1 1329 163 HIGH-FREQUENCY CEREBRAL ACTIVATION AND INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION FOLLOWING SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA AS GLOBAL BRAIN RHYTHMS: THE STATE EFFECTS. CONTEXT: RESPIRATION IS KNOWN TO MODULATE NEURONAL OSCILLATIONS IN THE BRAIN AND IS MEASURED BY ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG). SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) IS A POPULAR BREATHING PROCESS AND IS ESTABLISHED FOR ITS SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS ON THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF PHYSIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY. AIMS: THIS STUDY AIMED TO OBSERVE NEURONAL OSCILLATIONS IN MULTIFREQUENCY BANDS AND INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION FOLLOWING SKY. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: THIS STUDY EMPLOYED BEFORE- AND AFTER-STUDY DESIGN. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: FORTY HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (AVERAGE AGE 25.45 +/- 5.75, 23 MALES AND 17 FEMALES) PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. NINETEEN-CHANNEL EEG WAS RECORDED AND ANALYZED FOR 5 MIN EACH: BEFORE AND AFTER SKY. SPECTRAL POWER FOR DELTA, THETA, ALPHA, BETA, AND GAMMA FREQUENCY BAND WAS CALCULATED USING MULTI-TAPER FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM (CHRONUX TOOLBOX). THE ASYMMETRY INDEX WAS CALCULATED BY SUBTRACTING THE NATURAL LOG OF POWERS OF LEFT (L) HEMISPHERE FROM THE RIGHT((R)) TO SHOW INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: PAIRED T-TEST WAS USED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. RESULTS: SPECTRAL POWER INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN ALL FREQUENCY BANDS BILATERALLY IN FRONTAL, CENTRAL, PARIETAL, TEMPORAL, AND OCCIPITAL REGIONS OF THE BRAIN AFTER LONG SKY. ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY SHIFTED FROM LOWER TO HIGHER FREQUENCY RANGE WITH A SIGNIFICANT RISE IN THE GAMMA AND BETA POWERS FOLLOWING SKY. ASYMMETRY INDEX VALUES TENDED TOWARD 0 FOLLOWING SKY. CONCLUSIONS: A SINGLE SESSION OF SKY GENERATES GLOBAL BRAIN RHYTHM DOMINANTLY WITH HIGH-FREQUENCY CEREBRAL ACTIVATION AND INITIATES APPROPRIATE INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION IN BRAIN RHYTHMS AS STATE EFFECTS. THIS SUGGESTS THAT SKY LEADS TO BETTER ATTENTION, MEMORY, AND EMOTIONAL AND AUTONOMIC CONTROL ALONG WITH ENHANCED COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, WHICH FINALLY IMPROVES PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING. 2020 2 2004 41 STUDY OF IMMEDIATE NEUROLOGICAL AND AUTONOMIC CHANGES DURING KAPALBHATI PRANAYAMA IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. BACKGROUND: KAPALBHATI IS A FAST PACE RESPIRATORY EXERCISE OR PRANAYAM, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE PRACTICED BY YOGIS TO CLEAN THEIR BRAIN. PRANAYAMAS ARE WELL KNOWN TO IMPROVE HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) ULTIMATELY LEADING TO BETTER AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS. OTHER STUDIES HAVE OBSERVED THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF KAPALBHATI ON VARIOUS NEUROLOGICAL (BRAIN AND SPINE) AND AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS, BUT THEIR RESULTS ARE VARIED AND INCONCLUSIVE. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO FIND OUT THE CHANGES IN HRV AND BRAIN WAVES DURING AND AFTER PRACTICE OF KAPALBHATI AS COMPARED WITH THE BASELINE VALUES OF DIFFERENT PARAMETERS. METHODS: VARIOUS PARAMETERS WERE MEASURED AT BASELINE, DURING AND AFTER KAPALBHATI PRANAYAM WITH THE HELP OF DINAMIKA HRV-ADVANCED HRV TEST SYSTEM, MOSCOW, RUSSIA. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED EMPLOYING REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WITH BONFERRONI POST-HOC ANALYSIS AND HOLM'S MULTIPLE COMPARISONS USING THE VERSION 28.0.0.0 OF THE STATISTICAL PACKAGE FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES (SPSS) FOR WINDOWS (190) SPSS INC., CHICAGO. RESULTS: WE FOUND THAT DURING AND AFTER KAPALBHATI, CHANGES IN HRV WERE SIGNIFICANT IN TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN SHOWING PARASYMPATHETIC WITHDRAWAL AND INSIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN BRAIN WAVES AS COMPARED WITH REFERENCE POINT VALUES. CONCLUSION: KAPALBHATI IS INITIALLY ENERGIZING, CLEANSING, AND HEATING. THERE OCCURS PARASYMPATHETIC WITHDRAWAL AND SYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION DURING PRANAYAMA. THERE IS AN INCREASE GAMMA WAVE ACTIVATION POST PRANAYAMA SHOWING CONTROL OF THE DEFAULT MODE NETWORK. 