1 1000 100 EFFECTS OF ISHA HATHA YOGA ON CORE STABILITY AND STANDING BALANCE. CONTEXT * ISHA HATHA YOGA IS A FORM OF YOGA PRACTICE THAT PRACTITIONERS CLAIM CAN IMPROVE HEALTH. GAINING A SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF ITS EFFECTS ON HEALTH IS A CRUCIAL STEP IN CLAIMING HEALTH BENEFITS. OBJECTIVE * THE STUDY INTENDED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF ISHA HATHA YOGA ON CORE STABILITY AND STANDING BALANCE IN HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. DESIGN * THE RESEARCH TEAM DESIGNED A QUASIEXPERIMENTAL STUDY. SETTING * THE SETTING WAS AT ISHA YOGA CENTER AT ISHA FOUNDATION IN COIMBATORE, INDIA. PARTICIPANTS * PARTICIPANTS WERE INDIVIDUALS REGISTERED FOR A RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM PROVIDING TRAINING IN ISHA HATHA YOGA AT THE ISHA YOGA CENTER. INTERVENTION * THE TRAINING CONSISTED OF 21 D OF TRAINING IN ISHA HATHA YOGA, INCLUDING UPA YOGA, SURYA KRIYA, ANGAMARDHANA, BHUTA SUDDHI, AND ASANAS. OUTCOME MEASURES * THE SINGLE-LEG STORK TEST AND THE PLANK TEST WERE CONDUCTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE TRAINING. RESULTS * SIGNIFICANT INCREASES OCCURRED IN THE STANDING-STORK TEST SCORES ON THE RIGHT (P = .014) AND LEFT (P = .033) SIDES AND IN THE PLANK TEST SCORES (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS * THE CURRENT STUDY CONCLUDED THAT HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS WHO UNDERWENT 21 D OF TRAINING IN ISHA HATHA YOGA SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN CORE STRENGTH AND BALANCE.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
2 1521  36 ISHA YOGA PRACTICES AND PARTICIPATION IN SAMYAMA PROGRAM ARE ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED HBA1C AND SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION, IMPROVED LIPID PROFILE, AND SHORT-TERM AND SUSTAINED IMPROVEMENT IN MENTAL HEALTH: A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF MEDITATORS. BACKGROUND: MEDITATION IS GAINING RECOGNITION AS A TOOL TO IMPACT HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. SAMYAMA IS AN 8-DAY INTENSIVE RESIDENTIAL MEDITATION EXPERIENCE CONDUCTED BY ISHA FOUNDATION REQUIRING SEVERAL MONTHS OF EXTENSIVE PREPARATION AND VEGAN DIET. THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF SAMYAMA HAVE NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY STUDIED. THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO ASSESS PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING BEFORE AND AFTER SAMYAMA PARTICIPATION BY EVALUATING PSYCHOLOGICAL SURVEYS AND OBJECTIVE HEALTH BIOMARKERS. METHODS: THIS WAS AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF 632 ADULTS BEFORE AND AFTER THE ISHA SAMYAMA RETREAT. ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE INVITED TO COMPLETE SURVEYS. CONTROLS INCLUDED HOUSEHOLD SIGNIFICANT OTHERS. SURVEYS WERE COMPLETED AT BASELINE (T1), JUST BEFORE SAMYAMA (T2), IMMEDIATELY AFTER SAMYAMA (T3), AND 3 MONTHS LATER (T4) TO ASSESS ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, MINDFULNESS, JOY, VITALITY, AND RESILIENCE THROUGH VALIDATED PSYCHOMETRIC SCALES. VOLUNTARY BLOOD SAMPLING FOR BIOMARKER ANALYSIS WAS DONE TO ASSESS HEMOGLOBIN (HB), HBA1C, LIPID PROFILE, AND C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP). PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE CHANGES IN PSYCHOMETRIC SCORES, BODY WEIGHT, AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS. RESULTS: DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY SCORES DECREASED FROM T1 TO T3, WITH THE EFFECT MOST PRONOUNCED IN PARTICIPANTS WITH BASELINE DEPRESSION OR ANXIETY. SCORES AT T4 REMAINED BELOW BASELINE FOR THOSE WITH PRE-EXISTING DEPRESSION OR ANXIETY. VITALITY, RESILIENCE, JOY, AND MINDFULNESS INCREASED FROM T1 TO T3 (SUSTAINED AT T4). BODY WEIGHT DECREASED BY 3% FROM T1 TO T3. TRIGLYCERIDES (TG) WERE LOWER FROM T2 TO T3. PARTICIPANTS HAD LOWER HBA1C AND HDL AT T2, AND LOWER CRP AT ALL TIMEPOINTS COMPARED WITH CONTROLS. CONCLUSIONS: PARTICIPATION IN THE ISHA SAMYAMA PROGRAM LED TO MULTIPLE BENEFITS. THE 2-MONTH PREPARATION REDUCED ANXIETY, AND PARTICIPANTS MAINTAINED LOWER ANXIETY LEVELS AT 3 MONTHS POST-RETREAT. PHYSICAL HEALTH IMPROVED OVER THE COURSE OF THE PROGRAM AS EVIDENCED BY WEIGHT LOSS AND IMPROVED HBA1C AND LIPID PROFILE. PRACTICES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SAMYAMA PREPARATION PHASE AND THE RETREAT MAY SERVE AS AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO IMPROVE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH. FUTURE STUDIES MAY EXAMINE THEIR USE AS AN ALTERNATIVE THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION AND/OR ANXIETY. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: WWW.CLINICALTRIALS.GOV, IDENTIFIER: 1801728792. REGISTERED RETROSPECTIVELY ON 4/17/2020.	2021	

3 1681  24 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
