1 2720 116 YOGA MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS EXHIBIT GREATER GRAY MATTER VOLUME AND FEWER REPORTED COGNITIVE FAILURES: RESULTS OF A PRELIMINARY VOXEL-BASED MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS. HATHA YOGA TECHNIQUES, INCLUDING PHYSICAL POSTURES (ASANAS), BREATHING EXERCISES (PRANAYAMA), AND MEDITATION, INVOLVE THE PRACTICE OF MINDFULNESS. IN TURN, YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICES MAY INDUCE THE STATE OF MINDFULNESS, WHICH, WHEN EVOKED RECURRENTLY THROUGH REPEATED PRACTICE, MAY ACCRUE INTO TRAIT OR DISPOSITIONAL MINDFULNESS. PUTATIVELY, THESE CHANGES MAY BE MEDIATED BY EXPERIENCE-DEPENDENT NEUROPLASTIC CHANGES. THOUGH PRIOR STUDIES HAVE IDENTIFIED DIFFERENCES IN GRAY MATTER VOLUME (GMV) BETWEEN LONG-TERM MINDFULNESS PRACTITIONERS AND CONTROLS, NO STUDIES TO DATE HAVE REPORTED ON WHETHER YOGA MEDITATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH GMV DIFFERENCES. THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATED GMV DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOGA MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS (YMP) AND A MATCHED CONTROL GROUP (CG). THE YMP GROUP EXHIBITED GREATER GM VOLUME IN FRONTAL, LIMBIC, TEMPORAL, OCCIPITAL, AND CEREBELLAR REGIONS; WHEREAS THE CG HAD NO GREATER REGIONAL GREATER GMV. IN ADDITION, THE YMP GROUP REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY FEWER COGNITIVE FAILURES ON THE COGNITIVE FAILURES QUESTIONNAIRE (CFQ), THE MAGNITUDE OF WHICH WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH GMV IN NUMEROUS REGIONS IDENTIFIED IN THE PRIMARY ANALYSIS. LASTLY, GMV WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THE DURATION OF YOGA PRACTICE. RESULTS FROM THIS PRELIMINARY STUDY SUGGEST THAT HATHA YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROMOTION OF NEUROPLASTIC CHANGES IN EXECUTIVE BRAIN SYSTEMS, WHICH MAY CONFER THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS THAT ACCRUE WITH REPEATED PRACTICE. 2012 2 2907 21 [ON THE METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE ELUCIDATION OF MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THERAPEUTIC EFFECTIVENESS OF CIGUN, INDIAN AND TIBETAN YOGA THERAPY]. THE METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH IS PROPOSED ALLOWING TO OBJECTIVELY CHARACTERIZE NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THERAPEUTIC EFFECTIVENESS OF CIGUN, INDIAN AND TIBETAN YOGA THERAPY. EXECUTION OF EXERCISES STIPULATED IN THESE PROGRAMS IS INTERPRETED AS A CONSCIOUSNESS-INSPIRED SPECIFIC FORM OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR (ACTIVITY). STEP-BY-STEP ANALYSIS OF MENTALLY-ORGANIZED BODY'S FUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS AS A NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF REALIZABLE BEHAVIOUR IS PRESENTED. OPERATIONAL INTERPRETATION OF INTERNAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE SYSTEM'S FUNCTIONING PERMITS TO EVALUATE THE STEREOTYPE BRAIN CONDITION ACTUALIZED BY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS AND MOTIVATIONS THAT INITIATES SENSORY DEPRIVATION TO ENSURE PRIORITY REALIZATION OF INTERNAL GENETICALLY DETERMINED ACTIVITY OF THE HUMAN BODY. MOBILIZATION OF THIS INTERNAL ACTIVITY IS DESCRIBED AS A PROCESS OF SELECTIVE FORMATION OF MANY COMPLICATED INTERACTIONS BETWEEN VARIOUS STRUCTURES OF THE RETICULAR FORMATION, LIMBIC SYSTEM, SUBCORTICAL CENTRES, AND NEOCORTEX MAINTAINING PRIORITY FUNCTIONING OF HOMEOSTATIC MECHANISMS OF SELF-REGULATION AND INBORN HUMAN BEHAVIOUR. THESE MECHANISMS ARE BELIEVED TO UNDERLIE THE AUTORECONSTRUCTIVE POTENTIAL OF HUMAN ORGANISM BY ENSURING SYSTEMIC CORRECTION AND RESTORATION OF ITS FUNCTIONAL RESOURCES. 2010 3 1668 50 NEUROCOGNITIVE CORRELATES OF THE EFFECTS OF YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICE ON EMOTION AND COGNITION: A PILOT STUDY. MINDFULNESS MEDITATION INVOLVES ATTENDING TO EMOTIONS WITHOUT COGNITIVE FIXATION OF EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE. OVER TIME, THIS PRACTICE IS HELD TO PROMOTE ALTERATIONS IN TRAIT AFFECTIVITY AND ATTENTIONAL CONTROL WITH RESULTANT EFFECTS ON WELL-BEING AND COGNITION. HOWEVER, RELATIVELY LITTLE IS KNOWN REGARDING THE NEURAL SUBSTRATES OF MEDITATION EFFECTS ON EMOTION AND COGNITION. THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATED THE NEUROCOGNITIVE CORRELATES OF EMOTION INTERFERENCE ON COGNITION IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND A MATCHED CONTROL GROUP (CG) UNDERWENT FMRI WHILE