1 1598 41 MEDITATION, YOGA, AND GUIDED IMAGERY. THE AUTHOR PRESENTS AN INTRODUCTION TO INSIGHT OR MINDFULNESS MEDITATION, YOGA, AND GUIDED IMAGERY FROM THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVES. SHE PROVIDES CLEAR, EASY-TO-FOLLOW STEPS TO BEGIN USING SITTING MEDITATION, WALKING MEDITATION, AND YOGA FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROVIDER AND FOR THE PATIENT. SHE PRESENTS THE MATERIAL FIRST FOR SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-CARE AND SECONDARILY FOR CONNECTING TO OTHERS IN HEALING RELATIONSHIPS. 2001 2 2849 15 YOGA, MEDITATION, AND IMAGERY: CLINICAL APPLICATIONS. HATHA YOGA AND MEDITATION AS ADJUNCTIVE THERAPIES FOR PROMOTING AND MAINTAINING WELLNESS OFFER AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION AT WORK. HATHA YOGA CREATES BALANCE, PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY, BY USING POSTURES, OR ASANAS, COMBINED WITH BREATHING TECHNIQUES, OR PRANAYAMA. MEDITATION AND GUIDED IMAGERY NOT ONLY SUPPORT THE PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL WORK BEING DONE BY THE POSTURES AND BREATHING, THEY OPEN THE DOOR TO SELF-ACTUALIZATION TO CREATE THE PERFECT UNION OF THE MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT. THIS REPORT DISCUSSES THE DEFINITIONS OF HATHA YOGA, MEDITATION, AND IMAGERY AND THEIR CLINICAL APPLICATIONS. THREE CASE STUDIES FROM PRIVATE PRACTICE ARE PRESENTED. 1998 3 2752 10 YOGA PRACTICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH SUPERIOR MOTOR IMAGERY PERFORMANCE. YOGA IS AN ACTIVITY THAT AIMS TO INTEGRATE PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS AND IS AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR APPROACH TO ENHANCING PHYSICAL FITNESS. THE INTEGRATION OF IMAGERY WITHIN YOGA PRACTICE IS CONSIDERED AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT AND MAY BE CRITICAL IN CONTRIBUTING TO THE BENEFITS OF YOGA THAT HAVE BEEN REPORTED. IN THIS STUDY, WE TESTED WHETHER INDIVIDUALS WHO PRACTICE YOGA DEMONSTRATE SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE ON AN OBJECTIVE MEASURE OF IMPLICIT MOTOR IMAGERY. THIRTY-SIX PARTICIPANTS (18 YOGA, 18 NON-YOGA) MATCHED FOR AGE, SEX AND HANDEDNESS, UNDERTOOK THE HAND LATERALITY RECOGNITION TASK; AN OBJECTIVE MEASURE OF IMPLICIT MOTOR IMAGERY PERFORMANCE. ACCURACY AND RESPONSE TIMES WERE GATHERED AND ANALYSED TO DETERMINE ANY GROUP DIFFERENCES AS WELL AS ANY DIFFERENCES RELATING TO THE TYPICAL HALLMARKS OF IMAGERY (I.E. DOMINANCE AND AWKWARDNESS EFFECTS) ON THE TASK. RESPONSE TIMES (RTS) IN THE YOGA GROUP WERE SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER THAN CONTROLS (P < 0.05) AND THERE WAS ALSO A TREND TOWARDS GREATER ACCURACY FOR THE YOGA GROUP (P = 0.073). DOMINANCE EFFECTS (FASTER RESPONSES TO IMAGES CORRESPONDING WITH THE DOMINANT LIMB) AND AWKWARDNESS EFFECTS (FASTER RESPONSES TO IMAGES CORRESPONDING WITH NATURAL COMPARED WITH AWKWARD POSTURES) WERE EVIDENT ACROSS GROUPS, SUPPORTING THE PARTICIPANTS' USE OF MOTOR IMAGERY IN UNDERTAKING THE TASK. ADDITIONALLY, A GROUP X AWKWARDNESS INTERACTION (P < 0.05) REVEALED THAT THE ENHANCED IMAGERY PERFORMANCE FOR THE YOGA GROUP WAS MOST PRONOUNCED FOR AWKWARD POSTURES. THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY TO SHOW THAT YOGA PRACTICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH SUPERIOR MOTOR IMAGERY PERFORMANCE; AN ASSOCIATION THAT MAY BE