1 2055 102 THE ASSOCIATION OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA WITH HAPPINESS: A CASE-CONTROL OBSERVATIONAL STUDY FROM SINGAPORE. HAPPINESS IS A COMPLEX SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE THAT IS ESSENTIAL TO SOCIETAL PROGRESS. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) AND SUBJECTIVE HAPPINESS IN SINGAPORE. SUBJECTIVE HAPPINESS DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM A CONVENIENCE SAMPLE (N = 733) COMPRISED OF 2 GROUPS: SKY (N = 385) AND NON-SKY (N = 348) PRACTITIONERS. SKY WAS CATEGORIZED INTO NON-, MONTHLY, WEEKLY, AND DAILY PRACTITIONERS AND HAPPINESS WAS CATEGORIZED INTO LOWER, MIDDLE AND HIGHER TERTILE GROUPS. CONFOUNDING VARIABLES INCLUDED AGE, GENDER, ETHNICITY, MARITAL STATUS, EDUCATION LEVEL, BODY MASS INDEX (BMI), SMOKING STATUS, ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND SELF-REPORTED HEALTH. DAILY SKY PARTICIPATION WAS POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH A 2-FOLD HIGHER LIKELIHOOD OF BEING HAPPIER IN A MULTIVARIATE REGRESSION ANALYSIS. THE TREND ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT AS SKY FREQUENCY INCREASES, THE ODDS OF BEING HAPPIER INCREASES. THESE FINDINGS HELP GENERATE THE HYPOTHESIS THAT YOGIC BREATHING MAY PROMOTE HAPPINESS. FURTHER EXPERIMENTAL AND PROSPECTIVE INVESTIGATIONS ARE WARRANTED. 2021 2 357 59 ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE PRACTICES AMONG WORKING ADULTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY FROM SINGAPORE. OBJECTIVES: THERE IS A PAUCITY OF RESEARCH ON THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN YOGIC BREATHING AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE FACTORS IN WORKING ADULTS. ALSO, THERE IS VERY LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FREQUENCY OF YOGIC BREATHING PRACTICE AND ITS BENEFITS. THE AUTHORS INVESTIGATED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) FREQUENCY AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF LEADING A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE AMONG PRACTITIONERS AND NONPRACTITIONERS. DESIGN: CROSS-SECTIONAL INVESTIGATION ON NON-SKY AND SKY PRACTITIONERS, SKY WAS CATEGORIZED INTO NON-, MONTHLY, WEEKLY, AND DAILY PRACTITIONERS. CONFOUNDING VARIABLES INCLUDED AGE, GENDER, ETHNICITY, MARITAL STATUS, AND EDUCATION LEVEL. A MULTIVARIATE LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODEL WAS USED TO COMPARE PRACTICE FREQUENCIES WITH THE ODDS OF HAVING A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE. SETTINGS: COMMUNITY CENTERS, COMMUNITY EVENTS, WORKPLACES, AND UNIVERSITIES THROUGHOUT SINGAPORE SUBJECTS: OF THE 531 WORKING ADULTS (54.8% FEMALE), 50.1% HAD A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE >/= 4 HEALTHY LIFESTYLE FACTORS). OUTCOME MEASURE: HAVING A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE WAS DEFINED AS HAVING >/= 4 HEALTHY LIFESTYLE FACTORS OUT OF SEVEN (SMOKING, ALCOHOL, DIET, EXERCISE, SLEEP, STRESS, AND WEIGHT). RESULTS: MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATED THAT THOSE WHO PRACTICED SKY >/= 4 DAYS/WEEK HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER ODDS OF HAVING A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE (ODDS RATIO = 3.62; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL = 2.10-6.23). THE P FOR TREND ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATED THAT AS THE FREQUENCY OF PRACTICE INCREASED THE LIKELIHOOD OF HAVING A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE ALSO INCREASED ( P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: THE PRACTICE OF YOGIC BREATHING MAY PROMOTE A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE IN WORKING ADULTS. FURTHER EXPERIMENTAL AND LONGITUDINAL INVESTIGATIONS ARE WARRANTED. 2021 3 1677 15 OLDER WOMEN AND WELLBEING THROUGH THE PANDEMIC: EXAMINING THE EFFECT OF DAILY ONLINE YOGA LESSONS. THE RESEARCHER REPORTS THE IMPACT OF ONLINE YOGA LESSONS ON A COHORT OF COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULT WOMEN IN MITIGATING FEARS, ANXIETIES AND PROMOTING RESILIENCE, WELLBEING AND SALUTOGENIC WELLNESS DURING THE PANDEMIC AS COMPARED TO A CONTROL GROUP. ONLINE YOGA LESSONS WERE EFFECTIVE AND ECONOMIC CLASS, EDUCATION, RELIGION, MARITAL STATUS, AND LIVING ARRANGEMENTS WERE SIGNIFICANT MODERATORS. INTERVENTION ADHERENCE HAD THE STRONGEST PREDICTOR EFFECTS. THE COMBINED EFFECTS OF SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS WERE ROBUST AND LATENT CLASS ANALYSES INDICATED MIDDLE CLASS, ABOVE THRESHOLD (>50%) LESSONS ATTENDEES AND SELF-PRACTICE DOERS, SINGLE, LIVING IN NONSTANDARD FAMILIES, COLLEGE EDUCATED, AND HINDUS, WERE LIKELY TO GAIN MOST. 2021 4 372 23 AWARENESS OF YOGA FOR SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER: IMPLICATIONS FOR DISSEMINATION. OBJECTIVES: EVIDENCE INDICATES THERE ARE BENEFICIAL PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL EFFECTS FROM PRACTICING YOGA IN CANCER PATIENTS AND SURVIVORS. DESPITE YOGA HAVING BEEN INCORPORATED INTO NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE CANCER NETWORK GUIDELINES FOR SYMPTOMS RANGING FROM FATIGUE TO PAIN, PATIENTS' USE OF YOGA FOR SUPPORTIVE CARE IS LOW, RANGING FROM 6% TO 12%. THIS STUDY AIMS TO EVALUATE THE AWARENESS OF YOGA AS THERAPY IN AN ACADEMIC CANCER CENTER AND THE PREFERENCES FOR INFORMATION DELIVERY IN THIS POPULATION. DESIGN: WE CONDUCTED A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY STUDY AT AN URBAN ACADEMIC CANCER CENTER. RESPONSES REGARDING AWARENESS AND USE OF YOGA WERE EVALUATED; THOSE RESPONDING "NOT AWARE" WERE ANALYZED FOR PREFERENCES IN INFORMATION DELIVERY. UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS WAS USED TO FURTHER CHARACTERIZE AWARENESS OF YOGA FOR SUPPORTIVE CARE. RESULTS: OF 303 RESPONDENTS, 68% WERE FEMALE, 77% WERE WHITE, AND 75% WERE COLLEGE EDUCATED. DESPITE ACCESS TO YOGA AT THE CANCER CENTER, 171 (56%) PATIENTS EXPRESSED THEY WERE NOT AWARE OF THE AVAILABILITY OF YOGA. MALE PATIENTS WERE MORE LIKELY TO BE UNAWARE OF YOGA (72.4% VS. 48.8%, P = 0.045). AWARENESS DID NOT VARY BY AGE, RACE, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, MARITAL STATUS, CANCER TYPE, OR CANCER STAGE. OF THE 171 "NOT AWARE" PATIENTS, 87.6% EXPRESSED DESIRE FOR INFORMATION IN THE FORM OF PRINTED MATERIAL, FOLLOWED BY 80.4% FOR E-MAIL, 37.6% FOR SMARTPHONE APPLICATION, AND 27.6% FOR SOCIAL MEDIA. NON-WHITE RESPONDENTS WERE MORE LIKELY TO EXPRESS INTEREST IN RECEIVING INFORMATION BY SMARTPHONE. CONCLUSIONS: MORE THAN HALF OF CANCER PATIENTS WERE UNAWARE OF THE YOGA PROGRAM DESPITE ADVERTISING ACROSS THE INSTITUTION. PATIENTS PREFER VARYING METHODS FOR INFORMATION RECEIPT, WITH PREFERENCES DIFFERING BY SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS. TARGETED EDUCATION AND OUTREACH USING APPROPRIATE ENGAGEMENT IS NEEDED TO IMPROVE THE AWARENESS OF YOGA FOR SYMPTOM CONTROL IN CANCER PATIENTS. 2019 5 1807 29 PREVALENCE, PATTERNS, AND PREDICTORS OF YOGA USE: RESULTS OF A U.S. NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE SURVEY. INTRODUCTION: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE PREVALENCE, PATTERNS, AND PREDICTORS OF YOGA USE IN THE U.S. GENERAL POPULATION. METHODS: USING CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA FROM THE 2012 NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY FAMILY CORE, SAMPLE ADULT CORE, AND ADULT COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE QUESTIONNAIRES (N=34,525), WEIGHTED FREQUENCIES FOR LIFETIME AND 12-MONTH PREVALENCE OF YOGA USE AND PATTERNS OF YOGA PRACTICE WERE ANALYZED. USING LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSES, SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC PREDICTORS OF LIFETIME YOGA USE WERE ANALYZED. ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED IN 2015. RESULTS: LIFETIME AND 12-MONTH PREVALENCE OF YOGA USE WERE 13.2% AND 8.9%, RESPECTIVELY. COMPARED WITH NONPRACTITIONERS, LIFETIME YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE MORE LIKELY FEMALE, YOUNGER, NON-HISPANIC WHITE, COLLEGE EDUCATED, HIGHER EARNERS, LIVING IN THE WEST, AND OF BETTER HEALTH STATUS. AMONG THOSE WHO HAD PRACTICED IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, 51.2% ATTENDED YOGA CLASSES, 89.9% USED BREATHING EXERCISES, AND 54.9% USED MEDITATION. YOGA WAS PRACTICED FOR GENERAL WELLNESS OR DISEASE PREVENTION (78.4%), TO IMPROVE ENERGY (66.1%), OR TO IMPROVE IMMUNE FUNCTION (49.7%). BACK PAIN (19.7%), STRESS (6.4%), AND ARTHRITIS (6.4%) WERE THE MAIN SPECIFIC HEALTH PROBLEMS FOR WHICH PEOPLE PRACTICED YOGA. CONCLUSIONS: ABOUT 31 MILLION U.S. ADULTS HAVE EVER USED YOGA, AND ABOUT 21 MILLION PRACTICED YOGA IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS. DISEASE PREVENTION AND BACK PAIN RELIEF WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT HEALTH REASONS FOR YOGA PRACTICE. YOGA PRACTICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH AGE, GENDER, ETHNICITY, SES, AND HEALTH STATUS. 2016 6 1802 33 PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS OF YOGIC BREATHING AND MEDITATION USE - A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE SURVEY OF US ADULT YOGA PRACTITIONERS. INTRODUCTION: YOGA PRACTICE IN COMMON USAGE IS OFTEN CONFINED TO THE PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PRACTICE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE USE OF TWO ADDITIONAL ASPECTS OF YOGA AS PART OF YOGA PRACTICE, I.E. YOGIC BREATHING AND MEDITATION (YOBAM). PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS OF YOBAM USE AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS IN THE US GENERAL POPULATION WERE ANALYZED. METHOD: CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA FROM THE 2012 AND 2017 NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY (NHIS) (N = 61,267) WAS USED. 12-MONTH PREVALENCE OF YOGA USE AND YOBAM USE AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE ANALYZED DESCRIPTIVELY FOR THE TWO COHORTS RESPECTIVELY. LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSES WERE