1 2838 140 YOGA'S POTENTIAL FOR PROMOTING HEALTHY EATING AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BEHAVIORS AMONG YOUNG ADULTS: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY. BACKGROUND: A REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE MAY HAVE BENEFITS FOR YOUNG ADULT HEALTH, HOWEVER, THERE IS LIMITED EVIDENCE AVAILABLE TO GUIDE YOGA INTERVENTIONS TARGETING WEIGHT-RELATED HEALTH. THE PRESENT STUDY EXPLORED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARTICIPATION IN YOGA, HEALTHY EATING BEHAVIORS AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG YOUNG ADULTS. METHODS: THE PRESENT MIXED-METHODS STUDY USED DATA COLLECTED AS PART OF WAVE 4 OF PROJECT EAT (EATING AND ACTIVITY IN TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS), A POPULATION-BASED COHORT STUDY IN MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA. YOUNG ADULTS (N = 1820) COMPLETED THE PROJECT EAT SURVEY AND A FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE, AND A SUBSET WHO REPORTED PRACTICING YOGA ADDITIONALLY PARTICIPATED IN SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS (N = 46). ANALYSES OF SURVEY DATA WERE USED TO EXAMINE CROSS-SECTIONAL ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN THE FREQUENCY OF YOGA PRACTICE, DIETARY BEHAVIORS (SERVINGS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (FV), SUGAR-SWEETENED BEVERAGES (SSBS) AND SNACK FOODS AND FREQUENCY OF FAST FOOD CONSUMPTION), AND MODERATE-TO-VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (MVPA). THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF INTERVIEW DISCUSSIONS FURTHER EXPLORED YOGA'S PERCEIVED INFLUENCE ON EATING AND ACTIVITY BEHAVIORS AMONG INTERVIEW PARTICIPANTS. RESULTS: REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH MORE SERVINGS OF FV, FEWER SERVINGS OF SSBS AND SNACK FOODS, LESS FREQUENT FAST FOOD CONSUMPTION, AND MORE HOURS OF MVPA. INTERVIEWS REVEALED THAT YOGA SUPPORTED HEALTHY EATING THROUGH MOTIVATION TO EAT HEALTHFULLY, GREATER MINDFULNESS, MANAGEMENT OF EMOTIONAL EATING, MORE HEALTHY FOOD CRAVINGS, AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE YOGA COMMUNITY. YOGA SUPPORTED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY THROUGH ACTIVITY AS PART OF YOGA PRACTICE, MOTIVATION TO DO OTHER FORMS OF ACTIVITY, INCREASED CAPACITY TO BE ACTIVE, AND BY COMPLEMENTING AN ACTIVE LIFESTYLE. CONCLUSIONS: YOUNG ADULT YOGA PRACTITIONERS REPORTED HEALTHIER EATING BEHAVIORS AND HIGHER LEVELS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY THAN NON-PRACTITIONERS. YOGA SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED AS AN INTERVENTION FOR YOUNG ADULT HEALTH PROMOTION AND HEALTHY WEIGHT MANAGEMENT. 2018 2 1802 42 PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS OF YOGIC BREATHING AND MEDITATION USE - A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE SURVEY OF US ADULT YOGA PRACTITIONERS. INTRODUCTION: YOGA PRACTICE IN COMMON USAGE IS OFTEN CONFINED TO THE PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PRACTICE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE USE OF TWO ADDITIONAL ASPECTS OF YOGA AS PART OF YOGA PRACTICE, I.E. YOGIC BREATHING AND MEDITATION (YOBAM). PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS OF YOBAM USE AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS IN THE US GENERAL POPULATION WERE ANALYZED. METHOD: CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA FROM THE 2012 AND 2017 NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY (NHIS) (N = 61,267) WAS USED. 12-MONTH PREVALENCE OF YOGA USE AND YOBAM USE AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE ANALYZED DESCRIPTIVELY FOR THE TWO COHORTS RESPECTIVELY. LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSES WERE USED TO ANALYZE SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH-RELATED PREDICTORS OF YOBAM USE AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS. RESULTS: 12-MONTH PREVALENCE OF YOGA USE AND YOBAM USE WERE 8.9 % AND 4.8 % RESPECTIVELY IN 2012. IN 2017, 13.3 % HAD PRACTICED YOGA IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS AND 7.0 % HAD USED YOBAM. YOGA PRACTITIONERS AGED BETWEEN 50 AND 64 COMPARED TO BEING 29 OR YOUNGER, FEMALES, HISPANICS AND THOSE EXPERIENCING MILD TO SEVERE FORMS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS WERE MORE LIKELY TO USE YOBAM AS PART OF THEIR YOGA PRACTICE. YOGA PRACTITIONERS LIVING IN THE MIDWEST OR IN A RELATIONSHIP WERE LESS LIKELY TO USE YOBAM. CONCLUSION: IN RECENT YEARS, THE NUMBER OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS IN THE US GENERAL POPULATION HAS CONSIDERABLY INCREASED AND YOBAM USE IS COMMON AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS. YOBAM USE SEEMS TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH AGE, GENDER, ETHNICITY, REGION, MARITAL STATUS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS DIMENSIONS. 