4 1578  26 MEASUREMENT OF THE EFFECT OF ISHA YOGA ON CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM USING SHORT-TERM HEART RATE VARIABILITY. BACKGROUND: BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA HAVE BEEN POSTULATED TO BE DUE TO MODULATION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF ISHA YOGA PRACTICES ON CARDIOVASCULAR AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM THROUGH SHORT-TERM HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). DESIGN OF THE STUDY: SHORT-TERM HRV OF LONG-TERM REGULAR HEALTHY 14 (12 MALES AND 2 FEMALES) ISHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS WAS COMPARED WITH THAT OF AGE- AND GENDER-MATCHED 14 (12 MALES AND 2 FEMALES) NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS. METHODS AND MATERIALS: ECG LEAD II AND RESPIRATORY MOVEMENTS WERE RECORDED IN BOTH GROUPS USING POLYRITE DURING SUPINE REST FOR 5 MIN AND CONTROLLED DEEP BREATHING FOR 1 MINUTE. FREQUENCY DOMAIN ANALYSIS [RR INTERVAL IS THE MEAN OF DISTANCE BETWEEN SUBSEQUENT R WAVE PEAKS IN ECG], LOW FREQUENCY (LF) POWER, HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) POWER, LF NORMALIZED UNITS (NU), HF NU, LF/HF RATIO] AND TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS [STANDARD DEVIATION OF NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVAL (SDNN), SQUARE OF MEAN SQUARED DIFFERENCE OF SUCCESSIVE NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVALS (RMSSD), NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVALS WHICH ARE DIFFERING BY 50 MS (NN50), AND PERCENTAGE OF NN50 (PNN50)] OF HRV VARIABLES WERE ANALYZED FOR SUPINE REST. TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS WAS RECORDED FOR DEEP BREATHING. RESULTS: RESULTS SHOWED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND CONTROLS IN BOTH FREQUENCY AND TIME DOMAIN ANALYSES OF HRV INDICES, WITH NO DIFFERENCE IN RESTING HEART RATE BETWEEN THE GROUPS. CONCLUSIONS: PRACTITIONERS OF ISHA YOGA SHOWED WELL-BALANCED BENEFICIAL ACTIVITY OF VAGAL EFFERENTS, AN OVERALL INCREASED HRV, AND SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE, COMPARED TO NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS DURING SUPINE REST AND DEEP BREATHING.	2012	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
5 1756  23 PLASTICITY OF VISUAL ATTENTION IN ISHA YOGA MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS BEFORE AND AFTER A 3-MONTH RETREAT. MEDITATION HAS LATELY RECEIVED CONSIDERABLE INTEREST FROM COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE. STUDIES SUGGEST THAT DAILY MEDITATION LEADS TO LONG LASTING ATTENTIONAL AND NEURONAL PLASTICITY. WE PRESENT CHANGES RELATED TO THE ATTENTIONAL SYSTEMS BEFORE AND AFTER A 3 MONTH INTENSIVE MEDITATION RETREAT. WE USED THREE BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOPHYSICAL TESTS - A STROOP TASK, AN ATTENTIONAL BLINK TASK, AND A GLOBAL-LOCAL LETTER TASK-TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF ISHA YOGA MEDITATION ON ATTENTIONAL RESOURCE ALLOCATION. 82 ISHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE TESTED AT THE BEGINNING AND AT THE END OF THE RETREAT. OUR RESULTS SHOWED AN INCREASE IN CORRECT RESPONSES SPECIFIC TO INCONGRUENT STIMULI IN THE STROOP TASK. CONGRUENTLY, A POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN PREVIOUS MEDITATION EXPERIENCE AND ACCURACY TO INCONGRUENT STROOP STIMULI WAS ALSO OBSERVED AT BASELINE. WE ALSO OBSERVED A REDUCTION OF THE ATTENTIONAL BLINK. UNEXPECTEDLY, A NEGATIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN PREVIOUS MEDITATION EXPERIENCE AND ATTENTIONAL BLINK PERFORMANCE AT BASELINE WAS OBSERVED. REGARDING SPATIAL ATTENTION ORIENTATION AS ASSESSED USING THE GLOBAL-LOCAL LETTER TASK, PARTICIPANTS SHOWED A BIAS TOWARD LOCAL PROCESSING. ONLY SLIGHT DIFFERENCES IN PERFORMANCE WERE FOUND PRE- VS. POST- MEDITATION RETREAT. BIASING TOWARD THE LOCAL STIMULI IN THE GLOBAL-LOCAL TASK AND NEGATIVE CORRELATION OF PREVIOUS MEDITATION EXPERIENCE WITH ATTENTIONAL BLINK PERFORMANCE IS CONSISTENT WITH ISHA PRACTICES BEING FOCUSED-ATTENTION PRACTICES. GIVEN THE RELATIVELY SMALL EFFECT SIZES AND THE ABSENCE OF A CONTROL GROUP, OUR RESULTS DO NOT ALLOW CLEAR SUPPORT NOR REJECTION OF THE HYPOTHESIS OF MEDITATION-DRIVEN NEURONAL PLASTICITY IN THE ATTENTIONAL SYSTEM FOR ISHA YOGA PRACTICE.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
6 2847  28 YOGA, MEDITATION AND MIND-BODY HEALTH: INCREASED BDNF, CORTISOL AWAKENING RESPONSE, AND ALTERED INFLAMMATORY MARKER EXPRESSION AFTER A 3-MONTH YOGA AND MEDITATION RETREAT. THIRTY-EIGHT INDIVIDUALS (MEAN AGE: 34.8 YEARS OLD) PARTICIPATING IN A 3-MONTH YOGA AND MEDITATION RETREAT WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION FOR PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES, BRAIN DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF), CIRCADIAN SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS, AND PRO- AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES. PARTICIPATION IN THE RETREAT WAS FOUND TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASES IN SELF-REPORTED ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AS WELL AS INCREASES IN MINDFULNESS. AS HYPOTHESIZED, INCREASES IN THE PLASMA LEVELS OF BDNF AND INCREASES IN THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CORTISOL AWAKENING RESPONSE (CAR) WERE ALSO OBSERVED. THE NORMALIZED CHANGE IN BDNF LEVELS WAS INVERSELY CORRELATED WITH BSI-18 ANXIETY SCORES AT BOTH THE PRE-RETREAT (R = 0.40, P < 0.05) AND POST-RETREAT (R = 0.52, P < 0.005) SUCH THAT THOSE WITH GREATER ANXIETY SCORES TENDED TO EXHIBIT SMALLER PRE- TO POST-RETREAT INCREASES IN PLASMA BDNF LEVELS. IN LINE WITH A HYPOTHESIZED DECREASE IN INFLAMMATORY PROCESSES RESULTING FROM THE YOGA AND MEDITATION PRACTICES, WE FOUND THAT THE PLASMA LEVEL OF THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE INTERLEUKIN-10 WAS INCREASED AND THE PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE INTERLEUKIN-12 WAS REDUCED AFTER THE RETREAT. CONTRARY TO OUR INITIAL HYPOTHESES, PLASMA LEVELS OF OTHER PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, INCLUDING INTERFERON GAMMA (IFN-GAMMA), TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR (TNF-ALPHA), INTERLEUKIN-1BETA (IL-1BETA), INTERLEUKIN-6 (IL-6), AND INTERLEUKIN-8 (IL-8) WERE INCREASED AFTER THE RETREAT. GIVEN EVIDENCE FROM PREVIOUS STUDIES OF THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF MEDITATIVE PRACTICES ON MENTAL FITNESS, AUTONOMIC HOMEOSTASIS AND INFLAMMATORY STATUS, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THESE FINDINGS ARE RELATED TO THE MEDITATIVE PRACTICES THROUGHOUT THE RETREAT; HOWEVER, SOME OF THE OBSERVED CHANGES MAY ALSO BE RELATED TO OTHER ASPECTS OF THE RETREAT SUCH AS PHYSICAL EXERCISE-RELATED COMPONENTS OF THE YOGA PRACTICE AND DIET. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THE PATTERNS OF CHANGE OBSERVED HERE REFLECT MIND-BODY INTEGRATION AND WELL-BEING. THE INCREASED BDNF LEVELS OBSERVED IS A POTENTIAL MEDIATOR BETWEEN MEDITATIVE PRACTICES AND BRAIN HEALTH, THE INCREASED CAR IS LIKELY A REFLECTION OF INCREASED DYNAMIC PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL, AND THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE DUAL ENHANCEMENT OF PRO- AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE CHANGES TO HEALTHY IMMUNOLOGIC FUNCTIONING IS DISCUSSED.	2017	
                                                                                                            
7 1718  28 PERCEIVED STRESS, RESILIENCE, WELL-BEING, AND COVID 19 RESPONSE IN ISHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS COMPARED TO MATCHED CONTROLS: A RESEARCH PROTOCOL. OBJECTIVES: THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT STRESSOR WORLDWIDE AND REPORTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, DEPRESSION, SEDENTARY LIFESTYLES, AND OVERALL DECREASED WELLBEING ARE INCREASING. YOGA PRACTICES HAVE BEEN FOUND TO IMPROVE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH. THE PURPOSE OF THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL IS TO COMPARE ISHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS TO CONTROLS ON PERCEIVED STRESS, RESILIENCE, WELLBEING, AND PROTECTION AND RECOVERY FROM COVID-19. TRIAL DESIGN. IN THIS PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL, THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICES ARE BEING COMPARED BETWEEN SEASONED YOGA PRACTITIONERS WITH TWO CONTROLS WHO ARE AGE (+/-3 YEARS), GENDER MATCHED, AND LIVING IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ASKED TO COMPLETE A SERIES OF WEB-BASED SURVEYS AT BASELINE, SIX WEEKS, AND 12 WEEKS. THESE SURVEYS INCLUDE VALIDATED SCALES AND OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS ON COVID-19 INFECTION AND MEDICAL HISTORY. THE VALIDATED QUESTIONNAIRES ASSESS STRESS, MOOD STATES, RESILIENCE, AND OVERALL WELLBEING. QUESTIONNAIRES, WEEKLY ACTIVITY DIARIES, AND MEDICAL HISTORY, WILL BE COLLECTED USING REDCAP. RESULTS: WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT ROUTINE YOGA PRACTICE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC WILL REDUCE STRESS, ENHANCE WELL-BEING, AND PROVIDE PROTECTIVE EFFECTS AGAINST COVID-19. CONCLUSION: WITH THE GROWING CONCERN ABOUT THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL IMPACTS OF COVID-19 AND INCREASED INTEREST IN ALTERNATIVE PRACTICES SUCH AS YOGIC PRACTICES, THIS STUDY WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE GROWING BODY OF EVIDENCE ABOUT THE SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR EMOTIONAL, MENTAL, AND PHYSICAL HEALTH CONDITIONS.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
8 1336  25 HOW DOES YOGA REDUCE STRESS? A CLINICAL TRIAL TESTING PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS. YOGA INTERVENTIONS CAN REDUCE STRESS, BUT THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THAT STRESS REDUCTION REMAIN LARGELY UNIDENTIFIED. UNDERSTANDING HOW YOGA WORKS IS ESSENTIAL TO OPTIMIZING INTERVENTIONS. THE PRESENT STUDY TESTED FIVE POTENTIAL PSYCHOSOCIAL MECHANISMS (INCREASED MINDFULNESS, INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS, SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING, SELF-COMPASSION AND SELF-CONTROL) THAT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO EXPLAIN YOGA'S IMPACT ON STRESS. FORTY-TWO PARTICIPANTS (62% FEMALE; 64% WHITE) IN A YOGA PROGRAM FOR STRESS REDUCTION COMPLETED SURVEYS AT BASELINE (T1), MID-INTERVENTION (T2) AND POST-INTERVENTION (12 WEEKS; T3). WE MEASURED TWO ASPECTS OF STRESS, PERCEIVED STRESS AND STRESS REACTIVITY. CHANGES WERE ASSESSED WITH PAIRED T-TESTS; ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN CHANGES IN MECHANISMS WERE TESTED IN RESIDUAL CHANGE MODELS. ONLY STRESS REACTIVITY DECREASED, ON AVERAGE, FROM T1 TO T3. EXCEPT FOR SELF-COMPASSION, ALL PSYCHOSOCIAL MECHANISMS INCREASED FROM T1 TO T3, WITH MINIMAL CHANGES FROM T2 TO T3. EXCEPT FOR SELF-CONTROL, INCREASES IN EACH MECHANISM WERE STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASES IN BOTH MEASURES OF STRESS BETWEEN T1 AND T2 AND DECREASES IN PERCEIVED STRESS FROM T1 TO T3 (ALL P'S < 0.05). INCREASED PSYCHOSOCIAL RESOURCES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH STRESS REDUCTION. YOGA INTERVENTIONS TARGETING THESE RESOURCES MAY SHOW STRONGER STRESS REDUCTION EFFECTS. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD TEST THESE LINKAGES MORE RIGOROUSLY USING ACTIVE COMPARISON GROUPS AND LARGER SAMPLES.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
