1 2731 143 YOGA OFFERS CARDIOVASCULAR PROTECTION IN EARLY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. CONTEXT: POSTMENOPAUSE, AN ESTROGEN DEFICIENT STATE COMES WITH INCREASED INCIDENCE OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES (CVDS). YOGA HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS HAVING A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV), A MARKER FOR CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY WHICH CAN ASSESS CARDIOVASCULAR RISK, IN VARIOUS POPULATIONS. AIM: THE AIM OF THE STUDY WAS TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF 3-MONTH LONG YOGA PRACTICE ON HRV IN EARLY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF 67 WOMEN WITHIN 5 YEARS OF MENOPAUSE BETWEEN 45 AND 60 YEARS OF AGE ATTENDING MENOPAUSE CLINIC OF DEPARTMENT OF GYNAECOLOGY, SUCHETA KRIPLANI HOSPITAL FULFILLING INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA AND CONSENTING WERE ENROLLED FOR THE STUDY. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: HRV OF 37 CASES (YOGA GROUP) AND 30 CONTROLS (NON-YOGA GROUP) WAS RECORDED PRE AND 3-MONTH POSTINTERVENTION. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: GRAPHPAD PRISM VERSION 5 SOFTWARE WAS USED. VALUES ARE A MEAN AND STANDARD ERROR OF MEAN. STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE WAS SET UP AT P < 0.05. RESULTS: IN HRV, FREQUENCY DOMAIN ANALYSIS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT FALL IN LOW FREQUENCY (LF) IN NORMALIZED UNITS (NU) AND LF: HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) RATIO AND SIGNIFICANT RISE IN HF IN NU IN THE YOGA GROUP (DEPICTING PARASYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE) AGAINST A SIGNIFICANT RISE IN LF (NU) AND LF: HF RATIO AND SIGNIFICANT FALL IN HF (NU) IN NON-YOGA GROUP (INDICATING SYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE). TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN STANDARD DEVIATION OF NN INTERVALS IN NON-YOGA GROUP AGAINST NONSIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN YOGA GROUP INDICATING DETERIORATION IN PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY IN NON-YOGA GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THREE-MONTH LONG YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVED HRV IN EARLY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN SIGNIFICANTLY AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ATTENUATE THE CVD RISK IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. 2018 2 1578 59 MEASUREMENT OF THE EFFECT OF ISHA YOGA ON CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM USING SHORT-TERM HEART RATE VARIABILITY. BACKGROUND: BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA HAVE BEEN POSTULATED TO BE DUE TO MODULATION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF ISHA YOGA PRACTICES ON CARDIOVASCULAR AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM THROUGH SHORT-TERM HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). DESIGN OF THE STUDY: SHORT-TERM HRV OF LONG-TERM REGULAR HEALTHY 14 (12 MALES AND 2 FEMALES) ISHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS WAS COMPARED WITH THAT OF AGE- AND GENDER-MATCHED 14 (12 MALES AND 2 FEMALES) NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS. METHODS AND MATERIALS: ECG LEAD II AND RESPIRATORY MOVEMENTS WERE RECORDED IN BOTH GROUPS USING POLYRITE DURING SUPINE REST FOR 5 MIN AND CONTROLLED DEEP BREATHING FOR 1 MINUTE. FREQUENCY DOMAIN ANALYSIS [RR INTERVAL IS THE MEAN OF DISTANCE BETWEEN SUBSEQUENT R WAVE PEAKS IN ECG], LOW FREQUENCY (LF) POWER, HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) POWER, LF NORMALIZED UNITS (NU), HF NU, LF/HF RATIO] AND TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS [STANDARD DEVIATION OF NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVAL (SDNN), SQUARE OF MEAN SQUARED DIFFERENCE OF SUCCESSIVE NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVALS (RMSSD), NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVALS WHICH ARE DIFFERING BY 50 MS (NN50), AND PERCENTAGE OF NN50 (PNN50)] OF HRV VARIABLES WERE ANALYZED FOR SUPINE REST. TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS WAS RECORDED FOR DEEP BREATHING. RESULTS: RESULTS SHOWED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND CONTROLS IN BOTH FREQUENCY AND TIME DOMAIN ANALYSES OF HRV INDICES, WITH NO DIFFERENCE IN RESTING HEART RATE BETWEEN THE GROUPS. CONCLUSIONS: PRACTITIONERS OF ISHA YOGA SHOWED WELL-BALANCED BENEFICIAL ACTIVITY OF VAGAL EFFERENTS, AN OVERALL INCREASED HRV, AND SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE, COMPARED TO NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS DURING SUPINE REST AND DEEP BREATHING. 2012 3 1318 50 HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN PATIENTS RANDOMIZED TO YOGA OR STANDARD CARE. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC PAIN CAN ALTER THE AUTONOMIC BALANCE WITH INCREASED SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY REFLECTED IN ALTERED HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). IT HAS BEEN PROPOSED THAT YOGA CAN BE USEFUL TO CORRECT THE AUTONOMIC IMBALANCE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PAIN WHO HAVE REDUCED HRV. METHODS AND DESIGNS: IN THE PRESENT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL 62 PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH ALTERED ALIGNMENT OF INTERVERTEBRAL DISCS (AGED BETWEEN 20 AND 45 YEARS, 32 MALES) WERE RANDOMIZED TO 2 GROUPS. ONE GROUP RECEIVED YOGA FOR 3 MONTHS WHILE THE OTHER GROUP CARRIED OUT STANDARD MEDICAL CARE BASED ON THE PHYSICIAN'S ADVICE. THE DURATION WAS THE SAME, I.E., 3 MONTHS. THE HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND RATE OF RESPIRATION WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF 3 MONTHS. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE BASELINE (PRE) VALUES BETWEEN GROUPS (P = 0.008) FOR RESPIRATION RATE WHICH WAS HIGHER IN THE YOGA GROUP. THE CHANGES REPORTED BELOW ARE PRE-POST COMPARISONS WITHIN EACH GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.05; REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA, POST-HOC ANALYSES) DECREASE IN THE LF POWER OF HRV, RATE OF RESPIRATION AND A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE HF POWER OF HRV AND IN THE PNN50. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PRACTICE CAN SHIFT THE AUTONOMIC BALANCE TOWARDS VAGAL DOMINANCE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH ALTERED ALIGNMENT OF INTERVERTEBRAL DISCS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: THE STUDY IS REGISTERED WITH THE CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY OF INDIA ( CTRI/2012/11/003094 ) AND CAN BE ACCESSED AT. 2016 4 452 43 CHANGES IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY AFTER YOGA ARE DEPENDENT ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AT BASELINE AND DURING YOGA: A STUDY SHOWING AUTONOMIC NORMALIZATION EFFECT IN YOGA-NAIVE AND EXPERIENCED SUBJECTS. BACKGROUND: YOGA THERAPY IS WIDELY APPLIED TO THE MAINTENANCE OF HEALTH AND TO TREATMENT OF VARIOUS ILLNESSES. PREVIOUS RESEARCHES INDICATE THE INVOLVEMENT OF AUTONOMIC CONTROL IN ITS EFFECTS, ALTHOUGH THE GENERAL AGREEMENT HAS NOT BEEN REACHED REGARDING THE ACUTE MODULATION OF AUTONOMIC FUNCTION. AIM: THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED AT REVEALING THE ACUTE EFFECT OF YOGA ON THE AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) MEASUREMENT. METHODS: TWENTY-SEVEN HEALTHY CONTROLS PARTICIPATED IN THE PRESENT STUDY. FIFTEEN OF THEM (39.5 +/- 8.5 YEARS OLD) WERE NAIVE AND 12 (45.1 +/- 7.0 YEARS OLD) WERE EXPERIENCED IN YOGA. YOGA SKILLS INCLUDED BREATH AWARENESS, TWO TYPES OF ASANA, AND TWO TYPES OF PRANAYAMA. HRV WAS MEASURED AT THE BASELINE, DURING YOGA, AND AT THE RESTING STATE AFTER YOGA. RESULTS: IN BOTH YOGA-NAIVE AND EXPERIENCED PARTICIPANTS, THE CHANGES IN LOW-FREQUENCY (LF) COMPONENT OF HRV AND ITS RATIO TO HIGH-FREQUENCY (HF) COMPONENT (LF/HF) AFTER YOGA WERE FOUND TO BE CORRELATED NEGATIVELY WITH THE BASELINE DATA. THE CHANGES IN LF AFTER YOGA WERE ALSO CORRELATED WITH LF DURING YOGA. THE CHANGES IN HF AS WELL AS THE RAW HRV DATA AFTER YOGA WERE NOT RELATED TO THE BASELINE HRV OR THE HRV DURING YOGA. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT YOGA LEADS TO AN INCREASE IN LF WHEN LF IS LOW AND LEADS TO A DECREASE IN LF WHEN IT IS HIGH AT THE BASELINE. THIS NORMALIZATION OF LF IS DEPENDENT ON THE AUTONOMIC MODULATION DURING YOGA AND MAY UNDERLIE THE CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA THERAPY BOTH IN YOGA-NAIVE AND EXPERIENCED SUBJECTS. 2020 5 297 44 ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING AT DIFFERENT RATES AND ITS INFLUENCE ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN NON PRACTITIONERS OF YOGA. INTRODUCTION: HEART RATE VARIABILITY IS A MEASURE OF MODULATION IN AUTONOMIC INPUT TO THE HEART AND IS ONE OF THE MARKERS OF AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS. THOUGH THERE ARE MANY STUDIES ON THE LONG TERM INFLUENCE OF BREATHING ON HRV (HEART RATE VARIABILITY) THERE ARE ONLY A FEW STUDIES ON THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF BREATHING ESPECIALLY ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING ON HRV. THIS STUDY FOCUSES ON THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING AND THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT BREATHING RATES ON HRV. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE STUDY WAS DONE ON 25 SUBJECTS IN THE AGE GROUP OF 17-35 YEARS. ECG AND RESPIRATION WERE RECORDED BEFORE INTERVENTION AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SUBJECTS WERE ASKED TO PERFORM ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING FOR FIVE MINUTES. RESULTS: LOW FREQUENCY (LF) WHICH IS A MARKER OF SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY INCREASED, HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) WHICH IS A MARKER OF PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY DECREASED AND THEIR RATIO LF/HF WHICH IS A MARKER OF SYMPATHO/VAGAL BALANCE INCREASED IMMEDIATELY AFTER 6 AND 12 MINUTES IN COMPARISON TO BASELINE VALUES WHEREAS THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE MEANS OF THESE COMPONENTS WHEN BOTH 6 AND 12 MINUTES WERE COMPARED. CONCLUSION: IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING ON HRV IN NON PRACTITIONERS OF YOGIC BREATHING ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE LONG TERM INFLUENCE OF YOGIC BREATHING ON HRV WHICH SHOW A PREDOMINANT PARASYMPATHETIC INFLUENCE ON THE HEART. 2016 6 243 34 A YOGA & EXERCISE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL FOR VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS: EFFECTS ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY. OBJECTIVES: HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) REFLECTS THE INTEGRATION OF THE PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM WITH THE REST OF THE BODY. STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND EXERCISE ON HRV HAVE BEEN MIXED BUT SUGGEST THAT EXERCISE INCREASES HRV. WE CONDUCTED A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND EXERCISE ON HRV BASED ON A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL OF TREATMENTS FOR VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS IN PERI/POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL OF BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS IN WOMEN WITH VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS (N=335), 40-62 YEARS OLD FROM THREE CLINICAL STUDY SITES. INTERVENTIONS: 12-WEEKS OF A YOGA PROGRAM, DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR MID-LIFE WOMEN, OR A SUPERVISED AEROBIC EXERCISE-TRAINING PROGRAM WITH SPECIFIC INTENSITY AND ENERGY EXPENDITURE GOALS, COMPARED TO A USUAL ACTIVITY GROUP. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN HRV MEASURED AT BASELINE AND AT 12 WEEKS FOR 15MIN USING HOLTER MONITORS. RESULTS: WOMEN HAD A MEDIAN OF 7.6 VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS PER 24H. TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN HRV MEASURES DID NOT CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY IN EITHER OF THE INTERVENTION GROUPS COMPARED TO THE CHANGE IN THE USUAL ACTIVITY GROUP. HRV RESULTS DID NOT DIFFER WHEN THE ANALYSES WERE RESTRICTED TO POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN. CONCLUSIONS: ALTHOUGH YOGA AND EXERCISE HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO INCREASE PARASYMPATHETIC-MEDIATED HRV IN OTHER POPULATIONS, NEITHER INTERVENTION INCREASED HRV IN MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN WITH VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS. MIXED RESULTS IN PREVIOUS RESEARCH MAY BE DUE TO SAMPLE DIFFERENCES. YOGA AND EXERCISE LIKELY IMPROVE SHORT-TERM HEALTH IN MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN THROUGH MECHANISMS OTHER THAN HRV. 2016 7 1530 40 IYENGAR YOGA INCREASES CARDIAC PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS MODULATION AMONG HEALTHY YOGA PRACTITIONERS. RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ARE ESTABLISHED IN MANAGING OF CARDIAC PATIENTS DURING REHABILITATION AIMING TO REDUCE FUTURE ADVERSE CARDIAC EVENTS. IT HAS BEEN HYPOTHESIZED THAT RELAXATION-TRAINING PROGRAMS MAY SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NERVOUS TONE. HOWEVER, THIS HAS NOT BEEN PROVEN FOR ALL AVAILABLE RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. WE TESTED THIS ASSUMPTION BY INVESTIGATING CARDIAC VAGAL MODULATION DURING YOGA.WE EXAMINED 11 HEALTHY YOGA PRACTITIONERS (7 WOMEN AND 4 MEN, MEAN AGE: 43 +/- 11; RANGE: 26-58 YEARS). EACH INDIVIDUAL WAS SUBJECTED TO TRAINING UNITS OF 90 MIN ONCE A WEEK OVER FIVE SUCCESSIVE WEEKS. DURING TWO SESSIONS, THEY PRACTICED A YOGA PROGRAM DEVELOPED FOR CARDIAC PATIENTS BY B.K.S. IYENGAR. ON THREE SESSIONS, THEY PRACTICED A PLACEBO PROGRAM OF RELAXATION. ON EACH TRAINING DAY THEY UNDERWENT AMBULATORY 24 H HOLTER MONITORING. THE GROUP OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS WAS COMPARED TO A MATCHED GROUP OF HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS NOT PRACTICING ANY RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. PARAMETERS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) WERE DETERMINED HOURLY BY A BLINDED OBSERVER. MEAN RR INTERVAL (INTERVAL BETWEEN TWO R-WAVES OF THE ECG) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER DURING THE TIME OF YOGA INTERVENTION COMPARED TO PLACEBO AND TO CONTROL (P < 0.001 FOR BOTH). THE INCREASE IN HRV PARAMETERS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER DURING YOGA EXERCISE THAN DURING PLACEBO AND CONTROL ESPECIALLY FOR THE PARAMETERS ASSOCIATED WITH VAGAL TONE, I.E. MEAN STANDARD DEVIATION OF NN (NORMAL BEAT TO NORMAL BEAT OF THE ECG) INTERVALS FOR ALL 5-MIN INTERVALS (SDNNI, P < 0.001 FOR BOTH) AND ROOT MEAN SQUARE SUCCESSIVE DIFFERENCE (RMSSD, P < 0.01 FOR BOTH). IN CONCLUSION, RELAXATION BY YOGA TRAINING IS ASSOCIATED WITH A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF CARDIAC VAGAL MODULATION. SINCE THIS METHOD IS EASY TO APPLY WITH NO SIDE EFFECTS, IT COULD BE A SUITABLE INTERVENTION IN CARDIAC REHABILITATION PROGRAMS. 