENTION SCORES IN COMPARISON TO CG. 12 WEEKS OF KINDERGARTEN-BASED YOGA IMPROVES SELECTED VISUAL ATTENTION AND VISUAL-MOTOR PRECISION PARAMETERS AND DECREASES BEHAVIOR OF INATTENTION AND HYPERACTIVITY IN 5-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN. CONSEQUENTLY, YOGA REPRESENTS A SUFFICIENT AND COST-BENEFIT EFFECTIVE EXERCISE WHICH COULD ENHANCE COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS RELEVANT FOR LEARNING AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG YOUNG CHILDREN. 2019 4 2192 33 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON BALANCE, STRENGTH, COORDINATION AND FLEXIBILITY IN HEALTHY CHILDREN AGED 10-12YEARS. OBJECTIVE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON BALANCE, STRENGTH, COORDINATION, AND FLEXIBILITY IN HEALTHY CHILDREN AGED 10-12 YEARS. STUDY DESIGN: QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL, NONRANDOMIZED. BACKGROUND: RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA IN CHILDREN HAS FOCUSED ON THE BENEFITS SEEN IN NON-HEALTHY CHILDREN OR ON THE EFFECTS ON HAND GRIP STRENGTH AND MOTOR PERFORMANCE. THE STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON BALANCE, STRENGTH, COORDINATION, AND FLEXIBILITY HAVE BEEN LIMITED. METHODS AND MEASURES: A CONVENIENCE SAMPLE OF 26 CHILDREN, AGED 10-12 YEARS WAS OBTAINED. THE CHILDREN PARTICIPATED IN 40MIN YOGA SESSIONS, LED BY A REGISTERED YOGA TEACHER, 1-3 TIMES PER WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS. THE BRUININKS-OSERETSKY TEST OF MOTOR PROFICIENCY, SECOND EDITION (BOT-2), THE SIT AND REACH TEST, AND THE 90/90 HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY TEST WERE ADMINISTERED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF THE 8 WEEKS. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS WERE CALCULATED FOR ALL MEASUREMENTS. A SHAPIRO-WILK TEST WAS USED TO TEST NORMALITY. A WILCOXIN SIGNED-RANK TEST WAS USED TO ANALYZE PRE- AND POST-TEST MEASUREMENTS FOR ALL VARIABLES. RESULTS: THERE WAS A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT WITHIN-SUBJECT DIFFERENCE FROM PRE-TEST TO POST-TEST FOR BALANCE (P=0.026), SIT AND REACH (P=0.000), POPLITEAL ANGLE RIGHT (P=0.005), AND POPLITEAL ANGLE LEFT (P=0.018). THERE WERE NO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN STRENGTH AND BILATERAL COORDINATION FROM PRE-TO POST-TEST MEASUREMENTS. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MAY BE A BENEFICIAL FORM OF EXERCISE IN THE SCHOOL-BASED SETTING FOR IMPROVING BALANCE AND FLEXIBILITY IN HEALTHY CHILDREN. 2019 5 970 35 EFFECTS OF AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM ON SUSTAINED ATTENTION AND DISCRIMINATION FUNCTION IN CHILDREN WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED WHETHER A YOGA EXERCISE INTERVENTION INFLUENCED THE SUSTAINED ATTENTION AND DISCRIMINATION FUNCTION IN CHILDREN WITH ADHD. FORTY-NINE PARTICIPANTS (MEAN AGE = 10.50 YEARS) WERE ASSIGNED TO EITHER A YOGA EXERCISE OR A CONTROL GROUP. PARTICIPANTS WERE GIVEN THE VISUAL PURSUIT TEST AND DETERMINATION TEST PRIOR TO AND AFTER AN EIGHT-WEEK EXERCISE INTERVENTION (TWICE PER WEEK, 40 MIN PER SESSION) OR A CONTROL INTERVENTION. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN ACCURACY RATE AND REACTION TIME OF THE TWO TESTS WERE OBSERVED OVER TIME IN THE EXERCISE GROUP COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES SUCH AS YOGA EXERCISES CAN BE COMPLEMENTARY TO BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS FOR CHILDREN WITH ATTENTION AND INHIBITION PROBLEMS. SCHOOLS AND PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH ADHD SHOULD CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES FOR MAXIMIZING THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT CHILDREN WITH ADHD CAN ENGAGE IN STRUCTURED YOGA EXERCISES. 