1 883 96 EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON MAZE LEARNING. THE PERFORMANCE IN A MAZE LEARNING TASK WAS ASSESSED IN ADULTS OF EITHER SEX (N = 31) BEFORE AND AFTER 30 DAYS OF YOGA TRAINING AND IN AN AGE AND GENDER MATCHED CONTROL GROUP OF SUBJECTS WHO DID NOT RECEIVE TRAINING IN YOGA. SUBJECTS WERE BLIND FOLDED AND USED THE DOMINANT HAND TO TRACE THE PATH IN A WOODEN PENCIL MAZE. AT EACH ASSESSMENT, SUBJECTS WERE GIVEN 5 TRIALS, WITHOUT A GAP BETWEEN THEM. PERFORMANCE WAS BASED ON THE TIME TAKEN TO COMPLETE THE MAZE AND THE NUMBER OF BLIND ALLEYS TAKEN. THE TIME AND ERROR SCORES OF TRIAL 1 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS AFTER YOGA (TWO-FACTOR ANOVA, TUKEY TEST). REPEATING TRIALS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED TIME SCORES AT TRIAL 5 VERSUS TRIAL 1, FOR BOTH GROUPS ON DAY 1 AND FOR THE CONTROL GROUP ON DAY 30. HENCE THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED IMPROVED PERFORMANCE IN MAZE TRACING AT RETEST 30 DAYS LATER, WHICH MAY BE RELATED TO THIS GROUP BEING FASTER LEARNERS AND ALSO THE EFFECT OF YOGA ITSELF. YOGA TRAINING DID NOT INFLUENCE MAZE LEARNING, BASED ON THE PERFORMANCE IN 5 REPEAT TRIALS. 2000 2 191 29 A RANDOMIZED STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF MINDS IN MOTION AND YOGA ON MOTOR PROFICIENCY AND ACADEMIC SKILLS AMONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN. BACKGROUND: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS CRITICAL FOR THE HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT AND WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN. SPECIFICALLY, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN COORDINATION, BALANCE, ATTENTION, AND BEHAVIOR AMONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN. HOWEVER, FOR MANY CHILDREN, PARTICULARLY THOSE BELONGING TO MINORITY GROUPS, OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN QUALITY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAMS OUTSIDE SCHOOL SETTINGS ARE LIMITED. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE WHETHER A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM CALLED MINDS IN MOTION (MIM) THE MAZE BEFORE SCHOOL, AS COMPARED WITH YOGA, MEETS THE CRITERIA OF THE COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM FRAMEWORK AS A BEFORE-SCHOOL PROGRAM TO IMPROVE OVERALL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-AGE STUDENTS. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 48 CHILDREN ATTENDING AN URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOL WITH LARGE MINORITY REPRESENTATION IN THE MIDWEST WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO MIM-THE MAZE OR YOGA. PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED ON MOTOR PROFICIENCY, BEHAVIOR, BALANCE, AND ACADEMIC SKILLS BEFORE AND AFTER TRAINING. TRAINING CONSISTED OF EITHER YOGA OR MIM-THE MAZE 30 MINUTES PER DAY BEFORE SCHOOL, 5 TIMES PER WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. RESULTS: MIM-THE MAZE AND YOGA GROUP STUDENTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN ACADEMIC SKILLS. CONCLUSIONS: MIM-THE MAZE IS FEASIBLE AND AFFORDABLE BEFORE-SCHOOL PROGRAM TO PROMOTE STUDENTS' CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS. 2020 3 2814 35 YOGA TRAINING AND MOTOR SPEED BASED ON A FINGER TAPPING TASK. A FINGER TAPPING TASK WAS USED TO ASSESS MOTOR SPEED (MS) OF BOTH HANDS IN 53 ADULTS AND 152 CHILDREN BEFORE AND AFTER YOGA TRAINING AND IN 38 ADULTS OF A NON-YOGA (CONTROL) GROUP. ALL SUBJECTS WERE RIGHT HAND DOMINANT. THE 30-SECOND TAPPING SPEED (TS) TEST WAS CONSIDERED AS THREE TIME INTERVALS, I.E. 0-10 SECOND (TS1), 10-20 SECONDS (TS2) AND 20-30 SECONDS (TS3). