1 1813 75 PROGRESSION OF GLAUCOMA ASSOCIATED WITH THE SIRSASANA (HEADSTAND) YOGA POSTURE. THIS ARTICLE REPORTS A CASE OF PROGRESSIVE GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY AND VISUAL FIELD LOSS THAT OCCURRED IN A PATIENT WHO PRACTICED THE SIRSASANA (HEADSTAND) YOGA POSTURE ON A DAILY BASIS FOR MANY YEARS. VISUAL FIELD ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED THROUGH STANDARD AUTOMATED PERIMETRY. INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE (IOP) WAS MEASURED THROUGH PNEUMOTONOMETRY IN THE SITTING POSITION AND IN THE HEAD-DOWN POSITION. STEREO-OPTIC DISC PHOTOGRAPHS WERE OBTAINED. IOP INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE HEAD-DOWN POSITION. OPTIC DISC EVALUATION REVEALED A NEW DISC HEMORRHAGE IN THE LEFT EYE. VISUAL FIELD ANALYSIS OVER A PERIOD OF 2 Y SHOWED PROGRESSION OF A SUPERIOR ARCUATE DEFECT IN THE LEFT EYE. TRANSIENT INCREASES IN IOP ASSOCIATED WITH THE YOGA HEADSTAND POSTURE MAY LEAD TO PROGRESSIVE GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NERVE DAMAGE AND VISUAL FIELD LOSS. 2006 2 1816 30 PROGRESSIVE OPTIC NEUROPATHY IN CONGENITAL GLAUCOMA ASSOCIATED WITH THE SIRSASANA YOGA POSTURE. THE AUTHORS DESCRIBE A CASE OF PROGRESSIVE OPTIC NEUROPATHY IN A PATIENT WITH CONGENITAL GLAUCOMA WHO HAD ROUTINELY PRACTICED THE SIRSASANA (HEADSTAND) YOGA POSTURE FOR SEVERAL YEARS. OPHTHALMIC EXAMINATION INCLUDED BEST-CORRECTED VISUAL ACUITY, ANTERIOR SEGMENT EXAMINATION, INDIRECT OPHTHALMOSCOPY, ULTRASOUND PACHYMETRY FOR CENTRAL CORNEAL THICKNESS, AND INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER MAINTAINING THE SIRSASANA POSTURE FOR 5 MINUTES. INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING THE SIRSASANA POSTURE. TRANSIENT ELEVATION IN INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE DURING YOGA EXERCISES MAY LEAD TO PROGRESSIVE GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY, ESPECIALLY IN SUSCEPTIBLE PATIENTS WITH CONGENITAL GLAUCOMA. 2008 3 1499 26 INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE RISE IN SUBJECTS WITH AND WITHOUT GLAUCOMA DURING FOUR COMMON YOGA POSITIONS. PURPOSE: TO MEASURE CHANGES IN INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE (IOP) IN ASSOCIATION WITH YOGA EXERCISES WITH A HEAD-DOWN POSITION. METHODS: THE SINGLE CENTER, PROSPECTIVE, OBSERVATIONAL STUDY INCLUDED 10 SUBJECTS WITH PRIMARY OPEN-ANGLE GLAUCOMA AND 10 NORMAL INDIVIDUALS, WHO PERFORMED THE YOGA EXERCISES OF ADHO MUKHA SVANASANA, UTTANASANA, HALASANA AND VIPARITA KARANI FOR TWO MINUTES EACH. IOP WAS MEASURED BY PNEUMATONOMETRY AT BASELINE AND DURING AND AFTER THE EXERCISES. RESULTS: ALL YOGA POSES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH A SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.01) RISE IN IOP WITHIN ONE MINUTE AFTER ASSUMING THE YOGA POSITION. THE HIGHEST IOP INCREASE (P < 0.01) WAS MEASURED IN THE ADHO MUKHA SVANASANA POSITION (IOP INCREASE FROM 17 +/- 3.2 MMHG TO 28 +/- 3.8 MMHG IN GLAUCOMA PATIENTS; FROM 17 +/- 2.8 MMHG TO 29 +/- 3.9 MMHG IN NORMAL INDIVIDUALS), FOLLOWED BY THE UTTANASANA POSITION (17 +/- 3.9 MMHG TO 27 +/- 3.4 MMHG (GLAUCOMA PATIENTS) AND FROM 18 +/- 2.5 MMHG TO 26 +/- 3.6 MMHG NORMAL INDIVIDUALS)), THE HALASANA POSITION (18 +/- 2.8 MMHG TO 24 +/- 3.5 MMHG (GLAUCOMA PATIENTS); 18 +/- 2.7 MMHG TO 22 +/- 3.4 MMHG (NORMAL INDIVIDUALS)), AND FINALLY THE VIPARITA KIRANI POSITION (17 +/- 4 MMHG TO 21 +/- 3.6 MMHG (GLAUCOMA PATIENTS); 17 +/- 2.8 TO 21 +/- 2.4 MMHG (NORMAL INDIVIDUALS)). IOP DROPPED BACK TO BASELINE VALUES WITHIN TWO MINUTES AFTER RETURNING TO A SITTING POSITION. OVERALL, IOP RISE WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT BETWEEN GLAUCOMA AND NORMAL SUBJECTS (P = 0.813), ALL THOUGH GLAUCOMA EYES TENDED TO HAVE MEASUREMENTS 2 MM HG HIGHER ON AVERAGE. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA EXERCISES WITH HEAD-DOWN POSITIONS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH A RAPID RISE IN IOP IN GLAUCOMA AND HEALTHY EYES. IOP RETURNED TO BASELINE VALUES WITHIN 2 MINUTES. FUTURE STUDIES ARE WARRANTED ADDRESSING WHETHER YOGA EXERCISE ASSOCIATED IOP CHANGES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SIMILAR CHANGES IN CEREBROSPINAL FLUID PRESSURE AND WHETHER THEY INCREASE THE RISK OF GLAUCOMA PROGRESSION. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV #NCT01915680. 2015 4 1498 22 INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE CHANGES AND OCULAR BIOMETRY DURING SIRSASANA (HEADSTAND POSTURE) IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. PURPOSE: TO STUDY THE INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE (IOP) CHANGES IN SIRSASANA (HEADSTAND POSTURE) DONE BY EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND CORRELATE THE OCULAR BIOMETRIC PARAMETERS WITH THE IOP CHANGES, AND TO SCREEN FOR THE PREVALENCE OF OCULAR HYPERTENSION IN THIS GROUP OF SUBJECTS. DESIGN: PROSPECTIVE CASE OBSERVATIONAL SERIES. PARTICIPANTS: SEVENTY-FIVE SUBJECTS (50 ASIAN INDIANS AND 25 CAUCASIANS) FROM A YOGA TRAINING INSTITUTE VOLUNTEERED FOR THE STUDY. METHODS: ALL PARTICIPANTS UNDERWENT A DETAILED OPHTHALMIC EXAMINATION ALONG WITH OCULAR BIOMETRY AND CORNEAL PACHYMETRY. INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE WAS RECORDED USING A TONOPEN BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE SIRSASANA. CHANGES WERE COMPARED USING THE PAIRED T TEST. AGE, AXIAL LENGTH, ANTERIOR CHAMBER DEPTH, LENS THICKNESS, CORNEAL CURVATURE, CORNEAL THICKNESS, RACE, AND THE LENGTH OF TIME FOR WHICH THE PRACTITIONER WAS PERFORMING YOGA WERE CORRELATED WITH THE INDUCED IOP DIFFERENCE IN A RANDOMLY SELECTED EYE USING PEARSON'S CORRELATION COEFFICIENT WITH BONFERRONI CORRECTION FOR MULTIPLE COMPARISONS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: OCULAR BIOMETRY AND INDUCED IOP DIFFERENCE. RESULTS: THE MEAN INCREASE IN IOP AT BASELINE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER ASSUMING SIRSASANA WAS 15.1+/-4.1 MMHG (R = 0.07; P = 0.999) AND AFTER 5 MINUTES WAS 15.8+/-4.6 MMHG (R = -0.25; P = 0.357). THE INDUCED INCREASE IN IOP DURING THE POSTURE WAS TWICE THE BASELINE IOP. THERE WAS NO CORRELATION BETWEEN AGE, OCULAR BIOMETRY, AND ULTRASOUND PACHYMETRY WHEN COMPARED WITH THE INDUCED IOP DIFFERENCE. ONE SUBJECT (1.33%) WAS FOUND TO HAVE BASELINE IOP OF MORE THAN 21 MMHG. CONCLUSION: THERE WAS A UNIFORM 2-FOLD INCREASE IN THE IOP DURING SIRSASANA, WHICH WAS MAINTAINED DURING THE POSTURE IN ALL AGE GROUPS IRRESPECTIVE OF THE OCULAR BIOMETRY AND ULTRASOUND PACHYMETRY. WE DID NOT DEMONSTRATE A HIGHER PREVALENCE OF OCULAR HYPERTENSIVES IN THIS COHORT OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS NOR DID THE RISK FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO GLAUCOMA SHOW ANY CORRELATION WITH MAGNITUDE OF IOP RAISE DURING THE POSTURE. 