USED TO ANALYZE SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH-RELATED PREDICTORS OF YOBAM USE AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS. RESULTS: 12-MONTH PREVALENCE OF YOGA USE AND YOBAM USE WERE 8.9 % AND 4.8 % RESPECTIVELY IN 2012. IN 2017, 13.3 % HAD PRACTICED YOGA IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS AND 7.0 % HAD USED YOBAM. YOGA PRACTITIONERS AGED BETWEEN 50 AND 64 COMPARED TO BEING 29 OR YOUNGER, FEMALES, HISPANICS AND THOSE EXPERIENCING MILD TO SEVERE FORMS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS WERE MORE LIKELY TO USE YOBAM AS PART OF THEIR YOGA PRACTICE. YOGA PRACTITIONERS LIVING IN THE MIDWEST OR IN A RELATIONSHIP WERE LESS LIKELY TO USE YOBAM. CONCLUSION: IN RECENT YEARS, THE NUMBER OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS IN THE US GENERAL POPULATION HAS CONSIDERABLY INCREASED AND YOBAM USE IS COMMON AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS. YOBAM USE SEEMS TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH AGE, GENDER, ETHNICITY, REGION, MARITAL STATUS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS DIMENSIONS. 2021 7 469 34 CHARACTERISTICS OF YOGA AND MEDITATION USERS AMONG OLDER AUSTRALIAN WOMEN - RESULTS FROM THE 45 AND UP STUDY. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: YOGA AND MEDITATION ARE PREDOMINANTLY UTILISED BY HEALTHY WELL-EDUCATED YOUNG WOMEN, BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT UTILISATION BY OLDER CHRONICALLY ILL WOMEN. THEREFORE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF YOGA AND MEDITATION USE AMONG MIDDLE-TO-HIGHER AGED AUSTRALIAN WOMEN WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS IS A SUB-STUDY OF THE 45 AND UP STUDY INCLUDING 1925 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN AGED 53-95 YEARS DIAGNOSED WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS (ASTHMA, DEPRESSION, DIABETES, OSTEOARTHRITIS, AND OSTEOPOROSIS). INFORMATION ON YOGA AND MEDITATION USE FREQUENCIES (CATEGORIES: 'NO YOGA', 'AT LEAST ONCE DAILY', 'AT LEAST ONCE WEEKLY', AND 'AT LEAST ONCE MONTHLY'), SELF-PERCEIVED EFFECTIVENESS AND COMMUNICATION WITH HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS WERE ASSESSED VIA SELF-REPORT. LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED TO IDENTIFY INDEPENDENT PREDICTORS OF YOGA AND MEDITATION USE, USING SPSS 24.0. RESULTS: OVERALL 6.8% AND 10.7% OF WOMEN REPORTED THE USE OF YOGA AND MEDITATION RESPECTIVELY. MEDITATION WAS RARELY PRACTICED SUPERVISED (11.7%), COMPARED TO SIGNIFICANT HIGHER RATES IN YOGA (53.2%). PREDICTORS FOR YOGA AND MEDITATION USE WERE MARITAL STATUS (MARRIED/IN RELATIONSHIP>NOT MARRIED/IN RELATIONSHIP), HIGHER HEALTH RELATED HARDINESS, AND HIGHER EDUCATION, WHEREAS OBESITY, AND DIABETES DECREASED LIKELIHOOD OF USE. WHILE THE MAJORITY FOUND YOGA AND MEDITATION HELPFUL FOR THEIR CONDITION, THE USE WAS RARELY MONITORED BY OR DISCUSSED WITH HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS. CONCLUSION: THIS STUDY FINDS THAT YOGA AND MEDITATION ARE USED BY MIDDLE-TO-HIGHER AGED AUSTRALIAN WOMEN WITH CHRONIC ILLNESSES. THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION WITH HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS IS CONCERNING AND MIGHT HINDER COORDINATED AND EFFECTIVE HEALTH CARE AROUND CHRONIC ILLNESS. FURTHER RESEARCH IS NECESSARY TO HELP UNDERSTAND POSSIBLE CONCURRENT HEALTH CARE USE AND THEREBY HELP INFORM SAFE, EFFECTIVE AND COORDINATE HEALTH SEEKING AMONGST THOSE WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS. 2019 8 2054 44 THE ASSOCIATION OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA FREQUENCY WITH SLEEP QUALITY: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY FROM SINGAPORE. PURPOSE: THERE IS A DEARTH OF EVIDENCE FOR THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGIC BREATHING AND SLEEP QUALITY. EVEN LESS IS KNOWN ABOUT PRACTICE FREQUENCY AND BENEFIT. WE INVESTIGATED THE ASSOCIATION OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA FREQUENCY WITH SLEEP QUALITY AMONGST ADULT PRACTITIONERS. METHODS: IN A CROSS-SECTIONAL INVESTIGATION ON ADULT PRACTITIONERS OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA IN SINGAPORE, THE PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX (PSQI) WAS USED TO ASSESS SLEEP QUALITY. SLEEP QUALITY WAS EXAMINED ACROSS THREE CATEGORIES OF PRACTICE FREQUENCY (MONTHLY, WEEKLY, DAILY). A MULTIVARIATE LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODEL WAS USED TO DETERMINE ASSOCIATION. RESULTS: OF 385 ADULTS (241 WOMEN), THE MEAN AGE (SD) WAS 42.5 (9.9) YEARS. IN TOTAL, 32% OF THE SAMPLE (N = 124) WAS IDENTIFIED AS HAVING POOR SQ. AFTER ADJUSTING FOR STUDY COVARIATES, INDEPENDENT ANALYSES REVEALED AN INVERSE ASSOCIATION FOR HIGHER FREQUENCY OF PRACTICE AND LOWER ODDS OF POOR SQ (OR = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.28-0.94). THE P FOR TREND WAS 0.03. CONCLUSION: THE PRACTICE OF YOGIC BREATHING MAY BENEFIT SLEEP QUALITY. FURTHER EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS ARE WARRANTED. 