1 2209 110 THE GEOMETRIC CURVATURE OF THE SPINE DURING THE SIRSHASANA, THE YOGA'S HEADSTAND. THIS STUDY ANALYSED THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE GEOMETRIC CURVATURE OF THE SPINE DURING SIRSHASANA. THE POSITION OF DORSAL RETROREFLECTIVE MARKERS WAS COMPUTED VIA STEREOPHOTOGRAMMETRIC ANALYSIS IN SIX MALES AND FIVE FEMALES (29.4 +/- 8.8 YEARS, 63.0 +/- 11.4 KG, 1.66 +/- 0.08 M [AVERAGE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION]). THE SPINAL POINTS WERE PROJECTED ONTO THE SAGITTAL AND FRONTAL PLANES OF THE TRUNK, A POLYNOMIAL WAS FITTED TO THE DATA AND THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL GEOMETRIC CURVATURE WAS QUANTIFIED. THE INFERIOR LUMBAR LORDOSIS DECREASED COMPARED TO THE ORTHOSTATIC POSITION AND GAIT, WHICH MAY FAVOUR THE POSTERIOR PROTRUSION OF THE LUMBAR SPINAL NUCLEUS PULPOSUS IN PEOPLE WITH POSTERIOR HERNIATION. THE LATERAL DEVIATION AT THE MIDDLE OF THE THORACIC SPINE INCREASES DURING SIRSHASANA, WHICH MAY REFLECT INCREASED DIFFICULTIES FOR POSTURAL CONTROL AND SPINAL LOADS. IT COULD BE USEFUL FOR PROMOTING POSITIVE SPINAL STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHRONIC ADAPTATIONS FOR HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS, IF THE YOGA PROGRAMME IS CAREFULLY PLANNED AND THE SPINAL ALIGNMENT IS CAREFULLY MONITORED DURING A HEADSTAND. HOWEVER, IT MAY AGGRAVATE SOME SPINAL DISEASES, ESPECIALLY SCOLIOSIS. 2017 2 1990 28 SPINAL CURVATURES OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS COMPARED TO CONTROL PARTICIPANTS-A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY. PURPOSE: THE ANGLES OF THORACIC KYPHOSIS AND LUMBAR LORDOSIS DETERMINE THE SPINAL ALIGNMENT IN THE SAGITTAL PLANE. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COMPARE THE THORACIC KYPHOSIS AND LUMBAR LORDOSIS OF MALE AND FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS WITH NON-PRACTICING PARTICIPANTS AND TO DETERMINE THE POSSIBLE DEPENDENCIES BETWEEN SAGITTAL SPINAL CURVATURES AND SOMATIC PARAMETERS, TIME SPENT ON YOGA EXERCISE, AND UNDERTAKING OTHER PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. METHODS: THE STUDY INVOLVED 576 WOMEN AND 91 MEN AGES 18-68 YEARS (MEAN = 38.5 +/- 9) WHO WERE PRACTICING YOGA, AND 402 WOMEN AND 176 MEN AGES 18-30 YEARS (MEAN = 20.2 +/- 1.3) AS A CONTROL GROUP. THE ANGLES OF THORACIC KYPHOSIS AND LUMBAR LORDOSIS WERE MEASURED USING A PLURIMETER-V GRAVITY INCLINOMETER. RESULTS: THE TWO-WAY ANOVA DEMONSTRATED THE INFLUENCE OF GROUP (P < .0001) AND SEX (P = .03) ON THE ANGLE OF THORACIC KYPHOSIS, AS WELL AS THE INFLUENCE OF GROUP (P < .0001) AND SEX (P < .0001) ON THE ANGLE OF LUMBAR LORDOSIS. IT WAS NOTED THAT YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAD LESS PRONOUNCED THORACIC KYPHOSIS AND LUMBAR LORDOSIS AND WERE MORE OFTEN CHARACTERIZED BY NORMAL OR SMALLER THORACIC KYPHOSIS AND LUMBAR LORDOSIS THAN STUDENTS FROM THE CONTROL GROUP. IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS, THE ANGLE OF THORACIC KYPHOSIS WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH AGE, BODY MASS, BMI, AND UNDERTAKING OTHER FORMS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. THE ANGLE OF LUMBAR LORDOSIS WAS NEGATIVELY CORRELATED WITH BODY HEIGHT AND BODY MASS. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA EXERCISES CAN AFFECT THE SHAPE OF THE ANTERIOR-POSTERIOR CURVES OF THE SPINE AND MAY BE AN EFFICIENT TRAINING METHOD FOR SHAPING PROPER POSTURE IN ADULTS. 2021 3 1813 20 PROGRESSION OF GLAUCOMA ASSOCIATED WITH THE SIRSASANA (HEADSTAND) YOGA POSTURE. THIS ARTICLE REPORTS A CASE OF PROGRESSIVE GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY AND VISUAL FIELD LOSS THAT OCCURRED IN A PATIENT WHO PRACTICED THE SIRSASANA (HEADSTAND) YOGA POSTURE ON A DAILY BASIS FOR MANY YEARS. VISUAL FIELD ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED THROUGH STANDARD AUTOMATED PERIMETRY. INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE (IOP) WAS MEASURED THROUGH PNEUMOTONOMETRY IN THE SITTING POSITION AND IN THE HEAD-DOWN POSITION. STEREO-OPTIC DISC PHOTOGRAPHS WERE OBTAINED. IOP INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE HEAD-DOWN POSITION. OPTIC DISC EVALUATION REVEALED A NEW DISC HEMORRHAGE IN THE LEFT EYE. VISUAL FIELD ANALYSIS OVER A PERIOD OF 2 Y SHOWED PROGRESSION OF A SUPERIOR ARCUATE DEFECT IN THE LEFT EYE. TRANSIENT INCREASES IN IOP ASSOCIATED WITH THE YOGA HEADSTAND POSTURE MAY LEAD TO PROGRESSIVE GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NERVE DAMAGE AND VISUAL FIELD LOSS. 2006 4 1763 19 POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT PRECIPITATED BY YOGA. YOGA HAS RECENTLY BEEN TOUTED AS A MEANS TO IMPROVE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING. HOWEVER, NO FORM OF EXERCISE IS WITHOUT ITS RISKS. A 32-YEAR-OLD CHINESE FEMALE WITH MODERATE MYOPIA COMPLAINED OF RIGHT EYE SUDDEN ONSET OF FLOATERS AND MILD BLURRING OF VISION AFTER THE HEAD-DOWN POSTURE. THE VISUAL ACUITY WAS 6/12 IN THE RIGHT EYE AND 6/9 IN THE LEFT EYE. A RIGHT EYE FUNDUS EXAMINATION SHOWED POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT, WITH A SMALL BLOOD CLOT LOCATED AT THE INFERIOR MARGIN OF THE OPTIC DISC. THE PATIENT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH RIGHT EYE VITREOUS HEMORRHAGE SECONDARY TO ACUTE POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT AND WAS MANAGED CONSERVATIVELY. ACUTE CHANGES IN POSTURE, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN AN UPRIGHT AND A HEAD-DOWN POSITION, MAY CAUSE ACUTE POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT. AS YOGA PRACTITIONERS MAY BE REQUIRED TO ASSUME THIS HEAD-DOWN POSITION, MYOPIC PATIENTS SHOULD BE WARNED OF THE POSSIBLE OCULAR COMPLICATIONS OF THIS EXERCISE. 