1 385 139 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 2 859 36 EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICE ON LEVELS OF INFLAMMATORY MARKERS AFTER MODERATE AND STRENUOUS EXERCISE. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICE AND EXERCISE CHALLENGE ON TUMOUR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA), INTERLEUKIN-6 (IL-6) LEVELS AND LIPID PROFILE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN SUBJECTS PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. ONE HUNDRED AND NINE VOLUNTEERS (51 MALES AND 58 FEMALES) IN THE AGE GROUP OF 20 TO 60 YEARS, WHO PRACTICED YOGA REGULARLY FOR OVER FIVE YEARS FOR A PERIOD OF ONE HOUR DAILY, PERFORMED A BOUT OF MODERATE EXERCISE AND A BOUT OF STRENUOUS EXERCISE AS PER STANDARDIZED SHUTTLE WALK TEST PROTOCOL. ANTHROPOMETRICALLY MATCHED, AGE MATCHED AND GENDER MATCHED SUBJECTS, WHO DID NOT PRACTICE YOGA (NON-YOGA GROUP) WERE CHOSEN AS CONTROLS (NON-YOGA, N=109). THE NON-YOGA GROUP ALSO PERFORMED SIMILAR EXERCISES. THE BLOOD SAMPLES OF BOTH THE GROUPS WERE COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE EXERCISES. TNF-ALPHA AND IL-6 WAS ANALYSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE EXERCISE BY SANDWICH ELISA (ENZYME LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY). RESULTS: RESTING PLASMA TNF-ALPHA CONCENTRATION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN NON-YOGA GROUP WHEN COMPARED TO YOGA GROUP (P<0.05). THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN TNF-ALPHA LEVELS IN BOTH THE GROUPS IN RESPONSE TO STRENUOUS EXERCISE. THERE WAS NO GENDER DIFFERENCE IN TNF-ALPHA AND IL-6 LEVELS BEFORE AND AFTER EXERCISE IN YOGA AND NON-YOGA GROUPS. CONCLUSION: REGULAR PRACTICE OF YOGA LOWERS BASAL TNF-ALPHA AND IL-6 LEVELS. IT ALSO REDUCES THE EXTENT OF INCREASE OF TNF-ALPHA AND IL-6 TO A PHYSICAL CHALLENGE OF MODERATE EXERCISE AND STRENUOUS EXERCISE. THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT GENDER DIFFERENCE IN THE TNF-ALPHA AND IL-6 LEVELS. REGULAR PRACTICE OF YOGA CAN PROTECT THE INDIVIDUAL AGAINST INFLAMMATORY DISEASES BY FAVOURABLY ALTERING PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE LEVELS. 2015 3 359 25 ASSOCIATION OF LEUKOCYTE TELOMERE LENGTH WITH OXIDATIVE STRESS IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVE: YOGA IS A MIND-BODY MODULATION TECHNIQUE THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON VARIOUS DISEASES RELATED TO VARIOUS SYSTEMS IN THE BODY. HOWEVER, THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF MECHANISM OF ACTION IS NOT CLEAR. HENCE, THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO STUDY THE LEUKOCYTE TELOMERE BIOLOGY AND ITS RELATION WITH HOMOCYSTEINE AND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS IS A PROSPECTIVE CASE-CONTROL STUDY INVOLVING YOGA PRACTITIONERS AGED 30-40 Y WITH MINIMUM OF TWO YEARS YOGA PRACTICE (YOGA GROUP) AND AGE, GENDER AND BODY MASS INDEX MATCHED SEDENTARY HEALTHY GENERAL POPULATION WITH NO MEDICAL PROBLEMS (CONTROL GROUP). LEUKOCYTE TELOMERE LENGTH (LTL) WAS MEASURED BY USING QUANTITATIVE PCR (QPCR), FASTING PLASMA HOMOCYSTEINE WAS MEASURED BY A RAPID HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY ASSAY AND THE OXIDATIVE STRESS WAS ASSESSED WITH TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT STATUS (TAOS), MALONDIALDEHYDE (MDA) MEASURED BY CALORIMETRY. RESULTS: THE LTL WAS SHORTER IN CONTROL GROUP THAN IN YOGA GROUP (P<0.001). THE TAOS WAS MORE IN YOGA GROUP WHEN COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP (P=0.008), MDA AND HOMOCYSTEINE WAS HIGH IN CONTROL GROUP WHEN COMPARED TO YOGA GROUP (P<0.001). FURTHER, THE LTL WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH TAOS (R=0.841, P<0.001) AND NEGATIVELY CORRELATED WITH MDA (R=-0.931, P<0.001) AND HOMOCYSTEINE (R=-0.756, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: THE LTL IS WELL-PRESERVED IN PEOPLE WHO PRACTICE YOGA REGULARLY WITH LOWER SYSTEMIC OXIDATIVE STRESS COMPARED TO THOSE WHO HAVE A RELATIVELY SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE DESPITE LACK OF ANY MEDICAL DISORDERS. THE HABITUAL YOGA PRACTICE SEEMS TO INHIBIT REPLICATIVE CELLULAR SENESCENCE. 