1 1694 74 P300 AMPLITUDE AND ANTIDEPRESSANT RESPONSE TO SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY). BACKGROUND: THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) HAS SIGNIFICANT ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS. OBJECTIVE: THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED WHETHER PRETREATMENT P300 ERP AMPLITUDE PREDICTS ANTIDEPRESSANT RESPONSE TO SKY. METHODS: CONSENTING, DRUG-FREE DEPRESSED PATIENTS (N = 30; DYSTHYMICS, 15, MELANCHOLICS, 15) WHO RECEIVED SKY AS THE SOLE TREATMENT WERE ASSESSED CLINICALLY AT PRETREATMENT, 1 MONTH AND 3 MONTHS. AUDITORY P300 WAS RECORDED BEFORE TREATMENT. RESULTS: TWENTY-TWO PATIENTS RESPONDED FAVOURABLY TO SKY. THE PRETREATMENT P300 AMPLITUDE NEITHER DISTINGUISHED RESPONDERS AND NON-RESPONDERS NOR WAS ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENTIAL RATES OF RESPONSE. DISCUSSION: IT IS CONCLUDED THAT SKY THERAPY IS UNIFORMLY EFFECTIVE REGARDLESS OF THE PRETREATMENT P300 AMPLITUDE. 1998 2 760 23 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 3 737 29 EFFECT OF PRANAYAMA & YOGA-ASANA ON COGNITIVE BRAIN FUNCTIONS IN TYPE 2 DIABETES-P3 EVENT RELATED EVOKED POTENTIAL (ERP). BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF DELAYED COGNITION AS MEASURED BY P300, AN EVOKED POTENTIAL IS OBSERVED IN DIABETES MELLITUS. P300 (OR P3) IS A COMPONENT OF ENDOGENOUS CEREBRAL EVOKED RESPONSE THAT ASSESSES HIGHER FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN. OUR STUDY AIMS TO SEE THE ROLE OF PRANAYAMA AND YOGA-ASANA ON P300 LATENCY AND AMPLITUDE IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS. METHODS: SIXTY PATIENTS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES WERE RECRUITED FROM DIABETIC CLINIC AND DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS - CONTROL GROUP ON ONLY CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY AND YOGA-GROUP ON CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY ALONG WITH PRANAYAMA AND YOGA-ASANA. BASAL RECORDINGS OF P300 AND BLOOD GLUCOSE WERE TAKEN AT THE TIME OF RECRUITMENT AND SECOND RECORDINGS REPEATED AFTER FORTY FIVE DAYS FOR BOTH THE GROUPS. P300 WAS RECORDED ON NIHON KOHDEN NEUROPACK MU MEB 9100 USING AUDITORY "ODD-BALL PARADIGM". THE DATA WERE ANALYSED USING REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) FOLLOWED BY TUKEY'S TEST AT 5 PER CENT LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE. RESULTS: STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE LATENCY AND THE AMPLITUDE OF N200, P300 WAS OBSERVED IN THE YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT YOGA HAS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON P300 AND THUS CAN BE INCORPORATED ALONG WITH THE CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY FOR IMPROVING COGNITIVE BRAIN FUNCTIONS IN DIABETES. 2010 4 941 18 EFFECTS OF 8 WEEKS OF MODIFIED HATHA YOGA TRAINING ON RESTING-STATE BRAIN ACTIVITY AND THE P300 ERP IN PATIENTS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITY-RELATED STRESS. [PURPOSE] WE EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA ON EEG AND ERP IN PATIENTS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITY-RELATED STRESS. [PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS] EIGHTEEN MALE AND FEMALE INJURED WORKERS WITH HIGH STRESS LEVELS, AGED BETWEEN 18 TO 55 YEARS, WERE EVENLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS: UNTRAINED (CG) AND TRAINED (TG) MODIFIED HATHA YOGA GROUPS. A MODIFIED HATHA YOGA PROTOCOL WAS DESIGNED FOR THIS POPULATION BY TWO CERTIFIED YOGA INSTRUCTORS, APPROVED BY A PHYSICAL THERAPIST, AND CONDUCTED FOR ONE HOUR, THREE TIMES WEEKLY FOR 8 WEEKS. [RESULTS] THE RESULTS INDICATED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN ALPHA EEG ACTIVITY OVER THE FRONTAL, CENTRAL, AND PARIETAL ELECTRODES AND THE DELTA EEG ACTIVITY OVER THE CENTROPARIETAL ELECTRODE FROM PRE- TO POST-TRAINING IN TG. IN ADDITION, SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER AUDITORY REACTION TIME FOR TARGET STIMULI, AS WELL AS LOWER P300 PEAK LATENCY OF ERP IN AUDITORY ODDBALL PARADIGM WERE OBTAINED IN TG AFTER 8 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING COMPARE TO CG. [CONCLUSION] CHANGES IN BRAIN ACTIVITY AND ERP COMPONENTS FOLLOWING YOGA TRAINING WOULD SUPPORT THE PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA AS AN ADJUNCT TO ROUTINE REHABILITATION. 