2006 5 892 15 EFFECT OF YOGA-BASED OCULAR EXERCISES IN LOWERING OF INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE IN GLAUCOMA PATIENTS: AN AFFIRMATIVE PROPOSITION. GLAUCOMA IS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF IRREVERSIBLE BLINDNESS WORLDWIDE, WITH >65 MILLION SUFFERERS. IT IS INCURABLE AND THE ONLY THERAPEUTIC APPROACH ACCEPTED TILL NOW IS THE LOWERING OF INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE (IOP) MEDICALLY AND/OR SURGICALLY. THESE KNOWN INTERVENTIONS MIGHT HAVE MANY SIDE EFFECTS AND COMPLICATIONS. YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ARE NOW WELL ACCEPTED AS ALTERNATIVE THERAPY IN MANY CHRONIC DISEASES. THE EFFECTS OF YOGA IN GLAUCOMA, HOWEVER, HAVE NOT BEEN STUDIED ADEQUATELY. ACCOMMODATION (THE PROCESS OF ADJUSTMENT OF OPTICAL POWER TO MAINTAIN CLEAR VISION) OF EYES LEADS TO INSTANT LOWERING OF IOP. THEREFORE, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT ONE OF THE YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS, TRATAK KRIYA, WHICH INCLUDES OCULAR EXERCISES MIGHT LEAD TO LOWERING OF IOP IN GLAUCOMA PATIENTS. THE PROPOSED TRATAK KRIYA LEADS TO CONTRACTION AND RELAXATION OF CILIARY MUSCLES WHICH MIGHT INCREASE OUTFLOW OF AQUEOUS HUMOR. IN ADDITION, THIS YOGA-BASED INTERVENTION MIGHT DECREASE STRESS AND IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE IN GLAUCOMA PATIENTS. 2018 6 1763 22 POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT PRECIPITATED BY YOGA. YOGA HAS RECENTLY BEEN TOUTED AS A MEANS TO IMPROVE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING. HOWEVER, NO FORM OF EXERCISE IS WITHOUT ITS RISKS. A 32-YEAR-OLD CHINESE FEMALE WITH MODERATE MYOPIA COMPLAINED OF RIGHT EYE SUDDEN ONSET OF FLOATERS AND MILD BLURRING OF VISION AFTER THE HEAD-DOWN POSTURE. THE VISUAL ACUITY WAS 6/12 IN THE RIGHT EYE AND 6/9 IN THE LEFT EYE. A RIGHT EYE FUNDUS EXAMINATION SHOWED POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT, WITH A SMALL BLOOD CLOT LOCATED AT THE INFERIOR MARGIN OF THE OPTIC DISC. THE PATIENT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH RIGHT EYE VITREOUS HEMORRHAGE SECONDARY TO ACUTE POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT AND WAS MANAGED CONSERVATIVELY. ACUTE CHANGES IN POSTURE, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN AN UPRIGHT AND A HEAD-DOWN POSITION, MAY CAUSE ACUTE POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT. AS YOGA PRACTITIONERS MAY BE REQUIRED TO ASSUME THIS HEAD-DOWN POSITION, MYOPIC PATIENTS SHOULD BE WARNED OF THE POSSIBLE OCULAR COMPLICATIONS OF THIS EXERCISE. 2018 7 2911 17 [PSEUDOARTHROSIS OF THE FIRST RIB IN A PATIENT WHO PRACTICES YOGA. A CASE REPORT]. INTRODUCTION: PSEUDOARTHROSIS OF THE FIRST RIB IS A RARE CONDITION THAT MAY OCCUR IN ATHLETES AS A RESULT OF REPETITIVE ACTIVITIES, MAINLY OVERHEAD. THE USUAL CLINICAL PRESENTATION IS PAIN IN THE NECK OR THE IPSILATERAL SHOULDER. CASE REPORT: THIS IS THE CASE OF A 19-YEAR-OLD FEMALE PATIENT WHO HAD SUDDEN PAIN OF THE BASE OF THE NECK WHILE DOING YOGA. PSEUDOARTHROSIS OF THE FIRST RIB WAS DIAGNOSED WITH X-RAYS AND CAT SCAN. TREATMENT CONSISTED OF A REHABILITATION AND PHYSICAL THERAPY PROGRAM THAT WAS SUCCESSFUL DESPITE THE PERSISTENCE OF THE PSEUDOARTHROSIS. DISCUSSION: CASES OF FIRST RIB FRACTURES HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN ATHLETES PRACTICING MULTIPLE ACTIVITIES; HOWEVER, PSEUDOARTHROSIS CASES ARE RARE SINCE MOST OF THEM PROGRESS TO BONE HEALING. THIS IS THE FIRST REPORTED CASE OF A FRACTURE OR PSEUDOARTHROSIS IN A PATIENT PRACTICING YOGA. AS IN MOST REPORTED CASES, CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT WAS SUCCESSFUL. CONCLUSION: FRACTURES AND PSEUDOARTHROSIS OF THE FIRST RIB ARE RARE IN ATHLETES AND SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF ATHLETES PRESENTING WITH SHOULDER AND NECK PAIN. CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT IS SUCCESSFUL IN MOST CASES. 