2015 4 2778 38 YOGA STRETCHING FOR IMPROVING SALIVARY IMMUNE FUNCTION AND MENTAL STRESS IN MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS. PROTECTION AGAINST AGE-RELATED IMMUNE SUPPRESSION IS IMPORTANT IN ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS. THIS STUDY DETERMINED THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON MUCOSAL IMMUNE FUNCTION AND MENTAL STRESS. SALIVA SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED FROM 23 ADULT WOMEN (AGE: 60.4 +/- 10.4 YEARS) BEFORE AND AFTER 90 MINUTES OF YOGA STRETCHING OR REST TO MEASURE SECRETORY IMMUNOGLOBULIN A (SIGA), CORTISOL, AND TESTOSTERONE. THE SIGA CONCENTRATION AND SECRETION RATE WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER AFTER YOGA THAN BEFORE (P < .05). THE CORTISOL CONCENTRATION AND SECRETION RATE WERE LOWER AND TESTOSTERONE SECRETION RATE HIGHER AFTER YOGA (P < .05). YOGA STRETCHING CAN REDUCE STRESS AND ENHANCE MUCOSAL IMMUNE FUNCTION IN ELDERLY WOMEN. 2018 5 716 41 EFFECT OF INTEGRATED YOGA PRACTICES ON IMMUNE RESPONSES IN EXAMINATION STRESS - A PRELIMINARY STUDY. BACKGROUND: STRESS IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASED OCCURRENCE OF AUTONOMIC, CARDIOVASCULAR, AND IMMUNE SYSTEM PATHOLOGY. THIS STUDY WAS DONE TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF STRESS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS, AND IMMUNE SYSTEM DURING MEDICAL TERM -ACADEMIC EXAMINATION AND THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICES ON THE SAME. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT ON SIXTY FIRST-YEAR MBBS STUDENTS RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO YOGA GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP (30 EACH). THE YOGA GROUP UNDERWENT INTEGRATED YOGA PRACTICES FOR 35 MINUTES DAILY IN THE PRESENCE OF TRAINED YOGA TEACHER FOR 12 WEEKS. CONTROL GROUP DID NOT UNDERGO ANY KIND OF YOGA PRACTICE OR STRESS MANAGEMENT. PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS LIKE HEART RATE, RESPIRATORY RATE, AND BLOOD PRESSURE WERE MEASURED. GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF RECENT STRESS SCALE AND SPIELBERGERS STATE ANXIETY SCORE WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND DURING THE EXAMINATION. SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS, IL-4, AND IFN-GAMMA LEVELS WERE DETERMINED BY ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY TECHNIQUE. RESULT: IN THE YOGA GROUP, NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED IN PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS DURING THE EXAMINATION STRESS, WHEREAS IN THE CONTROL GROUP, A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE WAS OBSERVED. LIKEWISE, THE INDICATORS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS SHOWED HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN CONTROL GROUP COMPARED WITH SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN YOGA GROUP. DURING THE EXAMINATION, THE INCREASE IN SERUM CORTICAL AND DECREASE IN SERUM IFN-GAMMA IN YOGA GROUP WAS LESS SIGNIFICANT (P<0.01) THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUP (P<0.001). BOTH THE GROUPS DEMONSTRATED AN INCREASE IN SERUM IL-4 LEVELS, THE CHANGES BEING INSIGNIFICANT FOR THE DURATION OF THE STUDY. CONCLUSION: YOGA RESISTS THE AUTONOMIC CHANGES AND IMPAIRMENT OF CELLULAR IMMUNITY SEEN IN EXAMINATION STRESS. 2011 6 1562 44 LONGITUDINAL AND IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF KUNDALINI YOGA ON SALIVARY LEVELS OF CORTISOL AND ACTIVITY OF ALPHA-AMYLASE AND ITS EFFECT ON PERCEIVED STRESS. CONTEXT: STRESS IS DEFINED AS AN ALTERATION OF AN ORGANISM'S BALANCE IN RESPONSE TO A DEMAND PERCEIVED FROM THE ENVIRONMENT. DIVERSE METHODS EXIST TO EVALUATE PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE. A NONINVASIVE METHOD IS SALIVARY MEASUREMENT OF CORTISOL AND ALPHA-AMYLASE. A GROWING BODY OF EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT THE REGULAR PRACTICE OF YOGA WOULD BE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR STRESS. AIMS: TO DETERMINE THE KUNDALINI YOGA (KY) EFFECT, IMMEDIATE AND AFTER 3 MONTHS OF REGULAR PRACTICE, ON THE PERCEPTION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND THE SALIVARY LEVELS OF CORTISOL AND ALPHA-AMYLASE ACTIVITY. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: TO DETERMINE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PERCEIVED STRESS, LEVELS OF CORTISOL AND ALPHA-AMYLASE ACTIVITY IN SALIVA, AND COMPARE BETWEEN THE PARTICIPANTS TO KY CLASSES PERFORMED FOR 3 MONTHS AND A GROUP THAT DOES NOT PRACTICE ANY TYPE OF YOGA. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: THE TOTAL SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 26 PEOPLE BETWEEN 18 AND 45-YEAR-OLD; 13 TAKING PART IN KY CLASSES GIVEN AT THE FACULTY OF DENTISTRY, UNIVERSITY OF CHILE AND 13 CONTROLS. SALIVARY SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED, ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY WAS PERFORMED TO QUANTIFY CORTISOL AND KINETIC REACTION TEST WAS MADE TO DETERMINE ALPHA-AMYLASE ACTIVITY. PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE WAS APPLIED AT THE BEGINNING AND AT THE END OF THE INTERVENTION. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WAS APPLIED USING STATA V11.1 SOFTWARE. SHAPIRO-WILK TEST WAS USED TO DETERMINE DATA DISTRIBUTION. THE PAIRED ANALYSIS WAS FULFILLED BY T-TEST OR WILCOXON SIGNED-RANK TEST. T-TEST OR MANN-WHITNEY'S TEST WAS APPLIED TO COMPARE LONGITUDINAL DATA. A STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE WAS CONSIDERED WHEN P < 0.05. RESULTS: KY PRACTICE HAD AN IMMEDIATE EFFECT ON SALIVARY CORTISOL. THE ACTIVITY OF ALPHA-AMYLASE DID NOT SHOW SIGNIFICANT CHANGES. A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE OF PERCEIVED STRESS IN THE STUDY GROUP WAS FOUND. CONCLUSIONS: KY PRACTICE SHOWS AN IMMEDIATE EFFECT ON SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS AND ON PERCEIVED STRESS AFTER 3 MONTHS OF PRACTICE. 2017 7 1589 31 MEDITATION & YOGA: IMPACT ON OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE & DYSREGULATED SPERM TRANSCRIPTS IN MALE PARTNERS OF COUPLES WITH RECURRENT PREGNANCY LOSS. BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: RECURRENT PREGNANCY LOSS (RPL) IS ONE OF THE DEVASTATING COMPLICATIONS OF PREGNANCY AND CURRENT FOCUS LIES IN ADDRESSING THE MANAGEMENT OF PATERNAL FACTORS. DYSREGULATION IN SELECTIVE TRANSCRIPTS DELIVERED TO OOCYTE AT FERTILIZATION CAN RESULT IN PREGNANCY LOSSES AND ADVERSELY AFFECT EMBRYOGENESIS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION (YBLI) ON SEMINAL OXIDATIVE STRESS (OS), DNA DAMAGE AND SPERMATOZOAL TRANSCRIPT LEVELS. METHODS: THE PRESENT STUDY WAS A PART OF A PROSPECTIVE ONGOING EXPLORATORY STUDY AND 30 MALE PARTNERS OF COUPLES WITH RPL WERE INCLUDED FROM AUGUST 2016 TO JUNE 2017. SEMEN SAMPLES WERE OBTAINED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF YBLI (21 DAYS). GENE EXPRESSION ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED BY QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION ON SPERMATOZOAL FOXG1, SOX3, OGG1, PARP1, RPS6, RBM9, RPS17 AND RPL29. THE LEVELS OF SEMINAL OS AND SPERM DNA DAMAGE WAS ASSESSED BY MEASURING LEVELS OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) BY CHEMILUMINESCENCE AND DNA FRAGMENTATION INDEX (DFI) BY SPERM CHROMATIN STRUCTURE ASSAY. RESULTS: SOX3, OGG1 AND PARP1 WERE OBSERVED TO BE UPREGULATED, WHILE FOXG1, RPS6, RBM9, RPS17 AND RPL29 SHOWED DOWNREGULATION. A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN ROS LEVELS, AN INCREASE IN SPERM MOTILITY, SPERM COUNT (DONE TWICE) AND A DECREASE IN DFI WAS SEEN AFTER YBLI. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: ADOPTING YBLI MAY HELP IN A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE AND NORMALIZATION OF SPERM TRANSCRIPT LEVELS. THIS MAY NOT ONLY IMPROVE PREGNANCY OUTCOMES BUT ALSO IMPROVE THE HEALTH TRAJECTORY OF THE OFFSPRING. 