1 2163 142 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND QUIET REST ON SUBJECTIVE LEVELS OF ANXIETY AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES: A 2-WAY CROSSOVER RANDOMIZED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: REST OR ACUTE EXERCISE CAN DECREASE STATE ANXIETY, WITH SOME EVIDENCE SHOWING EXERCISE TO PREVENT LABORATORY-INDUCED ELEVATIONS IN ANXIETY. NO STUDY HAS EXAMINED WHETHER YOGA PROVIDES SHORT-TERM PROTECTION AGAINST LABORATORY-INDUCED ANXIETY. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AN ACUTE YOGAFIT SESSION ON STATE ANXIETY AND MEASURES OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOGA PROVIDES SHORT-TERM PROTECTION AGAINST EMOTIONAL PICTURE STIMULI. METHODS: A RANDOMIZED REPEATED-MEASURES CROSSOVER CLINICAL TRIAL WAS PERFORMED. FORTY HEALTHY, FEMALE COLLEGE STUDENTS COMPLETED A 30 MIN SESSION OF YOGAFIT AND A TIME-MATCHED SEATED REST CONDITION ON SEPARATE DAYS. AFTER EACH CONDITION, PARTICIPANTS VIEWED 30 MIN OF EMOTIONAL PICTURE STIMULI. STATE ANXIETY, HEART RATE AND TIME-DOMAIN AND FREQUENCY-DOMAIN MEASURES OF HRV WERE ASSESSED BASELINE, POST- CONDITION, AND POST-EXPOSURE TO EMOTIONAL STIMULI. DATA WERE ANALYSED USING A CONDITION X TIME (2 X 3) REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA. RESULTS: POST-HOC COMPARISONS INDICATE THE FOLLOWING: (1) STATE ANXIETY SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED FROM BASELINE TO POST-CONDITION FOR BOTH YOGA AND REST (P = 0.001) BUT RETURNED TO BASELINE VALUES FOLLOWING EXPOSURE TO EMOTIONAL STIMULI (P < 0.001) FOR BOTH CONDITIONS; (2) HEART RATE DECREASED POST-CONDITION TO POST-EXPOSURE (P = 0.020) AND BASELINE TO POST-EXPOSURE (P = 0.033) FOR BOTH CONDITIONS; (3) TIME-DOMAIN MEASURE OF HRV SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN HRV BETWEEN BASELINE AND POST-CONDITION (P = 0 .019), POST-CONDITION AND POST-EXPOSURE (P = 0 .007), AND BETWEEN BASELINE AND POST-EXPOSURE (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: BOTH YOGAFIT AND SEATED REST WERE EFFECTIVE AT ACUTELY REDUCING STATE ANXIETY POST-CONDITION, BUT NOT AT PREVENTING AN INDUCED ANXIETY RESPONSE POST-EXPOSURE. FOLLOWING EXPOSURE TO THE EMOTIONALLY STIMULATING PICTURES, THERE WAS A SHIFT FROM THE HIGH FREQUENCY-DOMAIN TO THE LOW FREQUENCY-DOMAIN AND AN INCREASE IN THE TIME-DOMAIN MEASURE OF HRV FOR BOTH THE YOGAFIT AND THE QUIET REST CONDITION. TRIAL REGISTRATION: RETROSPECTIVELY REGISTERED 2/16/2018, CLINICALTRIALS.GOV, IDENTIFIER: NCT03458702 . 2018 2 630 27 DIFFERENCES IN ENERGY EXPENDITURE DURING HIGH-SPEED VERSUS STANDARD-SPEED YOGA: A RANDOMIZED SEQUENCE CROSSOVER TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: TO COMPARE ENERGY EXPENDITURE AND VOLUME OF OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCTION DURING A HIGH-SPEED YOGA AND A STANDARD-SPEED YOGA PROGRAM. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED REPEATED MEASURES CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTING: A LABORATORY OF NEUROMUSCULAR RESEARCH AND ACTIVE AGING. INTERVENTIONS: SUN-SALUTATION B WAS PERFORMED, FOR EIGHT MINUTES, AT A HIGH SPEED VERSUS AND A STANDARD-SPEED SEPARATELY WHILE OXYGEN CONSUMPTION WAS RECORDED. CALORIC EXPENDITURE WAS CALCULATED USING VOLUME OF OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCTION. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: DIFFERENCE IN ENERGY EXPENDITURE (KCAL) OF HSY AND SSY. RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED IN ENERGY EXPENDITURE BETWEEN YOGA SPEEDS WITH HIGH-SPEED YOGA PRODUCING SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER ENERGY EXPENDITURE THAN STANDARD-SPEED YOGA (MD=18.55, SE=1.86, P<0.01). SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE ALSO SEEN BETWEEN HIGH-SPEED AND STANDARD-SPEED YOGA FOR VOLUME OF OXYGEN CONSUMED AND CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCED. CONCLUSIONS: HIGH-SPEED YOGA RESULTS IN A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER CALORIC EXPENDITURE THAN STANDARD-SPEED YOGA. HIGH-SPEED YOGA MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM FOR THOSE TARGETING CARDIOMETABOLIC MARKERS. 2016 3 2362 47 VOLITIONAL YOGA BREATHING INFLUENCES ATTENTION AND ANXIETY: AN EXPLORATORY RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER STUDY. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS STUDIES ASSESSED YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES INDIVIDUALLY. THIS EXPLORATORY, RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER STUDY ASSESSED ATTENTION AND ANXIETY FOLLOWING FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES, BREATH AWARENESS, AND QUIET SEATED REST. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIRTY-EIGHT MALE VOLUNTEERS BETWEEN 20 AND 37 YEARS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD; 24.08 +/- 4.01 YEARS) WERE ASSESSED IN SIX SESSIONS IN RANDOM ORDER (WWW.RANDOMIZER.ORG) ON SEPARATE DAYS. THE SESSIONS WERE: (I) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, (II) BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING, (III) BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING, (IV) HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING, (V) BREATH AWARENESS, AND (VI) QUIET SEATED REST. THE SESSIONS WERE FOR 18 MIN EACH. SIX LETTER CANCELLATION TEST (SLCT) AND SPIELBERGER'S STATE TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY-STATE (STAI-S) WERE ADMINISTERED PRE AND POST EACH SESSION. DATA ANALYSIS USED GENERAL LINEAR MIXED MODEL ANALYSIS, WITH FIXED EFFECT OF STATES (PRE AND POST) AND SESSIONS. RESULTS: A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT OF STATES WAS OBSERVED ON TOTAL ATTEMPTED (F1,407 = 5.374, P = 0.021) AND NET ATTEMPTED SCORES (F1,407 = 6.178, P = 0.013) OF THE SLCT, WITH A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SCORES FOLLOWING HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.031 FOR TOTAL ATTEMPTED SCORES; PADJ = 0.029 FOR NET ATTEMPTED SCORES). ALSO, A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT OF STATES ON STAI-S SCORES WAS OBSERVED (F1,407 = 33.979, P < 0.001), WITH A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN SCORES FOLLOWING ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.001), BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.008), BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.002), AND HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.042) COMPARED TO THE CORRESPONDING PRE STATE. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT OF SESSIONS (F5,407 = 3.043, P = 0.010) ON STAI-S SCORES, WITH SCORES POST ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN POST BREATH AWARENESS (PADJ = 0.037). CONCLUSION: FOLLOWING HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING SUSTAINED ATTENTION WAS BETTER THAN BEFORE WHILE STATE ANXIETY DECREASED IN POST-PRE COMPARISONS OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING, BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING, AND HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BREATHING PRACTICES MAY BE DUE TO DIFFERENCES IN DEGREE OF VOLITIONAL REGULATION OF BREATHING AND IN THE BREATH PATTERNS MODIFIED VOLITIONALLY. THE GENERALIZABILITY OF THE FINDINGS WAS LIMITED BY INCLUDING AN ALL MALE, YOGA EXPERIENCED SAMPLE. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD INCLUDE PARTICIPANTS OF BOTH GENDERS AND COULD INCLUDE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF YOGA EXPERIENCE, WITH ASSESSMENTS INCLUDING OBJECTIVE MEASURES OF ATTENTION AND ANXIETY. 2022 4 1676 38 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 5 626 28 DIFFERENCE IN MUSCLE ACTIVATION PATTERNS DURING HIGH-SPEED VERSUS STANDARD-SPEED YOGA: A RANDOMIZED SEQUENCE CROSSOVER STUDY. OBJECTIVES: TO COMPARE THE DIFFERENCE IN MUSCLE ACTIVATION BETWEEN HIGH-SPEED YOGA AND STANDARD-SPEED YOGA AND TO COMPARE MUSCLE ACTIVATION OF THE TRANSITIONS BETWEEN POSES AND THE HELD PHASES OF A YOGA POSE. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED SEQUENCE CROSSOVER TRIAL SETTING: A LABORATORY OF NEUROMUSCULAR RESEARCH AND ACTIVE AGING INTERVENTIONS: EIGHT MINUTES OF CONTINUOUS SUN SALUTATION B WAS PERFORMED, AT A HIGH SPEED VERSUS A STANDARD-SPEED, SEPARATELY. ELECTROMYOGRAPHY WAS USED TO QUANTIFY NORMALIZED MUSCLE ACTIVATION PATTERNS OF EIGHT UPPER AND LOWER BODY MUSCLES (PECTORALIS MAJOR, MEDIAL DELTOIDS, LATERAL HEAD OF THE TRICEPS, MIDDLE FIBERS OF THE TRAPEZIUS, VASTUS MEDIALIS, MEDIAL GASTROCNEMIUS, THORACIC EXTENSOR SPINAE, AND EXTERNAL OBLIQUES) DURING THE HIGH-SPEED AND STANDARD-SPEED YOGA PROTOCOLS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: DIFFERENCE IN NORMALIZED MUSCLE ACTIVATION BETWEEN HIGH-SPEED YOGA AND STANDARD-SPEED YOGA. RESULTS: NORMALIZED MUSCLE ACTIVITY SIGNALS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN ALL EIGHT MUSCLES DURING THE TRANSITION PHASES OF POSES COMPARED TO THE HELD PHASES (P<0.01). THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION BETWEEN SPEEDXPHASE; HOWEVER, GREATER NORMALIZED MUSCLE ACTIVITY WAS SEEN FOR HIGHSPEED YOGA ACROSS THE ENTIRE SESSION. CONCLUSIONS: OUR RESULTS SHOW THAT TRANSITIONS FROM ONE HELD PHASE OF A POSE TO ANOTHER PRODUCES HIGHER NORMALIZED MUSCLE ACTIVITY THAN THE HELD PHASES OF THE POSES AND THAT OVERALL ACTIVITY IS GREATER DURING HIGHSPEED YOGA THAN STANDARD-SPEED YOGA. THEREFORE, THE TRANSITION SPEED AND ASSOCIATED NUMBER OF POSES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN TARGETING SPECIFIC IMPROVEMENTS IN PERFORMANCE. 