2021 3 1213 39 EXPLORING PERCEIVED BENEFITS, MOTIVES, BARRIERS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRESCRIBING YOGA EXERCISES AS A NONPHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTION FOR PATIENTS WITH EPILEPSY: A QUALITATIVE STUDY FROM PALESTINE. OBJECTIVES: YOGA IS BELIEVED TO PLAY A ROLE IN STABILIZING THE ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM AND THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, THUS MIGHT HELP CONTROL SEIZURES IN PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY (PWE). THIS QUALITATIVE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO EXPLORE EXPERIENCES OF PALESTINIAN PWE WITH REGARD TO BENEFITS, MOTIVES, BARRIERS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF PRESCRIBING YOGA EXERCISES AS A NONPHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTION. METHODS: PURPOSIVE AND SNOWBALL SAMPLING TECHNIQUES WERE USED TO RECRUIT PWE WHO PRACTICED YOGA. SEMI-STRUCTURED IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS (N=18) WERE CONDUCTED WITH THE STUDY PARTICIPANTS. THE INTERPRETIVE DESCRIPTION METHOD WAS USED TO QUALITATIVELY ANALYZE THE DATA COLLECTED DURING THE INTERVIEWS. RESULTS: FOLLOWING THE THEMATIC ANALYSIS ADOPTED FOR THIS STUDY, FOUR MAJOR THEMES EMERGED. THESE THEMES WERE AS FOLLOWS: PERCEIVED BENEFITS OF YOGA, MOTIVES TO PRACTICE YOGA, BARRIERS TO PRACTICE YOGA, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON EFFECTIVE YOGA PRACTICE FOR PWE. THE PERCEIVED BENEFITS INCLUDED IMPROVEMENTS IN MANAGEMENT OF SEIZURES, PSYCHOLOGICAL, PHYSICAL, AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING. PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY WERE MOTIVATED BY THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA. BARRIERS OF ADHERENCE TO PRACTICE INCLUDED PERSONAL AND LOGISTIC FACTORS. THE INTERVIEWEES RECOMMENDED TAILORING YOGA SESSIONS TO THE NEEDS OF PWE. CONCLUSION: THIS EXPLORATIVE QUALITATIVE STUDY REPORTED PERCEIVED BENEFITS, MOTIVES, BARRIERS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF YOGA AS A NONPHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTION FOR PWE. PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY USED YOGA AS A BENEFICIAL NONPHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE THEIR HEALTH AND REDUCE THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF EPILEPSY ON THEIR PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING. FUTURE STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO INVESTIGATE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA WHEN SESSIONS ARE TAILORED TO THE NEEDS OF PWE. 2020 4 1539 36 KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE OF YOGA IN MEDICAL STUDENTS: ASSESSMENT OF ANTHROPOMETRY AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS. MEDICAL STUDENTS OFTEN EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT STRESS DURING THEIR UNDERGRADUATE TRAINING. EVIDENCE HAS SHOWN SHORT-TERM YOGA TO BE EFFECTIVE IN DECREASING STRESS IN STUDENTS. THIS STUDY AIMED TO ASSESS KNOWLEDGE ABOUT, ATTITUDE TOWARD, AND PRACTICE OF (KAP) YOGA AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS. A SECONDARY OBJECTIVE WAS TO ANALYZE THEIR DIETARY HABITS AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. PARTICIPANTS CONSISTED OF 224 MEDICAL STUDENTS AGED 18-23 YEARS IN PRE- AND PARACLINICAL GROUPS. A CLOSED-ENDED KAP QUESTIONNAIRE WAS USED TO COLLECT DATA. ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS WERE TAKEN. RESULTS SHOWED THAT PARACLINICAL STUDENTS (70.5%) FAVORABLY PERCEIVED THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA. NEARLY THREE-FOURTHS OF STUDY SUBJECTS HAD PREVIOUSLY PRACTICED YOGA; GREATER NUMBERS INTENDED TO PRACTICE YOGA IN THE FUTURE. ABOUT 95.5% OF THE PRECLINICAL STUDENTS WHO HAD DONE YOGA HAD DISCONTINUED THE PRACTICE. PERCEIVED BARRIERS TO THE PRACTICE OF YOGA WERE LACK OF TIME, INSUFFICIENT FACILITIES, LACK OF COMPANY, AND LACK OF INTEREST. CONSIDERATION OF THE UNDERGRADUATES' LIFESTYLE REVEALED THAT 50.4% OF PRECLINICAL STUDENTS DID NOT EXERCISE, AND THEY ROUTINELY CONSUMED MORE JUNK FOOD WITH FEWER SERVINGS OF FRESH FRUITS/SALADS. PRECLINICAL STUDENTS EXHIBITED HIGHER BMI AND WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE COMPARED TO PARACLINICAL STUDENTS. FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT KNOWLEDGE OF AND ATTITUDE REGARDING YOGA WERE GOOD AMONG MEDICAL UNDERGRADUATES. 