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT (STUDENT'S T-TEST) INCREASE IN ALL THREE TS VALUES FOLLOWING 10 DAYS OF YOGA IN CHILDREN AND 30 DAYS OF YOGA IN ADULTS. HOWEVER FOR BOTH GROUPS AT BASELINE AND FINAL ASSESSMENTS, TS2 AND TS3 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN TS1. HENCE THE TS WAS INCREASED AFTER YOGA TRAINING DURING THE FIRST 10-SECONDS OF THE TEST BUT NOT DURING THE NEXT 20 SECONDS. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST AN INCREASE IN MOTOR SPEED FOR REPETITIVE FINGER MOVEMENTS FOLLOWING YOGA TRAINING, BUT NOT IN STRENGTH OR ENDURANCE, AS THE INCREASE WAS NOT SUSTAINED OVER 30 SEC. 1999 4 673 34 EFFECT OF A ONE-MONTH YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM ON PERFORMANCE IN A MIRROR-TRACING TASK. THE PERFORMANCE IN A MIRROR STAR TRACING TASK WAS ASSESSED IN TWO GROUPS OF VOLUNTEERS (YOGA AND CONTROL) WITH 26 PEOPLE IN EACH GROUP, AND AGE RANGE BETWEEN 18 AND 45 YEARS. THE STAR TO BE TRACED WAS SIX POINTED AND THE OUTLINE WAS MADE UP OF 60 CIRCLES (4 MM IN DIAMETER). AT THE END OF ONE MONTH THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN TERMS OF AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CIRCLES CROSSED (P<0.001, WILCOXON PAIRED SIGNED RANKS TEST) FOR BOTH HANDS AND A DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CIRCLES LEFT OUT FOR THE RIGHT HAND (P<0.05). THE CONTROL GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN NUMBER OF CIRCLES CROSSED FOR THE LEFT HAND ALONE (P<0.05) AT THE END OF A MONTH ATTRIBUTED TO RE-TEST. THE STUDY SUGGESTS THAT ONE MONTH OF YOGA IMPROVED REVERSAL ABILITY, EYE-HAND CO-ORDINATION, SPEED AND ACCURACY WHICH ARE NECESSARY FOR MIRROR STAR TRACING. 2006 5 946 28 EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEKS YOGA INTERVENTION ON MOTOR AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN. SINCE EARLY CHILDHOOD IS REGARDED AS AN IMPORTANT PERIOD OF MOTOR AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT, UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON MOTOR ABILITES AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN HAS MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES THE EFFECTS OF A 12 WEEKS' YOGA INTERVENTION PROGRAM ON MOTOR AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN. PRESCHOOL CHILDREN (N = 45; AGE 5-6 YEARS) ATTENDING REGULAR PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS WERE NON-RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO YOGA INTERVENTION (N = 23; 30 MIN SESSIONS THREE TIMES PER WEEK) OR A CONTROL GROUP (N = 22; NO ADDITIONAL ORGANIZED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM). EXERCISE TRAINING FOR THE INTERVENTION GROUP INCLUDED YOGA PROGRAM. MOTOR ABILITIES (BOT-2 SUBTESTS: FINE MOTOR INTEGRATION, MANUAL DEXTERITY, BALANCE AND BILATERAL COORDINATION), AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES (SCHOOL MATURITY TEST SUBTESTS: VISUAL MEMORY, STACKING CUBES AND CODES) WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION PERIOD IN BOTH GROUPS. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA. PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP IMPROVED FINE MOTOR INTEGRATION (P = 0.022), FINE MOTOR SKILLS IN GENERAL (0.029), BILATERAL COORDINATION (0.000), BALANCE (0.000), AND BODY COORDINATION (0.000). PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S PARTICIPATION IN THE PRESCHOOL YOGA INTERVENTION SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED THEIR MOTOR ABILITIES, BUT NOT THEIR COGNITIVE ABILITIES. 