9 1468  30 INNER ENGINEERING PRACTICES AND ADVANCED 4-DAY ISHA YOGA RETREAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CANNABIMIMETIC EFFECTS WITH INCREASED ENDOCANNABINOIDS AND SHORT-TERM AND SUSTAINED IMPROVEMENT IN MENTAL HEALTH: A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF MEDITATORS. BACKGROUND: ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION ARE COMMON IN THE MODERN WORLD, AND THERE IS GROWING DEMAND FOR ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES SUCH AS MEDITATION. MEDITATION CAN DECREASE PERCEIVED STRESS AND INCREASE GENERAL WELL-BEING, ALTHOUGH THE PHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISM IS NOT WELL-CHARACTERIZED. ENDOCANNABINOIDS (ECBS), LIPID MEDIATORS ASSOCIATED WITH ENHANCED MOOD AND REDUCED ANXIETY/DEPRESSION, HAVE NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY STUDIED AS BIOMARKERS OF MEDITATION EFFECTS. OUR AIM WAS TO ASSESS BIOMARKERS (ECBS AND BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR [BDNF]) AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AFTER A MEDITATION RETREAT. METHODS: THIS WAS AN OBSERVATIONAL PILOT STUDY OF ADULTS BEFORE AND AFTER THE 4-DAY ISHA YOGA BHAVA SPANDANA PROGRAM RETREAT. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED ONLINE SURVEYS (BEFORE AND AFTER RETREAT, AND 1 MONTH LATER) TO ASSESS ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, FOCUS, WELL-BEING, AND HAPPINESS THROUGH VALIDATED PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. VOLUNTARY BLOOD SAMPLING FOR BIOMARKER STUDIES WAS DONE BEFORE AND WITHIN A DAY AFTER THE RETREAT. THE BIOMARKERS ANANDAMIDE, 2-ARACHIDONOYLGLYCEROL (2-AG), 1-ARACHIDONOYLGLYCEROL (1-AG), DOCOSATETRAENOYLETHANOLAMIDE (DEA), OLEOYLETHANOLAMIDE (OLA), AND BDNF WERE EVALUATED. PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE CHANGES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, AS WELL AS CHANGES IN ECBS AND BDNF. RESULTS: DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY SCORES DECREASED WHILE FOCUS, HAPPINESS, AND POSITIVE WELL-BEING SCORES INCREASED IMMEDIATELY AFTER RETREAT FROM THEIR BASELINE VALUES (P < 0.001). ALL IMPROVEMENTS WERE SUSTAINED 1 MONTH AFTER BSP. ALL MAJOR ECBS INCLUDING ANANDAMIDE, 2-AG, 1-AG, DEA, AND BDNF INCREASED AFTER MEDITATION BY > 70% (P < 0.001). INCREASES OF >/=20% IN ANANDAMIDE, 2-AG, 1-AG, AND TOTAL AG LEVELS AFTER MEDITATION FROM THE BASELINE HAD WEAK CORRELATIONS WITH CHANGES IN HAPPINESS AND WELL-BEING. CONCLUSIONS: A SHORT MEDITATION EXPERIENCE IMPROVED FOCUS, HAPPINESS, AND POSITIVE WELL-BEING AND REDUCED DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY IN PARTICIPANTS FOR AT LEAST 1 MONTH. PARTICIPANTS HAD INCREASED BLOOD ECBS AND BDNF, SUGGESTING A ROLE FOR THESE BIOMARKERS IN THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM OF MEDITATION. MEDITATION IS A SIMPLE, ORGANIC, AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO IMPROVE WELL-BEING AND REDUCE DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                     
10 1430  24 IMPROVEMENTS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH FOLLOWING A RESIDENTIAL YOGA-BASED PROGRAM FOR FRONTLINE PROFESSIONALS. OBJECTIVE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS PILOT STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF A RESIDENTIAL YOGA-BASED PROGRAM ON PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AND HEALTH BEHAVIORS IN FRONTLINE PROFESSIONALS. METHODS: FRONTLINE PROFESSIONALS FROM EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE, HUMAN SERVICES, AND CORRECTIONS PARTICIPATED IN THE RISE (RESILIENCE, INTEGRATION, SELF-AWARENESS, ENGAGEMENT) PROGRAM AND COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRES AT BASELINE, POST-PROGRAM, AND 2 MONTHS FOLLOWING RISE. RESULTS: PAIRED SAMPLES T TESTS REVEALED IMPROVEMENTS IN MINDFULNESS, STRESS, RESILIENCE, AFFECT, AND SLEEP QUALITY FROM BASELINE TO POST-PROGRAM (ALL PS < 0.001, N = 55), WHICH WERE SUSTAINED AT THE 2-MONTH FOLLOW-UP (ALL PS < 0.01, N = 40). PARTICIPANTS ALSO REPORTED INCREASES IN EXERCISE, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION POST-PROGRAM (ALL PS < 0.001), ALL OF WHICH PERSISTED AT THE 2-MONTH FOLLOW-UP (ALL PS < 0.01) EXCEPT EXERCISE. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT RISE IMPROVED INDICES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AND HEALTHY BEHAVIORS THAT REMAINED 2 MONTHS FOLLOWING RISE.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