2018 5 327 35 ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFICACY OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) IN MELANCHOLIA: A RANDOMIZED COMPARISON WITH ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY (ECT) AND IMIPRAMINE. BACKGROUND: SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) IS A PROCEDURE THAT INVOLVES ESSENTIALLY RHYTHMIC HYPERVENTILATION AT DIFFERENT RATES OF BREATHING. THE ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFICACY OF SKY WAS DEMONSTRATED IN DYSTHYMIA IN A PROSPECTIVE, OPEN CLINICAL TRIAL. THIS STUDY COMPARED THE RELATIVE ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFICACY OF SKY IN MELANCHOLIA WITH TWO OF THE CURRENT STANDARD TREATMENTS, ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY (ECT) AND IMIPRAMINE (IMN). METHODS: CONSENTING, UNTREATED MELANCHOLIC DEPRESSIVES (N=45) WERE HOSPITALIZED AND RANDOMIZED EQUALLY INTO THREE TREATMENT GROUPS. THEY WERE ASSESSED AT RECRUITMENT AND WEEKLY THEREAFTER FOR FOUR WEEKS. RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN THE TOTAL SCORES ON BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY (BDI) AND HAMILTON RATING SCALE FOR DEPRESSION (HRSD) OCCURRED ON SUCCESSIVE OCCASIONS IN ALL THREE GROUPS. THE GROUPS, HOWEVER, DID NOT DIFFER. SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION BETWEEN THE GROUPS AND OCCASION OF ASSESSMENT OCCURRED. AT WEEK THREE, THE SKY GROUP HAD HIGHER SCORES THAN THE ECT GROUP BUT WAS NOT DIFFERENT FROM THE IMN GROUP. REMISSION (TOTAL HRSD SCORE OF SEVEN OR LESS) RATES AT THE END OF THE TRIAL WERE 93, 73 AND 67% IN THE ECT, IMN AND SKY GROUPS, RESPECTIVELY. NO CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT SIDE EFFECTS WERE OBSERVED. DISCUSSION: WITHIN THE LIMITATIONS OF THE DESIGN (LACK OF DOUBLE BLIND CONDITIONS), IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT, ALTHOUGH INFERIOR TO ECT, SKY CAN BE A POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE TO DRUGS IN MELANCHOLIA AS A FIRST LINE TREATMENT. 2000 6 1605 23 MENTAL STRESS: NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND ITS REGULATION BY SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA. AIM: THE PRESENT STUDY FOCUSES ON ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) ON EEG AS WELL AS ECG SIGNALS FOR STRESS REGULATION. TO ENVISION THE REGULATION OF STRESS DETERMINATION TEST (DT) HAS BEEN USED. WE HAVE CHOSEN A CONTROL GROUP FOR CONTRIVING A COGENT COMPARISON THAT COULD BE CORROBORATED USING STATISTICAL TESTS. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 20 SUBJECTS WERE TAKEN IN THE STUDY, OF WHICH 10 WERE ALLOTTED TO A CONTROL GROUP. ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPH WAS TAKEN DURING A DT TASK, BEFORE AND AFTER SKY THE SKY SESSION WITH 30 DAYS OF SKY SESSION GIVEN TO THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. NO SKY WAS GIVEN TO THE CONTROL GROUP. RESULTS: WE QUANTIFIED MENTAL STRESS USING EEG, ECG AND DT SYNERGISTICALLY AND USED SKY TO REGULATE IT. WE OBSERVED THAT ALPHA BAND POWER DECREASES IN THE FRONTAL LOBE OF THE BRAIN WITH INCREASING MENTAL STRESS WHILE FRONTAL BRAIN ASYMMETRY DECREASES WITH INCREASING STRESS TOLERANCE. CONCLUSIONS: THESE EEG, ECG AND DT SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT DECREMENT IN MENTAL STRESS AND IMPROVEMENT IN COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AFTER SKY, INDICATING SKY AS A GOOD ALTERNATIVE OF MEDICATION FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT. 2017 7 326 28 ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFICACY AND HORMONAL EFFECTS OF SUDARSHANA KRIYA YOGA (SKY) IN ALCOHOL DEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS. BACKGROUND: SUDARSHANA KRIYA YOGA (SKY) HAS DEMONSTRABLE ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS. SKY WAS TESTED FOR THIS EFFECT IN INPATIENTS OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE. METHODS: FOLLOWING A WEEK OF DETOXIFICATION MANAGEMENT CONSENTING SUBJECTS (N=60) WERE EQUALLY RANDOMIZED TO RECEIVE SKY THERAPY OR NOT (CONTROLS) FOR A TWO-WEEK STUDY. SKY THERAPY INCLUDED ALTERNATE DAY PRACTICE OF SPECIFIED BREATHING EXERCISE UNDER SUPERVISION OF A TRAINED THERAPIST. SUBJECTS COMPLETED THE BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY (BDI) BEFORE AND AFTER THE TWO WEEKS OF THIS INTERVENTION. MORNING PLASMA CORTISOL, ACTH AND PROLACTIN TOO WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND AT THE END OF TWO WEEKS. RESULTS: IN BOTH GROUPS REDUCTIONS IN BDI SCORES OCCURRED BUT SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SO IN SKY GROUP. LIKEWISE, IN BOTH GROUPS PLASMA CORTISOL AS WELL AS ACTH FELL AFTER TWO WEEKS BUT SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SO IN SKY GROUP. REDUCTION IN BDI SCORES CORRELATED WITH THAT IN CORTISOL IN SKY BUT NOT IN CONTROL GROUP. LIMITATIONS: ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS OF SKY WERE DEMONSTRATED IN EARLY ABSTINENCE THAT ALSO HAD SUBSTANTIAL SPONTANEOUS IMPROVEMENT. IT IS NOT KNOWN IF THIS EFFECT CONTRIBUTES TO SUSTAINED ABSTINENCE. CONCLUSION: RESULTS EXTEND THE ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS OF SKY IN ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE SUBJECTS. REDUCTION IN STRESS-HORMONE LEVELS (CORTISOL AND ACTH) ALONG WITH BDI REDUCTIONS POSSIBLY SUPPORT A BIOLOGICAL MECHANISM OF SKY IN PRODUCING BENEFICIAL EFFECTS. 2006 8 98 27 A NONRANDOMIZED NON-NAIVE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF KAPALABHATI AND BREATH AWARENESS ON EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS IN TRAINED YOGA PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVES: THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO COMPARE THE P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER (1) HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) AND (2) BREATH AWARENESS. DESIGN: THE P300 WAS RECORDED IN PARTICIPANTS OF TWO GROUPS BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION SESSION (1 MINUTE IN DURATION). SETTINGS AND LOCATION: ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE RECEIVING YOGA TRAINING IN A RESIDENTIAL YOGA CENTER, SWAMI VIVEKANADA YOGA RESEARCH FOUNDATION IN BANGALORE, INDIA. SUBJECTS: THIRTY (30) MALE PARTICIPANTS FORMED TWO GROUPS (N = 15 EACH) WITH COMPARABLE AGES (WITHIN AN AGE RANGE OF 20-35 YEARS) AND COMPARABLE EXPERIENCE OF THE TWO TECHNIQUES, THE MINIMUM EXPERIENCE BEING 3 MONTHS. INTERVENTIONS: THE TWO GROUPS WERE EACH GIVEN A SEPARATE INTERVENTION. ONE GROUP PRACTICED A HFYB AT A FREQUENCY OF APPROXIMATELY 2.0 HZ, CALLED KAPALABHATI. THE OTHER GROUP PRACTICED BREATH AWARENESS DURING WHICH PARTICIPANTS WERE AWARE OF THEIR BREATH WHILE SEATED, RELAXED. OUTCOME MEASURES: THE P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL, WHICH IS GENERATED WHEN ATTENDING TO AND DISCRIMINATING BETWEEN AUDITORY STIMULI, WAS RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER BOTH TECHNIQUES. RESULTS: THE P300 PEAK LATENCY DECREASED AFTER HFYB AND THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE INCREASED AFTER BREATH AWARENESS. CONCLUSIONS: BOTH PRACTICES (HFYB AND BREATH AWARENESS), THOUGH VERY DIFFERENT, INFLUENCED THE P300. HFYB REDUCED THE PEAK LATENCY, SUGGESTING A DECREASE IN TIME NEEDED FOR THIS TASK, WHICH REQUIRES SELECTIVE ATTENTION. BREATH AWARENESS INCREASED THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE, SUGGESTING AN INCREASE IN THE NEURAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR THE TASK. 