PERFORMING AN EVENT-RELATED AFFECTIVE STROOP TASK. THE TASK INCLUDES IMAGE VIEWING TRIALS AND STROOP TRIALS BRACKETED BY NEUTRAL OR NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL DISTRACTORS. DURING IMAGE VIEWING TRIALS, YOGA PRACTITIONERS EXHIBITED LESS REACTIVITY IN RIGHT DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (DLPFC) TO NEGATIVE AS COMPARED TO NEUTRAL IMAGES; WHEREAS THE CG HAD THE OPPOSITE PATTERN. A MAIN EFFECT OF VALENCE (NEGATIVE > NEUTRAL) WAS OBSERVED IN LIMBIC REGIONS (E.G., AMYGDALA), OF WHICH THE MAGNITUDE WAS INVERSELY RELATED TO DLPFC ACTIVATION. EXPLORATORY ANALYSES REVEALED THAT THE MAGNITUDE OF AMYGDALA ACTIVATION PREDICTED DECREASED SELF-REPORTED POSITIVE AFFECT IN THE CG, BUT NOT AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS. DURING STROOP TRIALS, YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAD GREATER ACTIVATION IN VENTROLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (VLPFC) DURING STROOP TRIALS WHEN NEGATIVE, COMPARED TO NEUTRAL, EMOTIONAL DISTRACTOR WERE PRESENTED; THE CG EXHIBITED THE OPPOSITE PATTERN. TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT THOUGH YOGA PRACTITIONERS EXHIBIT LIMBIC REACTIVITY TO NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL STIMULI, SUCH REACTIVITY DOES NOT HAVE DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS ON LATER MOOD STATE. THIS UNCOUPLING OF VIEWING NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL IMAGES AND AFFECT AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS MAY BE OCCASIONED BY THEIR SELECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF FRONTAL EXECUTIVE-DEPENDENT STRATEGIES TO REDUCE EMOTIONAL INTERFERENCE DURING COMPETING COGNITIVE DEMANDS AND NOT DURING EMOTIONAL PROCESSING PER SE. 2012 4 2206 24 THE EXPERIENCE OF TRAUMA CENTER-TRAUMA SENSITIVE YOGA TRAINING ON PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND YOGA INSTRUCTORS. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: TRAUMATIC PSYCHOLOGICAL EVENTS ARE THOUGHT TO ALTER BRAIN PHYSIOLOGY, NOTABLY REGIONS SUCH AS THE THALAMUS AND THE LIMBIC SYSTEM, AFFECTING PERSONAL CHOICE, AUTONOMY, AND BEHAVIOR. INNOVATIVE THERAPIES ARE NEEDED TO ADDRESS THE DIVERSE, MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THESE CHANGES. TRAUMA CENTER-TRAUMA SENSITIVE YOGA (TC-TSY) HAS SHOWN PROMISING RESULTS IN CLINICAL TRIALS AMONG INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING POSTTRAUMATIC SYMPTOMATOLOGY. MATERIALS AND METHODS: USING A QUALITATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE DESIGN, WE EXAMINED THE IMPACT OF TC-TSY TRAINING ON THE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE OF SEVEN PRACTITIONERS WHO WERE CERTIFIED YOGA INSTRUCTORS AND/OR REGISTERED PSYCHOLOGISTS. RESULTS: THE FINDINGS SUGGEST TC-TSY TRAINING ENRICHED THEIR PRACTICES, CHIEFLY THROUGH ITS CHOICE-BASED, WIDELY APPLICABLE APPROACH; INVITATION- AND MINDFULNESS-BASED LANGUAGE; AND BUILDING OF THERAPEUTIC TRUST AND ATTUNEMENT. SOME PARTICIPANTS QUESTIONED THE ACCESSIBILITY AND SUITABILITY OF THE TRAINING, AS WELL AS THE RIGIDITY OF TC-TSY TERMINOLOGY. CONCLUSION: MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO EXAMINE POTENTIAL OUTCOMES OF TC-TSY PRACTICE RELATED TO SELF-EFFICACY, COPING, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND STRESS REDUCTION AMONG TRAUMATIZED INDIVIDUALS. 2021 5 1439 34 INCREASED GREY MATTER ASSOCIATED WITH LONG-TERM SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION: A VOXEL-BASED MORPHOMETRY STUDY. OBJECTIVES: TO INVESTIGATE REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN GREY MATTER VOLUME ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRACTICE OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. DESIGN: TWENTY THREE EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION AND TWENTY THREE NON-MEDITATORS MATCHED ON AGE, GENDER AND EDUCATION LEVEL, WERE SCANNED USING STRUCTURAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING AND THEIR GREY MATTER VOLUME WERE COMPARED USING VOXEL-BASED MORPHOMETRY. RESULTS: GREY MATTER VOLUME WAS LARGER IN MEDITATORS RELATIVE TO NON-MEDITATORS ACROSS THE WHOLE BRAIN. IN ADDITION, GREY MATTER VOLUME WAS LARGER IN SEVERAL PREDOMINANTLY RIGHT HEMISPHERIC REGIONS: IN INSULA, VENTROMEDIAL ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX, INFERIOR TEMPORAL AND PARIETAL CORTICES AS WELL AS IN LEFT VENTROLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND LEFT INSULA. NO AREAS WITH LARGER GREY MATTER VOLUME WERE FOUND IN NON-MEDITATORS RELATIVE TO MEDITATORS. CONCLUSIONS: THE STUDY SHOWS THAT LONG-TERM PRACTICE OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH LARGER GREY MATTER VOLUME OVERALL, AND WITH REGIONAL ENLARGEMENT IN SEVERAL RIGHT HEMISPHERIC CORTICAL AND SUBCORTICAL BRAIN REGIONS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SUSTAINED ATTENTION, SELF-CONTROL, COMPASSION AND INTEROCEPTIVE PERCEPTION. THE INCREASED GREY MATTER VOLUME IN THESE ATTENTION AND SELF-CONTROL MEDIATING REGIONS SUGGESTS USE-DEPENDENT ENLARGEMENT WITH REGULAR PRACTICE OF THIS MEDITATION. 