1 2792 111 YOGA THERAPY FOR DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN MID-LIFE MANAGERS. BACKGROUND: BUSINESS EXECUTIVES' LIVES HAVE BECOME A NEVER-ENDING RACE AGAINST TIME, TECHNOLOGY, AND TARGETS. THIS RACE CREATES TENSION, WHICH LEADS TO DISSATISFACTION AND FRUSTRATION AND EVENTUALLY MANIFESTS ITSELF AS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS WITH MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DRAIN. THIS MODERN LIFESTYLE INTENSIFIES THE STRESS LEADING TO "EXCESSIVE TENSION" AND CONSEQUENT DETERIORATION IN "EXECUTIVE EFFICIENCY". OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENT QUOTIENT (EQ) IN MANAGERS UNDERGOING YOGA-BASED SELF MANAGEMENT OF EXCESSIVE TENSION (SMET) PROGRAM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 72 MANAGERS PARTICIPATED IN THIS STUDY WHICH IS OF "SINGLE GROUP PRE-POST DESIGN." THE EQ TEST DEVELOPED BY PROF N. K. CHADHA FROM UNIVERSITY OF DELHI WAS ADMINISTERED AS PRE AND POST THE 5 DAYS OF SMET PROGRAM. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS, KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV TEST, AND WILCOXON SIGNED RANK TEST WERE USED TO ANALYZE THE DATA. RESULTS: THE DATA ANALYSIS SHOWED 72.02% SIGNIFICANT INCREASE (P<0.001) IN EQ. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT PARTICIPATION IN A SMET PROGRAM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENT IN EQ AND MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR "EXECUTIVE EFFICIENCY." 2011 2 1478 78 INTEGRATED YOGA THERAPY FOR IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH IN MANAGERS. BACKGROUND: MANAGERS' LIVES HAVE BECOME A NEVER-ENDING RACE AGAINST TIME, TECHNOLOGY, AND TARGETS. THIS RACE CREATES TENSION, WHICH LEADS TO DISSATISFACTION AND FRUSTRATION AND EVENTUALLY MANIFESTS ITSELF AS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS WITH MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DRAIN. THIS MODERN LIFESTYLE INTENSIFIES THE STRESS LEADING TO "EXCESSIVE TENSION" AND CONSEQUENT DETERIORATION IN "EXECUTIVE EFFICIENCY." OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS MENTAL HEALTH IN MANAGERS UNDERGOING YOGA-BASED SELF-MANAGEMENT OF EXCESSIVE TENSION (SMET) PROGRAM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 72 MANAGERS WITH 48.75+/-3.86 YEARS OF MEAN AGE WERE PARTICIPATED IN THIS STUDY OF SINGLE GROUP PRE-POST DESIGN. THE GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE DATA WERE TAKEN ON THE FIRST AND SIXTH DAY OF 5 DAYS SMET PROGRAM. RESULTS: THE DATA ANALYSIS SHOWED 68.25% DECREASE (P<0.001) IN SOMATIC SYMPTOMS, 66.29% DECREASE (P<0.001) IN ANXIETY AND INSOMNIA, 65.00% DECREASE (P<0.001) IN SOCIAL DYSFUNCTION, 87.08% DECREASE (P<0.001) IN SEVERE DEPRESSION, AND 71.47% DECREASE (P<0.001) IN ALL MEDICAL COMPLAINTS. CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT PARTICIPATION IN A SMET PROGRAM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENT IN MENTAL HEALTH AND MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR "EXECUTIVE EFFICIENCY." 