2017 6 2191 34 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE IN SCHOOL PHYSICAL EDUCATION ON CHILDREN'S MOTOR ABILITIES AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR. BACKGROUND: IN RECENT YEARS, YOGA PROGRAMS IN CHILDHOOD HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN SCHOOLS, TO PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT FOR CHILDREN. AIM: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PROGRAM IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASSES ON THE MOTOR ABILITIES AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR PARAMETERS OF 6-8-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN. METHODS: THE STUDY INCLUDED 16 CHILDREN FROM THE 1(ST) GRADE OF A PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN THE SOUTH OF BRAZIL. THE CHILDREN PARTICIPATED IN A 12-WEEK INTERVENTION, TWICE WEEKLY, WITH 45 MIN EACH SESSION. TO ASSESS CHILDREN'S PERFORMANCE, WE USED THE BRUININKS-OSERETSKY TEST OF MOTOR PROFICIENCY - SECOND EDITION, THE FLEXIBILITY TEST (SIT AND REACH - EUROFIT, 1988), THE PICTORIAL SCALE OF PERCEIVED COMPETENCE AND SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN AND SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS WITH CHILDREN, PARENTS, AND CLASSROOM' TEACHER. DATA WERE ANALYZED WITH WILCOXON TEST AND LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE WAS 5%. RESULTS: THE YOGA PROGRAM WAS WELL ACCEPTED BY CHILDREN, CHILDREN ALSO DEMONSTRATED SIGNIFICANT AND POSITIVE CHANGES IN OVERALL MOTOR ABILITIES SCORES (BALANCE, STRENGTH, AND FLEXIBILITY). IN ADDITION, THE INTERVIEWS REPORTED CHANGING IN SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND THE USE OF THE KNOWLEDGE LEARNED IN THE PROGRAM IN CONTEXTS OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF YOGA PRACTICE IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION LESSONS CONTRIBUTED TO CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT. 2016 7 1463 39 INFLUENCE OF YOGA-BASED PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ON PSYCHOMOTOR PERFORMANCE AND SELF-EFFICACY IN SCHOOL CHILDREN. SELECTIVE ATTENTION AND EFFICACY ARE IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF SCHOLASTIC PERFORMANCE IN SCHOOL CHILDREN. WHILE ATTEMPTS ARE BEING MADE TO INTRODUCE NEW METHODS TO IMPROVE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE EITHER AS PART OF CURRICULAR OR EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES IN SCHOOLS, THE SUCCESS RATES ARE MINIMAL. HENCE, THIS STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECT OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTION ON PSYCHOMOTOR PERFORMANCE AND SELF-EFFICACY IN SCHOOL CHILDREN. TWO HUNDRED TEN SCHOOL CHILDREN WITH AGES RANGING FROM 11 TO 16 YEARS (MEAN AGE +/- SD; 13.7 +/- 0.8 YEARS) SATISFYING THE INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA WERE RECRUITED FOR THE 10-DAY YOGA PROGRAM. AN EQUAL NUMBER OF AGE-MATCHED PARTICIPANTS (N = 210; MEAN +/- SD; 13.1 +/- 0.8 YEARS) WERE SELECTED FOR THE CONTROL GROUP. PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED FOR ATTENTION AND PERFORMANCE AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF 10 DAYS USING TRAIL MAKING TASK (TMT) A AND B, AND SELF-EFFICACY QUESTIONNAIRE. THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED HIGHER SELF-EFFICACY AND IMPROVED PERFORMANCE AFTER 10 DAYS OF YOGA INTERVENTION. THE PERFORMANCE IN TMT-A AND -B OF THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER NUMBER OF ATTEMPTS WITH A REDUCTION IN TIME TAKEN TO COMPLETE THE TASK AND A NUMBER OF WRONG ATTEMPTS COMPARED WITH CONTROL GROUP. RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PRACTICE ENHANCES SELF-EFFICACY AND PROCESSING SPEED WITH FINE MOTOR COORDINATION, VISUAL-MOTOR INTEGRATION, VISUAL PERCEPTION, PLANNING ABILITY, AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE. 2016 8 853 32 EFFECT OF YOGA ON THE MOTOR PROFICIENCY OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AND THE FEASIBILITY OF ITS INCLUSION IN SPECIAL SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS. YOGA AS A MOVEMENT-BASED INTERVENTION IS INCREASINGLY CONSIDERED TO IMPROVE THE MOTOR SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD). HOWEVER, THERE IS LITTLE EVIDENCE OF THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON THEIR MOTOR SKILLS. THE CURRENT STUDY AIMS TO EXPLORE THE EFFECT OF GROUP YOGA PROGRAM