1 809 214 EFFECT OF YOGA ON AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STATUS DURING BOTH PHASES OF MENSTRUAL CYCLE IN YOUNG HEALTHY FEMALES. CONTEXT: PREMENSTRUAL STRESS AFFECTS 75% OF WOMEN OF CHILDBEARING AGE AND YOGA HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE BENEFICIAL IN MANY PSYCHO-SOMATIC DISORDERS. AIMS: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF INTEGRATED YOGA ON AUTONOMIC PARAMETERS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING DURING BOTH PRE AND POST PHASES OF MENSTRUAL CYCLE IN HEALTHY YOUNG FEMALE SUBJECTS. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: PRESENT STUDY IS A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL AND WAS CONDUCTED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY, LADY HARDINGE MEDICAL COLLEGE, NEW DELHI, INDIA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: FIFTY APPARENTLY HEALTHY FEMALES IN THE AGE GROUP OF 18-20 YEARS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS: GROUP I (N=25) CONSISTED OF SUBJECTS WHO PRACTICED YOGA 35-40 MINUTES PER DAY, SIX TIMES PER WEEK FOR THE DURATION OF THREE MENSTRUAL CYCLES. TRAINING WAS GIVEN BY QUALIFIED YOGA INSTRUCTOR. GROUP II (N=25) SUBJECTS ACTED AS CONTROLS. FOLLOWING PARAMETERS WERE RECORDED AT THE BEGINNING AND AFTER COMPLETION OF THREE MENSTRUAL CYCLES IN ALL THE SUBJECTS: HEIGHT, WEIGHT (BW), RESTING HEART RATE (HR), RESTING SYSTOLIC (SBP) AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (DBP), PARASYMPATHETIC REACTIVITY TESTS INCLUDING EXPIRATION-INSPIRATION RATIO (E: I RATIO) AND 30:15 RATIO, SYMPATHETIC REACTIVITY TESTS INCLUDING BP CHANGES DUE TO ISOMETRIC HAND GRIP (IHG) EXERCISE, AND COLD PRESSOR TEST (CPT). ASSESSMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STATUS WAS DONE BY ADMINISTERING DIPAS (DEFENSE INSTITUTE OF PHYSIOLOGY AND ALLIED SCIENCES) INVENTORIES OF ANGER SELF REPORT SCALE, TRAIT ANXIETY, SENSE OF WELL-BEING AND DEPRESSION SCALE. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: INTRA-GROUP COMPARISON OF PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS WAS DONE BY USING PAIRED 'T' TEST, WHEREAS INTRA-GROUP COMPARISON OF NON-PARAMETERIC DATA SUCH AS SCORES OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, ANGER AND SENSE OF WELL-BEING WAS DONE BY WILCOXON SIGNED-RANK TEST. INTER-GROUP COMPARISON OF PARAMETERS WAS DONE BY STUDENTS 'T' TEST FOR PARAMETRIC TESTS AND MANN-WHITNEY 'U' TEST FOR NON-PARAMETERIC TESTS. RESULTS: THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER BW, RESTING SBP, DBP, SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BLUNTING OF PARASYMPATHETIC REACTIVITY AND ALSO, SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER SCORES OF ANGER, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND DECREASED SCORE OF WELL-BEING IN PREMENSTRUAL PHASE AS COMPARED TO POSTMENSTRUAL PHASE IN BOTH THE GROUPS IN INITIAL CYCLE. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER PERCENTAGE DECREASE IN BW, HR, SBP & DBP IN YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP IN BOTH THE PHASES FROM INITIAL TO SECOND AND ONWARDS BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD MENSTRUAL CYCLE. ALSO, DECREASE IN ANGER, DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AND INCREASE IN WELL-BEING SCORE WAS SIGNIFICANT IN YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP FROM INITIAL TO SECOND AND THIRD CYCLE IN PREMENSTRUAL PHASE WHILE THE CHANGE WAS SIGNIFICANT ONLY IN DEPRESSION SCORE IN POSTMENSTRUAL PHASE. CONCLUSION: OUR STUDY SHOWS THAT THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT ALTERATION OF AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STATUS IN PREMENSTRUAL PHASE WHEN COMPARED WITH POSTMENSTRUAL PHASE IN YOUNG HEALTHY FEMALES. ALSO, REGULAR PRACTICE OF YOGA HAS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON BOTH PHASES OF MENSTRUAL CYCLE BY BRINGING PARASYMPATHODOMINANCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING PROBABLY BY BALANCING NEURO-ENDOCRINAL AXIS. 2013 2 1217 42 EXPLORING THE IMPACTS OF MINDFULNESS AND YOGA UPON CHILDBIRTH OUTCOMES AND MATERNAL HEALTH: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW. BACKGROUND: FOETAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE LONG-TERM OUTCOMES OF THE INFANT ARE INFLUENCED BY THE INTRAUTERINE ENVIRONMENT. STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE MATERNAL HEALTH IN PREGNANCY ARE NEEDED TO IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR CHILDBEARING WOMEN AND BABIES, ADVANCING THE WELL-BEING OF OUR GENERAL POPULATION. AIM: TO SYNTHESISE THE EXISTING LITERATURE TO DETERMINE THE IMPACTS OF MINDFULNESS AND YOGA PRACTICE UPON BIRTH OUTCOMES AND MATERNAL HEALTH. METHODS: AN INTEGRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW USING WHITTEMORE AND KNAFL'S FRAMEWORK WAS UNDERTAKEN IN 2016-2017. TWO SEARCH STRATEGIES INCLUDED DATABASE PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES AND ANCESTRY SEARCHING, THAT IS EXPLORING THE REFERENCE LIST OF RELEVANT RESEARCH ARTICLES. AFTER SCREENING AND CHECKING THE ELIGIBILITY, A TOTAL OF 12 ARTICLES WERE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. DATA ANALYSIS INVOLVED CODING, VISUAL DISPLAYS, THEMATIC ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON, AND CONCLUSION DRAWING. RESULTS: THE RESULTS OF THIS REVIEW IDENTIFIED A BROAD THEME THAT MINDFULNESS AND YOGA PRACTICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH ANTENATALLY AND POSTNATALLY. SUBTHEMES HAVE BEEN PRESENTED UNDER THE CENTRAL THEME INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING: INCREASED MINDFULNESS CORRELATES WITH DECREASED FEAR OF CHILDBIRTH; REDUCED SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION; AND SUPPORTIVE GROUP SETTINGS FOUND TO BE BENEFICIAL BY PREGNANT WOMEN. CONCLUSION: THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED IN THIS REVIEW SUGGESTS THAT MINDFULNESS AND YOGA PRACTICE ARE FEASIBLE AND COST-EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS TO ENHANCE MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH, PARTICULARLY FOR WOMEN EXPERIENCING MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES. MINDFULNESS AND YOGA PRACTISED REGULARLY IN THE ANTENATAL PERIOD CAN SIGNIFICANTLY PROMOTE THE HEALTH OF PREGNANT WOMEN AND POTENTIALLY THEIR DEVELOPING BABIES. 2020 3 667 59 EFFECT OF A 12-WEEK YOGA THERAPY PROGRAM ON MENTAL HEALTH STATUS IN ELDERLY WOMEN INMATES OF A HOSPICE. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA ON THE MENTAL HEALTH STATUS OF ELDERLY WOMEN INMATES RESIDING IN A HOSPICE IN PUDUCHERRY. MATERIALS AND METHODS: FORTY ELDERLY WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO YOGA AND WAIT-LISTED CONTROL GROUP. A YOGA THERAPY PROGRAM OF 60 MIN WAS GIVEN TWICE A WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. THIS PROTOCOL WAS SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR SENIOR CITIZENS, KEEPING IN MIND THEIR HEALTH STATUS AND PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS THAT INCLUDED SIMPLE WARM-UP AND BREATH-BODY MOVEMENT COORDINATION PRACTICES (JATHIS AND KRIYAS), STATIC STRETCHING POSTURES (ASANAS), BREATHING TECHNIQUES (PRANAYAMAS), AND RELAXATION. HAMILTON ANXIETY SCALE FOR MEASURING ANXIETY, HAMILTON RATING SCALE FOR DEPRESSION, AND ROSENBERG SELF-ESTEEM SCALE TO MEASURE SELF-ESTEEM WERE ADMINISTERED TO BOTH GROUPS BEFORE AND AFTER THE 12-WEEK STUDY PERIOD. DATA WERE ASSESSED FOR NORMALITY, AND APPROPRIATE PARAMETRIC AND NONPARAMETRIC STATISTICAL METHODS WERE APPLIED FOR INTRA- AND INTER-GROUP COMPARISONS. RESULTS: OVERALL, INTRA- AND INTER-GROUP COMPARISON OF PREPOST DATA SHOWED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.001) DIFFERENCES FOR ALL THREE PARAMETERS. THERE WAS AN OVERALL IMPROVEMENT IN THE SCORES INDICATING DECREASED LEVELS OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY COUPLED WITH AN INCREASE IN THE LEVEL OF SELF-ESTEEM AFTER THE YOGA THERAPY PROGRAM. DISCUSSION: THE INFLUENCE OF YOGA IN THE REDUCTION OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY SCORES AND IMPROVEMENT IN SELF-ESTEEM SCORES IN ELDERLY WOMEN SUBJECTS IS EVIDENT FROM THIS STUDY. AS REPORTED IN EARLIER STUDIES, THIS MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO CHANGES IN CENTRAL NEUROTRANSMITTERS SUCH AS GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC-ACID COUPLED WITH INCREASED PARASYMPATHETIC TONE AND DECREASED SYMPATHO-ADRENAL ACTIVITY. CONCLUSION: IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOGA SHOULD BE A PART OF HEALTH-CARE FACILITIES FOR ELDERLY AS IT CAN ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE BY IMPROVING THEIR OVERALL MENTAL HEALTH STATUS. IT COULD PROVIDE A HEALTHY AND POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE FROM DEPRESSING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS, AND GIVE THEM A SENSE OF PURPOSE AND HOPE. 2017 4 2316 53 TRAUMA-SENSITIVE YOGA FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN WOMEN VETERANS WHO EXPERIENCED MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA: INTERIM RESULTS FROM A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: TO CONDUCT AN INTERIM ANALYSIS OF DATA COLLECTED FROM AN ONGOING MULTISITE RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL (RCT) ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRAUMA CENTER TRAUMA-SENSITIVE YOGA (TCTSY) FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) AMONG WOMEN VETERANS WITH PTSD RELATED TO MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA (MST). THE PURPOSE OF THE INTERIM ANALYSIS WAS TO ASSESS OUTCOMES FROM THE PRIMARY SITE, WHICH IS GEOGRAPHICALLY, DEMOGRAPHICALLY, CULTURALLY, AND PROCEDURALLY DISTINCT FROM THE SECOND SITE. DESIGN: RCT WAS CONDUCTED WITHIN A VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. DATA COLLECTION INCLUDED PREINTERVENTION THROUGH 3 MONTHS POSTINTERVENTION. PARTICIPANTS: ENROLLMENT FOR THE MAIN SITE WAS 152 WOMEN. THE SAMPLE SIZE FOR THE INTENT-TO-TREAT ANALYSIS WAS 104. THE MAJORITY WERE AFRICAN AMERICAN (91.3%) WITH A MEAN AGE OF 48.46 YEARS. INTERVENTION: THE TCTSY INTERVENTION (N = 58) WAS CONDUCTED BY TCTSY-CERTIFIED YOGA FACILITATORS AND CONSISTED OF 10 WEEKLY 60-MIN GROUP SESSIONS. THE CONTROL INTERVENTION, COGNITIVE PROCESSING THERAPY (CPT; N = 46), CONSISTED OF 12 90-MIN WEEKLY GROUP SESSIONS CONDUCTED PER VETERANS ADMINISTRATION PROTOCOL BY CLINICIANS IN THE PTSD CLINIC. OUTCOME MEASURES: THE CLINICIAN ADMINISTERED PTSD SCALE FOR DSM-5 (CAPS-5) WAS USED TO ASSESS CURRENT PTSD DIAGNOSIS AND SYMPTOM SEVERITY, INCLUDING OVERALL PTSD AND FOUR SYMPTOM CLUSTERS. THE PTSD CHECKLIST FOR DSM-5 (PCL-5) WAS USED TO OBTAIN SELF-REPORT OF PTSD SYMPTOM SEVERITY, INCLUDING TOTAL SCORE AND FOUR SYMPTOM CLUSTERS. RESULTS: THE FINDINGS REPORTED HERE ARE INTERIM RESULTS FROM ONE CLINICAL SITE. FOR BOTH THE CAPS-5 AND PCL-5, TOTAL SCORES AND ALL FOUR CRITERION SCORES DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY (P < 0.01) OVER TIME IN ALL FIVE MULTILEVEL LINEAR MODELS WITHIN BOTH TCTSY AND CPT GROUPS, WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS. THERE WERE CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENTS SEEN FOR BOTH TCTSY AND CPT WITH 51.1%-64.3% OF TCTSY SUBJECTS AND 43.5%-73.7% OF CPT DECREASING THEIR CAPS-5 SCORES BY 10 POINTS OR MORE. EFFECT SIZES FOR TOTAL SYMPTOM SEVERITY WERE LARGE FOR TCTSY (COHEN'S D = 1.10-1.18) AND CPT (COHEN'S D = 0.90-1.40). INTERVENTION COMPLETION WAS HIGHER IN TCTSY (60.3%) THAN IN CPT (34.8%). SYMPTOM IMPROVEMENT OCCURRED EARLIER FOR TCTSY (MIDINTERVENTION) THAN FOR CPT (2 WEEKS POSTINTERVENTION). SAFETY: THERE WERE NO UNANTICIPATED ADVERSE EVENTS IN THIS STUDY. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATE THAT TCTSY MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR PTSD THAT YIELDS SYMPTOM IMPROVEMENT MORE QUICKLY, HAS HIGHER RETENTION THAN CPT, AND HAS A SUSTAINED EFFECT. TCTSY MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO TRAUMA-FOCUSED THERAPY FOR WOMEN VETERANS WITH PTSD RELATED TO MST. THE STUDY IS REGISTERED IN CLINICALTRIALS.GOV (CTR NO.: NCT02640690). 