2018 5 2890 32 YOGA: POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR PERSONS WHO STUTTER. YOGA HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO MODULATE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY, DECREASING ANXIETY AND STRESS, AND IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE. THIS PRELIMINARY STUDY SOUGHT TO EXAMINE THE USE OF YOGIC TECHNIQUES ON PERSONS WHO STUTTER GIVEN THE INTERACTION BETWEEN PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL/ANXIETY AND STUTTERING THAT CURRENT MULTIFACTORIAL MODELS OF STUTTERING PROPOSE. FOUR PARTICIPANTS (M = 52 YR, SD = 10; 2 FEMALE, 2 MALE), RECRUITED FROM LOCAL STUTTERING SUPPORT GROUPS IN THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERED TO PARTICIPATE. STUTTERING SEVERITY, ANXIETY, AND EXPERIENCES REGARDING STUTTERING AND COMMUNICATION WERE MEASURED AT BASELINE, POST INTERVENTION, AND AT 4 MONTHS FOLLOW-UP. THE PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED GROUP YOGA SESSIONS AND ENGAGED IN HOME PRACTICE. DESCRIPTIVE RESULTS REVEALED THAT PARTICIPANTS SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS OUTCOME MEASURES, WITH THE MOST IMPROVEMENT RELATED TO ANXIETY. PARTICIPANTS ALSO REPORTED IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR PERCEPTIONS ABOUT COMMUNICATION AS PER QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF RESPONSES TO THE OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRES. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR PERSONS WHO STUTTER AND WARRANTS FURTHER STUDY USING AN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN. 2016 6 598 41 DEVELOPMENT AND PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE YOGA SELF-EFFICACY SCALE (YSES). BACKGROUND: YOGA IS A BEHAVIORAL PRACTICE THAT USES PHYSICAL MOVEMENT, BREATHING, AND MEDITATION TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND PROMOTE PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION. ANCIENT YOGA PHILOSOPHY PROPOSED THAT AN INDIVIDUAL'S CONFIDENCE ABOUT YOGA, A CONCEPT SIMILAR TO SELF-EFFICACY, WILL AFFECT THE LIKELIHOOD OF IMPROVED HEALTH FROM YOGA PRACTICE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DEVELOP AND EXAMINE THE PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF A SELF-EFFICACY MEASURE FOR YOGA PRACTICE (THE YOGA SELF-EFFICACY SCALE; YSES). METHODS: YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE RECRUITED TO EVALUATE THE PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF YSES VIA A SECURE ONLINE SURVEY. WE COLLECTED DATA ON ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO FURTHER EXAMINE CONSTRUCT VALIDITY. AFTER TWO WEEKS, PARTICIPANTS WERE INVITED TO COMPLETE YSES ITEMS AGAIN TO ASSESS TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY. RESULTS: A MAJORITY OF PARTICIPANTS (N = 309) WERE WHITE (85%), FEMALE (82%), AND YOGA INSTRUCTORS (56%). THE 12-ITEM YSES IS UNIDIMENSIONAL WITH A CRONBACH'S ALPHA OF 0.93. TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY IS R = 0.79 (N = 170). YSES SCORES ARE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH HEALTH COMPETENCE, HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, AND YEARS PRACTICING YOGA, SUPPORTING CONSTRUCT VALIDITY. ALSO, YOGA TEACHERS SCORED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER ON THE YSES THAN NON-TEACHERS (P < 0.001). NON-SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS WITH EDUCATION, INCOME AND SEX SUPPORTED DISCRIMINANT VALIDITY. YSES MAINTAINED INTERNAL CONSISTENCY AND CONSTRUCT VALIDITY FOR ALL YOGA STYLES SURVEYED. CONCLUSION: YSES IS A RELIABLE AND VALID MEASURE OF SELF-EFFICACY FOR YOGA PRACTICE THAT MAY PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO BARRIERS TO ADOPTING AND MAINTAINING YOGA AS A HEALTH BEHAVIOR. 2016 7 1712 28 PERCEIVED BENEFITS OF YOGA AMONG URBAN SCHOOL STUDENTS: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS. THIS STUDY REPORTS ON THE FINDINGS OF A QUALITATIVE EVALUATION OF A YOGA INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR URBAN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH IN NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC AND CHARTER SCHOOLS. SIX FOCUS GROUPS WERE CONDUCTED WITH STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN A YEAR-LONG YOGA PROGRAM TO DETERMINE THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF MENTAL AND PHYSICAL BENEFITS AS WELL AS BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES. RESULTS SHOW THAT STUDENTS PERCEIVED THE BENEFITS OF YOGA AS INCREASED SELF-REGULATION, MINDFULNESS, SELF-ESTEEM, PHYSICAL CONDITIONING, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, AND STRESS REDUCTION. BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES FOR A YOGA PRACTICE INCLUDE LACK OF TIME AND SPACE. THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE BENEFITS EXPERIENCED ARE INTERRELATED TO ONE ANOTHER IS DISCUSSED. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH AND SCHOOL-BASED PROGRAMMING ARE ALSO OFFERED. 2016 8 2721 25 YOGA MEETS POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: EXAMINING THE INTEGRATION OF HEDONIC (GRATITUDE) AND EUDAIMONIC (MEANING) WELLBEING IN RELATION TO THE EXTENT OF YOGA PRACTICE. THE PRESENT STUDY AIMS TO EXPLORE THE EXISTENCE OF A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EXTENT OF YOGA PRACTICE AND TWO DIMENSIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING: MEANING IN LIFE AND GRATITUDE. BOTH OF THE VARIABLES ARE POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY CONSTRUCTS; THERE IS THEORETICAL AFFINITY AND EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE RELATED TO OVERALL PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FOUR PARTICIPANTS AGED 18 YEARS AND ABOVE, WITH YOGA EXPERIENCE RANGING FROM NONE TO OVER SIX YEARS, RESPONDED TO A NUMBER OF SCALES. THE EXTENT OF YOGA PRACTICE WAS MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF YEARS DURING WHICH INDIVIDUALS PRACTICED YOGA AT LEAST TWO TIMES A WEEK. PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED TO THE FOLLOWING SCALES: MLQ (MEANING IN LIFE QUESTIONNAIRE) AND GQ-6 (GRATITUDE QUESTIONNAIRE). THIS STUDY HYPOTHESISED THAT THE NUMBER OF YEARS PRACTICING YOGA WOULD BE POSITIVELY CORRELATED TO THE SCORE OBTAINED ON THE AFOREMENTIONED SCALES. POSITIVE CORRELATIONS WERE IDENTIFIED BETWEEN THE EXTENT OF YOGA PRACTICE AND MEANING IN LIFE AND GRATITUDE. IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS REGARDING THE CONTRIBUTION OF YOGA TO BOTH HEDONIC AND EUDAIMONIC HAPPINESS ARE DISCUSSED. 2014 9 2236 35 THE IMPACT OF YOGA UPON YOUNG ADULT CANCER SURVIVORS. THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE USE OF YOGA BY USING A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF 286 YOUNG ADULT CANCER SURVIVORS. THE AIM WAS TO EXPLORE YOGA PRACTICE, REASONS FOR USING THIS THERAPY; PREDICTORS OF YOGA USE AND ANY POTENTIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA USE AND WELL-BEING. NINETY ONE PARTICIPANTS (32.82%) REPORTED PRACTICING YOGA FROM THEIR INITIAL DIAGNOSIS. PRACTITIONERS REPORTED A RELATIVELY HIGH INTENSITY (MEAN: 7.46 H/MONTH) AND LENGTH (25.88 MONTHS) OF PRACTICE. THE MOST COMMON REASONS GIVEN FOR UNDERTAKING YOGA WERE TO MAINTAIN FLEXIBILITY AND PROMOTE RELAXATION. SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC PREDICTORS OF YOGA USE INCLUDED GENDER, HIGHER EDUCATION WITH INCREASED YOGA USE GENERALLY RELATED TO ENHANCED FEELINGS OF WELL-BEING. RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA USE IS MORE COMMONLY USED BY CANCER SURVIVORS WITH GREATER RESOURCES. UNDERSTANDING MORE ABOUT THE USE OF YOGA BY CANCER SURVIVORS MAY FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROMOTION OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS. 2013 10 2556 20 YOGA FOR CHILDREN. THERE IS AN INCREASING INTEREST IN THE USE OF YOGA FOR CHILDREN TO CALM THE MIND AND INCREASE HEALTH AND WELL BEING. DESPITE SCANT BUT INCREASING EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THE EFFICACY OF YOGA IN CHILDREN, SPECIAL YOGA PROGRAMS WITHIN SCHOOLS ARE BEING DEVELOPED FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS. THIS INCREASING POPULARITY OF THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF YOGA MAY ENCOURAGE PARENTS TO CONSIDER YOGA FOR THEIR CHILDREN AND REQUEST REFERRALS OR CLARIFICATION OF THE PURPORTED EFFECTS. A DESCRIPTION OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL BASIS OF YOGA, THE BASIC COMPONENTS OF A YOGA PRACTICE, SAFETY CONCERNS, AND HOW TO LOCATE AND EVALUATE A YOGA PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN WILL BE ADDRESSED. 