2022 3 693 36 EFFECT OF CONTROLLED BREATHING EXERCISES ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL STATUS AND THE CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE: SUDARSHAN KRIYA AND PRANA-YOGA. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY WAS TO OBSERVE THE EFFECT OF CONTROLLED BREATHING EXERCISES INCLUDING SUDARSHAN KRIYA (SK) AND PRANA-YOGA (PY) ON THE PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL STATUS. METHODS: THE STUDY GROUP INCLUDED 60 HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (M:30, F:30) IN THE AGE GROUP OF 18 TO 30 YEARS (21.3 +/- 3.2 YRS), RANDOMLY DIVIDED IN TO THREE GROUPS OF 20 SUBJECTS EACH--(1) THE SK GROUP (2) THE PY GROUP AND THE (3) CONTROL GROUP. THE PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL DATA WAS COLLECTED AT THE FOLLOWING FOUR TIME INTERVENTIONS: BASELINE, 6TH, 60TH AND THE 150TH DAY. PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT WAS DONE USING QUESTIONNAIRES AND FOR THE AUTONOMIC TONE QUANTIFICATION HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) ANALYSIS WAS DONE USING THE STANDARD LEAD II ELECTROCARDIOGRAM RECORDINGS. IN A POST-HOC ANALYSIS EACH GROUP WAS FURTHER SUB DIVIDED IN TO THE FOLLOWING TWO PATTERNS, BASED ON THE BASELINE VALUES OF NORMALIZED LOW FREQUENCY (LF) POWER (CUTOFF 64 MS2): (I) PATTERN A-SUBJECTS WITH LOW LEVEL LF POWER, AND (II) PATTERN B- SUBJECTS WITH HIGH LEVEL LF POWER. RESULTS: THE STRESS MANAGEMENT SKILLS HAVE SHOWN SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SK GROUP BUT NOT IN PY AND CONTROL GROUP. SUBJECTS OF SK, PY, AND CONTROL GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN LF VALUE AND LF:HF RATIO FOR PATTERN A AND SIGNIFICANT DECREASE FOR PATTERN B. PLOTTED LF VALUE FOR PATTERN A & B IN SK AND PY PRACTITIONERS SHOWED CONVERGENCE, COMING TO A MEAN VALUE OVER THE PERIOD OF 150 DAYS. THE LF:HF RATIO CURVE PLOTTED OVER TIME FOR PATTERN A & B SHOWED CONVERGENCE IN SK GROUP ONLY. NO SUCH CONVERGENCE IN LF VALUE & LF/HF RATIO FOR PATTERN A & B WAS SEEN IN CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: IN CONCLUSION, SUDARSHAN KRIYA POSITIVELY MODIFIES STRESS COPING BEHAVIOR AND INITIATES APPROPRIATE BALANCE IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE. 2014 4 747 21 EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (AEP) AND VISUAL CONTRAST SENSITIVITY (VCS) IN EPILEPTICS. THE EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON 32 PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY IDIOPATHIC EPILEPSY ON REGULAR AND MAINTAINED ANTIEPILEPTIC MEDICATION WAS STUDIED. THE PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUPS: GROUP I PRACTICED SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION TWICE DAILY FOR 6 MONTHS UNDER PROPER GUIDANCE; GROUP II PRACTICED POSTURAL EXERCISES MIMICKING THE MEDITATION FOR THE SAME DURATION; AND GROUP III WAS THE CONTROL GROUP. VISUAL CONTRAST SENSITIVITY (VCS), AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (AEP), BRAINSTEM AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (BAEP), AND MID LATENCY RESPONSES (MLR) WERE RECORDED INITIALLY (0 MONTH) AND AT 3 AND 6 MONTHS FOR EACH GROUP. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN VCS FOLLOWING MEDITATION PRACTICE IN GROUP I PARTICIPANTS. NA, THE FIRST PROMINENT NEGATIVE PEAK OF MLR AND PA, THE POSITIVE PEAK FOLLOWING NA DID NOT REGISTER CHANGES IN LATENCY. THE NA-PA AMPLITUDE OF MLR ALSO SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE ABSOLUTE AND INTERPEAK LATENCIES OF BAEP. THE REDUCED LEVEL OF STRESS FOLLOWING MEDITATION PRACTICE MAY MAKE PATIENTS MORE RESPONSIVE TO SPECIFIC STIMULI. SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION APPEARS TO BRING ABOUT CHANGES IN SOME OF THE ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES STUDIED IN EPILEPTIC PATIENTS. 