ON MOTOR PROFICIENCY OF CHILDREN WITH ASD AND FEASIBILITY OF ITS INCLUSION IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS. FORTY-THREE CHILDREN WITH ASD FROM FOUR SPECIAL SCHOOLS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO YOGA (N = 23) AND CONTROL (N = 20) GROUP. A STRUCTURED YOGA PROGRAM OF 45 MIN FOR 12 WEEKS WAS DELIVERED BY TRAINED YOGA TEACHERS WHO ALSO TRACKED THEIR DAILY RESPONSES. THE BRUININKS-OSERETSKY TEST OF MOTOR PROFICIENCY. SECOND EDITION WAS USED TO ASSESS BOTH THE GROUPS PRE- AND POSTINTERVENTION. IN CONCLUSION, THE STUDY HIGHLIGHTED THAT YOGA APPEARS TO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE GROSS MOTOR RATHER THAN FINE MOTOR PROFICIENCY OF CHILDREN WITH ASD AND IS FEASIBLE TO BE DELIVERED AS GROUP INTERVENTION IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS. 2022 9 862 30 EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICES ON GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY IN URBAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL CHILDREN. INTRODUCTION MENTAL ABILITY OF CHILDREN REPRESENTS FUNCTIONING OF BRAIN IN DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF COMPETENCY INCLUDING VERBAL, MATHEMATICAL, LOGICAL REASONING AND SPATIAL, WHICH IS OF PRIME IMPORTANCE FOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE. OBJECTIVE THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY OF URBAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL CHILDREN. METHODS SIXTY-SIX URBAN SCHOOL CHILDREN AGED 11-15YEARS WERE SELECTED AS PARTICIPANTS. ALL THE SELECTED PARTICIPANTS WERE STAYING IN A RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL IN PUNE DISTRICT. A STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLING METHOD WAS USED TO DIVIDE THE STUDENTS INTO EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS. THERE WERE 32 STUDENTS IN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AND 29 STUDENTS IN CONTROL GROUP. BOTH EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS WERE ASSESSED FOR GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY BY USING STANDARD QUESTIONNAIRE AT THE BASELINE AND AT THE END OF 12WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING. THE STUDY PARTICIPANTS OF EXPERIMENTAL GROUP UNDERWENT YOGA TRAINING FOR 12WEEKS, FOR 1 H IN THE MORNING FOR A PERIOD OF 12WEEKS. THE CONTROL GROUP DID NOT UNDERGO ANY YOGA TRAINING DURING THIS TIME PERIOD. RESULTS THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP PARTICIPANTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY AS COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY INDICATE THAT YOGA PRACTICES COULD IMPROVE GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY OF URBAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL CHILDREN. 2020 10 952 37 EFFECTS OF A CREATIVE YOGA INTERVENTION ON THE JOINT ATTENTION AND SOCIAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS, AS WELL AS AFFECTIVE STATES OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS GAINING POPULARITY AS A MULTISYSTEM INTERVENTION DUE TO ITS IMPACT ON BOTH THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN WITH TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT. HOWEVER, THERE IS LIMITED EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE USE OF THIS APPROACH IN SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD). THE CURRENT PILOT STUDY EVALUATED THE IMPACT OF A CREATIVE YOGA INTERVENTION ON THE JOINT ATTENTION, SOCIAL COMMUNICATION, AND AFFECTIVE STATES OF CHILDREN WITH ASD. METHODS: 24 SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN WITH ASD RECEIVED EIGHT WEEKS OF YOGA (E.G., BREATHING, POSES, RELAXATION) OR TABLETOP PLAY/ACADEMIC INTERVENTION (E.G., READING, ARTS-CRAFTS, BUILDING ACTIVITIES). CHILDREN WERE TESTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION USING A STANDARDIZED MEASURE OF RESPONSIVE JOINT ATTENTION. ADDITIONALLY, CHANGES IN SOCIALLY DIRECTED VERBAL COMMUNICATION AND AFFECTIVE STATES OF CHILDREN WERE ASSESSED THREE TIMES DURING THE INTERVENTION PERIOD, I.E. DURING EARLY, MID, AND LATE INTERVENTION