1 439 152 CARDIOVASCULAR, CELLULAR, AND NEURAL ADAPTATIONS TO HOT YOGA VERSUS NORMAL-TEMPERATURE YOGA. CONTEXT: CHRONIC HEAT EXPOSURE PROMOTES CARDIOVASCULAR AND CELLULAR ADAPTATIONS, IMPROVING AN ORGANISM'S ABILITY TO TOLERATE SUBSEQUENT STRESSORS. HEAT EXPOSURE MAY ALSO PROMOTE NEURAL ADAPTATIONS AND ALTER THE NEURAL-HORMONAL STRESS RESPONSE. HOT-TEMPERATURE YOGA (HY) COMBINES MIND-BODY EXERCISE WITH HEAT EXPOSURE. THE ADDED HEAT COMPONENT IN HY MAY INDUCE CARDIOVASCULAR AND CELLULAR CHANGES, ALONG WITH NEURAL BENEFITS AND MODULATION OF STRESS HORMONES. AIMS: THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT STUDY IS TO COMPARE THE CARDIOVASCULAR, CELLULAR HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN 70 (HSP70), NEURAL, AND HORMONAL ADAPTATIONS OF HY VERSUS NORMAL-TEMPERATURE YOGA (NY). SETTINGS AND DESIGN: TWENTY-TWO SUBJECTS (MALES = 11 AND FEMALES = 11, 26 +/- 6 YEARS) COMPLETED 4 WEEKS OF NY (N = 11) OR HY (N = 11, 41 DEGREES C, 40% HUMIDITY). YOGA SESSIONS WERE PERFORMED 3 TIMES/WEEK FOLLOWING A MODIFIED BIKRAM PROTOCOL. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: PRE- AND POSTTESTING INCLUDED (1) HEMODYNAMIC MEASURES DURING A HEAT TOLERANCE TEST AND MAXIMAL AEROBIC FITNESS TEST; (2) NEURAL AND HORMONAL ADAPTATIONS USING SERUM BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) AND ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH), ALONG WITH A MENTAL STRESS QUESTIONNAIRE; AND (3) CELLULAR ADAPTATIONS (HSP70) IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: WITHIN- AND BETWEEN-GROUP STUDENT'S T-TEST ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED TO COMPARE PRE- AND POST-VO2 MAX, PERCEIVED STRESS, BDNF, HSP70, AND ACTH IN HY AND NY GROUPS. RESULTS: MAXIMAL AEROBIC FITNESS INCREASED IN THE HY GROUP ONLY. NO EVIDENCE OF HEAT ACCLIMATION OR CHANGE IN MENTAL STRESS WAS OBSERVED. SERUM BDNF SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN YOGA GROUPS COMBINED. ANALYSIS OF HSP70 SUGGESTED HIGHER EXPRESSION OF HSP70 IN THE HY GROUP ONLY. CONCLUSIONS: TWELVE SESSIONS OF HY PROMOTED CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS AND CELLULAR THERMOTOLERANCE ADAPTATIONS. SERUM BDNF INCREASED IN RESPONSE TO YOGA (NY + HY) AND APPEARED TO NOT BE TEMPERATURE DEPENDENT. 2021 2 2120 26 THE EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON ENHANCEMENT OF ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) AND CORTISOL LEVELS IN FEMALE PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. THE EFFECT OF 8 WEEKS YOGA TRAINING ON CORTISOL AND ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) LEVELS IN FEMALE PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) IS EXAMINED. TWENTY FOUR MS FEMALE PATIENTS WITH EXPANDED DISABILITY STATUS SCALE (EDSS) 1 TO 5.5 PARTICIPATED IN THIS STUDY AS THE SUBJECT. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE DIVIDED INTO CONTROL (N = 10) OR TRAINING GROUP (N = 14) RANDOMLY. TRAINING GROUP PERFORMED 90 MIN YOGA TRAINING PER SESSION, 3 DAYS A WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS. ASSESSMENTS INCLUDE BODY COMPOSITION MEASUREMENT AND BLOOD SAMPLING 48 H BEFORE FIRST SESSION AND 48 H AFTER THE INTERVENTION. THE RESULTS DEMONSTRATED THAT ACTH INCREASED AND CORTISOL DECREASED COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP (P < 0.05); IN CONCLUSION, IT SEEMS THAT YOGA TRAINING MODULATES ACTH LEVEL IN CONCOMITANT WITH REDUCTION IN CORTISOL LEVEL IN FEMALE PATIENTS WITH MS. 2017 3 326 33 ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFICACY AND HORMONAL EFFECTS OF SUDARSHANA KRIYA YOGA (SKY) IN ALCOHOL DEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS. BACKGROUND: SUDARSHANA KRIYA YOGA (SKY) HAS DEMONSTRABLE ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS. SKY WAS TESTED FOR THIS EFFECT IN INPATIENTS OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE. METHODS: FOLLOWING A WEEK OF DETOXIFICATION MANAGEMENT CONSENTING SUBJECTS (N=60) WERE EQUALLY RANDOMIZED TO RECEIVE SKY THERAPY OR NOT (CONTROLS) FOR A TWO-WEEK STUDY. SKY THERAPY INCLUDED ALTERNATE DAY PRACTICE OF SPECIFIED BREATHING EXERCISE UNDER SUPERVISION OF A TRAINED THERAPIST. SUBJECTS COMPLETED THE BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY (BDI) BEFORE AND AFTER THE TWO WEEKS OF THIS INTERVENTION. MORNING PLASMA CORTISOL, ACTH AND PROLACTIN TOO WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND AT THE END OF TWO WEEKS. RESULTS: IN BOTH GROUPS REDUCTIONS IN BDI SCORES OCCURRED BUT SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SO IN SKY GROUP. LIKEWISE, IN BOTH GROUPS PLASMA CORTISOL AS WELL AS ACTH FELL AFTER TWO WEEKS BUT SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SO IN SKY GROUP. REDUCTION IN BDI SCORES CORRELATED WITH THAT IN CORTISOL IN SKY BUT NOT IN CONTROL GROUP. LIMITATIONS: ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS OF SKY WERE DEMONSTRATED IN EARLY ABSTINENCE THAT ALSO HAD SUBSTANTIAL SPONTANEOUS IMPROVEMENT. IT IS NOT KNOWN IF THIS EFFECT CONTRIBUTES TO SUSTAINED ABSTINENCE. CONCLUSION: RESULTS EXTEND THE ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS OF SKY IN ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE SUBJECTS. REDUCTION IN STRESS-HORMONE LEVELS (CORTISOL AND ACTH) ALONG WITH BDI REDUCTIONS POSSIBLY SUPPORT A BIOLOGICAL MECHANISM OF SKY IN PRODUCING BENEFICIAL EFFECTS. 2006 4 2009 33 SUBJECTIVE SLEEP QUALITY AND HORMONAL MODULATION IN LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTITIONERS. YOGA REPRESENTS A FASCINATING MIND-BODY APPROACH, WHEREIN BODY MOVEMENTS (ASANA), BREATHING EXERCISES (PRANAYAMA) AND MEDITATION ARE INTEGRATED INTO A SINGLE MULTIDIMENSIONAL PRACTICE. NUMEROUS BENEFICIAL MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EFFECTS HAVE BEEN CLASSICALLY ASCRIBED TO THIS HOLISTIC ANCIENT METHOD. THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT STUDY HAS BEEN TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE ON SUBJECTIVE SLEEP QUALITY (SSQ) AND ON SEVERAL HORMONAL PARAMETERS OF THE HYPOTHALAMUS-PITUITARY-ADRENAL (HPA) AXIS. TWENTY-SIX SUBJECTS (16 EXPERIMENTAL AND 10 CONTROLS) WERE RECRUITED TO BE PART OF THE STUDY. EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS WERE REGULAR YOGA PRACTITIONERS WITH A MINIMUM OF 3 YEARS OF PRACTICE. BLOOD SAMPLES FOR THE QUANTIFICATION OF ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH), CORTISOL AND DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE SULPHATE (DHEA-S) WERE DRAWN FROM ALL SUBJECTS. LIKEWISE, THE PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX (PSQI) WAS EMPLOYED TO ASSESS SSQ. AS STATISTICAL ANALYSIS, MANN-WHITNEY U-TEST WAS PERFORMED. THE YOGA GROUP DISPLAYED LOWER PSQI SCORES AND HIGHER BLOOD CORTISOL LEVELS THAN CONTROL SUBJECTS. THEREFORE, IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT PSYCHO-BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES, INCLUDING BETTER SLEEP QUALITY AS WELL AS A MODULATORY ACTION ON THE LEVELS OF CORTISOL. THESE PRELIMINARY RESULTS SUGGEST INTERESTING CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS WHICH SHOULD BE FURTHER RESEARCHED. 2009 5 726 19 EFFECT OF LAUGHTER YOGA ON SALIVARY CORTISOL AND DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE AMONG HEALTHY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: TO EXAMINE WHETHER LAUGHTER YOGA (LY), I.E., SIMULATED LAUGHTER, ALTERS CORTISOL AND DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE (DHEA) LEVELS AND CORTISOL/DHEA (C/D) RATIOS. METHODS: IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, 120 HEALTHY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WERE ALLOCATED TO EXPERIENCING LY, WATCHING A COMEDY MOVIE (SPONTANEOUS LAUGHTER), OR READING A BOOK. SALIVARY CORTISOL AND DHEA LEVELS WERE MEASURED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE, IMMEDIATELY AFTER, AND 30MIN AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: CORTISOL LEVELS AND C/D RATIOS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED BY TIME IN THE LY AND COMEDY MOVIE GROUPS. SIGNIFICANT GROUP*TIME INTERACTIONS WERE FOUND BETWEEN THESE TWO GROUPS FOR CORTISOL LEVELS AND C/D RATIOS. DHEA LEVELS DID NOT CHANGE BY TIME IN THE LY GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: LY DECREASED CORTISOL LEVELS AND C/D RATIOS BUT DID NOT AFFECT DHEA LEVELS. SIMULATED AND SPONTANEOUS LAUGHTER DIFFERENTLY AFFECTED THE DYNAMICS OF CORTISOL LEVELS AND C/D RATIOS. EFFECT OF SPONTANEOUS LAUGHTER ON THE CORTISOL DYNAMICS LASTED LONGER THAN THAT OF SIMULATED LAUGHTER. (UMIN000019409). 2018 6 1605 30 MENTAL STRESS: NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND ITS REGULATION BY SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA. AIM: THE PRESENT STUDY FOCUSES ON ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) ON EEG AS WELL AS ECG SIGNALS FOR STRESS REGULATION. TO ENVISION THE REGULATION OF STRESS DETERMINATION TEST (DT) HAS BEEN USED. WE HAVE CHOSEN A CONTROL GROUP FOR CONTRIVING A COGENT COMPARISON THAT COULD BE CORROBORATED USING STATISTICAL TESTS. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 20 SUBJECTS WERE TAKEN IN THE STUDY, OF WHICH 10 WERE ALLOTTED TO A CONTROL GROUP. ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPH WAS TAKEN DURING A DT TASK, BEFORE AND AFTER SKY THE SKY SESSION WITH 30 DAYS OF SKY SESSION GIVEN TO THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. NO SKY WAS GIVEN TO THE CONTROL GROUP. RESULTS: WE QUANTIFIED MENTAL STRESS USING EEG, ECG AND DT SYNERGISTICALLY AND USED SKY TO REGULATE IT. WE OBSERVED THAT ALPHA BAND POWER DECREASES IN THE FRONTAL LOBE OF THE BRAIN WITH INCREASING MENTAL STRESS WHILE FRONTAL BRAIN ASYMMETRY DECREASES WITH INCREASING STRESS TOLERANCE. CONCLUSIONS: THESE EEG, ECG AND DT SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT DECREMENT IN MENTAL STRESS AND IMPROVEMENT IN COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AFTER SKY, INDICATING SKY AS A GOOD ALTERNATIVE OF MEDICATION FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT. 2017 7 1889 35 REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVES ANTIOXIDANT STATUS, IMMUNE FUNCTION, AND STRESS HORMONE RELEASES IN YOUNG HEALTHY PEOPLE: A RANDOMIZED, DOUBLE-BLIND, CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THE PRESENT STUDY IS TO HIGHLIGHT THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON BIO-PARAMETERS, SUCH AS OXIDATIVE STRESS, ANTIOXIDANT COMPONENTS, IMMUNE FUNCTIONS, AND SECRETION OF STRESS HORMONES, IN HEALTHY YOUNG PEOPLE. STUDY DESIGN: THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ON HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS RECRUITED FROM AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, WHO WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS: A CONTROL (NO YOGA INTERVENTION, N=13) GROUP AND A YOGA (N=12) GROUP. YOGA PRACTICE WAS WITH AN INSTRUCTOR FOR 90 MINUTES ONCE A WEEK SPREAD OVER 12 WEEKS, WITH RECOMMENDATIONS TO PRACTICE DAILY AT HOME FOR 40 MINUTES WITH THE HELP OF A DVD. THE YOGA PROGRAM CONSISTED OF YOGA BODY POSES (ASANAS), EXERCISES INVOLVING AWARENESS, VOLUNTARY REGULATION OF BREATH (PRANAYAMA), AND MEDITATIONAL PRACTICES. WHOLE BLOOD SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED WHEN THE VOLUNTEERS HAD FASTED FOR 8 HOURS AT 0 AND 12 WEEKS. THE OXIDATIVE STRESS/ANTIOXIDANT COMPONENTS, IMMUNE-RELATED CYTOKINES, AND STRESS HORMONES WERE EVALUATED IN SERUM OR PLASMA. RESULTS: SERUM LEVELS OF NITRIC OXIDE, F2-ISOPROSTANE, AND LIPID PEROXIDE WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED BY YOGA PRACTICE (P<0.05 OR P=0.01), WHEREAS SERUM TOTAL GLUTATHIONE (GSH) CONTENTS, ACTIVITIES OF GSH-PEROXIDASE, AND GSH-S-TRANSFERASE WERE REMARKABLY INCREASED AFTER YOGA PRACTICE COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP (P<0.05 OR P=0.01). YOGA PRACTICE ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IMMUNE-RELATED CYTOKINES, SUCH AS INTERLEUKIN-12, AND INTERFERON-GAMMA, IN SERUM (P<0.05 OR P=0.01). YOGA PRACTICE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED THE PLASMA LEVELS OF ADRENALIN (P<0.05) AND INCREASED PLASMA LEVELS OF SEROTONIN COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE REMARKABLY ATTENUATED OXIDATIVE STRESS AND IMPROVED ANTIOXIDANT LEVELS OF THE BODY. MOREOVER, YOGA BENEFICIALLY AFFECTED STRESS HORMONE RELEASES AS WELL AS PARTIALLY IMPROVED IMMUNE FUNCTION. 2015 8 569 16 DECREASE IN SERUM CORTISOL DURING YOGA EXERCISE IS CORRELATED WITH ALPHA WAVE ACTIVATION. WE EXAMINED CHANGES IN BRAIN WAVES AND BLOOD LEVELS OF SERUM CORTISOL DURING YOGA EXERCISE IN 7 YOGA INSTRUCTORS AND FOUND THAT ALPHA WAVES INCREASED AND SERUM CORTISOL DECREASED. THESE TWO MEASURES WERE NEGATIVELY CORRELATED (R = -.83). COMPARISON WITH A CONTROL GROUP OF NONPRACTITIONERS IS DESIRABLE. 