2018 8 1392 27 IMPACT OF YOGA AND MEDITATION ON CELLULAR AGING IN APPARENTLY HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS: A PROSPECTIVE, OPEN-LABEL SINGLE-ARM EXPLORATORY STUDY. THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO EXPLORE THE IMPACT OF YOGA AND MEDITATION BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION (YMLI) ON CELLULAR AGING IN APPARENTLY HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. DURING THIS 12-WEEK PROSPECTIVE, OPEN-LABEL, SINGLE ARM EXPLORATORY STUDY, 96 APPARENTLY HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS WERE ENROLLED TO RECEIVE YMLI. THE PRIMARY ENDPOINTS WERE ASSESSMENT OF THE CHANGE IN LEVELS OF CARDINAL BIOMARKERS OF CELLULAR AGING IN BLOOD FROM BASELINE TO WEEK 12, WHICH INCLUDED DNA DAMAGE MARKER 8-HYDROXY-2'-DEOXYGUANOSINE (8-OH2DG), OXIDATIVE STRESS MARKERS REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS), AND TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY (TAC), AND TELOMERE ATTRITION MARKERS TELOMERE LENGTH AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY. THE SECONDARY ENDPOINTS WERE ASSESSMENT OF METABOTROPHIC BLOOD BIOMARKERS ASSOCIATED WITH CELLULAR AGING, WHICH INCLUDED CORTISOL, BETA-ENDORPHIN, IL-6, BDNF, AND SIRTUIN-1. AFTER 12 WEEKS OF YMLI, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTH THE CARDINAL BIOMARKERS OF CELLULAR AGING AND THE METABOTROPHIC BIOMARKERS INFLUENCING CELLULAR AGING COMPARED TO BASELINE VALUES. THE MEAN LEVELS OF 8-OH2DG, ROS, CORTISOL, AND IL-6 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER AND MEAN LEVELS OF TAC, TELOMERASE ACTIVITY, BETA-ENDORPHIN, BDNF, AND SIRTUIN-1 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (ALL VALUES P < 0.05) POST-YMLI. THE MEAN LEVEL OF TELOMERE LENGTH WAS INCREASED BUT THE FINDING WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT (P = 0.069). YMLI SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED THE RATE OF CELLULAR AGING IN APPARENTLY HEALTHY POPULATION. 2017 9 972 20 EFFECTS OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA PROGRAM IN MODULATING PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND RADIATION-INDUCED GENOTOXIC STRESS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING RADIOTHERAPY. EFFECTS OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA PROGRAM IN MODULATING PERCEIVED STRESS LEVELS, ANXIETY, AS WELL AS DEPRESSION LEVELS AND RADIATION-INDUCED DNA DAMAGE WERE STUDIED IN 68 BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING RADIOTHERAPY. TWO PSYCHOLOGICAL QUESTIONNAIRES--HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE (HADS) AND PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE (PSS)--AND DNA DAMAGE ASSAY WERE USED IN THE STUDY. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE HADS SCORES IN THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP, WHEREAS THE CONTROL GROUP DISPLAYED AN INCREASE IN THESE SCORES. MEAN PSS WAS DECREASED IN THE YOGA GROUP, WHEREAS THE CONTROL GROUP DID NOT SHOW ANY CHANGE PRE- AND POSTRADIOTHERAPY. RADIATION-INDUCED DNA DAMAGE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED IN BOTH THE YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS AFTER RADIOTHERAPY, BUT THE POSTRADIOTHERAPY DNA DAMAGE IN THE YOGA GROUP WAS SLIGHTLY LESS WHEN COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. AN INTEGRATED APPROACH OF YOGA INTERVENTION MODULATES THE STRESS AND DNA DAMAGE LEVELS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS DURING RADIOTHERAPY. 2007 10 324 26 ANTHROPOMETRIC, BIOCHEMICAL AND CLINICAL PARAMETERS IN CLIMACTERIC YOGA PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY AIMED TO EVALUATE ANTHROPOMETRIC, BIOCHEMICAL AND CLINICAL PARAMETERS IN CLIMACTERIC YOGA PRACTITIONERS. METHODS: THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED 108 CLIMACTERIC WOMEN. WE RECRUITED 28 WOMEN BETWEEN 40 AND 65 YEARS OLD WHO STARTED YOGA PRACTICES IN PREMENOPAUSE AND HAD ALREADY PRACTICED FOR AT LEAST 5 YEARS. AS CONTROLS, WE SELECTED 30 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (PA) PRACTITIONERS WHO HAD PRACTICED FOR AT LEAST 5 YEARS AND 50 SEDENTARY WOMEN IN THE SAME AGE RANGE. WE CONDUCED ANTHROPOMETRIC, BIOCHEMICAL AND BLOOD PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS. RESULTS: THE YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE THAN THE PA PRACTITIONERS AND SEDENTARY WOMEN. YOGA PRACTITIONERS ALSO HAD LOWER WEIGHT, BODY MASS