IMPORTANT IN EXPLAINING THE ESTABLISHED REHABILITATIVE VALUE OF YOGA FOR CHRONIC PAIN. 2017 4 338 12 ARE PEOPLE WHO DO YOGA ANY BETTER AT A MOTOR IMAGERY TASK THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT? BACKGROUND: YOGA IS A POPULAR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY IN WESTERN SOCIETY AND THERE IS AN ABUNDANCE OF LITERATURE SUGGESTING THAT YOGA MAY BE BENEFICIAL FOR PEOPLE WITH A CHRONIC PAIN DISORDER. DESPITE CONSISTENTLY POSITIVE RESULTS IN THE LITERATURE, THE MECHANISMS OF EFFECT ARE UNCLEAR. ON THE GROUNDS THAT CHRONIC PAIN IS ASSOCIATED WITH DISRUPTIONS OF BRAIN-GROUNDED MAPS OF THE BODY, A POSSIBLE MECHANISM OF YOGA IS TO REFINE THESE BRAIN-GROUNDED MAPS. A LEFT/RIGHT BODY PART JUDGEMENT TASK IS AN ESTABLISHED WAY OF INTERROGATING THESE BRAIN-GROUNDED MAPS OF THE BODY. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE IF PEOPLE WHO DO REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE PERFORM BETTER AT A LEFT/RIGHT JUDGEMENT TASK THAN PEOPLE WHO DO NOT. METHODS: PREVIOUSLY COLLECTED, CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA WERE USED. USING A CASE-CONTROL DESIGN, PARTICIPANTS WHO REPORTED TAKING PART IN REGULAR YOGA WERE SELECTED AGAINST AGE, GENDER, NECK PAIN AND ARM PAIN-MATCHED CONTROLS. PARTICIPANTS VIEWED 40 PHOTOGRAPHS OF A MODEL WITH THEIR HEAD TURNED TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT, AND WERE ASKED TO JUDGE THE DIRECTION OF NECK ROTATION. THEY THEN COMPLETED A LEFT/RIGHT-HAND JUDGEMENT TASK. RESULTS: OF THE 1737 PARTICIPANTS, 86 OF THEM REPORTED REGULARLY TAKING PART IN YOGA. FROM THE REMAINING PARTICIPANTS, 86 MATCHED CONTROLS WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED FROM ALL MATCHED CONTROLS. THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS (YOGA AND NO YOGA) FOR EITHER RESPONSE TIME (P=0.109) OR ACCURACY (P=0.964). THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TASKS; PEOPLE WERE FASTER (P<0.001) AND MORE ACCURATE (P=0.001) AT MAKING LEFT/RIGHT NECK ROTATION JUDGEMENTS THAN THEY WERE AT MAKING LEFT/RIGHT-HAND JUDGEMENTS, REGARDLESS OF GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: PEOPLE WHO DO REGULAR YOGA PERFORM NO DIFFERENTLY IN A LEFT/RIGHT JUDGEMENT TASK THAN PEOPLE WHO DO NOT. 2015 5 571 13 DEFINING YOGA-NIDRA: TRADITIONAL ACCOUNTS, PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCH, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS. THE TERM YOGA-NIDRA HAS BEEN USED IN MANY EMPIRICAL STUDIES TO REFER TO RELAXATION AND GUIDED IMAGERY. THESE TECHNIQUES DO NOT REPRESENT THE INTENTION OR PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF YOGANIDRA DISCUSSED IN THE TRADITIONAL YOGA LITERATURE. WE PROPOSE AN OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF YOGA-NIDRA THAT IS SUPPORTED BY SEVERAL PHYSIOLOGICALLY TESTABLE HYPOTHESES REGARDING ITS OUTCOMES AND EFFECTS. TRADITIONAL DESCRIPTIONS OF YOGA-NIDRA AND CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTS OF ITS PRACTICE ARE REVIEWED, AND STUDIES EXAMINING THE PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF YOGA-NIDRA ARE EXAMINED. PROPOSED HYPOTHESES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH USING THIS OPERATIONAL DEFINITION ARE PROVIDED. 