2007 8 1062 34 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN DEPRESSED WOMEN. METHODS: THIS WAS A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. TWENTY-SIX SEDENTARY WOMEN SCORING >/=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 9 2680 44 YOGA IN SCHOOL SPORTS IMPROVES FUNCTIONING OF AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM IN YOUNG ADULTS: A NON-RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: YOGA IN SCHOOL IS A BENEFICIAL TOOL TO PROMOTE THE GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF STUDENTS BY CHANGING THE WAY THEY REACT TO STRESS. THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA-TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS-ON CHILDREN, YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN FORMER STUDIES USING MOSTLY SUBJECTIVE PSYCHOMETRIC DATA. AIM: THE PRESENT TRIAL AIMS TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA ON AUTONOMIC REGULATION IN YOUNG ADULTS BY ANALYZING HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). METHODS: THIS STUDY IS A NON-RANDOMIZED, EXPLORATIVE, TWO-ARM-PILOT STUDY WITH AN ACTIVE CONTROL GROUP. FOURTEEN HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS TOOK PART IN A 10-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM (90 MIN ONCE A WEEK) IN SCHOOL AND WERE COMPARED TO A CONTROL GROUP OF 11 STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN CONVENTIONAL SCHOOL SPORTS (90 MIN ONCE A WEEK OVER 10 WEEKS). 24-HOUR ELECTROCARDIOGRAMS (ECGS) WERE RECORDED AT BASELINE AND FOLLOWING THE 10-WEEK INTERVENTION. FROM 20-MINUTE OF NOCTURNAL SLEEP PHASES, HRV PARAMETERS WERE CALCULATED FROM LINEAR (TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN) AND NONLINEAR DYNAMICS (SUCH AS SYMBOLIC DYNAMICS AND POINCARE PLOT ANALYSIS). ANALYSES OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) FOLLOWED BY T-TESTS AS POST-HOC TESTS ESTIMATING BOTH STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE AND EFFECT SIZE WERE USED TO COMPARE PRE-POST-INTERVENTION FOR THE TWO GROUPS. RESULTS: THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE INTERACTION EFFECTS DID NOT REVEAL A SIGNIFICANT GROUP AND TIME INTERACTION FOR THE INDIVIDUAL NOCTURNAL HRV INDICES. ALMOST ALL INDICES REVEALED MEDIUM AND LARGE EFFECTS REGARDING THE TIME MAIN EFFECTS. THE CHANGES IN THE HRV INDICES FOLLOWING THE INTERVENTION WERE MORE DRAMATIC FOR THE YOGA GROUP THAN FOR THE CONTROL GROUP WHICH IS REFLECTED IN PREDOMINANTLY HIGHER SIGNIFICANCES AND STRONGER EFFECT SIZES IN THE YOGA GROUP. CONCLUSION: IN THIS EXPLORATIVE PILOT TRIAL, AN INCREASE OF HRV (MORE PARASYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE AND OVERALL HIGHER HRV) AFTER TEN WEEKS OF YOGA IN SCHOOL IN COMPARISON TO REGULAR SCHOOL SPORTS WAS DEMONSTRATED, SHOWING AN IMPROVED SELF-REGULATION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. 2020 10 871 43 EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY ON DISEASE ACTIVITY, INFLAMMATORY MARKERS, AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. BACKGROUND: RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS AN IMMUNE-MEDIATED INFLAMMATORY DISEASE. ANTIRHEUMATOID TREATMENT REDUCES DISEASE ACTIVITY AND INFLAMMATION, BUT NOT ALL PATIENTS RESPOND TO TREATMENT. AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION IS COMMON IN RA LEADING TO FREQUENT CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS. YOGA THERAPY MAY BE USEFUL IN THESE PATIENTS, BUT THERE ARE LITTLE DATA ON THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON DISEASE ACTIVITY, INFLAMMATORY MARKERS, AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECT OF 12-WEEK YOGA THERAPY ON DISEASE ACTIVITY, INFLAMMATORY MARKERS, AND HRV IN PATIENTS WITH RA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED ON NEWLY DIAGNOSED RA PATIENTS ATTENDING OUTPATIENT SERVICES AT THE DEPARTMENT OF CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY, JIPMER. ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS: THE CONTROL GROUP (CG) (N = 83) AND YOGA GROUP (YG) (N = 83). YOGA THERAPY WAS ADMINISTERED TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE YG FOR 12 WEEKS, ALONG WITH STANDARD MEDICAL TREATMENT. THE CG RECEIVED ONLY STANDARD MEDICAL TREATMENT. PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE DISEASE ACTIVITY SCORE 28, INTERLEUKIN-1ALPHA (IL-1ALPHA), IL-6, TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA), CORTISOL, AND HRV PARAMETERS. ALL PARAMETERS WERE MEASURED AT BASELINE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS. RESULTS: DISEASE ACTIVITY SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN BOTH GROUPS AFTER 12 WEEKS, BUT IT WAS REDUCED MORE IN YG, WHICH WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.05). IN BOTH YG AND CG, IL-1ALPHA, IL-6, TNF-ALPHA, AND CORTISOL DECREASED AFTER 12 WEEKS, BUT IL-1ALPHA AND CORTISOL DECREASED MORE SIGNIFICANTLY IN YG THAN IN CG. LOW-FREQUENCY COMPONENT EXPRESSED AS NORMALIZED UNIT (LFNU) AND THE LOW-FREQUENCY/HIGH-FREQUENCY (LF-HF) RATIO DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY, AND TOTAL POWER AND HF COMPONENT EXPRESSED AS NORMALIZED UNIT (HFNU) INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE YG COMPARED WITH CG. CONCLUSION: TWELVE-WEEK YOGA THERAPY, IF GIVEN ALONG WITH STANDARD MEDICAL TREATMENT, SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES DISEASE ACTIVITY AND IMPROVES SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE IN RA PATIENTS. 2020 11 2727 39 YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION INCREASES HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND IS UNAFFECTED BY A PRIOR BOUT OF HATHA YOGA. OBJECTIVE: THE MEASUREMENT OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) IS OFTEN APPLIED AS AN INDEX OF AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (ANS) BALANCE AND, THEREFORE, MYOCARDIAL STABILITY. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SUGGESTED THAT RELAXATION OR MIND-BODY EXERCISE CAN INFLUENCE ANS BALANCE POSITIVELY AS MEASURED BY HRV BUT MAY ACT VIA DIFFERENT MECHANISMS. NO STUDIES, TO THE AUTHORS' KNOWLEDGE, HAVE EXAMINED THE ACUTE RESPONSE IN HRV TO INTERVENTIONS COMBINING RELAXATION AND MIND-BODY EXERCISE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COMPARE THE ACUTE HRV RESPONSES TO YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION ALONE VERSUS YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION PRECEDED BY HATHA YOGA. DESIGN: THIS WAS A RANDOMIZED COUNTER-BALANCED TRIAL. SETTING: THE TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED IN A UNIVERSITY EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY. SUBJECTS: SUBJECTS INCLUDED 20 WOMEN AND MEN (29.15+/-6.98 YEARS OF AGE, WITH A RANGE OF 18-47 YEARS). INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED A YOGA PLUS RELAXATION (YR) SESSION AND A RELAXATION ONLY (R) SESSION. RESULTS: THE YR CONDITION PRODUCED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FROM BASELINE IN HEART RATE (HR; BEATS PER MINUTE [BPM], P<0.001) AND INDICES OF HRV: R-R (MS, P<0.001), PNN50 (%, P=0.009), LOW FREQUENCY (LF; %, P=0.008) AND HIGH FREQUENCY (HF; %, P=0.035). THE R CONDITION PRODUCED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FROM BASELINE IN HEART RATE (BPM, P<0.001) AS WELL AS INDICES OF HRV: R-R (MS, P<0.001), HF (MS(2), P=0.004), LF (%, P=0.005), HF (%, P=0.008) AND LF:HF RATIO (%, P=0.008). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONDITIONS AT BASELINE NOR FOR THE CHANGES FROM BASELINE FOR ANY OF THE VARIABLES. CONCLUSIONS: THESE CHANGES DEMONSTRATE A FAVORABLE SHIFT IN AUTONOMIC BALANCE TO THE PARASYMPATHETIC BRANCH OF THE ANS FOR BOTH CONDITIONS, AND THAT YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION PRODUCES FAVORABLE CHANGES IN MEASURES OF HRV WHETHER ALONE OR PRECEDED BY A BOUT OF HATHA YOGA. 2012 12 1441 43 INCREASED HEART RATE VARIABILITY BUT NO EFFECT ON BLOOD PRESSURE FROM 8 WEEKS OF HATHA YOGA - A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: YOGA EXERCISES ARE KNOWN TO DECREASE STRESS AND RESTORE AUTONOMIC BALANCE. YET KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF INVERSION POSTURES IS LIMITED. THIS STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF INVERSION POSTURES (HEAD BELOW THE HEART) ON BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). METHODS: TWELVE HEALTHY WOMEN AND MEN TOOK PART IN AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM (60 MIN ONCE A WEEK). BP WAS MEASURED WITH AN AUTOMATIC OMRON MX3 OSCILLOMETRIC MONITORING DEVICE AND HRV WITH A HOLTER 24-HOUR ECG AT BASELINE AND 8 WEEKS AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT OF INVERSION POSTURES ON BP. NINE OUT OF 12 PARTICIPANTS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN HRV (P < 0.05) AT NIGHT (2 HOURS) ON PNN50% (12.7 +/- 12.5 TO 18.2 +/- 13.3). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN OTHER HRV MEASURES SUCH AS NN50, LF, HF, LF/HF RATIO, LF NORMALIZED UNITS (N.U.), HF N.U. AND RMSSD. CONCLUSION: EIGHT WEEKS OF HATHA YOGA IMPROVED HRV SIGNIFICANTLY WHICH SUGGESTS AN INCREASED VAGAL TONE AND REDUCED SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY. 2013 13 2863 31 YOGA-BASED GUIDED RELAXATION REDUCES SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY JUDGED FROM BASELINE LEVELS. 