2009 8 2779 11 YOGA TECHNIQUES AS A MEANS OF CORE STABILITY TRAINING. CORE STABILITY IN GENERAL INVOLVES THE MUSCULAR CONTROL REQUIRED AROUND THE LUMBAR SPINE TO MAINTAIN FUNCTIONAL STABILITY. STABILITY AND MOVEMENT ARE CRITICALLY DEPENDENT ON THE COORDINATION OF ALL THE MUSCLES SURROUNDING THE LUMBAR SPINE. THIS PAPER AIMS TO SHOW THAT AN AGE-OLD YOGA PRACTICE, CALLED UDDHYANA BHANDA AND NOULI, IS AN EFFECTIVE MEANS OF CORE STABILITY. 2009 9 897 15 EFFECT OF YOGASANA PRACTICE ON SYSTOLIC TIME INTERVALS. THERAPEUTIC VALUES OF YOGA PRACTICES ARE WELL DOCUMENTED IN THE ANCIENT INDIAN LITERATURE. IN THIS STUDY AN ATTEMPT HAS BEEN MADE TO SEE THE EFFECT OF YOGASANA PRACTICE ON CARDIAC FUNCTIONS BY MEASURING SYSTOLIC TIME INTERVALS (STI). THE ASANAS STUDIED ARE SIRSASANA, SARVANGASANA, HALASANA, PASCHIMOTTANASANA AND BHUJANGASANA. FIVE HEALTHY YOGASANA PRACTITIONERS WHO WHERE PRACTICING REGULARLY FOR MORE THAN A YEAR WERE THE SUBJECTS. THE RESULT OF THE STUDY WAS STATISTICALLY ANALYZED AND PRESENTED SYSTEMATICALLY HERE. 1990 10 573 14 DELAYED UNION OF STRESS FRACTURE OF THE FIRST RIB IN A YOGA INSTRUCTOR: A CASE REPORT. CASE: WE DESCRIBE THE CASE OF A 38-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, A YOGA INSTRUCTOR, WHO HAD PAIN IN THE RIGHT SHOULDER AND SCAPULAR REGION OF 4 MONTHS' DURATION WHILE PERFORMING YOGA. RADIOGRAPHY AND COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY DIAGNOSED DELAYED UNION OF A FIRST RIB STRESS FRACTURE. THE DELAYED UNION OF STRESS FRACTURE OF THE FIRST RIB WAS SUCCESSFULLY TREATED WITH THE LIMITING OF YOGA ACTIVITY AND LOW-INTENSITY PULSED ULTRASOUND (LIPUS). CONCLUSIONS: PHYSICIANS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT EVEN YOGA POSING CAN CAUSE STRESS FRACTURES OF THE FIRST RIB. LIPUS THERAPY MAY BE EFFECTIVE FOR DELAYED UNION IN ADDITION TO REST. 2021 11 447 12 CHANGED PATTERN OF REGIONAL GLUCOSE METABOLISM DURING YOGA MEDITATIVE RELAXATION. USING POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY (PET), MEASUREMENTS OF THE REGIONAL CEREBRAL METABOLIC RATE OF GLUCOSE (RCMRGLC) ARE ABLE TO DELINEATE CEREBRAL METABOLIC RESPONSES TO EXTERNAL OR MENTAL STIMULATION. IN ORDER TO EXAMINE POSSIBLE CHANGES OF BRAIN METABOLISM DUE TO YOGA MEDITATION PET SCANS WERE PERFORMED IN 8 MEMBERS OF A YOGA MEDITATION GROUP DURING THE NORMAL CONTROL STATE (C) AND YOGA MEDITATIVE RELAXATION (YMR). WHEREAS THERE WERE INTRAINDIVIDUAL CHANGES OF THE TOTAL CMRGLC, THE ALTERATIONS WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT FOR INTERGROUP COMPARISON; SPECIFIC FOCAL CHANGES OR CHANGES IN THE INTERHEMISPHERIC DIFFERENCES IN METABOLISM WERE ALSO NOT SEEN; HOWEVER THE RATIOS OF FRONTAL VS. OCCIPITAL RCMRGLC WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED (P LESS THAN 0.05) DURING YMR. THESE ALTERED RATIOS WERE CAUSED BY A SLIGHT INCREASE OF FRONTAL RCMRGLC AND A MORE PRONOUNCED REDUCTION IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY VISUAL CENTERS. THESE DATA INDICATE A HOLISTIC BEHAVIOR OF THE BRAIN