1  993 50 EFFECTS OF HEATED AND THERMONEUTRAL YOGA INTERVENTIONS ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS. THE STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFICACY OF 12 WEEKS OF HEATED AND THERMONEUTRAL BIKRAM YOGA IN REDUCING ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS. FIFTY-FOUR SEDENTARY ADULTS (AGES 40-60 YEARS) COMPLETED 12 WEEKS OF YOGA AT 40.5 DEGREES C (N = 21), YOGA AT 23 DEGREES C (N = 14) OR TIME CONTROL (N = 19). BRACHIAL-ANKLE PULSE WAVE VELOCITY (PWV) WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY ALTERED BY HOT OR THERMONEUTRAL YOGA INTERVENTIONS.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
2 1045 36 EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS PRACTISED IN HEATED AND THERMONEUTRAL CONDITIONS ON ENDOTHELIUM-DEPENDENT VASODILATATION: THE BIKRAM YOGA HEART STUDY. NEW FINDINGS: WHAT IS THE CENTRAL QUESTION OF THIS STUDY? DOES THE HEATED PRACTICE ENVIRONMENT ENHANCE THE EFFECTS OF BIKRAM YOGA ON ENDOTHELIUM-DEPENDENT VASODILATATION IN HEALTHY, MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS? WHAT IS THE MAIN FINDING AND ITS IMPORTANCE? THE PRIMARY FINDING FROM THIS INVESTIGATION IS THAT THE HATHA YOGA POSTURES IN THE BIKRAM YOGA SERIES PRODUCE SIMILAR ENHANCEMENTS IN ENDOTHELIUM-DEPENDENT VASODILATATION IN HEALTHY, MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS REGARDLESS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TEMPERATURE. THESE FINDINGS HIGHLIGHT THE EFFICACY OF YOGA POSTURES IN PRODUCING IMPROVEMENTS IN VASCULAR HEALTH AND DOWNPLAY THE NECESSITY OF THE HEATED PRACTICE ENVIRONMENT IN INDUCING VASCULAR ADAPTATIONS. ABSTRACT: WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY DOCUMENTED IMPROVEMENTS IN ENDOTHELIUM-DEPENDENT VASODILATATION WITH A BIKRAM (HOT) YOGA INTERVENTION IN MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS. AT PRESENT, THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL TEMPERATURE IN HOT YOGA ON ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION IS UNKNOWN. THE PURPOSE OF THIS INVESTIGATION WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF BIKRAM YOGA INTERVENTIONS PERFORMED IN HEATED OR THERMONEUTRAL CONDITIONS ON ENDOTHELIUM-DEPENDENT VASODILATATION. FIFTY-TWO SEDENTARY BUT APPARENTLY HEALTHY ADULTS AGED 40-60 YEARS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO ONE OF THREE GROUPS: BIKRAM YOGA PRACTISED AT 40.5 DEGREES C (N = 19), BIKRAM YOGA PRACTISED AT 23 DEGREES C (N = 14) OR SEDENTARY TIME CONTROL (N = 19). THE YOGA INTERVENTIONS CONSISTED OF 90 MIN BIKRAM YOGA CLASSES THREE TIMES A WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. ENDOTHELIUM-DEPENDENT VASODILATATION WAS MEASURED NON-INVASIVELY USING BRACHIAL ARTERY FLOW-MEDIATED DILATATION (FMD). BODY FAT PERCENTAGE DETERMINED VIA DUAL-ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN THE HOT YOGA GROUP AFTER THE INTERVENTION THAN IN THE THERMONEUTRAL YOGA AND CONTROL CONDITIONS. BRACHIAL ARTERY FMD INCREASED (P < 0.05) IN THE THERMONEUTRAL YOGA GROUP AND TENDED TO INCREASE IN THE HOT YOGA GROUP (P = 0.056). NO CHANGES OCCURRED IN THE CONTROL GROUP. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN FMD CHANGE SCORES BETWEEN GROUPS. WE CONCLUDE THAT BIKRAM YOGA PRACTISED IN THERMONEUTRAL CONDITIONS IMPROVED ENDOTHELIUM-DEPENDENT VASODILATATION IN HEALTHY, MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS. THESE NEW FINDINGS HIGHLIGHT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HATHA YOGA POSTURES ALONE, IN THE ABSENCE OF A HEATED PRACTICE ENVIRONMENT, IN IMPROVING VASCULAR HEALTH AND ARE OF CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE GIVEN THE INCREASED PROPENSITY FOR HEAT INTOLERANCE IN AGEING ADULTS.	2018	

3 2076 22 THE EFFECT OF BIKRAM YOGA ON ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION IN YOUNG AND MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS INVESTIGATION WAS TO DETERMINE IF BIKRAM YOGA, A STYLE OF HEATED HATHA YOGA, WOULD IMPROVE ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION IN YOUNG AND MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER, HEALTHY ADULTS. THIS TRIAL WAS PERFORMED IN 36 YOUNG (N = 17) AND MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS (N = 19) WHO COMPLETED 3 WEEKLY BIKRAM YOGA CLASSES FOR 8 WEEKS. HEIGHT, BODY WEIGHT AND BODY COMPOSITION WERE DETERMINED AND ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION WAS MEASURED NONINVASIVELY USING BRACHIAL ARTERY FLOW-MEDIATED DILATION (FMD) BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION. NO CHANGES IN BODY WEIGHT, BMI OR BODY FAT PERCENTAGE OCCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE INTERVENTION IN EITHER GROUP. BRACHIAL ARTERY FMD WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER (P < 0.05) BUT NOT IN YOUNG ADULTS AS A RESULT OF THE INTERVENTION. THE RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THAT A RELATIVELY SHORT-TERM BIKRAM YOGA PRACTICE MIGHT SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION IN MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS. WHILE APPARENTLY HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS IN THIS STUDY EXPERIENCED NO ADVERSE EVENTS, THOSE WITH PREEXISTING CONDITIONS SHOULD TAKE CAUTION AND CONSULT WITH A PHYSICIAN PRIOR TO ENGAGING IN THIS STYLE OF YOGA.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