2016 6 1286 40 GRAY MATTER AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE DURING SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. SOME MEDITATION TECHNIQUES TEACH THE PRACTITIONER TO ACHIEVE THE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE BRAIN REGIONS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR VOLUME AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY (FC) WITH THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE IN LONG-TERM PRACTITIONERS OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. TWENTY-THREE LONG-TERM PRACTITIONERS OF THIS MEDITATION WERE SCANNED USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING. IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE NEURAL CORRELATES OF THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE, WE TESTED WHICH GRAY MATTER VOLUMES (GMV) WERE CORRELATED WITH THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE AND WHICH REGIONS THESE AREAS WERE FUNCTIONALLY CONNECTED TO UNDER A MEDITATION CONDITION. GMV IN MEDIAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX INCLUDING ROSTRAL ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THE SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTION OF THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE INSIDE THE SCANNER. FURTHERMORE, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED FC BETWEEN THIS AREA AND BILATERAL ANTERIOR INSULA/PUTAMEN DURING A MEDITATION-STATE SPECIFICALLY, WHILE DECREASED CONNECTIVITY WITH THE RIGHT THALAMUS/PARAHIPPOCAMPAL GYRUS WAS PRESENT DURING THE MEDITATION-STATE AND THE RESTING-STATE. THE CAPACITY OF LONG-TERM MEDITATORS TO ESTABLISH A DURABLE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE INSIDE AN MRI SCANNER WAS ASSOCIATED WITH LARGER GRAY MATTER VOLUME IN A MEDIAL FRONTAL REGION THAT IS CRUCIAL FOR TOP-DOWN COGNITIVE, EMOTION AND ATTENTION CONTROL. THIS IS FURTHERMORE CORROBORATED BY INCREASED FC OF THIS REGION DURING THE MEDITATION-STATE WITH BILATERAL ANTERIOR INSULA/PUTAMEN, WHICH ARE IMPORTANT FOR INTEROCEPTION, EMOTION, AND ATTENTION REGULATION. THE FINDINGS HENCE SUGGEST THAT THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE IS ASSOCIATED WITH MEDIAL FRONTO-INSULAR-STRIATAL NETWORKS THAT ARE CRUCIAL FOR TOP-DOWN ATTENTION AND EMOTIONAL CONTROL. 2018 7 1472 35 INSULAR CORTEX MEDIATES INCREASED PAIN TOLERANCE IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. YOGA, AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR DISCIPLINE AMONG WESTERNERS, IS FREQUENTLY USED TO IMPROVE PAINFUL CONDITIONS. WE INVESTIGATED POSSIBLE NEUROANATOMICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA USING SENSORY TESTING AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING TECHNIQUES. NORTH AMERICAN YOGIS TOLERATED PAIN MORE THAN TWICE AS LONG AS INDIVIDUALLY MATCHED CONTROLS AND HAD MORE GRAY MATTER (GM) IN MULTIPLE BRAIN REGIONS. ACROSS SUBJECTS, INSULAR GM UNIQUELY CORRELATED WITH PAIN TOLERANCE. INSULAR GM VOLUME IN YOGIS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH YOGA EXPERIENCE, SUGGESTING A CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA AND INSULAR SIZE. YOGIS ALSO HAD INCREASED LEFT INTRAINSULAR WHITE MATTER INTEGRITY, CONSISTENT WITH A STRENGTHENED INSULAR INTEGRATION OF NOCICEPTIVE INPUT AND PARASYMPATHETIC AUTONOMIC REGULATION. YOGIS, AS OPPOSED TO CONTROLS, USED COGNITIVE STRATEGIES INVOLVING PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION AND INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS TO TOLERATE PAIN, WHICH COULD HAVE LED TO USE-DEPENDENT HYPERTROPHY OF INSULAR CORTEX. TOGETHER, THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT REGULAR AND LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVES PAIN TOLERANCE IN TYPICAL NORTH AMERICANS BY TEACHING DIFFERENT WAYS TO DEAL WITH SENSORY INPUTS AND THE POTENTIAL EMOTIONAL REACTIONS ATTACHED TO THOSE INPUTS LEADING TO A CHANGE IN INSULAR BRAIN ANATOMY AND CONNECTIVITY. 