1 726 78 EFFECT OF LAUGHTER YOGA ON SALIVARY CORTISOL AND DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE AMONG HEALTHY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: TO EXAMINE WHETHER LAUGHTER YOGA (LY), I.E., SIMULATED LAUGHTER, ALTERS CORTISOL AND DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE (DHEA) LEVELS AND CORTISOL/DHEA (C/D) RATIOS. METHODS: IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, 120 HEALTHY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WERE ALLOCATED TO EXPERIENCING LY, WATCHING A COMEDY MOVIE (SPONTANEOUS LAUGHTER), OR READING A BOOK. SALIVARY CORTISOL AND DHEA LEVELS WERE MEASURED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE, IMMEDIATELY AFTER, AND 30MIN AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: CORTISOL LEVELS AND C/D RATIOS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED BY TIME IN THE LY AND COMEDY MOVIE GROUPS. SIGNIFICANT GROUP*TIME INTERACTIONS WERE FOUND BETWEEN THESE TWO GROUPS FOR CORTISOL LEVELS AND C/D RATIOS. DHEA LEVELS DID NOT CHANGE BY TIME IN THE LY GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: LY DECREASED CORTISOL LEVELS AND C/D RATIOS BUT DID NOT AFFECT DHEA LEVELS. SIMULATED AND SPONTANEOUS LAUGHTER DIFFERENTLY AFFECTED THE DYNAMICS OF CORTISOL LEVELS AND C/D RATIOS. EFFECT OF SPONTANEOUS LAUGHTER ON THE CORTISOL DYNAMICS LASTED LONGER THAN THAT OF SIMULATED LAUGHTER. (UMIN000019409). 2018 2 1433 16 IMPROVING THE DEGREE OF PUBIC ARCH POST-YOGA EXERCISE DURING PREGNANCY. YOGA EXERCISES UNDERTAKEN DURING THE MATERNITY PERIOD MAY REDUCE UNPLEASANT SYMPTOMS DURING PREGNANCY AND REDUCE DELIVERY PAIN. FLEXIBILITY OF THE HIP JOINT IMPROVES THE DEGREE OF PUBIC ARCH CREATED IN AN OPEN-LEG POSTURE AND WIDENS THE PELVIC OUTLET REGION, SHORTENING THE TIME REQUIRED FOR DELIVERY AND FACILITATING EASY DELIVERY. THE DEGREE OF PUBIC ARCH IS RELATED TO THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE HIP JOINT. ALTHOUGH MANY STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THE EFFECT OF YOGA EXERCISE DURING PREGNANCY, THE EFFECT ON THE DEGREE OF THE PUBIC ARCH HAS NOT BEEN ELUCIDATED. TO ELUCIDATE WHETHER THE DEGREE OF THE PUBIC ARCH IS IMPROVED BY YOGA EXERCISE DURING PREGNANCY, THIS STUDY ENROLLED 177 PREGNANT SUBJECTS. THE DEGREE OF PUBIC ARCH PRE- AND POST-YOGA EXERCISE WAS MEASURED USING INSTRUMENTS IN AN OPEN-LEG POSTURE (SEATED WITH FEMURS ABDUCTED). THE MEAN PUBIC ARCH PRE- AND POST-YOGA WAS 122.61 AND 127.93 DEGREES, RESPECTIVELY. THE DEGREE OF PUBIC ARCH POST-YOGA SESSIONS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED COMPARED WITH PRE-YOGA SESSIONS (P < 0.01). THIS STUDY SHOWED THAT YOGA EXERCISES DURING THE PREGNANCY PERIOD APPEAR TO IMPROVE THE DEGREE OF PUBIC ARCH. 2021 3 1323 23 HEMODYNAMIC OBSERVATIONS OF TUMO YOGA PRACTITIONERS IN A HIMALAYAN ENVIRONMENT. BACKGROUND: FEW ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO EVALUATE THE PHYSIOLOGY OF TRADITIONAL EASTERN HEALTH PRACTICES. THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE HEMODYNAMIC EFFECTS OF THE MYSTERIOUS BUDDHIST PRACTICE OF TUMO. TUMO IS A MEDITATIVE PRACTICE THAT PRODUCES INNER HEAT THROUGH THE ALLEGED CULTIVATION OF BODY ENERGY-CHANNELS. METHODS: THIS STUDY WAS PERFORMED BY MEMBERS OF AN INTERNATIONAL EXPEDITION TO THE HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS IN THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA. THE STUDY WAS PERFORMED IN AN UNPOPULATED OUTDOOR MOUNTAINOUS AREA AT AN ALTITUDE OF 16,400 FT WITH AMBIENT TEMPERATURES BETWEEN -10 AND -15( DEGREES )C. TWO (2) COHORTS OF SUBJECTS WERE STUDIED: HEALTHY NON-YOGI VOLUNTEERS AND TUMO PRACTITIONERS. ALL OF THE SUBJECTS WERE STRIPPED DOWN TO THEIR UNDERCLOTHES AND EXPOSED TO THE SUBZERO ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURES FOR 5 MINUTES. THE VOLUNTEERS WERE THEN PASSIVELY REWARMED WHILE THE TUMO PRACTITIONERS PERFORMED TUMO FOR UP TO 10 MINUTES. BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE, AND STROKE VOLUME INDEX (SVI) AND CARDIAC INDEX WERE MEASURED NONINVASIVELY USING A NICOM HEMODYNAMIC MONITOR, WHILE CAROTID BLOOD FLOW AND BIVENTRICULAR PERFORMANCE WERE DETERMINED ECHOCARDIOGRAPHICALLY AT EACH STAGE OF THE EXPERIMENT. THE TOTAL PERIPHERAL RESISTANCE INDEX (TPRI), LEFT VENTRICULAR EJECTION FRACTION (LVEF), AND TRICUSPID ANNULAR PLANE SYSTOLIC EXCURSION (TAPSE) WERE DETERMINED USING STANDARD FORMULA. RESULTS: FOURTEEN (14) SUBJECTS (SIX VOLUNTEERS AND EIGHT TUMO PRACTITIONERS) COMPLETED THE STUDY. THERE WAS ONE FEMALE SUBJECT IN EACH GROUP. WITH COLD EXPOSURE, THE SVI AND CAROTID BLOOD FLOW DECREASED WHILE THE TPRI INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN BOTH GROUPS. IN THE VOLUNTEER GROUP, THESE CHANGES RETUNED TO BASELINE WITH REWARMING. FOLLOWING TUMO, THE CARDIAC INDEX (4.8+/-0.6 VERSUS 4.0+/-0.5 L/M(2); P<0.01), CAROTID BLOOD FLOW (445+/-127 VERSUS 325+/-100 ML/MIN/M(2), P<0.01), LVEF (68+/-5 VERSUS 64+/-7%; P<0.05) AND TAPSE (2.9+/-0.4 VERSUS 2.4+/-0.5 CM; P<0.01) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER WHEN COMPARED WITH BASELINE, WHILE THE TPRI WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER (1786+/-189 VERSUS 2173+/-281; P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: TUMO WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A HYPERDYNAMIC VASODILATED STATE WITH INCREASED BIVENTRICULAR PERFORMANCE. WE POSTULATE THAT TUMO RESULTS IN A MASSIVE INCREASE IN SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY WITH ACTIVATION OF BROWN ADIPOSE TISSUE AND MARKED HEAT PRODUCTION. THE INCREASED HEAT PRODUCTION MAY EXPLAIN THE PARADOXICAL VASODILATATION IN TUMO PRACTITIONERS EXPOSED TO SUBZERO TEMPERATURES. 2014 4 2289 12 THE YOGA OF RAG GTPASES: DYNAMIC STRUCTURAL POSES CONFER AMINO ACID SENSING BY MTORC1. HETERODIMERIC RAG GTPASES PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN RELAYING FLUCTUATING LEVELS OF CELLULAR AMINO ACIDS TO THE SENSOR MECHANISTIC TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN COMPLEX 1. IMPORTANT MECHANISTIC QUESTIONS REMAIN UNRESOLVED, HOWEVER, REGARDING HOW GUANINE NUCLEOTIDE BINDING ENABLES RAG GTPASES TO TRANSITION DYNAMICALLY BETWEEN DISTINCT YOGA-LIKE STRUCTURAL POSES THAT CONTROL ACTIVATION STATE. EGRI AND SHEN IDENTIFIED A CRITICAL INTERDOMAIN HYDROGEN BOND WITHIN RAGA AND RAGC THAT STABILIZES THEIR GDP-BOUND STATES. THEY DEMONSTRATE THAT THIS LONG-DISTANCE INTERACTION CONTROLS RAG STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION TO CONFER APPROPRIATE AMINO ACID SENSING BY MECHANISTIC TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN COMPLEX 1. 