2000 9 449 18 CHANGES IN CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS AND HORMONES DURING A COMPREHENSIVE RESIDENTIAL THREE MONTH KRIYA YOGA TRAINING AND VEGETARIAN NUTRITION. IN PARTICIPANTS OF A COMPREHENSIVE RESIDENTIAL THREE MONTH YOGA AND MEDIATION TRAINING PROGRAMME LIVING ON A LOW FAT LACTO-VEGETARIAN DIET CHANGES IN CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS AND HORMONES WERE STUDIED. SUBSTANTIAL RISK FACTOR REDUCTION WAS FOUND. BODY MASS INDEX, TOTAL SERUM AND LDL CHOLESTEROL, FIBRINOGEN, AND BLOOD PRESSURE WERE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED ESPECIALLY IN THOSE WITH ELEVATED LEVELS. URINARY EXCRETION OF ADRENALINE, NORADRENALINE, DOPAMINE, ALDOSTERONE, AS WELL AS SERUM TESTOSTERONE AND LUTEINIZING HORMONE LEVELS WERE REDUCED, WHILE CORTISOL EXCRETION INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. 1997 10 942 27 EFFECTS OF 8-WEEK HATHA YOGA TRAINING ON METABOLIC AND INFLAMMATORY MARKERS IN HEALTHY, FEMALE CHINESE SUBJECTS: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL. WE AIMED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF AN 8 WK HATHA YOGA TRAINING ON BLOOD GLUCOSE, INSULIN, LIPID PROFILES, ENDOTHELIAL MICROPARTICLES (EMPS), AND INFLAMMATORY STATUS IN HEALTHY, LEAN, AND FEMALE CHINESE SUBJECTS. A TOTAL OF 30 HEALTHY, FEMALE CHINESE SUBJECTS WERE RECRUITED AND RANDOMIZED INTO CONTROL OR YOGA PRACTICE GROUP. THE YOGA PRACTICE INCLUDED 8 WKS OF YOGA PRACTICE (2 TIMES/WK) FOR A TOTAL OF 16 TIMES. FASTING BLOOD SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER YOGA TRAINING. PLASMA WAS ISOLATED FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF LIPID PROFILES, GLUCOSE, INSULIN, EMPS, AND INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES. WHOLE BLOOD WAS CULTURED EX VIVO AND STIMULATED WITH LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE (LPS) AND PAM3CYS-SK4. PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) WERE ISOLATED FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF TLR2 AND TLR4 PROTEIN EXPRESSION. YOGA PRACTICE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PLASMA CHOLESTEROL, LDL-CHOLESTEROL, INSULIN LEVELS, AND CD31+/CD42B- EMPS. CULTURED WHOLE BLOOD FROM THE YOGA GROUP HAS REDUCED PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES SECRETION BOTH AT UNSTIMULATED CONDITION AND WHEN STIMULATED WITH PAM3CYS-SK4; THIS MIGHT BE ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED TLR2 PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN PBMCS AFTER YOGA TRAINING. HATHA YOGA PRACTICE IN HEALTHY CHINESE FEMALE SUBJECTS COULD IMPROVE HALLMARKS RELATED TO METS; THUS IT CAN BE CONSIDERED AS AN ANCILLARY INTERVENTION IN THE PRIMARY METS PREVENTION FOR THE HEALTHY POPULATION. THIS TRIAL IS REGISTERED WITH CHICTR-IOR-14005747. 2016 11 2241 28 THE INFLUENCE OF HATHA YOGA AS AN ADD-ON TREATMENT IN MAJOR DEPRESSION ON HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL-AXIS ACTIVITY: A RANDOMIZED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: THE IMPACT OF HATHA YOGA AS ADD-ON TREATMENT TO QUETIAPINE FUMARATE EXTENDED RELEASE (QXR) OR ESCITALOPRAM (ESC) IN DEPRESSED PATIENTS ON HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL (HPA) AXIS ACTIVITY WAS ASSESSED. METHODS: 60 INPATIENTS SUFFERING FROM MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER (MDD) ACCORDING TO DSM-IV WERE RANDOMIZED FOR A 5 WEEK TREATMENT WITH YOGA OR NOT (CONTROL GROUP) AND WITH EITHER QXR (300 MG/DAY) OR ESC (10 MG/DAY). SERIAL DEXAMETHASONE/CORTICOTROPIN RELEASING HORMONE (DEX/CRH) TESTS WERE PERFORMED TO ASSESS HPA AXIS FUNCTION. THE HAMILTON DEPRESSION RATING SCALE (21-HAMD) WAS USED WEEKLY. RESULTS: A MORE PRONOUNCED DOWN REGULATION OF THE HPA AXIS ACTIVITY DUE TO YOGA COULD NOT BE DETECTED. THE STEPWISE LONG TERM CORTISOL REDUCTION WAS SEEN IN BOTH MEDICATION GROUPS, IRRESPECTIVELY OF YOGA ADD-ON TREATMENT. IN ADDITION, CORTISOL IMPROVERS IN WEEK 1 OF THERAPY (REDUCTION IN CORTISOL PEAK VALUE WITHIN THE DEX/CRH TEST) REACHED SIGNIFICANT GREATER AMELIORATION OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AFTER 5 WEEKS. CONCLUSIONS: OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT ANTIDEPRESSANT AGENTS DOWN REGULATE HPA AXIS FUNCTION TO A GREATER EXTENT THAN ADDITIONAL HATHA YOGA TREATMENT. MOREOVER, AN EARLY REDUCTION OF HPA SYSTEM HYPERACTIVITY AFTER ONE WEEK OF PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT SEEMS TO RAISE THE POSSIBILITY OF A FAVORABLE TREATMENT RESPONSE. 