METABOLISM DURING THE TIME OF ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS DURING YMR. 1990 12 2396 13 YOGA AND CHEMOREFLEX RESPONSE TO HYPOXIA AND HYPERCAPNIA. WE TESTED WHETHER CHEMOREFLEX SENSITIVITY COULD BE AFFECTED BY THE PRACTICE OF YOGA, AND WHETHER THIS IS SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE OF A SLOW BREATHING RATE OBTAINED DURING YOGA OR AS A GENERAL CONSEQUENCE OF YOGA. WE FOUND THAT SLOW BREATHING RATE PER SE SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED CHEMOREFLEX SENSITIVITY, BUT LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR A GENERALISED REDUCTION IN CHEMOREFLEX. 2000 13 80 19 A MATHEMATICAL METHOD FOR ELECTROMYOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF MUSCLE FUNCTIONS DURING YOGASANA. CONTEXT: FOR THE PAST FEW DECADES, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE PRACTICING YOGA IS INCREASING IN NUMBER. YOGASANAS NEED SMOOTH BODY MOVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF ATTAINING DEFINED POSTURES THAT THE PERSON MUST HOLD ON TO ACTIVATE SPECIFIC MUSCLES OF THE BODY RELATED TO THAT ASANA. YOGASANAS SHOULD BE PERFORMED WITH PERFECTION TO DERIVE MAXIMUM BENEFITS. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INTRODUCE A MATHEMATICAL METHOD TO UNDERSTAND MUSCLE FUNCTIONALITIES WHILE DOING YOGASANAS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: USED DELSYS SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY (SEMG) - TRIGNO (DELSYS INC.) SENSORS FOR DATA RECORDING AND ANALYZING MUSCLE ACTIVATION PATTERNS. RESULTS: PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS WAS QUANTIFIED USING NORMALIZED SEMG SIGNALS. THE SEMG DATA DURING FINAL POSTURE WERE FIT TO A STRAIGHT LINE USING LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT THE SLOPE OF THE BEST FIT LINE IS A GOOD METRIC FOR MONITORING THE MUSCLE ACTIVITY DURING YOGA PERFORMANCE. THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS METHOD ARE THE SLOPE OF THE LINE IS A GOOD INDICATOR FOR MONITORING THE MUSCLE ACTIVITY WHILE DOING YOGASANA AND THE METHOD SUGGESTED IN THIS STUDY CAN BE EXTENDED FOR ANALYZING OTHER ASANAS AS WELL. 2019 14 1603 11 MENTAL DEPRESSION AND KUNDALINI YOGA. IN CASES OF MENTAL DEPRESSION, THE PLASMA SEROTONIN, MELATONIN AND GLUTAMATE LEVELS ARE INCREASED ALONG WITH THE LOWERING OF URINARY - 5 - HYDROXYINDOLE ACETIC ACID, PLASMA MONOAMINE OXIDASE AND CORTISOL LEVELS FOLLOWING THREE AND SIX MONTHS PRACTICE OF KUNDALINI YOGA. THE PULSE RATE AND BLOOD PRESSURE IN THESE PATIENTS ARE ALSO LOWERED AFTER KUNDALINI YOGA PRACTICE. THUS, THE PRACTICE OF KUNDALINI YOGA HELPS TO MAINTAIN A PERFECT HOMEOSTASIS BY BRINGING AN EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN THE SYMPATHETIC AND PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITIES AND IT CAN BE USED AS A NON - MEDICAL MEASURE IN TREATING PATIENTS WITH MENTAL DEPRESSION. 1986 15 509 25 COMPARATIVE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT YOGA ASANAS ON HEART RATE AND BLOOD PRESSURE IN HEALTHY YOUNG VOLUNTEERS. INTRODUCTION: THIS STUDY PLANNED TO COMPARE IMMEDIATE CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT YOGA ASANAS IN HEALTHY YOUNG VOLUNTEERS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HEART RATE (HR), SYSTOLIC PRESSURE (SP), AND DIASTOLIC PRESSURE (DP), BLOOD PRESSURE (BP), WERE RECORDED USING THE NON INVASIVE BLOOD PRESSURE (NIBP) APPARATUS IN 22 HEALTHY YOUNG SUBJECTS, BEFORE