11  350  36 ASSESSMENT OF CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE FOLLOWING LONG SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA IN ART OF LIVING PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVE: THE BREATHING PROCESSES ARE KNOWN TO MODULATE CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE AND IMPROVE PSYCHOLOGICAL STATUS. WE INVESTIGATED CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE FOLLOWING LONG SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) AND SKIN CONDUCTANCE LEVEL (SCL). METHODS: THIRTY HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (AGE 28.3 +/- 8.4 YEARS; 23 M: 7 F) PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. ELECTROCARDIOGRAM (ECG) AND SCL WERE RECORDED FOR 5 MIN EACH, BEFORE AND AFTER LONG SKY. LONG SKY IS A COMBINATION OF PRANAYAMA AND CYCLIC RHYTHMIC BREATHING AND IS PERFORMED BY FOLLOWING THE GUIDED AUDIO INSTRUCTIONS. HRV ANALYSIS WAS USED FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE. TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN PARAMETERS OF HRV WERE CALCULATED BY USING RR INTERVAL OF ECG. SCL WAS ACQUIRED USING GALVANIC SKIN RESPONSE (GSR) AMPLIFIER OF POWERLAB IN MICROSEIMENS (MUS). RESULTS: TIME DOMAIN PARAMETERS OF HRV, INCLUDING MEAN RR INTERVAL (P = 0.000), RESPIRATORY SINUS ARRHYTHMIA (RSA) (P = 0.037), STANDARD DEVIATION OF ALL NN INTERVALS (SDNN) (P = 0.013), NN50 COUNT DIVIDED BY THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ALL NN INTERVALS (PNN50) (P = 0.004), AND SQUARE ROOT OF THE MEAN OF THE SUM OF THE SQUARES OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ADJACENT NN INTERVALS (RMSSD) (P = 0.002) INCREASED, AND MEAN HEART RATE DECREASED (P = 0.000) FOLLOWING LONG SKY. IN FREQUENCY DOMAIN ANALYSIS, POWER OF LOW-FREQUENCY (LF) COMPONENT (P = 0.010) AND LF/HF RATIO (P = 0.008) DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY, WHEREAS POWER OF HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (P = 0.010). SCL DECREASED FOLLOWING LONG SKY, ALTHOUGH IT DID NOT ATTAIN STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT LONG SKY INDUCES SIGNIFICANT OSCILLATIONS IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE. PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY INCREASES AND SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY DECREASES AND SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE IMPROVES FOLLOWING LONG SKY. DECREASE IN SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY IS ALSO DEMONSTRATED BY DECREASE IN CONDUCTANCE ALTHOUGH IT DID NOT REACH STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE. FROM THIS STUDY IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT LONG SKY HAS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE, AND PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL RELAXATION. IT MAY SERVE AS A TOOL TO IMPROVE HRV, WHICH IS THE MARKER OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
12 1441  30 INCREASED HEART RATE VARIABILITY BUT NO EFFECT ON BLOOD PRESSURE FROM 8 WEEKS OF HATHA YOGA - A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: YOGA EXERCISES ARE KNOWN TO DECREASE STRESS AND RESTORE AUTONOMIC BALANCE. YET KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF INVERSION POSTURES IS LIMITED. THIS STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF INVERSION POSTURES (HEAD BELOW THE HEART) ON BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). METHODS: TWELVE HEALTHY WOMEN AND MEN TOOK PART IN AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM (60 MIN ONCE A WEEK). BP WAS MEASURED WITH AN AUTOMATIC OMRON MX3 OSCILLOMETRIC MONITORING DEVICE AND HRV WITH A HOLTER 24-HOUR ECG AT BASELINE AND 8 WEEKS AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT OF INVERSION POSTURES ON BP. NINE OUT OF 12 PARTICIPANTS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN HRV (P < 0.05) AT NIGHT (2 HOURS) ON PNN50% (12.7 +/- 12.5 TO 18.2 +/- 13.3). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN OTHER HRV MEASURES SUCH AS NN50, LF, HF, LF/HF RATIO, LF NORMALIZED UNITS (N.U.), HF N.U. AND RMSSD. CONCLUSION: EIGHT WEEKS OF HATHA YOGA IMPROVED HRV SIGNIFICANTLY WHICH SUGGESTS AN INCREASED VAGAL TONE AND REDUCED SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
13 2163  25 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
14 2731  24 YOGA OFFERS CARDIOVASCULAR PROTECTION IN EARLY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. CONTEXT: POSTMENOPAUSE, AN ESTROGEN DEFICIENT STATE COMES WITH INCREASED INCIDENCE OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES (CVDS). YOGA HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS HAVING A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV), A MARKER FOR CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY WHICH CAN ASSESS CARDIOVASCULAR RISK, IN VARIOUS POPULATIONS. AIM: THE AIM OF THE STUDY WAS TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF 3-MONTH LONG YOGA PRACTICE ON HRV IN EARLY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF 67 WOMEN WITHIN 5 YEARS OF MENOPAUSE BETWEEN 45 AND 60 YEARS OF AGE ATTENDING MENOPAUSE CLINIC OF DEPARTMENT OF GYNAECOLOGY, SUCHETA KRIPLANI HOSPITAL FULFILLING INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA AND CONSENTING WERE ENROLLED FOR THE STUDY. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: HRV OF 37 CASES (YOGA GROUP) AND 30 CONTROLS (NON-YOGA GROUP) WAS RECORDED PRE AND 3-MONTH POSTINTERVENTION. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: GRAPHPAD PRISM VERSION 5 SOFTWARE WAS USED. VALUES ARE A MEAN AND STANDARD ERROR OF MEAN. STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE WAS SET UP AT P < 0.05. RESULTS: IN HRV, FREQUENCY DOMAIN ANALYSIS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT FALL IN LOW FREQUENCY (LF) IN NORMALIZED UNITS (NU) AND LF: HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) RATIO AND SIGNIFICANT RISE IN HF IN NU IN THE YOGA GROUP (DEPICTING PARASYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE) AGAINST A SIGNIFICANT RISE IN LF (NU) AND LF: HF RATIO AND SIGNIFICANT FALL IN HF (NU) IN NON-YOGA GROUP (INDICATING SYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE). TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN STANDARD DEVIATION OF NN INTERVALS IN NON-YOGA GROUP AGAINST NONSIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN YOGA GROUP INDICATING DETERIORATION IN PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY IN NON-YOGA GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THREE-MONTH LONG YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVED HRV IN EARLY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN SIGNIFICANTLY AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ATTENUATE THE CVD RISK IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
15 1429  31 IMPROVEMENTS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL WELL-BEING IN A PRAGMATIC CONTROLLED TRIAL OF A YOGA-BASED PROGRAM FOR PROFESSIONALS. OBJECTIVE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRAGMATIC CONTROLLED TRIAL WAS TO EXAMINE CHANGES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL WELL-BEING IN PROFESSIONALS WHO ATTENDED A YOGA-BASED PROGRAM. SETTING: THE 5-DAY RISE (RESILIENCE, INTEGRATION, SELF-AWARENESS, ENGAGEMENT) PROGRAM WAS DELIVERED AT THE KRIPALU CENTER FOR YOGA & HEALTH. RISE INCLUDED 5 H PER DAY OF YOGA, MEDITATION, LECTURES, AND EXPERIENTIAL ACTIVITIES. SUBJECTS: ADULT PROFESSIONALS FROM EDUCATION, CORRECTIONS, AND SOCIAL SERVICE INSTITUTIONS WERE PRAGMATICALLY ASSIGNED TO THE RISE GROUP (N = 61) OR A WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP (N = 60). OUTCOME MEASURES: MEASURES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL WELL-BEING WERE COMPLETED BEFORE RISE (BASELINE), IMMEDIATELY AFTER RISE (POSTPROGRAM), AND 2 MONTHS AFTER RISE (FOLLOW-UP). ANALYSES OF COVARIANCE WERE CONDUCTED TO COMPARE CHANGE SCORES BETWEEN GROUPS. RESULTS: EIGHTY-TWO PARTICIPANTS (RISE N = 41, CONTROL N = 41) COMPLETED BASELINE AND POSTMEASURES AND WERE INCLUDED IN THE ANALYSIS, AND 57 (RISE N = 27, CONTROL N = 30) ALSO COMPLETED THE FOLLOW-UP. RELATIVE TO CONTROLS, THE RISE GROUP REPORTED IMPROVEMENTS IN STRESS (P = 0.001, R(2) = 0.51), RESILIENCE (P = 0.028, R(2) = 0.34), POSITIVE AFFECT (P = 0.001, R(2) = 0.52), NEGATIVE AFFECT (P = 0.001, R(2) = 0.52), MINDFULNESS (P = 0.021, R(2) = 0.13), AND JOB SATISFACTION (P = 0.034, R(2) = 0.08) FROM BASELINE TO POSTPROGRAM. FROM BASELINE TO FOLLOW-UP, COMPARED WITH CONTROLS THE RISE GROUP SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS IN STRESS (P = 0.001, R(2) = 0.33), RESILIENCE (P = 0.001, R(2) = 0.24), POSITIVE AFFECT (P = 0.006, R(2) = 0.49), NEGATIVE AFFECT (P = 0.043, R(2) = 0.32), MINDFULNESS (P = 0.001, R(2) = 0.28), EMPOWERMENT (P = 0.005, R(2) = 0.20), AND SELF-COMPASSION (P = 0.011, R(2) = 0.19). CONCLUSIONS: THE RISE PROGRAM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL WELL-BEING IMMEDIATELY AFTER AND 2 MONTHS AFTER THE PROGRAM. FUTURE RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO CONFIRM THESE RESULTS.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
16 1428  34 IMPROVEMENTS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL WELL-BEING FOLLOWING A BRIEF YOGA-BASED PROGRAM FOR EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS. OBJECTIVE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE CHANGES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL WELL-BEING IN EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS WHO ATTENDED A YOGA-BASED PROGRAM. METHODS: EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS WHO ATTENDED A 3-DAY YOGA-BASED RISE (RESILIENCE, INTEGRATION, SELF-AWARENESS, ENGAGEMENT) PROGRAM WERE RECRUITED TO PARTICIPATE. RISE WAS ADMINISTERED AT THE KRIPALU CENTER FOR YOGA & HEALTH. MEASURES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL WELL-BEING, AND HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS WERE COMPLETED BEFORE (BASELINE), AFTER (POST), AND 2 MONTHS AFTER RISE (FOLLOW-UP). FORTY-FOUR PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED BASELINE AND POST AND WERE INCLUDED IN THE ANALYSIS. OF THOSE, 33 PARTICIPANTS ALSO COMPLETED THE FOLLOW-UP. PAIRED SAMPLES T TESTS WERE USED TO COMPARE SCORES BETWEEN TIME POINTS. RESULTS: COMPARED TO BASELINE, AT POST, PARTICIPANTS SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS IN PERCEIVED STRESS, MINDFULNESS, EMPOWERMENT, POSITIVE AFFECT, NEGATIVE AFFECT, SELF-COMPASSION, TOTAL WORK ENGAGEMENT, VIGOR, SLEEP QUALITY (ALL P VALUES < .001), RESILIENCE, SATISFACTION WITH LIFE, AS WELL AS EXHAUSTION AND PROFESSIONAL EFFICACY WHICH ARE DIMENSIONS OF BURNOUT (ALL P VALUES < .01). AT THE FOLLOW-UP, SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE MAINTAINED FOR MINDFULNESS, EMPOWERMENT, SELF-COMPASSION, SLEEP QUALITY (ALL P VALUES < .001), RESILIENCE, VIGOR, AND EXHAUSTION (ALL P VALUES < .01) AND POSITIVE AFFECT, SATISFACTION WITH LIFE, AND WORK ENGAGEMENT (ALL P VALUES < .05). CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE YOGA-BASED RISE PROGRAM IMPROVES PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL WELL-BEING IN EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS. IN ADDITION, PARTICIPANTS REPORTED THAT ATTENDING RISE WAS FEASIBLE, THEY COULD CONTINUE USING RISE PRACTICES LONG-TERM, SHARED THEM WITH WORK COLLEAGUES, AND REPORTED THAT RISE POSITIVELY IMPACTED BOTH THEIR DAILY LIVES AND WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT. WITH THESE PROMISING RESULTS, ADDITIONAL CONTROLLED RESEARCH IS WARRANTED.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
