1 2730 146 YOGA OF IMMORTALS INTERVENTION REDUCES SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION, INSOMNIA AND ANXIETY. BACKGROUND: DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND DISORDERED SLEEP ARE SOME COMMON SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH SUB-OPTIMAL MENTAL HEALTH. DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES HAVE GROWN INCREASINGLY MORE PREVALENT IN THE POPULATION. DUE TO SOCIAL DISTANCING AND OTHER LIMITATIONS DURING THE PANDEMIC, THERE IS A NEED FOR HOME-BASED, FLEXIBLE INTERVENTIONS THAT CAN IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH. THE YOGA OF IMMORTALS (YOI) MOBILE APPLICATION PROVIDES A STRUCTURED INTERVENTION THAT CAN BE USED ON ANY MOBILE DEVICE AND APPLIED FROM THE USER'S HOME. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 1,505 PARTICIPANTS WERE ENROLLED IN THE STUDY AND USED THE YOI APP FOR AN 8-WEEK PERIOD. PARTICIPANTS WERE ASKED TO FILL OUT THREE QUESTIONNAIRES: THE PATIENT HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE, 8 ITEMS (PHQ-8), THE GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER QUESTIONNAIRE (GAD-7) AND THE INSOMNIA SEVERITY INDEX (ISI). THESE THREE ITEMS WERE COMPLETED BY 1,297 PARTICIPANTS A TOTAL OF FOUR TIMES: BEFORE STARTING YOI, TWO MORE TIMES DURING USE, AND A FOURTH TIME AFTER THE 8-WEEK USAGE PERIOD. CHANGES IN PHQ8, GAD7 AND ISI IN PARTICIPANTS WERE COMPARED TO A CONTROL GROUP, WHO DID NOT USE THE YOI APP BUT COMPLETED ALL QUESTIONNAIRES (590 CONTROLS FINISHED ALL QUESTIONNAIRES). RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS REPORTED SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY-RELATED SYMPTOMS. COMPARED TO BASELINE, PHQ-8 SCORES DECREASED 50% ON AVERAGE AFTER THE 8-WEEK PERIOD. GAD-7 SCORES ALSO DECREASED BY 40-50% ON AVERAGE, AND ISI SCORES DECREASED BY 50%. THESE CHANGES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER (P < 0.05) THAN THAT OBSERVED IN THE CONTROL GROUP. PARTICIPANTS WHO REPORTED A PREVIOUS DIAGNOSIS OF DEPRESSION AND GENERALIZED ANXIETY REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER DECREASES IN PHQ-8 AND GAD-7 AS COMPARED TO PARTICIPANTS WITH NO PRIOR DIAGNOSIS (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: REGULAR USE OF THE YOI INTERVENTION OVER AN 8-WEEK PERIOD LED TO SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN SYMPTOMS OF BOTH DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, AS WELL AS ALLEVIATION OF INSOMNIA. 2021 2 657 33 EFFECT OF 'EXERCISE WITHOUT MOVEMENT' YOGA METHOD ON MINDFULNESS, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION. OBJECTIVE: TO ANALYZE THE EFFECT OF THE 'EXERCISE WITHOUT MOVEMENT' (E.W.M) YOGA METHOD ON MINDFULNESS AND ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS. METHODS: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECT OF ONE MONTH E.W.M. INTERVENTION AMONG 38 PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE ENROLLED VOLUNTARILY TO BOTH GROUPS, STUDY (N = 16) AND CONTROL (N = 22). FIVE PARTICIPANTS DROPPED OUT DURING THE STUDY. THE STATE MINDFULNESS SCALE (SMS) WAS USED TO MEASURE MINDFULNESS. THE ANXIETY INVENTORY BECK (BAI) AND THE BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY (BDI-II) WERE USED TO MEASURE THE ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS, RESPECTIVELY, BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: STUDY GROUP SHOWED BOTH A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN MINDFULNESS AND DECREASE IN ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS, COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THE E.W.M. HAS BEEN USEFUL IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MINDFULNESS AND IN THE TREATMENT OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS AND MAY REPRESENT A NEW METHOD IN THE MINDFULNESS-BASED THERAPEUTIC APPLICATION. 2016 3 2112 32 THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON STRESS, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION IN WOMEN. BACKGROUND: IN RECENT DECADES, SEVERAL MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC STUDIES ON YOGA PROVED IT TO BE VERY USEFUL IN THE TREATMENT OF SOME DISEASES. THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION IN WOMEN LIVING IN ILAM, IRAN. METHODS: THIS STUDY IS A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY WITH PRE-POST TEST. TO COLLECT DATA, THE QUESTIONNAIRE OF DASS-21 (DEPRESSION ANXIETY STRESS SCALE-21) WAS USED. FOR ELIGIBLE SAMPLES, HATHA YOGA EXERCISES AND TRAINING SESSIONS WERE HELD FOR 4 WEEKS (3 TIME/WEEKS; 60-70 MIN EACH) BY A SPECIALIST. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING SPSS VERSION 20. RESULTS: 52 WOMEN WITH A MEAN AGE OF 33.5 +/- 6.5 WERE INCLUDED FOR ANALYSIS. DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND STRESS DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN WOMEN AFTER 12 SESSIONS OF REGULAR HATHA YOGA PRACTICE (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: YOGA HAS AN EFFECTIVE ROLE IN REDUCING STRESS, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION. THUS, IT CAN BE USED AS COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE. 2018 4 1792 41 PRENATAL YOGA AND MENTAL HEALTH DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A RANDOMIZED-CONTROL TRIAL. STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT NEW AND EXPECTANT MOTHERS EXPERIENCE INCREASED LEVELS OF STRESS AND ANXIETY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. THOUGH PRENATAL YOGA IS AN EFFECTIVE MODE OF IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH DURING PREGNANCY, NO RESEARCH HAS EVALUATED ITS EFFECT ON MENTAL HEALTH DURING TIMES OF EXTREME STRESS, SUCH AS A GLOBAL PANDEMIC. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE INFLUENCE OF A SINGLE SESSION AND A 10-WEEK PRENATAL YOGA INTERVENTION ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF PREGNANT WOMEN DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. WOMEN (N = 19; 28.52 +/- 3.74 YEARS; 20.94 +/- 4.69 WEEKS GESTATION; BMI 29.33 +/- 9.08) WERE RANDOMIZED INTO A YOGA OR A NON-YOGA CONTROL GROUP. THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES IN DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS OR DEPRESSION/ANXIETY SCORES BETWEEN GROUPS AT BASELINE. BASELINE LEVELS OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION WERE HIGH, WITH AN AVERAGE DEPRESSION SCORE OF 8.10 +/- 4.85 (SCORES > 8 REPRESENT POSSIBLE DEPRESSION) AND AN AVERAGE ANXIETY SCORE OF 39.26 +/- 12.99 (SCORES >/= 39 REPRESENT A CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT ANXIETY). AFTER JUST ONE SESSION OF YOGA, WOMEN REPORTED FEELING LESS DEPRESSED (P = 0.028), TENSE (P < 0.001), AND FATIGUED (P = 0.004). AFTER 10 WEEKS, THE YOGA GROUP HAD LOWER ANXIETY (P = 0.002), DEPRESSION (P = 0.032), AND TOTAL MOOD DISTURBANCE (P = 0.002) SCORES WHEN COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. YOGA APPEARS TO BENEFIT THE MENTAL HEALTH OF EXPECTANT MOTHERS, EVEN IN TIMES OF EXTREME STRESS. THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY PROVIDE CLINICIANS WITH VALUABLE INFORMATION REGARDING ALTERNATIVE EXERCISE OPTIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH DURING PREGNANCY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. 2021 5 906 54 EFFECTIVENESS OF APP-BASED YOGA OF IMMORTALS (YOI) INTERVENTION FOR INSOMNIA IN ASIAN POPULATION DURING PANDEMIC RESTRICTIONS. THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) PANDEMIC CREATED SIGNIFICANT PSYCHOLOGICAL CHALLENGES WORLDWIDE, INCLUDING STRESS, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, AND INSOMNIA. IN ADDITION, SOCIAL DISTANCING, TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS, AND SPREAD OF DISEASE HAVE RESULTED IN UNIQUE CHALLENGES, CREATING BARRIERS TO HEALTHCARE ACCESS. COMPARED TO THE RATE PRIOR TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN CLINICAL INSOMNIA RATES HAVE BEEN REPORTED. WITH WELL-KNOWN LIMITATIONS OF CURRENTLY ESTABLISHED TREATMENTS (E.G., COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY-INSOMNIA (CBT-I), PHARMACOTHERAPY), THERE IS A NEED TO EXPLORE OTHER EFFECTIVE AND SAFE TREATMENT MODALITIES TO TREAT INSOMNIA, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT CAN BE USED REMOTELY. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY IS TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF APP-BASED INTERVENTION TO TREAT INSOMNIA IN THE CURRENT ERA OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC (USING THE YOGA OF IMMORTALS (YOI) APP). THIS PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY WAS APPROVED BY THE INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD. ALL PARTICIPANTS IN THIS STUDY WERE ASKED TO COMPLETE AN ONLINE SURVEY INCLUDING DEMOGRAPHIC DATA AND VALIDATED INSOMNIA SEVERITY INDEX (ISI) AT BASELINE (15 MAY 2020), 4 WEEKS, AND 8 WEEKS AFTER STARTING THE YOI INTERVENTION. SURVEY DATA WAS EXPORTED USING MICROSOFT EXCEL. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WAS DONE USING THE GRAPHPAD PRISM 8. YOI INTERVENTION SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED THE MEAN ISI SCORES IN ALL CATEGORIES OF INSOMNIA (SEVERE, MODERATE, AND SUBTHRESHOLD) AT EACH FOLLOW-UP (P