2011 3 1332 9 HOT YOGA AND PREGNANCY: FITNESS AND HYPERTHERMIA. QUESTION: ONE OF MY PREGNANT PATIENTS WISHES TO CONTINUE HER HOT YOGA EXERCISES DURING PREGNANCY. IS THIS PRACTICE SAFE? ANSWER: WITH THE INCREASED RISK OF NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS AND POSSIBLY OF OTHER MALFORMATIONS AMONG FETUSES EXPOSED TO EXCESSIVE HEAT, PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD AVOID PRACTISING HOT YOGA DURING PREGNANCY. 2014 4 1050 45 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON BRAIN WAVE COHERENCE IN EXECUTIVES. AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF SELF MANAGEMENT OF EXCESSIVE TENSION (SMET), A YOGA BASED STRESS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM ON BRAIN WAVE COHERENCE. BRAIN WAVE RECORDINGS WERE TAKEN WITH BRAIN MASTER 2 CHANNEL EEG (VERSION-2.0). THE SUBJECTS FOR THE STUDY WERE 72 CORPORATE EXECUTIVES, 48.75 +/- 3.86 YEARS OF MEAN AGE REFERRED FROM OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION LIMITED. EEG DATA WAS RECORDED ON THE FIRST AND SIXTH DAY OF 5 DAYS SMET PROGRAM. A COMPLETE STATISTICAL AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS SHOWED 19.31% INCREASE (P=0.03) IN DELTA, 5.04% INCREASE (P=0.65) IN THETA, 15.40% INCREASE (P=0.09) IN ALPHA, 1.67% DECREASE (P=0.54) IN BETA AND 18.68% INCREASE (P=0.07) IN GAMMA WAVE COHERENCE BETWEEN PRE AND POST INTERVENTION MEASUREMENTS. TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT PARTICIPATION IN A SMET PROGRAM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENT IN EMOTIONAL STABILITY AND MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR 'EXECUTIVE EFFICIENCY'. BECAUSE BEFORE AND AFTER DESIGNS LIMIT INFERENCES ABOUT INTERVENTION EFFECTS, FURTHER RESEARCH IS WARRANTED TO EXPLORE THE EFFECTS OF SMET PROGRAM FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT USING A LARGER, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. 2011 5 2631 15 YOGA FOR THE TREATMENT OF INSOMNIA AMONG CANCER PATIENTS: EVIDENCE, MECHANISMS OF ACTION, AND CLINICAL RECOMMENDATIONS. UP TO 90% OF CANCER PATIENTS REPORT SYMPTOMS OF INSOMNIA DURING AND AFTER TREATMENT. SYMPTOMS OF INSOMNIA INCLUDE EXCESSIVE DAYTIME SLEEPINESS, DIFFICULTY FALLING ASLEEP, DIFFICULTY STAYING ASLEEP, AND WAKING UP TOO EARLY. INSOMNIA SYMPTOMS ARE AMONG THE MOST PREVALENT, DISTRESSING AND PERSISTENT CANCER- AND CANCER TREATMENT-RELATED TOXICITIES REPORTED BY PATIENTS, AND CAN BE SEVERE ENOUGH TO INCREASE CANCER MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. DESPITE THE UBIQUITY OF INSOMNIA SYMPTOMS, THEY ARE UNDER-SCREENED, UNDER-DIAGNOSED, AND UNDER-TREATED IN CANCER PATIENTS. WHEN INSOMNIA SYMPTOMS ARE IDENTIFIED, PROVIDERS ARE HESITANT TO PRESCRIBE, AND PATIENTS ARE HESITANT TO TAKE PHARMACEUTICALS DUE TO POLYPHARMACY CONCERNS. IN ADDITION, SLEEP MEDICATIONS DO NOT CURE INSOMNIA. YOGA IS A WELL-TOLERATED MODE OF EXERCISE WITH PROMISING EVIDENCE FOR ITS EFFICACY IN IMPROVING INSOMNIA SYMPTOMS AMONG CANCER PATIENTS. THIS ARTICLE REVIEWS EXISTING CLINICAL RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR TREATING INSOMNIA AMONG CANCER PATIENTS. THE ARTICLE ALSO PROVIDES CLINICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRESCRIBING YOGA FOR THE TREATMENT OF INSOMNIA IN THIS POPULATION. 