1 497 153 COMBINED AYURVEDA AND YOGA PRACTICES FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: A CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: THE INCREASING PREVALENCE OF TYPE 2 DIABETES IN INDIA IS A CAUSE FOR NATIONAL CONCERN, PARTICULARLY THE SPIRALING COST BURDEN TO THE COUNTRY. AS ONE APPROACH TO STOP ITS INCREASE, YOGA MEDICINE HAS BEEN WIDELY IMPLEMENTED, FINDING POPULARITY WITH ALL SOCIAL STRATA. HERE, WE REPORT A STUDY SUGGESTING THAT TREATMENT WITH FRESH HERBAL JUICES AND YOGA CAN IMPROVE THE LEVELS OF BLOOD GLUCOSE AND HEMOGLOBIN A1C (HBA1C) IN PEOPLE WITH PRE-DIABETES. METHODS: STUDY DESIGN: 3-ARM CONTROLLED TRIAL 3 MONTHS IN DURATION. PARTICIPANTS: 157 MALE PRISONERS WITH NEWLY DIAGNOSED, HIGH FASTING BLOOD SUGAR (FBS) AND POSTPRANDIAL BLOOD SUGAR (PPBS) LEVELS. GROUP INTERVENTIONS: (1) RASAHARA AND YOGA, (2) YOGA, (3) NO INTERVENTION. ASSESSMENTS: FBS AND PPBS LEVELS WERE MEASURED EVERY 2 WEEKS; HBA1C AND BLOOD LIPIDS WERE DETERMINED PRE- AND POST-INTERVENTION. RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT DECREASES OCCURRED IN THE FBS (-21.13 +/- 21.16 MG/DL) AND PPBS LEVELS (-15.02 +/- 14.89 MG/DL) IN GROUP 1 (BOTH P < 0.0001) AND IN THE FBS LEVEL (20.62 +/- 32.68 MG/DL) IN GROUP 2 (P = 0.0005), WHILE THE INCREASES IN GROUP 3 ATTAINED SIGNIFICANCE ONLY FOR THE PPBS LEVEL (9.62 +/- 21.83 MG/DL) (P = 0.0022). OBSERVED CHANGES IN HBA1C WERE: GROUP 1, -0.044 +/- 0.059 MG/DL; GROUP 2, +0.024 +/- 0.456 MG/DL (NOT SIGNIFICANT); AND GROUP 3, +0.365 +/- 0.369 MG/DL (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY OF YOGA FOR THE TREATMENT OF DIABETES SHOWS THAT ALL MALE PRISONERS COULD BENEFIT FROM THE YOGA PRISON PROGRAMS. ADDITION OF YOGA PROGRAMS TO STATE AND FEDERAL ACTIVITIES AT ALL LEVELS IS NOW NATIONAL POLICY IN INDIA. FOLLOW-UP STUDIES SHOULD BE CARRIED OUT TO OBTAIN MORE ROBUST RESULTS. 2018 2 1985 16 SOME THOUGHTS ON NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF YOGA. YOGA PRESENTS THE CULMINATION OF EFFORTS MADE BY MANKIND TILL NOW CONTROL MIND AND BEHAVIOUR. IT IS LIVING SCIENCE, PRACTICED IN AN ELEMENTARY FASHION BY MANY IN INDIA. WHILE A FEW PERHAPS ARE THERE WHO HAVE ATTAINED MASTERY OF THIS SCIENCE.THE BACKGROUND OF THE DERIVATION AND CONCEPT OF YOGA IN INDIA IS PRESENTED FOLLOWED BY A SIMPLE EXPOSITION OF YOGIC PRACTICES AND SOME POSSIBLE NEUROPHYSIOLOGIC EXPLANATIONS. RESEARCH IN YOGA WILL BE REWARDING AS IT GIVES MEANS OF EXPLORING AND ENLARGING THE FUNCTIONS OF THE HUMAN BRAIN. 1981 3 7 26 "I WOULD JUST FEEL REALLY RELAXED AND AT PEACE": FINDINGS FROM A PILOT PRISON YOGA PROGRAM IN AUSTRALIA. INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR YOGA AS A WELL-BEING INTERVENTION IN PRISON. NO SYSTEMATIC RESEARCH HAS BEEN UNDERTAKEN IN AUSTRALIA TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRISON YOGA PROGRAMS. IN 2017, THE AUTHORS, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY (ACT) CORRECTIVE SERVICES AND THE YOGA FOUNDATION, INTRODUCED A WEEKLY PILOT YOGA PROGRAM AT THE ACT