INDEX, WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE, BODY FAT PERCENTAGE AND WAIST-TO-HEIGHT RATIO; HIGHER LEVELS OF HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL; LOWER LEVELS OF TRIGLYCERIDES, INSULIN, HOMEOSTASIS MODEL ASSESSMENT OF INSULIN RESISTANCE, URIC ACID, APOLIPOPROTEIN B AND HIGH-SENSITIVITY C-REACTIVE PROTEIN; AND LOWER FREQUENCY OF METABOLIC SYNDROME, LIPID ACCUMULATION PRODUCT, VISCERAL ADIPOSITY INDEX AND SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE THAN THE SEDENTARY WOMEN. CONCLUSION: YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAD LOWER GLUCOSE SERUM CONCENTRATIONS THAN THE PA PRACTITIONERS AND SEDENTARY WOMEN. OVERALL, THE YOGA GROUP ALSO HAD BETTER ANTHROPOMETRIC, BIOCHEMICAL AND CLINICAL VARIABLES THAN THE OTHER GROUPS. ALTHOUGH FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS REQUIRED, YOGA PRACTICE IN PREMENOPAUSE SEEMS TO BE BENEFICIAL FOR WOMEN WHEN THEY REACH MENOPAUSE. 2022 11 527 39 COMPARISON OF LYMPHOCYTE APOPTOTIC INDEX AND QUALITATIVE DNA DAMAGE IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND BREAST CANCER PATIENTS: A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS FOUND TO BE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING STRESS LEVELS AND RADIATION-INDUCED DNA DAMAGE, AND IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE, IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS AIMED AT COMPARING THE APOPTOTIC INDEX (AI) AND DNA DAMAGE OF ADVANCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS WITH THOSE OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL PILOT STUDY COMPARED THREE GROUPS (N = 9 EACH) OF AGE-MATCHED SUBJECTS VIZ. (1) CARCINOMA BREAST PATIENTS IN STAGE II OR III UNDERGOING RADIATION THERAPY AFTER COMPLETING THREE CYCLES OF CHEMOTHERAPY; (2) SENIOR YOGA PRACTITIONERS WHO WERE PRACTICING ASANAS, PRANAYAMA AND MEDITATION DAILY FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS; AND (3) NORMAL HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. PERIPHERAL BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES WERE ISOLATED, AND QUALITATIVE DNA DAMAGE (QDD) AND AI WERE EVALUATED BY SINGLE-CELL GEL ELECTROPHORESIS ASSAY. APPROXIMATELY 500 CELLS WERE COUNTED IN EACH CASE. NUMBER OF CELLS THAT WERE NORMAL, UNDERGOING APOPTOSIS, AND WITH DNA DAMAGE WERE CATEGORIZED AND PERCENTAGES WERE CALCULATED. RESULTS: DATA BEING NORMALLY DISTRIBUTED, ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) SHOWED SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION BETWEEN GROUPS IN AI (P = 0.016) AND QDD (P = 0.045). ON POST-HOC ANALYSIS USING SCHEFFE TEST, AI WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN NON-YOGA VOLUNTEERS AS COMPARED WITH THE BREAST CANCER GROUP (P = 0.019) AND QDD WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS WHEN COMPARED WITH NON-YOGA VOLUNTEERS (P = 0.047). CONCLUSION: CELLULAR DYSFUNCTION (QDD) REQUIRES RESTORATIVE MECHANISMS (AI) TO RESTORE THE SYSTEM TO A BALANCE. THE RESULTS OF THIS PILOT STUDY SHOW TRENDS, WHICH INDICATE THAT IN ILL-HEALTH, THERE IS INADEQUATE RESTORATIVE MECHANISMS (AI) ALTHOUGH DYSFUNCTION (QDD) IS HIGH. THROUGH REGULAR PRACTICE OF YOGA, CELLULAR DYSFUNCTION CAN BE LOWERED, THUS NECESSITATING REDUCED RESTORATIVE MECHANISMS. AI AND QDD COULD ALSO BE USEFUL INDICATORS FOR PREDICTING THE THREE ZONES OF HEALTH VIZ. DISEASE, HEALTH, AND POSITIVE HEALTH. 2013 12 986 26 EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA EXERCISE ON PLASMA MALONDIALDEHYDE CONCENTRATION AND SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE ACTIVITY IN FEMALE PATIENTS WITH SHOULDER PAIN. [PURPOSE] THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ANALYZE THE EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA EXERCISE ON PLASMA MALONDIALDEHYDE (MDA) CONCENTRATION AND SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE (SOD) ACTIVITY IN FEMALE PATIENTS WITH SHOULDER PAIN. [SUBJECTS] SUBJECTS COMPRISED 20 FEMALE PATIENTS WITH SHOULDER PAIN. [METHODS] SUBJECTS WERE DIVIDED INTO 2 GROUPS: A HATHA YOGA EXERCISE GROUP (N = 10) AND A CONTROL GROUP THAT PERFORMED NO EXERCISE (N = 10). THE SUBJECTS' BODY COMPOSITION, PLASMA