35 MALE VOLUNTEERS WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 20 TO 46 YEARS WERE STUDIED IN TWO SESSIONS OF YOGA-BASED GUIDED RELAXATION AND SUPINE REST. ASSESSMENTS OF AUTONOMIC VARIABLES WERE MADE FOR 15 SUBJECTS, BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE PRACTICES, WHEREAS OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND BREATH VOLUME WERE RECORDED FOR 25 SUBJECTS BEFORE AND AFTER BOTH TYPES OF RELAXATION. A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND INCREASE IN BREATH VOLUME WERE RECORDED AFTER GUIDED RELAXATION (PAIRED T TEST). THERE WERE COMPARABLE REDUCTIONS IN HEART RATE AND SKIN CONDUCTANCE DURING BOTH TYPES OF RELAXATION. DURING GUIDED RELAXATION THE POWER OF THE LOW FREQUENCY COMPONENT OF THE HEART-RATE VARIABILITY SPECTRUM REDUCED, WHEREAS THE POWER OF THE HIGH FREQUENCY COMPONENT INCREASED, SUGGESTING REDUCED SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY. ALSO, SUBJECTS WITH A BASELINE RATIO OF LF/HF > 0.5 SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE RATIO AFTER GUIDED RELAXATION, WHILE SUBJECTS WITH A RATIO < OR = 0.5 AT BASELINE SHOWED NO SUCH CHANGE. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY DECREASED AFTER GUIDED RELAXATION BASED ON YOGA, DEPENDING ON THE BASELINE LEVELS. 2002 14 873 36 EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY ON HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE AND CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION IN HEART FAILURE. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT A HALL MARK OF HEART FAILURE IS ADVERSE CHANGES IN AUTONOMIC FUNCTION. ELEVATED BLOOD PRESSURE IS A POWERFUL PREDICTOR OF CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE AND OTHER CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) OUTCOMES. IN THIS STUDY, WE PLANNED TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF A 12 WEEK YOGA THERAPY ON BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE, HEART RATE VARIABILITY, AND RATE PRESSURE PRODUCT (RPP). METHODS: OUT OF 130 HEART FAILURE PATIENTS RECRUITED FOR THE STUDY, 65 PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED TO RECEIVE 12 WEEK YOGA THERAPY ALONG WITH STANDARD MEDICAL THERAPY (YOGA GROUP). OTHER PATIENTS (N=65) RECEIVED ONLY STANDARD MEDICAL THERAPY (CONTROL GROUP). HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION (BY SHORT-TERM HEART-RATE VARIABILITY ANALYSIS) AND MYOCARDIAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION (BY RPP) WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS. IN THE YOGA GROUP, 44 PATIENTS AND IN THE CONTROL GROUP, 48 PATIENTS COMPLETED THE STUDY. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE AND RPP IN YOGA GROUP COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. ALSO, LFNU AND LF-HF RATIO DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AND HFNU INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN YOGA GROUP COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: TWELVE-WEEK YOGA THERAPY SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED THE PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND DECREASED THE SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY IN HEART FAILURE PATIENTS (NYHA I&II). 2014 15 2817 50 YOGA TRAINING IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE IN WOMEN WITH ASTHMA. OBJECTIVES: INDIVIDUALS WITH ASTHMA FREQUENTLY SUFFER WITH A DECREASE IN QUALITY OF LIFE. YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE AUTONOMIC FUNCTION IN THE HEALTHY POPULATION AND HAS BEEN USED AS AN ALTERNATIVE THERAPY TO HELP IMPROVE SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS DISEASES. PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS WHETHER 10 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING CAN IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) IN PATIENTS WITH ASTHMA. DESIGN: NINETEEN (19) FEMALES WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A YOGA GROUP OR A CONTROL GROUP FOR A 10-WEEK INTERVENTION WHILE STILL FOLLOWING GUIDELINES ESTABLISHED BY THEIR PHYSICIAN. ALL SUBJECTS ANSWERED THE ST. GEORGE'S RESPIRATORY QUESTIONNAIRE (SGRQ) TO ASSESS QUALITY OF LIFE AND PERFORMED AN ISOMETRIC HANDGRIP EXERCISE TEST TO ASSESS HRV. RESULTS: BASED ON THE SGRQ, SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS (45%, P < 0.05) IN QUALITY OF LIFE WERE OBSERVED WITH THE YOGA TRAINING, WHILE NO CHANGES WERE FOUND IN THE CONTROL GROUP. RESTING HEMODYNAMIC MEASURES IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP (P < 0.05). THE YOGA GROUP DECREASED PARASYMPATHETIC MODULATION (HFNU [NORMALIZED UNITS]) PRE- TO POSTINTERVENTION (0.45 +/- 0.60 TO 0.35 +/- 0.06 NU, P<0.05, RESPECTIVELY) IN RESPONSE TO THE ISOMETRIC FOREARM EXERCISE (IFE), WHEREAS THE CONTROL GROUP DID NOT CHANGE. ADDITIONALLY, THE YOGA GROUP INCREASED SYMPATHETIC (LFNU) (PRE 0.47 +/- 0.07 TO POST 0.60 +/- 0.07 NU, P < 0.05) AND SYMPATHOVAGAL MODULATION (LOGLF/HF) (PRE 4.61 +/- 0.39 TO POST 5.31 +/- 0.44, P < 0.05, RESPECTIVELY) DURING IFE WITH NO CHANGE IN THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA TRAINING IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE IN WOMEN WITH MILD-TO-MODERATE ASTHMA AND RESULTED IN DECREASED PARASYMPATHETIC AND INCREASED SYMPATHETIC MODULATION IN RESPONSE TO AN IFE. 2012 16 1027 41 EFFECTS OF YOGA BREATHING PRACTICE ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN HEALTHY ADOLESCENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AMONG HEALTHY ADOLESCENTS TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA BREATHING PRACTICE (BHRAMARI PRANAYAMA, BHR.P) TOWARDS CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) PARAMETERS. METHODS: OF THE 730 ELIGIBLE SUBJECTS SCREENED, 520 HEALTHY ADOLESCENTS WHO MET THE INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER YOGA BREATHING GROUP (N=260) OR CONTROL GROUP (N=260). THE YOGA BREATHING GROUP PRACTICED BHR.P. FIVE DAYS A WEEK FOR A DURATION OF SIX MONTHS WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP CONTINUED WITH THEIR DAILY ROUTINE WITHOUT ANY INTERVENTION. OUTCOME MEASURES WERE TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN OF HRV IN BOTH GROUPS WHICH WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION USING LEAD II ECG. LINEAR MODELS WERE USED IN THE ANALYSIS OF SHORT TERM HRV. RESULTS: AFTER 6 MONTHS OF YOGA BREATHING, THE TIME DOMAIN PARAMETERS OF SHORT TERM HRV SHOWED SIGNIFICANT (P<0.05) IMPROVEMENT TOWARDS THE PARASYMPATHETIC DOMAIN. FREQUENCY DOMAIN PARAMETERS ALSO SHOWED THE SAME DIRECTION OF CHANGES. IN CONTRAST, CONTROL GROUP SUBJECTS SHOWED A TREND TOWARDS A SYMPATHETIC DOMAIN. CONCLUSION: THE PRESENT STUDY SHOWED A POSITIVE SHIFT IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC MODULATION TOWARDS PARASYMPATHETIC PREDOMINANCE AFTER 6 MONTHS OF YOGA BREATHING PRACTICE AMONG APPARENTLY HEALTHY ADOLESCENTS. 2020 17 1558 47 LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN HEALTHY PRACTITIONERS: POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR RISK REDUCTION. HATHA YOGA IS COMMONLY PRACTICED IN WESTERN COUNTRIES AND IS CLAIMED TO REDUCE RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE AND COMPARE TIME-DOMAIN AND FREQUENCY-DOMAIN METRICS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) IN HATHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS. THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY, WHICH WAS CONDUCTED AT A REGIONAL UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTER, INCLUDED CONVENIENCE SAMPLING OF 19 HATHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND 8 HEALTHY CONTROLS. USING A LEAD II ECG SYSTEM, 10 MINUTES OF ELECTROCARDIOGRAM (ECG) RECORDING WAS COLLECTED FOR EACH PARTICIPANT. ARTIFACT-FREE, 5-MINUTE SIGNALS WERE USED TO DERIVE TIME-DOMAIN AND FREQUENCY-DOMAIN MEASURES OF HRV. THE MEAN DURATION OF HATHA YOGA PRACTICE AMONG PRACTITIONERS WAS 11.47 +/- 8 YEARS. DEMOGRAPHIC AND ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY BETWEEN GROUPS. COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP, THE YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER MEAN HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) POWER (859.2 +/- 1342.1 VS 175.5 +/- 121.1; P = .04) AND MEAN HF NORMALIZED UNITS (NU) (57.0 +/- 16.6 VS 36.7 +/- 13.4; P = .02) AND A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER LOW FREQUENCY (LF)/HF RATIO (1.1 +/- 0.5 VS 2.2 +/- 1.1; P = .01). NO SIGNIFICANT INTERGROUP DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED FOR LF POWER, LF NU, OR ANY TIME-DOMAIN MEASURES OF HRV. THESE RESULTS LACK GENERALIZABILITY DUE TO SMALL SAMPLE SIZE AND LACK OF BLINDED ASSESSMENT OF OUTCOME MEASURES. HATHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWED PARASYMPATHETIC PREDOMINANCE COMPARED WITH HEALTHY CONTROLS. ANALYZING FREQUENCY-DOMAIN HRV METRICS ENABLES DETECTING CHANGES IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION EARLIER THAN BY ANALYSIS OF TIME-DOMAIN METRICS. PARASYMPATHETIC PREDOMINANCE DEMONSTRATED IN THE YOGA GROUP SUGGESTS HATHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS MAY BE AT LOWER RISK FOR STRESS-RELATED COMORBIDITIES. 2021 18 1023 36 EFFECTS OF YOGA AND MINDFULNESS PRACTICES ON THE AUTONOMOUS NERVOUS SYSTEM IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN: A NON-RANDOMISED CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVES: THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA AND MINDFULNESS-BASED PROGRAMME ON THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN BY USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY PARAMETERS. DESIGN: A TWO-ARM NON-RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL COMPARED AN INTEGRATED YOGA AND MINDFULNESS-BASED PROGRAMME (16 WEEKS) TO CONVENTIONAL PRIMARY SCHOOL LESSONS. SETTING: PRIMARY SCHOOL CLASSROOMS AND CONFERENCE ROOMS. INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS WERE ALLOCATED TO A 16-WEEK INTEGRATED YOGA-BASED PROGRAMME OR CONVENTIONAL SCHOOL LESSONS. A SUBGROUP WAS RANDOMISED TO RECEIVE 24H ELECTROCARDIOGRAM-RECORDINGS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: HEART RATE VARIABILITY INDICES WERE MEASURED, BOTH LINEAR (TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN) AND NON-LINEAR (SYMBOLIC DYNAMICS, COMPRESSION ENTROPY), CALCULATED FROM 30-MINUTE EXTRACTS OF HOLTER-ELECTROCARDIOGRAM-RECORDINGS. ASSESSMENTS WERE CONDUCTED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF INTERVENTION. RESULTS: 40 PARTICIPANTS (42.5% FEMALE) WERE INCLUDED INTO THE ANALYSIS OF HRV. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY PARAMETERS WERE OBSERVED BETWEEN THE GROUPS AFTER 16 WEEKS. IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP, A TREND TOWARDS INCREASED PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY COULD BE SEEN OVER TIME, ALTHOUGH NOT SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: RESULTS OBTAINED HERE DO NOT CLEARLY SHOW THAT CHILDREN IN GERMAN PRIMARY SCHOOL SETTINGS BENEFIT FROM AN INTEGRATED YOGA-BASED INTERVENTION. HOWEVER, EXPLORATORY POST-HOC ANALYSES POINT INTERESTINGLY TO AN INCREASED NOCTURNAL PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP. FURTHER STUDIES ARE REQUIRED WITH HIGH-QUALITY STUDY DESIGNS, LARGER SAMPLE SIZES AND LONGER-TERM FOLLOW-UPS. 2021 19 306 27 AN EVALUATION OF THE ABILITY TO VOLUNTARILY REDUCE THE HEART RATE AFTER A MONTH OF YOGA PRACTICE. THE STUDY AIMED AT DETERMINING WHETHER NOVICES TO YOGA WOULD BE ABLE TO REDUCE THEIR HEART RATE VOLUNTARILY AND WHETHER THE MAGNITUDE OF REDUCTION WOULD BE MORE AFTER 30 DAYS OF YOGA TRAINING. TWO GROUPS (YOGA AND CONTROL, N = 12 EACH) WERE ASSESSED ON DAY 1 AND ON DAY 30. DURING THE INTERVENING 30 DAYS, THE YOGA GROUP RECEIVED TRAINING IN YOGA TECHNIQUES WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP CARRIED ON WITH THEIR ROUTINE. AT EACH ASSESSMENT THE BASELINE HEART RATE WAS RECORDED FOR ONE MINUTE, THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY A SIX-MINUTE PERIOD DURING WHICH PARTICIPANTS WERE ASKED TO ATTEMPT TO VOLUNTARILY REDUCE THEIR HEART RATE, USING ANY STRATEGY. BOTH THE BASELINE HEART RATE AND THE LOWEST HEART RATE ACHIEVED VOLUNTARILY DURING THE SIX-MINUTE PERIOD WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN THE YOGA GROUP ON DAY 30 COMPARED TO DAY 1 BY A GROUP AVERAGE OF 10.7 BEATS PER MINUTE (I.E., BPM) AND 6.8 BPM, RESPECTIVELY (P < .05, WILCOXON PAIRED SIGNED RANKS TEST). IN CONTRAST, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN EITHER THE BASELINE HEART RATE OR THE LOWEST HEART RATE ACHIEVED VOLUNTARILY IN THE CONTROL GROUP ON DAY 30 COMPARED TO DAY 1. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA TRAINING CAN ENABLE PRACTITIONERS TO USE THEIR OWN STRATEGIES TO REDUCE THE HEART RATE, WHICH HAS POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS. 2004 20 448 52 CHANGES IN AUTONOMIC VARIABLES FOLLOWING TWO MEDITATIVE STATES DESCRIBED IN YOGA TEXTS. OBJECTIVES: IN ANCIENT YOGA TEXTS THERE ARE TWO MEDITATIVE STATES DESCRIBED. ONE IS DHARANA, WHICH REQUIRES FOCUSING, THE SECOND IS DHYANA, DURING WHICH THERE IS NO FOCUSING, BUT AN EXPANSIVE MENTAL STATE IS REACHED. WHILE AN EARLIER STUDY DID SHOW IMPROVED PERFORMANCE IN AN ATTENTION TASK AFTER DHARANA, THE AUTONOMIC CHANGES DURING THESE TWO STATES HAVE NOT BEEN STUDIED. METHODS: AUTONOMIC AND RESPIRATORY VARIABLES WERE ASSESSED IN 30 HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD, 29.1 +/- 5.1 YEARS) DURING FOUR MENTAL STATES DESCRIBED IN TRADITIONAL YOGA TEXTS. THESE FOUR MENTAL STATES ARE RANDOM THINKING (CANCALATA), NONMEDITATIVE FOCUSING (EKAGRATA), MEDITATIVE FOCUSING (DHARANA), AND EFFORTLESS MEDITATION (DHYANA). ASSESSMENTS WERE MADE BEFORE (5 MINUTES), DURING (20 MINUTES), AND AFTER (5 MINUTES), EACH OF THE FOUR STATES, ON FOUR SEPARATE DAYS. RESULTS: DURING DHYANA THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE SKIN RESISTANCE LEVEL (P<0.001; POST HOC ANALYSIS FOLLOWING ANOVA, DURING COMPARED TO PRE) AND PHOTO-PLETHYSMOGRAM AMPLITUDE (P<0.05), WHEREAS THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE HEART RATE (P<0.001) AND BREATH RATE (P<0.001). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE LOW FREQUENCY (LF) POWER (P<0.001) AND INCREASE IN THE HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) POWER (P<0.001) IN THE FREQUENCY DOMAIN ANALYSIS OF THE HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) SPECTRUM, ON WHICH HF POWER IS ASSOCIATED WITH PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY. THERE WAS ALSO A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE NN50 COUNT (THE NUMBER OF INTERVAL DIFFERENCES OF SUCCESSIVE NN INTERVALS GREATER THAN 50 MS; P<0.001) AND THE PNN50 (THE PROPORTION DERIVED BY DIVIDING NN50 BY THE TOTAL NUMBER OF NN INTERVALS; P<0.001) IN TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS OF HRV, BOTH INDICATIVE OF PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY. CONCLUSIONS: MAXIMUM CHANGES WERE SEEN IN AUTONOMIC VARIABLES AND BREATH RATE DURING THE STATE OF EFFORTLESS MEDITATION (DHYANA). THE CHANGES WERE ALL SUGGESTIVE OF REDUCED SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND/OR INCREASED VAGAL MODULATION. DURING DHARANA THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN SKIN RESISTANCE. THE CHANGES IN HRV DURING EKAGRATA AND CANCALATA WERE INCONCLUSIVE. 2013