2021 6 1653 31 MUSCLE POWER, DEXTERITY SKILL AND VISUAL PERCEPTION IN COMMUNITY HOME GIRLS TRAINED IN YOGA OR SPORTS AND IN REGULAR SCHOOL GIRLS. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO COMPARE CRITICAL FLICKER FUSION FREQUENCY (CFF), DEGREE OF OPTICAL ILLUSION ("DI"), DEXTERITY SCORES, AND GRIP STRENGTH IN THREE GROUPS OF SUBJECTS, VIZ COMMUNITY HOME GIRLS WHO HAD LEARNED YOGA FOR 6 MONTHS (CHY), AGE-MATCHED COMMUNITY HOME GIRLS WHO HAD PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TRAINING FOR 6 MONTHS (CHP), AND GIRLS WHO WERE ATTENDING A REGULAR SCHOOL (SCH). THERE WERE EQUAL NUMBERS IN EACH GROUP FOR EACH OF THE 4 ASSESSMENT (RANGE 11 TO 30 SUBJECTS) AND AGE RANGE WAS 12 TO 16 YEARS OF AGE. THE CHP GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER CFF AND "DI" WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER (ONE FACTOR ANOVA, T TEST FOR UNPAIRED DATA) IN THE CHP GROUP, BOTH COMPARED TO CHY AND SCH GROUPS. RIGHT HAND GRIP STRENGTH WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY LESS IN THE CHP GROUP COMPARED TO SCH. THE RESULTS WERE EXPLAINED BY PREVIOUS REPORTS OF HIGH LEVELS OF ANXIETY AND AGGRESSION IN COMMUNITY-HOME GROUPS, WHICH IS KNOWN TO INFLUENCE THE FOUR PARAMETERS DESCRIBED HERE. THE BETTER PERFORMANCE OF THE CHY GROUP COMPARED TO CHP, SUGGESTED THAT YOGA PRACTICE HAS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT IN THESE SUBJECTS. 1997 7 1420 32 IMPROVED PERFORMANCE IN THE TOWER OF LONDON TEST FOLLOWING YOGA. TWENTY GIRLS BETWEEN 10 AND 13 YEARS OF AGE, STUDYING AT A RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO TWO GROUPS. ONE GROUP PRACTICED YOGA FOR ONE HOUR FIFTEEN MINUTES PER DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK, WHILE THE OTHER GROUP WAS GIVEN PHYSICAL TRAINING FOR THE SAME TIME. TIME FOR PLANNING AND FOR EXECUTION AND THE NUMBER OF MOVES REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE TOWER OF LONDON TASK WERE ASSESSED FOR BOTH GROUPS AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF A MONTH. THESE THREE ASSESSMENTS WERE SEPARATELY TESTED IN INCREASINGLY COMPLEX TASKS REQUIRING 2-MOVES, 4-MOVES AND 5-MOVES. THE PRE-POST DATA WERE COMPARED USING THE WILCOXON PAIRED SIGNED RANKS TEST. THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN PLANNING TIME FOR BOTH 2-MOVES AND 4-MOVES TASKS (53.9 AND 59.1 PERCENT RESPECTIVELY), EXECUTION TIME IN BOTH 4-MOVES AND 5-MOVES TASKS (63.7 AND 60.3 PERCENT RESPECTIVELY), AND IN THE NUMBER OF MOVES IN THE 4-MOVES TASKS (20.9 PERCENT). THE PHYSICAL TRAINING GROUP SHOWED NO CHANGE. HENCE YOGA TRAINING FOR A MONTH REDUCED THE PLANNING AND EXECUTION TIME IN SIMPLE (2-MOVES) AS WELL AS COMPLEX TASKS (4, 5-MOVES) AND FACILITATED REACHING THE TARGET WITH A SMALLER NUMBER OF MOVES IN A COMPLEX TASK (4-MOVES). 2001 8 1986 31 SPATIAL AND VERBAL MEMORY TEST SCORES FOLLOWING YOGA AND FINE ARTS CAMPS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN. THE PERFORMANCE SCORES OF CHILDREN (AGED 11 TO 16 YEARS) IN VERBAL AND SPATIAL MEMORY TESTS WERE COMPARED FOR TWO GROUPS (N = 30, EACH), ONE ATTENDING A YOGA CAMP AND THE OTHER A FINE ARTS CAMP. BOTH GROUPS WERE ASSESSED ON THE MEMORY TASKS INITIALLY AND AFTER TEN DAYS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE INTERVENTIONS. A CONTROL GROUP (N = 30) WAS SIMILARLY STUDIED TO ASSESS THE TEST-RETEST EFFECT. AT THE FINAL ASSESSMENT THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF 43% IN SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES (MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS, TUKEY TEST), WHILE THE FINE ARTS AND CONTROL GROUPS SHOWED NO CHANGE. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PRACTICE, INCLUDING PHYSICAL POSTURES, YOGA BREATHING, MEDITATION AND GUIDED RELAXATION IMPROVED DELAYED RECALL OF SPATIAL INFORMATION. 2004 9 1814 28 PROGRESSIVE INCREASE IN CRITICAL FLICKER FUSION FREQUENCY FOLLOWING YOGA TRAINING. THE CRITICAL FLICKER FUSION FREQUENCY (CFF) IS THE FREQUENCY AT WHICH A FLICKERING STIMULUS IS PERCEIVED TO BE STEADY, WITH HIGHER VALUES SUGGESTING GREATER PERCEPTUAL ACCURACY. THE CFF WAS MEASURED IN TWO AGE-MATCHED GROUPS OF HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 25 TO 39 YEARS, WITH 18 SUBJECTS IN EACH GROUP. AFTER BASELINE ASSESSMENTS ONE GROUP (YOGA GROUP) RECEIVED YOGA TRAINING, WHILE THE OTHER GROUP (CONTROL GROUP) CARRIED ON WITH THEIR ROUTINE ACTIVITIES. YOGA PRACTICES INCLUDED ASANAS, PRANAYAMAS, KRIYAS, MEDITATION, DEVOTIONAL SESSIONS AND LECTURES ON THE THEORY OF YOGA. AFTER 10 DAYS NEITHER GROUP SHOWED A CHANGE IN CFF. HOWEVER, AT 20 AND AT 30 DAYS THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN CFF BY 11.1% AND 14.9%, RESPECTIVELY (TWO FACTOR ANOVA, TUKEY MULTIPLE COMPARISON TEST). THE CONTROL GROUP SHOWED NO CHANGE AT THE DAY 20 AND DAY 30 FOLLOWUP. 1997 10 1220 31 FACTORS INFLUENCING CHANGES IN TWEEZER DEXTERITY SCORES FOLLOWING YOGA TRAINING. YOGA HAS ALREADY BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE PERCEPTUAL-MOTOR SKILLS, BUT THE FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE ITS EFFECTS ARE NOT WELL DEFINED. THIS STUDY CORRELATES AGE, GENDER, AND MOTIVATION TO LEARN YOGA WITH THE PERFORMANCE IN A DEXTERITY TASK FOLLOWING YOGA. TWEEZER DEXTERITY WAS RECORDED IN EIGHTY SUBJECTS BELONGING TO FOUR GROUPS. TWO GROUPS WERE GIVEN A MONTH OF YOGA TRAINING. ONE GROUP CONSISTED OF SUBJECTS WHO HAD VOLUNTEERED TO JOIN FOR THE TRAINING AND THE OTHER GROUP WERE DEPUTED FOR THE TRAINING AS PART OF THEIR JOB. THE TWO REMAINING GROUPS DID NOT RECEIVE YOGA TRAINING AND WERE SELECTED TO MATCH THE RESPECTIVE GROUPS RECEIVING YOGA, FOR AGE AND SEX, BUT NOT FOR THEIR MOTIVATION TO LEARN YOGA. THE TEST INVOLVED USING A TWEEZER TO PLACE METAL PINS IN EVENLY SPACED HOLES IN A METAL PLATE WITHIN FOUR MINUTES. FOLLOWING YOGA THE SCORES OF THE VOLUNTEERS WHO LEARNT YOGA INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY, WHEREAS THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN SCORES OF DEPUTED SUBJECTS AND NON-YOGA GROUPS. FOR REASONS DESCRIBED IN DETAIL, FACTORS SUCH AS AGE AND GENDER DID NOT APPEAR TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DIFFERENCE IN PERFORMANCE. HENCE MOTIVATION TO LEARN YOGA APPEARED TO INFLUENCE THE MAGNITUDE OF INCREASE. 1999 11 2510 31 YOGA BREATHING THROUGH A PARTICULAR NOSTRIL INCREASES SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES WITHOUT LATERALIZED EFFECTS. UNINOSTRIL BREATHING FACILITATES THE PERFORMANCE ON SPATIAL AND VERBAL COGNITIVE TASKS, SAID TO BE RIGHT AND LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS, RESPECTIVELY. SINCE HEMISPHERIC MEMORY FUNCTIONS ARE ALSO KNOWN TO BE LATERALIZED, THE PRESENT STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF UNINOSTRIL BREATHING ON THE PERFORMANCE IN VERBAL AND SPATIAL MEMORY TESTS. SCHOOL CHILDREN (N = 108 WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 10 TO 17 YEARS) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO FOUR GROUPS. EACH GROUP PRACTICED A SPECIFIC YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUE: (I) RIGHT NOSTRIL BREATHING, (II) LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING, (III) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING, OR (IV) BREATH AWARENESS WITHOUT MANIPULATION OF NOSTRILS. THESE TECHNIQUES WERE PRACTICED FOR 10 DAYS. VERBAL AND SPATIAL MEMORY WAS ASSESSED INITIALLY AND AFTER 10 DAYS. AN AGE-MATCHED CONTROL GROUP OF 27 WERE SIMILARLY ASSESSED. ALL 4 TRAINED GROUPS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SPATIAL TEST SCORES AT RETEST, BUT THE CONTROL GROUP SHOWED NO CHANGE. AVERAGE INCREASE IN SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES FOR THE TRAINED GROUPS WAS 84%. IT APPEARS YOGA BREATHING INCREASES SPATIAL RATHER THAN VERBAL SCORES, WITHOUT A LATERALIZED EFFECT. 1997 12 863 29 EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICES ON MICRONUTRIENT ABSORPTION IN URBAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL CHILDREN. [PURPOSE] THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED WITH A VIEW TO FIND OUT THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICES ON MICRONUTRIENT ABSORPTION IN URBAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL CHILDREN. [SUBJECTS AND METHODS] THE STUDY POPULATION COMPRISED 66 URBAN SCHOOL CHILDREN AGED 11-15 YEARS STAYING IN A RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL IN PUNE CITY, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA. A STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLING METHOD WAS USED TO DIVIDE THE STUDENTS INTO EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS. THERE WERE 33 STUDENTS IN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AND 33 STUDENTS IN CONTROL GROUP. BOTH EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS WERE ASSESSED FOR THE STATUS OF ZINC, COPPER, IRON AND MAGNESIUM AT THE BASELINE AND AT THE END OF 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING. THE STUDY PARTICIPANTS OF EXPERIMENTAL GROUP UNDERWENT YOGA TRAINING FOR 12 WEEKS, FOR ONE HOUR IN THE MORNING FOR SIX DAYS A WEEK. THE CONTROL GROUP DID NOT UNDERGO ANY YOGA TRAINING DURING THIS TIME PERIOD. [RESULTS] THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP PARTICIPANTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN MICRONUTRIENT ABSORPTION AS COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. [CONCLUSION] THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY INDICATE THAT YOGA PRACTICES COULD IMPROVE MICRONUTRIENT ABSORPTION IN URBAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL CHILDREN. 2017 13 1728 22 PERFORMANCE ON PSYCHOMOTOR TASKS FOLLOWING TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. PREVIOUSLY CYCLIC MEDITATION AND SUPINE REST HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN A LETTER CANCELLATION TASK REQUIRING ATTENTION, VISUAL SCANNING, AND MOTOR SPEED. THE PRESENT STUDY ASSESSED THE PERFORMANCE IN 57 VOLUNTEERS (ALL MALE, M AGE = 26.5 YR., SD = 4.6) IN THREE TASKS, VIZ., A DIGIT-LETTER SUBSTITUTION TASK (DLST), A LETTER-COPYING TASK, AND A CIRCLE-DOTTING TASK. THE DLST ASSESSED ATTENTION AND SPEED OF INFORMATION PROCESSING, WHILE THE OTHER 2 TESTS ASSESSED MOTOR SPEED. EACH PARTICIPANT WAS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THREE TYPES OF SESSIONS: CYCLIC MEDITATION, SUPINE REST, AND CONTROL (NO INTERVENTION). DLST SCORES AND SCORES FOR LETTER-COPYING AND CIRCLE-DOTTING TASKS IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION; THE SAME SCORES ALSO IMPROVED AFTER SUPINE REST. THERE WAS NO CHANGE AFTER THE NO-INTERVENTION/CONTROL SESSION. FROM THE RESULTS IT WAS DIFFICULT TO CONCLUDE WHETHER IMPROVED DLST SCORES AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION WERE DUE TO BETTER INFORMATION PROCESSING SPEED OR IMPROVED MOTOR SPEED. 