2021 5 808 24 EFFECT OF YOGA ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN ELDERLY SUBJECTS WITH INCREASED PULSE PRESSURE: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVE: WE AIMED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON ARTERIAL FUNCTION IN ELDERLY WITH INCREASED PULSE PRESSURE (PP). DESIGN: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY WITH TWO PARALLEL GROUPS. PARTICIPANTS: ELDERLY SUBJECTS WITH PP>/=60 MMHG (N=60). INTERVENTIONS: YOGA GROUP (N=30) WAS ASSIGNED FOR YOGA TRAINING AND BRISK-WALKING (BW) GROUP (N=30) FOR BRISK-WALK WITH STRETCHING EXERCISE FOR 1H IN THE MORNING FOR 6 DAYS IN A WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ARTERIAL STIFFNESS MEASURES: BRACHIAL-ANKLE PULSE WAVE VELOCITY (BAPWV), CAROTID-FEMORAL PULSE WAVE VELOCITY (C-F PWV), AORTIC AUGMENTATION INDEX (AIX@75), ARTERIAL STIFFNESS INDEX AT BRACHIAL (BASI) AND TIBIAL ARTERIES (AASI). TOTAL SERUM NITRIC OXIDE CONCENTRATION (NOX) AS AN INDEX OF ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION. HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) MEASURES: LOW FREQUENCY AND HIGH FREQUENCY IN NORMALIZED UNITS (LFNU, HFNU) AND LF/HF RATIO. RESULTS: THE MEAN BETWEEN-GROUP CHANGE (WITH 95% CI) IN ARTERIAL STIFFNESS: C-F PWV(M/S) [1.25(0.59-1.89); P<0.001], BAPWV(M/S) [1.96(0.76-3.16), P<0.01], AIX@75 [3.07(0.24-5.89), P=0.066], AASI [8.3(4.06-12.53), P<0.001]; ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION INDEX: NO(MUMOL/L) [-9.03(-14.57 TO -3.47), P<0.001]; SBP(MMHG) [14.23(12.03-16.44), P<0.001], DBP(MMHG) [0.1(-1.95-2.15), P=0.38], PP(MMHG) [14.07(11.2-16.92), P<0.001], MAP(MMHG) [4.7(3.08-6.32), P<0.001]; AND CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION: LF(NU) [4.81(1.54-8.08), P<0.01], HF(NU) [-4.13(-7.57 TO -0.69), P<0.01], LF/HF RATIO [0.84(0.3-1.37), P<0.001], INDICATE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN EFFECTS OF TWO INTERVENTION ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS, ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION, BP AND CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT CHANGE WITHIN-YOGA GROUP IN VASCULAR FUNCTION, BP AND AUTONOMIC FUNCTION, WHILE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE WITHIN-BW GROUP WAS OBSERVED. CONCLUSION: OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PROGRAM OFFERED WAS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN BRISK-WALK IN REDUCING ARTERIAL STIFFNESS ALONG WITH BP IN ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS WITH INCREASED PP. YOGA CAN ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND IMPROVE ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION WITH ENHANCEMENT IN BIOAVAILABILITY OF NO. 2015 6 1674 10 NURTURING THE FEMALE BODY: NOTIONS OF WELLBEING IN WOMB YOGA. ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES WHICH AIM TO ENHANCE WOMEN'S WELLBEING HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF CONTRIBUTING TO HEALTHIST AND POSTFEMINIST AGENDAS WHICH REST UPON A NEOLIBERAL LOGIC. I CRITICALLY ENGAGE WITH THIS ISSUE HERE THROUGH AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF WOMB YOGA, A WOMEN'S ALTERNATIVE THERAPY DEVELOPED IN THE UK. I ARGUE THAT WHILE BEING COMMERCIAL AND EMPHASIZING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, WOMB YOGA LARGELY WORKS AGAINST THE CURRENT NEOLIBERAL OPTIMIZATION IDEAL. WOMB YOGA PRACTITIONERS DISMISS GOAL-ORIENTED SELF-MANAGEMENT AND DISCIPLINE, AND AVOID A SIMPLE REPRODUCTION OF GENDER STEREOTYPES BY DEFLECTING CARE AWAY FROM OTHER-DIRECTEDNESS AND OPENING THE INTERPRETATION OF FEMININITY TO THE IMAGINATIVE AND EXPERIENTIAL REALMS. 