2014 8 2564 27 YOGA FOR CONTROL OF EPILEPSY. YOGA IS AN AGE-OLD TRADITIONAL INDIAN PSYCHO-PHILOSOPHICAL-CULTURAL METHOD OF LEADING ONE'S LIFE, THAT ALLEVIATES STRESS, INDUCES RELAXATION AND PROVIDES MULTIPLE HEALTH BENEFITS TO THE PERSON FOLLOWING ITS SYSTEM. IT IS A METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE MIND THROUGH THE UNION OF AN INDIVIDUAL'S DORMANT ENERGY WITH THE UNIVERSAL ENERGY. COMMONLY PRACTICED YOGA METHODS ARE 'PRANAYAMA' (CONTROLLED DEEP BREATHING), 'ASANAS' (PHYSICAL POSTURES) AND 'DHYANA' (MEDITATION) ADMIXED IN VARYING PROPORTIONS WITH DIFFERING PHILOSOPHIC IDEAS. A REVIEW OF YOGA IN RELATION TO EPILEPSY ENCOMPASSES NOT ONLY SEIZURE CONTROL BUT ALSO MANY FACTORS DEALING WITH OVERALL QUALITY-OF-LIFE ISSUES (QOL). THIS PAPER REVIEWS ARTICLES RELATED TO YOGA AND EPILEPSY, SEIZURES, EEG, AUTONOMIC CHANGES, NEURO-PSYCHOLOGY, LIMBIC SYSTEM, AROUSAL, SLEEP, BRAIN PLASTICITY, MOTOR PERFORMANCE, BRAIN IMAGING STUDIES, AND REHABILITATION. THERE IS A DEARTH OF RANDOMIZED, BLINDED, CONTROLLED STUDIES RELATED TO YOGA AND SEIZURE CONTROL. A MULTI-CENTRE, CROSS-CULTURAL, PREFERABLY BLINDED (DIFFICULT FOR YOGA), WELL-RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, ESPECIALLY USING A SINGLE YOGIC TECHNIQUE IN A HOMOGENEOUS POPULATION SUCH AS JUVENILE MYOCLONIC EPILEPSY IS JUSTIFIED TO FIND OUT HOW YOGA AFFECTS SEIZURE CONTROL AND QOL OF THE PERSON WITH EPILEPSY. 2001 9 1670 33 NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE: AGE-, EXPERIENCE-, AND FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT PLASTICITY. YOGA COMBINES POSTURES, BREATHING, AND MEDITATION. DESPITE REPORTED HEALTH BENEFITS, YOGA'S EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN HAVE RECEIVED LITTLE STUDY. WE USED MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING TO COMPARE AGE-RELATED GRAY MATTER (GM) DECLINE IN YOGIS AND CONTROLS. WE ALSO EXAMINED THE EFFECT OF INCREASING YOGA EXPERIENCE AND WEEKLY PRACTICE ON GM VOLUME AND ASSESSED WHICH ASPECTS OF WEEKLY PRACTICE CONTRIBUTED MOST TO BRAIN SIZE. CONTROLS DISPLAYED THE WELL DOCUMENTED AGE-RELATED GLOBAL BRAIN GM DECLINE WHILE YOGIS DID NOT, SUGGESTING THAT YOGA CONTRIBUTES TO PROTECT THE BRAIN AGAINST AGE-RELATED DECLINE. YEARS OF YOGA EXPERIENCE CORRELATED MOSTLY WITH GM VOLUME DIFFERENCES IN THE LEFT HEMISPHERE (INSULA, FRONTAL OPERCULUM, AND ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX) SUGGESTING THAT YOGA TUNES THE BRAIN TOWARD A PARASYMPATICALLY DRIVEN MODE AND POSITIVE STATES. THE NUMBER OF HOURS OF WEEKLY PRACTICE CORRELATED WITH GM VOLUME IN THE PRIMARY SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX/SUPERIOR PARIETAL LOBULE (S1/SPL), PRECUNEUS/POSTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX (PCC), HIPPOCAMPUS, AND PRIMARY VISUAL CORTEX (V1). COMMONALITY ANALYSES INDICATED THAT THE COMBINATION OF POSTURES AND MEDITATION CONTRIBUTED THE MOST TO THE SIZE OF THE HIPPOCAMPUS, PRECUNEUS/PCC, AND S1/SPL WHILE THE COMBINATION OF MEDITATION AND BREATHING EXERCISES CONTRIBUTED THE MOST TO V1 VOLUME. YOGA'S POTENTIAL NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS MAY PROVIDE A NEURAL BASIS FOR SOME OF ITS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS. 2015 10 2714 25 YOGA LESSONS FOR CONSCIOUSNESS RESEARCH: A PARALIMBIC NETWORK BALANCING BRAIN RESOURCE ALLOCATION. CONSCIOUSNESS HAS BEEN PROPOSED TO PLAY A KEY ROLE IN SHAPING FLEXIBLE LEARNING AND AS SUCH IS THOUGHT TO CONFER AN EVOLUTIONARY ADVANTAGE. ATTENTION AND AWARENESS ARE THE PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANT UNDERLYING PROCESSES, YET THEIR PRECISE RELATIONSHIP IS PRESENTLY UNCLEAR. BOTH OF THESE PROCESSES MUST, HOWEVER, SERVE THE EVOLUTIONARY IMPERATIVES OF SURVIVAL AND PROCREATION. THEY ARE THUS INTIMATELY BOUND BY REWARD AND EMOTION TO HELP TO PRIORITIZE EFFICIENT BRAIN RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN ORDER TO PREDICT AND OPTIMIZE BEHAVIOR. HERE WE SHOW HOW THIS PROCESS IS SERVED BY A PARALIMBIC NETWORK CONSISTING PRIMARILY OF REGIONS LOCATED ON THE MIDLINE OF THE HUMAN BRAIN. USING MANY DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES, EXPERIMENTS HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT THIS NETWORK IS EFFECTIVE AND SPECIFIC FOR SELF-AWARENESS AND CONTRIBUTES TO THE SENSE OF UNITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS BY ACTING AS A COMMON NEURAL PATH FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCES. INTERESTINGLY, HEMODYNAMIC