2013 6 2254 16 THE ORIGIN AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE OF YOGA NIDRA. YOGA NIDRA, ALSO KNOWN AS 'YOGIC SLEEP', IS A SIMPLIFIED FORM OF AN ANCIENT TANTRIC RELAXATION TECHNIQUE. THE MOST GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PRACTICE IS THAT IT COMBINES GUIDED MENTAL IMAGERY WITH A SPECIFIC YOGA POSTURE CALLED SHAVASANA (OR "CORPSE POSE"). THE GOAL OF YOGA NIDRA IS TO PROMOTE A PROFOUND STATE OF RELAXATION, WHICH DIFFERS FROM SLEEP INASMUCH AS THERE IS STILL AN AWARENESS OF ONE'S SURROUNDINGS. WHILE SEVERAL COMPONENTS OF THE PRACTICE HAVE BEEN KNOWN SINCE ANCIENT TIMES, IT WAS NOT UNTIL THE 1960S THAT AN UPDATED AND SYSTEMATIZED SYSTEM OF PRACTICE WAS INTRODUCED TO THE PUBLIC THROUGH THE WRITINGS OF SWAMI SATYANANDA SARASWATI. UNLIKE OTHER SCHOOLS OF YOGA, WHICH EMPHASIZE CONCENTRATION OR CONTEMPLATION, YOGA NIDRA'S GOAL IS COMPLETE RELAXATION. AS SUCH, ITS ADVOCATES CLAIM THAT IT IS SUITABLE FOR ALL INDIVIDUALS, FROM BEGINNERS TO ADVANCED PRACTITIONERS OF YOGA. THE CALM INNER STILLNESS INDUCED BY YOGA NIDRA IS CLAIMED BY PRACTITIONERS TO BE AN EFFECTIVE STRESS MANAGEMENT TOOL AS WELL AS A MEANS FOR ATTAINING GREATER RECEPTIVITY TO PERSONAL RESOLUTIONS. THESE RESOLUTIONS CAN RANGE FROM THE GOAL OF ACHIEVING SELF-TRANSFORMATION, ENHANCING CREATIVITY, OR IMPROVING ONE'S LEARNING ABILITY. ADDITIONALLY, YOGA NIDRA IS CLAIMED TO PROMOTE BENEFICIAL CHANGES IN PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH. THE FOLLOWING NARRATIVE REVIEW SUMMARIZES THE BASIC STEPS USED TO ACHIEVE THE FINAL STATE OF YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION AS WELL AS SOME RECENT EXPERIMENTAL FINDINGS REGARDING ITS PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS. STANDARD RESEARCH DATABASES WERE SEARCHED FOR RELEVANT ARTICLES. CLINICAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT YOGA NIDRA MEDITATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH POSITIVE PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES, INCLUDING IMPROVEMENTS IN SEVERAL HEMATOLOGICAL VARIABLES, RED BLOOD CELL COUNTS, BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS, AND HORMONAL STATUS. TWO NEUROIMAGING STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT YOGA NIDRA PRODUCES CHANGES IN ENDOGENOUS DOPAMINE RELEASE AND CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW, A FURTHER CONFIRMATION THAT ITS EFFECTS ON THE CNS ARE OBJECTIVELY MEASURABLE. THE PRACTICE HAS ALSO BEEN SHOWN TO REDUCE PSYCHOMETRICALLY MEASURED INDICES OF MILD DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, ALTHOUGH THESE BENEFITS WERE NOT SHOWN IN AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY TO EXTEND TO SEVERE DEPRESSION OR SEVERE ANXIETY. 2022 7 907 13 EFFECTIVENESS OF CAREGIVERS' YOGA MODULE ON PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND MENTAL WELL-BEING AMONG CAREGIVERS OF PATIENTS ADMITTED TO NEUROLOGICAL REHABILITATION WARDS OF A TERTIARY CARE INSTITUTE, BENGALURU, KARNATAKA, INDIA. BACKGROUND CAREGIVERS OF PATIENTS ADMITTED TO NEUROREHABILITATION WARDS MAY EXPERIENCE HIGHER PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS (PD) AND POOR MENTAL WELL-BEING (MWB). THIS STUDY AIMED TO EMPOWER CAREGIVERS TO COPE EFFECTIVELY WITH PD AND MAINTAIN WELL-BEING BY PRACTICING YOGA. MATERIALS AND METHODS A TOTAL OF 34 CAREGIVERS WERE RANDOMIZED TO THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP (EG) AND WAITLISTED CONTROL GROUP IN A MULTIPHASE MANNER. DATA WERE COLLECTED USING SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC SCHEDULE, KESSLER'S PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS SCALE-10, AND WARWICK-EDINBURGH'S MENTAL WELL-BEING SCALE. CAREGIVERS' YOGA MODULE (CYM) CONSISTING OF SATSANGA (THEORY), ASANAS (POSTURES), PRANAYAMA (BREATH CONTROL), IMAGERY, MEDITATION, AND RELAXATION TECHNIQUES WAS TAUGHT TO THOSE IN THE EG AT 35 M/D FOR EIGHT CONSECUTIVE DAYS. THEY WERE ENCOURAGED TO CONTINUE ON THEIR OWN FOR ANOTHER 3 WEEKS. POSTTEST DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM BOTH GROUPS ON THE 15TH AND 29TH DAYS. ANALYSIS WAS DONE WITH IBM SPSS STATISTICS VERSION 22 (IBM CORP., ARMONK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES). RESULTS THERE WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF PD AND IMPROVEMENT OF MWB AMONG CAREGIVERS OF EG WITHIN (PD: F = 17.78, P < 0.001; MWB: F = 5.48, P < 0.03) AND BETWEEN (PD: F = 15.87, P < 0.001; MWB: F = 15.87, P < 0.01) THE GROUPS AFTER THE CYM. A SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE CORRELATION WAS FOUND BETWEEN PRETEST MWB AND PD ( R =-0.579, P < 0.01). CAREGIVERS WHO WERE MARRIED AND CAREGIVERS' PERCEPTION OF POOR IMPROVEMENT OF PATIENT CONDITION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH PD. CONCLUSION FINDINGS PROVIDE PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CYM ON PD AND MWB AMONG CAREGIVERS OF PATIENTS ADMITTED TO NEUROREHABILITATION WARDS. 2019 8 1817 11 PROPOSED IDENTIFICATION OF PHYSIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION AND THEORETICAL MECHANISMS OF YOGASANAS. YOGA IN THE THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL FORM IS NOW ACCEPTED ALL OVER THE WORLD, BY THE RESEARCHERS AS WELL AS BY THE GENERAL POPULATION. YOGASANA OR YOGIC POSTURES ARE ONE OF THE MAIN FOUNDATIONS OF PRACTICAL YOGA. MECHANISMS OF MEDIATION AND PRANAYAMA HAS ALREADY BEEN ESTABLISHED. IN THIS ARTICLE, THE AUTHOR IS FOR THE FIRST TIME PROPOSING PHYSIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF YOGASANA I.E. (A) STRETCH (B) CONTRACTION (C). NEUROMUSCULAR COORDINATION (D) SENSE REDUCTION (E) SPINE BRAIN ACTIVATION. IN SUPPORT OF THIS PHYSIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION AUTHOR HAS PROPOSED FIVE HYPOTHETICAL THEORIES I.E. (I) STRETCH RELAXATION AWARENESS (II) CONTRACTION RELAXATION AWARENESS (III) BALLASTIC CONTRACTION RELAXATION AWARENESS (IV) SENSORY MOTOR FUNCTION AWARENESS AND (V) VITAL ENERGY FLOW AWARENESS TO UNDERSTAND THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS OF YOGASANA PRACTICE AND TO EXPLAIN ITS BENEFITS. 2021 9 2305 11 TRAINING ATTENTION FOR CONSCIOUS NON-REM SLEEP: THE YOGIC PRACTICE OF YOGA-NIDRA AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH. THE STUDY OF CONSCIOUSNESS WITHIN COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE HAS BEEN DOMINATED IN RECENT YEARS BY INVESTIGATIONS ORIGINATING FROM COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN NEUROSCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATORS AND BUDDHIST MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS. THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN REMARKABLE, PARTICULARLY WHEN QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS HAVE BEEN COMBINED AS THEY ARE IN THE NEUROPHENOMENOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY ORIGINATED BY FRANCISCO VARELA. THE ADDITION OF QUALITATIVE DATA ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SUBJECT