2000 5 749 29 EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA PRACTICE ON SEIZURE CONTROL & EEG CHANGES IN PATIENTS OF EPILEPSY. THE EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON SEIZURE CONTROL AND ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC ALTERATIONS WAS ASSESSED IN 32 PATIENTS OF IDIOPATHIC EPILEPSY. THE SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUPS. GROUP I (N = 10) PRACTISED SAHAJA YOGA FOR 6 MONTHS, GROUP II (N = 10) PRACTISED EXERCISES MIMICKING SAHAJA YOGA FOR 6 MONTHS AND GROUP III (N = 12) SERVED AS THE EPILEPTIC CONTROL GROUP. GROUP I SUBJECTS REPORTED A 62 PER CENT DECREASE IN SEIZURE FREQUENCY AT 3 MONTHS AND A FURTHER DECREASE OF 86 PER CENT AT 6 MONTHS OF INTERVENTION. POWER SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF EEG SHOWED A SHIFT IN FREQUENCY FROM 0-8 HZ TOWARDS 8-20 HZ. THE RATIOS OF EEG POWERS IN DELTA (D), THETA (T), ALPHA (A) AND BETA (B) BANDS I.E., A/D, A/D + T, A/T AND A + B/D + T WERE INCREASED. PER CENT D POWER DECREASED AND PER CENT A INCREASED. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN ANY OF THE PARAMETERS WERE FOUND IN GROUPS II AND III, INDICATING THAT SAHAJA YOGA PRACTICE BRINGS ABOUT SEIZURE REDUCTION AND EEG CHANGES. SAHAJA YOGA COULD PROVE TO BE BENEFICIAL IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS OF EPILEPSY. 1996 6 2510 31 YOGA BREATHING THROUGH A PARTICULAR NOSTRIL INCREASES SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES WITHOUT LATERALIZED EFFECTS. UNINOSTRIL BREATHING FACILITATES THE PERFORMANCE ON SPATIAL AND VERBAL COGNITIVE TASKS, SAID TO BE RIGHT AND LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS, RESPECTIVELY. SINCE HEMISPHERIC MEMORY FUNCTIONS ARE ALSO KNOWN TO BE LATERALIZED, THE PRESENT STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF UNINOSTRIL BREATHING ON THE PERFORMANCE IN VERBAL AND SPATIAL MEMORY TESTS. SCHOOL CHILDREN (N = 108 WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 10 TO 17 YEARS) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO FOUR GROUPS. EACH GROUP PRACTICED A SPECIFIC YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUE: (I) RIGHT NOSTRIL BREATHING, (II) LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING, (III) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING, OR (IV) BREATH AWARENESS WITHOUT MANIPULATION OF NOSTRILS. THESE TECHNIQUES WERE PRACTICED FOR 10 DAYS. VERBAL AND SPATIAL MEMORY WAS ASSESSED INITIALLY AND AFTER 10 DAYS. AN AGE-MATCHED CONTROL GROUP OF 27 WERE SIMILARLY ASSESSED. ALL 4 TRAINED GROUPS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SPATIAL TEST SCORES AT RETEST, BUT THE CONTROL GROUP SHOWED NO CHANGE. AVERAGE INCREASE IN SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES FOR THE TRAINED GROUPS WAS 84%. IT APPEARS YOGA BREATHING INCREASES SPATIAL RATHER THAN VERBAL SCORES, WITHOUT A LATERALIZED EFFECT. 1997 7 1605 45 MENTAL STRESS: NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND ITS REGULATION BY SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA. AIM: THE PRESENT STUDY FOCUSES ON ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) ON EEG AS WELL AS ECG SIGNALS FOR STRESS REGULATION. TO ENVISION THE REGULATION OF STRESS DETERMINATION TEST (DT) HAS BEEN USED. WE HAVE CHOSEN A CONTROL GROUP FOR CONTRIVING A COGENT COMPARISON THAT COULD BE CORROBORATED USING STATISTICAL TESTS. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 20 SUBJECTS WERE TAKEN IN THE STUDY, OF WHICH 10 WERE ALLOTTED TO A CONTROL GROUP. ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPH WAS TAKEN DURING A DT TASK, BEFORE AND AFTER SKY THE SKY SESSION WITH 30 DAYS OF SKY SESSION GIVEN TO THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. NO SKY WAS GIVEN TO THE CONTROL GROUP. RESULTS: WE QUANTIFIED MENTAL STRESS USING EEG, ECG AND DT SYNERGISTICALLY AND USED SKY TO REGULATE IT. WE OBSERVED THAT ALPHA BAND POWER DECREASES IN THE FRONTAL LOBE OF THE BRAIN WITH INCREASING MENTAL STRESS WHILE FRONTAL BRAIN ASYMMETRY DECREASES WITH INCREASING STRESS TOLERANCE. CONCLUSIONS: THESE EEG, ECG AND DT SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT DECREMENT IN MENTAL STRESS AND IMPROVEMENT IN COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AFTER SKY, INDICATING SKY AS A GOOD ALTERNATIVE OF MEDICATION FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT. 2017 8 750 22 EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA PRACTICE ON STRESS MANAGEMENT IN PATIENTS OF EPILEPSY. AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION IN STRESS MANAGEMENT IN PATIENTS OF EPILEPSY. THE STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT ON 32 PATIENTS OF EPILEPSY WHO WERE RENDOMLY DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUPS: GROUP I SUBJECTS PRACTISED SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION FOR 6 MONTHS, GROUP II SUBJECTS PRACTISED POSTURAL EXERCISES MIMICKING SAHAJA YOGA AND GROUP III SERVED AS THE EPILEPTIC CONTROL GROUP. GALVANIC SKIN RESISTANCE (GSR), BLOOD LACTATE AND URINARY VINYL MANDELIC ACID (U-VMA) WERE RECORDED AT 0, 3 AND 6 MONTHS. THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES AT 3 & 6 MONTHS AS COMPARED TO 0 MONTH VALUES IN GSR, BLOOD LACTATE AND U-VMA LEVELS IN GROUP I SUBJECTS, BUT NOT IN GROUP II AND GROUP III SUBJECTS. THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT REDUCTION IN STRESS FOLLOWING SAHAJA YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR CLINICAL IMPROVEMENT WHICH HAD BEEN EARLIER REPORTED IN PATIENTS WHO PRACTISED SAHAJA YOGA. 1995 9 1986 23 SPATIAL AND VERBAL MEMORY TEST SCORES FOLLOWING YOGA AND FINE ARTS CAMPS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN. THE PERFORMANCE SCORES OF CHILDREN (AGED 11 TO 16 YEARS) IN VERBAL AND SPATIAL MEMORY TESTS WERE COMPARED FOR TWO GROUPS (N = 30, EACH), ONE ATTENDING A YOGA CAMP AND THE OTHER A FINE ARTS CAMP. BOTH GROUPS WERE ASSESSED ON THE MEMORY TASKS INITIALLY AND AFTER TEN DAYS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE INTERVENTIONS. A CONTROL GROUP (N = 30) WAS SIMILARLY STUDIED TO ASSESS THE TEST-RETEST EFFECT. AT THE FINAL ASSESSMENT THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF 43% IN SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES (MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS, TUKEY TEST), WHILE THE FINE ARTS AND CONTROL GROUPS SHOWED NO CHANGE. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PRACTICE, INCLUDING PHYSICAL POSTURES, YOGA BREATHING, MEDITATION AND GUIDED RELAXATION IMPROVED DELAYED RECALL OF SPATIAL INFORMATION. 2004 10 492 45 COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR EVALUATION BASED ON PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AMONG YOUNG HEALTHY SUBJECTS WITH YOGA AS INTERVENTION. OBJECTIVE: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICE ON COGNITIVE SKILLS, AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY BY ANALYZING PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS. METHODS: THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ON 30 NORMAL YOUNG HEALTHY ENGINEERING STUDENTS. THEY WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED INTO TWO GROUPS: YOGA GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED YOGA ONE AND HALF HOUR PER DAY FOR SIX DAYS IN A WEEK, FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE MONTHS. RESULTS: THE YOGA PRACTISING GROUP SHOWED INCREASED ALPHA, BETA, AND DELTA EEG BAND POWERS AND SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THETA AND GAMMA BAND POWERS. THE INCREASED ALPHA AND BETA POWER CAN REPRESENT ENHANCED COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS SUCH AS MEMORY AND CONCENTRATION, AND THAT OF DELTA SIGNIFIES SYNCHRONIZATION OF BRAIN ACTIVITY. THE HEART RATE INDEX THETA/ALPHA DECREASED, NEURAL ACTIVITY BETA/THETA INCREASED, ATTENTION RESOURCE INDEX BETA/(ALPHA + THETA) INCREASED, EXECUTIVE LOAD INDEX (DELTA + THETA)/ALPHA DECREASED, AND THE RATIO (DELTA + THETA)/(ALPHA + BETA) DECREASED. THE YOGA PRACTICE GROUP SHOWED IMPROVEMENT IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY, INCREASED SDNN/RMSSD, AND REDUCTION IN LF/HF RATIO. CONCLUSION: YOGA PRACTISING GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN VARIOUS COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, SUCH AS PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT, NEURAL ACTIVITY, ATTENTION, AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION. IT ALSO RESULTED IN INCREASE IN THE HEART RATE VARIABILITY, PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY, AND BALANCED AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM REACTIVITY. 