ACTIVITY IN THE NETWORK DECREASES WITH FOCUSING ON EXTERNAL STIMULI, WHICH HAS LED TO THE IDEA OF A DEFAULT MODE NETWORK. THIS NETWORK IS ONE OF MANY NETWORKS THAT WAX AND VANE AS RESOURCES ARE ALLOCATED TO ACCOMMODATE THE DIFFERENT CYCLICAL NEEDS OF THE ORGANISM PRIMARILY RELATED TO THE FUNDAMENTAL PLEASURES AFFORDED BY EVOLUTION: FOOD, SEX, AND CONSPECIFICS. HERE WE HYPOTHESIZE, HOWEVER, THAT THE PARALIMBIC NETWORK SERVES A CRUCIAL ROLE IN BALANCING AND REGULATING BRAIN RESOURCE ALLOCATION, AND DISCUSS HOW IT CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS A LINK BETWEEN CURRENT THEORIES OF SO-CALLED "DEFAULT MODE," "RESTING STATE NETWORKS," AND "GLOBAL WORKSPACE." WE SHOW HOW MAJOR DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS OF SELF-AWARENESS AND SELF-CONTROL CAN ARISE FROM PROBLEMS IN THE PARALIMBIC NETWORK AS DEMONSTRATED HERE BY THE EXAMPLE OF ASPERGER SYNDROME. WE CONCLUDE THAT ATTENTION, AWARENESS, AND EMOTION ARE INTEGRATED BY A PARALIMBIC NETWORK THAT HELPS TO EFFICIENTLY ALLOCATE BRAIN RESOURCES TO OPTIMIZE BEHAVIOR AND HELP SURVIVAL. 2011 11 1641 25 MONITORING THE NEURAL ACTIVITY OF THE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE WHILE PRACTICING SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. OBJECTIVE: TO IDENTIFY THE NEURAL CORRELATES OF THE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE AS EXPERIENCED THROUGH SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. DESIGN: NINETEEN EXPERIENCED MEDITATORS UNDERWENT FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING DURING THREE SHORT CONSECUTIVE MEDITATION PERIODS, CONTRASTED WITH A CONTROL RELAXATION CONDITION. RESULTS: RELATIVE TO BASELINE, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEDITATION SESSIONS THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF ACTIVATION IN BILATERAL INFERIOR FRONTAL AND TEMPORAL REGIONS. ACTIVATION BECAME PROGRESSIVELY MORE REDUCED WITH DEEPER MEDITATION STAGES AND IN THE LAST MEDITATION SESSION IT BECAME LOCALIZED TO THE RIGHT INFERIOR FRONTAL CORTEX/ RIGHT INSULA AND RIGHT MIDDLE/SUPERIOR TEMPORAL CORTEX. FURTHERMORE, RIGHT INFERIOR FRONTAL ACTIVATION WAS DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUBJECTIVE DEPTH OF THE MENTAL SILENCE EXPERIENCE. CONCLUSIONS: MEDITATORS APPEAR TO PASS THROUGH AN INITIAL INTENSE NEURAL SELF-CONTROL PROCESS NECESSARY TO SILENCE THEIR MIND. AFTER THIS THEY EXPERIENCE RELATIVELY REDUCED BRAIN ACTIVATION CONCOMITANT WITH THE DEEPENING OF THE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE OVER RIGHT INFERIOR FRONTAL CORTEX, PROBABLY REFLECTING AN EFFORTLESS PROCESS OF ATTENTIONAL CONTEMPLATION ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STATE. 2015 12 1772 26 POTENTIAL SELF-REGULATORY MECHANISMS OF YOGA FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH. RESEARCH SUGGESTING THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA ON MYRIAD ASPECTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH HAS PROLIFERATED IN RECENT YEARS, YET THERE IS CURRENTLY NO OVERARCHING FRAMEWORK BY WHICH TO UNDERSTAND YOGA'S POTENTIAL BENEFICIAL EFFECTS. HERE WE PROVIDE A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND SYSTEMS-BASED NETWORK MODEL OF YOGA THAT FOCUSES ON INTEGRATION OF TOP-DOWN AND BOTTOM-UP FORMS OF SELF-REGULATION. WE BEGIN BY CONTEXTUALIZING YOGA IN HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY SETTINGS, AND THEN DETAIL HOW SPECIFIC COMPONENTS OF YOGA PRACTICE MAY AFFECT COGNITIVE, EMOTIONAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND AUTONOMIC OUTPUT UNDER STRESS THROUGH AN EMPHASIS ON INTEROCEPTION AND BOTTOM-UP INPUT, RESULTING IN PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH. THE MODEL DESCRIBES YOGA PRACTICE AS A COMPREHENSIVE SKILLSET OF SYNERGISTIC PROCESS TOOLS THAT FACILITATE BIDIRECTIONAL FEEDBACK AND INTEGRATION BETWEEN HIGH- AND LOW-LEVEL BRAIN NETWORKS, AND AFFERENT AND RE-AFFERENT INPUT FROM INTEROCEPTIVE PROCESSES (SOMATOSENSORY, VISCEROSENSORY, CHEMOSENSORY). FROM A PREDICTIVE CODING PERSPECTIVE WE PROPOSE A SHIFT TO PERCEPTUAL INFERENCE FOR STRESS MODULATION AND OPTIMAL SELF-REGULATION. WE DESCRIBE HOW THE PROCESSES THAT SUB-SERVE SELF-REGULATION BECOME MORE AUTOMATIZED AND EFFICIENT OVER TIME AND PRACTICE, REQUIRING LESS EFFORT TO INITIATE WHEN NECESSARY AND TERMINATE MORE RAPIDLY WHEN NO LONGER NEEDED. TO SUPPORT OUR PROPOSED MODEL, WE PRESENT THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE FOR YOGA AFFECTING SELF-REGULATORY PATHWAYS, INTEGRATING