2009 9 325 37 ANTI-ANXIETY EFFICACY OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA IN GENERAL ANXIETY DISORDER: A MULTICOMPONENT, YOGA BASED, BREATH INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER WITH OR WITHOUT COMORBIDITIES. BACKGROUND: SURDASHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) IS A PROCEDURE THAT IN VARIOUS STUDIES, HAS SHOWN EVIDENCES OF EFFICACY IN ALLEVIATING DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY DISORDERS, BUT IN EUROPE AND USA IT HAS NOT BEEN STUDIED YET ON A CAUCASIAN POPULATION AS AN ADJUNCT THERAPY FOR PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. METHODS: THE STUDY INVOLVED A SAMPLE OF CONSENTING WOMEN AND MEN (N = 69) WHO RECEIVED SKY THERAPY FOR A SIX-MONTH TIME PERIOD. THEY WERE ASSESSED AT RECRUITMENT, AFTER TWO WEEKS, AFTER THREE MONTHS AND AFTER SIX MONTHS USING HAMILTON RATING SCALE FOR ANXIETY (HRSA), HAMILTON RATING SCALE FOR DEPRESSION (HRSD), ZUNG SELF-RATING ANXIETY SCALE (ZSAS), ZUNG SELF-RATING DEPRESSION SCALE (ZSDS) AND SYMPTOM CHECKLIST-90 (SCL-90). RESULTS: ALL THE ANALYSES HAVE SHOWN THAT SKY THERAPY SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES THE SCORES OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION. THIS IS PLAIN, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE INITIAL SKY TREATMENT, WHICH IS FOLLOWED BY A LONG PLATEAU PHASE THAT SEEMS TO VERGE ON NO ANXIETY/DEPRESSION SCORES. IT WAS FOUND THAT SKY EFFECTS LEAD TO A SIGNIFICANT CONVERGENCE BETWEEN THE SELF-ASSESSMENT (ZUNG SELF-RATING SCALE) AND HETERO-ASSESSMENT (HAMILTON RATING SCALE). LIMITATIONS: THE STUDY SHOULD BE REPLICATED ON A LARGER CLINICAL SAMPLE IN A CONTROLLED TRIAL TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SKY PROTOCOL. CONCLUSIONS: PARTICIPATION IN SKY ADJUNCT THERAPY TEN DAYS INTENSE WORKSHOP AND FOLLOW-UPS, COUPLED WITH DAILY INDIVIDUAL AND INDEPENDENT PRACTICE OF A SIMPLIFIED PROTOCOL OF BREATHING TECHNIQUES (30 MIN), CAN LEAD TO SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN LEVELS OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION. 2015 10 2010 28 SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA IMPROVES CARDIAC AUTONOMIC CONTROL IN PATIENTS WITH ANXIETY-DEPRESSION DISORDERS. BACKGROUND: SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT ADJUVANT THERAPIES AS EXERCISE AND BREATHING TRAINING ARE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING CARDIAC AUTONOMIC CONTROL (CAC) IN PATIENTS WITH AFFECTIVE SPECTRUM DISORDERS. HOWEVER, THE EFFECTS OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) ON AUTONOMIC FUNCTION IN THIS POPULATION IS UNKNOWN. OUR OBJECTIVE WAS TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT SKY TRAINING IMPROVES CAC AND CARDIORESPIRATORY COUPLING IN PATIENTS WITH ANXIETY AND/OR DEPRESSION DISORDERS. METHODS: FORTY-SIX PATIENTS WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF ANXIETY AND/OR DEPRESSION DISORDERS (DSM-IV) WERE CONSECUTIVELY ENROLLED AND DIVIDED IN TWO GROUPS: 1) CONVENTIONAL THERAPY (CONTROL) AND 2) CONVENTIONAL THERAPY ASSOCIATED WITH SKY (TREATMENT) FOR 15 DAYS. ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION LEVELS WERE DETERMINED USING QUANTITATIVE QUESTIONNAIRES. FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF CAC AND CARDIORESPIRATORY COUPLING, CARDIORESPIRATORY TRACES WERE ANALYZED USING MONOVARIATE AND BIVARIATE AUTOREGRESSIVE SPECTRAL ANALYSIS, RESPECTIVELY. RESULTS: AFTER 15-DAYS, WE OBSERVED A REDUCTION OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION LEVELS ONLY IN TREATMENT GROUP. MOREOVER, SYMPATHETIC MODULATION AND CAC WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER WHILE PARASYMPATHETIC MODULATION AND CARDIORESPIRATORY COUPLING WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN THE TREATMENT COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: INTENSIVE BREATHING TRAINING USING SKY APPROACH IMPROVES ANXIETY AND/OR DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS AS WELL AS CAC AND CARDIORESPIRATORY COUPLING. THESE FINDING SUGGEST THAT THE SKY TRAINING MAY BE A USEFUL NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE SYMPTOMS AND REDUCE CARDIOVASCULAR RISK IN PATIENTS WITH ANXIETY/DEPRESSION DISORDERS. 