2018 5 1816 15 PROGRESSIVE OPTIC NEUROPATHY IN CONGENITAL GLAUCOMA ASSOCIATED WITH THE SIRSASANA YOGA POSTURE. THE AUTHORS DESCRIBE A CASE OF PROGRESSIVE OPTIC NEUROPATHY IN A PATIENT WITH CONGENITAL GLAUCOMA WHO HAD ROUTINELY PRACTICED THE SIRSASANA (HEADSTAND) YOGA POSTURE FOR SEVERAL YEARS. OPHTHALMIC EXAMINATION INCLUDED BEST-CORRECTED VISUAL ACUITY, ANTERIOR SEGMENT EXAMINATION, INDIRECT OPHTHALMOSCOPY, ULTRASOUND PACHYMETRY FOR CENTRAL CORNEAL THICKNESS, AND INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER MAINTAINING THE SIRSASANA POSTURE FOR 5 MINUTES. INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING THE SIRSASANA POSTURE. TRANSIENT ELEVATION IN INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE DURING YOGA EXERCISES MAY LEAD TO PROGRESSIVE GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY, ESPECIALLY IN SUSCEPTIBLE PATIENTS WITH CONGENITAL GLAUCOMA. 2008 6 2779 13 YOGA TECHNIQUES AS A MEANS OF CORE STABILITY TRAINING. CORE STABILITY IN GENERAL INVOLVES THE MUSCULAR CONTROL REQUIRED AROUND THE LUMBAR SPINE TO MAINTAIN FUNCTIONAL STABILITY. STABILITY AND MOVEMENT ARE CRITICALLY DEPENDENT ON THE COORDINATION OF ALL THE MUSCLES SURROUNDING THE LUMBAR SPINE. THIS PAPER AIMS TO SHOW THAT AN AGE-OLD YOGA PRACTICE, CALLED UDDHYANA BHANDA AND NOULI, IS AN EFFECTIVE MEANS OF CORE STABILITY. 2009 7 1766 18 POSTURAL CONTROL ADAPTATIONS IN YOGA SINGLE-LEG SUPPORT POSTURES: COMPARISON BETWEEN PRACTITIONERS AND NONPRACTITIONERS. THIS PAPER INVESTIGATES WHETHER A GROUP OF REGULAR YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWS POSTURAL CONTROL DIFFERENCES COMPARED WITH HEALTHY CONTROLS WHILE PERFORMING SINGLE-LEG YOGA POSTURES. TEN YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE COMPARED WITH A CONTROL GROUP OF 10 NONPRACTITIONERS PERFORMING TWO SINGLE-LEG SUPPORT YOGA POSTURES: VRKSASANA (TREE POSTURE) AND NATARAJASANA (DANCER POSTURE). RAMBLING AND TREMBLING DECOMPOSITION OF THE CENTER OF PRESSURE TRAJECTORIES WAS IMPLEMENTED USING A GENETIC ALGORITHM SPECTRAL OPTIMIZATION THAT AVOIDS USING HORIZONTAL FORCES AND WAS VALIDATED WITH BIPEDAL POSTURE DATA. ADDITIONALLY, THE CENTER OF MASS WAS ESTIMATED FROM BODY KINEMATICS USING OPENSIM AND COMPARED WITH THE RAMBLING OUTPUTS. DURING NATARAJASANA, NO POSTURAL CONTROL ADAPTATIONS WERE OBSERVED. FOR VRKSASANA, THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWED A LOWER CENTER OF PRESSURE ELLIPSE CONFIDENCE INTERVAL AREA, CENTER OF PRESSURE ANTEROPOSTERIOR SD, AND SMALLER RAMBLING SD IN THE MEDIOLATERAL DIRECTION, SUGGESTING POSSIBLE SUPRASPINAL FEED-FORWARD MOTOR ADAPTATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA TRAINING. 2022 8 1498 20 INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE CHANGES AND OCULAR BIOMETRY DURING SIRSASANA (HEADSTAND POSTURE) IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. PURPOSE: TO STUDY THE INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE (IOP) CHANGES IN SIRSASANA (HEADSTAND POSTURE) DONE BY EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND CORRELATE THE OCULAR BIOMETRIC PARAMETERS WITH THE IOP CHANGES, AND TO SCREEN FOR THE PREVALENCE OF OCULAR HYPERTENSION IN THIS GROUP OF SUBJECTS. DESIGN: PROSPECTIVE CASE OBSERVATIONAL SERIES. PARTICIPANTS: SEVENTY-FIVE SUBJECTS (50 ASIAN INDIANS AND 25 CAUCASIANS) FROM A YOGA TRAINING INSTITUTE VOLUNTEERED FOR THE STUDY. METHODS: ALL PARTICIPANTS UNDERWENT A DETAILED OPHTHALMIC EXAMINATION ALONG WITH OCULAR BIOMETRY AND CORNEAL