2021 9 628 22 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VEGETARIAN AND OMNIVOROUS YOGA PRACTITIONERS-RESULTS OF A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE SURVEY OF US ADULT YOGA PRACTITIONERS. BACKGROUND: TO EXAMINE THE PREVALENCE OF VEGETARIANISM AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS, AND TO EXPLORE DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN YOGA PRACTITIONERS WHO ALSO USE VEGETARIAN DIET AND THOSE WHO DO NOT. DESIGN AND SETTING: USING CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA FROM THE 2012 NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY (NHIS) (N = 34,525), WEIGHTED FREQUENCIES FOR 12-MONTH PREVALENCE OF VEGETARIAN DIET USE AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE ANALYZED. LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSES WERE USED TO ANALYZE SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICAL PREDICTORS OF VEGETARIAN DIET USE. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 1.7 MILLION US YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAVE USED A VEGETARIAN DIET IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (8.3%), COMPARED TO 2.7 MILLION NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS (1.3%). YOGA PRACTITIONERS WHO WERE AGED BETWEEN 30 AND 64 YEARS AS COMPARED TO BEING 29 YEARS OR YOUNGER WERE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE USED A VEGETARIAN DIET IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS; WHILE THOSE BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP (OR = 0.64), OVERWEIGHT (OR = 0.54), SMOKING (OR 0.64) OR HAVING PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE (OR = 0.59) WERE LESS LIKELY. VEGETARIAN DIET PRACTITIONERS MORE OFTEN INCLUDED MEDITATION AS PART OF THEIR YOGA PRACTICE AND MORE OFTEN CHOSE YOGA BECAUSE IT HAD A HOLISTIC FOCUS, AND WAS PERCEIVED TO TREAT THE CAUSE AND NOT THE SYMPTOMS OF THEIR HEALTH COMPLAINT. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA PRACTITIONERS FOLLOWING A VEGETARIAN DIET SEEM TO EMBRACE YOGA MORE AS A LIFESTYLE THAN AS A THERAPY. 2018 10 586 28 DETERMINANTS OF MAINTAINING A DAILY YOGA PRACTICE: HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL AND SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY PERSPECTIVE. BACKGROUND: DESPITE THE GROWING EVIDENCE OF THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF A YOGA PRACTICE, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO ITS SUSTAINED PRACTICE. AIMS: THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT STUDY WERE TWOFOLD: (1) TO DESCRIBE THE PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS (AGE, EDUCATION LEVEL, AND MARITAL STATUS) AND YOGA ASANA-RELATED BEHAVIOR OF PARTICIPANTS WHO PRACTICE ASHTANGA AND (2) TO EXAMINE THE HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL (HLOC) (AN INDIVIDUAL'S BELIEFS ABOUT THE EXTENT OF CONTROL THAT THEY HAVE OVER THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO THEM) AND SELF-DETERMINATION THEORIES. (PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO BECOME SELF-DETERMINED WHEN THEIR NEEDS FOR COMPETENCE, CONNECTION, AND AUTONOMY ARE FULFILLED IN RELATION TO THE MOTIVATED BEHAVIOR.). METHODS: ASHTANGA YOGA PRACTITIONERS (N = 100, AGE RANGE: 20-62 YEARS) REPORTED PRACTICING YOGA AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK COMPLETED SELF-REPORT QUESTIONNAIRES: DEMOGRAPHICS, ASANA PRACTICE, THE PERCEIVED CHOICE AND AWARENESS OF SELF SCALE, HLOC, THE GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE-12, THE PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE, AND THE STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY. RESULTS: IT WAS OBSERVED THAT PARTICIPANTS PRACTICED YOGA FOR AN AVERAGE 6.43 YEARS, 5 DAYS A WEEK FOR 93 MIN REPRESENTING A SUSTAINED, MOTIVATED HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIOR. YEARS OF PRACTICE AND PERCENTAGE OF TIME SPENT IN HOME PRACTICE EXPLAIN 9% OF THE VARIANCE IN THE AWARENESS OF SELF, AND 7% IS EXPLAINED BY THE NUMBER OF PRACTICE DAYS A WEEK AND STATE ANXIETY. ASHTANGA YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAVE A HIGH INTERNAL HLOC; THIS IS RELATED TO REDUCED TRAIT ANXIETY AND INCREASED PERCEIVED CHOICE. CONCLUSIONS: THE MYSORE SYSTEM OF YOGA APPEARS TO FACILITATE SUSTAINED HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIOR; IT IS SUGGESTED THAT HEALTH PROMOTION SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE THE THREE ASPECTS OF SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY: COMPETENCE, AUTONOMY, AND RELATEDNESS, WHILE FOCUSING ON THE INCREASING INTRINSIC MOTIVATION AND INTERNALIZING HLOC. 2020 11 1785 24 PREDICTORS OF YOGA USE AMONG INTERNAL MEDICINE PATIENTS. BACKGROUND: YOGA SEEMS TO BE AN EFFECTIVE MEANS TO COPE WITH A VARIETY OF INTERNAL MEDICINE CONDITIONS. WHILE CHARACTERISTICS OF YOGA USERS HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED IN THE GENERAL POPULATION, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT PREDICTORS OF YOGA USE AND BARRIERS TO YOGA USE IN INTERNAL MEDICINE PATIENTS. THE AIM OF THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS WAS TO IDENTIFY SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC, CLINICAL, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PREDICTORS OF YOGA USE AMONG INTERNAL MEDICINE PATIENTS. METHODS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED AMONG ALL PATIENTS BEING REFERRED TO A DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AND INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE DURING A 3-YEAR PERIOD. IT WAS ASSESSED WHETHER PATIENTS HAD EVER USED YOGA FOR THEIR PRIMARY MEDICAL COMPLAINT, THE PERCEIVED BENEFIT, AND THE PERCEIVED HARM OF YOGA PRACTICE. POTENTIAL PREDICTORS OF YOGA USE INCLUDING SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS, HEALTH BEHAVIOR, INTERNAL MEDICINE DIAGNOSIS, GENERAL HEALTH STATUS, MENTAL HEALTH, SATISFACTION WITH HEALTH, AND HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL WERE ASSESSED; AND ASSOCIATIONS WITH YOGA USE WERE TESTED USING MULTIPLE LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS. ODDS RATIOS (OR) WITH 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) WERE CALCULATED FOR SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS. RESULTS: OF 2486 PARTICIPANTS, 303 (12.19%) REPORTED HAVING USED YOGA FOR THEIR PRIMARY MEDICAL COMPLAINT. OF THOSE, 184 (60.73%) REPORTED BENEFITS AND 12 (3.96%) REPORTED HARMS DUE TO YOGA PRACTICE. COMPARED TO YOGA NON-USERS, YOGA USERS WERE MORE LIKELY TO BE 50-64 YEARS OLD (OR = 1.45; 95%CI = 1.05-2.01; P = 0.025); FEMALE (OR = 2.45; 95%CI = 1.45-4.02; P < 0.001); AND COLLEGE GRADUATES (OR = 1.61; 95%CI = 1.14-2.27; P = 0.007); AND LESS LIKELY TO CURRENTLY SMOKE (OR = 0.61; 95%CI = 0.39-0.96; P = 0.031). MANIFEST ANXIETY (OR = 1.47; 95%CI = 1.06-2.04; P = 0.020); AND HIGH INTERNAL HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL (OR = 1.92; 95%CI = 1.38-2.67; P < 0.001) WERE POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA USE, WHILE HIGH EXTERNAL-FATALISTIC HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL (OR = 0.66; 95%CI = 0.47-0.92; P = 0.014) WAS NEGATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA USE. CONCLUSION: YOGA WAS USED FOR THEIR PRIMARY MEDICAL COMPLAINT BY 12.19% OF AN INTERNAL INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE PATIENT POPULATION AND WAS COMMONLY PERCEIVED AS BENEFICIAL. YOGA USE WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE PATIENTS' SPECIFIC DIAGNOSIS BUT WITH SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS, MENTAL HEALTH, AND HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL. TO IMPROVE ADHERENCE TO YOGA PRACTICE, IT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED THAT MALE, YOUNGER, AND ANXIOUS PATIENTS AND THOSE WITH LOW INTERNAL HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL MIGHT BE LESS INTRINSICALLY MOTIVATED TO START YOGA. 2013 12 1445 27 INCREASING TREND OF YOGA PRACTICE AMONG U.S. ADULTS FROM 2002 TO 2017. INTRODUCTION: BENEFITS, RISKS, AND THE INCREASING POPULARITY OF YOGA USE WARRANT ASSESSING YOGA PRACTICE PREVALENCE AND USERS' PROFILES. THIS STUDY DESCRIBES TRENDS IN YOGA PRACTICE EXCLUSIVELY AMONG AMERICAN ADULTS FROM 2002 TO 2017, COMPARES THE PROFILE OF YOGA USERS, AND IDENTIFIES FACTORS RELATED TO YOGA USE OVER TIME. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS STUDY IS A SECONDARY ANALYSIS DONE IN 2019 AND 2020 USING THE NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY (NHIS) 2002, 2007, 2012, AND 2017 DATA. POPULATION WEIGHTS WERE USED TO OBTAIN STATISTICALLY ACCURATE ESTIMATES OF YOGA USE PREVALENCE FOR THE U.S. POPULATION. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS WERE USED TO PROFILE THE SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH-RELATED CHARACTERISTICS OF YOGA USERS. MULTIVARIABLE LOGISTIC REGRESSION WAS USED TO IDENTIFY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA USE IN EACH COHORT DEFINED BY THE NHIS YEAR. RESULTS: YOGA PRACTICE PREVALENCE NEARLY TRIPLED FROM 5.1% IN 2002 TO 13.7% IN 2017 (WEIGHTED ESTIMATE 10,386,456 AND 32,761,194 AMERICAN ADULTS, RESPECTIVELY). TYPICAL YOGA USERS WERE YOUNG NON-HISPANIC SINGLE WHITE FEMALE ADULTS WITH BACHELOR OR HIGHER EDUCATION AND HEALTH INSURANCE, AND RESIDED IN THE WEST REGION OF THE UNITED STATES. YOGA USE PATTERN CHANGE OVER TIME WAS SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO ONLY YOUNGER AGE (P < 0.001) BUT NOT TO OTHER SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC OR HEALTH-RELATED FACTORS. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA HAS GAINED INCREASING POPULARITY IN THE PAST TWO DECADES AMONG AMERICAN ADULTS, WITH YOUNGER ADULTS BEING THE DRIVING FORCE. YOGA APPEARS TO BE ADOPTED FOR GENERAL WELL-BEING OR PREVENTION MORE THAN FOR SPECIFIC DISEASE TREATMENT. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD EVALUATE HOW YOGA CAN BE EFFECTIVELY AND SAFELY INTEGRATED INTO PREVENTIVE MEDICINE STRATEGIES. 