2017 11 1542 24 KRIYA YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS: A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES DESPITE THE EASY ACCEPTABILITY AND HOLISTIC NATURE OF KRIYA YOGA, THERE ARE NO STUDIES EVALUATING THE ROLE OF KRIYA YOGA INTERVENTION ON DEPRESSION. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE CURRENT STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFECT OF ADJUNCTIVE KRIYA YOGA ON DEPRESSION. METHODS PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER WHO OPTED FOR KRIYA YOGA WERE RECRUITED INTO THE INTERVENTION GROUP (ADJUNCTIVE KRIYA YOGA) AND THOSE ON PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATION ALONE WERE ENROLLED INTO THE CONTROL GROUP. THE HAMILTON DEPRESSION RATING SCALE (HDRS) MEASUREMENTS WERE RECORDED AT BASELINE, END OF 2, 4, AND 8 WEEKS. RESULTS HDRS SCORES OF THE INTERVENTION GROUP ( N = 29) WERE FOUND TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY LESSER THAN THAT OF THE CONTROL GROUP ( N = 52) BY THE END OF 2, 4, AND 8 WEEKS. THE REMISSION RATE WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP. CONCLUSION KRIYA YOGA INTERVENTION WAS FOUND TO BE FEASIBLE, AS WELL AS IMPROVED THE SEVERITY OF DEPRESSION. 2021 12 555 27 CORTISOL AND ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS OF YOGA. CONTEXT: HYPERCORTISOLEMIA IS WELL-KNOWN IN DEPRESSION AND YOGA HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED EARLIER TO REDUCE THE PARAMETERS OF STRESS, INCLUDING CORTISOL LEVELS. AIM: WE AIMED TO FIND THE ROLE OF YOGA AS AN ANTIDEPRESSANT AS WELL AS ITS ACTION ON LOWERING THE SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: AN OPEN-LABELED STUDY CONSISTING OF THREE GROUPS (YOGA ALONE, YOGA ALONG WITH ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION AND ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION ALONE) WAS CONDUCTED AT A TERTIARY CARE PSYCHIATRY HOSPITAL. METHODOLOGY: OUT-PATIENT DEPRESSIVES WHO WERE NOT SUICIDAL WERE OFFERED YOGA AS A POSSIBLE ANTIDEPRESSANT THERAPY. A VALIDATED YOGA MODULE WAS USED AS THERAPY TAUGHT OVER A MONTH AND TO BE PRACTICED AT HOME DAILY. PATIENTS WERE FREE TO CHOOSE THE DRUGS IF THEIR PSYCHIATRIST ADVISED. PATIENTS (N=54) WERE RATED ON HAMILTON DEPRESSION RATING SCALE (HDRS) WITH SERUM CORTISOL MEASUREMENTS AT BASELINE AND AFTER 3 MONTHS. IN 54 PATIENTS, ASSESSMENTS AND BLOOD TEST RESULTS WERE BOTH AVAILABLE. 19 EACH RECEIVED YOGA ALONE OR WITH DRUGS AND 16 RECEIVED DRUGS ONLY. HEALTHY COMPARISON SUBJECTS (N=18) TOO UNDERWENT MORNING CORTISOL MEASUREMENTS ONCE. RESULTS: SERUM CORTISOL WAS HIGHER IN DEPRESSIVES COMPARED WITH CONTROLS. IN THE TOTAL SAMPLE, THE CORTISOL LEVEL DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY AT THE END OF TREATMENT. MORE PATIENTS IN THE YOGA GROUPS HAD A DROP IN CORTISOL LEVELS AS COMPARED TO DRUG-ONLY GROUP. IN THE YOGA-ONLY GROUP, THE CORTISOL DROP CORRELATED WITH THE DROP IN HDRS SCORE (ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECT). CONCLUSION: THE FINDINGS SUPPORT THAT YOGA MAY ACT AT THE LEVEL OF THE HYPOTHALAMUS BY ITS 'ANTI-STRESS' EFFECTS (REDUCING THE CORTISOL), TO BRING ABOUT RELIEF IN DEPRESSION. 