2021 5 2121 35 THE EFFECTIVENESS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF PREGNANCY YOGA INTERVENTIONS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOL. BACKGROUND: THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW IS TO SYSTEMATICALLY EXAMINE THE REPORTED CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS OF PREGNANCY YOGA. THE REVIEW WILL USE THE FITT (FREQUENCY, INTENSITY, TIME/DURATION AND TYPE) PRINCIPLE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO CHARACTERISE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN EVALUATED IN THE INCLUDED STUDIES. STUDIES WILL BE CATEGORISED AS EFFECTIVENESS OR EFFICACY STUDIES AND THIS CONTINUUM OF EFFICACY VERSUS EFFECTIVENESS WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE FULL REVIEW. METHODS/DESIGN: THE FOLLOWING ELECTRONIC DATABASES WILL BE SEARCHED USING A DETAILED SEARCH STRATEGY: MEDLINE, PSYCINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, WHOLIS, AMED, SCIELO, ASSIA AND WEB OF SCIENCE. RANDOMISED CONTROL TRIALS AND QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES EXAMINING PREGNANCY YOGA AND REPORTING ON EFFECT WILL BE INCLUDED. TITLES, ABSTRACTS AND FULL ARTICLES WILL BE SCREENED BY TWO INVESTIGATORS INDEPENDENTLY TO IDENTIFY ELIGIBLE STUDIES. THE COCHRANE COLLABORATION'S RISK OF BIAS ASSESSMENT TOOL WILL BE USED TO ASSESS STUDY QUALITY. QUALITY OF THE EVIDENCE WILL BE EVALUATED USING THE GRADE CRITERIA. A STANDARDISED DATA EXTRACTION FORM WILL BE USED TO EXTRACT DATA. EFFECT SIZES WILL BE ESTIMATED USING MEAN DIFFERENCES FOR CONTINUOUS OUTCOMES, AND RELATIVE RISKS FOR DICHOTOMOUS OUTCOME. WHERE POSSIBLE, POOLING OF EFFECT ESTIMATES WILL BE DONE USING A RANDOM EFFECT MODEL. THE OUTCOMES OF INTEREST ARE QUALITY OF LIFE, STRESS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, MODE OF BIRTH, LABOUR DURATION AND PAIN MANAGEMENT IN LABOUR. DISCUSSION: THIS REVIEW WILL SYNTHESISE THE BEST AVAILABLE EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA DURING PREGNANCY AND PROVIDE VALUABLE HIGH-QUALITY INFORMATION FOR CLINICIANS AND HEALTH POLICYMAKERS. FINDINGS WILL BE DISSEMINATED THROUGH PUBLICATION IN A PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL AND PRESENTATION AT RELEVANT CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS. THE REVIEW WILL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE APPROPRIATE VOLUME, INTENSITY AND TYPE OF PREGNANCY YOGA FOR MAXIMUM EFFECT AND MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE RELATING TO PREGNANCY YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO, CRD42019119916. REGISTERED ON 11TH JANUARY 2019. 2019 6 1352 50 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF MIND SOUND RESONANCE TECHNIQUE (MSRT - A YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUE) ON BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE, AND STATE ANXIETY IN INDIVIDUALS WITH HYPERTENSION: A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND MIND SOUND RESONANCE TECHNIQUE (MSRT) IS A YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUE. PREVIOUS STUDIES ON MSRT DEMONSTRATED ITS POTENTIAL HEALTH-BENEFITING EFFECTS IN BOTH CLINICAL AND NONCLINICAL POPULATION. PRESENT STUDY INTENDED TO ASSESS THE ACUTE EFFECT OF MSRT INTERVENTION ON BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE (HR), AND STATE ANXIETY IN PATIENTS WITH ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION (HTN). METHODS THIRTY PARTICIPANTS (13 FEMALES) WITH HTN, WITHIN THE AGE RANGE 30-60 YEARS (WITH MEAN+/-SD: 57.23+/-11.3 YEARS), WHO VISITED SVYASA UNIVERSITY CAMPUS TO ATTEND 1-WEEK RESIDENTIAL YOGA PROGRAM FOR HTN TREATMENT, WERE CONSIDERED FOR THIS STUDY BASED ON INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA. ALL PARTICIPANTS RECEIVED A 4-DAY MSRT ORIENTATION SESSIONS PRIOR TO THE STUDY. EACH PARTICIPANT UNDERWENT 30-MIN SESSION OF BOTH MSRT AND SUPINE REST (SR) ON 2 SUCCESSIVE DAYS. SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES, PULSE RATE, AND STATE ANXIETY WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER BOTH MSRT AND SR SESSIONS. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING SPSS VERSION 16. REPEATED-MEASURE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WAS APPLIED TO ASSESS WITHIN-SUBJECTS CHANGES. RESULTS AFTER MSRT SESSION, SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (SBP), DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (DBP), HR, AND STATE ANXIETY WAS OBSERVED COMPARED TO BASELINE. SIMILARLY, AFTER SR SESSION, SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE FOUND IN HR AND STATE ANXIETY. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE WAS SEEN IN SBP AND DBP FOLLOWING SR COMPARED TO SR SESSION; MSRT SESSION SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER IMPROVEMENT IN SBP, DBP, HR, AND STATE ANXIETY. CONCLUSION PRESENT STUDY DEMONSTRATED THE USEFULNESS OF SINGLE SESSION OF MSRT IN REDUCING BLOOD PRESSURE, HR, AND STATE ANXIETY AMONG INDIVIDUALS WITH HTN AS COMPARED TO SR. THESE FINDINGS ENCOURAGE THE FURTHER STUDIES WITH LARGER SAMPLE SIZE AND LONG-TERM INTERVENTION WITH A ROBUST RESEARCH DESIGN. 2018 7 2831 38 YOGA VS. PHYSICAL THERAPY VS. EDUCATION FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IN PREDOMINANTLY MINORITY POPULATIONS: STUDY PROTOCOL FOR A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN CAUSES SUBSTANTIAL MORBIDITY AND COST TO SOCIETY WHILE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTING LOW-INCOME AND MINORITY ADULTS. SEVERAL RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS SHOW YOGA IS AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT. HOWEVER, THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AND PHYSICAL THERAPY, A COMMON MAINSTREAM TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN, IS UNKNOWN. METHODS/DESIGN: THIS IS A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL FOR 320 PREDOMINANTLY LOW-INCOME MINORITY ADULTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN, COMPARING YOGA, PHYSICAL THERAPY, AND EDUCATION. INCLUSION CRITERIA ARE ADULTS 18-64 YEARS OLD WITH NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN LASTING >/= 12 WEEKS AND A SELF-REPORTED AVERAGE PAIN INTENSITY OF >/= 4 ON A 0-10 SCALE. RECRUITMENT TAKES PLACE AT BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER, AN URBAN ACADEMIC SAFETY-NET HOSPITAL AND SEVEN FEDERALLY QUALIFIED COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS LOCATED IN DIVERSE NEIGHBORHOODS. THE 52-WEEK STUDY HAS AN INITIAL 12-WEEK TREATMENT PHASE WHERE PARTICIPANTS ARE RANDOMIZED IN A 2:2:1 RATIO INTO I) A STANDARDIZED WEEKLY HATHA YOGA CLASS SUPPLEMENTED BY HOME PRACTICE; II) A STANDARDIZED EVIDENCE-BASED EXERCISE THERAPY PROTOCOL ADAPTED FROM THE TREATMENT BASED CLASSIFICATION METHOD, INDIVIDUALLY DELIVERED BY A PHYSICAL THERAPIST AND SUPPLEMENTED BY HOME PRACTICE; AND III) EDUCATION DELIVERED THROUGH A SELF-CARE BOOK. CO-PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES ARE 12-WEEK PAIN INTENSITY MEASURED ON AN 11-POINT NUMERICAL RATING SCALE AND BACK-SPECIFIC FUNCTION MEASURED USING THE MODIFIED ROLAND MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE. IN THE SUBSEQUENT 40-WEEK MAINTENANCE PHASE, YOGA PARTICIPANTS ARE RE-RANDOMIZED IN A 1:1 RATIO TO EITHER STRUCTURED MAINTENANCE YOGA CLASSES OR HOME PRACTICE ONLY. PHYSICAL THERAPY PARTICIPANTS ARE SIMILARLY RE-RANDOMIZED TO EITHER FIVE BOOSTER SESSIONS OR HOME PRACTICE ONLY. EDUCATION PARTICIPANTS CONTINUE TO FOLLOW RECOMMENDATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS. WE WILL ALSO ASSESS COST EFFECTIVENESS FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE INDIVIDUAL, INSURERS, AND SOCIETY USING CLAIMS DATABASES, ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS, SELF-REPORT COST DATA, AND STUDY RECORDS. QUALITATIVE DATA FROM INTERVIEWS WILL ADD SUBJECTIVE DETAIL TO COMPLEMENT QUANTITATIVE DATA. TRIAL REGISTRATION: THIS TRIAL IS REGISTERED IN CLINICALTRIALS.GOV, WITH THE ID NUMBER: NCT01343927. 