2021 13 1806 35 PREVALENCE, PATTERNS, AND PREDICTORS OF YOGA PRACTICE AMONG ADULTS IN AN URBAN POPULATION IN EASTERN INDIA. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS OF YOGA PRACTICE. THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AS A PART OF A LARGER STUDY THAT INCLUDED YOGA AS A FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. DATA WERE COLLECTED DURING APRIL AND AUGUST 2019 FROM THE ADULT URBAN POPULATION OF BHUBANESWAR, INDIA. THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED USING A CLUSTER RANDOM SAMPLING METHOD. A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE (N = 1,203) OF ADULTS AGED 18-59 YEARS, IRRESPECTIVE OF GENDER, WAS INTERVIEWED USING A QUESTIONNAIRE ADAPTED FROM THE 2012 U.S. NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY, WITH THE EPICOLLECT5 HANDHELD DATA-COLLECTION TOOL. PREDICTORS OF YOGA PRACTICE WERE EXPLORED USING MULTIVARIABLE LOGISTIC REGRESSION. THE MEAN AGE OF THE PARTICIPANTS WAS 35.19 +/- 10.67 YEARS, WITH 55.3% MALES. THE MAJORITY WERE HINDU (93.62%) AND BELONGED TO THE UNRE S E RVED CATEGORY (65.60%), PEOPLE GENERALLY OF HIGHER RELATIVE SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS. THE LIFETIME PREVALENCE OF YOGA WAS 16.9%. PREVALENCE OF ANY FORM OF YOGA (YOGA, PRANAYAMA, OR MEDITATION), ALL FORMS OF YOGA (YOGA, PRANAYAMA, AND MEDITATION), PRANAYAMA, AND MEDITATION WAS 17.0%, 10.7%, 14.3%, AND 11.4%, RESPECTIVELY. AFTER ADJUSTING FOR CONFOUNDERS, FEMALE GENDER, HINDU RELIGION, MINIMUM OF HIGHER-SECONDARY OR GRADUATE-LEVEL EDUCATION, AND HAVING RECEIVED ADVICE FROM PROFESSIONALS FOR YOGA PRACTICE HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER ODDS OF PRACTICING YOGA, AND THOSE OF HIGHER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER ODDS OF PRACTICING YOGA. WE FOUND A LOW PREVALENCE OF YOGA. SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS LIKE GENDER, RELIGION, EDUCATION, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, AND OTHER FACTORS LIKE LEARNING YOGA FROM PROFESSIONALS MAY BE IMPORTANT PREDICTORS OF CONTINUED YOGA PRACTICE. 2021 14 2419 28 YOGA AND MENTAL HEALTH AMONG BRAZILIAN PRACTITIONERS DURING COVID-19: AN INTERNET-BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY. THIS STUDY AIMED TO DESCRIBE YOGA PRACTICE AND VERIFY ITS ASSOCIATION WITH DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND STRESS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AMONG BRAZILIAN PRACTITIONERS. A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANONYMOUS ONLINE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED IN ALL REGIONS OF BRAZIL USING A SNOWBALL SAMPLING STRATEGY AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS. A TOTAL OF 860 PARTICIPANTS (87% FEMALE, AGED: 19-82 YEARS) COMPLETED THE SURVEY. SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC DATA, LIFESTYLE FACTORS, YOGA PRACTICE DURING THE PANDEMIC, AND THE DEPRESSION ANXIETY AND STRESS SCALE (DASS-21) SCORES WERE COLLECTED BETWEEN JULY 9 AND JULY 15, 2021. OVERALL, 9.5%, 9.3%, AND 5.6% OF PARTICIPANTS EXHIBITED SOME TRAITS (MILD TO SEVERE) OF DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND STRESS, RESPECTIVELY. HATHA YOGA (48%) WAS THE MOST COMMONLY PRACTICED YOGA STYLE. IN THE ADJUSTED ANALYSIS, A HIGHER YOGA EXPERIENCE (> 5 YEARS) WAS ASSOCIATED WITH BETTER ANXIETY (ODDS RATIO; BOOTSTRAP 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL: 2.42; 1.32, 4.49) AND STRESS STATUS (1.80; 1.06, 3.00) THAN BEGINNERS (< 1 YEAR). PRACTITIONERS WHO REPORTED HIGHER TIME AND DAYS OF YOGA PRACTICE DURING THE STUDY PERIOD WERE MORE LIKELY TO SHOW NORMAL LEVELS OF DEPRESSION (ODDS RATIO: 2.56-6.49; P < 0.05), ANXIETY (ODDS RATIO: 3.68-8.84; P < 0.05), AND STRESS (ODDS RATIO: 2.15-5.21; P < 0.05). MOREOVER, THE MAINTENANCE OF PRACTICE FREQUENCY DURING THE PANDEMIC WAS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER ODDS OF NORMAL LEVELS OF DEPRESSION (2.27; 1.39-3.79), ANXIETY (1.97; 1.25-3.10), AND STRESS (1.97; 1.32-2.96). IN CONCLUSION, OUR FINDINGS INDICATED THAT A HIGHER LEVEL OF YOGA PRACTICE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH BETTER MENTAL HEALTH LEVELS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. 2022 15 362 25 ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN YOGA PRACTICE AND JOINT PROBLEMS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY AMONG 9151 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN. YOGA EXERCISES HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH JOINT PROBLEMS RECENTLY, INDICATING THAT YOGA PRACTICE MIGHT BE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS FOR JOINT HEALTH. THIS STUDY AIMED TO ANALYSE WHETHER REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FREQUENCY OF JOINT PROBLEMS IN UPPER MIDDLE-AGED AUSTRALIAN WOMEN. WOMEN AGED 62-67 YEARS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON WOMEN'S HEALTH (ALSWH) WERE QUESTIONED IN 2013 WHETHER THEY EXPERIENCED REGULAR JOINT PAIN OR