AND AFTER THE PERFORMANCE OF DHANURASANA (DA), VAKRASANA (VA) (BOTH SIDES), JANUSIRASASANA (JSA) (BOTH SIDES), MATSYASANA AND SHAVASANA FOR 30 S. HR AND BP WERE FURTHER RECORDED DURING SUPINE RECOVERY AT 2, 4, 6, 8, AND 10 MIN. A REPEATED MEASURE OF ANOVA WAS USED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. RESULTS: THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN HR AND BP BOTH IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ASANAS AS WELL AS DURING THE RECOVERY PERIOD. OVERALL COMPARISONS OF % CHANGES IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ASANAS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WITH REGARD TO HR THAT INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER DA. IN THE RECOVERY PHASE, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT INTERGROUP DIFFERENCES FROM 2 MIN ONWARD IN BOTH SP AND DP. THE DECREASE OF SP AFTER VA (RIGHT SIDE) (VA-R) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN SHAVASANA (4(TH), 6(TH), AND 8(TH) MIN) AND JSA (LEFT SIDE) (JSA-L) AT 6(TH) AND 8(TH) MIN. DP DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER PERFORMING JSA-L COMPARED TO VA-R AT THE 6(TH) AND 8(TH) MIN. DISCUSSION: THE CARDIOVASCULAR CHANGES IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ASANAS AND DURING THE RECOVERY PHASE REVEAL INHERENT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SELECTED POSTURES. THE RISE OF HR IN DA MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO INCREASED SYMPATHETIC RESPONSE DUE TO THE RELATIVE DIFFICULTY OF THE POSTURE AS WELL AS ABDOMINAL COMPRESSION OCCURRING IN IT. THE EFFECT OF SUPINE RELAXATION IS MORE PRONOUNCED AFTER THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ASANAS AS COMPARED TO MERE RELAXATION IN SHAVASANA. THIS MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO A NORMALIZATION AND RESULTANT HOMEOSTATIC EFFECT OCCURRING DUE TO A GREATER, HEALTHIER DE-ACTIVATION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM OCCURRING TOWING TO THE PRESENCE OF PRIOR ACTIVATION. THERE WERE ALSO SUBTLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE RIGHT SIDED AND LEFT SIDED PERFORMANCE OF VA AND JSA THAT MAY BE OCCURRING DUE TO THE DIFFERENT INTERNAL STRUCTURES BEING EITHER COMPRESSED OR RELAXED ON EITHER SIDE. CONCLUSION: OUR STUDY PROVIDES INITIAL EVIDENCE OF DIFFERENTIAL CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS OF ASANAS AND SUBTLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RIGHT AND LEFT SIDED PERFORMANCE. FURTHER, CARDIOVASCULAR RECOVERY IS GREATER AFTER THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ASANAS AS COMPARED TO SHAVASAN; THUS, IMPLYING A BETTER RESPONSE WHEN EFFORT PRECEDES RELAXATION. 2014 16 2399 26 YOGA AND CUTANEOUS FUNCTIONAL UNIT RECRUITMENT FOR A PATIENT WITH CERVICAL AND UPPER EXTREMITY BURN SCAR CONTRACTURE: CASE REPORT. BURN SCAR CONTRACTURE GREATLY LIMITS FUNCTION FOR BURN SURVIVORS, PARTICULARLY WHEN THE SCARRING CROSSES MULTIPLE JOINTS. PREVIOUS RESEARCH HAS IDENTIFIED FIELDS OF SKIN RECRUITED DURING SINGLE JOINT MOTION, CALLED CUTANEOUS FUNCTIONAL UNITS (CFU), INDICATING THAT IMPAIRMENTS MAY BE SEEN DISTAL TO THE INJURED TISSUE. THIS CASE REPORT CONNECTS THE PRINCIPLES OF CFU AND YOGA-INSPIRED THERAPY MODALITIES IN IMPROVING CLINICAL OUTCOMES FOR A BURN SURVIVOR. THE PATIENT IS A 38-YEAR-OLD MALE WHO SUSTAINED DEEP PARTIAL-THICKNESS ELECTRICAL BURNS TO HIS NECK, CHEST, AND BILATERAL UPPER