17  881  28 EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES AND C-REACTIVE PROTEIN IN EMPLOYEES OF SMALL-SCALE INDUSTRIES. OBJECTIVE: THE PRESENT STUDY INTENDS TO SEE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICES ON LIPID PROFILE, INTERLEUKIN (IL)-6, TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR (TNF)-ALPHA, AND HIGH-SENSITIVITY-C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (HS-CRP) AMONG APPARENTLY HEALTHY ADULTS EXPOSED TO OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: IN THE PRESENT STUDY, 48 PARTICIPANTS AGED 30-58 YEARS (41.5 +/- 5.2) WHO WERE EXPOSED TO OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS, THAT IS, EXPERIMENTAL AND WAIT-LIST CONTROL. ALL THE PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED FOR LIPID PROFILE, IL-6, TNF-ALPHA, AND HS-CRP AT THE BASELINE AND AFTER COMPLETION OF 3 MONTHS OF YOGA TRAINING INTERVENTION. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP UNDERWENT YOGA TRAINING INTERVENTION FOR 1 H FOR 6 DAYS A WEEK FOR 3 MONTHS, WHEREAS CONTROL GROUP CONTINUED WITH THEIR DAILY ACTIVITIES EXCEPT YOGA TRAINING. DATA ANALYSIS WAS DONE USING STATISTICAL SOFTWARE SPSS VERSION 20.0. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING PAIRED T-TESTS AND INDEPENDENT T-TEST. RESULTS: THE RESULTS OF WITHIN GROUP COMPARISON REVEALED HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN CHOLESTEROL (P < 0.001), HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (P < 0.001), LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (LDL)(P < 0.01), HS-CRP (P < 0.01), IL-6 (P < 0.001), AND TNF-ALPHA (P < 0.001) IN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. COMPARISON BETWEEN EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUP REVEALED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN CHOLESTEROL (P < 0.01), LDL (P < 0.05), IL-6 (P < 0.01), TNF-ALPHA (P < 0.01), AND HS-CRP (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: A YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION SEEMS TO BE A HIGHLY PROMISING ALTERNATIVE THERAPY WHICH FAVORABLY ALTERS INFLAMMATORY MARKERS AND METABOLIC RISK FACTORS.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
18  661  33 EFFECT OF 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING ON THE SOMATIZATION, PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS, AND STRESS-RELATED BIOMARKERS OF HEALTHY WOMEN. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT THE PRACTICE OF YOGA REDUCES PERCEIVED STRESS AND NEGATIVE FEELINGS AND THAT IT IMPROVES PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS. OUR PREVIOUS STUDY ALSO SUGGESTED THAT LONG-TERM YOGA TRAINING IMPROVES STRESS-RELATED PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS SUCH AS ANXIETY AND ANGER. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON SOMATIZATION, THE MOST COMMON STRESS-RELATED PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS, AND STRESS-RELATED BIOMARKERS. WE PERFORMED A PROSPECTIVE, SINGLE ARM STUDY TO EXAMINE THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING ON SOMATIZATION, PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS, AND STRESS-RELATED BIOMARKERS. METHODS: WE RECRUITED HEALTHY WOMEN WHO HAD NO EXPERIENCE WITH YOGA. THE DATA OF 24 PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE FOLLOWED DURING 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING WERE ANALYZED. SOMATIZATION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING USING THE PROFILE OF MOOD STATE (POMS) AND THE SYMPTOM CHECKLIST-90-REVISED (SCL-90-R) QUESTIONNAIRES. URINARY 8-HYDROXYDEOXYGUANOSINE (8-OHDG), BIOPYRRIN, AND CORTISOL LEVELS WERE MEASURED AS STRESS-RELATED BIOMARKERS. THE WILCOXON SIGNED-RANK TEST WAS USED TO COMPARE THE STRESS-RELATED BIOMARKERS AND THE SCORES OF QUESTIONNAIRES BEFORE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING. RESULTS: AFTER 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING, ALL NEGATIVE SUBSCALE SCORES (TENSION-ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, ANGER-HOSTILITY, FATIGUE, AND CONFUSION) FROM THE POMS AND SOMATIZATION, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND HOSTILITY FROM THE SCL-90-R WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED COMPARED WITH THOSE BEFORE STARTING YOGA TRAINING. CONTRARY TO OUR EXPECTATION, THE URINARY 8-OHDG CONCENTRATION AFTER 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE COMPARED WITH THAT BEFORE STARTING YOGA TRAINING. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN THE LEVELS OF URINARY BIOPYRRIN AND CORTISOL AFTER THE 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA TRAINING HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REDUCE THE SOMATIZATION SCORE AND THE SCORES RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH INDICATORS, SUCH AS ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, ANGER, AND FATIGUE. THE PRESENT FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT YOGA CAN IMPROVE SOMATIZATION AND MENTAL HEALTH STATUS AND HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF PSYCHOSOMATIC SYMPTOMS IN HEALTHY WOMEN. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MEDICAL INFORMATION NETWORK (UMIN CTR) UMIN000007868.	2014	
                                                                                                                              