4 1944 14 SALT AND WATER BALANCE AFTER SWEAT LOSS: A STUDY OF BIKRAM YOGA. BIKRAM YOGA IS PRACTICED IN A ROOM HEATED TO 105 DEGREES F WITH 40% HUMIDITY FOR 90 MIN. DURING THE CLASS A LARGE VOLUME OF WATER AND ELECTROLYTES ARE LOST IN THE SWEAT, SPECIFICALLY, SODIUM IS LOST, THE MAIN CATION OF THE EXTRACELLULAR FLUID. THERE IS LITTLE KNOWN ABOUT THE VOLUME OF SWEAT AND THE AMOUNT OF SODIUM LOST IN SWEAT DURING BIKRAM YOGA OR THE OPTIMUM QUANTITY OF FLUID REQUIRED TO REPLACE THESE LOSSES. THE PARTICIPANTS WHO TOOK PART IN THIS SMALL FEASIBILITY STUDY WERE FIVE FEMALES WITH A MEAN AGE OF 47.4 +/- 4.7 YEARS AND 2.6 +/- 1.6 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AT BIKRAM YOGA. THE TOTAL BODY WEIGHT, WATER CONSUMED, SERUM SODIUM CONCENTRATION, SERUM OSMOLALITY, AND SERUM ALDOSTERONE LEVELS WERE ALL MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER A BIKRAM YOGA PRACTICE. SWEAT SODIUM CHLORIDE CONCENTRATION AND OSMOLALITY WERE MEASURED AT THE END OF THE PRACTICE. THE MEAN ESTIMATED SWEAT LOSS WAS 1.54 +/- 0.65 L, WHILE THE AMOUNT OF WATER CONSUMED DURING BIKRAM YOGA WAS 0.38 +/- 0.22 L. EVEN THOUGH ONLY 25% OF THE SWEAT LOSS WAS REPLENISHED WITH WATER INTAKE DURING THE BIKRAM YOGA CLASS, WE DID NOT OBSERVE A CHANGE IN SERUM SODIUM LEVELS OR SERUM OSMOLALITY. THE SWEAT CONTAINED 82 +/- 16 MMOL/L OF SODIUM CHLORIDE FOR AN ESTIMATED TOTAL OF 6.8 +/- 2.1 G OF SODIUM CHLORIDE LOST IN THE SWEAT. THE SERUM ALDOSTERONE INCREASED 3.5-FOLD FROM BEFORE TO AFTER BIKRAM YOGA. THERE WAS A DECREASE IN THE EXTRACELLULAR BODY FLUID COMPARTMENT OF 9.7%. SWEAT LOSS IN BIKRAM YOGA PREDOMINATELY PRODUCED A VOLUME DEPLETION RATHER THAN THE DEHYDRATION OF BODY FLUIDS. THE SWEATING-STIMULATED RISE IN SERUM ALDOSTERONE LEVELS WILL LEAD TO INCREASED SODIUM REABSORPTION FROM THE KIDNEY TUBULES AND RESTORE THE EXTRACELLULAR FLUID VOLUME OVER THE NEXT 24 HR.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
5 2258 18 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO BIKRAM YOGA IN NOVICE AND EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS. CONTEXT: BIKRAM YOGA HAS GAINED A LARGE FOLLOWING, POSSIBLY BECAUSE OF WIDESPREAD CLAIMS BOASTING ENERGY EXPENDITURE OF UP TO 1000 CALORIES PER SESSION. HOWEVER, THESE CLAIMS ARE UNFOUNDED BECAUSE NO SCIENTIFIC STUDY HAS INVESTIGATED THE METABOLIC RESPONSE TO A COMPLETE, STANDARDIZED BIKRAM YOGA CLASS. OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY INTENDS TO DETERMINE ENERGY EXPENDITURE, HEART RATE, AND SWEAT RATE IN NOVICE AND EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS FROM A STANDARDIZED BIKRAM YOGA CLASS. SETTING: DATA WERE COLLECTED IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMBER OF THE EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY AT SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY IN CALIFORNIA, USA. PARTICIPANTS: MALE (N = 5) AND FEMALE (N = 19) PARTICIPANTS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18 AND 57 Y WERE RECRUITED THROUGH FLYERS IN YOGA STUDIOS THROUGHOUT SAN DIEGO. PARTICIPANTS WERE CLASSIFIED AS EXPERIENCED OR NOVICE PRACTITIONERS, HAVING COMPLETED >/=20 OR <20 SESSIONS, RESPECTIVELY. INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS WERE GUIDED THROUGH A STANDARDIZED 90-MIN YOGA CLASS PERFORMED IN A HOT ENVIRONMENT USING BIKRAM'S STANDARD BEGINNING DIALOGUE, WHILE EXPIRED GAS WAS COLLECTED AND HEART RATE WAS RECORDED. OUTCOME MEASURES: ENERGY EXPENDITURE, CALCULATED VIA OXYGEN UPTAKE, AND HEART RATE WERE DETERMINED FOR EACH POSTURE AND TRANSITION PERIOD. IN ADDITION, SWEAT RATE AND CORE TEMPERATURE WERE RECORDED FOR EACH PARTICIPANT. RESULTS: MEAN (+/-SD) RELATIVE VO2 FOR THE ENTIRE 90-MIN SESSION WAS 9.5 +/- 1.9 ML X KG-1 X MIN-1, RANGING FROM 6.0 TO 12.9 ML X KG-1 X MIN-1. MEAN ABSOLUTE ENERGY EXPENDITURE WAS 286 +/- 72 KCALS, RANGING FROM 179 TO 478 KCALS. INDEPENDENT SAMPLE T TESTS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES (P < .05) IN RELATIVE ENERGY EXPENDITURE, HEART RATE, ENDING CORE TEMPERATURE, AND SWEAT RATE BETWEEN EXPERIENCE LEVELS. MEAN RELATIVE ENERGY EXPENDITURE WAS 3.7 +/- 0.5 KCAL/KG IN NOVICE PRACTITIONERS AND 4.7 +/- 0.8 KCAL/KG IN EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS. PERCENTAGE OF PREDICTED MAXIMUM HEART RATE AND SWEAT RATE WERE 72.3% +/- 10.6% AND 0.6 +/- 0.2 KG/H IN NOVICE PRACTITIONERS AND 86.4% +/- 5.2% AND 1.1 +/- 0.5 KG/H IN EXPERIENCED PARTICIPANTS. ALL POSTURES WERE CLASSIFIED AS LIGHT-TO-MODERATE INTENSITY ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SPORTS MEDICINE (ACSM) STANDARDS. CONCLUSIONS: BIKRAM YOGA MEETS REQUIREMENTS FOR EXERCISE OF LIGHT-TO-MODERATE INTENSITY AND, THEORETICALLY, COULD BE USED FOR WEIGHT MAINTENANCE OR WEIGHT LOSS IF PRACTICED SEVERAL TIMES PER WEEK.	2014	
                                                                                    