2009 14 898 22 EFFECT OF YOGASANAS ON THE VISUAL AND AUDITORY REACTION TIME. VISUAL AND AUDITORY REACTION TIME (VRT, ART) WAS STUDIED IN 83 HEALTHY MALE SUBJECTS OF 30-40 YEARS OF AGE WHO HAD NEVER PRACTICED YOGASANAS BEFORE. THESE SUBJECTS WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS VIZ. GROUP A WHOSE VRT AND ART WAS DETERMINED AFTER 1 HR. YOGASANAS AND GROUP B WHOSE ART AND VRT WAS DETERMINED AFTER 6 WEEKS YOGASANAS TRAINING PROGRAMME. VRT AND ART SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN GROUP A (P LESS THAN .05) AND GROUP B (P LESS THAN .001). 1989 15 1354 25 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF THREE YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES ON PERFORMANCE ON A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK. THE EFFECTS OF THREE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES WERE EVALUATED ON PERFORMANCE ON A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK WHICH IS A LEFT-HEMISPHERE DOMINANT TASK. THE THREE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES (RIGHT, LEFT, AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING) WERE SELECTED BECAUSE UNILATERAL FORCED NOSTRIL BREATHING STIMULATES THE CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE. THERE WERE 20 MALE VOLUNTEERS WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 20 TO 45 YEARS (M AGE=28.4 YR., SD=5.7). ALL SUBJECTS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER FOUR SESSIONS, I.E., RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, LEFT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, AND BREATH AWARENESS AS A CONTROL. THE LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED, I.E., THERE WERE FEWER ERRORS FOLLOWING RIGHT AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (WILCOXON PAIRED SIGNED-RANKS TEST). THE IMPROVED PERFORMANCE MAY BE RELATED TO THE ENHANCEMENT OF CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE FUNCTION FOUND WITH SELECTIVE NOSTRIL BREATHING. 2007 16 562 23 CREATIVE YOGA INTERVENTION IMPROVES MOTOR AND IMITATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER. BACKGROUND: THERE IS GROWING EVIDENCE FOR MOTOR IMPAIRMENTS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD), INCLUDING POOR GROSS AND FINE MOTOR PERFORMANCE, POOR BALANCE, AND INCOORDINATION. HOWEVER, THERE IS LIMITED EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTS OF MOTOR INTERVENTIONS FOR THIS POPULATION. OBJECTIVE: IN THE PRESENT STUDY, THE EFFECTS OF A PHYSICAL THERAPY INTERVENTION USING CREATIVE YOGA ON THE MOTOR AND IMITATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH ASD WERE EVALUATED. DESIGN: THIS STUDY HAD A PRETEST-POSTTEST CONTROL GROUP DESIGN. METHODS: TWENTY-FOUR CHILDREN WITH ASD AGED BETWEEN 5 AND 13 YEARS RECEIVED 8 WEEKS OF A PHYSICAL THERAPIST-DELIVERED YOGA OR ACADEMIC INTERVENTION. CHILDREN WERE TESTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION USING A STANDARDIZED MOTOR MEASURE, THE BRUININKS-OSERETSKY TEST OF MOTOR PERFORMANCE-2ND EDITION (BOT-2). THE IMITATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN USING FAMILIAR TRAINING-SPECIFIC ACTIONS (IE, POSES FOR THE YOGA GROUP AND BUILDING ACTIONS FOR THE ACADEMIC GROUP) WERE ALSO ASSESSED. RESULTS: AFTER THE INTERVENTION, CHILDREN IN THE YOGA GROUP IMPROVED GROSS MOTOR PERFORMANCE ON THE BOT-2 AND DISPLAYED FEWER IMITATION/PRAXIS