2014 8 1142 30 EFFICACY, FEASIBILITY, AND ACCEPTABILITY OF PERINATAL YOGA ON WOMEN'S MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW. INTRODUCTION: PERINATAL MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER AFFECTS 20% OF WOMEN, WHILE PERINATAL ANXIETY AFFECTS 10% OF WOMEN. ALTHOUGH PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT HAS SHOWN EFFECTIVENESS, MANY PREGNANT WOMEN ARE CONCERNED ABOUT POTENTIAL ADVERSE EFFECTS ON THE FETUS, MATERNAL-INFANT BONDING, AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT. APPROXIMATELY 38% OF AMERICAN ADULTS USE COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE, INCLUDING YOGA AND OTHER MIND-BODY STRATEGIES. ALTHOUGH COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE HAS BEEN LESS STUDIED IN THE PERINATAL POPULATION, IT POTENTIALLY OFFERS WOMEN AND THEIR PROVIDERS ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL MEDICATION FOR TREATMENT OF PERINATAL DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY. THUS, THE PURPOSE OF THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WAS TO EXAMINE EXISTING EMPIRICAL LITERATURE ON YOGA AND ITS EFFECTS ON WOMEN'S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING DURING THE PERINATAL PERIOD. METHOD: FOLLOWING PRISMA (PREFERRED REPORTING ITEMS FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND META-ANALYSES) GUIDELINES FOR SYSTEMIC LITERATURE REVIEWS, LITERATURE SEARCHES USING RELEVANT SEARCH TERMS WERE PERFORMED IN FOUR MAJOR ELECTRONIC DATABASES: CINAHL, PUBMED, PSYCINFO, AND EMBASE. THIRTEEN PUBLICATIONS MET INCLUSION CRITERIA. RESULTS: RESULTS INDICATED THAT YOGA INTERVENTIONS ARE GENERALLY EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN PREGNANT WOMEN. DISCUSSION: THE USE OF YOGA IN THE PERINATAL PERIOD SHOWS PROMISE IN IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING FOR WOMEN AND INFANTS. THIS REVIEW CAN INFORM FUTURE YOGA INTERVENTION STUDIES AND CLINICAL PRACTICE WITH THE PERINATAL POPULATION. 2016 9 603 29 DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE FOR OBESITY IN ADOLESCENTS. BACKGROUND: OBESITY IS A GROWING GLOBAL EPIDEMIC AND CAUSE OF NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES. YOGA IS ONE OF THE EFFECTIVE WAYS TO REDUCE STRESS WHICH IS ONE OF THE CAUSES OF OBESITY. NOWADAYS, CHILDREN IN ADOLESCENT AGE ARE MORE PRONE TO GET OBESE DUE TO LACK OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MAKING THEM MORE SEDENTARY. AIM: TO IDENTIFY THE DESIGN AND VALIDATION OF INTEGRATED APPROACH OF YOGA THERAPY MODULE (IAYTM) FOR OBESITY IN ADOLESCENTS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: FIRST PHASE - IAYTM FOR OBESITY WAS DESIGNED BASED ON THE LITERATURE REVIEW OF CLASSICAL TEXTS AND RECENTLY PUBLISHED RESEARCH ARTICLES. SECOND PHASE - DESIGNED IAYTM WAS VALIDATED BY 16 SUBJECT MATTER (YOGA) EXPERTS. CONTENT-VALIDITY RATIO (CVR) WAS ANALYZED USING LAWSHE'S FORMULA. RESULTS: YOGA PRACTICES WERE DESIGNED FOR INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE FOR OBESITY IN ADOLESCENTS. YOGA PRACTICES WITH CVR >/=0.5 AND WHICH WERE VALIDATED BY 16 YOGA EXPERTS AND APPROVED IN FACULTY GROUP DISCUSSION WERE INCLUDED IN FINAL INTEGRATED YOGA THERAPY MODULE. CONCLUSION: THE YOGA PRACTICES WERE DESIGNED AND VALIDATED FOR IAYTM FOR OBESITY IN ADOLESCENTS. 2018 10 236 34 A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW: THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PREGNANCY. OBJECTIVE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED TO UPDATE AND PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ANTENATAL YOGA ON PREGNANCY COMPARED TO STANDARD PRENATAL CARE. STUDY DESIGN: FOUR DATABASES WERE SEARCHED USING KEYWORDS "YOGA", "PREGNANCY", "PERINATAL CARE", "PRENATAL CARE", "POSTNATAL CARE", "POSTPARTUM PERIOD", "PERIPARTUM PERIOD", "PATIENT OUTCOME ASSESSMENT", "OUTCOME ASSESSMENT", "PREGNANCY OUTCOME", "TREATMENT OUTCOME". TRIALS WERE CONSIDERED IF THEY WERE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) PUBLISHED FROM 2011 TO 2018 AND EVALUATED AN ANTENATAL YOGA INTERVENTION. ALL STUDIES WERE ASSESSED FOR RISK OF BIAS USING THE COCHRANE CRITERIA. TRIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND OUTCOMES WERE EXTRACTED AND SYNTHESIZED DESCRIPTIVELY WHERE POSSIBLE. DUE TO HETEROGENEITY, META-ANALYSIS WAS NOT POSSIBLE. RESULTS: OF THE 175 NON-DUPLICATED STUDIES, 16 MET CRITERIA FOR FULL-TEXT REVIEW. FIVE RCTS MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA AND WERE INCLUDED IN THE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. THE FINDINGS OF THE RCTS SUGGEST ANTENATAL YOGA MAY BE SAFE AND MAY EFFECTIVELY DECREASE STRESS LEVELS, ANXIETY SCORES, DEPRESSION SCORES, AND PAIN RESPONSE AS WELL AS INCREASING MATERNAL IMMUNITY AND EMOTIONAL-WELLBEING. CONCLUSION: YOGA APPEARS TO BE SAFE AND MAY IMPROVE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PREGNANCY OUTCOMES. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE LIMITED NUMBER OF STUDIES, MORE HIGH-QUALITY, LARGE RCTS ARE NEEDED TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS ABOUT IMPROVEMENT IN OTHER PREGNANCY OUTCOMES. 