2021 7 1611 19 METABOLIC DEMANDS OF YOGA AT VARYING TEMPOS AND COMPARED WITH WALKING. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS A POPULAR ALTERNATIVE TO WALKING, BUT THE TEMPO AT WHICH ASANAS MUST BE PERFORMED TO ELICIT COMPARABLE METABOLIC AND CARDIORESPIRATORY DEMANDS IS UNKNOWN. THEREFORE, THE AUTHORS AIM TO COMPARE THE METABOLIC DEMANDS OF MODERATE-INTENSITY WALKING TO SURYA NAMASKAR YOGA PERFORMED AT VARYING TEMPOS. METHODS: INACTIVE OBESE ADULTS WITH LIMITED PRIOR YOGA EXPERIENCE (N = 10) COMPLETED 10 MINUTES OF TREADMILL WALKING AT A SELF-SELECTED PACE (RATING OF PERCEIVED EXERTION = 12-13) AND THREE, 10-MINUTE BOUTS OF YOGA AT A LOW (6 S/POSE; LSUN), MEDIUM (4 S/POSE; MSUN), AND HIGH (3 S/POSE; HSUN) TEMPO WITH 10-MINUTES REST BETWEEN EXERCISE BOUTS. RESULTS: MEAN METABOLIC EQUIVALENTS OBSERVED IN MSUN (3.64 [0.607]), HSUN (4.22 [0.459]), AND TREADMILL (5.29 [1.147]) WERE GREATER THAN 3.0 (P /=18 YEARS OF AGE). METHODS: TWENTY-NINE PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO TWO GROUPS: VY (N = 16, 55.87 +/- 12.31 YEARS) OR TAIJIFIT (N = 13, 55.07 +/- 12.65 YEARS). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: PRIOR TO AND FOLLOWING THE STUDY, ASSESSMENTS WERE MADE FOR MUSCLE STRENGTH (1-RM LEG PRESS, CHEST PRESS, AND HANDGRIP), MUSCLE ENDURANCE (LEG PRESS AND CHEST PRESS; MAXIMAL NUMBER OF REPETITIONS PERFORMED TO FATIGUE AT 80% AND 70% BASELINE 1-RM, RESPECTIVELY), ABDOMINAL ENDURANCE (MAXIMUM NUMBER OF CONSECUTIVE CURL-UPS TO FATIGUE), TASKS OF FUNCTIONALITY (DYNAMIC BALANCE AND WALKING SPEED), AND FLEXIBILITY (SIT AND REACH). RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OVER TIME FOR MUSCLE STRENGTH, MUSCLE ENDURANCE, TASKS OF FUNCTIONALITY, AND FLEXIBILITY (P = 0.001). THE VY GROUP EXPERIENCED A GREATER IMPROVEMENT IN CHEST PRESS ENDURANCE (VY: PRE 19.25 +/- 5.90, POST 28.06 +/- 7.60 REPS; TAIJIFIT PRE 15.69 +/- 4.49, POST 21.07 +/- 5.85 REPS; P = 0.019) AND ABDOMINAL ENDURANCE (VY: PRE 37.12 +/- 31.26, POST 68.43 +/- 55.07 REPS; TAIJIFIT PRE 19.23 +/- 19.00, POST 32.07 +/- 20.87 REPS; P = 0.034) COMPARED TO THE TAIJIFIT GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: VY AND TAIJIFIT ARE EFFECTIVE FOR IMPROVING MUSCLE STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE, TASKS OF FUNCTIONALITY, AND FLEXIBILITY IN INFORMAL CAREGIVERS. VY LED TO GREATER GAINS IN CHEST PRESS ENDURANCE AND ABDOMINAL CURL-UPS. 2019 18 479 20 CLINICAL EFFECT OF NIRGUNDI PATRA PINDA SWEDA AND ASHWAGANDHADI GUGGULU YOGA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF SANDHIGATA VATA (OSTEOARTHRITIS). SANDHIGATA VATA IS ONE AMONG THE 80 NANATMAJA VATA VYADHIES. SANDHIGATA VATA AND OSTEOARTHRITIS HAVE COMMON SYMPTOMS, AND HENCE, BOTH ARE CONSIDERED AS SIMILAR ENTITIES BY A MAJORITY OF AYURVEDIC SCHOLARS AND SAME HAS BEEN ADOPTED HERE. OSTEOARTHRITIS IS THE MOST COMMON JOINT DISEASE AMONG HUMAN BEINGS TODAY. IN THIS STUDY, A TOTAL OF 116 PATIENTS WERE REGISTERED, OUT OF THEM 101 PATIENTS HAD COMPLETED THE FULL COURSE OF TREATMENT, WHILE 15 PATIENTS