2009 11 586 42 DETERMINANTS OF MAINTAINING A DAILY YOGA PRACTICE: HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL AND SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY PERSPECTIVE. BACKGROUND: DESPITE THE GROWING EVIDENCE OF THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF A YOGA PRACTICE, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO ITS SUSTAINED PRACTICE. AIMS: THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT STUDY WERE TWOFOLD: (1) TO DESCRIBE THE PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS (AGE, EDUCATION LEVEL, AND MARITAL STATUS) AND YOGA ASANA-RELATED BEHAVIOR OF PARTICIPANTS WHO PRACTICE ASHTANGA AND (2) TO EXAMINE THE HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL (HLOC) (AN INDIVIDUAL'S BELIEFS ABOUT THE EXTENT OF CONTROL THAT THEY HAVE OVER THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO THEM) AND SELF-DETERMINATION THEORIES. (PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO BECOME SELF-DETERMINED WHEN THEIR NEEDS FOR COMPETENCE, CONNECTION, AND AUTONOMY ARE FULFILLED IN RELATION TO THE MOTIVATED BEHAVIOR.). METHODS: ASHTANGA YOGA PRACTITIONERS (N = 100, AGE RANGE: 20-62 YEARS) REPORTED PRACTICING YOGA AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK COMPLETED SELF-REPORT QUESTIONNAIRES: DEMOGRAPHICS, ASANA PRACTICE, THE PERCEIVED CHOICE AND AWARENESS OF SELF SCALE, HLOC, THE GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE-12, THE PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE, AND THE STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY. RESULTS: IT WAS OBSERVED THAT PARTICIPANTS PRACTICED YOGA FOR AN AVERAGE 6.43 YEARS, 5 DAYS A WEEK FOR 93 MIN REPRESENTING A SUSTAINED, MOTIVATED HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIOR. YEARS OF PRACTICE AND PERCENTAGE OF TIME SPENT IN HOME PRACTICE EXPLAIN 9% OF THE VARIANCE IN THE AWARENESS OF SELF, AND 7% IS EXPLAINED BY THE NUMBER OF PRACTICE DAYS A WEEK AND STATE ANXIETY. ASHTANGA YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAVE A HIGH INTERNAL HLOC; THIS IS RELATED TO REDUCED TRAIT ANXIETY AND INCREASED PERCEIVED CHOICE. CONCLUSIONS: THE MYSORE SYSTEM OF YOGA APPEARS TO FACILITATE SUSTAINED HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIOR; IT IS SUGGESTED THAT HEALTH PROMOTION SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE THE THREE ASPECTS OF SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY: COMPETENCE, AUTONOMY, AND RELATEDNESS, WHILE FOCUSING ON THE INCREASING INTRINSIC MOTIVATION AND INTERNALIZING HLOC. 2020 12 335 40 APPLYING THE S-ART FRAMEWORK TO YOGA: EXPLORING THE SELF-REGULATORY ACTION OF YOGA PRACTICE IN TWO CULTURALLY DIVERSE SAMPLES. MINDFULNESS PRACTICES FORM THE CORE OF NUMEROUS THERAPEUTIC PROGRAMS AND INTERVENTIONS FOR STRESS REDUCTION AND THE TREATMENT OF DIFFERENT HEALTH CONDITIONS RELATED TO STRESS AND LIFE HABITS. WAYS AND MEANS TO REGULATE ONESELF EFFECTIVELY ALSO FORM THE FOUNDATION OF THE PATH OF YOGA IN THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. THE SELF-AWARENESS, SELF-REGULATION, AND SELF-TRANSCENDENCE (S-ART) MODEL CAN BE CONSIDERED AS AN OVERARCHING NEUROBIOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK TO EXPLAIN THE SELF-REGULATORY MECHANISMS OF WELL-BEING PRESENT IN MINDFULNESS-BASED PRACTICES. THE CURRENT STUDY, BY CONNECTING AND APPLYING THE S-ART FRAMEWORK TO THE SELF-REGULATORY MECHANISMS IN YOGA AND GENERATING RELATED HYPOTHESES, PROVIDES A THEORY-LED EXPLANATION OF THE ACTION OF YOGA PRACTICES, WHICH IS SPARSE IN THE LITERATURE. TESTING THE S-ART MODEL IN YOGA IN TWO CULTURALLY DIVERSE SAMPLES, ASSESSING THE MODEL-MAPPED PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF ACTION, AND EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF PERSEVERANCE IN YOGA PRACTICE ARE THE ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF THIS STUDY. THE STUDY SAMPLE COMPRISED 362 YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND NON-PRACTITIONERS (197 INDIAN AND 165 SPANISH), WHO COMPLETED FOUR TESTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES INDICATIVE OF THE AFOREMENTIONED THREE S-ART ABILITIES. THESE TESTS WERE MULTIDIMENSIONAL ASSESSMENT OF INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS (MAIA), EXPERIENCES QUESTIONNAIRE-DECENTERING (EQ-D) SUBSCALE, DIFFICULTIES IN EMOTION REGULATION SCALE (DERS), AND RELATIONAL COMPASSION SCALE (RCS). THE RESULTS INDICATED SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER SELF-AWARENESS AND SELF-REGULATORY ABILITIES IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS (INDIAN AND SPANISH IN A COMBINATION) THAN NON-PRACTITIONERS, REFLECTED IN HIGHER LEVELS OF INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS AND DECENTERING ABILITIES. MOREOVER, PERSEVERANCE IN YOGA PRACTICE ACTED AS A SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR OF SELF-AWARENESS AND SELF-REGULATION IN PRACTITIONERS. AN ANALYSIS OF EACH CULTURAL SAMPLE REVEALED SOME DIFFERENCES. YOGA PRACTICE AND PERSEVERANCE IN IT ACTED AS A SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR OF INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS AND DECENTERING IN INDIAN PRACTITIONERS HAVING MORE THAN 1 YEAR OF SUSTAINED YOGA PRACTICE, BUT FOR THE SPANISH PARTICIPANTS, PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND FREQUENCY OF YOGA PRACTICE ACTED AS BETTER PREDICTORS OF INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS AND DECENTERING IN COMPARISON TO YOGA PRACTICE AND PERSEVERANCE IN IT. THE OBTAINED RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT THE S-ART MODEL PROVIDED PRELIMINARY BUT PROMISING EVIDENCE FOR THE SELF-REGULATORY MECHANISMS OF ACTION IN YOGA PRACTICE WITHIN A CULTURALLY DIVERSE SAMPLE OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS. THIS STUDY ALSO WIDENS THE SCOPE OF GENERATING FURTHER HYPOTHESES USING THE S-ART THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR TESTING THE SELF-REGULATORY MECHANISMS OF ACTION IN YOGA PRACTICE. 2021 13 999 40 EFFECTS OF INTUITIVE EATING ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND WELLBEING OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PRACTITIONERS AND SEDENTARY INDIVIDUALS. THIS STUDY IS A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF INTUITIVE EATING AND CORRELATIONS WITH QUALITY OF LIFE AND WELLBEING IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PRACTITIONERS AND SEDENTARY INDIVIDUALS. THE STUDY INVOLVED 204 PARTICIPANTS, COMPRISING 66 YOGA PRACTITIONERS, 74 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PRACTITIONERS AND 64 SEDENTARY INDIVIDUALS, BETWEEN THE AGES OF 20 AND 59, WHO WERE RESIDENT IN BRAZIL AT THE TIME OF THE STUDY. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED THROUGH FACEBOOK AND THE APPLICATION QUESTIONNAIRES VIA GOOGLE FORMS TO MEASURE INTUITIVE EATING, FOOD CONSUMPTION, QUALITY OF LIFE, STRESS LEVEL, SATISFACTION WITH BODY IMAGE AND LEVEL OF MINDFULNESS. THE STUDY FOUND THAT WHILE INTUITIVE EATING DID NOT DIFFER BETWEEN YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PRACTITIONERS, BOTH SHOWED GREATER ADOPTION OF INTUITIVE EATING AS COMPARED TO INACTIVE INDIVIDUALS. STILL, YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAD BETTER CONFIDENCE IN THEIR PHYSIOLOGICAL SIGNS OF HUNGER AND SATIETY, AS WELL AS BETTER EATING BEHAVIOR, QUALITY OF LIFE, SATISFACTION WITH BODY IMAGE, HEALTHY BODY WEIGHT, AND STRESS-RELATED EMOTIONAL REGULATION, AS COMPARED TO THE OTHER GROUPS. IN ADDITION, THERE WAS A POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN INTUITIVE EATING AND QUALITY OF LIFE, BODY ESTEEM, MINDFULNESS AND EATING BEHAVIORS THAT DISCOURAGED EATING IN RESPONSE TO EXTERNAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES, AND A NEGATIVE CORRELATION TO STRESS AND WEIGHT GAIN. THIS STUDY FINDS THAT PHYSICAL EXERCISE, IN PARTICULAR THE PRACTICE OF YOGA, IS LINKED TO THE PROMOTION OF BETTER INTUITIVE EATING BEHAVIOR AS WELL AS BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE AND WELLBEING. 2021 14 1807 38 PREVALENCE, PATTERNS, AND PREDICTORS OF YOGA USE: RESULTS OF A U.S. NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE SURVEY. INTRODUCTION: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE PREVALENCE, PATTERNS, AND PREDICTORS OF YOGA USE IN THE U.S. GENERAL POPULATION. METHODS: USING CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA FROM THE 2012 NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY FAMILY CORE, SAMPLE ADULT CORE, AND ADULT COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE QUESTIONNAIRES (N=34,525), WEIGHTED FREQUENCIES FOR LIFETIME AND 12-MONTH PREVALENCE OF YOGA USE AND PATTERNS OF YOGA PRACTICE WERE ANALYZED. USING LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSES, SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC PREDICTORS OF LIFETIME YOGA USE WERE ANALYZED. ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED IN 2015. RESULTS: LIFETIME AND 12-MONTH PREVALENCE OF YOGA USE WERE 13.2% AND 8.9%, RESPECTIVELY. COMPARED WITH NONPRACTITIONERS, LIFETIME YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE MORE LIKELY FEMALE, YOUNGER, NON-HISPANIC WHITE, COLLEGE EDUCATED, HIGHER EARNERS, LIVING IN THE WEST, AND OF BETTER HEALTH STATUS. AMONG THOSE WHO HAD PRACTICED IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, 51.2% ATTENDED YOGA CLASSES, 89.9% USED BREATHING EXERCISES, AND 54.9% USED MEDITATION. YOGA WAS PRACTICED FOR GENERAL WELLNESS OR DISEASE PREVENTION (78.4%), TO IMPROVE ENERGY (66.1%), OR TO IMPROVE IMMUNE FUNCTION (49.7%). BACK PAIN (19.7%), STRESS (6.4%), AND ARTHRITIS (6.4%) WERE THE MAIN SPECIFIC HEALTH PROBLEMS FOR WHICH PEOPLE PRACTICED YOGA. CONCLUSIONS: ABOUT 31 MILLION U.S. ADULTS HAVE EVER USED YOGA, AND ABOUT 21 MILLION PRACTICED YOGA IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS. DISEASE PREVENTION AND BACK PAIN RELIEF WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT HEALTH REASONS FOR YOGA PRACTICE. YOGA PRACTICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH AGE, GENDER, ETHNICITY, SES, AND HEALTH STATUS. 2016 15 415 21 BODY AWARENESS, EATING ATTITUDES, AND SPIRITUAL BELIEFS OF WOMEN PRACTICING YOGA. THIS RESEARCH EVALUATED ATTITUDES ABOUT BODY IMAGE AND EATING IN WOMEN PRACTICING POSTURAL YOGA. STUDY 1 DESCRIBED SCORES FROM QUESTIONNAIRES ON VARIABLES RELATED TO BODY AWARENESS, INTUITIVE EATING, SPIRITUALITY, AND REASONS FOR PRACTICING. SCORES WERE FAVORABLE ON ALL MEASURES WITH SIGNIFICANT CORRELATIONS (P < .01) AMONG ALL MAIN VARIABLES EXCEPT BETWEEN SPIRITUAL READINESS AND INTUITIVE EATING, AND BETWEEN BMI AND BOTH BODY AWARENESS AND SPIRITUAL READINESS. REASONS FOR PRACTICING DID NOT AFFECT SCORES. STUDY 2 EVALUATED INTERVIEWS IN A SUB-SAMPLE. QUALITATIVE DATA REPORTED IMPROVEMENTS IN BODY SATISFACTION AND DISORDERED EATING DUE IN PART TO YOGA AND ITS ASSOCIATED SPIRITUALITY. 2009 16 2489 20 YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION IN THE TREATMENT OF EATING DISORDERS: DOES IT HELP? THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES THE USES OF YOGA AS AN EXPERIENTIAL ADJUNCT TO OTHER FORMS OF THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF EATING DISORDERS IN RESIDENTIAL AND OUTPATIENT SETTINGS. SUPPORTED BY OTHER TREATMENT MODALITIES, YOGA CAN BE AN EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR INCREASING SELF-AWARENESS, REFLECTION AND THE ABILITY TO SELF-SOOTHE. LIKE OTHER INTERVENTIONS, YOGA HAS POTENTIAL MISUSES. THESE MISUSES ARE UNCOVERED WITH SUGGESTIONS MADE AS TO HOW THERAPISTS CAN SUPPORT THE PRACTICE OF YOGA IN RESIDENTIAL AND OUTPATIENT SETTINGS. 2009 17 1806 38 PREVALENCE, PATTERNS, AND PREDICTORS OF YOGA PRACTICE AMONG ADULTS IN AN URBAN POPULATION IN EASTERN INDIA. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS OF YOGA PRACTICE. THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AS A PART OF A LARGER STUDY THAT INCLUDED YOGA AS A FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. DATA WERE COLLECTED DURING APRIL AND AUGUST 2019 FROM THE ADULT URBAN POPULATION OF BHUBANESWAR, INDIA. THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED USING A CLUSTER RANDOM SAMPLING METHOD. A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE (N = 1,203) OF ADULTS AGED 18-59 YEARS, IRRESPECTIVE OF GENDER, WAS INTERVIEWED USING A QUESTIONNAIRE ADAPTED FROM THE 2012 U.S. NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY, WITH THE EPICOLLECT5 HANDHELD DATA-COLLECTION TOOL. PREDICTORS OF YOGA PRACTICE WERE EXPLORED USING MULTIVARIABLE LOGISTIC REGRESSION. THE MEAN AGE OF THE PARTICIPANTS WAS 35.19 +/- 10.67 YEARS, WITH 55.3% MALES. THE MAJORITY WERE HINDU (93.62%) AND BELONGED TO THE UNRE S E RVED CATEGORY (65.60%), PEOPLE GENERALLY OF HIGHER RELATIVE SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS. THE LIFETIME PREVALENCE OF YOGA WAS 16.9%. PREVALENCE OF ANY FORM OF YOGA (YOGA, PRANAYAMA, OR MEDITATION), ALL FORMS OF YOGA (YOGA, PRANAYAMA, AND MEDITATION), PRANAYAMA, AND MEDITATION WAS 17.0%, 10.7%, 14.3%, AND 11.4%, RESPECTIVELY. AFTER ADJUSTING FOR CONFOUNDERS, FEMALE GENDER, HINDU RELIGION, MINIMUM OF HIGHER-SECONDARY OR GRADUATE-LEVEL EDUCATION, AND HAVING RECEIVED ADVICE FROM PROFESSIONALS FOR YOGA PRACTICE HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER ODDS OF PRACTICING YOGA, AND THOSE OF HIGHER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER ODDS OF PRACTICING YOGA. WE FOUND A LOW PREVALENCE OF YOGA. SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS LIKE GENDER, RELIGION, EDUCATION, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, AND OTHER FACTORS LIKE LEARNING YOGA FROM PROFESSIONALS MAY BE IMPORTANT PREDICTORS OF CONTINUED YOGA PRACTICE. 