2014 6 2503 17 YOGA AS TREATMENT FOR INSOMNIA AMONG CANCER PATIENTS AND SURVIVORS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. MANY CANCER PATIENTS AND SURVIVORS, BETWEEN 15 TO 90%, REPORT SOME FORM OF INSOMNIA OR SLEEP QUALITY IMPAIRMENT DURING AND POST-TREATMENT, SUCH AS EXCESSIVE DAYTIME NAPPING, DIFFICULTY FALLING ASLEEP, DIFFICULTY STAYING ASLEEP, AND WAKING UP TOO EARLY. INSOMNIA AND SLEEP QUALITY IMPAIRMENT ARE AMONG THE MOST PREVALENT AND DISTRESSING PROBLEMS REPORTED BY CANCER PATIENTS AND SURVIVORS, AND CAN BE SEVERE ENOUGH TO INCREASE CANCER MORTALITY. DESPITE THE UBIQUITY OF INSOMNIA AND SLEEP QUALITY IMPAIRMENT, THEY ARE UNDER-DIAGNOSED AND UNDER-TREATED IN CANCER PATIENTS AND SURVIVORS. WHEN SLEEP PROBLEMS ARE PRESENT, PROVIDERS AND PATIENTS ARE OFTEN HESITANT TO PRESCRIBE OR TAKE PHARMACEUTICALS FOR SLEEP PROBLEMS DUE TO POLY PHARMACY CONCERNS, AND COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR INSOMNIA CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT AND IMPRACTICAL FOR PATIENTS TO ADHERE TO THROUGHOUT THE CANCER EXPERIENCE. RESEARCH SUGGESTS YOGA IS A WELL-TOLERATED EXERCISE INTERVENTION WITH PROMISING EVIDENCE FOR ITS EFFICACY IN IMPROVING INSOMNIA AND SLEEP QUALITY IMPAIRMENT AMONG SURVIVORS. THIS ARTICLE PROVIDES A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF EXISTING CLINICAL RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR TREATING INSOMNIA AND SLEEP QUALITY IMPAIRMENT AMONG CANCER PATIENTS AND SURVIVORS. 2013 7 1535 20 KARMA YOGA: A PATH TOWARDS WORK IN POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY. KARMA YOGA IS THE PATH THAT LEADS TO SALVATION THROUGH ACTION. SALVATION IS THE ULTIMATE STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS. WORK IS THE CENTRAL AND DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC OF LIFE. IT MAY HAVE INTRINSIC VALUE, INSTRUMENTAL VALUE, OR BOTH. INSTRUMENTAL VALUE INCLUDES INCENTIVE, DIGNITY AND POWER, ETC., WHICH IS THE RESULT EXPECTED FROM THE WORK. THE GITA TEACHES US TO DO WORK WITHOUT THINKING OF RESULT (WORK WITH INTRINSIC VALUE). ATTACHMENT WITH THE RESULT LEADS TO STRESS, COMPETITION AND AGGRESSION. STRESS FURTHER GIVES RISE TO HEART AILMENTS, DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE. POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY STUDIES THE FACTORS AND CONDITIONS LEADING TO PLEASURABLE AND SATISFYING LIFE. UNDERSTANDING KARMA YOGA AND ITS PRACTICE HAS A SIMILAR ROLE THAT LEAD AN INDIVIDUAL TOWARDS WORK AND LEADING TO A SATISFIED LIFE. THIS MAY PLAY A UNIQUE ROLE TOWARDS PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY TO IMPROVE ONE'S LIFESTYLE AND AID IN THE TREATMENT OF STRESS DISORDERS. 2013 8 1804 23 PREVALENCE OF ORTHOREXIA NERVOSA AMONG ASHTANGA YOGA PRACTITIONERS: A PILOT STUDY. PURPOSE: ORTHOREXIA NERVOSA (ON, I.E., FIXATION ON RIGHTEOUS EATING) IS A POORLY DEFINED DISORDERED EATING BEHAVIOR THAT RESULTS FROM A PATHOLOGICAL OBSESSION WITH FOOD, ITS PURPORTED NUTRITIONAL VALUE, COMPOSITION, ORIGIN, ETC. METHODS: WE INVESTIGATED THE PREVALENCE OF ON IN A LOCAL ASHTANGA YOGA COMMUNITY, BY USING A VALIDATED QUESTIONNAIRE (ORTO-15) THAT SETS A THRESHOLD OF ON DIAGNOSIS AT