2015 11 821 22 EFFECT OF YOGA ON EXERCISE TOLERANCE IN NORMAL HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. TWELVE NORMAL HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (6 MALES AND 6 FEMALES) UNDERGOING YOGA TRAINING FOR 90 DAYS WERE STUDIED FOR THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON EXERCISE TOLERANCE. THEIR AGES RANGED FROM 18 TO 28 YEARS. THE VOLUNTEERS WERE TAUGHT ONLY PRANAYAMA FOR THE FIRST 20 DAYS AND LATER ON YOGIC ASANAS WERE ADDED. SUB-MAXIMAL EXERCISE TOLERANCE TEST WAS DONE ON A MOTORIZED TREADMILL BY USING BALKE'S MODIFIED PROTOCOL, INITIALLY, AFTER 20 DAYS (PHASE-I) AND AFTER 90 DAYS OF YOGA TRAINING (PHASE-II). PYRUVATE AND LACTATE IN VENOUS BLOOD AND BLOOD GASES IN CAPILLARY BLOOD WERE ESTIMATED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER THE EXERCISE. MINUTE VENTILATION AND OXYGEN CONSUMPTION WERE ESTIMATED BEFORE AND DURING THE TEST. POST EXERCISE BLOOD LACTATE WAS ELEVATED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING INITIAL AND PHASE-I, BUT NOT IN PHASE-II. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF MINUTE VENTILATION AND OXYGEN CONSUMPTION ONLY IN MALES IN PHASE-I AND II AT THE TIME WHEN THE VOLUNTEERS REACHED THEIR 80% OF THE PREDICTED HEART RATE. FEMALE VOLUNTEERS WERE ABLE TO GO TO HIGHER LOADS OF EXERCISE IN PHASE-I AND II. 1986 12 1354 28 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF THREE YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES ON PERFORMANCE ON A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK. THE EFFECTS OF THREE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES WERE EVALUATED ON PERFORMANCE ON A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK WHICH IS A LEFT-HEMISPHERE DOMINANT TASK. THE THREE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES (RIGHT, LEFT, AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING) WERE SELECTED BECAUSE UNILATERAL FORCED NOSTRIL BREATHING STIMULATES THE CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE. THERE WERE 20 MALE VOLUNTEERS WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 20 TO 45 YEARS (M AGE=28.4 YR., SD=5.7). ALL SUBJECTS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER FOUR SESSIONS, I.E., RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, LEFT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, AND BREATH AWARENESS AS A CONTROL. THE LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED, I.E., THERE WERE FEWER ERRORS FOLLOWING RIGHT AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (WILCOXON PAIRED SIGNED-RANKS TEST). THE IMPROVED PERFORMANCE MAY BE RELATED TO THE ENHANCEMENT OF CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE FUNCTION FOUND WITH SELECTIVE NOSTRIL BREATHING. 2007 13 1324 31 HERE AND NOW: YOGA IN ISRAELI SCHOOLS. CONTEXT: IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE SECOND LEBANON WAR, A PROJECT WAS INITIATED AND DESIGNED TO REDUCE TENSION IN THE CHILDREN LIVING IN THE AREA UNDER BOMBARDMENT. AIMS: TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF YOGA INTERVENTION IN A GROUP OF ISRAELI SCHOOL CHILDREN RESIDING IN THE REGION AFFECTED BY THE SECOND LEBANON WAR. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: THE STUDY POPULATION INCLUDED 122 SCHOOL CHILDREN AGED 8-12 YEARS IN TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN SAFED (N=55 AND N=67, RESPECTIVELY) AND THEIR TEACHERS (N=6). THE CHILDREN ATTENDED THE THIRD GRADE (N=28), FOURTH GRADE (N=42) AND SIXTH GRADE (N=52). INCLUSION IN THE STUDY WAS BASED ON THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL'S CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ASSESSMENT WAS CONDUCTED USING THREE QUESTIONNAIRES THAT HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY VALIDATED IN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND TRANSLATED TO HEBREW. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS INCLUDED WILCOXON SIGNED RANKED TESTS FOR PRE- AND POST-INTERVENTION COMPARISONS AND THE KRUSKALL-WALLIS TEST FOR TEACHER AND CHILD CROSS-COMPARISONS. RESULTS: BASED ON THE QUESTIONNAIRES COMPLETED BY THE CHILDREN AND THEIR TEACHERS, WE FOUND THAT THE TEACHERS REPORTED MANY STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CHILDREN'S CONCENTRATION, MOOD AND ABILITY TO FUNCTION UNDER PRESSURE, ALTHOUGH THE CHILDREN THEMSELVES WERE UNAWARE OF ANY CHANGE IN THEIR BEHAVIOR. ENJOYMENT WAS REPORTED BY ALL PARTICIPANTS, AND ALMOST ALL EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN CONTINUING TO PRACTICE YOGA DURING SCHOOL HOURS. WE CONCLUDE THAT PARTICIPATION IN YOGA CLASSES MAY BE BOTH ENJOYABLE AND BENEFICIAL TO CHILDREN LIVING IN STRESSFUL CONDITIONS. CONCLUSIONS: THE STUDY INDICATES THAT YOGA MAY BE BENEFICIAL AS AN INTERVENTION FOR CHILDREN IN POSTWAR STRESS SITUATIONS. 