2020 11 2850 50 YOGA, MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION AND STRESS-RELATED PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURES: A META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: PRACTICES THAT INCLUDE YOGA ASANAS AND MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF STRESS ARE INCREASINGLY POPULAR; HOWEVER, THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THESE PRACTICES ON STRESS REACTIVITY ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. MANY STUDIES INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF SUCH PRACTICES FAIL TO INCLUDE AN ACTIVE CONTROL GROUP. GIVEN THE FREQUENCY WITH WHICH PEOPLE ARE SELECTING SUCH INTERVENTIONS AS A FORM OF SELF-MANAGEMENT, IT IS IMPORTANT TO DETERMINE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS. THUS, THIS REVIEW INVESTIGATES THE EFFECTS OF PRACTICES THAT INCLUDE YOGA ASANAS, WITH AND WITHOUT MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION, COMPARED TO AN ACTIVE CONTROL, ON PHYSIOLOGICAL MARKERS OF STRESS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH COMPARED PRACTICES THAT INCLUDED YOGA ASANAS, WITH AND WITHOUT MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION, TO AN ACTIVE CONTROL, ON STRESS-RELATED PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURES. THE REVIEW FOCUSED ON STUDIES THAT MEASURED PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS SUCH AS BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE, CORTISOL AND PERIPHERAL CYTOKINE EXPRESSION. MEDLINE, AMED, CINAHL, PSYCINFO, SOCINDEX, PUBMED, AND SCOPUS WERE SEARCHED IN MAY 2016 AND UPDATED IN DECEMBER 2016. RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS WERE INCLUDED IF THEY ASSESSED AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OUTCOMES: HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE VARIABILITY, MEAN ARTERIAL PRESSURE, C-REACTIVE PROTEIN, INTERLEUKINS OR CORTISOL. RISK OF BIAS ASSESSMENTS INCLUDED SEQUENCE GENERATION, ALLOCATION CONCEALMENT, BLINDING OF ASSESSORS, INCOMPLETE OUTCOME DATA, SELECTIVE OUTCOME REPORTING AND OTHER SOURCES OF BIAS. META-ANALYSIS WAS UNDERTAKEN USING COMPREHENSIVE META-ANALYSIS SOFTWARE VERSION 3. SENSITIVITY ANALYSES WERE PERFORMED USING 'ONE-STUDY-REMOVED' ANALYSIS. SUBGROUP ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED FOR DIFFERENT YOGA AND CONTROL GROUP TYPES, INCLUDING MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION VERSUS NON-MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION BASED INTERVENTIONS, DIFFERENT POPULATIONS, LENGTH OF INTERVENTION, AND METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS. A RANDOM-EFFECTS MODEL WAS USED IN ALL ANALYSES. RESULTS: FORTY TWO STUDIES WERE INCLUDED IN THE META-ANALYSIS. INTERVENTIONS THAT INCLUDED YOGA ASANAS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED EVENING CORTISOL, WAKING CORTISOL, AMBULATORY SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, RESTING HEART RATE, HIGH FREQUENCY HEART RATE VARIABILITY, FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE, CHOLESTEROL AND LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN, COMPARED TO ACTIVE CONTROL. HOWEVER, THE REPORTED INTERVENTIONS WERE HETEROGENEOUS. CONCLUSIONS: PRACTICES THAT INCLUDE YOGA ASANAS APPEAR TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED REGULATION OF THE SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM AND HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL SYSTEM IN VARIOUS POPULATIONS. 2017 12 2538 46 YOGA FOR ADULT WOMEN WITH CHRONIC PTSD: A LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP STUDY. INTRODUCTION: YOGA-THE INTEGRATIVE PRACTICE OF PHYSICAL POSTURES AND MOVEMENT, BREATH EXERCISES, AND MINDFULNESS-MAY SERVE AS A USEFUL ADJUNCTIVE COMPONENT OF TRAUMA-FOCUSED TREATMENT TO BUILD SKILLS IN TOLERATING AND MODULATING PHYSIOLOGIC AND AFFECTIVE STATES THAT HAVE BECOME DYSREGULATED BY TRAUMA EXPOSURE. A PREVIOUS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT AMONG 60 WOMEN WITH CHRONIC, TREATMENT-RESISTANT POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) AND ASSOCIATED MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS STEMMING FROM PROLONGED OR MULTIPLE TRAUMA EXPOSURES. AFTER 10 SESSIONS OF YOGA, PARTICIPANTS EXHIBITED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN PTSD SYMPTOM SEVERITY AND GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF LOSS OF PTSD DIAGNOSIS, SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN ENGAGEMENT IN NEGATIVE TENSION REDUCTION ACTIVITIES (E.G., SELF-INJURY), AND GREATER REDUCTIONS IN DISSOCIATIVE AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS WHEN COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL (A SEMINAR IN WOMEN'S HEALTH). THE CURRENT STUDY IS A LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENT OF PARTICIPANTS WHO COMPLETED THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS FROM THE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WERE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENTS APPROXIMATELY 1.5 YEARS AFTER STUDY COMPLETION TO ASSESS WHETHER THE INITIAL INTERVENTION AND/OR YOGA PRACTICE AFTER TREATMENT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH ADDITIONAL CHANGES. FORTY-NINE WOMEN COMPLETED THE LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEWS. HIERARCHICAL REGRESSION ANALYSIS WAS USED TO EXAMINE WHETHER TREATMENT GROUP STATUS IN THE ORIGINAL STUDY AND FREQUENCY OF YOGA PRACTICE AFTER THE STUDY PREDICTED GREATER CHANGES IN SYMPTOMS AND PTSD DIAGNOSIS. RESULTS: GROUP ASSIGNMENT IN THE ORIGINAL RANDOMIZED STUDY WAS NOT A SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR OF LONGER-TERM OUTCOMES. HOWEVER, FREQUENCY OF CONTINUING YOGA PRACTICE SIGNIFICANTLY PREDICTED GREATER DECREASES IN PTSD SYMPTOM SEVERITY AND DEPRESSION SYMPTOM SEVERITY, AS WELL AS A GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF A LOSS OF PTSD DIAGNOSIS. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA APPEARS TO BE A USEFUL TREATMENT MODALITY; THE GREATEST LONG-TERM BENEFITS ARE DERIVED FROM MORE FREQUENT YOGA PRACTICE. 2016 13 1093 45 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON WELL-BEING AND HEALTHY AGEING: STUDY PROTOCOL FOR A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL (FITFORAGE). INTRODUCTION: DUE TO AGEING POPULATIONS WORLDWIDE, THE BURDEN OF DISABILITY IS INCREASING. IT IS THEREFORE IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP INTERVENTIONS THAT IMPROVE HEALTHY AGEING, REDUCE DISABILITY ONSET AND ENHANCE LIFE QUALITY. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CAN PROMOTE HEALTHY AGEING AND HELP MAINTAIN INDEPENDENCE, YET MANY OLDER ADULTS ARE INACTIVE. YOGA IS A FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY THAT AIMS TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND MAY BE PARTICULARLY SUITABLE FOR OLDER ADULTS. RESEARCH INDICATES POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON SEVERAL HEALTH-RELATED OUTCOMES; HOWEVER, EMPIRICAL STUDIES EXAMINING THE BENEFITS OF YOGA ON WELL-BEING AMONG THE ELDERLY REMAIN SCARCE. THIS STUDY PROTOCOL REPORTS THE METHODOLOGY FOR A 12-WEEK YOGA PROGRAMME AIMED TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING AMONG PHYSICALLY INACTIVE OLDER ADULTS. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: THREE GROUP PARALLEL, SINGLE-BLIND RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL. TWO COMPARISON GROUPS ARE INCLUDED: AEROBIC EXERCISE AND A NON-ACTIVE WAIT-LIST CONTROL. IN TOTAL, 180 PARTICIPANTS AGED 65-85 YEARS WILL BE RECRUITED. ASSESSMENTS WILL BE PERFORMED AT BASELINE AND POSTINTERVENTION (12-WEEK FOLLOW-UP). THE PRIMARY OUTCOME IS SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING. SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY/SEDENTARY BEHAVIOUR, MOBILITY/FALL RISK, COGNITION, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, MOOD, STRESS, PAIN, SLEEP QUALITY, SOCIAL SUPPORT AND CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK FACTORS. DATA WILL BE ANALYSED USING INTENTION-TO-TREAT ANALYSES, WITH MIXED LINEAR MODELLING. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: THIS STUDY IS APPROVED BY THE ETHICAL REVIEW BOARD IN STOCKHOLM (2017/1862-31/2). ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST VOLUNTARILY AGREE TO PARTICIPATE AND ARE FREE TO WITHDRAW FROM THE STUDY AT ANY POINT. WRITTEN INFORMED CONSENT WILL BE OBTAINED FROM EACH PARTICIPANT PRIOR TO INCLUSION. RESULTS WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH RESEARCH ARTICLES AND CONFERENCES. A SUMMARY OF KEY RESULTS WILL BE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE THROUGH NEWSPAPER ARTICLES. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DRKS00015093, U1111-1217-4248. 2019 14 2386 47 YOGA AIDS BLOOD PRESSURE RECOVERY AFTER EXPOSURE OF FOREHEAD TO COLD: A PILOT STUDY. CONTEXT: HYPOTENSION THAT OCCURS AFTER A SINGLE BOUT OF AEROBIC EXERCISE ALSO ATTENUATES THE VASCULAR RESPONSE TO DISCRETE STRESSORS, AN EFFECT THAT CAN LAST FOR HOURS. IT IS UNKNOWN WHETHER THE HYPOTENSIVE BENEFITS OF TRADITIONAL EXERCISE EXTEND TO ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF MINDFUL EXERCISE, SUCH AS YOGA, TO CONFER TRANSIENT PROTECTION AGAINST NEUROVASCULAR CHALLENGES THAT INCREASE BLOOD PRESSURE (BP). OBJECTIVES: THE STUDY INTENDED TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF ACUTE EXERCISE ON NEUROVASCULAR RESPONSES TO EXPOSURE OF THE FOREHEAD OF FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS TO VASOCONSTRICTIVE COLD (IE, TO COLD PRESSOR STRESS). DESIGN: THE RESEARCH TEAM DESIGNED A STUDY WITH 3 CONDITIONS (IE, WITH PARTICIPANTS' PARTICIPATION IN 3 ACTIVITIES ON SEPARATE DAYS IN A REPEATED-MEASURES DESIGN). PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO PERFORM THE ACTIVITIES IN 1 OF 3 ORDERS ACROSS SUCCESSIVE VISITS. PARTICIPANTS: PARTICIPANTS WERE 9 FEMALES, 20 TO 33 Y OLD, WHO HAD REGULARLY PRACTICED HATHA YOGA FROM 6 MO TO 12 Y BEFORE THE START OF THE STUDY. ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE NORMOTENSIVE AT ENTRY TO THE STUDY AND HAD NORMAL BODY WEIGHTS FOR THEIR HEIGHTS. INTERVENTIONS: ALL PARTICIPANTS PERFORMED 3 ACTIVITIES: (1) SELF-DIRECTED YOGA PRACTICE, THE INTERVENTION; (2) CYCLING EXERCISE AT A SELF-SELECTED INTENSITY, A POSITIVE CONTROL; AND (3) QUIET REST, A NEGATIVE CONTROL. OUTCOME MEASURES: POSTINTERVENTION, PARTICIPANTS' FOREHEADS WERE EXPOSED TO COLD. THEIR SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES (SBPS), DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES (DBPS), PULSE RATES, AND FOREARM OXYGENATION WERE ASSESSED USING NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY. RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS' SBPS AND DBPS INCREASED DURING COLD PRESSOR STRESS UNDER ALL CONDITIONS, CONCURRENT WITH DECREASED FOREARM OXYGENATION. DURING RECOVERY FROM THE COLD, PARTICIPANTS' BPS DECLINED TO NEAR PRECOLD PRESSOR BASELINE LEVELS AFTER YOGA AND CYCLING BUT REMAINED ELEVATED AFTER QUIET REST. CONCLUSIONS: THE ENHANCED RECOVERY OF BP FROM COLD APPLIED TO THE FOREHEAD AFTER YOGA PRACTICE OR CYCLING EXERCISE SUGGESTS THAT BOTH TYPES OF EXERCISE PROMOTE A HYPOTENSIVE RESPONSE, WHICH COULD INDICATE LOWERED CARDIOVASCULAR RISK. 2018 15 217 37 A STUDY PROTOCOL OF A THREE-GROUP RANDOMIZED FEASIBILITY TRIAL OF AN ONLINE YOGA INTERVENTION FOR MOTHERS AFTER STILLBIRTH (THE MINDFUL HEALTH STUDY). BACKGROUND: IN THE USA, STILLBIRTH (IN UTERO FETAL DEATH >/=20 WEEKS GESTATION) IS A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE. WOMEN WHO EXPERIENCE STILLBIRTH, COMPARED TO WOMEN WITH LIVE BIRTH, HAVE A NEARLY SEVENFOLD INCREASED RISK OF A POSITIVE SCREEN FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) AND A FOURFOLD INCREASED RISK OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE DEATH OF THEIR BABY BECOME PREGNANT WITHIN 12-18 MONTHS AND THE LACK OF INTERVENTION STUDIES CONDUCTED WITHIN THIS POPULATION, NOVEL APPROACHES TARGETING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH, SPECIFIC TO THE NEEDS OF THIS POPULATION, ARE CRITICAL. EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT YOGA IS EFFICACIOUS, SAFE, ACCEPTABLE, AND COST-EFFECTIVE FOR IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH IN A VARIETY OF POPULATIONS, INCLUDING PREGNANT AND POSTPARTUM WOMEN. TO DATE, THERE ARE NO KNOWN STUDIES EXAMINING ONLINE-STREAMING YOGA AS A STRATEGY TO HELP MOTHERS COPE WITH PTSD SYMPTOMS AFTER STILLBIRTH. METHODS: THE PRESENT STUDY IS A TWO-PHASE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. PHASE 1 WILL INVOLVE (1) AN ITERATIVE DESIGN PROCESS TO DEVELOP THE ONLINE YOGA PRESCRIPTION FOR PHASE 2 AND (2) QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS TO IDENTIFY CULTURAL BARRIERS TO RECRUITMENT IN NON-CAUCASIAN WOMEN (I.E., PREDOMINATELY HISPANIC AND/OR AFRICAN AMERICAN) WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED STILLBIRTH (N = 5). PHASE 2 IS A THREE-GROUP RANDOMIZED FEASIBILITY TRIAL WITH ASSESSMENTS AT BASELINE, AND AT 12 AND 20 WEEKS POST-INTERVENTION. NINETY WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED A STILLBIRTH WITHIN 6 WEEKS TO 24 MONTHS WILL BE RANDOMIZED INTO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THREE ARMS FOR 12 WEEKS: (1) INTERVENTION LOW DOSE (LD) = 60 MIN/WEEK ONLINE-STREAMING YOGA (N = 30), (2) INTERVENTION MODERATE DOSE (MD) = 150 MIN/WEEK ONLINE-STREAMING YOGA (N = 30), OR (3) STRETCH AND TONE CONTROL (STC) GROUP = 60 MIN/WEEK OF STRETCHING/TONING EXERCISES (N = 30). DISCUSSION: THIS STUDY WILL EXPLORE THE FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY OF A 12-WEEK, HOME-BASED, ONLINE-STREAMED YOGA INTERVENTION, WITH VARYING DOSES AMONG MOTHERS AFTER A STILLBIRTH. IF FEASIBLE, THE FINDINGS FROM THIS STUDY WILL INFORM A FULL-SCALE TRIAL TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HOME-BASED ONLINE-STREAMED YOGA TO IMPROVE PTSD. LONG-TERM, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS COULD USE ONLINE YOGA AS A NON-PHARMACEUTICAL, INEXPENSIVE RESOURCE FOR STILLBIRTH AFTERCARE. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02925481. 2018 16 2680 65 YOGA IN SCHOOL SPORTS IMPROVES FUNCTIONING OF AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM IN YOUNG ADULTS: A NON-RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: YOGA IN SCHOOL IS A BENEFICIAL TOOL TO PROMOTE THE GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF STUDENTS BY CHANGING THE WAY THEY REACT TO STRESS. THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA-TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS-ON CHILDREN, YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN FORMER STUDIES USING MOSTLY SUBJECTIVE PSYCHOMETRIC DATA. AIM: THE PRESENT TRIAL AIMS TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA ON AUTONOMIC REGULATION IN YOUNG ADULTS BY ANALYZING HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). METHODS: THIS STUDY IS A NON-RANDOMIZED, EXPLORATIVE, TWO-ARM-PILOT STUDY WITH AN ACTIVE CONTROL GROUP. FOURTEEN HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS TOOK PART IN A 10-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM (90 MIN ONCE A WEEK) IN SCHOOL AND WERE COMPARED TO A CONTROL GROUP OF 11 STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN CONVENTIONAL SCHOOL SPORTS (90 MIN ONCE A WEEK OVER 10 WEEKS). 24-HOUR ELECTROCARDIOGRAMS (ECGS) WERE RECORDED AT BASELINE AND FOLLOWING THE 10-WEEK INTERVENTION. FROM 20-MINUTE OF NOCTURNAL SLEEP PHASES, HRV PARAMETERS WERE CALCULATED FROM LINEAR (TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN) AND NONLINEAR DYNAMICS (SUCH AS SYMBOLIC DYNAMICS AND POINCARE PLOT ANALYSIS). ANALYSES OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) FOLLOWED BY T-TESTS AS POST-HOC TESTS ESTIMATING BOTH STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE AND EFFECT SIZE WERE USED TO COMPARE PRE-POST-INTERVENTION FOR THE TWO GROUPS. RESULTS: THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE INTERACTION EFFECTS DID NOT REVEAL A SIGNIFICANT GROUP AND TIME INTERACTION FOR THE INDIVIDUAL NOCTURNAL HRV INDICES. ALMOST ALL INDICES REVEALED MEDIUM AND LARGE EFFECTS REGARDING THE TIME MAIN EFFECTS. THE CHANGES IN THE HRV INDICES FOLLOWING THE INTERVENTION WERE MORE DRAMATIC FOR THE YOGA GROUP THAN FOR THE CONTROL GROUP WHICH IS REFLECTED IN PREDOMINANTLY HIGHER SIGNIFICANCES AND STRONGER EFFECT SIZES IN THE YOGA GROUP. CONCLUSION: IN THIS EXPLORATIVE PILOT TRIAL, AN INCREASE OF HRV (MORE PARASYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE AND OVERALL HIGHER HRV) AFTER TEN WEEKS OF YOGA IN SCHOOL IN COMPARISON TO REGULAR SCHOOL SPORTS WAS DEMONSTRATED, SHOWING AN IMPROVED SELF-REGULATION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. 2020 17 2732 32 YOGA ON OUR MINDS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF YOGA FOR NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. BACKGROUND: THE DEMAND FOR CLINICALLY EFFICACIOUS, SAFE, PATIENT ACCEPTABLE, AND COST-EFFECTIVE FORMS OF TREATMENT FOR MENTAL ILLNESS IS GROWING. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED BENEFIT FROM YOGA IN SPECIFIC PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS AND A GENERAL SENSE OF WELL-BEING. OBJECTIVE: TO SYSTEMATICALLY EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE FOR EFFICACY OF YOGA IN THE TREATMENT OF SELECTED MAJOR PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. METHODS: ELECTRONIC SEARCHES OF THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS AND THE STANDARD BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASES, MEDLINE, EMBASE, AND PSYCINFO, WERE PERFORMED THROUGH APRIL 2011 AND AN UPDATED IN JUNE 2011 USING THE KEYWORDS YOGA AND PSYCHIATRY OR DEPRESSION OR ANXIETY OR SCHIZOPHRENIA OR COGNITION OR MEMORY OR ATTENTION AND RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT). STUDIES WITH YOGA AS THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE AND ONE OF THE ABOVE MENTIONED TERMS AS THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE WERE INCLUDED AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA WERE APPLIED. RESULTS: THE SEARCH YIELDED A TOTAL OF 124 TRIALS, OF WHICH 16 MET RIGOROUS CRITERIA FOR THE FINAL REVIEW. GRADE B EVIDENCE SUPPORTING A POTENTIAL ACUTE BENEFIT FOR YOGA EXISTS IN DEPRESSION (FOUR RCTS), AS AN ADJUNCT TO PHARMACOTHERAPY IN SCHIZOPHRENIA (THREE RCTS), IN CHILDREN WITH ADHD (TWO RCTS), AND GRADE C EVIDENCE IN SLEEP COMPLAINTS (THREE RCTS). RCTS IN COGNITIVE DISORDERS AND EATING DISORDERS YIELDED CONFLICTING RESULTS. NO STUDIES LOOKED AT PRIMARY PREVENTION, RELAPSE PREVENTION, OR COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS VERSUS PHARMACOTHERAPY. CONCLUSION: THERE IS EMERGING EVIDENCE FROM RANDOMIZED TRIALS TO SUPPORT POPULAR BELIEFS ABOUT YOGA FOR DEPRESSION, SLEEP DISORDERS, AND AS AN AUGMENTATION THERAPY. LIMITATIONS OF LITERATURE INCLUDE INABILITY TO DO DOUBLE-BLIND STUDIES, MULTIPLICITY OF COMPARISONS WITHIN SMALL STUDIES, AND LACK OF REPLICATION. BIOMARKER AND NEUROIMAGING STUDIES, THOSE COMPARING YOGA WITH STANDARD PHARMACO- AND PSYCHOTHERAPIES, AND STUDIES OF LONG-TERM EFFICACY ARE NEEDED TO FULLY TRANSLATE THE PROMISE OF YOGA FOR ENHANCING MENTAL HEALTH. 2012 18 451 48 CHANGES IN FATIGUE, AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS, AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS DUE TO SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME. BACKGROUND: IN A PREVIOUS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, WE FOUND THAT SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA IMPROVES FATIGUE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS) WHO ARE RESISTANT TO CONVENTIONAL THERAPY. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE MECHANISMS BEHIND THIS FINDING, FOCUSING ON THE SHORT-TERM FATIGUE-RELIEVING EFFECT, BY COMPARING AUTONOMIC NERVOUS FUNCTION AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS BEFORE AND AFTER A SESSION OF ISOMETRIC YOGA. METHODS: FIFTEEN PATIENTS WITH CFS WHO REMAINED SYMPTOMATIC DESPITE AT LEAST 6 MONTHS OF CONVENTIONAL THERAPY PRACTICED SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA (BIWEEKLY 20 MIN PRACTICE WITH A YOGA INSTRUCTOR AND DAILY HOME PRACTICE) FOR EIGHT WEEKS. ACUTE EFFECTS OF SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA ON FATIGUE, AUTONOMIC FUNCTION, AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS WERE INVESTIGATED AFTER THE FINAL SESSION WITH AN INSTRUCTOR. THE EFFECT OF A SINGLE SESSION OF SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA ON FATIGUE WAS ASSESSED BY THE PROFILE OF MOOD STATUS (POMS) QUESTIONNAIRE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER THE SESSION. AUTONOMIC NERVOUS FUNCTION (HEART RATE (HR) VARIABILITY) AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS (CORTISOL, DHEA-S, TNF-ALPHA, IL-6, IFN-GAMMA, IFN-ALPHA, PROLACTIN, CARNITINE, TGF-BETA1, BDNF, MHPG, AND HVA) WERE COMPARED BEFORE AND AFTER THE SESSION. RESULTS: SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED THE POMS FATIGUE SCORE (P < 0.01) AND INCREASED THE VIGOR SCORE (P < 0.01). IT ALSO REDUCED HR (P < 0.05) AND INCREASED THE HIGH FREQUENCY POWER (P < 0.05) OF HR VARIABILITY. SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA INCREASED SERUM LEVELS OF DHEA-S (P < 0.05), REDUCED LEVELS OF CORTISOL (P < 0.05) AND TNF-ALPHA (P < 0.05), AND HAD A TENDENCY TO REDUCE SERUM LEVELS OF PROLACTIN (P < 0.1). DECREASES IN FATIGUE SCORES CORRELATED WITH CHANGES IN PLASMA LEVELS OF TGF-BETA1 AND BDNF. IN CONTRAST, INCREASED VIGOR POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH HVA. CONCLUSIONS: A SINGLE SESSION OF SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA REDUCED FATIGUE AND INCREASED VIGOR IN PATIENTS WITH CFS. YOGA ALSO INCREASED VAGAL NERVE FUNCTION AND CHANGED BLOOD BIOMARKERS IN A PATTERN THAT SUGGESTED ANTI-STRESS AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS. THESE CHANGES APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO THE SHORT-TERM FATIGUE-RELIEVING EFFECT OF SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH CFS. FURTHERMORE, DOPAMINERGIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVATION MIGHT ACCOUNT FOR SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA-INDUCED INCREASES IN ENERGY IN THIS PATIENT POPULATION. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MEDICAL INFORMATION NETWORK (UMIN CTR) UMIN000009646. REGISTERED DEC 27, 2012. 2018 19 688 49 EFFECT OF ANTENATAL EXERCISES, INCLUDING YOGA, ON THE COURSE OF LABOR, DELIVERY AND PREGNANCY: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY. BACKGROUND: DELIVERING A CHILD IS A VERY STRESSFUL EXPERIENCE FOR WOMEN. PREGNANCY AND LABOR ENTAIL COMPLEX EVENTS THAT ARE UNIQUE TO EACH INDIVIDUAL FEMALE. THE MANAGEMENT OF LABOR PAIN IS OFTEN DONE USING ANALGESICS AND ANESTHESIA, WHICH HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE SOME SIDE EFFECTS. MORE COMPREHENSIVE DATA ARE NEEDED TO PROVIDE CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT EVIDENCE FOR CLINICIANS TO CONFIDENTLY PRESCRIBE EXERCISES TO PATIENTS. THIS STUDY WAS DONE TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF ANTENATAL EXERCISES, INCLUDING YOGA, ON THE COURSE OF LABOR, DELIVERY, AND PREGNANCY OUTCOMES. METHODS: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AMONG 200 PRIMIPAROUS SUBJECTS (AGED 20-40). A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS PROVIDED TO THE SUBJECTS TO OBTAIN THEIR DEMOGRAPHIC AND OBSTETRICAL INFORMATION 6 WEEKS AFTER DELIVERY, AND THEIR HOSPITAL RECORDS WERE ALSO ASSESSED FOR FURTHER DETAILS. BASED ON THE NATURE AND DETAILS OBTAINED FOR THE ANTENATAL EXERCISES, SUBJECTS WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS: CONTROL AND EXERCISE. OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED THE NEED FOR LABOR INDUCTION, SELF-PERCEIVED PAIN AND PERCEIVED EXERTION DURING LABOR, DURATION AND NATURE OF THE DELIVERY, NEWBORN INFANT WEIGHT, MATERNAL WEIGHT GAIN, HISTORY OF BACK PAIN, AND POST-PARTUM RECOVERY. THE TOTAL MATERNAL WEIGHT GAIN (IN KILOGRAMS) WAS CALCULATED FROM WEIGHT AT 6 WEEKS AFTER DELIVERY MINUS THE WEIGHT AT 12-14 WEEKS OF GESTATION. BACK PAIN DURING PREGNANCY AND SELF-PERCEIVED LABOR PAIN WERE MEASURED USING A VISUAL ANALOG SCALE (VAS). THE OVERALL PERCEIVED EXERTION DURING LABOR WAS MEASURED USING AN ADAPTED BORG SCALE FOR PERCEIVED EFFORT. RESULTS: THE SUBJECTS WHO FOLLOWED REGULAR ANTENATAL EXERCISES, INCLUDING YOGA, HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RATES OF CESAREAN SECTION, LOWER WEIGHT GAIN, HIGHER NEWBORN INFANT WEIGHT, LOWER PAIN AND OVERALL DISCOMFORT DURING LABOR, LOWER BACK PAIN THROUGHOUT PREGNANCY, AND EARLIER POST-PARTUM RECOVERY COMPARED TO THOSE WHO DID NO SPECIFIC EXERCISES OR ONLY WALKED DURING PREGNANCY. CONCLUSIONS: THIS RETROSPECTIVE STUDY SHOWED THAT REGULAR ANTENATAL EXERCISES, INCLUDING YOGA, RESULT IN BETTER OUTCOMES RELATED TO THE COURSE OF LABOR, DELIVERY, AND PREGNANCY. THESE RESULTS NOTABLY INDICATED THAT PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD BE ACTIVE THROUGHOUT PREGNANCY AND FOLLOW A SUPERVISED EXERCISE PROGRAM THAT INCLUDES YOGA UNLESS CONTRAINDICATED. WE REQUIRE FURTHER LARGE-SCALE PROSPECTIVE STUDIES AND QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL TRIALS TO CONFIRM THE OBSERVED FINDINGS. 2020 20 1769 36 POTENTIAL FOR PRENATAL YOGA TO SERVE AS AN INTERVENTION TO TREAT DEPRESSION DURING PREGNANCY. BACKGROUND: WHEN LEFT UNTREATED, ANTENATAL DEPRESSION CAN HAVE A SERIOUS NEGATIVE IMPACT ON MATERNAL, AND INFANT OUTCOMES. MANY AFFECTED WOMEN DO NOT OBTAIN TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION OWING TO DIFFICULTIES ACCESSING CARE OR BECAUSE THEY DO NOT FIND STANDARD ANTIDEPRESSANT TREATMENTS TO BE ACCEPTABLE DURING PREGNANCY. THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE ACCEPTABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF A GENTLE PRENATAL YOGA INTERVENTION, AS A STRATEGY FOR TREATING DEPRESSION DURING PREGNANCY. METHODS: WE DEVELOPED A 10-WEEK PRENATAL YOGA PROGRAM FOR ANTENATAL DEPRESSION AND AN ACCOMPANYING YOGA INSTRUCTORS' MANUAL, AND ENROLLED 34 DEPRESSED PREGNANT WOMEN FROM THE COMMUNITY INTO AN OPEN PILOT TRIAL. WE MEASURED CHANGE IN MATERNAL DEPRESSION SEVERITY FROM BEFORE TO AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT THE PRENATAL YOGA INTERVENTION WAS FEASIBLE TO ADMINISTER AND ACCEPTABLE TO THE WOMEN ENROLLED. NO STUDY-RELATED INJURIES OR OTHER SAFETY ISSUES WERE OBSERVED DURING THE TRIAL. ON AVERAGE, PARTICIPANTS' DEPRESSION SEVERITY DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY BY THE END OF THE INTERVENTION BASED ON BOTH OBSERVED-RATED AND SELF-REPORT DEPRESSION ASSESSMENT MEASURES. CONCLUSION: THE CURRENT STUDY SUGGESTS THAT PRENATAL YOGA MAY BE A VIABLE APPROACH TO ADDRESSING ANTENATAL DEPRESSION, ONE THAT MAY HAVE ADVANTAGES IN TERMS OF GREATER ACCEPTABILITY THAN STANDARD DEPRESSION TREATMENTS. RESEARCH AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS ARE DISCUSSED. 2015