GREATLY ENRICHES THE INTERPRETIVE POTENTIAL OF QUANTITATIVE DATA AND HONORS THE ULTIMATE SUBJECTIVITY OF ALL PHENOMENA, IF WE ACCEPT CONSCIOUSNESS AS THE UNIVERSAL FIRST PRINCIPLE AS SOME QUANTUM PHYSICISTS NOW DO. THIS REMARKABLE PROGRESS, HOWEVER, HAS DROPPED A THREAD OF INQUIRY BEGUN IN THE LATE 1960S BY THE MENNINGER FOUNDATION IN TOPEKA, KANSAS (THE UNITED STATES) UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF ELMER AND ALYCE GREEN. THEIR STUDIES OF THE CONSCIOUS CONTROL OF INVOLUNTARY PROCESSES DREW ON COLLABORATION WITH AN INDIAN MASTER OF YOGA MEDITATION, SWAMI RAMA OF THE HIMALAYAS, WHICH OPENED A NUMBER OF INTRIGUING POSSIBILITIES, WHICH HAVE YET TO BE FOLLOWED UP IN DETAIL WITH THE MOST RECENT RESEARCH TOOLS AND METHODOLOGIES. AMONG THESE IS THE ABILITY TO ENTER THE DEEPEST, NON-REM DELTA WAVE SLEEP WHILE MAINTAINING AWARENESS BOTH INTERNALLY AND OF ONE'S SURROUNDINGS (YOGA-NIDRA). THE PARTICULAR INTEREST IN THIS ABILITY LIES NOT ONLY IN THE BENEFITS THAT ACCRUE FROM ESPECIALLY DEEP RELAXATION AND AN ESPECIALLY PURE EXPERIENCE OF MINDFUL AWARENESS, BUT ALSO FROM THE YOGI'S DESCRIPTION OF THIS AS A WAY TO GRADUALLY LEARN TO ENTER THE DEEPEST STATES OF MEDITATION (SAMADHI) AND REMAIN THERE EVEN WHEN OTHERWISE ACTIVE IN THE WORLD (TURIYA). THIS CHAPTER IS ONE OF A SERIES HOPING TO ELUCIDATE THAT STATE FROM BOTH TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY DESCRIPTIONS OF THE STATE OF YOGA-NIDRA, DRAW MEASURABLE HYPOTHESES FROM THESE DESCRIPTIONS AND DISCUSS THE METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF CONDUCTING THESE INVESTIGATIONS WITH SUFFICIENTLY COMPETENT SAMPLES OF SUBJECTS. THE FOCUS OF THIS CHAPTER IS ON TRAINING SUBJECTS WHO CAN BECOME CAPABLE OF ENTERING THE STATE OF YOGA-NIDRA. 2019 10 2779 7 YOGA TECHNIQUES AS A MEANS OF CORE STABILITY TRAINING. CORE STABILITY IN GENERAL INVOLVES THE MUSCULAR CONTROL REQUIRED AROUND THE LUMBAR SPINE TO MAINTAIN FUNCTIONAL STABILITY. STABILITY AND MOVEMENT ARE CRITICALLY DEPENDENT ON THE COORDINATION OF ALL THE MUSCLES SURROUNDING THE LUMBAR SPINE. THIS PAPER AIMS TO SHOW THAT AN AGE-OLD YOGA PRACTICE, CALLED UDDHYANA BHANDA AND NOULI, IS AN EFFECTIVE MEANS OF CORE STABILITY. 2009 11 1496 10 INTRACEREBRAL PAIN PROCESSING IN A YOGA MASTER WHO CLAIMS NOT TO FEEL PAIN DURING MEDITATION. WE RECORDED MAGNETOENCEPHALOGRAPHY (MEG) AND FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI) FOLLOWING NOXIOUS LASER STIMULATION IN A YOGA MASTER WHO CLAIMS NOT TO FEEL PAIN WHEN MEDITATING. AS FOR BACKGROUND MEG ACTIVITY, THE POWER OF ALPHA FREQUENCY BANDS PEAKING AT AROUND 10 HZ WAS MUCH INCREASED DURING MEDITATION OVER OCCIPITAL, PARIETAL AND TEMPORAL REGIONS, WHEN COMPARED WITH THE NON-MEDITATIVE STATE, WHICH MIGHT MEAN THE SUBJECT WAS VERY RELAXED, THOUGH HE DID NOT FALL ASLEEP, DURING MEDITATION. PRIMARY PAIN-RELATED CORTICAL ACTIVITIES RECORDED FROM PRIMARY (SI) AND SECONDARY SOMATOSENSORY CORTICES (SII) BY MEG WERE VERY WEAK OR ABSENT DURING MEDITATION. AS FOR FMRI RECORDING, THERE WERE REMARKABLE CHANGES IN LEVELS OF ACTIVITY IN THE THALAMUS, SII-INSULA (MAINLY THE INSULA) AND CINGULATE CORTEX BETWEEN MEDITATION AND NON-MEDITATION. ACTIVITIES IN ALL THREE REGIONS WERE INCREASED DURING NON-MEDITATION, SIMILAR TO RESULTS IN NORMAL SUBJECTS. IN CONTRAST, ACTIVITIES IN ALL THREE REGIONS WERE WEAKER DURING MEDITATION, AND THE LEVEL WAS LOWER THAN THE