PACHYMETRY. INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE WAS RECORDED USING A TONOPEN BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE SIRSASANA. CHANGES WERE COMPARED USING THE PAIRED T TEST. AGE, AXIAL LENGTH, ANTERIOR CHAMBER DEPTH, LENS THICKNESS, CORNEAL CURVATURE, CORNEAL THICKNESS, RACE, AND THE LENGTH OF TIME FOR WHICH THE PRACTITIONER WAS PERFORMING YOGA WERE CORRELATED WITH THE INDUCED IOP DIFFERENCE IN A RANDOMLY SELECTED EYE USING PEARSON'S CORRELATION COEFFICIENT WITH BONFERRONI CORRECTION FOR MULTIPLE COMPARISONS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: OCULAR BIOMETRY AND INDUCED IOP DIFFERENCE. RESULTS: THE MEAN INCREASE IN IOP AT BASELINE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER ASSUMING SIRSASANA WAS 15.1+/-4.1 MMHG (R = 0.07; P = 0.999) AND AFTER 5 MINUTES WAS 15.8+/-4.6 MMHG (R = -0.25; P = 0.357). THE INDUCED INCREASE IN IOP DURING THE POSTURE WAS TWICE THE BASELINE IOP. THERE WAS NO CORRELATION BETWEEN AGE, OCULAR BIOMETRY, AND ULTRASOUND PACHYMETRY WHEN COMPARED WITH THE INDUCED IOP DIFFERENCE. ONE SUBJECT (1.33%) WAS FOUND TO HAVE BASELINE IOP OF MORE THAN 21 MMHG. CONCLUSION: THERE WAS A UNIFORM 2-FOLD INCREASE IN THE IOP DURING SIRSASANA, WHICH WAS MAINTAINED DURING THE POSTURE IN ALL AGE GROUPS IRRESPECTIVE OF THE OCULAR BIOMETRY AND ULTRASOUND PACHYMETRY. WE DID NOT DEMONSTRATE A HIGHER PREVALENCE OF OCULAR HYPERTENSIVES IN THIS COHORT OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS NOR DID THE RISK FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO GLAUCOMA SHOW ANY CORRELATION WITH MAGNITUDE OF IOP RAISE DURING THE POSTURE. 2006 9 1287 24 GREATER ANTEROPOSTERIOR DEFAULT MODE NETWORK FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN LONG-TERM ELDERLY YOGA PRACTITIONERS. LARGE-SCALE BRAIN NETWORKS EXHIBIT CHANGES IN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY DURING THE AGING PROCESS. RECENT LITERATURE DATA SUGGESTS THAT YOGA AND OTHER CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES MAY REVERT, AT LEAST IN PART, SOME OF THE AGING EFFECTS IN BRAIN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY, INCLUDING THE DEFAULT MODE NETWORK (DMN). THE AIM OF THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL INVESTIGATION WAS TO COMPARE RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY OF THE MEDIAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (MPFC) AND POSTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX-PRECUNEUS (PCC-PRECUNEUS) IN LONG-TERM ELDERLY YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND HEALTHY PAIRED YOGA-NAIVE CONTROLS. TWO PAIRED GROUPS: YOGA (Y-20 WOMEN, HATHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS; PRACTICING A MINIMUM OF TWICE A WEEK WITH A FREQUENCY OF AT LEAST 8 YEARS) AND A CONTROL GROUP (C-20 WOMEN, YOGA-NAIVE, MATCHED BY AGE, YEARS OF FORMAL EDUCATION, AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY) WERE EVALUATED FOR: MINI MENTAL STATE EXAMINATION (MMSE), BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY (BDI), INSTRUMENTAL ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING (IADL), AND OPEN-EYES RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI)-SEED TO VOXEL CONNECTIVITY ANALYSIS (CONN TOOLBOX 17.F) WITH PRE-PROCESSING-REALIGNMENT AND UNWARPING, SLICE-TIMING CORRECTION, SEGMENTATION, NORMALIZATION, OUTLIER DETECTION, AND SPATIAL FILTERING. THE ANALYSIS INCLUDED A PRIORI REGIONS OF INTEREST (ROI) OF DMN MAIN NODES-MPFC AND PCC-PRECUNEUS. THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS IN TERMS OF: AGE, YEARS OF FORMAL EDUCATION, MMSE, BDI AND IADL. THE YOGA GROUP HAD A HIGHER CORRELATION BETWEEN MPFC AND THE RIGHT ANGULAR GYRUS (AGR), COMPARED TO THE CONTROLS. ELDERLY WOMEN WITH AT LEAST 8 YEARS OF YOGA PRACTICE PRESENTED GREATER INTRA-NETWORK ANTEROPOSTERIOR BRAIN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY OF THE DMN. THIS FINDING MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE INFLUENCES OF PRACTICING YOGA FOR A HEALTHIER COGNITIVE AGING PROCESS. 2019 10 987 27 EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA EXERCISES ON SPINE FLEXIBILITY IN WOMEN OVER 50 YEARS OLD. [PURPOSE] THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ACCESS THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE SPINE IN WOMEN PRACTICING YOGA AS A PART OF THE "UNIVERSITY FOR HEALTH" PROJECT. [SUBJECTS AND METHODS] THE STUDY INCLUDED 56 WOMEN RANGING IN AGE BETWEEN 50-79 AND ATTENDING 90 MINUTES HATHA YOGA SESSIONS ONCE A WEEK. THE MEASUREMENTS WERE PERFORMED TWICE-AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROJECT AND AFTER ITS COMPLETION, I.E., AFTER 20 WEEKS OF CLASSES. THE RANGE OF SPINE MOBILITY IN THREE PLANES WAS MEASURED USING A RIPPSTEIN PLURIMETER. THE RANGE OF MOTION IN THE SAGITTAL AND FRONTAL PLANES WAS MEASURED IN A STANDING POSITION WITH THE FEET HIP-WIDTH APART. THE TORSIONAL RANGE OF MOTION OF THE SUBJECTS WAS MEASURED WITH THE TRUNK BENT AT A RIGHT ANGLE AND THE LEGS APART. THE FLEXIBILITY RANGES OF THE SPINE AND HAMSTRINGS WERE ALSO MEASURED BY THE TOE-TOUCH TEST IN A STANDING POSITION. [RESULTS] THIS STUDY SHOWED THAT THE APPLIED YOGA EXERCISES INCREASED SPINAL MOBILITY AND FLEXIBILITY OF THE HAMSTRING MUSCLES REGARDLESS OF AGE. [CONCLUSION] YOGA EXERCISES SHOULD BE RECOMMENDED TO THE ELDERLY TO MAKE THEIR MUSCLES MORE FLEXIBLE AND TO INCREASE THE RANGE OF MOTION IN THE JOINTS, WHICH IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR IMPROVING THEIR LIFE QUALITY. 2015 11 1286 22 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 12 623 15 DHARMA, YOGA, TANTRA. IN THE MID-20TH CENTURY, SELVARARAJAN YESUDIAN (1916-1998), WHO WAS BORN IN INDIA TO A CHRISTIAN FATHER, A PHYSICIAN, AND SPENT MOST OF HIS LIFE IN SWITZERLAND, COAUTHORED (WITH ELISABETH HAICH) A BOOK ENTITLED YOGA AND HEALTH; SINCE THEN, THE COUPLING OF THESE TWO WORDS HAS LARGELY DEFINED THE MEANING OF YOGA IN THE WEST, ESPECIALLY IN PROMOTIONAL LITERATURE FOR URBAN YOGA SCHOOLS AND HEALTH-CLUB PROGRAMS. AUTHENTIC INDIAN TRADITIONS HAVE INDEED AFFIRMED THE THERAPEUTIC BENEFIT OF YOGA, BUT THEY HAVE CONSISTENTLY SEEN YOGA AS A "THERAPY