LEFT AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE. THE 101 PATIENTS OF SANDHIGATA VATA WERE TREATED IN TWO GROUPS. GROUP A: IN THIS GROUP 50 PATIENTS OF SANDHIGATA VATA WERE TREATED WITH NIRGUNDI PATRA PINDA SWEDA FOR 21 DAYS AND ASHWAGANDHADI GUGGULU YOGA3 G/DAY FOR 45 DAYS WAS GIVEN ORALLY. GROUP B: IN THIS GROUP 51 PATIENTS OF SANDHIGATA VATA WERE TREATED WITH ONLY ASHWAGANDHADI GUGGULU YOGA 3 G/DAY FOR 45 DAYS. TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF THE THERAPY OBJECTIVELY, ALL THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF SANDHIGATA VATA WERE GIVEN A SCORE, DEPENDING UPON THEIR SEVERITY. ALSO FUNCTIONAL TESTS LIKE WALKING TIME, CLIMBING STAIRS, AND JOINT MOVEMENT, WERE MEASURED AS A CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT. BOTH THE GROUPS SHOWED GOOD RESULTS, BUT GROUP B SHOWED BETTER RESULTS IN COMPARISON TO GROUP A. 2011 19 2108 13 THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON PUBORECTALIS PARADOX. NINE PATIENTS WITH SEVERE DEFAECATION DIFFICULTIES PRIMARILY CONSIDERED TO BE DUE TO PUBORECTALIS DYSFUNCTION (PUBORECTALIS PARADOX), VERIFIED BY ELECTROMYOGRAPHY (EMG) OF THE STRIATED ANAL SPHINCTER MUSCLES, WERE OFFERED TRAINING IN YOGIC TECHNIQUES OF RELAXATION AND MUSCLE CONTROL IN ORDER TO CHANGE THE ACTIVITY OF THE PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLES DURING ATTEMPTED DEFAECATION. FIVE PATIENTS COMPLETED THE TRAINING PROGRAM OF 20 2-HOUR SESSIONS AND WERE RE-EXAMINED CLINICALLY AND WITH EMG. ONE PATIENT REGAINED A NORMAL EMG PATTERN BUT NONE OF THE PATIENTS IMPROVED CLINICALLY. 1991 20 1029 24 EFFECTS OF YOGA EXERCISE ON SALIVARY BETA-DEFENSIN 2. PURPOSE: YOGA STRETCHING CAN BE DONE COMFORTABLY AND EASILY BY BEGINNERS AND OLDER ADULTS TO COMPENSATE FOR LACK OF EXERCISE OR POOR HEALTH MAINTENANCE. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF YOGA STRETCHING ON MUCOSAL IMMUNE FUNCTIONS, PRIMARILY HUMAN BETA-DEFENSIN 2 (HBD-2) IN SALIVA. METHODS: FIFTEEN HEALTHY ADULTS (AGE, 60.4 +/- 8.0 YEARS) PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. PARTICIPANTS RESTED FOR 90 MIN ON THE FIRST DAY AND PERFORMED YOGA FOR 90 MIN ON THE SECOND DAY. MEASUREMENTS WERE CARRIED OUT BEFORE AND AFTER REST OR YOGA. SALIVA SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED BY CHEWING A STERILE COTTON AT A FREQUENCY OF 60 CYCLES PER MIN. SALIVARY HBD-2 CONCENTRATION WAS MEASURED USING AN ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY. RESULTS: HBD-2 CONCENTRATION AFTER YOGA STRETCHING (165.4 +/- 127.1 PG/ML) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THAT BEFORE YOGA STRETCHING (84.1 +/- 63.4 PG/ML; P < 0.01). HBD-2 EXPRESSION RATE AFTER YOGA STRETCHING (232.8 +/- 192.9 PG/MIN) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THAT BEFORE YOGA STRETCHING (110.7 +/- 96.8 PG/MIN; P < 0.01). HBD-2 CONCENTRATION (P < 0.05) AND HBD-2 EXPRESSION RATE (P < 0.01) AT POST ON THE SECOND DAY (YOGA) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THAT ON THE FIRST DAY (REST). POMS SCORE OF ANGER-HOSTILITY WAS LOWER AFTER YOGA THAN BEFORE. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA STRETCHING FOR 90 MIN CAN INCREASE SALIVARY HBD-2 EXPRESSION IN OLDER ADULTS. THEREFORE, YOGA STRETCHING MIGHT BE USEFUL FOR OLDER ADULTS AND ATHLETES TO MAINTAIN THEIR HEALTH. 2013