EXISTING CONSTRUCTS FROM BEHAVIOR THEORY AND COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE WITH EMERGING YOGA AND MEDITATION RESEARCH. THIS PAPER IS INTENDED TO GUIDE FUTURE BASIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH, SPECIFICALLY TARGETING AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE TREATMENT OF STRESS-MEDIATED PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS. 2014 13 2042 19 THE 'WORLD OF YOGA': THE PRODUCTION AND REPRODUCTION OF THERAPEUTIC LANDSCAPES. YOGA IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE FASHIONABLE ALL AROUND THE WORLD. THIS ACTIVITY, PARTLY CONSIDERED AS THERAPEUTIC, REVEALS CONTEMPORARY WAYS OF PRODUCING GLOBAL PRACTICES. VIA A QUESTIONNAIRE COMPLETED BY INDIVIDUALS AT YOGA CENTRES IN INDIA AND FRANCE, THE PAPER ANALYSES THIS PHENOMENON USING THE CONCEPT OF THERAPEUTIC LANDSCAPES. FURTHERMORE, IT EXAMINES HOW THESE THERAPEUTIC LANDSCAPES ARE INFLUENCED BY GLOBALISATION. BRINGING TOGETHER THE CONCEPTS OF THERAPEUTIC LANDSCAPES, GLOBALISATION AND THE PRACTICE OF YOGA, THE PAPER ANALYSES THE PRODUCTION AND REPRODUCTION OF YOGIC THERAPEUTIC LANDSCAPES IN THE WORLD'S SPACE. CONSTITUTED OF NATURAL PHYSICAL ELEMENTS AND BUILT STRUCTURES, THESE THERAPEUTIC LANDSCAPES ARE ALSO STRONGLY LINKED TO EMOTIONAL QUALITIES AND INTIMATE FEELINGS EVOKED BY THE PLACE AND RELATED TO HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. THE PAPER ALSO UNDERLINES THAT THE EMERGENCE OF INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED THERAPEUTIC LANDSCAPES DEMANDS A CULTURAL AND SOCIAL GEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH THAT COULD HELP TO EXAMINE THE REPERCUSSIONS OF LOCAL AND GLOBAL PHENOMENA ON THERAPEUTIC LANDSCAPES. INDEED, VERY OFTEN, YOGIS, ALL AROUND THE WORLD, REFER TO IDEAL PLACES WHERE THEY RARELY GO. CONSEQUENTLY, THEY CREATE AN IMAGINED THERAPEUTIC ENVIRONMENT THAT THE PAPER DESCRIBES. 2007 14 1191 29 EVOLUTION FROM FOUR MENTAL STATES TO THE HIGHEST STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS: A NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF MEDITATION AS DEFINED IN YOGA TEXTS. THIS CHAPTER PROVIDES A THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION TO STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND REVIEWS NEUROSCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS OF MEDITATION. THE DIFFERENT STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS CONSIST OF FOUR MENTAL STATES, I.E., CANCALATA (RANDOM THINKING), EKAGRATA (NON-MEDITATIVE FOCUSING), DHARNA (FOCUSED MEDITATION), AND DHYANA (MEDITATION) AS DEFINED IN YOGA TEXTS. MEDITATION IS A SELF-REGULATED MENTAL PROCESS ASSOCIATED WITH DEEP RELAXATION AND INCREASED INTERNALIZED ATTENTION. SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS ON MEDITATION REPORTED CHANGES IN ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL SIGNALS AND NEUROIMAGING MEASURES. BUT MOST OUTCOMES OF MEDITATION STUDIES SHOWED INCONSISTENT RESULTS, THIS MAY BE DUE TO HETEROGENEITY IN MEDITATION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES EVOLVED IN THE LAST 200 YEARS. TRADITIONALLY, THE FEATURES OF MEDITATION INCLUDE THE CAPACITY TO SUSTAIN A HEIGHTENED AWARENESS OF THOUGHTS, BEHAVIORS, EMOTIONS, AND PERCEPTIONS. GENERALLY, MEDITATION INVOLVES NON-REACTIVE EFFORTLESS MONITORING OF THE CONTENT OF EXPERIENCE FROM MOMENT TO MOMENT. FOCUSED MEDITATION PRACTICE INVOLVES AWARENESS ON A SINGLE OBJECT AND OPEN MONITORING MEDITATION IS A NON-DIRECTIVE MEDITATION INVOLVED ATTENTION IN BREATHING, MANTRA, OR SOUND. THEREFORE, RESULTS OF FEW EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF ADVANCED MEDITATORS OR BEGINNERS REMAIN TENTATIVE. THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO COMPILE THE MEDITATION-RELATED CHANGES IN ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND NEUROIMAGING PROCESSES AMONG EXPERIENCED AND NOVICE PRACTITIONERS. 