OF THE SOUL," A WAY OF "QUIETING THE AGITATIONS OF THE HEART," TO THE END OF PERCEIVING THE ULTIMATE WITHIN THE SOUL AND, IN RELIGIOUS TERMS, OF REALIZING UNION WITH GOD. THIS PAPER WILL EXAMINE SOME CLASSICAL YOGA TEXTS IN RELATION TO SPIRITUAL REMEDIES FOR SUBSTANCE MISUSE AND OTHER FORMS OF ADDICTION AND CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY. 2013 13 408 22 BIOMECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS ON THE LOWER EXTREMITY OF THREE TYPICAL YOGA MANOEUVRES. THIS STUDY WAS AIMED AT EXPLORING THE BIOMECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LOWER EXTREMITY AMONGST THREE TYPICAL YOGA MANOEUVRES. A TOTAL OF THIRTEEN EXPERIENCED FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE RECRUITED IN THE CURRENT STUDY; THEY WERE ALL CERTIFIED WITH THE YOGA ALLIANCE. A THREE-DIMENSIONAL MOTION CAPTURE SYSTEM WITH 10 CAMERAS COMBINED WITH FOUR SYNCHRONISED FORCE PLATES WAS USED TO COLLECT KINEMATICS OF THE LOWER EXTREMITY AND GROUND REACTIVE FORCE WHILST THE PARTICIPANTS PERFORMED THE CRESCENT LUNGE POSE, WARRIOR II POSE, AND TRIANGLE POSE. ONE-WAY REPEATED ANOVA WAS USED IN EXPLORING THE DIFFERENCES AMONGST THE THREE YOGA MOVEMENTS, AND THE SIGNIFICANCE WAS SET TO ALPHA < 0.05. THE TRIANGLE POSE PERFORMED THE LARGEST RANGE OF MOTION (ROM) OF THE HIP (90.5 DEGREES +/- 22.9 DEGREES ), KNEE (68.8 DEGREES +/- 23.1 DEGREES ), AND ANKLE (46.4 DEGREES +/- 11.3 DEGREES ) IN THE SAGITTAL PLANE AND THE HIP (54.8 DEGREES +/- 6.5 DEGREES ), KNEE (42.4 DEGREES +/- 12.8 DEGREES ), AND ANKLE (4.8 DEGREES +/- 1.7 DEGREES ) IN THE FRONTAL PLANE AMONGST THE THREE MANOEUVRES (P < 0.05). NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS FOUND FOR THE HIP AND ANKLE JOINT MOMENT AMONGST THE THREE MANOEUVRES (P > 0.05). KNEE JOINT TRAVELLED INTO 9.5 DEGREES OF EXTENSION AND SLIGHT ADDUCTION OF 1.94 DEGREES WHILST EXPRESSING THE LARGEST KNEE JOINT ADDUCTION MOMENTS (0.30 +/- 0.22 NM/KG) IN THE TRIANGLE POSE. THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE ANGULAR IMPULSE OF THE LOWER LIMB JOINTS INDICATED THAT THE HIP JOINT CONTRIBUTED SIGNIFICANTLY THE MOST IN THE SAGITTAL AND FRONTAL PLANES OF THE THREE YOGA MANOEUVRES (P < 0.05), RANGING FROM 51.67% TO 70.56%. RESULTS INDICATED THAT TRIANGLE POSE MAY BE SUPERIOR TO THE OTHER TWO MANOEUVRES, WHICH IMPROVED HIP JOINT ROM, STRENGTH, AND DYNAMIC STABILITY. HOWEVER, KNEE INJURIES SUCH AS OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BECAUSE OF THE LARGE KNEE EXTENSOR ANGLE AND ADDUCTOR MOMENTS. 2021 14 1641 18 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 15 1656 13 MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURIES RELATED TO YOGA: IMAGING OBSERVATIONS. OBJECTIVE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO DESCRIBE THE IMAGING APPEARANCES OF MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURIES RELATED TO YOGA. WE PERFORMED AN AUTOMATED SEARCH IN THE DATABASE OF A LARGE TERTIARY CARE CENTER AND CONDUCTED A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE IMAGING FINDINGS IN 38 PATIENTS OVER A 9-YEAR PERIOD. CONCLUSION: THE MOST FREQUENTLY ENCOUNTERED MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURIES WERE TENDINOUS LESIONS, INCLUDING TEARS OF THE SUPRASPINATUS, ACHILLES, AND PERONEUS BREVIS TENDONS AND FIBROCARTILAGINOUS TEARS INVOLVING THE MEDIAL MENISCUS, ACETABULAR LABRUM, GLENOID LABRUM, AND LUMBAR DISK WITH EXTRUSION. 