SESSIONS. RESULTS: CHILDREN WITH ASD SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS IN RESPONSIVE JOINT ATTENTION IN BOTH GROUPS IN THE POSTTEST VS. THE PRETEST. FURTHERMORE, CHILDREN IN THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS IN SOCIALLY DIRECTED VERBAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS ACROSS THE INTERVENTION SESSIONS, I.E. GREATER SPONTANEOUS AND RESPONSIVE COMMUNICATION FROM EARLY/MID TO LATE INTERVENTION SESSIONS COMPARED TO THE ACADEMIC GROUP. THERE WERE NO CHANGES IN AFFECTIVE STATES WITH THE INTERVENTION, HOWEVER, THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED GREATER INTERESTED AND LESS NEGATIVE AFFECT COMPARED TO THE ACADEMIC GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: CREATIVE YOGA INTERVENTION IS A PROMISING TOOL THAT LED TO IMPROVEMENTS IN INTERVENTION-RELATED SOCIAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND GENERALIZED JOINT ATTENTION SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH ASD. 2021 11 2758 38 YOGA PRACTICES AS AN ALTERNATIVE TRAINING FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS IN CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES PROVIDE FUNDAMENTAL BENEFITS TO CHILDREN'S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. THEY ARE VITAL FOR DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTHY LIFE, BUT PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT IS LIMITED. HEREIN, THE AUTHORS REPORT RESULTS OF A 16-WK YOGA PROGRAM, EVALUATING ITS EFFECTS ON PHYSICAL FITNESS IN CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. EIGHTY-THREE CHILDREN AGE 9-16 YEARS (12.37 +/- 2.19) PARTICIPATED IN A 2-ARM, SINGLE-BLIND WAIT-LIST-CONTROLLED STUDY AT A RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL IN SOUTH INDIA. PARTICIPANTS (YOGA GROUP 41, CONTROLS 42) WERE ASSESSED ON MUSCLE STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY, ENDURANCE, COORDINATION, AND RESPIRATORY HEALTH. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN PHYSICAL FITNESS WERE OBSERVED AFTER THE YOGA INTERVENTION (GROUP X TIME INTERACTIONS FOR RIGHT-HAND GRIP STRENGTH, P < .001; SIT-UP, P < .001; SIT AND REACH, P < .001; BILATERAL PLATE TAPPING, P < .001; AND PEAK EXPIRATORY FLOW RATE, P < .001). LEFT-HAND GRIP STRENGTH SHOWED MAIN EFFECTS OF TIME, ALTHOUGH THERE WERE NO GROUP X TIME INTERACTIONS. RESULTS DEMONSTRATE YOGA'S ABILITY TO IMPROVE A WIDE RANGE OF PHYSICAL VARIABLES IN CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. 2019 12 1986 31 SPATIAL AND VERBAL MEMORY TEST SCORES FOLLOWING YOGA AND FINE ARTS CAMPS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN. THE PERFORMANCE SCORES OF CHILDREN (AGED 11 TO 16 YEARS) IN VERBAL AND SPATIAL MEMORY TESTS WERE COMPARED FOR TWO GROUPS (N = 30, EACH), ONE ATTENDING A YOGA CAMP AND THE OTHER A FINE ARTS CAMP. BOTH GROUPS WERE ASSESSED ON THE MEMORY TASKS INITIALLY AND AFTER TEN DAYS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE INTERVENTIONS. A CONTROL GROUP (N = 30) WAS SIMILARLY STUDIED TO ASSESS THE TEST-RETEST EFFECT. AT THE FINAL ASSESSMENT THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF 43% IN SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES (MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS, TUKEY TEST), WHILE THE FINE ARTS AND CONTROL GROUPS SHOWED NO CHANGE. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PRACTICE, INCLUDING PHYSICAL POSTURES, YOGA BREATHING, MEDITATION AND GUIDED RELAXATION IMPROVED DELAYED RECALL OF SPATIAL INFORMATION. 