2017 6 385 39 BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA STRETCHING ON SALIVARY STRESS HORMONES AND PARASYMPATHETIC NERVE ACTIVITY. THIS STUDY AIMED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF YOGA STRETCHING ON SALIVARY STRESS HORMONES AND CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, THIS STUDY IS THE FIRST TO INVESTIGATE CHANGES IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM AFTER YOGA STRETCHING. IN THIS CROSSOVER DESIGN STUDY, 10 ADULT MEN (AGE, 26.3 +/- 2.5 YEARS) WITHOUT YOGA EXPERIENCE PARTICIPATED IN THE REST AND YOGA TRIALS FOR 90 MIN. MEASUREMENTS WERE CARRIED OUT BEFORE (PRE), IMMEDIATELY (POST), 60 MIN, AND 120 MIN AFTER REST OR YOGA STRETCHING. SALIVA SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED BY CHEWING A STERILE COTTON BALL AT A FREQUENCY OF 60 CYCLES PER MINUTE. SALIVARY CORTISOL AND TESTOSTERONE CONCENTRATIONS WERE MEASURED USING AN ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY. WITH THE SUBJECTS IN THE SITTING POSITION, HEART RATE VARIABILITY WAS MEASURED USING PULSE ANALYZER PLUS FOR 150 SECONDS. AS REGARDS RATE CHANGES, SALIVARY TESTOSTERONE LEVEL TENDED TO INCREASE (P = 0.088), TESTOSTERONE/CORTISOL RATIO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (P < 0.05), AND CORTISOL LEVEL SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED (P < 0.05) AT 120 MIN AFTER YOGA STRETCHING. THE SQUARE ROOT OF THE MEAN-SQUARED DIFFERENCES OF SUCCESSIVE NORMAL-TO-NORMAL INTERVALS AND NATURAL LOGARITHM HIGH-FREQUENCY COMPONENT, WHICH ARE INDICATORS OF PARASYMPATHETIC NERVE ACTIVITY, INCREASED AT 60 MIN (P < 0.05) AND 120 MIN (P < 0.05) IN THE YOGA TRIAL, RESPECTIVELY. IN CONCLUSION, YOGA STRETCHING CAN ENHANCE PARASYMPATHETIC NERVE ACTIVITY AND IMPROVE STRESS HORMONES. THEREFORE, YOGA STRETCHING MAY BE USEFUL TO COMPENSATE FOR PHYSICAL INACTIVITY AND INCREASE LIFE EXPECTANCY IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. 2020 7 59 41 A COMPARISON OF THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF YOGA ON PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS: A PILOT STUDY. YOGA IS A FREQUENTLY RECOMMENDED STRESS MANAGEMENT STRATEGY; HOWEVER, THE ACUTE STRESS RESPONSE TO VARYING TYPES OF YOGA ARE NOT FULLY CLEAR. THUS, THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COMPARE THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF MEDITATIVE AND POWER YOGA ON INDICES OF PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS. IN A CROSSOVER COUNTERBALANCED DESIGN, PHYSICALLY ACTIVE FEMALES (N = 13; AGE = 20.8 YRS +/- 0.8, HEIGHT = 164.5 CM +/- 6.1, BODY MASS = 65.0 KG +/- 13.8) WHO DID NOT REGULARLY PARTICIPATE IN YOGA OR MINDFUL TRAINING ENROLLED IN THIS STUDY. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED TWO VISITS EACH, WITH A STANDARDIZED INSTRUCTIONAL-VIDEO 30-MIN YOGA SESSION WITH EITHER A) MEDITATIVE (HATHA STYLE) YOGA OR B) POWER (VINYASA STYLE) YOGA. PRIOR TO AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER EACH YOGA BOUT, PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS WAS ASSESSED USING THE STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY (STAI) QUESTIONNAIRE, AND SALIVARY CORTISOL SAMPLES WERE OBTAINED TO MEASURE INDICES OF PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS. STATE ANXIETY SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER FOLLOWING MEDITATIVE YOGA (P = 0.047) BUT WERE NOT DIFFERENT FOLLOWING POWER YOGA (P = 0.625). SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER FOLLOWING MEDITATIVE YOGA (P = 0.020) BUT NOT FOLLOWING POWER YOGA (P = 0.242). RESULTS INDICATE THAT ACUTE ENGAGEMENT IN MEDITATIVE YOGA DECREASES MARKERS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS, WHILE POWER YOGA DOES NOT IMPART A SIGNIFICANT STRESS-RELIEVING BENEFIT. FINDINGS INDICATE THAT DIFFERING TYPES OF YOGA MAY HAVE VARIOUS STRESS-RELIEVING CAPABILITIES AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BY INDIVIDUALS SEEKING ANXIOLYTIC BENEFITS. 2020 8 1899 39 RESTORATIVE YOGA FOR OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AMONG JAPANESE FEMALE NURSES WORKING NIGHT SHIFT: RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE WHETHER RESTORATIVE YOGA IS AN EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR RELIEVING OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AMONG FEMALE NURSES WORKING THE NIGHT SHIFT IN JAPAN. METHODS: FROM JULY 2017 TO MAY 2018, 20 FEMALE NURSES AGED IN THEIR 20S TO 30S WHO WERE WORKING THE NIGHT SHIFT AT A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL PARTICIPATED IN A RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER TRIAL, CONSISTING OF A 1-HOUR GUIDED GROUP YOGA SESSION FOLLOWED BY 4 WEEKS OF AT-HOME PRACTICE AND 4 WEEKS OF USUAL STRESS RELIEF METHODS. THE LEVEL OF STRESS WAS ASSESSED BY THE BRIEF JOB STRESS QUESTIONNAIRE OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH, LABOUR AND WELFARE BEFORE AND AFTER PERFORMING RESTORATIVE YOGA. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS WERE CALCULATED AND DATA WERE ANALYZED BY STUDENT'S T TEST, ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (WITH REPEATED MEASURES), OR BONFERRONI'S MULTIPLE COMPARISON TEST. RESULTS: VITAL SIGNS SHOWED NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES FROM BEFORE TO AFTER THE GROUP YOGA SESSION, AND THERE WAS NO CHANGE OF WEIGHT AFTER 4 WEEKS OF AT-HOME PRACTICE. THE MEAN QUESTIONNAIRE SCORE FOR "PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL STRESS REACTIONS" WAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED AFTER THE GROUP YOGA SESSION. IN ADDITION, THE MEAN SCORE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER AFTER 4 WEEKS OF AT-HOME PRACTICE THAN BEFORE OR AFTER GROUP YOGA, OR AFTER 4 WEEKS OF THE USUAL STRESS RELIEF METHODS. CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT RESTORATIVE YOGA MAY BE EFFECTIVE FOR ALLEVIATING OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AMONG FEMALE NURSES WORKING THE NIGHT SHIFT. 2019 9 1695 42 P300 FOLLOWING FOUR VOLUNTARILY REGULATED YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES AND BREATH AWARENESS. ATTENTION WAS INFLUENCED BY YOGA BREATHING IN PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED RESEARCH. EACH YOGA BREATHING PRACTICE UNIQUELY MODIFIES SPECIFIC BREATH CHARACTERISTICS. DIFFERENCES IN THE STUDY DESIGNS, ASSESSMENT METHODS AND INTERVENTIONS RESULTED IN DIFFICULTY IN COMPARING EFFECTS BETWEEN YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES. THIS STUDY AIMED (I) TO COMPARE FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES ON ATTENTION USING AN AUDITORY ODDBALL TASK AND (II) TO DETERMINE CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENTION USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY. P300 EVENT RELATED POTENTIAL WAS RECORDED SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH HEART RATE VARIABILITY BEFORE AND AFTER 18-MINUTE PERIODS EACH OF (I) HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (WITH INCREASED BREATH FREQUENCY), (II) BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING (WITH INCREASED DEPTH OF RESPIRATION), (III) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (WITH ALTERNATE NOSTRIL PATENCY), (IV) BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING (WITH PROLONGED EXHALE), (V) BREATH AWARENESS (WITH ATTENTION TO THE BREATH) AND (VI) QUIET SEATED REST AS CONTROL IN 38 YOGA EXPERIENCED MALES (AVERAGE AGE +/- SD; 24.08 +/- 4.01 YEARS). THE SIX SESSIONS WERE ON SEPARATE, RANDOMLY ALLOCATED DAYS. THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE RECORDED AT PZ WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED AFTER FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES (BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST-HOC TESTS, REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA). NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE NOTED IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY FOLLOWING YOGA BREATHING OR CONTROL SESSIONS. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES INCREASE THE ATTENTIONAL NEURAL RESOURCES ENGAGED FOR THIS AUDITORY ODDBALL TASK, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE CHARACTERISTIC OF BREATH UNIQUELY REGULATED IN THE FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES. 2022 10 2218 45 THE IMPACT OF A YOGA-BASED PHYSICAL THERAPY GROUP FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY: RESULTS FROM A PILOT STUDY. OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE THE IMPACTS OF YOGA-BASED PHYSICAL THERAPY VERSUS A SEATED REST WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF STANDARD REHABILITATION PRACTICE ON SLEEP, HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV), ANXIETY, AND FATIGUE DURING ACUTE TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI) REHABILITATION. METHODS: ELEVEN INDIVIDUALS PARTICIPATED IN THIS CROSSOVER STUDY INVOLVING THE FOLLOWING INTERVENTIONS IN A RANDOMIZED ORDER: GROUP YOGA-BASED PHYSICAL THERAPY (YPT), CONVENTIONAL PHYSICAL THERAPY (CPT), AND GROUP SEATED REST IN A RELAXING ENVIRONMENT (SR). HRV AND SELF-REPORTED ANXIETY AND FATIGUE WERE MEASURED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER EACH GROUP, AND SLEEP AFTER EACH CONDITION AND AT BASELINE. DATA WAS ANALYZED USING GENERALIZED LINEAR MIXED MODELS WITH REPEATED MEASURES. RESULTS: THE INTERACTION BETWEEN TIME AND TREATMENT WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT (P = .0203). FOR THE SR TREATMENT, WAKE AFTER SLEEP ONSET (WASO) RATE WAS REDUCED FROM 14.99 TO 10.60 (IRR = 0.71; P = .006). TIME AND TREATMENT WERE NOT FOUND TO BE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH ANY OF THE SECONDARY OUTCOMES. CONCLUSION: YOGA-BASED PHYSICAL THERAPY IS FEASIBLE AND SAFE IN THE INPATIENT REHABILITATION SETTING FOLLOWING TBI. SLEEP QUALITY IMPROVED FOLLOWING THE ADDITION OF A ONE-HOUR SEATED REST IN A RELAXING ENVIRONMENT TO A STANDARD REHABILITATION DAILY SCHEDULE, SUGGESTING THAT STRUCTURED REST TIME MAY BE BENEFICIAL TO SLEEP HYGIENE DURING INPATIENT REHABILITATION FOLLOWING TBI. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03701594. 