19  984  30 EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA AND AFRICAN DANCE ON PERCEIVED STRESS, AFFECT, AND SALIVARY CORTISOL. BACKGROUND: DANCE AND YOGA HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO PRODUCE IMPROVEMENTS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING. PURPOSE: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE SOME OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND NEUROENDOCRINE RESPONSE TO THESE ACTIVITIES. METHODS: SIXTY-NINE HEALTHY COLLEGE STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN ONE OF THREE 90-MIN CLASSES: AFRICAN DANCE (N = 21), HATHA YOGA (N= 18), OR A BIOLOGY LECTURE AS A CONTROL SESSION (N = 30). BEFORE AND AFTER EACH CONDITION PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED THE PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE (PSS), COMPLETED THE POSITIVE AFFECT AND NEGATIVE AFFECT SCHEDULE, AND PROVIDED A SALIVA SAMPLE FOR CORTISOL. RESULTS: THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN PSS AND NEGATIVE AFFECT (PS < .0001) AND TIME X TREATMENT INTERACTIONS (PS < .0001) SUCH THAT AFRICAN DANCE AND HATHA YOGA SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DECLINES, WHEREAS THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN BIOLOGY LECTURE. THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT FOR POSITIVE AFFECT (P = .53), HOWEVER THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION EFFECT (P < .001) SUCH THAT POSITIVE AFFECT INCREASED IN AFRICAN DANCE, DECREASED IN BIOLOGY LECTURE, AND DID NOT CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY IN HATHA YOGA. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT FOR SALIVARY CORTISOL (P < .05) AND A SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION EFFECT (P < .0001) SUCH THAT CORTISOL INCREASED IN AFRICAN DANCE, DECREASED IN HATHA YOGA, AND DID NOT CHANGE IN BIOLOGY. CHANGES IN CORTISOL WERE NOT SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO CHANGES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES ACROSS TREATMENTS. THERE WAS 1 SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION EFFECT (P = .04) SUCH THAT CHANGE IN POSITIVE AFFECT AND CHANGE IN CORTISOL WERE NEGATIVELY CORRELATED IN HATHA YOGA BUT POSITIVELY CORRELATED IN AFRICA DANCE AND BIOLOGY. CONCLUSIONS: BOTH AFRICAN DANCE AND HATHA YOGA REDUCED PERCEIVED STRESS AND NEGATIVE AFFECT. CORTISOL INCREASED IN AFRICAN DANCE AND DECREASED IN HATHA YOGA. THEREFORE, EVEN WHEN THESE INTERVENTIONS PRODUCE SIMILAR POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS, THE EFFECTS MAY BE VERY DIFFERENT ON PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS PROCESSES. ONE FACTOR THAT MAY HAVE PARTICULAR SALIENCE IS THAT AMOUNT OF PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL PRODUCED BY THE INTERVENTION.	2004	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
20   38  33 A 3-DAY RESIDENTIAL YOGA-BASED PROGRAM IMPROVES EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS' PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH IN A SINGLE ARM TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY EXAMINED CHANGES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH IN URBAN EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS AFTER ATTENDING A BRIEF YOGA-BASED PROGRAM. METHODS: EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS FROM THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (NYC DOE) WHO WERE ATTENDING A RESIDENTIAL 3-DAY YOGA-BASED PROGRAM AT KRIPALU CENTER FOR YOGA & HEALTH WERE RECRUITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY. MEASURES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS WERE COMPLETED BEFORE (BASELINE), AFTER (POST), AND TWO MONTHS AFTER THE PROGRAM (FOLLOW-UP). PAIRED SAMPLES T-TESTS WERE USED TO COMPARE SCORES BETWEEN TIME POINTS. RESULTS: AT POST, PARTICIPANTS (N=74) SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS IN STRESS, RESILIENCE, AFFECT, MINDFULNESS, EMPOWERMENT, SELF-COMPASSION, SATISFACTION WITH LIFE, WORK ENGAGEMENT, BURNOUT, EXERCISE, AND VEGETABLE INTAKE (ALL P VALUES < 0.05) COMPARED TO BASELINE. AT THE FOLLOW-UP (N=33), SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS IN RESILIENCE, AFFECT, MINDFULNESS, EMPOWERMENT, SELF-COMPASSION, WORK ENGAGEMENT, AND BURNOUT (ALL P VALUES < 0.05) COMPARED TO BASELINE. THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THE DEGREE OF HOME PRACTICE OF THE SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES LEARNED IN THE PROGRAM AND IMPROVEMENTS IN MULTIPLE MEASURES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AT FOLLOW-UP (ALL P VALUES < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE YOGA-BASED PROGRAM IMPROVES PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND HEALTHY BEHAVIORS IN EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE PROGRAM AND UP TO TWO-MONTHS FOLLOWING THE PROGRAM, HOWEVER, MORE DATA WITH LARGER SAMPLE SIZES ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM SUSTAINED BENEFITS OVER THE LONGER TERM.	2021