2019 15 2304 22 TOWARD AN EXPLANATORY FRAMEWORK FOR YOGA THERAPY INFORMED BY PHILOSOPHICAL AND ETHICAL PERSPECTIVES. CONTEXT * YOGA THERAPY IS AN EMERGING COMPLEMENTARY AND INTEGRATIVE HEALTH PRACTICE FOR WHICH THERE IS INCREASING INTEREST FROM BOTH CLINICAL AND RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES. CURRENTLY MISSING, HOWEVER, IS AN EXPLANATORY FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROFESSION THAT PROVIDES PRACTITIONERS, CLIENTS, AND THE PUBLIC WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW VARIOUS YOGIC TRADITIONS AND PRINCIPLES CAN BE UNDERSTOOD IN MODERN HEALTH CARE CONTEXTS. OBJECTIVE * THIS STUDY PROPOSES AN EXPLANATORY FRAMEWORK FOR YOGA THERAPY, INFORMED BY PHENOMENOLOGY, EUDAIMONIA, VIRTUE ETHICS, AND FIRST-PERSON ETHICAL INQUIRY. CONCLUSIONS * THESE 4 PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES-PHENOMENOLOGY, EUDAIMONIA, VIRTUE ETHICS, AND FIRST-PERSON ETHICAL INQUIRY-PROVIDE A LENS THROUGH WHICH TO UNDERSTAND HOW YOGIC PRACTICES SUPPORT THE INDIVIDUAL'S TRANSFORMATION IN THE EXPERIENCE OF ILLNESS, PAIN, OR DISABILITY. WE PROPOSE THAT THIS TRANSFORMATION OCCURS THROUGH FACILITATING A REHARMONIZATION OF BODY, MIND, AND ENVIRONMENT TOWARD THE EXPERIENCE OF EUDAIMONIC WELL-BEING. 2018 16 2781 27 YOGA THERAPY AND POLYVAGAL THEORY: THE CONVERGENCE OF TRADITIONAL WISDOM AND CONTEMPORARY NEUROSCIENCE FOR SELF-REGULATION AND RESILIENCE. YOGA THERAPY IS A NEWLY EMERGING, SELF-REGULATING COMPLEMENTARY AND INTEGRATIVE HEALTHCARE (CIH) PRACTICE. IT IS GROWING IN ITS PROFESSIONALIZATION, RECOGNITION AND UTILIZATION WITH A DEMONSTRATED COMMITMENT TO SETTING PRACTICE STANDARDS, EDUCATIONAL AND ACCREDITATION STANDARDS, AND PROMOTING RESEARCH TO SUPPORT ITS EFFICACY FOR VARIOUS POPULATIONS AND CONDITIONS. HOWEVER, HETEROGENEITY OF PRACTICE, POOR REPORTING STANDARDS, AND LACK OF A BROADLY ACCEPTED UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN YOGA THERAPY LIMITS THE STRUCTURING OF TESTABLE HYPOTHESES AND CLINICAL APPLICATIONS. CURRENT PROPOSED FRAMEWORKS OF YOGA-BASED PRACTICES FOCUS ON THE INTEGRATION OF BOTTOM-UP NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND TOP-DOWN NEUROCOGNITIVE MECHANISMS. IN ADDITION, IT HAS BEEN PROPOSED THAT PHENOMENOLOGY AND FIRST PERSON ETHICAL INQUIRY CAN PROVIDE A LENS THROUGH WHICH YOGA THERAPY IS VIEWED AS A PROCESS THAT CONTRIBUTES TOWARDS EUDAIMONIC WELL-BEING IN THE EXPERIENCE OF PAIN, ILLNESS OR DISABILITY. IN THIS ARTICLE WE BUILD ON THESE FRAMEWORKS, AND PROPOSE A MODEL OF YOGA THERAPY THAT CONVERGES WITH POLYVAGAL THEORY (PVT). PVT LINKS THE EVOLUTION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM TO THE EMERGENCE OF PROSOCIAL BEHAVIORS AND POSITS THAT THE NEURAL PLATFORMS SUPPORTING SOCIAL BEHAVIOR ARE INVOLVED IN MAINTAINING HEALTH, GROWTH AND RESTORATION. THIS EXPLANATORY MODEL WHICH CONNECTS NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL PATTERNS OF AUTONOMIC REGULATION AND EXPRESSION OF EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR, IS INCREASINGLY UTILIZED AS A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR, STRESS AND ILLNESS. SPECIFICALLY, WE DESCRIBE HOW PVT CAN BE CONCEPTUALIZED AS A NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL COUNTERPART TO THE YOGIC CONCEPT OF THE GUNAS, OR QUALITIES OF NATURE. SIMILAR TO THE NEURAL PLATFORMS DESCRIBED IN PVT, THE GUNAS PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FROM WHICH BEHAVIORAL, EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES EMERGE. WE DESCRIBE HOW THESE TWO DIFFERENT YET ANALOGOUS FRAMEWORKS-ONE BASED IN NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND THE OTHER IN AN ANCIENT WISDOM TRADITION-HIGHLIGHT YOGA THERAPY'S PROMOTION OF PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND SOCIAL WELLBEING FOR SELF-REGULATION AND RESILIENCE. THIS PARALLEL BETWEEN THE NEURAL PLATFORMS OF PVT AND THE GUNAS OF YOGA IS INSTRUMENTAL IN CREATING A TRANSLATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR YOGA THERAPY TO ALIGN WITH ITS PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS. CONSEQUENTLY, YOGA THERAPY CAN OPERATE AS A DISTINCT PRACTICE RATHER THAN FITTING INTO AN OUTSIDE MODEL FOR ITS UTILIZATION IN RESEARCH AND CLINICAL CONTEXTS. 2018 17 1897 36 RESTING STATE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT MEDITATION PRACTICES HAVE EFFECTS ON BRAIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION. HOWEVER, FEW STUDIES HAVE COMBINED INFORMATION ON THE EFFECTS ON STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN THE SAME SAMPLE. LONG-TERM DAILY MEDITATION PRACTICE PRODUCES REPEATED ACTIVITY OF SPECIFIC BRAIN NETWORKS OVER YEARS OF PRACTICE, WHICH MAY INDUCE LASTING STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY (FC) CHANGES WITHIN RELEVANT CIRCUITS. THE AIM OF OUR STUDY WAS THEREFORE TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENCES IN FC DURING THE RESTING STATE BETWEEN 23 SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION EXPERTS AND 23 HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS WITHOUT MEDITATION EXPERIENCE. SEED-BASED FC ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED DEPARTING FROM VOXELS THAT HAD SHOWN STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE SAME PARTICIPANTS. THE CONTRAST OF CONNECTIVITY MAPS YIELDED THAT MEDITATORS SHOWED INCREASED FC BETWEEN THE LEFT VENTROLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND THE RIGHT DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX BUT REDUCED FC BETWEEN THE LEFT INSULA AND THE BILATERAL MID-CINGULATE AS WELL AS BETWEEN THE RIGHT ANGULAR GYRUS AND THE BILATERAL PRECUNEUS/CUNEUS CORTICES. IT THUS APPEARS THAT LONG-TERM MEDITATION PRACTICE INCREASES DIRECT FC BETWEEN VENTRAL AND DORSAL FRONTAL REGIONS WITHIN BRAIN NETWORKS RELATED TO ATTENTION AND COGNITIVE CONTROL AND DECREASES FC BETWEEN REGIONS OF THESE NETWORKS AND AREAS OF THE DEFAULT MODE NETWORK. 2021 18 1666 17 NEURAL NETWORK-ORIENTED BIG DATA MODEL FOR YOGA MOVEMENT RECOGNITION. THE USE OF COMPUTER VISION FOR TARGET DETECTION AND RECOGNITION HAS BEEN AN INTERESTING AND CHALLENGING AREA OF RESEARCH FOR THE PAST THREE DECADES. PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES AND SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS IN GENERAL CAN BE TRAINED WITH APPROPRIATE SYSTEMS FOR CORRECTIVE TRAINING AND ASSISTIVE TRAINING. SUCH A NEED HAS MOTIVATED RESEARCHERS TO COMBINE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH THE FIELD OF SPORTS TO CONDUCT RESEARCH. IN THIS PAPER, WE PROPOSE A MASK REGION-CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK (MR-CNN)- BASED METHOD FOR YOGA MOVEMENT RECOGNITION BASED ON THE IMAGE TASK OF YOGA MOVEMENT RECOGNITION. THE IMPROVED MR-CNN MODEL IS BASED ON THE FRAMEWORK AND STRUCTURE OF THE REGION-CONVOLUTIONAL NETWORK, WHICH PROPOSES A CERTAIN NUMBER OF CANDIDATE REGIONS FOR THE IMAGE BY FEATURE EXTRACTION AND CLASSIFIES THEM, THEN OUTPUTS THESE REGIONS AS DETECTED BOUNDING BOXES, AND DOES MASK PREDICTION FOR THE CANDIDATE REGIONS USING SEGMENTATION BRANCHES. THE IMPROVED MR-CNN MODEL USES AN IMPROVED DEEP RESIDUAL NETWORK AS THE BACKBONE NETWORK FOR FEATURE EXTRACTION, BILINEAR INTERPOLATION OF THE EXTRACTED CANDIDATE REGIONS USING REGION OF INTEREST (ROI) ALIGN, FOLLOWED BY TARGET CLASSIFICATION AND DETECTION, AND SEGMENTATION OF THE IMAGE USING THE SEGMENTATION BRANCH. THE MODEL IMPROVES THE CONVOLUTION PART IN THE SEGMENTATION BRANCH BY REPLACING THE ORIGINAL STANDARD CONVOLUTION WITH A DEPTH-SEPARABLE CONVOLUTION TO IMPROVE THE NETWORK EFFICIENCY. EXPERIMENTALLY CONSTRUCTED POLYGON-LABELED DATASETS ARE SIMULATED USING THE ALGORITHM. THE DEEPENING OF THE NETWORK AND THE USE OF DEPTH-SEPARABLE NETWORK IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF DETECTION WHILE MAINTAINING THE RELIABILITY OF THE NETWORK AND VALIDATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE IMPROVED MR-CNN. 2021 19 2371 22 WHAT HAS NEUROIMAGING TAUGHT US ON THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF YOGA? A REVIEW. YOGA IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY POPULAR WORLDWIDE, WITH SEVERAL IMPLICATED PHYSICAL AND MENTAL BENEFITS. HERE WE PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE AND CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH GENERATED FROM THE EXISTING NEUROIMAGING LITERATURE IN STUDIES OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS. WE REVIEWED 34 INTERNATIONAL PEER-REVIEWED NEUROIMAGING STUDIES OF YOGA USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI), POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY (PET), OR SINGLE-PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (SPECT): 11 MORPHOLOGICAL AND 26 FUNCTIONAL STUDIES, INCLUDING THREE STUDIES THAT WERE CLASSIFIED AS BOTH MORPHOLOGICAL AND FUNCTIONAL. CONSISTENT FINDINGS INCLUDE INCREASED GRAY MATTER VOLUME IN THE INSULA AND HIPPOCAMPUS, INCREASED ACTIVATION OF PREFRONTAL CORTICAL REGIONS, AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY CHANGES MAINLY WITHIN THE DEFAULT MODE NETWORK. THERE IS QUITE SOME VARIABILITY IN THE NEUROIMAGING FINDINGS THAT PARTIALLY REFLECTS DIFFERENT YOGA STYLES AND APPROACHES, AS WELL AS SAMPLE SIZE LIMITATIONS. DIRECT COMPARATOR GROUPS SUCH AS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ARE SCARCELY USED SO FAR. FINALLY, HYPOTHESES ON THE UNDERLYING NEUROBIOLOGY DERIVED FROM THE IMAGING FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED IN THE LIGHT OF THE POTENTIAL BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA. 2020 20 2302 17 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