2020 11 1739 42 PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF YOGA FOR AN UNDERSERVED POPULATION WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. BACKGROUND: YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN USEFUL IN REDUCING CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) THROUGH LARGELY UNKNOWN MECHANISMS. THE AIM OF THIS PILOT STUDY IS TO INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF PROVIDING YOGA INTERVENTION TO A PREDOMINANTLY UNDERSERVED POPULATION AND EXPLORE THE POTENTIAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING YOGA INTERVENTION IN IMPROVING CLBP PAIN. METHODS: THE QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL WITHIN-SUBJECT WAIT-LISTED CROSSOVER DESIGN TARGETED THE RECRUITMENT OF LOW-INCOME PARTICIPANTS WHO RECEIVED TWICE-WEEKLY GROUP YOGA FOR 12 WEEKS, FOLLOWING 6-12 WEEKS OF NO INTERVENTION. OUTCOME MEASURES WERE TAKEN AT BASELINE, PREINTERVENTION (6-12 WEEKS FOLLOWING BASELINE), AND THEN POSTINTERVENTION. OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED PAIN, DISABILITY, CORE STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY, AND PLASMA TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR (TNF)-ALPHA PROTEIN LEVELS. OUTCOMES MEASURES WERE ANALYZED BY ONE-WAY ANOVA AND PAIRED ONE-TAILED T-TESTS. RESULTS: EIGHT PATIENTS COMPLETED THE INTERVENTION. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN PAIN SCORES MEASURED OVER TIME WERE SUPPORTED BY THE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN PRE- AND POST-YOGA SESSION PAIN SCORES. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE ALSO SEEN IN THE OSWESTRY DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE SCORES, SPINAL AND HIP FLEXOR FLEXIBILITY, AND STRENGTH OF CORE MUSCLES FOLLOWING YOGA. SIX PARTICIPANTS SAW A 28.6%-100% REDUCTION OF TNF-ALPHA PLASMA PROTEIN LEVELS AFTER YOGA, WHILE ONE SHOWED AN 82.4% INCREASE. TWO PARTICIPANTS HAD NO DETECTABLE LEVELS TO BEGIN WITH. BRAIN IMAGING ANALYSIS SHOWS INTERESTING INCREASES IN N-ACETYLASPARTATE IN THE DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND THALAMUS. CONCLUSION: YOGA APPEARS EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING PAIN AND DISABILITY IN A LOW-INCOME CLBP POPULATION AND IN PART WORKS BY INCREASING FLEXIBILITY AND CORE STRENGTH. CHANGES IN TNF-ALPHA PROTEIN LEVELS SHOULD BE FURTHER INVESTIGATED FOR ITS INFLUENCE ON PAIN PATHWAYS. 2019 12 2149 25 THE EFFECTS OF POWER AND STRETCH YOGA ON AFFECT AND SALIVARY CORTISOL IN WOMEN. YOGA PRACTICE IS KNOWN TO IMPROVE WELL-BEING AND DECREASE STRESS. HOWEVER, ACUTE YOGA IS UNDERSTUDIED. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF YOGA ON AFFECT AND SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS IN COLLEGE WOMEN. THIRTY-THREE WOMEN AGED 18-30 YEARS EACH COMPLETED 1-HOUR SESSIONS OF POWER YOGA AND STRETCH YOGA. MEASURES OF AFFECT AND SALIVARY CORTISOL WERE ASSESSED BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER EACH SESSION. PARTICIPANTS PERCEIVED POWER YOGA TO BE MORE PLEASURABLE AND ENERGIZING. SALIVARY CORTISOL SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED AFTER BOTH YOGA SESSIONS. THUS, EVEN ONE SESSION OF YOGA MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING AFFECT AND DECREASING STRESS IN COLLEGE WOMEN. 2019 13 2186 34 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AMONG EMPLOYEES: AN 8- AND 16-WEEK INTERVENTION STUDY. BACKGROUND: THE STRESSES OF MODERN WORK LIFE NECESSITATE EFFECTIVE COPING STRATEGIES THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. YOGA HAS BEEN FOUND TO REDUCE STRESS IN CLINICAL SAMPLES, BUT STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO EXAMINE STANDARD GYM YOGA CLASSES AMONG FUNCTIONAL INDIVIDUALS. OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF 8- AND 16-WEEK GYM YOGA ON STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH. DESIGN AND METHOD: NINETY INDIVIDUALS REPORTING MODERATE-TO-HIGH STRESS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO 16 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS OF YOGA, OR TO A WAITLIST CROSSOVER GROUP WHO DID NOT PRACTICE YOGA FOR 8 WEEKS THEN PRACTICED YOGA FOR 8 WEEKS. STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH VARIABLES WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE, 8 WEEKS, AND 16 WEEKS. RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN STRESS AND ALL PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH MEASURES WERE FOUND WITHIN THE YOGA GROUP OVER 16 WEEKS. WHEN COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP, YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN STRESS, ANXIETY, AND GENERAL PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH, AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN WELL-BEING. THE GROUP WHO DID NOT PRACTICE YOGA SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN STRESS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND INSOMNIA AFTER THEY CROSSED OVER AND PRACTICED YOGA FOR 8 WEEKS. CONCLUSIONS: GYM YOGA APPEARS TO BE EFFECTIVE FOR STRESS AMELIORATION AND PROMOTION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AMONG WORKERS EXPERIENCING STRESS. 