MALONDIALDEHYDE CONCENTRATIONS, AND SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE ACTIVITIES WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER A 16-WEEK HATHA YOGA EXERCISE PROGRAM. [RESULTS] AFTER THE 16-WEEK HATHA YOGA EXERCISE PROGRAM, THE EXERCISE GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER PLASMA MDA CONCENTRATIONS THAN THE CONTROL GROUP. IN ADDITION, THE EXERCISE GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER PLASMA SOD ACTIVITY THAN THE CONTROL GROUP. [CONCLUSIONS] HATHA YOGA EXERCISE IMPROVES FLEXIBILITY, MUSCLE TONE AND STRENGTH, BALANCE, AND JOINT FUNCTION. OUR FINDINGS INDICATE THAT REGULAR AND CONTINUOUS YOGA EXERCISE EFFECTIVELY IMPROVED BODY COMPOSITION, DECREASE PLASMA MDA CONCENTRATION, AND INCREASE PLASMA SOD ACTIVITY IN FEMALE PATIENTS WITH SHOULDER PAIN. 2015 13 360 36 ASSOCIATION OF YOGA PRACTICE AND SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS IN CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS PATIENTS WITH STRESS-RELATED ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION. AIM: REDUCING THE PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS BY VARIOUS METHODS CAN IMPROVE OVERALL HEALTH, AND YOGA IS NOW CONSIDERED AS AN EASILY AVAILABLE ALTERNATIVE METHOD. THE PRESENT CROSS-SECTIONAL PILOT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED MAINLY TO FIND THE ASSOCIATION OF YOGA PRACTICE WITH PERIODONTAL DISEASE BY MEASURING SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 70 SUBJECTS WITH AGE RANGE OF 35-60 YEARS SUFFERING WITH CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS WERE DIVIDED INTO GROUP I (WITH STRESS), GROUP II (WITHOUT STRESS), AND GROUP III (PRACTICING YOGA). PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION WAS CARRIED OUT USING HAMILTON ANXIETY RATING SCALE (HAM-A) AND ZUNG SELF-RATING DEPRESSION SCALE (ZSDS). PERIODONTAL PARAMETERS LIKE PLAQUE INDEX (PI), PROBING POCKET DEPTH (PPD), AND CLINICAL ATTACHMENT LEVEL (CAL) AT 5-8 MM AND >8 MM WERE RECORDED. BLOOD SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED AND SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS WERE MEASURED. RESULTS: MEAN AGE, PLAQUE SCORES, AND NUMBER OF TEETH WITH PPD AND CAL AT 5-8 MM AND >8 MM WERE SIMILAR IN ALL THE GROUPS, EXCEPT BETWEEN GROUP I AND GROUP III WHERE A MULTIPLE COMPARISON WITH TUKEY'S POST-HOC TEST SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN PLAQUE INDEX (P < 0.038) AND THE NUMBER OF TEETH WITH CAL 5-8 MM (P < 0.016). SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS AND HAM-A SCALE AND ZSDS SCORES SHOWED HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT VALUE (P < 0.001) IN GROUP I SUBJECTS WHEN COMPARED WITH GROUP II AND GROUP III SUBJECTS. CONCLUSION: CROSS-SECTIONAL OBSERVATION DONE AMONG THREE GROUPS SHOWED THAT INDIVIDUALS PRACTICING YOGA REGULARLY HAD LOW SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS, HAM-A SCALE AND ZSDS SCORES, AND BETTER PERIODONTAL HEALTH. 2016 14 812 29 EFFECT OF YOGA ON CARDIAC AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION AND INSULIN RESISTANCE IN NON-DIABETIC OFFSPRING OF TYPE-2-DIABETES PARENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVE: THE PRESENT STUDY WAS AIMED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PROGRAM ON CARDIAC AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION AND INSULIN RESISTANCE IN NON-DIABETIC OFFSPRING OF DIABETES PARENTS. METHODS: A RANDOMIZED PASSIVE-CONTROLLED STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ON 64 NON-DIABETIC OFFSPRING OF TYPE-2-DIABETES PARENTS (MEAN-AGE:25.17YEARS). YOGA GROUP PARTICIPANTS RECEIVED YOGA TRAINING FOR 8 WEEKS. HEART-RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) INDICES: LOW FREQUENCY (LF), HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) AND LF/HF RATIO; FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE (FBG), ORAL GLUCOSE TOLERANCE TEST (OGTT) AND INSULIN RESISTANCE (IR) WERE ESTIMATED AT BASELINE AND AFTER 8-WEEKS OF INTERVENTION. RESULTS: WE FOUND A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN LF (P=0.005), LF/HF RATIO (P=0.004), IR (P<0.001), OGTT (P=0.003) AND INCREASE IN HF (P=0.022) IN YOGA GROUP PARTICIPANTS. CONTROL GROUP PARTICIPANTS DID NOT SHOW ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN ANY VARIABLES. CONCLUSIONS: IMPROVEMENT IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION AND INSULIN RESISTANCE BY YOGA TRAINING IMPLIES THAT YOGA CAN REDUCE THE RISK OF DEVELOPMENT OF DIABETES IN OFFSPRING OF DIABETES PARENTS. 