2012 16 573 13 DELAYED UNION OF STRESS FRACTURE OF THE FIRST RIB IN A YOGA INSTRUCTOR: A CASE REPORT. CASE: WE DESCRIBE THE CASE OF A 38-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, A YOGA INSTRUCTOR, WHO HAD PAIN IN THE RIGHT SHOULDER AND SCAPULAR REGION OF 4 MONTHS' DURATION WHILE PERFORMING YOGA. RADIOGRAPHY AND COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY DIAGNOSED DELAYED UNION OF A FIRST RIB STRESS FRACTURE. THE DELAYED UNION OF STRESS FRACTURE OF THE FIRST RIB WAS SUCCESSFULLY TREATED WITH THE LIMITING OF YOGA ACTIVITY AND LOW-INTENSITY PULSED ULTRASOUND (LIPUS). CONCLUSIONS: PHYSICIANS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT EVEN YOGA POSING CAN CAUSE STRESS FRACTURES OF THE FIRST RIB. LIPUS THERAPY MAY BE EFFECTIVE FOR DELAYED UNION IN ADDITION TO REST. 2021 17 264 13 ACUTE CHEST PAIN AND ESOPHAGEAL MUCOSAL INJURY FOLLOWING AN EXTREME YOGA POSITION CASE REPORT. A YOUNG LADY COMPLAINED OF THE SUDDEN ONSET OF INTENSE CHEST PAIN, IN CONSEQUENCE OF AN EXTREME HYPEREXTENSION OF THE BACK IN A YOGA POSITION. AT ENDOSCOPY A LARGE LESION OF THE ESOPHAGEAL EPITHELIUM WAS DETECTED, INVOLVING THE MIDDLE THIRD OF THE ANTERIOR WALL OF THE ESOPHAGUS. OTHER SYMPTOMS REPORTED BY THE PATIENT WERE DYSPHAGIA AND ODYNOPHAGIA, DEPICTING THE TYPICAL FEATURES OF INTRAMURAL HEMATOMA, ALSO KNOWN AS INTRAMURAL DISSECTION OR INTRAMURAL PERFORATION OF THE OESOPHAGUS. THE PATIENT WAS MANAGED CONSERVATIVELY AND SYMPTOMS DISAPPEARED WITHIN A WEEK. A BARIUM SWALLOW AT SIX MONTHS REPORTED NORMAL FINDINGS. DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACCIDENTS OCCURRING DURING YOGA PRACTICE ARE REPORTED IN THE LITERATURE, MAINLY INVOLVING MUSCULOSKELETAL OR NERVOUS SYSTEMS. VISCERAL LESIONS ARE EXCEPTIONAL AND NO SIMILAR CASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN THE LITERATURE. KEYWORDS: ACUTE CHEST PAIN, ESOPHAGEAL LESION, INTRAMURAL HEMATOMA, MANAGEMENT OF ESOPHAGEAL LESION. 2019 18 2357 19 VARYING ALIGNMENT AFFECTS LOWER EXTREMITY JOINT AND LIMB LOADING DURING YOGA'S TRIANGLE (TRIKONASANA) POSE. BACKGROUND: LIMITED BIOMECHANICAL DATA EXIST DESCRIBING HOW YOGA ASANAS (POSTURES) LOAD THE LIMBS AND JOINTS, AND LITTLE EVIDENCE-BASED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOGA INJURY PREVENTION ARE AVAILABLE. THIS STUDY AIMED TO ESTABLISH JOINT LOADING METRICS FOR AN INJURY-PRONE, YET COMMON YOGA POSE, THE TRIANGLE ASANA (TRIKONASANA) BY IDENTIFYING HOW STANCE WIDTH ADJUSTMENTS ALTER LOWER EXTREMITY LOADING. METHODS: EIGHTEEN YOGA PRACTITIONERS UNDERWENT 3D MOTION ANALYSIS WHILE PERFORMING TRIKONASANA WITH SELF-SELECTED (SS) STANCE WIDTH AND -30, -20, -10, +10, +20, AND +30% OF SS STANCE WIDTH. GROUND REACTION FORCES (GRFS), JOINT FORCES, AND JOINT