2010 14 98 38 A NONRANDOMIZED NON-NAIVE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF KAPALABHATI AND BREATH AWARENESS ON EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS IN TRAINED YOGA PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVES: THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO COMPARE THE P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER (1) HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) AND (2) BREATH AWARENESS. DESIGN: THE P300 WAS RECORDED IN PARTICIPANTS OF TWO GROUPS BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION SESSION (1 MINUTE IN DURATION). SETTINGS AND LOCATION: ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE RECEIVING YOGA TRAINING IN A RESIDENTIAL YOGA CENTER, SWAMI VIVEKANADA YOGA RESEARCH FOUNDATION IN BANGALORE, INDIA. SUBJECTS: THIRTY (30) MALE PARTICIPANTS FORMED TWO GROUPS (N = 15 EACH) WITH COMPARABLE AGES (WITHIN AN AGE RANGE OF 20-35 YEARS) AND COMPARABLE EXPERIENCE OF THE TWO TECHNIQUES, THE MINIMUM EXPERIENCE BEING 3 MONTHS. INTERVENTIONS: THE TWO GROUPS WERE EACH GIVEN A SEPARATE INTERVENTION. ONE GROUP PRACTICED A HFYB AT A FREQUENCY OF APPROXIMATELY 2.0 HZ, CALLED KAPALABHATI. THE OTHER GROUP PRACTICED BREATH AWARENESS DURING WHICH PARTICIPANTS WERE AWARE OF THEIR BREATH WHILE SEATED, RELAXED. OUTCOME MEASURES: THE P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL, WHICH IS GENERATED WHEN ATTENDING TO AND DISCRIMINATING BETWEEN AUDITORY STIMULI, WAS RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER BOTH TECHNIQUES. RESULTS: THE P300 PEAK LATENCY DECREASED AFTER HFYB AND THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE INCREASED AFTER BREATH AWARENESS. CONCLUSIONS: BOTH PRACTICES (HFYB AND BREATH AWARENESS), THOUGH VERY DIFFERENT, INFLUENCED THE P300. HFYB REDUCED THE PEAK LATENCY, SUGGESTING A DECREASE IN TIME NEEDED FOR THIS TASK, WHICH REQUIRES SELECTIVE ATTENTION. BREATH AWARENESS INCREASED THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE, SUGGESTING AN INCREASE IN THE NEURAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR THE TASK. 2009 15 1382 33 IMPACT OF PRAJNA YOGA ON COGNITION IN ADOLESCENTS WITH CONGENITAL AND ADVENTITIOUS VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. CONTEXT: NUMEROUS SCIENTIFIC STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON COGNITION IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS. HOWEVER, FEWER STUDIES HAVE ASSESSED THE IMPACT OF YOGIC PRACTICES ON COGNITION IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. DESPITE THEIR KEEN INTELLECTUAL ABILITIES AND ADVANCED LINGUISTIC SKILLS, TEENS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT OFTEN EXPERIENCE DIFFICULTIES WITH COGNITIVE CONTROL AND BEHAVIORAL REGULATION. MEMORY PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN COGNITION. BESIDES STORING INFORMATION, MEMORY IS ALSO USED FOR RECALL, DEFINED AS THE RETRIEVAL OF INFORMATION THE BRAIN HAS RECENTLY BEEN EXPOSED TO, AND RECOGNITION, DEFINED AS THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE OR RETRIEVE THE INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY ENCOUNTERED AND STORED IN THE BRAIN. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY WAS TO OBSERVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRAJNA YOGA ON ENHANCING THE COGNITION AND VERBAL MEMORY IN ADOLESCENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. DEGREE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND AGE OF ONSET OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT WERE CONSIDERED WHILE ANALYZING THE STUDY DATA. DESIGN: AN OPEN-TRIAL, SINGLE ARM, PRE-POST STUDY DESIGN WAS ADOPTED. 