BASELINE IN THE THALAMUS. RECENT NEUROIMAGING AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL STUDIES HAVE CLARIFIED THAT THE EMOTIONAL ASPECT OF PAIN PERCEPTION MAINLY INVOLVES THE INSULA AND CINGULATE CORTEX. THOUGH WE CANNOT CLEARLY EXPLAIN THIS UNUSUAL CONDITION IN THE YOGA MASTER, A CHANGE OF MULTIPLE REGIONS RELATING TO PAIN PERCEPTION COULD BE RESPONSIBLE, SINCE PAIN IS A COMPLEX SENSORY AND EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE. 2005 12 2724 5 YOGA NEUROPATHY. A SNOOZER. SCIATIC NERVE COMPRESSION VERY RARELY OCCURS BILATERALLY. THE AUTHORS PRESENT A WOMAN WITH PROFOUND LOWER EXTREMITY WEAKNESS AND SENSORY ABNORMALITY AFTER FALLING ASLEEP IN THE HEAD-TO-KNEES YOGA POSITION (ALSO CALLED "PASCHIMOTTANASANA"). CLINICAL AND ELECTRODIAGNOSTIC FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED IN DETAIL AND A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE IS PRESENTED. 2005 13 433 10 CAN YOGA THERAPY STIMULATE STEM CELL TRAFFICKING FROM BONE MARROW? IT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED THAT MESENCHYMAL STROMAL CELLS (MSCS) FROM BONE MARROW ENTER THE PERIPHERAL CIRCULATION INTERMITTENTLY FOR POSSIBLE TISSUE REGENERATION, REPAIR AND TO TAKE CARE OF DAILY WEAR AND TEAR. THIS IS EVIDENT FROM THE DETECTION OF MSCS FROM PERIPHERAL BLOOD. THE FACTORS GOVERNING THIS MIGRATION REMAIN ELUSIVE. THESE MSCS CARRY OUT THE WORK OF POLICING AND ARE SUPPOSED TO REPAIR THE INJURED TISSUES. THUS, THESE CELLS HELP IN MAINTAINING THE TISSUE AND ORGAN HOMEOSTASIS. YOGA AND PRANAYAMA ORIGINATED IN INDIA AND IS NOW BEING PRACTICED ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR POSITIVE HEALTH. SO FAR, THE CHEMICAL STIMULATION OF BONE MARROW HAS BEEN WIDELY USED EMPLOYING INJECTION OF COLONY STIMULATING FACTOR. HOWEVER, THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL FACTORS SUCH AS MECHANICAL STIMULATION AND STRETCHING HAS NOT BEEN SUBSTANTIATED. IT IS CLAIMED THAT PRACTICING YOGA DELAYS SENESCENCE, IMPROVES THE PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF HEART AND LUNG AND YOGA POSTURES MAKE THE BODY ELASTIC. IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHETHER THE YOGA THERAPY PROMOTES TRAFFICKING OF THE STEM CELLS FROM BONE MARROW FOR POSSIBLE REPAIR AND REGENERATION OF WORN OUT AND DEGENERATING TISSUES. WE COVER IN THIS SHORT REVIEW, MAINLY THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL FACTORS ESPECIALLY THE YOGA THERAPY ON STEM CELLS TRAFFICKING FROM BONE MARROW. 2016 14 889 5 EFFECT OF YOGA-BASED AND FORCED UNINOSTRIL BREATHING ON THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. SOME REPORTS HAVE DESCRIBED THE EFFECTS OF FORCED UNINOSTRIL BREATHING ON AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY AS SEX-SPECIFIC, WHILE OTHER REPORTS DESCRIBED SELECTIVE EFFECTS OF BREATHING THROUGH A SPECIFIC NOSTRIL ON THE TWO DIVISIONS OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, IRRESPECTIVE OF SEX. THERE ARE ALSO YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES WHICH INVOLVE VOLUNTARY UNINOSTRIL BREATHING. THESE TECHNIQUES ALSO INFLUENCED THE AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY BASED ON THE PATENT NOSTRIL RATHER THAN SEX. THESE DESCRIPTIONS WERE IN LINE WITH EXPERIENTIAL OBSERVATIONS OF THE ANCIENT SAGES DESCRIBED IN CLASSICAL YOGA TEXTS. THIS PAPER SUMMARIZES THESE PERSPECTIVES ON UNINOSTRIL BREATHING. 