2014 12 1967 33 SERUM CORTISOL AND BDNF IN PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSION-EFFECT OF YOGA. DEPRESSION IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOW SERUM BRAIN DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) AND ELEVATED LEVELS OF SERUM CORTISOL. YOGA PRACTICES HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS, INCREASE IN SERUM BDNF, AND REDUCTION IN SERUM CORTISOL. THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SERUM BDNF AND CORTISOL LEVELS IN DRUG-NAIVE PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION TREATED WITH ANTIDEPRESSANTS, YOGA THERAPY, AND BOTH. FIFTY-FOUR DRUG-NAIVE CONSENTING ADULT OUTPATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSION (32 MALES) RECEIVED ANTIDEPRESSANTS ONLY (N = 16), YOGA THERAPY ONLY (N = 19), OR YOGA WITH ANTIDEPRESSANTS (N = 19). SERUM BDNF ANDCORTISOL LEVELS WERE OBTAINED BEFORE AND AFTER 3 MONTHS USING A SANDWICH ELISA METHOD. ONE-WAY ANOVA, CHI-SQUARE TEST, AND PEARSON'S CORRELATION TESTS WERE USED FOR ANALYSIS. THE GROUPS WERE COMPARABLE AT BASELINE ON MOST PARAMETERS. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN DEPRESSION SCORES AND SERUM BDNF LEVELS, AND REDUCTION IN SERUM CORTISOL IN THE YOGA GROUPS, HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED IN PREVIOUS REPORTS. A SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE CORRELATION WAS OBSERVED BETWEEN CHANGE IN BDNF (PRE-POST) AND CORTISOL (PRE-POST) LEVELS IN THE YOGA-ONLY GROUP (R = -0.59, P = 0.008). IN CONCLUSION, YOGA MAY FACILITATE NEUROPLASTICITY THROUGH STRESS REDUCTION IN DEPRESSED PATIENTS. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM THE FINDINGS AND DELINEATE THE PATHWAYS FOR THESE EFFECTS. 2016 13 1873 25 RAPID GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES UPON PRACTICE OF A COMPREHENSIVE YOGA PROGRAM. ONE OF THE MOST COMMON INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE (IM) MODALITIES IS YOGA AND RELATED PRACTICES. PREVIOUS WORK HAS SHOWN THAT YOGA MAY IMPROVE WELLNESS IN HEALTHY PEOPLE AND HAVE BENEFITS FOR PATIENTS. HOWEVER, THE MECHANISMS OF HOW YOGA MAY POSITIVELY AFFECT THE MIND-BODY SYSTEM ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN. HERE WE HAVE ASSESSED POSSIBLE RAPID CHANGES IN GLOBAL GENE EXPRESSION PROFILES IN THE PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) IN HEALTHY PEOPLE THAT PRACTICED EITHER A COMPREHENSIVE YOGA PROGRAM OR A CONTROL REGIMEN. THE EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS INCLUDED GENTLE YOGA POSTURES, BREATHING EXERCISES, AND MEDITATION (SUDARSHAN KRIYA AND RELATED PRACTICES--SK&P) COMPARED WITH A CONTROL REGIMEN OF A NATURE WALK AND LISTENING TO RELAXING MUSIC. WE SHOW THAT THE SK&P PROGRAM HAS A RAPID AND SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER EFFECT ON GENE EXPRESSION IN PBMCS COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL REGIMEN. THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT YOGA AND RELATED PRACTICES RESULT IN RAPID GENE EXPRESSION ALTERATIONS WHICH MAY BE THE BASIS FOR THEIR LONGER TERM CELL BIOLOGICAL AND HIGHER LEVEL HEALTH EFFECTS. 2013 14 1329 35 HIGH-FREQUENCY CEREBRAL ACTIVATION AND INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION FOLLOWING SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA AS GLOBAL BRAIN RHYTHMS: THE STATE EFFECTS. CONTEXT: RESPIRATION IS KNOWN TO MODULATE NEURONAL OSCILLATIONS IN THE BRAIN AND IS MEASURED BY ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG). SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) IS A POPULAR BREATHING PROCESS AND IS ESTABLISHED FOR ITS SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS ON THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF PHYSIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY. AIMS: THIS STUDY AIMED TO OBSERVE NEURONAL OSCILLATIONS IN MULTIFREQUENCY BANDS AND INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION FOLLOWING SKY. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: THIS STUDY EMPLOYED BEFORE- AND AFTER-STUDY DESIGN. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: FORTY HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (AVERAGE AGE 25.45 +/- 5.75, 23 MALES AND 17 FEMALES) PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. NINETEEN-CHANNEL EEG WAS RECORDED AND ANALYZED FOR 5 MIN EACH: BEFORE AND AFTER SKY. SPECTRAL POWER FOR DELTA, THETA, ALPHA, BETA, AND GAMMA FREQUENCY BAND WAS CALCULATED USING MULTI-TAPER FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM (CHRONUX TOOLBOX). THE ASYMMETRY INDEX WAS CALCULATED BY SUBTRACTING THE NATURAL LOG OF POWERS OF LEFT (L) HEMISPHERE FROM THE RIGHT((R)) TO SHOW INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: PAIRED T-TEST WAS USED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. RESULTS: SPECTRAL POWER INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN ALL FREQUENCY BANDS BILATERALLY IN FRONTAL, CENTRAL, PARIETAL, TEMPORAL, AND OCCIPITAL REGIONS OF THE BRAIN AFTER LONG SKY. ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY SHIFTED FROM LOWER TO HIGHER FREQUENCY RANGE WITH A SIGNIFICANT RISE IN THE GAMMA AND BETA POWERS FOLLOWING SKY. ASYMMETRY INDEX VALUES TENDED TOWARD 0 FOLLOWING SKY. CONCLUSIONS: A SINGLE SESSION OF SKY GENERATES GLOBAL BRAIN RHYTHM DOMINANTLY WITH HIGH-FREQUENCY CEREBRAL ACTIVATION AND INITIATES APPROPRIATE INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION IN BRAIN RHYTHMS AS STATE EFFECTS. THIS SUGGESTS THAT SKY LEADS TO BETTER ATTENTION, MEMORY, AND EMOTIONAL AND AUTONOMIC CONTROL ALONG WITH ENHANCED COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, WHICH FINALLY IMPROVES PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING. 2020 15 1399 30 IMPACT OF YOGA NIDRA ON MENSTRUAL ABNORMALITIES IN FEMALES OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE. OBJECTIVES: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO OBSERVE THE EFFECT OF YOGA NIDRA PRACTICE ON HORMONE LEVELS IN PATIENTS WHO HAD MENSTRUAL IRREGULARITIES. DESIGN: THE STUDY WAS A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTINGS/LOCATION: THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY AT CHHATRAPATI SAHUJI MAHARAJ MEDICAL UNIVERSITY, UTTAR PRADESH, LUCKNOW, INDIA. SUBJECTS WERE DIVIDED RANDOMLY INTO 2 GROUPS-AN INTERVENTION AND A CONTROL GROUP, WITH 75 SUBJECTS IN EACH GROUP. OF THESE SUBJECTS, 126 COMPLETED THE STUDY PROTOCOL. SUBJECTS: THIS STUDY INVOLVED 150 SUBJECTS WITH MENSTRUAL IRREGULARITIES; 126 OF WHOM COMPLETED THE PROTOCOL. INTERVENTIONS: THE INTERVENTION WAS THE PRACTICE OF YOGA NIDRA. THE YOGIC INTERVENTION DURATION WAS 35-40 MINUTES/DAY, FIVE TIMES/WEEK FOR 6 MONTHS. AN ESTIMATION OF HORMONAL PROFILE WAS DONE FOR BOTH GROUPS AT BASELINE AND AFTER 6 MONTHS. RESULTS: THYROID-STIMULATING HORMONE (P<0.002), FOLLICLE-STIMULATING HORMONE (P<0.02), LUTEINIZING HORMONE (P<0.001), AND PROLACTIN (P<0.02) WERE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP, COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THE PRESENT STUDY DEMONSTRATED THE EFFICACY OF YOGA NIDRA ON HORMONE PROFILES IN PATIENTS WITH MENSTRUAL IRREGULARITIES. YOGA NIDRA PRACTICE WAS HELPFUL IN PATIENTS WITH HORMONE IMBALANCES, SUCH AS DYSMENORRHEA, OLIGOMENORRHEA, MENORRHAGIA, METRORRHAGIA, AND HYPOMENORRHEA. 2013 16 385 30 BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA STRETCHING ON SALIVARY STRESS HORMONES AND PARASYMPATHETIC NERVE ACTIVITY. THIS STUDY AIMED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF YOGA STRETCHING ON SALIVARY STRESS HORMONES AND CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, THIS STUDY IS THE FIRST TO INVESTIGATE CHANGES IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM AFTER YOGA STRETCHING. IN THIS CROSSOVER DESIGN STUDY, 10 ADULT MEN (AGE, 26.3 +/- 2.5 YEARS) WITHOUT YOGA EXPERIENCE PARTICIPATED IN THE REST AND YOGA TRIALS FOR 90 MIN. MEASUREMENTS WERE CARRIED OUT BEFORE (PRE), IMMEDIATELY (POST), 60 MIN, AND 120 MIN AFTER REST OR YOGA STRETCHING. SALIVA SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED BY CHEWING A STERILE COTTON BALL AT A FREQUENCY OF 60 CYCLES PER MINUTE. SALIVARY CORTISOL AND TESTOSTERONE CONCENTRATIONS WERE MEASURED USING AN ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY. WITH THE SUBJECTS IN THE SITTING POSITION, HEART RATE VARIABILITY WAS MEASURED USING PULSE ANALYZER PLUS FOR 150 SECONDS. AS REGARDS RATE CHANGES, SALIVARY TESTOSTERONE LEVEL TENDED TO INCREASE (P = 0.088), TESTOSTERONE/CORTISOL RATIO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (P < 0.05), AND CORTISOL LEVEL SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED (P < 0.05) AT 120 MIN AFTER YOGA STRETCHING. THE SQUARE ROOT OF THE MEAN-SQUARED DIFFERENCES OF SUCCESSIVE NORMAL-TO-NORMAL INTERVALS AND NATURAL LOGARITHM HIGH-FREQUENCY COMPONENT, WHICH ARE INDICATORS OF PARASYMPATHETIC NERVE ACTIVITY, INCREASED AT 60 MIN (P < 0.05) AND 120 MIN (P < 0.05) IN THE YOGA TRIAL, RESPECTIVELY. IN CONCLUSION, YOGA STRETCHING CAN ENHANCE PARASYMPATHETIC NERVE ACTIVITY AND IMPROVE STRESS HORMONES. THEREFORE, YOGA STRETCHING MAY BE USEFUL TO COMPENSATE FOR PHYSICAL INACTIVITY AND INCREASE LIFE EXPECTANCY IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. 