2013 13 678 17 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 14 1835 18 PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES AT THE TIME OF EXAMINATION IN MEDICAL STUDENTS BEFORE AND AFTER THE PRACTICE OF YOGA AND RELAXATION. THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND RELAXATION CHANGES IN PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN RESPONSE TO THE STRESS OF EXAMINATION IN 75 MEDICAL STUDENTS WAS STUDIED. INITIALLY FIVE PARAMETERS (ANXIETY LEVEL, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, GALVANIC SKIN RESISTANCE AND CHOICE REACTION TIME) WERE RECORDED, A MONTH BEFORE THE EXAMINATION AND ON THE DAY OF EXAMINATION. STUDENTS WERE THEN RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUP OF 25 EACH. ONE GROUP PRACTICED YOGA (GROUP- Y), AND ANOTHER GROUP PRACTICED RELAXATION (GROUP-R) REGULARLY FOR THREE MONTHS. THE THIRD GROUP WAS CONTROL GROUP (GROUP-C). ALL THE PARAMETERS WERE RECORDED AFTER THE CHANGES IN ANXIETY LEVEL, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, AND GALVANIC SKIN RESISTANCE IN RESPONSE TO STRESS OF EXAMINATION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATED AND THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN CHOICE REACTION TIME IN GROUP-Y AND GROUP-R AS COMPARED TO GROUP-C AFTER YOGA AND RELAXATION. 1998 15 2511 27 YOGA BREATHING THROUGH A PARTICULAR NOSTRIL IS ASSOCIATED WITH CONTRALATERAL EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL CHANGES. BACKGROUND: IN EARLIER STUDIES UNINOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING WAS SHOWN TO INFLUENCE THE ACTIVITY OF THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES DIFFERENTLY, BASED ON (I) AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS RECORDED FROM BILATERAL SCALP SITES, AND (II) PERFORMANCE IN HEMISPHERE-SPECIFIC TASKS. BUT CHANGE IN P300 (EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL GENERATED WHEN SUBJECTS ATTEND TO AND DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN STIMULI) FROM BILATERAL SCALP SITES WHEN SUBJECTS WERE PRACTICING UNI- AND ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL BREATHING ARE YET TO BE EXPLORED. AIM: THE PRESENT STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT IMMEDIATELY AFTER UNINOSTRIL OR ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING THERE WOULD BE A CHANGE IN THE ABILITY TO PAY ATTENTION TO A GIVEN STIMULUS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TWENTY-NINE HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS, WITH AGES BETWEEN 20 AND 45 YEARS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO FIVE SESSIONS, VIZ., (I) RIGHT-, (II) LEFT-, (III) ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, (IV) BREATH AWARENESS AND (V) NO INTERVENTION, EACH FOR 45 MIN ON SEPARATE DAYS. THE P300 EVENT RELATED POTENTIAL WAS RECORDED USING AN AUDITORY ODDBALL PARADIGM FROM SITES ON THE LEFT (C3) AND RIGHT (C4), REFERENCED TO LINKED EARLOBES, BEFORE AND AFTER EACH SESSION. RESULTS: POST-HOC ANALYSIS WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT SHOWED THAT THE P300 PEAK LATENCY WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER AT C3 COMPARED TO THAT AT C4, FOLLOWING RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING FACILITATES THE ACTIVITY OF CONTRALATERAL (LEFT) HEMISPHERE, IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE P300 TASK. 2012 16 762 26 EFFECT OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA ON ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PEOPLE WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES: A PILOT STUDY IN KUWAIT. AIM: THIS PILOT STUDY IN KUWAIT WAS AIMED TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) ON ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND TOTAL QUALITY OF LIFE IN PEOPLE WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (T2DM). METHODS: 26 T2DM PATIENTS AGED GREATER THAN 30, MALE AND FEMALE VISITING THE OUTPATIENT CLINIC OF DASMAN DIABETES INSTITUTE WERE ENROLLED FOR THE STUDY. PRE AND POST 5 DAY SKY INTERVENTION RESPONSES OF PARTICIPANTS ON PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEMS WERE EVALUATED USING FOUR QUESTIONNAIRES (HAMILTON ANXIETY, PATIENT HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE (PHQ-9), HOSPITAL ANXIETY DEPRESSION AND WHO TOTAL QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL). BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS; SUCH AS LIPID PROFILE, GLYCATED HEMOGLOBIN (HBA1C) WERE