2004 13 1442 28 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 14 2871 33 YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUE FACILITATES SUSTAINED ATTENTION IN PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN: A PILOT STUDY. CONTEXT: THE EXPERIENCE OF PAIN STRONGLY INFLUENCES SUSTAINED ATTENTION, WHICH IS IMPORTANT FOR NEUROCOGNITIVE PERFORMANCE. YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING SUSTAINED ATTENTION BY ATTENUATING PAIN IN PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN. HENCE, WE AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF A YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUE ON SUSTAINED ATTENTION AND SELF-REPORTED PAIN DISABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 22 MEN AGED 30 TO 50 YEARS WITH LOW BACK PAIN WERE RECRUITED FOR THE STUDY. THEY WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER THE YOGA (N = 11) OR CONTROL (N = 11) GROUPS. THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED A YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUE (YBRT) 1 HOUR A DAY FOR 4 WEEKS AND THE CONTROL GROUP MAINTAINED THEIR USUAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY REGIMEN. ASSESSMENTS INCLUDED THE SUSTAINED ATTENTION TO RESPONSE TASK (SART) AND THE OSWESTRY LOW BACK PAIN DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE (OLBPDQ) MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER THE 4-WEEK INTERVENTION. RESULTS: THE STUDY SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN ALL SELF-REPORTED OLBPDQ DOMAINS AND IMPROVEMENT IN SUSTAINED ATTENTION IN A BEFORE AND AFTER COMPARISON 4 WEEKS FOLLOWING THE YOGA INTERVENTION. PEARSON'S CORRELATION ALSO SHOWED A POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN SUSTAINED ATTENTION AND PAIN REDUCTION FOLLOWING THE YOGA INTERVENTION. CONCLUSION: THE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT YOGA PRACTICE REDUCES PAIN AND SIMULTANEOUSLY IMPROVES INFORMATION PROCESSING SPEED WITH IMPULSE CONTROL DURING THE PERFORMANCE OF A SUSTAINED ATTENTION TASK. 2020 15 33 33 A 10-WEEK YOGA PRACTICE HAS NO EFFECT ON COGNITION, BUT IMPROVES BALANCE AND MOTOR LEARNING BY ATTENUATING BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR LEVELS IN OLDER ADULTS. DESPITE STUDIES INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE AND MOTOR FUNCTIONING IN OLDER ADULTS, THE EFFECT ON DUAL-TASK PERFORMANCE AND MOTOR LEARNING AND THE SPECIFIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE POSITIVE EFFECT OF YOGA REMAIN UNCLEAR. THUS, THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON COGNITION, BALANCE UNDER SINGLE- AND DUAL-TASK CONDITIONS, AND MOTOR LEARNING. THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) IN INDUCED IMPROVEMENT WAS ALSO EXPLORED. PARTICIPANTS AGED 60-79YEARS WERE RANDOMIZED TO EITHER A CONTROL GROUP (N=15) OR A YOGA GROUP (N=18) FOR A 10-WEEK PERIOD. THE YOGA GROUP RECEIVED 90-MIN DURATION YOGA CLASSES TWO TIMES PER WEEK. CHANGES IN COGNITION, BALANCE UNDER SINGLE- AND DUAL-TASK CONDITIONS, AND LEARNING FAST AND ACCURATE REACHING MOVEMENTS WERE ASSESSED. YOGA PRACTICE DECREASED (P<0.05) THE VELOCITY VECTOR OF THE CENTER OF PRESSURE UNDER SINGLE- AND DUAL-TASK CONDITIONS, WHEREAS NO CHANGES IN COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE WERE OBSERVED. ALTHOUGH REACTION AND MOVEMENT TIMES DURING LEARNING WERE DECREASED IN BOTH GROUPS (P<0.05), A FASTER REACTION TIME (P<0.05) AND SHORTER MOVEMENT TIME (P<0.05) WERE OBSERVED IN THE YOGA GROUP THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUP. SIGNIFICANT MODERATE RELATIONSHIPS (P<0.05) BETWEEN CHANGES IN BDNF LEVELS AND FUNCTIONAL IMPROVEMENTS WERE OBSERVED. THUS, 10WEEKS OF YOGA PRACTICE RESULTED IN IMPROVED BALANCE AND LEARNING IN THE SPEED-ACCURACY MOTOR TASK THAT WERE MEDIATED BY INCREASED BDNF LEVELS, BUT HAD NO IMPACT ON COGNITION IN OLDER ADULTS. 2020 16 864 33 EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICES ON PSYCHO-MOTOR ABILITIES AMONG INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED CHILDREN. THE CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES SHOW DISORDERS AT MOTOR DEVELOPMENT AND COORDINATION. HENCE, THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO SEE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICES ON PSYCHO-MOTOR ABILITIES OF INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED CHILDREN. SEVENTY INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED CHILDREN WERE DIVIDED INTO EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP. BOTH EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUP WERE ASSESSED ON THE FIRST DAY AND AFTER 12 WEEKS OF THE