2003 15 447 10 CHANGED PATTERN OF REGIONAL GLUCOSE METABOLISM DURING YOGA MEDITATIVE RELAXATION. USING POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY (PET), MEASUREMENTS OF THE REGIONAL CEREBRAL METABOLIC RATE OF GLUCOSE (RCMRGLC) ARE ABLE TO DELINEATE CEREBRAL METABOLIC RESPONSES TO EXTERNAL OR MENTAL STIMULATION. IN ORDER TO EXAMINE POSSIBLE CHANGES OF BRAIN METABOLISM DUE TO YOGA MEDITATION PET SCANS WERE PERFORMED IN 8 MEMBERS OF A YOGA MEDITATION GROUP DURING THE NORMAL CONTROL STATE (C) AND YOGA MEDITATIVE RELAXATION (YMR). WHEREAS THERE WERE INTRAINDIVIDUAL CHANGES OF THE TOTAL CMRGLC, THE ALTERATIONS WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT FOR INTERGROUP COMPARISON; SPECIFIC FOCAL CHANGES OR CHANGES IN THE INTERHEMISPHERIC DIFFERENCES IN METABOLISM WERE ALSO NOT SEEN; HOWEVER THE RATIOS OF FRONTAL VS. OCCIPITAL RCMRGLC WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED (P LESS THAN 0.05) DURING YMR. THESE ALTERED RATIOS WERE CAUSED BY A SLIGHT INCREASE OF FRONTAL RCMRGLC AND A MORE PRONOUNCED REDUCTION IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY VISUAL CENTERS. THESE DATA INDICATE A HOLISTIC BEHAVIOR OF THE BRAIN METABOLISM DURING THE TIME OF ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS DURING YMR. 1990 16 1836 9 PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF THE PRACTICE OF TANTRIC YOGA MEDITATION. AUTONOMIC AND ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC (EEG) CORRELATES OF TANTRIC YOGA MEDITATION WERE STUDIED IN THREE GROUPS OF SUBJECTS AS THEY PROGRESSED FROM NORMAL CONSCIOUSNESS INTO MEDITATION. GROUPS DIFFERED IN THEIR LEVEL OF MEDITATION PROFICIENCY. MEASURES OF SKIN RESISTANCE, HEART RATE, RESPIRATION, AUTONOMIC ORIENTING RESPONSES, RESTING EEG, EEG ALPHA AND THETA FREQUENCIES, SLEEP-SCORED EEG, AVERAGED EVOKED RESPONSES, AND SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE WERE EMPLOYED. UNLIKE MOST PREVIOUSLY REPORTED MEDITATION STUDIES, PROFICIENT MEDITATORS DEMONSTRATED INCREASED AUTONOMIC ACTIVATION DURING MEDITATION WHILE UNEXPERIENCED MEDITATORS DEMONSTRATED AUTONOMIC RELAXATION. DURING MEDITATION, PROFICIENT MEDITATORS DEMONSTRATED INCREASED ALPHA AND THETA POWER, MINIMAL EVIDENCE OF EEG-DEFINED SLEEP, AND DECREASED AUTONOMIC ORIENTING TO EXTERNAL STIMULATION. AN EPISODE OF SUDDEN AUTONOMIC ACTIVATION WAS OBSERVED THAT WAS CHARACTERIZED BY THE MEDITATOR AS AN APPROACH TO THE YOGIC ECSTATIC STATE OF INTENSE CONCENTRATION. THESE FINDINGS CHALLENGE THE CURRENT "RELAXATION" MODEL OF MEDITATIVE STATES. 1978 17 2443 10 YOGA AND SEXUAL FUNCTIONING: A REVIEW. YOGA IS AN ANCIENT PRACTICE WITH EASTERN ROOTS THAT INVOLVES BOTH PHYSICAL POSTURES (ASANAS) AND BREATHING TECHNIQUES (PRANAYAMAS). THERE IS ALSO A COGNITIVE COMPONENT FOCUSING ON MEDITATION AND CONCENTRATION, WHICH AIDS IN ACHIEVING THE GOAL OF UNION BETWEEN THE SELF AND THE SPIRITUAL. ALTHOUGH NUMEROUS EMPIRICAL STUDIES HAVE FOUND A BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF YOGA ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING, CLAIMS OF YOGA'S BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON SEXUALITY DERIVE FROM A RICH BUT NONEMPIRICAL LITERATURE. THE GOAL OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO REVIEW THE PHILOSOPHY AND FORMS OF YOGA, TO REVIEW THE NONEMPIRICAL AND (LIMITED) EMPIRICAL LITERATURES LINKING YOGA WITH ENHANCED SEXUALITY, AND TO PROPOSE SOME FUTURE RESEARCH AVENUES FOCUSINGING ON YOGA AS A TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL COMPLAINTS. 