PROBLEMS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS AND WHETHER THEY REGULARLY PRACTICED YOGA. ASSOCIATIONS OF JOINT PROBLEMS WITH YOGA PRACTICE WERE ANALYSED USING CHI-SQUARED TESTS AND MULTIPLE LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODELLING. OF 9151 WOMEN, 29.8% REPORTED REGULAR PROBLEMS WITH STIFF OR PAINFUL JOINTS, AND 15.2, 11.9, 18.1 AND 15.9% REPORTED REGULAR PROBLEMS WITH SHOULDERS, HIPS, KNEES AND FEET, RESPECTIVELY, IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS. YOGA WAS PRACTICED SOMETIMES BY 10.1% AND OFTEN BY 8.4% OF WOMEN. PRACTICING YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH UPPER OR LOWER LIMB JOINT PROBLEMS. NO ASSOCIATION BETWEEN YOGA PRACTICE AND JOINT PROBLEMS HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED. FURTHER STUDIES ARE WARRANTED FOR CONCLUSIVE JUDGEMENT OF BENEFITS AND SAFETY OF YOGA IN RELATION TO JOINT PROBLEMS. 2017 16 473 24 CHARACTERISTICS OF YOGA USERS: RESULTS OF A NATIONAL SURVEY. BACKGROUND: THERE ARE LIMITED DATA ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF YOGA USERS IN THE U.S. OBJECTIVE: TO CHARACTERIZE YOGA USERS, MEDICAL REASONS FOR USE, PERCEPTIONS OF HELPFULNESS, AND DISCLOSURE OF USE TO MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS. METHODS: UTILIZING CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY DATA FROM THE 2002 NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY (NHIS) ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE SUPPLEMENT (N = 31044), WE EXAMINED CORRELATES OF YOGA USE FOR HEALTH. THE ESTIMATED PREVALENCE FROM 2002 NHIS OF YOGA FOR HEALTH WAS 5.1% CORRESPONDING TO OVER 10 MILLION ADULTS. RESULTS: IN 2002, YOGA USERS WERE PREDOMINATELY CAUCASIAN (85%) AND FEMALE (76%) WITH A MEAN AGE OF 39.5 YEARS. COMPARED TO NON-YOGA USERS, YOGA USERS WERE MORE LIKELY FEMALE (OR 3.76, 95% CI 3.11-4.33); LESS LIKELY BLACK THAN WHITE (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.53-0.80); TENDED TO BE YOUNGER; AND MORE LIKELY COLLEGE EDUCATED (OR 2.70, 95% CI 2.37-3.08). MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.42-1.83), MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.22-1.67), SEVERE SPRAINS IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.22-1.81), AND ASTHMA (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.05-1.54) WERE INDEPENDENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER YOGA USE, WHILE HYPERTENSION (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.64-0.95) AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASE (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.48-1.00) WERE ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER USE. YOGA WAS MOST COMMONLY USED TO TREAT MUSCULOSKELETAL OR MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS, AND MOST USERS REPORTED YOGA TO BE HELPFUL FOR THESE CONDITIONS. A MAJORITY OF YOGA USERS (61%) FELT YOGA WAS IMPORTANT IN MAINTAINING HEALTH, THOUGH ONLY 25% DISCLOSED YOGA PRACTICE TO THEIR MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. CONCLUSIONS: WE FOUND THAT YOGA USERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE WHITE, FEMALE, YOUNG AND COLLEGE EDUCATED. YOGA USERS REPORT BENEFIT FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS AND MENTAL HEALTH, INDICATING THAT FURTHER RESEARCH ON THE EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR THE TREATMENT AND/OR PREVENTION OF THESE CONDITIONS IS WARRANTED. 2008 17 1284 21 GOT YOGA?: A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF THEMATIC CONTENT AND MODELS' APPEARANCE-RELATED ATTRIBUTES IN ADVERTISEMENTS SPANNING FOUR DECADES OF YOGA JOURNAL. YOGA HAS BECOME AN INCREASINGLY COMMON HEALTH PRACTICE AMONG U.S. ADULTS OVER THE PAST DECADE. WITH THIS GROWTH IN POPULARITY, YOGA-RELATED PRINT MEDIA HAVE BEEN CRITICIZED FOR SHIFTING AWAY FROM YOGA'S TRADITIONAL PHILOSOPHIES AND PROMOTING A THIN, LEAN IDEAL PHYSIQUE REPRESENTING THE "YOGA BODY." THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO (A) ANALYZE THE PRESENCE AND CONTENT OF ADVERTISEMENTS OVER THE 40-YEAR PUBLICATION HISTORY OF YOGA JOURNAL MAGAZINE AND (B) EXPLORE FEMALE ADVERTISEMENT MODELS' SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC AND APPEARANCE-RELATED ATTRIBUTES OVER TIME. RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT YOGA JOURNAL NOW CONTAINS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE ADVERTISEMENTS FOR FOOD, NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS, AND APPAREL AND FEWER ADVERTISEMENTS FOR MEDITATION AND NUTRITIONAL PRACTICES THAN IN ITS EARLY YEARS OF PUBLICATION. MODELS WERE MORE FREQUENTLY RATED AS WHITE AND IN THEIR 20S AND 30S IN RECENT YEARS OF PUBLICATION. TRENDS IN MODEL BODY SIZE MATCHED SHIFTS IN CULTURALLY DOMINANT BODY IDEALS OVER TIME. IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS ARE CONSIDERED. 