6 2075 26 THE EFFECT OF BIKRAM YOGA ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN YOUNG AND OLDER ADULTS. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: BIKRAM YOGA IS THE MOST POPULAR FORM OF HOT YOGA, DESPITE THE LIMITED INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON ITS CARDIOVASCULAR BENEFITS. THIS STUDY SOUGHT TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF BIKRAM YOGA ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS AND INSULIN RESISTANCE IN YOUNG AND OLDER ADULTS. METHODS: TWENTY-FOUR YOUNG (MEAN AGE+/-STANDARD DEVIATION, 30+/-1 YEARS) AND 18 MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER (MEAN AGE, 53+/-2 YEARS) ADULTS COMPLETED AN 8-WEEK BIKRAM YOGA INTERVENTION. BIKRAM YOGA CLASSES WERE PERFORMED FOR 90 MINUTES PER SESSION, THREE TIMES PER WEEK, IN A ROOM HEATED TO 40.5 DEGREES C WITH 40%--60% RELATIVE HUMIDITY. RESULTS: BODY MASS, BODY FAT PERCENTAGE, BLOOD PRESSURE, AND FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE AND TRIGLYCERIDE CONCENTRATIONS DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGE AS A RESULT OF THE INTERVENTION IN EITHER THE YOUNG OR THE OLDER GROUP. TRUNK FLEXIBILITY, AS MEASURED BY THE SIT-AND-REACH TEST, INCREASED IN BOTH GROUPS (P<0.01). TOTAL (P<0.05) AND LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL (P<0.05) LEVELS, PLASMA INSULIN CONCENTRATIONS (P<0.01), AND SCORES ON THE HOMEOSTATIC MODEL OF THE ASSESSMENT OF INSULIN RESISTANCE (P<0.01) DECREASED IN OLDER ADULTS, WHEREAS TOTAL AND HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL CONCENTRATIONS WERE REDUCED IN YOUNG ADULTS (ALL P<0.05). CAROTID ARTERY COMPLIANCE (P<0.05) WAS INCREASED AND BETA-STIFFNESS INDEX DECREASED IN YOUNG (P<0.05) BUT NOT IN OLDER ADULTS. CAROTID PULSE PRESSURE DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGE IN EITHER GROUP. CONCLUSION: A RELATIVELY SHORT-TERM BIKRAM YOGA INTERVENTION IMPROVED ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN YOUNG BUT NOT OLDER ADULTS AND SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED INSULIN RESISTANCE INDEX IN OLDER BUT NOT YOUNG ADULTS.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
7 1377 24 IMPACT OF HOT YOGA ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN NORMAL AND OVERWEIGHT/OBESE ADULTS. BACKGROUND: OBESITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH ARTERIAL STIFFENING AND DIMINISHED QUALITY OF LIFE. BIKRAM YOGA MAY BE A FEASIBLE ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL EXERCISE AMONG OBESE INDIVIDUALS. ACCORDINGLY, THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT OF BIKRAM YOGA, A HEATED STYLE OF HATHA YOGA, ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN NORMAL AND OVERWEIGHT/OBESE ADULTS. METHODS: FORTY-THREE (23 NORMAL BODY MASS INDEX OR BMI; 20 OVERWEIGHT/OBESE) APPARENTLY HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED AN 8-WEEK BIKRAM YOGA INTERVENTION. BODY COMPOSITION WAS ESTIMATED VIA DUAL ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY, ARTERIAL STIFFNESS WAS MEASURED VIA BRACHIALANKLE PULSE WAVE VELOCITY, AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE WAS ASSESSED VIA RAND 36-ITEM SHORT FORM SURVEY AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF THE 8-WEEK INTERVENTION. RESULTS: AFTER THE INTERVENTION, BRACHIAL-ANKLE PULSE WAVE VELOCITY DECREASED (P < .05) IN OVERWEIGHT/OBESE PARTICIPANTS WHILE NO SUCH CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN NORMAL BMI PARTICIPANTS. IN THE QUALITY OF LIFE MEASURES, EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING IMPROVED (P < .05) IN BOTH GROUPS, AND GENERAL HEALTH IMPROVED (P < .05) ONLY IN THE NORMAL WEIGHT BMI GROUP. CONCLUSION: BIKRAM YOGA AMELIORATES ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN OVERWEIGHT/OBESE ADULTS AND CAN POSITIVELY IMPACT QUALITY OF LIFE REGARDLESS OF BMI.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