273 ADOLESCENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT WERE ASSESSED ACROSS INDIA USING THE REY AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST (RAVLT), AT BASELINE (BEFORE THE INTERVENTION), IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE INTERVENTION, AND AT 40 DAYS AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RAVLT MEASURES RECALL AND RECOGNITION THROUGH VERBAL MEMORY. INTERVENTION: PRAJNA YOGA (PY) OR THE ART OF LIVING INTUITION PROGRAM IS A UNIQUE INTERVENTION, BASED ON ANCIENT TECHNIQUES OF PRANAYAMA, SUPER BRAIN YOGA, AND MEDITATION, TAUGHT TO CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS BETWEEN THE AGES 5 AND 17. RESULTS: THE MEAN SCORES FOR RECOGNITION (P=0.011) AND IMMEDIATE RECALL (P=0.011) IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER PY FOR THE ENTIRE STUDY POPULATION, REGARDLESS OF THE DEGREE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT, GENDER AND AGE OF ONSET. A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN MEAN SCORES FOR DELAYED RECALL WAS SEEN AFTER 40 DAYS OF DAILY PRACTICE (P = 0.007). 2022 16 1390 38 IMPACT OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA ON SALIVARY PH: AN EXPLORATORY PILOT STUDY. INTRODUCTION: SALIVA IS INCREASINGLY USED AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL AS IT IS NON-INVASIVE, EASILY ACCESSIBLE, AND LESS STRESSFUL COMPARED TO BLOOD SAMPLING. SALIVA HAS A VITAL ROLE IN MAINTAINING ORAL HEALTH. IT IS NECESSARY FOR THE SALIVARY PH TO BE NEUTRAL IN THE ORAL CAVITY FOR THE OPTIMAL FUNCTIONING OF ITS COMPONENTS. STRESS HAS AN EFFECT ON SALIVARY PH. OBJECTIVE: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF A MIND-BODY INTERVENTION LIKE SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) ON THE SALIVARY PH. METHODS AND MATERIALS: AN EXPLORATORY PILOT STUDY INVOLVING AN OPEN TRIAL ON 321 HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE NOVICE TO SKY WAS CONDUCTED. THE SALIVARY PH WAS MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER A SINGLE 90-MIN SESSION OF SKY. RESULTS: THE SALIVARY PH CONTINUED TO BE NEUTRAL AFTER THE INTERVENTION IN THE GROUP THAT HAD INITIAL NEUTRAL PH. THERE WAS A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT SHIFT OF PH TOWARDS NEUTRAL IN BOTH THE GROUPS THAT HAD EITHER ACIDIC OR ALKALINE PH INITIALLY. CONCLUSION: MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS LIKE SKY MODULATE THE SALIVARY PH TO BRING IT TO THE RANGE OF OPTIMAL FUNCTIONING. THIS PILOT STUDY PROVIDES INFORMATION FOR FUTURE LONG-TERM STUDIES THAT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED WITH MEASURES OF ANXIETY AND STRESS ALONG WITH MEASURING OTHER SALIVARY BIOMARKERS. 2021 17 760 29 EFFECT OF SUDARSANKRIYA YOGA PRACTICES ON P300 AMPLITUDE AND LATENCY. THE COGNITIVE ABILITY WHICH WAS PERCEIVED AS A CONSTANT TRAIT, IS NOW UNDERSTOOD TO BE UPGRADED BY ADAPTIVE AND EXTENDED TRAINING. YOGA PRACTICES ARE KNOWN TO SHARPEN THE INTELLECT AND ENHANCE CONCENTRATION. IN THE INITIAL PERIOD OF PRACTICING YOGA AS AN ALTERNATIVE/SUPPORTING TOOL TO MEDICAL LINE OF TREATMENT, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO INVESTIGATE EFFECT OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE ABILITY USING OBJECTIVE METHOD, IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH EVIDENCES. HENCE, AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXPLORE THE EFFECT OF REGULAR PRACTICE OF SUDARSANKRIYA YOGA ON AUDITORY EVENT RELATED POTENTIAL (P300) BY RECORDING AND COMPARING PEAK LATENCY AND AMPLITUDE. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUPS WITH GROUP I AND GROUP II PARTICIPANTS PRACTICING SUDARSANKRIYA YOGA FOR MORE THAN 36 MONTHS AND LESS THAN 36 MONTHS RESPECTIVELY. GROUP III WERE NON-PRACTITIONERS WITH NO PRIOR PRACTICE OF ANY FORM OF YOGA. TWENTY PARTICIPANTS IN EACH GROUP WITH A TOTAL OF 60 PARTICIPANTS BETWEEN 40 TO 65 YEARS OF AGE WERE RECRUITED FOR THE STUDY. RESULTS REVEALED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE FOR MEAN LATENCY AND AMPLITUDE BETWEEN THREE GROUPS. FINDINGS OF THE CURRENT STUDY SUGGEST THAT SUDARSANKRIYA YOGA PRACTICES SLOWS DOWN THE PROCESS OF AGING EFFECT OR MAINTAINS ON COGNITIVE ABILITY IN ADULTS. 