2009 18 2302 10 THINKING THROUGH THE BODY: THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF YOGA AS THERAPY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH EATING DISORDERS. YOGA HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN VIEWED AS A DISCIPLINE THAT INCREASES SELF-AWARENESS THROUGH BODY BASED PRACTICES, MEDITATION, SELF-STUDY, AND THE READING OF PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS. IN THE 21ST CENTURY THE MINDFULNESS TECHNIQUES OF YOGA HAVE BEEN ADAPTED AS AN ADJUNCT TO THE TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH EATING DISORDERS. IN AN EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF YOGA AS THERAPY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH EATING DISORDERS, THIS ARTICLE JUXTAPOSES HOW MINDFULNESS BASED YOGA IS REGARDED IN THREE DISCIPLINES: SOCIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE, AND THE "SPIRITUAL TEXTS" OF YOGA. 2011 19 2909 7 [PHYSIOPHILOSOPHICAL FUNDAMENTALS AND GENESIS OF TSIGUN, INDIAN, AND TIBETAN YOGA. PARAMOUNT EMPIRICAL EFFICACY]. THIS ARTICLE IS DEVOTED TO THE ANALYSIS OF PHYSIOPHILOSOPHICAL FUNDAMENTALS AND GENESIS OF TSIGUN, INDIAN, AND TIBETAN YOGA BASED ON THE OVERVIEW OF THE RELEVANT LITERATURE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE METHODOLOGY OF THESE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DISCIPLINES AND THEIR THERAPEUTIC AND HEALTH-GIVING EFFICACY. BASED ON THE COMBINATION OF PHYSIOPHILOSOPHICAL CATEGORIES AND MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE CONCEPT OF THE FIVE PRIMARY ELEMENTS, THE AUTHORS ILLUSTRATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEMIC APPROACH BY WHICH ANCIENT PHYSICIANS RELATED MAN TO NATURE IN ORDER TO DERIVE THE ADAPTATION PRINCIPLE REALIZED THROUGH HUMAN ACTIVITIES. TRADITIONAL AND MODERN ASPECTS OF THESE ACTIVITIES ARE CONSIDERED. IN THE TRADITIONAL CONTEXT, THE PERFORMANCE OF EXERCISES AS ASSIGNED BY TSIGUN, INDIAN, AND TIBETAN YOGA IS CONSIDERED AS THE PURPOSEFUL REALIZATION OF THE ENERGY OF CONSCIENCE FOR HEALTH IMPROVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT AND IN THE MODERN CONTEXT AS THE REALIZATION OF A NOVEL FORM OF PSYCHIC CREATIVE CAPACITY TO THE SAME EFFECT BASED ON FRUITFUL BRAINWORK. 2011 20 1887 10 REFLECTIONS ON CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF YOGA IN VOICE THERAPY WITH MTD. THIS PAPER EXPLORES THE APPLICATION OF MODIFIED YOGA TECHNIQUES, AS AN ADJUNCT TO VOICE THERAPY, BY A SPEECH PATHOLOGIST WHO IS ALSO A YOGA TEACHER. YOGA PRACTICES, WITH EFFECTS THAT MAY BE SHORT-TERM, ARE NOT CONSIDERED A SUBSTITUTE FOR COMPREHENSIVE AND INTEGRATED SOMATIC RETRAINING SYSTEMS (SUCH AS THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE OR FELDENKRAIS ATM). HOWEVER, WHEN YOGA IS CONDUCTED EMPHASIZING KINAESTHETIC AND PROPRIOCEPTIVE AWARENESS, THE CLIENT MAY ACHIEVE AN 'AWARENESS STATE' THAT FACILITATES THE LEARNING OF VOCAL REMEDIATION TECHNIQUES (FOR EXAMPLE, BY MORE EASILY 'TUNING IN' TO THE SUBTLE SENSATIONS OF SUPRALARYNGEAL DECONSTRICTION). CORE YOGA ELEMENTS AND CLINICAL APPLICATIONS ARE IDENTIFIED. THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND CONSIDERATIONS WHEN USING YOGA AS AN ADJUNCT TO THE TREATMENT OF MUSCLE TENSION DYSPHONIA (MTD) ARE EXPLORED. 2012