8 1427 14 IMPROVEMENTS IN GLUCOSE TOLERANCE WITH BIKRAM YOGA IN OLDER OBESE ADULTS: A PILOT STUDY. BIKRAM YOGA IS AN EXOTIC FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY COMBINING HATHA YOGA AND THERMAL THERAPY THAT COULD POSITIVELY IMPACT METABOLIC HEALTH. ALTHOUGH THIS INCREASINGLY POPULAR ALTERNATIVE EXERCISE MAY BE IDEAL FOR OBESE ADULTS DUE TO ITS LOW IMPACT NATURE, FEW STUDIES HAVE ELUCIDATED THE HEALTH BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH IT. AS AN INITIAL STEP, WE DETERMINED THE EFFECT OF BIKRAM YOGA ON GLUCOSE TOLERANCE. FOURTEEN YOUNG LEAN AND 15 OLDER OBESE SUBJECTS COMPLETED AN 8-WEEK BIKRAM YOGA INTERVENTION IN WHICH CLASSES WERE COMPLETED 3 TIMES PER WEEK. GLUCOSE TOLERANCE WAS ASSESSED USING A 75 G ORAL GLUCOSE TOLERANCE TEST. THE AREA UNDER THE GLUCOSE CURVE FOLLOWING THE ORAL GLUCOSE TOLERANCE TEST WAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED AS A RESULT OF THE BIKRAM YOGA INTERVENTION IN OLDER OBESE (P < 0.05) BUT NOT IN YOUNG LEAN SUBJECTS. WE CONCLUDED THAT A SHORT-TERM BIKRAM YOGA INTERVENTION IMPROVED GLUCOSE TOLERANCE IN OLDER OBESE, BUT NOT IN YOUNG LEAN ADULTS.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
9 1298 19 HATHA YOGA AND VASCULAR FUNCTION: RESULTS FROM CROSS-SECTIONAL AND INTERVENTIONAL STUDIES. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF HATHA YOGA ON ARTERIAL ELASTICITY AND ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION. FIRST, A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY WAS PERFORMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOGA PRACTITIONERS WOULD DEMONSTRATE GREATER ARTERIAL COMPLIANCE AND ENDOTHELIUM-DEPENDENT VASODILATION THAN THEIR SEDENTARY PEERS. SECOND, AN INTERVENTION STUDY INVOLVING 13 SEDENTARY MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS (51 +/- 7 YEARS) WAS PERFORMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER 12 WEEKS OF HATHA YOGA WOULD ELICIT INCREASES IN ARTERIAL COMPLIANCE AND ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION. IN THE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY INVOLVING A TOTAL OF 34 SUBJECTS, THERE WERE NO GROUP DIFFERENCES IN BODY FATNESS, BLOOD LIPID AND LIPOPROTEIN CONCENTRATIONS, CAROTID ARTERY COMPLIANCE OR BRACHIAL ARTERY FLOW-MEDIATED DILATION (FMD). HEMOGLOBIN A1C WAS LOWER IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS THAN IN SEDENTARY ADULTS (P < 0.05). TOTAL CHOLESTEROL AND HEMOGLOBIN A1C DECREASED AFTER THE INTERVENTION (P < 0.05) WHILE CAROTID ARTERY COMPLIANCE AND BRACHIAL ARTERY FMD DID NOT CHANGE. THE RESULTS OF BOTH CROSS-SECTIONAL AND INTERVENTIONAL STUDIES INDICATE THAT REGULAR PRACTICE OF HATHA YOGA IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN VASCULAR FUNCTIONS.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
10 1676 17 OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE MEASURES OF EXERCISE INTENSITY DURING THERMO-NEUTRAL AND HOT YOGA. WHILE HOT YOGA HAS GAINED ENORMOUS POPULARITY IN RECENT YEARS, OWING IN PART TO INCREASED ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE ASSOCIATED WITH EXERCISE IN THE HEAT, IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER HOT YOGA IS MORE VIGOROUS THAN THERMO-NEUTRAL YOGA. THEREFORE, THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE MEASURES OF EXERCISE INTENSITY DURING CONSTANT INTENSITY YOGA IN A HOT AND THERMO-NEUTRAL ENVIRONMENT. USING A RANDOMIZED, CROSSOVER DESIGN, 14 PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED 2 IDENTICAL APPROXIMATELY 20-MIN YOGA SESSIONS IN A HOT (35.3 +/- 0.8 DEGREES C; HUMIDITY: 20.5% +/- 1.4%) AND THERMO-NEUTRAL (22.1 +/- 0.2 DEGREES C; HUMIDITY: 27.8% +/- 1.6%) ENVIRONMENT. OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND HEART RATE (HR) WERE RECORDED AS OBJECTIVE MEASURES (PERCENTAGE OF MAXIMAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND PERCENTAGE OF MAXIMAL HR (%HRMAX)) AND RATING OF PERCEIVED EXERTION (RPE) WAS RECORDED AS A SUBJECTIVE MEASURE OF EXERCISE INTENSITY. THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE IN EXERCISE INTENSITY BASED ON PERCENTAGE OF MAXIMAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION DURING HOT VERSUS THERMO-NEUTRAL YOGA (30.9% +/- 2.3% VS. 30.5% +/- 1.8%, P = 0.68). HOWEVER, EXERCISE INTENSITY WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER DURING HOT VERSUS THERMO-NEUTRAL YOGA BASED ON %HRMAX (67.0% +/- 2.3% VS. 60.8% +/- 1.9%, P = 0.01) AND RPE (12 +/- 1 VS. 11 +/- 1, P = 0.04). ACCORDING TO ESTABLISHED EXERCISE INTENSITIES, HOT YOGA WAS CLASSIFIED AS LIGHT-INTENSITY EXERCISE BASED ON PERCENTAGE OF MAXIMAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION BUT MODERATE-INTENSITY EXERCISE BASED ON %HRMAX AND RPE WHILE THERMO-NEUTRAL YOGA WAS CLASSIFIED AS LIGHT-INTENSITY EXERCISE BASED ON PERCENTAGE OF MAXIMAL OXYGEN UPTAKE, %HRMAX, AND RPE. DESPITE THE ADDED HEMODYNAMIC STRESS AND PERCEPTION THAT YOGA IS MORE STRENUOUS IN A HOT ENVIRONMENT, WE OBSERVED SIMILAR OXYGEN CONSUMPTION DURING HOT VERSUS THERMO-NEUTRAL YOGA, CLASSIFYING BOTH EXERCISE MODALITIES AS LIGHT-INTENSITY EXERCISE.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