2020 17 417 36 BODY TEMPERATURE IN PRACTITIONERS OF A YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUE CONSIDERED TO BE HEAT GENERATING. CONTEXT: SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA IS TRADITIONALLY DESCRIBED AS "INCREASING THE INNER FIRE" AND IS BELIEVED TO BE HEAT GENERATING. AIMS: THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED AT DETERMINING WHETHER THE SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE WOULD INCREASE AFTER SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA PRACTICE COMPARED WITH SITTING QUIETLY FOR THE SAME DURATION AS A CONTROL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: NINETEEN PARTICIPANTS WITH EXPERIENCE OF SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA PRACTICE (GROUP MEAN EXPERIENCE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION, 30.2 +/- 22.8 MONTHS) WERE ASSESSED IN 3 SESSIONS ON SEPARATE DAYS. THE SESSIONS WERE (I) SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA WITH PHYSIOLOGICAL LOCKS OR BREATH RETENTION, (II) SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA WITHOUT PHYSIOLOGICAL LOCKS OR BREATH RETENTION, AND (III) QUIET SITTING (CONTROL SESSION). THE AXILLARY SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE WAS MONITORED IN ALL THREE SESSIONS BEFORE (5 MIN), DURING (15 MIN), AND AFTER (5 MIN) THE INTERVENTION. AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY IN THE RECORDING CABIN USED FOR TESTING WERE NOTED. FROM THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY, THE HEAT INDEX WAS DERIVED. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSES OF VARIANCE WERE PERFORMED TO COMPARE VALUES BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE 3 SESSIONS, USING SPSS VERSION 24.0. RESULTS: THE SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE INCREASED DURING AND AFTER SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA WITH PHYSIOLOGICAL LOCKS (P < 0.001; P < 0.001), SURYABHEDA PRANAYAMA WITHOUT PHYSIOLOGICAL LOCKS (P < 0.01; P < 0.001), AND QUIET SITTING (P < 0.001; P < 0.001) COMPARED TO THE RESPECTIVE BEFORE VALUES. CONCLUSION: THE CONTROL (I.E., QUIET SITTING) AND EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS (I.E., SURYABHEDA WITH LOCKS AND SURYABHEDA WITHOUT LOCKS) SHOWED A COMPARABLE INCREASE IN THE SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE. HENCE, THE INCREASE IN SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE DURING AND AFTER EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO THE PRANAYAMA TECHNIQUES. THE POSSIBLE FACTORS WHICH MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO INCREASED SURFACE BODY TEMPERATURE IN THE CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED. 2020 18 1826 28 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF LAUGHTER YOGA SESSIONS IN JAPAN: A PILOT STUDY. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PILOT STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE AND EVALUATE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF MULTIPLE SESSIONS OF LAUGHTER YOGA ON COMMUNITY MEMBERS. PARTICIPANTS TOOK PART IN A 45 MIN LAUGHTER YOGA SESSION ONCE PER MONTH FOR 6 MONTHS. BEFORE AND AFTER ALL SESSIONS, PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED THE PROFILE OF MOOD STATES-BRIEF JAPANESE VERSION (J-POMS-B) QUESTIONNAIRE TO ASSESS THEIR MOOD, AND HAD BLOOD DRAWN FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF STRESS INDICATORS AND IMMUNE FUNCTION. SERIAL CHANGES IN J-POMS-B SCORES WERE TESTED BY THREE WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE, AND CHANGES IN LABORATORY RESULTS PER SESSION WERE EVALUATED WITH A PAIRED T-TEST. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT REPEATED SESSIONS OF LAUGHTER YOGA HAD PSYCHOLOGICALLY BENEFICIAL EFFECTS, ESPECIALLY ON THE ASPECTS OF TENSION-ANXIETY, AND VIGOR. ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE AND CORTISOL VALUES RELATED TO THE PARTICIPANTS' STRESS LEVELS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED AFTER THE FOURTH LAUGHTER YOGA SESSION. THESE RESULTS INDICATED THAT MULTIPLE LAUGHTER YOGA SESSIONS APPEARED TO BE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL STATUS OF HEALTHY ADULTS. 