2017 18 141 18 A PROSPECTIVE STUDY USING HATHA YOGA FOR STRESS REDUCTION AMONG WOMEN WAITING FOR IVF TREATMENT. YOGA HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE EFFECTIVE IN TREATING ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION, REDUCING STRESS AND IMPROVING THE OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. MINIMAL RESEARCH IS AVAILABLE ON THE EFFECT OF STRESS-MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES WITH IVF PATIENTS. OWING TO THE DIVERSITY OF CONDITIONS TREATED, THE POOR QUALITY OF MOST STUDIES, AND THE DIFFERENT ASSESSMENT TOOLS USED TO EVALUATE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE, IT IS DIFFICULT TO DRAW DEFINITE CONCLUSIONS. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE USED DIFFERENT MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS AND GENERAL MEASURES OF STRESS WITHOUT EVALUATION OF SPECIFIC STRESSES KNOWN TO RESULT FROM INFERTILITY AND ITS TREATMENT USING STANDARDIZED MEASURES. IN THIS SINGLE-CENTRE STUDY, 49 INFERTILE WOMEN WERE RECRUITED TO PARTICIPATE IN A 6-WEEK YOGA CLASS DURING 2013 WHILE AWAITING THEIR IVF TREATMENT. STUDY PARTICIPANTS WERE ASKED TO COMPLETE STANDARDIZED QUESTIONNAIRES ASSESSING FERTILITY-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (FERTIQOL), MARITAL HARMONY (DYADIC ADJUSTMENT SCALE [DAS]), STATE AND TRAIT ANXIETY (STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY [STAI]) AND DEPRESSION (BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY [BDI]) BEFORE COMMENCING AND AFTER COMPLETING THE YOGA WORKSHOPS. ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND FERTILITY-SPECIFIC QUALITY OF LIFE SHOWED IMPROVEMENT OVER TIME IN ASSOCIATION WITH PARTICIPATION IN A 6-WEEK YOGA PROGRAMME IN WOMEN AWAITING THEIR TREATMENT WITH IVF. 2015 19 339 20 ARE SCREENING BY YOGA INSTRUCTORS AND THEIR PRACTICE PATTERNS IMPORTANT TO PREVENT INJURIES IN YOGA CLIENTS? BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: LITTLE INFORMATION EXISTS REGARDING THE ASSOCIATION OF YOGA-RELATED INJURIES WITH YOGA INSTRUCTOR (YI) PRACTICE PATTERNS. THEREFORE, THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY EXAMINED THE SCREENING AND PRACTICE CHARACTERISTICS OF YI AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH YOGA-RELATED INJURIES. METHODS AND MATERIALS: YI FROM NORTHEASTERN US COMPLETED A CUSTOMIZED WEB-BASED 57-ITEM QUESTIONNAIRE. RESULTS: THE RESPONSE RATE OF OUR QUESTIONNAIRE WAS 46%. IN THIS STUDY, ONLY 8.8% OF THE YI REPORTED PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE SCREENING AND 33.7% OF THE PARTICIPANTS DID MEDICAL SCREENINGS WITH THEIR CLIENTS. A BINOMIAL LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS WITH THE ABOVE VARIABLES REVEALED THAT ADHERENCE TO TRAINING BY YI (P = 0.031) AND THE USE OF SUN SALUTATIONS (P = 0.002) PREDICTED LOWER YOGA-RELATED INJURIES IN CLIENTS REPORTED BY YI. CONCLUSIONS: REDUCTION IN CLIENT YOGA-RELATED INJURIES WAS PREDICTED BY YI ADHERING TO THEIR TRAINING AND PERFORMING SUN SALUTATIONS IN THEIR CLASSES. 2020 20 365 25 ASSOCIATIONS OF YOGA PRACTICE, HEALTH STATUS, AND HEALTH BEHAVIOR AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS IN GERMANY-RESULTS OF A NATIONAL CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY. BACKGROUND: WHILE YOGA CAN IMPROVE HEALTH-RELATED VARIABLES AND HEALTH BEHAVIOR, DIFFERENT YOGA STYLES AND PRACTICE COMPONENTS APPEAR TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIFIC HEALTH OUTCOMES. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXPLORE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN YOGA USE, HEALTH, AND HEALTH BEHAVIORS ACROSS DIFFERENT YOGA STYLES. METHODS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANONYMOUS ONLINE SURVEY (N = 1,702; 88.9% FEMALE; 93.3% GERMAN NATIONALITY; MEAN AGE 47.2 +/- 10.8 YEARS; 58.2% YOGA TEACHERS) ASSESSED YOGA PRACTICE CHARACTERISTICS, HEALTH-RELATED VARIABLES AND HEALTH BEHAVIOR. THE SURVEY WAS DISTRIBUTED IN GERMANY ONLY BUT NOT LIMITED TO GERMAN PARTICIPANTS. RESULTS: ASHTANGA YOGA (15.7%), HATHA YOGA (14.2%), AND SIVANANDA YOGA (22.4%) WERE THE MOST COMMONLY PRACTICED YOGA STYLES; PARTICIPANTS PRACTICED FOR A MEAN OF 12.7 +/- 10.0 YEARS. MOST PARTICIPANTS HAD GOOD TO EXCELLENT (96.1%) OVERALL HEALTH; 87.7% REPORTED IMPROVED HEALTH SINCE STARTING YOGA. CONTROLLING FOR SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICAL FACTORS, HEALTH-RELATED VARIABLES WERE MAINLY ASSOCIATED WITH FREQUENCY OF YOGA POSTURES PRACTICE (P < 0.05), HEALTH BEHAVIORS ALSO WITH YOGA PHILOSOPHY STUDY (P < 0.05). THE VARIOUS YOGA STYLES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIFIC HEALTH-RELATED VARIABLES (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: YOGA PRACTITIONERS GENERALLY HAVE A GOOD OVERALL HEALTH AND A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. WHILE HEALTH VARIABLES ARE MAINLY ASSOCIATED WITH PRACTICE OF YOGA POSTURES, HEALTH BEHAVIORS ARE ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH THE STUDY OF YOGA PHILOSOPHY. YOGA INTERVENTIONS TARGETING PREVENTION OR HEALTH PROMOTION SHOULD INCLUDE YOGA PHILOSOPHY TO MODIFY HEALTH BEHAVIORS. THE SPECIFIC YOGA STYLE EMPLOYED MAY ALSO INFLUENCE HEALTH OUTCOMES. 2019