11  668 25 EFFECT OF A 16-WEEK BIKRAM YOGA PROGRAM ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND ASSOCIATED CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK FACTORS IN STRESSED AND SEDENTARY ADULTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC ACTIVATION OF THE STRESS-RESPONSE CAN CONTRIBUTE TO CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK, PARTICULARLY IN SEDENTARY INDIVIDUALS. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECT OF A BIKRAM YOGA INTERVENTION ON THE HIGH FREQUENCY POWER COMPONENT OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) AND ASSOCIATED CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) RISK FACTORS (I.E. ADDITIONAL DOMAINS OF HRV, HEMODYNAMIC, HEMATOLOGIC, ANTHROPOMETRIC AND BODY COMPOSITION OUTCOME MEASURES) IN STRESSED AND SEDENTARY ADULTS. METHODS: ELIGIBLE ADULTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO AN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP (N = 29) OR A NO TREATMENT CONTROL GROUP (N = 34). EXPERIMENTAL GROUP PARTICIPANTS WERE INSTRUCTED TO ATTEND THREE TO FIVE SUPERVISED BIKRAM YOGA CLASSES PER WEEK FOR 16 WEEKS AT LOCAL STUDIOS. OUTCOME MEASURES WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE (WEEK 0) AND COMPLETION (WEEK 17). RESULTS: SIXTY-THREE ADULTS (37.2 +/- 10.8 YEARS, 79% WOMEN) WERE INCLUDED IN THE INTENTION-TO-TREAT ANALYSIS. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP ATTENDED 27 +/- 18 CLASSES. ANALYSES OF COVARIANCE REVEALED NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN THE HIGH-FREQUENCY COMPONENT OF HRV (P = 0.912, PARTIAL ETA (2) = 0.000) OR IN ANY SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURE BETWEEN GROUPS OVER TIME. HOWEVER, REGRESSION ANALYSES REVEALED THAT HIGHER ATTENDANCE IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WAS ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (P = 0.039; PARTIAL ETA (2) = 0.154), BODY FAT PERCENTAGE (P = 0.001, PARTIAL ETA (2) = 0.379), FAT MASS (P = 0.003, PARTIAL ETA (2) = 0.294) AND BODY MASS INDEX (P = 0.05, PARTIAL ETA (2) = 0.139). CONCLUSIONS: A 16-WEEK BIKRAM YOGA PROGRAM DID NOT INCREASE THE HIGH FREQUENCY POWER COMPONENT OF HRV OR ANY OTHER CVD RISK FACTORS INVESTIGATED. AS REVEALED BY POST HOC ANALYSES, LOW ADHERENCE LIKELY CONTRIBUTED TO THE NULL EFFECTS. FUTURE STUDIES ARE REQUIRED TO ADDRESS BARRIERS TO ADHERENCE TO BETTER ELUCIDATE THE DOSE-RESPONSE EFFECTS OF BIKRAM YOGA PRACTICE AS A MEDIUM TO LOWER STRESS-RELATED CVD RISK. TRIAL REGISTRATION: RETROSPECTIVELY REGISTERED WITH AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY ACTRN12616000867493 . REGISTERED 04 JULY 2016.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
12 1781 16 PREDICTORS OF AND BARRIERS TO ADHERENCE IN A 16-WEEK RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF BIKRAM YOGA IN STRESSED AND SEDENTARY ADULTS. BACKGROUND: BIKRAM YOGA MAY ENHANCE HEALTH OUTCOMES IN HEALTHY ADULTS AND THOSE AT RISK FOR CHRONIC DISEASE, HOWEVER, CHALLENGES REMAIN IN ACHIEVING OPTIMAL ADHERENCE TO THIS PRACTICE. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED FACTORS INFLUENCING ADHERENCE TO A 16-WEEK BIKRAM YOGA INTERVENTION IN STRESSED AND SEDENTARY ADULTS. METHODS: EXPERIMENTAL GROUP PARTICIPANTS (N = 29) WERE INSTRUCTED TO ATTEND 3-5 BIKRAM YOGA CLASSES WEEKLY FOR 16 WEEKS. BASELINE DEMOGRAPHICS, BEHAVIOURS AND HEALTH MEASURES WERE INVESTIGATED AS PREDICTORS OF ADHERENCE. BARRIERS WERE ASSESSED VIA DOCUMENTATION OF ADVERSE EVENTS, AND EXIT SURVEY RESPONSES. RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS (38.2 +/- 10.1 YEARS) WERE PREDOMINANTLY OVERWEIGHT-OBESE (83%), FEMALE (79%), AND ATTENDED 27 +/- 18 CLASSES. HIGHER ADHERENCE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH OLDER AGE (P = 0.094), LESS PAIN (P = 0.011), FEWER PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS (P = 0.011), POORER BLOOD LIPID PROFILE, AND HIGHER HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV; TOTAL POWER, (P = 0.097)). IN MULTI-VARIABLE ANALYSIS, THREE VARIABLES: AGE (BETA = 0.492, P = 0.006), HRV (BETA = 0.413, P = 0.021) AND PAIN (BETA = 0.329, P = 0.048) REMAINED PREDICTORS OF ADHERENCE. DIFFICULTY COMMITTING TO THE TRIAL, LACK OF ENJOYMENT AND ADVERSE EVENTS WERE BARRIERS TO ADHERENCE. CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE BIKRAM YOGA TRIALS TO FACILITATE HIGHER LEVELS OF ADHERENCE, WHICH MAY ENHANCE HEALTH OUTCOMES AND INFORM COMMUNITY PRACTICE. FUTURE TRIALS SHOULD INVESTIGATE AND ADDRESS ADDITIONAL BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS OF BIKRAM YOGA PRACTICE.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