ERRORS WHEN COPYING TRAINING-SPECIFIC YOGA POSES. IN CONTRAST, CHILDREN IN THE ACADEMIC GROUP IMPROVED THEIR FINE MOTOR PERFORMANCE ON THE BOT-2 AND PERFORMED FEWER IMITATION ERRORS WHILE COMPLETING THE TRAINING-SPECIFIC BUILDING ACTIONS. LIMITATIONS: THE STUDY LIMITATIONS INCLUDE SMALL SAMPLE SIZE AND LACK OF LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP. CONCLUSIONS: OVERALL, CREATIVE INTERVENTIONS, SUCH AS YOGA, ARE PROMISING TOOLS FOR ENHANCING THE MOTOR AND IMITATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH ASD. 2019 17 934 23 EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM ON THE SEVERITY OF AUTISM. THIS STUDY EXAMINES THE EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM (YTP) ON THE SEVERITY OF AUTISM IN CHILDREN WITH HIGH FUNCTION AUTISM (HFA). TWENTY-NINE CHILDREN AGED 7 TO 15 (MEAN = 11.22, SD = 2.91) YEARS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO EITHER YOGA OR CONTROL GROUP. THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA GROUP RECEIVED AN 8-WEEK (24-SESSION) YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM (YTP). PARENTS OR CAREGIVERS OF PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED AUTISM TREATMENT EVALUATION CHECKLIST (ATEC) AT BASELINE AND THE END OF THE INTERVENTION. THE RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS WITH REGARDS TO ALL ATEC SUB-SCORES EXCEPT ATEC I (SPEECH/LANGUAGE/COMMUNICATION). THIS STUDY PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM AND IDENTIFIES SPECIFIC PROCEDURAL ENHANCEMENTS TO REDUCE THE SEVERITY OF SYMPTOMS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM. 2017 18 837 27 EFFECT OF YOGA ON PERFORMANCE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS IN CRICKET BOWLERS. CRICKET-BOWLING PERFORMANCE IS KNOWN TO BE INFLUENCED BY SPEED OF BALL RELEASE AND ACCURACY. CURRENTLY, TRAINING SESSIONS TYPICALLY INVOLVE FIELDING-SPECIFIC DRILLS AND CONDITIONING EXERCISES. SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE FOR INCLUSION OF A COMPREHENSIVE YOGA INTERVENTION IN DAILY TRAINING AND EXERCISE SESSIONS REMAINS UNEXPLORED. THE PRESENT STUDY EXPLORED THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON BOWLING PERFORMANCE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS IN CRICKET BOWLERS. SPORTS FITNESS TESTING AND TRAINING WERE CONDUCTED AMONG 60 NON-ELITE RECREATIONAL-CLUB MALE CRICKET PLAYERS AGED 13-25 YEARS. CRICKET-BOWLING SPEED WAS E VALUATED USING A SPEED RADAR GUN, ACCURACY WITH A TEST DEVELOPED BY PORTUS ET AL., CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE USING THE YO-YO INTERMITTENT RECOVERY TEST, LOWER-EXTREMITY AND TRUNK STRENGTH USING A BACK-LEG DYNAMOMETER, UPPER-LIMB POWER USING A MEDICINE BALL-THROW TEST, POWER USING A VERTICAL-JUMP TEST, AND FLEXIBILITY USING A SIT-AND-REACH TEST. IN ADDITION TO BOWLING PRACTICE, THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP (N = 30) PERFORMED PRANAYAMA AND STANDING AND PRONE ASANA, WHEREAS THE CONTROL GROUP (N = 30) PRACTICED CONVENTIONAL CONDITIONING EXERCISES, FOR 45 MINUTES/DAY, THREE TIMES A WEEK, FOR 12 WEEKS. IMPROVEMENT IN BOWLING SPEED, ACCURACY, CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE, MUSCLE STRENGTH, AND FLEXIBILITY WERE COMPARABLE BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS. STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN BASELINE SCORES IN BOWLING SPEED, ACCURACY, CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE, MUSCLE FLEXIBILITY, STRENGTH, AND POWER WERE COMPARABLE BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS OF NON-ELITE MALE CRICKET PLAYERS. BOWLING SPEED IMPROVED BY 6.52% IN THE YOGA GROUP AND BY 5.18% IN THE CONTROL GROUP. BOWLING ACCURACY IMPROVED BY 35.40% IN THE YOGA GROUP AND BY 31.29% IN THE CONTROL GROUP. ADDITIONAL RESEARCH ON LONG-DURATION INTERVENTION IN ELITE PLAYERS MAY HELP TO ESTABLISH THE ROLE OF YOGA IN CONVENTIONAL CRICKET-BOWLING TRAINING. 