MEASURED AT BASELINE AND AFTER 15 WEEKS OF SKY PRACTICE. RESULTS: THE MEAN AGE OF THE PARTICIPANTS WAS 56.7 (+/-11.4 SD) YEARS, AND MEAN DURATION OF DIABETES 15.0 (+/-9.3 SD) YEARS. COMPARISON OF RESPONSES BEFORE AND AFTER INTERVENTION INDICATED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE QOL, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND INSOMNIA. BUT NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN GLYCEMIC CONTROL. CONCLUSION: RESULTS INDICATE THAT SKY CAN BE POTENTIALLY BENEFICIAL FOR TREATING ANXIETY, INSOMNIA, AND DEPRESSION ASSOCIATED IN PEOPLE WITH T2DM AND IN IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN PEOPLE WITH T2DM. 2019 17 1637 16 MODULATION OF CARDIAC AUTONOMIC BALANCE WITH ADJUVANT YOGA THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH REFRACTORY EPILEPSY. THE PRACTICE OF YOGA REGULATES BODY PHYSIOLOGY THROUGH CONTROL OF POSTURE, BREATHING, AND MEDITATION. EFFECTS OF YOGA ON AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS OF PATIENTS WITH REFRACTORY EPILEPSY, AS QUANTIFIED BY STANDARDIZED AUTONOMIC FUNCTION TESTS (AFTS), WERE DETERMINED. THE YOGA GROUP (N=18) RECEIVED SUPERVISED TRAINING IN YOGA, AND THE EXERCISE GROUP (N=16) PRACTICED SIMPLE ROUTINE EXERCISES. AFTS WERE REPEATED AFTER 10 WEEKS OF DAILY SESSIONS. DATA WERE COMPARED WITH THOSE OF HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (N=142). THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN PARASYMPATHETIC PARAMETERS AND A DECREASE IN SEIZURE FREQUENCY SCORES. THERE WAS NO IMPROVEMENT IN BLOOD PRESSURE PARAMETERS IN EITHER GROUP. TWO PATIENTS IN THE YOGA GROUP ACHIEVED NORMAL AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS AT THE END OF 10 WEEKS OF THERAPY, WHEREAS THERE WERE NO CHANGES IN THE EXERCISE GROUP. THE DATA SUGGEST THAT YOGA MAY HAVE A ROLE AS AN ADJUVANT THERAPY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH REFRACTORY EPILEPSY. 2008 18 1695 21 P300 FOLLOWING FOUR VOLUNTARILY REGULATED YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES AND BREATH AWARENESS. ATTENTION WAS INFLUENCED BY YOGA BREATHING IN PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED RESEARCH. EACH YOGA BREATHING PRACTICE UNIQUELY MODIFIES SPECIFIC BREATH CHARACTERISTICS. DIFFERENCES IN THE STUDY DESIGNS, ASSESSMENT METHODS AND INTERVENTIONS RESULTED IN DIFFICULTY IN COMPARING EFFECTS BETWEEN YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES. THIS STUDY AIMED (I) TO COMPARE FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES ON ATTENTION USING AN AUDITORY ODDBALL TASK AND (II) TO DETERMINE CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENTION USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY. P300 EVENT RELATED POTENTIAL WAS RECORDED SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH HEART RATE VARIABILITY BEFORE AND AFTER 18-MINUTE PERIODS EACH OF (I) HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (WITH INCREASED BREATH FREQUENCY), (II) BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING (WITH INCREASED DEPTH OF RESPIRATION), (III) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (WITH ALTERNATE NOSTRIL PATENCY), (IV) BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING (WITH PROLONGED EXHALE), (V) BREATH AWARENESS (WITH ATTENTION TO THE BREATH) AND (VI) QUIET SEATED REST AS CONTROL IN 38 YOGA EXPERIENCED MALES (AVERAGE AGE +/- SD; 24.08 +/- 4.01 YEARS). THE SIX SESSIONS WERE ON SEPARATE, RANDOMLY ALLOCATED DAYS. THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE RECORDED AT PZ WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED AFTER FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES (BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST-HOC TESTS, REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA). NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE NOTED IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY FOLLOWING YOGA BREATHING OR CONTROL SESSIONS. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES INCREASE THE ATTENTIONAL NEURAL RESOURCES ENGAGED FOR THIS AUDITORY ODDBALL TASK, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE CHARACTERISTIC OF BREATH UNIQUELY REGULATED IN THE FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES. 2022 19 457 20 CHANGES IN P300 FOLLOWING ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING AND BREATH AWARENESS. THIS STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECT OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (NADISUDDHI PRANAYAMA) ON P300 AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS COMPARED TO A SESSION OF BREATH AWARENESS OF EQUAL DURATION, IN 20 MALE ADULT VOLUNTEERS WHO HAD AN EXPERIENCE OF YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES FOR MORE THAN THREE MONTHS. PEAK AMPLITUDES AND PEAK LATENCIES OF THE P300 WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE RESPECTIVE SESSIONS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDES AT FZ, CZ, AND PZ AND A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE PEAK LATENCY AT FZ ALONE FOLLOWING ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING. FOLLOWING BREATH AWARENESS THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PEAK AMPLITUDE OF P300 AT CZ. THIS SUGGESTS THAT ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING POSITIVELY INFLUENCES COGNITIVE PROCESSES WHICH ARE REQUIRED FOR SUSTAINED ATTENTION AT DIFFERENT SCALP SITES (FRONTAL, VERTEX AND PARIETAL), WHEREAS BREATH AWARENESS BRINGS ABOUT CHANGES AT THE VERTEX ALONE. 2013 20 716 19 EFFECT OF INTEGRATED YOGA PRACTICES ON IMMUNE RESPONSES IN EXAMINATION STRESS - A PRELIMINARY STUDY. BACKGROUND: STRESS IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASED OCCURRENCE OF AUTONOMIC, CARDIOVASCULAR, AND IMMUNE SYSTEM PATHOLOGY. THIS STUDY WAS DONE TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF STRESS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS, AND IMMUNE SYSTEM DURING MEDICAL TERM -ACADEMIC EXAMINATION AND THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICES ON THE SAME. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT ON SIXTY FIRST-YEAR MBBS STUDENTS RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO YOGA GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP (30 EACH). THE YOGA GROUP UNDERWENT INTEGRATED YOGA PRACTICES FOR 35 MINUTES DAILY IN THE PRESENCE OF TRAINED YOGA TEACHER FOR 12 WEEKS. CONTROL GROUP DID NOT UNDERGO ANY KIND OF YOGA PRACTICE OR STRESS MANAGEMENT. PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS LIKE HEART RATE, RESPIRATORY RATE, AND BLOOD PRESSURE WERE MEASURED. GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF RECENT STRESS SCALE AND SPIELBERGERS STATE ANXIETY SCORE WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND DURING THE EXAMINATION. SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS, IL-4, AND IFN-GAMMA LEVELS WERE DETERMINED BY ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY TECHNIQUE. RESULT: IN THE YOGA GROUP, NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED IN PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS DURING THE EXAMINATION STRESS, WHEREAS IN THE CONTROL GROUP, A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE WAS OBSERVED. LIKEWISE, THE INDICATORS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS SHOWED HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN CONTROL GROUP COMPARED WITH SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN YOGA GROUP. DURING THE EXAMINATION, THE INCREASE IN SERUM CORTICAL AND DECREASE IN SERUM IFN-GAMMA IN YOGA GROUP WAS LESS SIGNIFICANT (P<0.01) THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUP (P<0.001). BOTH THE GROUPS DEMONSTRATED AN INCREASE IN SERUM IL-4 LEVELS, THE CHANGES BEING INSIGNIFICANT FOR THE DURATION OF THE STUDY. CONCLUSION: YOGA RESISTS THE AUTONOMIC CHANGES AND IMPAIRMENT OF CELLULAR IMMUNITY SEEN IN EXAMINATION STRESS. 2011