1 2660 153 YOGA IN ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION. BACKGROUND: YOGA SEEMS TO EXERT ITS EFFECT AGAINST ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION MAINLY THROUGH THE ASSOCIATED BREATHING AND MEDITATION TECHNIQUES, AND LESS SO THROUGH YOGA POSTURES. THE GOAL OF THIS TRIAL WAS TO COMPARE THE BLOOD PRESSURE-LOWERING EFFECT OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS WITH AND WITHOUT YOGA POSTURES IN PATIENTS WITH ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION. METHODS: 75 PATIENTS TAKING MEDICATIONS FOR ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION (72% WOMEN, MEAN AGE 58.7 +/- 9.5 YEARS) WERE RANDOMIZED INTO THREE GROUPS: A YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP WITH YOGA POSTURES (25 PATIENTS, OF WHOM 5 DROPPED OUT OF THE TRIAL BEFORE ITS END), A YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP WITHOUT YOGA POSTURES (25 PATIENTS, 3 DROPOUTS), AND A WAIT LIST CONTROL GROUP (25 PATIENTS, ONE DROPOUT). THE INTERVENTIONS CONSISTED OF 90 MINUTES OF YOGA PRACTICE PER WEEK FOR TWELVE WEEKS. THE DATA COLLECTORS, WHO WERE BLINDED TO THE INTERVENTION RECEIVED, ASSESSED THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES "SYSTOLIC 24-HOUR BLOOD PRESSURE" AND "DIASTOLIC 24-HOUR BLOOD PRESSURE" BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION. IN THIS REPORT, WE ALSO PRESENT THE FINDINGS ON SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES, INCLUDING FOLLOW-UP DATA. RESULTS: AFTER THE INTERVENTION, THE SYSTOLIC 24-HOUR BLOOD PRESSURE IN THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP WITHOUT YOGA POSTURES WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUP (GROUP DIFFERENCE [DELTA]= -3.8 MMHG; [95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI): (-0.3; -7.4) P = 0.035]); IT WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN IN THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP WITH YOGA POSTURES (DELTA = -3.2 MMHG; 95% CI: [-6.3; -0.8]; P = 0.045). DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY ACROSS GROUPS. NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS WERE ENCOUNTERED IN THE COURSE OF THE TRIAL. CONCLUSION: IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FINDINGS OF EARLIER STUDIES, WE FOUND THAT ONLY YOGA WITHOUT YOGA POSTURES INDUCED A SHORT-TERM LOWERING OF AMBULATORY SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE. YOGA IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE IN PATIENTS TAKING MEDICATIONS FOR ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION AND THUS CAN BE RECOMMENDED AS AN ADDITIONAL TREATMENT OPTION FOR PERSONS IN THIS CATEGORY. 2018 2 1402 53 IMPACT OF YOGA ON BLOOD PRESSURE AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION - A CONTROLLED TRIAL IN PRIMARY CARE, MATCHED FOR SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE. BACKGROUND: MEDICAL TREATMENT OF HYPERTENSION IS NOT ALWAYS SUFFICIENT TO ACHIEVE BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL. DESPITE THIS, PREVIOUS STUDIES ON SUPPLEMENTARY THERAPIES, SUCH AS YOGA, ARE RELATIVELY FEW. WE INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF TWO YOGA INTERVENTIONS ON BLOOD PRESSURE AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE DIAGNOSED WITH HYPERTENSION. METHODS: ADULT PATIENTS (AGE 20-80 YEARS) WITH DIAGNOSED HYPERTENSION WERE IDENTIFIED BY AN ELECTRONIC CHART SEARCH AT A PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTER IN SOUTHERN SWEDEN. IN TOTAL, 83 SUBJECTS WITH BLOOD PRESSURE VALUES OF 120-179//=14 ON THE BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY-II WERE RANDOMIZED TO EITHER THE YOGA OR THE CONTROL GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP COMPLETED A 12-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM, WHICH TOOK PLACE TWICE A WEEK FOR 60 MIN PER SESSION AND CONSISTED OF BREATHING EXERCISES, YOGA POSE PRACTICE, AND SUPINE MEDITATION/RELAXATION. THE CONTROL GROUP WAS INSTRUCTED NOT TO ENGAGE IN ANY YOGA PRACTICE AND TO MAINTAIN THEIR USUAL LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DURING THE COURSE OF THE STUDY. PARTICIPANTS' HRV, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, AND PERCEIVED STRESS WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND POST-TEST. RESULTS: THE YOGA GROUP HAD A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN HIGH-FREQUENCY HRV AND DECREASES IN LOW-FREQUENCY HRV AND LOW FREQUENCY/HIGH FREQUENCY RATIO AFTER THE INTERVENTION. THE YOGA GROUP ALSO REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND PERCEIVED STRESS. NO CHANGE WAS FOUND IN THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: A 12-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM WAS EFFECTIVE IN INCREASING PARASYMPATHETIC TONE AND REDUCING DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND PERCEIVED STRESS IN WOMEN WITH ELEVATED DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE RECOMMENDED FOR WOMEN TO COPE WITH THEIR DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND STRESS AND TO IMPROVE THEIR HRV. 2017 16 159 36 A RANDOMISED COMPARATIVE TRIAL OF YOGA AND RELAXATION TO REDUCE STRESS AND ANXIETY. OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE YOGA AND RELAXATION AS TREATMENT MODALITIES AT 10 AND 16 WEEKS FROM STUDY BASELINE TO DETERMINE IF EITHER OF MODALITY REDUCES SUBJECT STRESS, ANXIETY, BLOOD PRESSURE AND IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE. DESIGN: A RANDOMISED COMPARATIVE TRIAL WAS UNDERTAKEN COMPARING YOGA WITH RELAXATION. PARTICIPANTS: ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-ONE SUBJECTS WITH MILD TO MODERATE LEVELS OF STRESS WERE RECRUITED FROM THE COMMUNITY IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA. INTERVENTIONS: TEN WEEKLY 1- H SESSIONS OF RELAXATION OR HATHA YOGA. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: CHANGES IN THE STATE TRAIT PERSONALITY INVENTORY SUB-SCALE ANXIETY, GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE AND THE SHORT FORM-36. RESULTS: FOLLOWING THE 10 WEEK INTERVENTION STRESS, ANXIETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE SCORES IMPROVED OVER TIME. YOGA WAS FOUND TO BE AS EFFECTIVE AS RELAXATION IN REDUCING STRESS, ANXIETY AND IMPROVING HEALTH STATUS ON SEVEN DOMAINS OF THE SF-36. YOGA WAS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN RELAXATION IN IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH. AT THE END OF THE 6 WEEK FOLLOW-UP PERIOD THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS IN LEVELS OF STRESS, ANXIETY AND ON FIVE DOMAINS OF THE SF-36. VITALITY, SOCIAL FUNCTION AND MENTAL HEALTH SCORES ON THE SF-36 WERE HIGHER IN THE RELAXATION GROUP DURING THE FOLLOW-UP PERIOD. CONCLUSION: YOGA APPEARS TO PROVIDE A COMPARABLE IMPROVEMENT IN STRESS, ANXIETY AND HEALTH STATUS COMPARED TO RELAXATION. 2007 17 1063 34 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND MOOD IN WOMEN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND MOOD IN GENERALLY HEALTHY WOMEN. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. PARTICIPANTS: FIFTY-TWO HEALTHY WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A YOGA GROUP OR A CONTROL GROUP. INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPLETED AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM, WHICH COMPRISED A 60-MINUTE SESSION TWICE A WEEK. EACH SESSION CONSISTED OF BREATHING EXERCISES, YOGA POSE PRACTICE, AND SUPINE MEDITATION/RELAXATION. THE CONTROL GROUP WAS INSTRUCTED NOT TO ENGAGE IN ANY YOGA PRACTICE AND TO MAINTAIN THEIR USUAL LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DURING THE STUDY. OUTCOME MEASURES: PARTICIPANTS' HEART RATE VARIABILITY, PERCEIVED STRESS, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, AND STATE AND TRAIT ANXIETY WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE (WEEK 0) AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION (WEEK 9). RESULTS: NO MEASURES OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY IN EITHER THE YOGA OR CONTROL GROUP AFTER INTERVENTION. STATE ANXIETY WAS REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE YOGA GROUP BUT NOT IN THE CONTROL GROUP. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE NOTED IN PERCEIVED STRESS, DEPRESSION, OR TRAIT ANXIETY IN EITHER GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO IMPROVE HEART RATE VARIABILITY. HOWEVER, SUCH A PROGRAM APPEARS TO BE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING STATE ANXIETY IN GENERALLY HEALTHY WOMEN. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD INVOLVE LONGER PERIODS OF YOGA TRAINING, INCLUDE HEART RATE VARIABILITY MEASURES BOTH AT REST AND DURING YOGA PRACTICE, AND ENROLL WOMEN WITH HIGHER LEVELS OF STRESS AND TRAIT ANXIETY. 2015 18 60 37 A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA AND RESISTANCE EXERCISE ON MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN SEDENTARY ADULTS: A PILOT STUDY. OBJECTIVES: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HAS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON PEOPLE'S MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA AND RESISTANCE EXERCISES ON MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN SEDENTARY ADULTS. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. METHODS: FIFTY-ONE PARTICIPANTS AGED MEAN (SD) 25.6 (5.7) YEARS WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUPS: HATHA YOGA GROUP, RESISTANCE EXERCISE GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP. THE HATHA YOGA GROUP AND RESISTANCE EXERCISE GROUP PARTICIPATED IN SESSIONS THREE DAYS PER WEEK FOR 7 WEEKS AND THE CONTROL GROUP DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY SESSIONS. ALL THE SUBJECTS WERE EVALUATED THROUGH THE ROSENBERG SELF-ESTEEM SCALE, BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY, BODY CATHEXIS SCALE, NOTTINGHAM HEALTH PROFILE AND VISUAL ANALOG SCALE FOR FATIGUE PRE-AND POST-SESSION. RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE FOUND IN TERMS OF ALL OUTCOME MEASURES IN THE HATHA YOGA GROUP AND THE RESISTANCE EXERCISE GROUP. NO IMPROVEMENTS WERE FOUND IN THE CONTROL GROUP. HATHA YOGA MORE IMPROVED THE DIMENSIONS FATIGUE, SELF-ESTEEM, AND QUALITY OF LIFE, WHILST RESISTANCE EXERCISE TRAINING MORE IMPROVED BODY IMAGE. HATHA YOGA AND RESISTANCE EXERCISE DECREASED DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS AT A SIMILAR LEVEL. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS INDICATED THAT HATHA YOGA AND RESISTANCE EXERCISE HAD POSITIVE EFFECTS ON MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN SEDENTARY ADULTS. HATHA YOGA AND RESISTANCE EXERCISE MAY AFFECT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. 2014 19 748 29 EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY, AND BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL. OBJECTIVE: THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATES THE EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY, AND BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL. DESIGN: THE PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL COHORT STUDY ENROLLED TWO STUDY GROUPS: THOSE RECEIVING TREATMENT FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SAHAJA YOGA RESEARCH AND HEALTH CENTER (MEDITATION GROUP) AND THOSE RECEIVING TREATMENT FROM THE MAHATMA GANDHI MISSION HOSPITAL (CONTROL GROUP). RESEARCHERS MEASURED QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY, AND BLOOD PRESSURE BEFORE AND AFTER TREATMENT. RESULTS: SIXTY-SEVEN (67) PARTICIPANTS IN THE MEDITATION GROUP AND 62 PARTICIPANTS IN THE CONTROL GROUP COMPLETED THE STUDY. THE TWO GROUPS WERE COMPARABLE IN DEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS. AT BASELINE, THE MEDITATION GROUP HAD HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE (P<0.001) THAN CONTROLS BUT SIMILAR ANXIETY LEVEL (P=0.74) TO CONTROLS. WITHIN-GROUP PRE- VERSUS POST-TREATMENT COMPARISONS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY, AND BLOOD PRESSURE IN THE MEDITATION GROUP (P<0.001), WHILE IN CONTROLS, QUALITY OF LIFE DETERIORATED AND THERE WAS NO IMPROVEMENT IN BLOOD PRESSURE. THE IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY REDUCTION, AND BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL WAS GREATER IN THE MEDITATION GROUP. THE BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF MEDITATION REMAINED SIGNIFICANT AFTER ADJUSTING FOR CONFOUNDERS. CONCLUSIONS: MEDITATION TREATMENT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY REDUCTION, AND BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL. 2012 20 1533 38 IYENGAR YOGA VERSUS ENHANCED USUAL CARE ON BLOOD PRESSURE IN PATIENTS WITH PREHYPERTENSION TO STAGE I HYPERTENSION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. THE PREVALENCE OF PREHYPERTENSION AND STAGE 1 HYPERTENSION CONTINUES TO INCREASE DESPITE BEING AMENABLE TO NON-PHARMACOLOGIC INTERVENTIONS. IYENGAR YOGA (IY) HAS BEEN PURPORTED TO REDUCE BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) THOUGH EVIDENCE FROM RANDOMIZED TRIALS IS LACKING. WE CONDUCTED A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF 12 WEEKS OF IY VERSUS ENHANCED USUAL CARE (EUC) (BASED ON INDIVIDUAL DIETARY ADJUSTMENT) ON 24-H AMBULATORY BP IN YOGA-NAIVE ADULTS WITH UNTREATED PREHYPERTENSION OR STAGE 1 HYPERTENSION. IN TOTAL, 26 AND 31 SUBJECTS IN THE IY AND EUC ARMS, RESPECTIVELY, COMPLETED THE STUDY. THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES IN BP BETWEEN THE GROUPS AT 6 AND 12 WEEKS. IN THE EUC GROUP, 24-H SYSTOLIC BP (SBP), DIASTOLIC BP (DBP) AND MEAN ARTERIAL PRESSURE (MAP) SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED BY 5, 3 AND 3 MMHG, RESPECTIVELY, FROM BASELINE AT 6 WEEKS (P < .05), BUT WERE NO LONGER SIGNIFICANT AT 12 WEEKS. IN THE IY GROUP, 24 H SBP WAS REDUCED BY 6 MMHG AT 12 WEEKS COMPARED TO BASELINE (P = .05). 24 H DBP (P < .01) AND MAP (P < .05) DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY EACH BY 5 MMHG. NO DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED IN CATECHOLAMINE OR CORTISOL METABOLISM TO EXPLAIN THE DECREASE IN BP IN THE IY GROUP AT 12 WEEKS. TWELVE WEEKS OF IY PRODUCES CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN 24 H SBP AND DBP. LARGER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO ESTABLISH THE LONG TERM EFFICACY, ACCEPTABILITY, UTILITY AND POTENTIAL MECHANISMS OF IY TO CONTROL BP. 2011