13  404 18 BIKRAM YOGA TRAINING AND PHYSICAL FITNESS IN HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS. THERE HAS BEEN RELATIVELY LITTLE LONGITUDINAL CONTROLLED INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON GENERAL PHYSICAL FITNESS, DESPITE THE WIDESPREAD PARTICIPATION IN THIS FORM OF EXERCISE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS EXPLORATORY STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECT OF SHORT-TERM BIKRAM YOGA TRAINING ON GENERAL PHYSICAL FITNESS. YOUNG HEALTHY ADULTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO YOGA TRAINING (N = 10, 29 +/- 6 YEARS, 24 SESSIONS IN 8 WEEKS) OR A CONTROL GROUP (N = 11, 26 +/- 7 YEARS). EACH YOGA TRAINING SESSION CONSISTED OF 90-MINUTE STANDARDIZED SUPERVISED POSTURES PERFORMED IN A HEATED AND HUMIDIFIED STUDIO. ISOMETRIC DEADLIFT STRENGTH, HANDGRIP STRENGTH, LOWER BACK/HAMSTRING AND SHOULDER FLEXIBILITY, RESTING HEART RATE AND BLOOD PRESSURE, MAXIMAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION (TREADMILL), AND LEAN AND FAT MASS (DUAL-ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY) WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER TRAINING. YOGA SUBJECTS EXHIBITED INCREASED DEADLIFT STRENGTH, SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED LOWER BACK/HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY, INCREASED SHOULDER FLEXIBILITY, AND MODESTLY DECREASED BODY FAT COMPARED WITH CONTROL GROUP. THERE WERE NO CHANGES IN HANDGRIP STRENGTH, CARDIOVASCULAR MEASURES, OR MAXIMAL AEROBIC FITNESS. IN SUMMARY, THIS SHORT-TERM YOGA TRAINING PROTOCOL PRODUCED BENEFICIAL CHANGES IN MUSCULOSKELETAL FITNESS THAT WERE SPECIFIC TO THE TRAINING STIMULUS.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
14 2139 15 THE EFFECTS OF BIKRAM YOGA ON HEALTH: CRITICAL REVIEW AND CLINICAL TRIAL RECOMMENDATIONS. BIKRAM YOGA IS A STYLE OF HATHA YOGA INVOLVING A STANDARIZED SERIES OF ASANAS PERFORMED TO AN INSTRUCTIONAL DIALOGUE IN A HEATED ENVIRONMENT (40.6 DEGREES C, 40% HUMIDITY). SEVERAL STUDIES EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF BIKRAM YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED OUTCOMES HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED OVER THE PAST DECADE. HOWEVER, TO DATE, THERE ARE NO COMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS OF THIS RESEARCH AND THERE REMAINS A LACK OF LARGE-SCALE, ROBUSTLY-DESIGNED RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCT) OF BIKRAM YOGA TRAINING. THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW IS TO CONTEXTUALISE AND SUMMARISE TRIALS THAT HAVE EVALUATED THE EFFECTS OF BIKRAM YOGA ON HEALTH AND TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH. ACCORDING TO PUBLISHED LITERATURE, BIKRAM YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE LOWER BODY STRENGTH, LOWER AND UPPER BODY RANGE OF MOTION, AND BALANCE IN HEALTHY ADULTS. NON-RCTS REPORT THAT BIKRAM YOGA MAY, IN SOME POPULATIONS, IMPROVE GLUCOSE TOLERANCE, BONE MINERAL DENSITY, BLOOD LIPID PROFILE, ARTERIAL STIFFNESS, MINDFULNESS, AND PERCEIVED STRESS. THERE IS VAST POTENTIAL FOR FURTHER, IMPROVED RESEARCH INTO THE EFFECTS OF BIKRAM YOGA, PARTICULARLY IN UNHEALTHY POPULATIONS, TO BETTER UNDERSTAND INTERVENTION-RELATED ADAPTATIONS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE PROGRESSION OF CHRONIC DISEASE. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD ADHERE TO CONSORT GUIDELINES FOR BETTER DESIGN AND REPORTING TO IMPROVE RESEARCH QUALITY IN THIS FIELD.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
15  263 15 ACUTE CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSES TO A SESSION OF BIKRAM YOGA: A PILOT UNCONTROLLED TRIAL. INTRODUCTION: MAIN CARDIOVASCULAR PARAMETERS SUCH AS HEART RATE (HR), BLOOD PRESSURE, AND MYOCARDIAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION (MOC) ARE TIGHTLY REGULATED BY A MULTIFACTORIAL, NONLINEAR CONTROL SYSTEM. INCREASED HR BECAUSE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY AN INCREASE IN BLOOD PRESSURE. POSTURAL CHANGES HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE BARORECEPTORS, AND STRETCHING EXERCISES AND ISOMETRIC CONTRACTIONS MODULATE MUSCLE MECHANORECEPTORS ELICITING INCREASES IN BLOOD PRESSURE. HOWEVER, A HOT ENVIRONMENT INCREASES THE CORE TEMPERATURE INDUCING VASODILATION AND PLASMA VOLUME CHANGES THAT MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO A DROP IN BLOOD PRESSURE. DURING THE PRACTICE OF BIKRAM YOGA, ALL THESE FACTORS CONVERGE AND LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE RESULTING CHANGES IN BLOOD PRESSURE AND MOC. METHODS: SIXTEEN APPARENTLY HEALTHY FEMALE VOLUNTEERS, REGULAR PRACTITIONERS OF BIKRAM YOGA, WERE EVALUATED DURING A 90 MIN SESSION. SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (SBP) AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (DBP) WERE MEASURED IMMEDIATELY AFTER EACH POSTURE AND HR WAS MEASURED