2018 19 1761 34 POSITIVE THERAPEUTIC AND NEUROTROPIC EFFECTS OF YOGA IN DEPRESSION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY. CONTEXT: THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF YOGA IN DEPRESSION IS RECOGNIZED. NEUROPLASTIC EFFECTS OF ANTIDEPRESSANT THERAPIES ARE INFERRED BY ELEVATIONS IN BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF). ROLE OF YOGA IN BOTH THESE EFFECTS HAS NOT BEEN STUDIED. MATERIALS AND METHODS: NON-SUICIDAL, CONSECUTIVE OUT-PATIENTS OF DEPRESSION WERE OFFERED YOGA EITHER ALONE OR WITH ANTIDEPRESSANTS. THE DEPRESSION SEVERITY WAS RATED ON HAMILTON DEPRESSION RATING SCALE (HDRS) BEFORE AND AT 3 MONTHS. SERUM BDNF LEVELS WERE MEASURED AT THE SAME TIME POINTS. REPEATED-MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WAS PERFORMED TO LOOK AT CHANGE ACROSS GROUPS WITH RESPECT TO HDRS SCORES AND BDNF LEVELS OVER 3 MONTHS OF FOLLOW-UP. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHANGE IN SERUM BDNF LEVELS AND CHANGE IN HDRS SCORES WAS ASSESSED USING THE PEARSON'S CORRELATION COEFFICIENT. RESULTS: BOTH YOGA GROUPS WERE BETTER THAN DRUGS-ONLY GROUP WITH RESPECT TO REDUCTION IN HDRS SCORES. SERUM BDNF ROSE IN THE TOTAL SAMPLE IN THE 3-MONTH PERIOD. THIS WAS NOT, HOWEVER, DIFFERENT ACROSS TREATMENT GROUPS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN FALL IN HDRS AND RISE IN SERUM BDNF LEVELS IN YOGA-ONLY GROUP (R=0.702; P=0.001), BUT NOT IN THOSE RECEIVING YOGA AND ANTIDEPRESSANTS OR ANTIDEPRESSANTS-ALONE. CONCLUSIONS: NEUROPLASTIC MECHANISMS MAY BE RELATED TO THE THERAPEUTIC MECHANISMS OF YOGA IN DEPRESSION. 2013 20 1549 35 LAUGHTER YOGA REDUCES THE CORTISOL RESPONSE TO ACUTE STRESS IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. STRESS IS ONE OF THE FOREMOST CONTRIBUTORS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHIATRIC DISEASES. SINCE THE PREVALENCE OF STRESS-RELATED COMPLAINTS IS INCREASING, WE ARE IN NEED FOR AFFORDABLE AND EFFECTIVE TREATMENT ALTERNATIVES. LAUGHTER YOGA (LY), A POPULAR METHOD ENCOURAGING PARTICIPANTS TO SIMULATE LAUGHTER AND PARTICIPATE IN YOGIC BREATHING EXERCISES, IS HYPOTHESIZED TO BUFFER NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF STRESS. ALTHOUGH WIDELY PRACTICED, EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FOR BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF LY IS SCARCE. WE INVESTIGATED THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF A SINGLE 30-MIN LY SESSION ON THE AUTONOMIC, ENDOCRINE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO A STANDARDIZED PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESSOR. THIRTY-FIVE HEALTHY SUBJECTS (51% FEMALE) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EXPERIENCE EITHER A LY (N = 11), A RELAXATION BREATHING (N = 12) OR A (NON-INTERVENTION) CONTROL (N = 12) SESSION PRIOR TO THEIR EXPOSURE TO THE TRIER SOCIAL STRESS TEST FOR GROUPS (TSST-G). SALIVARY CORTISOL, SALIVARY ALPHA AMYLASE, AND SUBJECTIVE STRESS WERE ASSESSED REPEATEDLY THROUGHOUT THE EXPERIMENT. WE EXPECTED THAT LY AND RELAXATION BREATHING GROUP EACH SHOW A DOWNREGULATION OF STRESS RESPONSE INDICES COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. FURTHER, WE EXPECTED THAT LY HAS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS COMPARED TO RELAXATION BREATHING. THE GROUPS DID NOT DIFFER IN SALIVARY CORTISOL, ALPHA AMYLASE OR SUBJECTIVE STRESS REACTIVITY DURING THE 30-MIN INTERVENTION. HOWEVER, IN RESPONSE TO THE TSST-G, THE LY, BUT NEITHER THE RELAXATION BREATHING, NOR THE CONTROL CONDITION, SHOWED AN ATTENUATED CORTISOL STRESS RESPONSE. THESE FINDINGS HIGHLIGHT THE POTENTIAL OF LY TO BUFFER THE ENDOCRINE STRESS RESPONSE. THEREFORE, LY COULD BE USED AS A CHEAP AND EASILY-TO-IMPLEMENT ADD-ON TO MORE TRADITIONAL STRESS INTERVENTIONS. LAY SUMMARY IN RECENT YEARS, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED TO FEEL STRESSED. ALTHOUGH OUR BODY IS WELL EQUIPPED TO DEAL WITH ACUTE STRESS, CHRONIC STRESS CAN TIRE OUR SYSTEM AND CONTRIBUTE TO ILLNESS IN THE LONG RUN. THEREFORE, WE NEED AFFORDABLE AND EFFECTIVE MEASURES TO REDUCE STRESS. IN THIS STUDY WE HAVE INVESTIGATED WHETHER A SINGLE LAUGHTER YOGA SESSION CAN HELP US TO DEAL WITH ACUTE STRESS. ALTHOUGH LAUGHTER YOGA DID NOT CHANGE HOW STRESSFUL A SITUATION WAS PERCEIVED, IT REDUCED THE AMOUNT OF STRESS HORMONES THAT WERE RELEASED IN RESPONSE TO THE SITUATION. AS SUCH, LAUGHTER YOGA MIGHT BE A CHEAP AND EASILY-TO-IMPLEMENT ADD-ON TO MORE TRADITIONAL STRESS REDUCTION INTERVENTIONS. 2021