2021 19 489 25 CLINICAL STUDY ON THE EFFICACY OF RAJAYAPANA BASTI AND BALADI YOGA IN MOTOR DISABILITIES OF CEREBRAL PALSY IN CHILDREN. BACKGROUND: CEREBRAL PALSY IS A STATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY THAT MAY BE DEFINED AS A NON-PROGRESSIVE DISORDER OF POSTURE AND MOVEMENT OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH EPILEPSY AND ABNORMALITIES IN SPEECH, VISION AND INTELLECT RESULTING FROM A DEFECT OR LESION OF THE DEVELOPING BRAIN. THERE ARE 25 LAKHS CEREBRAL PALSY AFFECTED CHILDREN IN INDIA. AIM: TO ASSESS THE EFFICACY OF RAJAYAPANA BASTI (RB) AND BALADI YOGA IN MOTOR DISABILITIES OF CEREBRAL PALSY IN CHILDREN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TOTAL 98 CHILDREN SATISFYING DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA AND BETWEEN THE AGE GROUP OF 2-10 YEARS WERE INCLUDED AND RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS. IN RB WITH BALADI GROUP (N = 40) PATIENTS WERE TREATED WITH MUSTADI RAJAYAPANA BASTI FOR 8 DAYS, FOLLOWED BY ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF BALADI YOGA WITH HONEY AND GHEE FOR 60 DAYS. BEFORE ADMINISTERING BASTI, PATIENTS WERE SUBJECTED TO SARVANGA ABHYANGA AND SASTIKASHALI PINDA SVEDA. IN THE CONTROL GROUP (N = 40), PATIENTS WERE GIVEN TABLETS OF GODHUMA CHOORNA FOR 60 DAYS. BEFORE ADMINISTERING THE PLACEBO TABLET, THE PATIENTS OF THE CONTROL GROUP WERE GIVEN SARVANGA ABHYANGA AND SASTIKASHALI PINDA SVEDA FOR 8 DAYS. THE PATIENTS OF THE CONTROL GROUP WERE GIVEN BASTI WITH LUKEWARM WATER FOR 8 DAYS. RESULTS: RB GROUP HAS SHOWN IMPROVEMENTS IN UNDERSTANDING ABILITY (13.43%), SPEECH (10%) AND PERFORMANCE SKILL (11.11%), IN FINE MOTOR FUNCTIONS SUCH AS PUTTING SMALL OBJECT IN TO A CONTAINER (14.3%), THROWS THE BALL IN ALL DIRECTION (21.8%), USE OF THUMB AND INDEX FINGER (10.93%), RETAINING 2 INCH CUBE IN FIST (19.04%), FOLDS PAPER AND INSERTS INTO ENVELOPE (10.30%), IN GROSS MOTOR FUNCTIONS SUCH AS IN CRAWLING (26.7%), SITTING (31.7%), STANDING (13.75%), WALKING (9.5%) AND CLAPS HANDS (13.9%) RESPECTIVELY. CONCLUSION: MUSTADI RB ALONG WITH BALADI YOGA PROVIDED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN ALL THE PARAMETERS AND HAS PROMISING RESULT IN MANAGING MOTOR DISABILITIES OF CEREBRAL PALSY IN CHILDREN. 2014 20 464 26 CHANGES IN VIGILANCE, SELF RATED SLEEP AND STATE ANXIETY IN MILITARY PERSONNEL IN INDIA FOLLOWING YOGA. OBJECTIVES: TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF 9 DAYS OF YOGA ON SELF-RATED SLEEP, STATE ANXIETY AND PERFORMANCE IN A VIGILANCE TEST AMONG BORDER SECURITY FORCE (BSF) PERSONNEL. SEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO BSF PERSONNEL TOOK PART IN THE TRIAL. THEY WERE ALL MALES, WITH AN AVERAGE AGE OF 30.9 +/- 7.4 YEARS. ALL OF THEM WERE INVOLVED IN GUARDING THE COUNTRY'S BORDER. THEY WERE DEPUTED FOR 9 DAYS RESIDENTIAL TRAINING IN YOGA. BEFORE AND AFTER TRAINING THEY WERE ASSESSED FOR SELF-RATED SLEEP, STATE ANXIETY AND VIGILANCE. RESULTS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THE BENEFITS OF YOGA IN BSF PERSONNEL. THE BSF PERSONNEL SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SCORES IN THE VIGILANCE TEST, A DECREASE IN STATE ANXIETY, AND IMPROVED SELF-RATED SLEEP. 2018