2021 18 2392 33 YOGA AND BODY IMAGE: HOW DO YOUNG ADULTS PRACTICING YOGA DESCRIBE ITS IMPACT ON THEIR BODY IMAGE? THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE PERCEIVED IMPACT OF YOGA ON BODY IMAGE. YOUNG ADULTS (N= 34 FEMALE, 12 MALE; MAGE = 30.6 [SD = 1.6]) PRACTICING YOGA WERE INTERVIEWED AND DATA WERE ANALYZED FOR EMERGING THEMES ACROSS WEIGHT STATUS. IN GENERAL, PARTICIPANTS DISCUSSED THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF YOGA ON THEIR BODY IMAGE, BUT SOME DESCRIBED BOTH A POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE IMPACT. YOGA WAS PERCEIVED AS HAVING A POSITIVE IMPACT ON BODY IMAGE VIA PERCEIVED PHYSICAL CHANGES, GRATITUDE FOR ONE'S BODY, A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT WITHIN ONE'S YOGA PRACTICE, SELF-CONFIDENCE, AND WITNESSING DIFFERENT TYPES OF BODIES PRACTICING YOGA. YOGA WAS PERCEIVED TO HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON BODY IMAGE VIA COMPARATIVE CRITIQUE (E.G., UPWARD COMPARISONS WITH OTHERS) AND INNER CRITIQUE (E.G., NEGATIVE SELF-TALK). THEMES WERE GENERALLY SIMILAR ACROSS WEIGHT STATUS; EXCEPTIONS WERE THAT PARTICIPANTS AT HIGHER WEIGHT STATUS WERE MORE LIKELY THAN THOSE AT LOWER WEIGHT STATUS TO DISCUSS ACCOMPLISHMENT WITHIN ONE'S YOGA PRACTICE AS A POSITIVE IMPACT ON BODY IMAGE AND COMPARATIVE CRITIQUE AS A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON BODY IMAGE. YOGA STUDIOS AND INSTRUCTORS CAN TAKE STEPS TO FURTHER ENHANCE THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF YOGA AND TO PROVIDE ENVIRONMENTS THAT ARE INCLUSIVE OF PARTICIPANTS WITH DIVERSE BODY SHAPES AND SIZES. 2018 19 2898 31 [EFFECTS OF FITNESS TRAINING AND YOGA ON WELL-BEING STRESS, SOCIAL COMPETENCE AND BODY IMAGE]. OBJECTIVES: AIMS OF OUR STUDY WERE TO DESCRIBE AND COMPARE INFLUENCES FROM A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM AND A YOGA PROGRAM ON WELL-BEING, MOOD, STRESSCOPING, BODY-IMAGE AND SOCIAL COMPETENCE IN HEALTHY PEOPLE. METHODS: 18 PERSONS ATTENDING A GYM AND 21 TAKING PART IN A YOGA PROGRAM ANSWERED FOLLOWING QUESTIONNAIRES BEFORE ENTERING THE PROGRAM AND AFTER TAKING PART FOR 20 UNITS: BODY-IMAGE-QUESTIONNAIRE (25), SYMPTOM-CHECKLIST- 90R (8), COMPLAINT- LIST (31), ADJECTIVE MOOD-SCALE (32) AND A VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE FOR ASSESSING STRESS-LEVEL (10). RESULTS: STATISTICAL ANALYSES SHOW SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN SOCIAL COMPETENCE IN BOTH TRAINING GROUPS; THE GYM-GROUP REPORT REDUCED SEXUAL DISCOMFORT, WHEREAS PEOPLE TAKING PART IN YOGA-GROUP SHOW A REDUCTION IN SOMATIZATION AND BODY-RELATED ANXIETY AS WELL AS AN IMPROVEMENT IN PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING. CONCLUSION: OUR FINDINGS SUPPORT THE EVIDENCE THAT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN GENERAL IMPROVES PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING, HOWEVER, GYM AND YOGA SEEM TO HAVE DIFFERENT PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD FOCUS ON COMPARING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTIONS IN PREVENTION PROGRAMMES AS WELL AS EXERCISE PRESCRIPTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS. 2009 20 2262 34 THE PREVALENCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF YOGA OR MEDITATION USERS IN ICELAND: RESULTS OF A NATIONAL HEALTH SURVEY. BACKGROUND: USE OF YOGA OR MEDITATION HAS INCREASED DECISIVELY IN RECENT YEARS. FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF YOGA AND MEDITATION ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. THE AIM WAS TO FOCUS ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF YOGA AND MEDITATION TO SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND, RELIGIOSITY, HEALTHCARE-RELATED ATTITUDES, MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH, AND PHYSICIAN VISITS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS STUDY BUILDS ON DATA FROM A NATIONAL HEALTH SURVEY OF A RANDOM SAMPLE OF ICELANDIC ADULTS, AGED 18-75 (N = 1599; RESPONSE RATE OF 58%). RESULTS: THE OVERALL USE OF YOGA OR MEDITATION REACHED 19.3% IN 2015. THIS IS AN INCREASE OF 12.5% POINTS OVER A NINE-YEAR PERIOD. THE INCREASE WAS MUCH GREATER FOR WOMEN. YOGA OR MEDITATION USE WAS POSITIVELY RELATED TO THE FEMALE GENDER, YOUNGER AGE, HIGHER LEVELS OF EDUCATION, AND NOT BELONGING TO A RELIGIOUS DENOMINATION. IT WAS ALSO POSITIVELY RELATED TO HIGHER ANXIETY, PREVIOUS VISITS TO A PHYSICIAN, AND A POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD CAM SERVICES, BUT IT WAS NEGATIVELY RELATED TO HAVING CHRONIC MEDICAL CONDITIONS. CONCLUSION: INCREASED USE OF YOGA OR MEDITATION MAY REFLECT PUBLIC INTEREST IN ICELANDER'S SELF-CARE AND HEALTH PROMOTION. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE PREDICTORS AND EFFECTS OF YOGA AND MEDITATION. 2021