2019 15 569 13 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 16 881 29 EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES AND C-REACTIVE PROTEIN IN EMPLOYEES OF SMALL-SCALE INDUSTRIES. OBJECTIVE: THE PRESENT STUDY INTENDS TO SEE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICES ON LIPID PROFILE, INTERLEUKIN (IL)-6, TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR (TNF)-ALPHA, AND HIGH-SENSITIVITY-C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (HS-CRP) AMONG APPARENTLY HEALTHY ADULTS EXPOSED TO OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: IN THE PRESENT STUDY, 48 PARTICIPANTS AGED 30-58 YEARS (41.5 +/- 5.2) WHO WERE EXPOSED TO OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS, THAT IS, EXPERIMENTAL AND WAIT-LIST CONTROL. ALL THE PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED FOR LIPID PROFILE, IL-6, TNF-ALPHA, AND HS-CRP AT THE BASELINE AND AFTER COMPLETION OF 3 MONTHS OF YOGA TRAINING INTERVENTION. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP UNDERWENT YOGA TRAINING INTERVENTION FOR 1 H FOR 6 DAYS A WEEK FOR 3 MONTHS, WHEREAS CONTROL GROUP CONTINUED WITH THEIR DAILY ACTIVITIES EXCEPT YOGA TRAINING. DATA ANALYSIS WAS DONE USING STATISTICAL SOFTWARE SPSS VERSION 20.0. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING PAIRED T-TESTS AND INDEPENDENT T-TEST. RESULTS: THE RESULTS OF WITHIN GROUP COMPARISON REVEALED HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN CHOLESTEROL (P < 0.001), HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (P < 0.001), LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (LDL)(P < 0.01), HS-CRP (P < 0.01), IL-6 (P < 0.001), AND TNF-ALPHA (P < 0.001) IN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. COMPARISON BETWEEN EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUP REVEALED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN CHOLESTEROL (P < 0.01), LDL (P < 0.05), IL-6 (P < 0.01), TNF-ALPHA (P < 0.01), AND HS-CRP (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: A YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION SEEMS TO BE A HIGHLY PROMISING ALTERNATIVE THERAPY WHICH FAVORABLY ALTERS INFLAMMATORY MARKERS AND METABOLIC RISK FACTORS. 2017 17 985 36 EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA AND OMKAR MEDITATION ON CARDIORESPIRATORY PERFORMANCE, PSYCHOLOGIC PROFILE, AND MELATONIN SECRETION. OBJECTIVES: TO EVALUATE EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA AND OMKAR MEDITATION ON CARDIORESPIRATORY PERFORMANCE, PSYCHOLOGIC PROFILE, AND MELATONIN SECRETION. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: THIRTY HEALTHY MEN IN THE AGE GROUP OF 25-35 YEARS VOLUNTEERED FOR THE STUDY. THEY WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED IN TWO GROUPS OF 15 EACH. GROUP 1 SUBJECTS SERVED AS CONTROLS AND PERFORMED BODY FLEXIBILITY EXERCISES FOR 40 MINUTES AND SLOW RUNNING FOR 20 MINUTES DURING MORNING HOURS AND PLAYED GAMES FOR 60 MINUTES DURING EVENING HOURS DAILY FOR 3 MONTHS. GROUP 2 SUBJECTS PRACTICED SELECTED YOGIC ASANAS (POSTURES) FOR 45 MINUTES AND PRANAYAMA FOR 15 MINUTES DURING THE MORNING, WHEREAS DURING THE EVENING HOURS THESE SUBJECTS PERFORMED PREPARATORY YOGIC POSTURES FOR 15 MINUTES, PRANAYAMA FOR 15 MINUTES, AND MEDITATION FOR 30 MINUTES DAILY, FOR 3 MONTHS. ORTHOSTATIC TOLERANCE, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, RESPIRATORY RATE, DYNAMIC LUNG FUNCTION (SUCH AS FORCED VITAL CAPACITY, FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME IN 1 SECOND, FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME PERCENTAGE, PEAK EXPIRATORY FLOW RATE, AND MAXIMUM VOLUNTARY VENTILATION), AND PSYCHOLOGIC PROFILE WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER 3 MONTHS