PRISON. THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE FINDINGS FROM THE PROGRAM. ALTHOUGH THE SMALL SAMPLE SIZE (N = 8) IS ACKNOWLEDGED, OUR FINDINGS INDICATE THAT PARTICIPANTS ATTAINED STATISTICALLY AND CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT FROM THE PROGRAM, DEMONSTRATED BY IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR LEVELS OF DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, SELF-ESTEEM, GOAL-DIRECTION, NEGATIVE AFFECT, AND NON-ACCEPTANCE. THEY ALSO REPORTED IMPROVED FLEXIBILITY, SLEEP AND RELAXATION, PAIN REDUCTION, AND IDENTIFIED IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR MENTAL WELL-BEING, COMMENTING THAT THE PROGRAM MADE THEM FEEL "CALM" AND "AT PEACE." THE ARTICLE CONCLUDES BY ADVOCATING FOR THE EXPANSION OF SUCH PROGRAMS IN AUSTRALIAN PRISONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH ON SUCH PROGRAMS. 2019 4 504 35 COMMUNITY-DELIVERED HEATED HATHA YOGA AS A TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS: AN UNCONTROLLED PILOT STUDY. OBJECTIVES: THERE ARE NO KNOWN STUDIES OF CONCURRENT EXPOSURE TO HIGH TEMPERATURE AND YOGA FOR THE TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION. THIS STUDY EXPLORED ACCEPTABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF HEATED (BIKRAM) YOGA AS A TREATMENT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. DESIGN: AN 8-WEEK, OPEN-LABEL PILOT STUDY OF HEATED YOGA FOR DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. SUBJECTS: 28 MEDICALLY HEALTHY ADULTS (71.4% FEMALE, MEAN AGE 36 [STANDARD DEVIATION 13.57]) WITH AT LEAST MILD DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS (HAMILTON RATING SCALE FOR DEPRESSION [HRSD-17] SCORE >/=10) WHO ATTENDED AT LEAST ONE YOGA CLASS AND SUBSEQUENT ASSESSMENT VISIT. INTERVENTION: PARTICIPANTS WERE ASKED TO ATTEND AT LEAST TWICE WEEKLY COMMUNITY HELD BIKRAM YOGA CLASSES. ASSESSMENTS WERE PERFORMED AT SCREENING AND WEEKS 1, 3, 5, AND 8. HYPOTHESES WERE TESTED USING A MODIFIED-INTENT-TO-TREAT APPROACH, INCLUDING PARTICIPANTS WHO ATTENDED AT LEAST ONE YOGA CLASS AND SUBSEQUENT ASSESSMENT VISIT (N = 28). RESULTS: ALMOST HALF OF OUR SUBJECTS COMPLETED THE 8-WEEK INTERVENTION, AND CLOSE TO A THIRD ATTENDED THREE QUARTERS OR MORE OF THE PRESCRIBED 16 CLASSES OVER 8 WEEKS. MULTILEVEL MODELING REVEALED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS OVER TIME IN BOTH CLINICIAN-RATED HRSD-17 (P = 0.003; DGLMM = 1.43) AND SELF-REPORTED BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY (BDI; P < 0.001, DGLMM = 1.31) DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, AS WELL AS THE FOUR SECONDARY OUTCOMES: HOPELESSNESS (P = 0.024, DGLMM = 0.57), ANXIETY (P < 0.001, DGLMM = 0.78), COGNITIVE/PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING (P < 0.001, DGLMM = 1.34), AND QUALITY OF LIFE (P = 0.007, DGLMM = 1.29). OF 23 PARTICIPANTS WITH DATA THROUGH WEEK 3 OR LATER, 12 (52.2%) WERE TREATMENT RESPONDERS (>/=50% REDUCTION IN HRSD-17 SCORE), AND 13 (56.5%) ATTAINED REMISSION (HRSD SCORE