2018 14 1258 34 FIFTEEN MINUTES OF CHAIR-BASED YOGA POSTURES OR GUIDED MEDITATION PERFORMED IN THE OFFICE CAN ELICIT A RELAXATION RESPONSE. THIS STUDY COMPARED ACUTE (15 MIN) YOGA POSTURE AND GUIDED MEDITATION PRACTICE, PERFORMED SEATED IN A TYPICAL OFFICE WORKSPACE, ON PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MARKERS OF STRESS. TWENTY PARTICIPANTS (39.6 +/- 9.5 YR) COMPLETED THREE CONDITIONS: YOGA, MEDITATION, AND CONTROL (I.E., USUAL WORK) SEPARATED BY >/=24 HRS. YOGA AND MEDITATION SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PERCEIVED STRESS VERSUS CONTROL, AND THIS EFFECT WAS MAINTAINED POSTINTERVENTION. YOGA INCREASED HEART RATE WHILE MEDITATION REDUCED HEART RATE VERSUS CONTROL (P < 0.05). RESPIRATION RATE WAS REDUCED DURING YOGA AND MEDITATION VERSUS CONTROL (P < 0.05). DOMAINS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (E.G., SDNN AND TOTAL POWER) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED DURING CONTROL VERSUS YOGA AND MEDITATION. SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE WERE REDUCED SECONDARY TO MEDITATION VERSUS CONTROL ONLY (P < 0.05). PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS GENERALLY REGRESSED TOWARD BASELINE POSTINTERVENTION. IN CONCLUSION, YOGA POSTURES OR MEDITATION PERFORMED IN THE OFFICE CAN ACUTELY IMPROVE SEVERAL PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MARKERS OF STRESS. THESE EFFECTS MAY BE AT LEAST PARTIALLY MEDIATED BY REDUCED RESPIRATION RATE. 2012 15 1681 26 ONLINE ISHA UPA YOGA FOR STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING DURING COVID-19: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL. COLLEGE STUDENTS EXPERIENCED INCREASED STRESS AND ANXIETY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. THIS STUDY EVALUATED THE EFFECT OF BRIEF ONLINE ISHA UPA YOGA MODULES ON UNDERGRADUATES' MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL (RCT) WITH WAITLIST CONTROL CROSSOVER (N = 679). THE INTERVENTION GROUP WAS INSTRUCTED TO LEARN AND PRACTICE THE MODULES DAILY FOR 12 WEEKS. AT THE END OF THE 4-WEEK RCT, THE CONTROL GROUP WAS INSTRUCTED TO LEARN AND PRACTICE THE MODULES FOR THE REMAINING 8 WEEKS. PRIMARY OUTCOMES INCLUDED STRESS AND WELL-BEING. SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDED ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, RESILIENCE, POSITIVE AFFECT AND NEGATIVE AFFECT. LINEAR MIXED-EFFECTS MODELS WERE USED FOR ANALYSES. ISHA UPA YOGA SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED STRESS (GROUP [INTERVENTION, CONTROL] X TIME [BASELINE, WEEK 4] INTERACTION, P = .009, D = .27) AND INCREASED WELL-BEING (GROUP X TIME INTERACTION P = .002, D = .32). BY THE STUDY'S END, THE INTERVENTION AND CONTROL GROUPS EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN WELL-BEING (P < .001, P < .001), STRESS (P < .001, P < .001), ANXIETY (P < .001, P < .001), DEPRESSION (P < .001, P = .004), POSITIVE AFFECT (P = .04, P < .001), AND NEGATIVE AFFECT (P < .001, P < .001). ONLINE ISHA UPA YOGA SHOWS PROMISE FOR MITIGATING THE PANDEMIC'S NEGATIVE IMPACT ON UNDERGRADUATES' MENTAL HEALTH AND IMPROVING THEIR WELL-BEING. 2022 16 981 43 EFFECTS OF COMBINED AEROBIC-STRENGTH TRAINING AND YOGA ON QUALITY OF LIFE AND RELATED PARAMETERS IN WOMEN WITH PITUITARY ADENOMA AFTER SURGERY: A RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER STUDY. OBJECTIVE: THE PITUITARY GLAND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HORMONAL BALANCE IN THE BODY, AND DISRUPTION OF HORMONAL BALANCE IN PATIENTS WITH PITUITARY ADENOMA (PA) INDIRECTLY AFFECTS THE QUALITY OF LIFE. THIS STUDY AIMED TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND COMBINED AEROBIC AND STRENGTH TRAINING (A+ST) ON QUALITY OF LIFE AND RELATED PARAMETERS SUCH AS SLEEP, FATIGUE, EMOTIONAL STATE, SEXUAL FUNCTION, AND COGNITIVE STATUS IN WOMEN WITH PA. DESIGN: TEN WOMEN WITH PA WERE INCLUDED IN THIS RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER STUDY. GROUP 1 (N = 5, MEAN AGE: 52 +/- 13.5 YEARS) RECEIVED A+ST FOR THE FIRST 6 WEEKS, A 2-WEEK WASHOUT PERIOD, AND YOGA FOR THE SECOND 6 WEEKS. GROUP 2 (N = 5, MEAN AGE: 41.8 +/- 14 YEARS) RECEIVED THE YOGA PROGRAM FIRST, FOLLOWED BY THE A+ST PROGRAM. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED USING THE FOLLOWING TOOLS BEFORE AND AFTER EACH EXERCISE INTERVENTION: FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CANCER THERAPY-BRAIN (FACT-BR) (QUALITY OF LIFE), PITTSBURG SLEEP QUALITY INDEX, FATIGUE SEVERITY SCALE (FSS), FEMALE SEXUAL FUNCTION INDEX (FSFI), HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE (HADS), AND MONTREAL COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT SCALE (MOCA). RESULTS: FACT-BR SCORES WERE HIGHER AFTER THE YOGA PROGRAM, HADS ANXIETY SCORE WAS LOWER AFTER THE A+ST PROGRAM, AND MOCA SCORES INCREASED AFTER BOTH EXERCISE PROGRAMS (P < 0.05). FSS SCORE DECREASED AFTER BOTH EXERCISE PROGRAMS, BUT NOT SIGNIFICANTLY. IN ADDITION, NONSIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN HADS ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCORES AND INCREASED FSFI SCORES WERE OBSERVED AFTER THE YOGA PROGRAM. CONCLUSION: A+ST AND YOGA HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN PA. WE RECOMMEND YOGA AND A+ST AS A SUPPORTIVE THERAPY FOR THIS POPULATION THAT MAY FACE COMORBIDITIES AFTER SURGICAL AND MEDICAL TREATMENT. OUR RESULTS INDICATE THESE PATIENTS MAY BENEFIT FROM PHYSIOTHERAPIST-GUIDED EXERCISE PROGRAMS. 2022 17 2727 50 YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION INCREASES HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND IS UNAFFECTED BY A PRIOR BOUT OF HATHA YOGA. OBJECTIVE: THE MEASUREMENT OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) IS OFTEN APPLIED AS AN INDEX OF AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (ANS) BALANCE AND, THEREFORE, MYOCARDIAL STABILITY. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SUGGESTED THAT RELAXATION OR MIND-BODY EXERCISE CAN INFLUENCE ANS BALANCE POSITIVELY AS MEASURED BY HRV BUT MAY ACT VIA DIFFERENT MECHANISMS. NO STUDIES, TO THE AUTHORS' KNOWLEDGE, HAVE EXAMINED THE ACUTE RESPONSE IN HRV TO INTERVENTIONS COMBINING RELAXATION AND MIND-BODY EXERCISE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COMPARE THE ACUTE HRV RESPONSES TO YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION ALONE VERSUS YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION PRECEDED BY HATHA YOGA. DESIGN: THIS WAS A RANDOMIZED COUNTER-BALANCED TRIAL. SETTING: THE TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED IN A UNIVERSITY EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY. SUBJECTS: SUBJECTS INCLUDED 20 WOMEN AND MEN (29.15+/-6.98 YEARS OF AGE, WITH A RANGE OF 18-47 YEARS). INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED A YOGA PLUS RELAXATION (YR) SESSION AND A RELAXATION ONLY (R) SESSION. RESULTS: THE YR CONDITION PRODUCED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FROM BASELINE IN HEART RATE (HR; BEATS PER MINUTE [BPM], P<0.001) AND INDICES OF HRV: R-R (MS, P<0.001), PNN50 (%, P=0.009), LOW FREQUENCY (LF; %, P=0.008) AND HIGH FREQUENCY (HF; %, P=0.035). THE R CONDITION PRODUCED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FROM BASELINE IN HEART RATE (BPM, P<0.001) AS WELL AS INDICES OF HRV: R-R (MS, P<0.001), HF (MS(2), P=0.004), LF (%, P=0.005), HF (%, P=0.008) AND LF:HF RATIO (%, P=0.008). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONDITIONS AT BASELINE NOR FOR THE CHANGES FROM BASELINE FOR ANY OF THE VARIABLES. CONCLUSIONS: THESE CHANGES DEMONSTRATE A FAVORABLE SHIFT IN AUTONOMIC BALANCE TO THE PARASYMPATHETIC BRANCH OF THE ANS FOR BOTH CONDITIONS, AND THAT YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION PRODUCES FAVORABLE CHANGES IN MEASURES OF HRV WHETHER ALONE OR PRECEDED BY A BOUT OF HATHA YOGA. 2012 18 418 43 BREATHING-FOCUSED YOGA AS AUGMENTATION FOR UNIPOLAR AND BIPOLAR DEPRESSION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL: LE YOGA AXE SUR LA RESPIRATION COMME TRAITEMENT D'APPOINT POUR LA DEPRESSION UNIPOLAIRE ET BIPOLAIRE: UN ESSAI RANDOMISE CONTROLE. OBJECTIVE: PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION FREQUENTLY EXPERIENCE PERSISTENT RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS EVEN WITH OPTIMAL INTERVENTIONS. THESE PATIENTS OFTEN USE COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENTS, INCLUDING YOGA, AS A PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE OR ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT. THERE IS EVIDENCE FOR THE BENEFIT OF YOGA FOR DEPRESSION, BUT THIS HAS NOT BEEN RIGOROUSLY EVALUATED, PARTICULARLY IN BIPOLAR DEPRESSION. WE AIMED TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY AND BENEFIT OF MANUALIZED BREATHING-FOCUSED YOGA IN COMPARISON TO PSYCHOEDUCATION AS AUGMENTATION TO PHARMACOTHERAPY FOR IMPROVING RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION IN UNIPOLAR AND BIPOLAR PATIENTS. METHODS: USING A RANDOMIZED SINGLE-BLIND CROSSOVER DESIGN, 72 OUTPATIENTS WITH UNIPOLAR OR BIPOLAR DEPRESSION WERE AUGMENTED WITH THE TWO 8-WEEK INTERVENTIONS AT SEPARATE TIMES, AS ADD-ONS TO CURRENT FIRST-LINE ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND MOOD STABILIZERS. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE WAS THE MONTGOMERY-ASBERG DEPRESSION RATING SCALE (MADRS). DUE TO THE HIGH DROPOUT OF PARTICIPANTS AFTER CROSSOVER AT WEEK 8, ANALYSIS FOCUSED ON BETWEEN-GROUP COMPARISONS OF YOGA AND PSYCHOEDUCATION DURING THE INITIAL 8 WEEKS OF THE STUDY. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, AS MEASURED BY THE MADRS, FOLLOWING 8 WEEKS OF YOGA. HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN MADRS RATINGS BETWEEN INTERVENTION GROUPS. SIMILAR IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-RATED DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND WELL-BEING WERE ALSO OBSERVED ACROSS TIME. CONCLUSIONS: BOTH YOGA AND PSYCHOEDUCATION MAY IMPROVE RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS OF UNIPOLAR AND BIPOLAR DEPRESSION AS ADD-ON TO MEDICATIONS. IN-CLASS GROUP SESSIONS AND LONG STUDY DURATIONS MAY REDUCE FEASIBILITY FOR THIS POPULATION. LARGER TRIALS WITH PARALLEL GROUP DESIGN AND SHORTER DURATION MAY BE MORE FEASIBLE. 2021 19 1063 45 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND MOOD IN WOMEN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND MOOD IN GENERALLY HEALTHY WOMEN. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. PARTICIPANTS: FIFTY-TWO HEALTHY WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A YOGA GROUP OR A CONTROL GROUP. INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPLETED AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM, WHICH COMPRISED A 60-MINUTE SESSION TWICE A WEEK. EACH SESSION CONSISTED OF BREATHING EXERCISES, YOGA POSE PRACTICE, AND SUPINE MEDITATION/RELAXATION. THE CONTROL GROUP WAS INSTRUCTED NOT TO ENGAGE IN ANY YOGA PRACTICE AND TO MAINTAIN THEIR USUAL LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DURING THE STUDY. OUTCOME MEASURES: PARTICIPANTS' HEART RATE VARIABILITY, PERCEIVED STRESS, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, AND STATE AND TRAIT ANXIETY WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE (WEEK 0) AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION (WEEK 9). RESULTS: NO MEASURES OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY IN EITHER THE YOGA OR CONTROL GROUP AFTER INTERVENTION. STATE ANXIETY WAS REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE YOGA GROUP BUT NOT IN THE CONTROL GROUP. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE NOTED IN PERCEIVED STRESS, DEPRESSION, OR TRAIT ANXIETY IN EITHER GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO IMPROVE HEART RATE VARIABILITY. HOWEVER, SUCH A PROGRAM APPEARS TO BE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING STATE ANXIETY IN GENERALLY HEALTHY WOMEN. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD INVOLVE LONGER PERIODS OF YOGA TRAINING, INCLUDE HEART RATE VARIABILITY MEASURES BOTH AT REST AND DURING YOGA PRACTICE, AND ENROLL WOMEN WITH HIGHER LEVELS OF STRESS AND TRAIT ANXIETY. 2015 20 1558 37 LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN HEALTHY PRACTITIONERS: POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR RISK REDUCTION. HATHA YOGA IS COMMONLY PRACTICED IN WESTERN COUNTRIES AND IS CLAIMED TO REDUCE RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE AND COMPARE TIME-DOMAIN AND FREQUENCY-DOMAIN METRICS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) IN HATHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS. THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY, WHICH WAS CONDUCTED AT A REGIONAL UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTER, INCLUDED CONVENIENCE SAMPLING OF 19 HATHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND 8 HEALTHY CONTROLS. USING A LEAD II ECG SYSTEM, 10 MINUTES OF ELECTROCARDIOGRAM (ECG) RECORDING WAS COLLECTED FOR EACH PARTICIPANT. ARTIFACT-FREE, 5-MINUTE SIGNALS WERE USED TO DERIVE TIME-DOMAIN AND FREQUENCY-DOMAIN MEASURES OF HRV. THE MEAN DURATION OF HATHA YOGA PRACTICE AMONG PRACTITIONERS WAS 11.47 +/- 8 YEARS. DEMOGRAPHIC AND ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY BETWEEN GROUPS. COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP, THE YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER MEAN HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) POWER (859.2 +/- 1342.1 VS 175.5 +/- 121.1; P = .04) AND MEAN HF NORMALIZED UNITS (NU) (57.0 +/- 16.6 VS 36.7 +/- 13.4; P = .02) AND A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER LOW FREQUENCY (LF)/HF RATIO (1.1 +/- 0.5 VS 2.2 +/- 1.1; P = .01). NO SIGNIFICANT INTERGROUP DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED FOR LF POWER, LF NU, OR ANY TIME-DOMAIN MEASURES OF HRV. THESE RESULTS LACK GENERALIZABILITY DUE TO SMALL SAMPLE SIZE AND LACK OF BLINDED ASSESSMENT OF OUTCOME MEASURES. HATHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWED PARASYMPATHETIC PREDOMINANCE COMPARED WITH HEALTHY CONTROLS. ANALYZING FREQUENCY-DOMAIN HRV METRICS ENABLES DETECTING CHANGES IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION EARLIER THAN BY ANALYSIS OF TIME-DOMAIN METRICS. PARASYMPATHETIC PREDOMINANCE DEMONSTRATED IN THE YOGA GROUP SUGGESTS HATHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS MAY BE AT LOWER RISK FOR STRESS-RELATED COMORBIDITIES. 2021