OF YOGIC PRACTICES. SERIAL BLOOD SAMPLES WERE DRAWN AT VARIOUS TIME INTERVALS TO STUDY EFFECTS OF THESE YOGIC PRACTICES AND OMKAR MEDITATION ON MELATONIN LEVELS. RESULTS: YOGIC PRACTICES FOR 3 MONTHS RESULTED IN AN IMPROVEMENT IN CARDIORESPIRATORY PERFORMANCE AND PSYCHOLOGIC PROFILE. THE PLASMA MELATONIN ALSO SHOWED AN INCREASE AFTER THREE MONTHS OF YOGIC PRACTICES. THE SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, MEAN ARTERIAL PRESSURE, AND ORTHOSTATIC TOLERANCE DID NOT SHOW ANY SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION WITH PLASMA MELATONIN. HOWEVER, THE MAXIMUM NIGHT TIME MELATONIN LEVELS IN YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION (R = 0.71, P < 0.05) WITH WELL-BEING SCORE. CONCLUSION: THESE OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST THAT YOGIC PRACTICES CAN BE USED AS PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGIC STIMULI TO INCREASE ENDOGENOUS SECRETION OF MELATONIN, WHICH, IN TURN, MIGHT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPROVED SENSE OF WELL-BEING. 2004 18 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 19 2816 30 YOGA TRAINING IMPROVES METABOLIC PARAMETERS IN OBESE BOYS. YOGA HAS BEEN KNOWN TO HAVE STIMULATORY OR INHIBITORY EFFECTS ON THE METABOLIC PARAMETERS AND TO BE UNCOMPLICATED THERAPY FOR OBESITY. THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO TEST THE EFFECT OF AN 8-WEEK OF YOGA-ASANA TRAINING ON BODY COMPOSITION, LIPID PROFILE, AND INSULIN RESISTANCE (IR) IN OBESE ADOLESCENT BOYS. TWENTY VOLUNTEERS WITH BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) GREATER THAN THE 95TH PERCENTILE WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO YOGA (AGE 14.7+/-0.5 YEARS, N=10) AND CONTROL GROUPS (AGE 14.6+/-1.0 YEARS, N=10). THE YOGA GROUP PERFORMED EXERCISES THREE TIMES PER WEEK AT 40~60% OF HEART-RATE RESERVE (HRR) FOR 8 WEEKS. IR WAS DETERMINED WITH THE HOMEOSTASIS MODEL ASSESSMENT OF INSULIN RESISTANCE (HOMA-IR). AFTER YOGA TRAINING, BODY WEIGHT, BMI, FAT MASS (FM), AND BODY FAT % (BF %) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED, AND FAT-FREE MASS AND BASAL METABOLIC RATE WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THAN BASELINE VALUES. FM AND BF % WERE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP (P<0.05). TOTAL CHOLESTEROL (TC) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P<0.01). HDL-CHOLESTEROL WAS DECREASED IN BOTH GROUPS (P<0.05). NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE OBSERVED BETWEEN OR WITHIN GROUPS FOR TRIGLYCERIDES, LDL-CHOLESTEROL, GLUCOSE, INSULIN, AND HOMA-IR. OUR FINDINGS SHOW THAT AN 8-WEEK OF YOGA TRAINING IMPROVES BODY COMPOSITION AND TC LEVELS IN OBESE ADOLESCENT BOYS, SUGGESTING THAT YOGA TRAINING MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN CONTROLLING SOME METABOLIC SYNDROME FACTORS IN OBESE ADOLESCENT BOYS. 2012 20 2153 22 THE EFFECTS OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA ON SOME PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS IN MILD HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS. AN OPEN LABEL INTERVENTION STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN ON 26 MILD HYPERTENSIVES AND 26 APPARENTLY HEALTHY ADULTS (30-60 Y), FOR THE EFFECT OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA PRACTICE FOR TWO MONTHS AS COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY. IN THE HYPERTENSIVES, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (P < 0.01), SERUM UREA (P < 0.01) AND PLASMA MDA (MALONDIALDEHYDE ADDUCTS) AS OXIDATIVE STRESS MARKER (P < 0.05). OTHER PARAMETERS; VIZ.; PLASMA LEVELS OF CHOLESTEROL, TRIGLYCERIDES, GLUCOSE, DID NOT CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY (P > 0.1). THE PATTERN OF CHANGE IN MOST OF THE STUDY PARAMETERS WAS SUCH THAT VALUES ABOVE NORMAL RANGE WERE LOWERED BUT VALUES WITHIN NORMAL RANGE WERE UNALTERED. THE ACTION OF YOGA ON DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, MALONDIALDEHYDE ADDUCTS AND KIDNEY FUNCTION IN HYPERTENSIVES WAS OF COUNTERACTIVE NATURE AND FELT TO BE DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT THAN THE EFFECT OF DRUGS. 2011