YOGA INTERVENTION FOR STATIC BALANCE, EYE HAND COORDINATION, AGILITY AND REACTION TIME. THE SUBJECTS OF EXPERIMENTAL GROUP THEN UNDERWENT A TRAINING OF YOGA PRACTICES, FOR 1 HR FOR A TOTAL PERIOD OF 12 WEEKS. THE RESULT OF WITHIN GROUP COMPARISON REVEALED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN STATIC BALANCE, EYE HAND COORDINATION, AGILITY, AND REACTION TIME (P< 0.001) IN SUBJECTS OF YOGA GROUP HOWEVER NO CHANGE WAS OBSERVED IN CONTROL GROUP. THE PRESENT STUDY DEMONSTRATED THAT 12 WEEKS OF YOGA IS EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING PSYCHO-MOTOR ABILITIES OF INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED CHILDREN. 2018 17 1351 33 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 18 191 46 A RANDOMIZED STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF MINDS IN MOTION AND YOGA ON MOTOR PROFICIENCY AND ACADEMIC SKILLS AMONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN. BACKGROUND: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS CRITICAL FOR THE HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT AND WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN. SPECIFICALLY, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN COORDINATION, BALANCE, ATTENTION, AND BEHAVIOR AMONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN. HOWEVER, FOR MANY CHILDREN, PARTICULARLY THOSE BELONGING TO MINORITY GROUPS, OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN QUALITY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAMS OUTSIDE SCHOOL SETTINGS ARE LIMITED. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE WHETHER A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM CALLED MINDS IN MOTION (MIM) THE MAZE BEFORE SCHOOL, AS COMPARED WITH YOGA, MEETS THE CRITERIA OF THE COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM FRAMEWORK AS A BEFORE-SCHOOL PROGRAM TO IMPROVE OVERALL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-AGE STUDENTS. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 48 CHILDREN ATTENDING AN URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOL WITH LARGE MINORITY REPRESENTATION IN THE MIDWEST WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO MIM-THE MAZE OR YOGA. PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED ON MOTOR PROFICIENCY, BEHAVIOR, BALANCE, AND ACADEMIC SKILLS BEFORE AND AFTER TRAINING. TRAINING CONSISTED OF EITHER YOGA OR MIM-THE MAZE 30 MINUTES PER DAY BEFORE SCHOOL, 5 TIMES PER WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. RESULTS: MIM-THE MAZE AND YOGA GROUP STUDENTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN ACADEMIC SKILLS. CONCLUSIONS: MIM-THE MAZE IS FEASIBLE AND AFFORDABLE BEFORE-SCHOOL PROGRAM TO PROMOTE STUDENTS' CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS. 2020 19 1304 37 HATHA YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVES ATTENTION AND PROCESSING SPEED IN OLDER ADULTS: RESULTS FROM AN 8-WEEK RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL. BACKGROUND: AGE-RELATED COGNITIVE DECLINE IS WELL DOCUMENTED ACROSS VARIOUS ASPECTS OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION, INCLUDING ATTENTION AND PROCESSING SPEED, AND LIFESTYLE BEHAVIORS SUCH AS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PREVENTING COGNITIVE DECLINE AND MAINTAINING OR EVEN IMPROVING COGNITIVE FUNCTION. PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF AN 8-WEEK HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION ON ATTENTION AND PROCESSING SPEED AMONG OLDER ADULTS. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS (N = 118; MEAN AGE, 62 +/- 5.59) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO AN 8-WEEK HATHA YOGA GROUP OR A STRETCHING CONTROL GROUP AND COMPLETED COGNITIVE ASSESSMENTS-ATTENTION NETWORK TASK, TRAIL MAKING TEST PARTS A AND B, AND PATTERN COMPARISON TEST-AT BASELINE AND AFTER THE 8-WEEK INTERVENTION. RESULTS: ANALYSES OF COVARIANCE REVEALED SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER REACTION TIMES FOR THE YOGA GROUP ON THE ATTENTION NETWORK TASK'S NEUTRAL, CONGRUENT, AND INCONGRUENT CONDITIONS (P