CONTINUOUSLY DURING THE PRACTICE. RESULTS: HR AND ESTIMATED MOC INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY OVER BASELINE DURING THE EXERCISE (+62.3% AND +63.6%, RESPECTIVELY). HR MEAN VALUE ACROSS THE ENTIRE BIKRAM YOGA SESSION WAS 126.6 +/- 14.3 BPM REACHING A MAXIMUM OF 168.1 +/- 20.2 BPM. SBP WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED OVER BASELINE AT ANY TIME DURING THE PRACTICE WITH A MEAN VALUE OF 117.0 +/- 10.1 MMHG AND DBP WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED OVER BASELINE MOST OF THE TIME (-10.1%, MEAN 71.2 +/- 7.3 MMHG) WITH PARTICULAR DECLINE TOWARD THE END OF THE PRACTICE DURING THE FLOOR POSTURES. CONCLUSIONS: DBP DURING THE PRACTICE OF BIKRAM YOGA WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THAT PREVIOUSLY REPORTED FOR NONHEATED HATHA YOGA FOR NORMOTENSIVE SUBJECTS. FURTHER STUDIES EVALUATING THE SAME GROUP AT BOTH CONDITIONS ARE NEEDED TO BETTER CHARACTERIZE THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CHANGES IN HR, SBP, DBP, AND MOC.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
16  314 12 AN IN-SITU INVESTIGATION OF THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF BIKRAM YOGA ON POSITIVE- AND NEGATIVE AFFECT, AND STATE-ANXIETY IN CONTEXT OF PERCEIVED STRESS. BACKGROUND: BIKRAM YOGA IS A RELATIVELY NEW, BUT AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR FORM OF EXERCISE. ITS HEALTH BENEFITS WERE DEMONSTRATED ON PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES. AIMS: THE CURRENT FIELD STUDY TESTED THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF BIKRAM YOGA ON PRACTITIONERS' POSITIVE-/NEGATIVE-AFFECT AND STATE-ANXIETY, AND THEIR LINK TO THE SELF-PERCEIVED STRESS, IN BIKRAM YOGA PARTICIPANTS. METHOD: FIELD STUDY, WITHIN-PARTICIPANTS DESIGN, TESTING PERCEIVED STRESS AND ITS RELATION TO CHANGES IN POSITIVE-/NEGATIVE-AFFECT AND STATE-ANXIETY IN 53 HABITUAL BIKRAM YOGA PARTICIPANTS. RESULTS: STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE CHANGES EMERGED IN ALL THREE PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES AFTER THE 90-MIN BIKRAM YOGA SESSION. THE DECREASE IN NEGATIVE-AFFECT AND STATE-ANXIETY WERE SIGNIFICANTLY AND POSITIVELY RELATED TO THE PERCEIVED STRESS. ESTIMATED EFFORT WAS UNRELATED TO THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CHANGES RECORDED IN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES. HEART RATES AND SELF-REPORT MEASURES INDICATED THAT PHYSICALLY BIKRAM YOGA IS ONLY MILDLY CHALLENGING. CONCLUSIONS: THE FINDINGS ILLUSTRATE THAT, INDEPENDENTLY OF THE PHYSICAL EFFORT, BIKRAM YOGA IS A NEW MILD FORM OF EXERCISE THAT REDUCES NEGATIVE-AFFECT AND STATE-ANXIETY, AND THE REDUCTION IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PERCEIVED STRESS. THEREFORE, BIKRAM YOGA APPEARS TO BE BENEFICIAL FOR ALL PRACTITIONERS, BUT EVEN MORE SO FOR THE INDIVIDUALS WHO EXPERIENCE SUBSTANTIAL STRESS IN THE DAILY LIFE.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
17  664 12 EFFECT OF 90-MIN BIKRAM YOGA ON BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS AMONG PRACTITIONERS IN THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES. BACKGROUND: IN OUR MODERN SOCIETY, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS A LIFESTYLE CHOICE. BIKRAM YOGA IS A LOW IMPACT; MODERATE EXERCISE AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF MOTIVATION AND ADHERENCE TO THE PRACTICE IS UNKNOWN. THIS STUDY AIMED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF 90 MIN BIKRAM YOGA PRACTICE ON BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS OF COMPETENCE (THE SENSE OF SKILL MASTERY), AUTONOMY (VOLITIONALLY PERFORMING A TASK), AND RELATEDNESS (A CONNECTION WITH OTHERS) AS POSTULATED IN SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY FOR MOTIVATION. METHODS: THE SAMPLE INCLUDED BIKRAM YOGA PRACTITIONERS IN THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES (N = 126) AVERAGED BETWEEN THE AGE GROUP OF 35 AND 64, PREDOMINATELY FEMALE, AND HIGHLY EDUCATED. RESPONSES TO THE PSYCHOLOGICAL NEED SATISFACTION IN EXERCISE SCALE WERE ANALYZED USING MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE. RESULTS: RESULTS SHOWED A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT EFFECT OF FREQUENCY OF YOGA ATTENDANCE ON THE SATISFACTION OF BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS (I.E., COMPETENCE, AUTONOMY, AND RELATEDNESS); (P = 0.025); SPECIFICALLY, YOGA PRACTITIONERS WHO ATTENDED FOUR OR MORE CLASSES PER WEEK HAD HIGHER SATISFACTION LEVELS OF BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEED FOR COMPETENCE (P = 0.013) AND RELATEDNESS (P = 0.034). A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT EFFECT OF THE LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE ON THE SATISFACTION OF BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS (I.E., COMPETENCE, AUTONOMY, AND RELATEDNESS) (P = 0.014) FOUND IN EXPERIENCED BIKRAM YOGA PRACTITIONERS, SPECIFICALLY FOR COMPETENCE (P = 0.013) AND RELATEDNESS (P = 0.023) COMPARED TO NOVICE COUNTERPARTS. CONCLUSION: THE STUDY PROVIDES SOME EVIDENCE OF AN INDIVIDUAL'S MOTIVATION FOR A 90 MIN BIKRAM YOGA PRACTICE AND POSSIBLE ADHERENCE. FUTURE INVESTIGATION OF BIKRAM YOGA PRACTICE ADOPTING SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY APPEARS WORTHWHILE.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