MOMENTS WERE CALCULATED FOR THE LEADING AND TRAILING LIMB ANKLE, KNEE, AND HIP. ONE-WAY REPEATED-MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE DETERMINED DIFFERENCES IN LOADING DUE TO STANCE WIDTH. RESULTS: GRFS, NET JOINT FORCES, AND NET JOINT MOMENTS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED BY STANCE WIDTH WHERE INCREASING STANCE WIDTH INCREASED LEADING LIMB LOADING BUT DECREASED TRAILING LIMB LOADING. CONCLUSIONS: ALTERING STANCE WIDTH OF TRIKONASANA INFLUENCES LOWER EXTREMITY LIMB LOADING, AND THESE LOADING RESPONSES WERE LIMB-DEPENDENT. YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND INSTRUCTORS CAN USE THIS INFORMATION TO OBJECTIVELY SUPPORT INCREASING OR DECREASING STANCE WIDTH TO REDUCE OR INCREASE LIMB LOADING ACCORDING TO THEIR GOALS OR TO MAKE ACCOMMODATIONS TO GROUPS SUCH AS BEGINNERS OR AT-RISK POPULATIONS FOR SAFER, MORE ACCESSIBLE YOGA PRACTICES. CUING A WIDER OR NARROWER STANCE WIDTH WILL NOT HAVE THE SAME EFFECT ON BOTH LIMBS. 2022 19 2257 23 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF KUNDALINI YOGA MEDITATION: A STUDY OF A YOGA MASTER. THIS STUDY EXPLORES THE PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF A HIGHLY PRACTICED KUNDALINI YOGA MEDITATOR. THORACIC AND ABDOMINAL BREATHING PATTERNS, HEART RATE (HR), OCCIPITAL PARIETAL ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPH (EEG), SKIN CONDUCTANCE LEVEL (SCL), AND BLOOD VOLUME PULSE (BVP) WERE MONITORED DURING PREBASELINE, MEDITATION, AND POSTBASELINE PERIODS. VISUAL ANALYSES OF THE DATA SHOWED A DECREASE IN RESPIRATION RATE DURING THE MEDITATION FROM A MEAN OF 11 BREATHS/MIN FOR THE PRE- AND 13 BREATHS/MIN FOR THE POSTBASELINE TO A MEAN OF 5 BREATHS/MIN DURING THE MEDITATION, WITH A PREDOMINANCE OF ABDOMINAL/DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING. THERE WAS ALSO MORE ALPHA EEG ACTIVITY DURING THE MEDITATION (M = 1.71 MICROV) COMPARED TO THE PRE- (M = .47 MICROV) AND POSTBASELINE (M = .78 MICROV) PERIODS, AND AN INCREASE IN THETA EEG ACTIVITY IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE MEDITATION (M = .62 MICROV) COMPARED TO THE PRE-BASELINE AND MEDITATIVE PERIODS (EACH WITH M = .26 MICROV). THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT A SHIFT IN BREATHING PATTERNS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALPHA EEG, AND THOSE PATTERNS NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED FURTHER. 2001 20 2356 11 VALSALVA HAEMORRHAGIC RETINOPATHY IN PREGNANCY AFTER YOGA. A 35-YEAR-OLD PREGNANT CAUCASIAN WOMAN AT 27 WEEKS GESTATION PRESENTED WITH SUDDEN ONSET PAINLESS LOSS OF VISION AND A LARGE FLOATER IN HER LEFT EYE WHILE DOING YOGA. SHE WAS FOUND TO HAVE A DENSE VITREOUS HAEMORRHAGE WITH A SMALL PRERETINAL HAEMORRHAGE. ULTRASOUND IMAGING CONFIRMED THE HAEMORRHAGE AND SHOWED NO OTHER RETINAL DAMAGE. SHE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH VALSALVA HAEMORRHAGIC RETINOPATHY AND WAS TREATED CONSERVATIVELY. AFTER 5 MONTHS OF FOLLOW-UP, THIS WOMAN HAD HAD A NORMAL DELIVERY AND HER HAEMORRHAGES AND VISION LOSS HAD RESOLVED. 2017