2021 18 1835 20 PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES AT THE TIME OF EXAMINATION IN MEDICAL STUDENTS BEFORE AND AFTER THE PRACTICE OF YOGA AND RELAXATION. THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND RELAXATION CHANGES IN PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN RESPONSE TO THE STRESS OF EXAMINATION IN 75 MEDICAL STUDENTS WAS STUDIED. INITIALLY FIVE PARAMETERS (ANXIETY LEVEL, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, GALVANIC SKIN RESISTANCE AND CHOICE REACTION TIME) WERE RECORDED, A MONTH BEFORE THE EXAMINATION AND ON THE DAY OF EXAMINATION. STUDENTS WERE THEN RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUP OF 25 EACH. ONE GROUP PRACTICED YOGA (GROUP- Y), AND ANOTHER GROUP PRACTICED RELAXATION (GROUP-R) REGULARLY FOR THREE MONTHS. THE THIRD GROUP WAS CONTROL GROUP (GROUP-C). ALL THE PARAMETERS WERE RECORDED AFTER THE CHANGES IN ANXIETY LEVEL, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, AND GALVANIC SKIN RESISTANCE IN RESPONSE TO STRESS OF EXAMINATION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATED AND THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN CHOICE REACTION TIME IN GROUP-Y AND GROUP-R AS COMPARED TO GROUP-C AFTER YOGA AND RELAXATION. 1998 19 737 39 EFFECT OF PRANAYAMA & YOGA-ASANA ON COGNITIVE BRAIN FUNCTIONS IN TYPE 2 DIABETES-P3 EVENT RELATED EVOKED POTENTIAL (ERP). BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF DELAYED COGNITION AS MEASURED BY P300, AN EVOKED POTENTIAL IS OBSERVED IN DIABETES MELLITUS. P300 (OR P3) IS A COMPONENT OF ENDOGENOUS CEREBRAL EVOKED RESPONSE THAT ASSESSES HIGHER FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN. OUR STUDY AIMS TO SEE THE ROLE OF PRANAYAMA AND YOGA-ASANA ON P300 LATENCY AND AMPLITUDE IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS. METHODS: SIXTY PATIENTS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES WERE RECRUITED FROM DIABETIC CLINIC AND DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS - CONTROL GROUP ON ONLY CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY AND YOGA-GROUP ON CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY ALONG WITH PRANAYAMA AND YOGA-ASANA. BASAL RECORDINGS OF P300 AND BLOOD GLUCOSE WERE TAKEN AT THE TIME OF RECRUITMENT AND SECOND RECORDINGS REPEATED AFTER FORTY FIVE DAYS FOR BOTH THE GROUPS. P300 WAS RECORDED ON NIHON KOHDEN NEUROPACK MU MEB 9100 USING AUDITORY "ODD-BALL PARADIGM". THE DATA WERE ANALYSED USING REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) FOLLOWED BY TUKEY'S TEST AT 5 PER CENT LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE. RESULTS: STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE LATENCY AND THE AMPLITUDE OF N200, P300 WAS OBSERVED IN THE YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT YOGA HAS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON P300 AND THUS CAN BE INCORPORATED ALONG WITH THE CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY FOR IMPROVING COGNITIVE BRAIN FUNCTIONS IN DIABETES. 2010 20 2626 21 YOGA FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER. YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO PLAY A ROLE IN REDUCING THE SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INATTENTIVE AND HYPERACTIVE-IMPULSIVE FORMS OF ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD). THE MEDICAL HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS FOR A NINE-YEAR-OLD PATIENT PRESENTING WITH DIFFICULTY PAYING ATTENTION AND IMPULSIVE SPEECH AND ACTIONS AT HOME AND SCHOOL ARE PRESENTED. AFTER THE DIAGNOSIS OF COMBINATION TYPE ADHD BY ASSESSMENT OF DSM-5 CRITERIA, BOTH AT HOME AND SCHOOL AND THROUGH PARENT AND TEACHER EVALUATIONS USING NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CHILDREN'S HEALTH QUALITY (NICHQ) VANDERBILT ASSESSMENT SCALES, THE PATIENT INITIATED A YOGA TRAINING REGIMEN. SIX MONTHS AFTER INITIATING THE YOGA TRAINING REGIMEN, FOLLOW-UP PARENT AND TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRES REVEALED IMPROVEMENT IN BOTH THE INATTENTIVE AND HYPERACTIVE-IMPULSIVE SYMPTOMS. LITERATURE SOURCED FROM THE PUBMED DATABASE TO EXPLORE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR ADHD WAS USED TO SUPPORT THE RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS THAT A STRUCTURED YOGA TRAINING REGIMEN IMPROVES THE SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INATTENTIVE AND HYPERACTIVE-IMPULSIVE FORMS OF ADHD, AND THUS, YOGA IS RECOMMENDED AS A MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ADHD. 2021