EXTREMITIES, PRESENTING WITH SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED RANGE OF MOTION. THE PATIENT ATTENDED PHYSICAL THERAPY 4 DAYS A WEEK, WHERE HE PERFORMED A SPECIFIC YOGA ASANA PROGRAM DURING EACH SESSION. OUTCOMES INCLUDING STANDARD RANGE OF MOTION MEASURES, THE VANCOUVER SCAR SCALE (VSS), AND THE NECK DISABILITY INDEX (NDI), WHICH WERE RECORDED EVERY 10 SESSIONS. CFUS OF CERVICAL EXTENSION AND SHOULDER FLEXION WERE ANALYZED VIA PHOTOGRAPHS COMPARING CUTANEOUS POSITION DURING SPECIFIED YOGA POSES AND RESTING ANATOMICAL POSITION IN STANDING. OVER 30 VISITS, CERVICAL AND SHOULDER RANGE OF MOTION INCREASED, ALTHOUGH THE VSS AND NDI DID NOT SHOW SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT. YOGA POSES SHOWED OVERALL CUTANEOUS RECRUITMENT DISTAL TO THE TARGETED JOINTS, AND BURNED SKIN WAS RECRUITED SIMILARLY TO NONBURNED SKIN IN POSITIONS OF STRETCH. INCORPORATING MULTIJOINT APPROACHES FOR STRETCHING, LIKE YOGA, APPEARS TO CONTRIBUTE TO IMPROVED CLINICAL RANGE-OF-MOTION OUTCOMES WHEN PAIRED WITH TRADITIONAL BURN-REHABILITATION INTERVENTIONS. YOGA POSES INVOLVING MULTIPLE JOINTS ALIGN WITH THE PRINCIPLE OF CFUS, WARRANTING CONTINUED INVESTIGATION. 2022 17 134 21 A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF LUMBAR TACTILE ACUITY IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. BACKGROUND: TACTILE ACUITY IN THE BACK RELATES TO VOLUNTARY LUMBO-PELVIC CONTROL AND IS LOWER IN CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) PATIENTS. TWO-POINT DISCRIMINATION (TPD) THRESHOLDS ARE HIGHER, INDICATING DECREASED TACTILE ACUITY IN PATIENTS WITH CLBP. YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HELP RELIEVE CLBP. OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT REGULAR PRACTITIONERS OF YOGA HAVE INCREASED TACTILE ACUITY (I.E., LOWER TPD THRESHOLDS) WHEN COMPARED TO MATCHED CONTROLS WHO REGULARLY PERFORM GYM-BASED (RESISTANCE TRAINING OR AEROBIC-TYPE) EXERCISE. METHOD: TACTILE ACUITY IN THE LOW BACK WAS ASSESSED USING TPD IN 16 LONG-TERM PRACTITIONERS OF YOGA (5 ASHTANGA, 5 BIKRAM, AND 6 IYENGAR PRACTITIONERS) AND 16 AGE- AND GENDER-MATCHED HEALTHY CONTROLS WHO EXERCISE (WITH WEIGHTS AND AEROBIC EXERCISE). RESULTS: THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS' TPD WAS LOWER THAN THAT OF THE EXERCISERS, INDICATING GREATER TACTILE ACUITY IN THE LOW BACK. WHILE THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TPD OF THE PRACTITIONERS OF DIFFERENT YOGA STYLES, THE TPD OF THE ASHTANGA YOGA PARTICIPANTS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN THOSE OF THE EXERCISERS. THE YOGIS WHOSE MAIN REASONS TO PRACTICE YOGA WERE FOR "MEDITATION OR INCREASED MINDFULNESS" AND FOR "WELL-BEING" SHOWED A NONSIGNIFICANT TREND OF HIGHER TACTILE ACUITY THAN THOSE WHO DID YOGA FOR "PHYSICAL EXERCISE." THERE WAS NO ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TPD THRESHOLD AND CUMULATIVE AMOUNT OF YOGA PRACTICE IN TERMS OF HOURS PER WEEK AND YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. HOWEVER, INCREASED HOURS OF EXERCISE PER WEEK CORRELATED WITH HIGHER TPD. CONCLUSION: THE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THERE MAY BE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA PRACTICE AND ENHANCED TACTILE ACUITY IN THE LOW BACK. 2014 18 2257 18 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF KUNDALINI YOGA MEDITATION: A STUDY OF A YOGA MASTER. THIS STUDY EXPLORES THE PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF A HIGHLY PRACTICED KUNDALINI YOGA MEDITATOR. THORACIC AND ABDOMINAL BREATHING PATTERNS, HEART RATE (HR), OCCIPITAL PARIETAL ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPH (EEG), SKIN CONDUCTANCE LEVEL (SCL), AND BLOOD VOLUME PULSE (BVP) WERE MONITORED DURING PREBASELINE, MEDITATION, AND POSTBASELINE PERIODS. VISUAL ANALYSES OF THE DATA SHOWED A DECREASE IN RESPIRATION RATE DURING THE MEDITATION FROM A MEAN OF 11 BREATHS/MIN FOR THE PRE- AND 13 BREATHS/MIN FOR THE POSTBASELINE TO A MEAN OF 5 BREATHS/MIN DURING THE MEDITATION, WITH A PREDOMINANCE OF ABDOMINAL/DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING. THERE WAS ALSO MORE ALPHA EEG ACTIVITY DURING THE MEDITATION (M = 1.71 MICROV) COMPARED TO THE PRE- (M = .47 MICROV) AND POSTBASELINE (M = .78 MICROV) PERIODS, AND AN INCREASE IN THETA EEG ACTIVITY IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE MEDITATION (M = .62 MICROV) COMPARED TO THE PRE-BASELINE AND MEDITATIVE PERIODS (EACH WITH M = .26 MICROV). THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT A SHIFT IN BREATHING PATTERNS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALPHA EEG, AND THOSE PATTERNS NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED FURTHER. 2001 19 2393 11 YOGA AND BONE HEALTH. OSTEOPOROSIS IS A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM AFFECTING INDIVIDUALS GLOBALLY. YOGA HAS BEEN FOUND TO PREVENT AND REVERSE BONE LOSS. YOGA MAY RESULT IN BETTER BALANCE, IMPROVED POSTURE, AND GREATER RANGE OF MOTION, STRENGTH, AND COORDINATION, ALL FACTORS THAT ALSO MITIGATE THE RISK OF FALLS AND FRACTURES. A 12-MINUTE, 12-POSE YOGA REGIMEN IS DISCUSSED IN DETAIL. ONCE LEARNED, THE ONGOING USE OF YOGA IS SAFE, WITHOUT COST, AND MAY BE DONE LIFELONG. 2021 20 1290 20 GROUND REACTION FORCES GENERATED BY TWENTY-EIGHT HATHA YOGA POSTURES. ADHERENTS CLAIM MANY BENEFITS FROM THE PRACTICE OF YOGA, INCLUDING PROMOTION OF BONE HEALTH AND PREVENTION OF OSTEOPOROSIS. HOWEVER, NO KNOWN STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED WHETHER YOGA ENHANCES BONE MINERAL DENSITY. FURTHERMORE, NONE HAVE ESTIMATED REACTION FORCES APPLIED BY YOGA PRACTITIONERS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COLLECT GROUND REACTION FORCE (GRF) DATA ON A VARIETY OF HATHA YOGA POSTURES THAT WOULD COMMONLY BE PRACTICED IN FITNESS CENTERS OR PRIVATE STUDIOS. TWELVE FEMALE AND EIGHT MALE VOLUNTEERS PERFORMED A SEQUENCE OF 28 HATHA YOGA POSTURES WHILE GRF DATA WERE COLLECTED WITH AN AMTI STRAIN-GAUGE FORCE PLATFORM. THE SEQUENCE WAS REPEATED SIX TIMES BY EACH STUDY SUBJECT. FOUR DEPENDENT VARIABLES WERE STUDIED: PEAK VERTICAL GRF, MEAN VERTICAL GRF, PEAK RESULTANT GRF, AND MEAN RESULTANT GRF. UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS WAS USED TO IDENTIFY MEAN VALUES AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS FOR THE DEPENDENT VARIABLES. PEAK VERTICAL AND RESULTANT VALUES OF EACH POSTURE WERE SIMILAR FOR ALL SUBJECTS, AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS WERE SMALL. SIMILARLY, MEAN VERTICAL AND RESULTANT VALUES WERE SIMILAR FOR ALL SUBJECTS. THIS 28 POSTURE YOGA SEQUENCE PRODUCED LOW IMPACT GRF APPLIED TO UPPER AND LOWER EXTREMITIES. FURTHER RESEARCH IS WARRANTED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THESE FORCES ARE SUFFICIENT TO PROMOTE OSTEOGENESIS OR MAINTAIN CURRENT BONE HEALTH IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. 2012