18  439 18 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
19 1861 16 RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF BIKRAM YOGA AND AEROBIC EXERCISE FOR DEPRESSION IN WOMEN: EFFICACY AND STRESS-BASED MECHANISMS. BACKGROUND: THE CURRENT STUDY PRESENTS A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED 8-WEEK TRIAL OF BIKRAM YOGA, AEROBIC EXERCISE, AND WAITLIST FOR DEPRESSION. BIKRAM YOGA WAS CHOSEN SPECIFICALLY FOR ITS STANDARDIZED NATURE. FURTHER, WE EXAMINED CHANGES IN THREE STRESS-RELATED CONSTRUCTS-PERCEIVED STRESS, RUMINATION, AND MINDFULNESS-AS MEDIATORS OF ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS. METHOD: FIFTY-THREE WOMEN (AGE 18-65; 74% WHITE) WITH A UNIPOLAR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO ONE OF THE THREE CONDITIONS. RESPONSE WAS DEFINED AS >50% REDUCTION ON THE HAMILTON RATING SCALE FOR DEPRESSION (HAM-D). REMISSION WAS DEFINED AS NO LONGER MEETING CRITERIA FOR DEPRESSION AND A HAM-D </= 7. SELF-REPORTED PERCEIVED STRESS, RUMINATION, AND MINDFULNESS WERE ASSESSED WEEKLY. RESULTS: IN THE INTENTION-TO-TREAT SAMPLE (N = 53), RESPONSE RATES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN THE BIKRAM YOGA (61.1%; CHI(2) = 10.48, P = .001) AND AEROBIC EXERCISE (60.0%; CHI(2) = 10.44, P = .001) CONDITIONS RELATIVE TO WAITLIST (6.7%). IN THE COMPLETER SAMPLE (N = 42), 73.3% (CHI(2) = 11.41, P = .001) OF WOMEN IN YOGA AND 80.0% (CHI(2) = 13.72, P < .001) IN EXERCISE ACHIEVED RESPONSE COMPARED TO 8.3% IN WAITLIST. REDUCTIONS IN RUMINATION SIGNIFICANTLY MEDIATED HAM-D CHANGE FOR BOTH ACTIVE TREATMENTS, AND MINDFUL ACCEPTANCE WAS A PARTIAL MEDIATOR IN THE EXERCISE CONDITION. LIMITATIONS: THE SAMPLE WAS SMALL IN SIZE, CONSISTED OF WOMEN ONLY, AND WAS ETHNICALLY HOMOGENOUS. INTER-RATER RELIABILITY WAS NOT ASSESSED, AEROBIC EXERCISE WAS NOT STANDARDIZED, AND MEDIATORS WERE ASSESSED BY SELF-REPORT. CONCLUSIONS: BIKRAM YOGA SHOWED DESCRIPTIVELY SIMILAR EFFICACY TO AEROBIC EXERCISE AND BOTH MAY WORK, IN PART, BY HELPING INDIVIDUALS INTERRUPT NEGATIVE THINKING.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
20  669 21 EFFECT OF A 16-WEEK BIKRAM YOGA PROGRAM ON PERCEIVED STRESS, SELF-EFFICACY AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN STRESSED AND SEDENTARY ADULTS: A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF 16 WEEKS OF BIKRAM YOGA ON PERCEIVED STRESS, SELF-EFFICACY AND HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) IN SEDENTARY, STRESSED ADULTS. DESIGN: 16 WEEK, PARALLEL-ARM, RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH FLEXIBLE DOSING. METHODS: PHYSICALLY INACTIVE, STRESSED ADULTS (37.2+/-10.8 YEARS) WERE RANDOMISED TO BIKRAM YOGA (THREE TO FIVE CLASSES PER WEEK) OR CONTROL (NO TREATMENT) GROUP FOR 16 WEEKS. OUTCOME MEASURES, COLLECTED VIA SELF-REPORT, INCLUDED PERCEIVED STRESS, GENERAL SELF-EFFICACY, AND HRQOL. OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE, MIDPOINT AND COMPLETION. RESULTS: INDIVIDUALS WERE RANDOMISED TO THE EXPERIMENTAL (N=29) OR CONTROL GROUP (N=34). AVERAGE ATTENDANCE IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WAS 27+/-18 CLASSES. REPEATED MEASURE ANALYSES OF VARIANCE (INTENTION-TO-TREAT) DEMONSTRATED SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED PERCEIVED STRESS (P=0.003, PARTIAL ETA(2)=0.109), GENERAL SELF-EFFICACY (P=0.034, PARTIAL ETA(2)=0.056), AND THE GENERAL HEALTH (P=0.034, PARTIAL ETA(2)=0.058) AND ENERGY/FATIGUE (P=0.019, PARTIAL ETA(2)=0.066) DOMAINS OF HRQOL IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP VERSUS THE CONTROL GROUP. ATTENDANCE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCTIONS IN PERCEIVED STRESS, AND AN INCREASE IN SEVERAL DOMAINS OF HRQOL. CONCLUSIONS: 16 WEEKS OF BIKRAM YOGA SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED PERCEIVED STRESS, GENERAL SELF-EFFICACY AND HRQOL IN SEDENTARY, STRESSED ADULTS. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD CONSIDER WAYS TO OPTIMISE ADHERENCE, AND SHOULD INVESTIGATE EFFECTS OF BIKRAM YOGA INTERVENTION IN OTHER POPULATIONS AT RISK FOR STRESS-RELATED ILLNESS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY ACTRN12616000867493. REGISTERED 04 JULY 2016. URL: HTTP://WWW.ANZCTR.ORG.AU/ACTRN12616000867493.ASPX.	2018