1 164 157 A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL OF THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON GUNAS (PERSONALITY) AND SELF ESTEEM IN NORMAL HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. BACKGROUND/AIMS: TO STUDY THE EFFICACY OF YOGA ON GUNAS (PERSONALITY) AND SELF ESTEEM IN NORMAL ADULTS THROUGH A RANDOMIZED COMPARATIVE STUDY. MATERIALS AND METHODS: OF THE 1228 PERSONS WHO ATTENDED MOTIVATIONAL LECTURES, 226 SUBJECTS AGED 18-71 YEARS, OF BOTH SEXES, WHO SATISFIED THE INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA, AND WHO CONSENTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED INTO TWO GROUPS. THE YOGA (Y) GROUP PRACTISED AN INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE THAT INCLUDED ASANAS, PRANAYAMA, MEDITATION, NOTIONAL CORRECTION, AND DEVOTIONAL SESSIONS. THE COMPARISON GROUP PRACTISED MILD TO MODERATE PHYSICAL EXERCISES (PE). BOTH GROUPS HAD SUPERVISED PRACTICES FOR ONE HOUR DAILY, SIX DAYS A WEEK, FOR EIGHT WEEKS. GUNA (PERSONALITY) WAS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER EIGHT WEEKS USING THE SELF-ADMINISTERED "THE 'GITA" INVENTORY OF PERSONALITY" (GIN) TO ASSESS SATTVA, RAJAS, AND TAMAS. SELF ESTEEM IN TERMS OF COMPETENCY (COM), GLOBAL SELF ESTEEM (GSE), MORAL AND SELF ESTEEM (MSE), SOCIAL ESTEEM (SET), FAMILY SELF ESTEEM (FSE), BODY AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE (BPA), AND THE LIE SCALE (LIS) WERE ASSESSED USING THE SELF ESTEEM QUESTIONNAIRE (SEQ). RESULTS: THE BASELINE SCORES FOR ALL DOMAINS FOR BOTH THE GROUPS DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY (P > 0.05 INDEPENDENT SAMPLES T-TEST). THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT PRE-POST IMPROVEMENTS IN ALL DOMAINS IN BOTH GROUPS (P < 0.001 PAIRED T-TEST). THE NUMBER OF PERSONS WHO SHOWED IMPROVEMENT IN SATTVA AND DECREASE IN TAMAS WAS SIGNIFICANT IN THE Y BUT NOT IN THE PE GROUP (MCNEMAR TEST). THE EFFECT SIZE FOR SELF ESTEEM IN THE Y GROUP IS GREATER THAN FOR THE PE GROUP IN THREE OUT OF SEVEN DOMAINS. CONCLUSIONS: THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY HAS SHOWN THE INFLUENCE OF YOGA ON GUNAS AND SELF ESTEEM IN COMPARISON TO PHYSICAL EXERCISE. 2009 2 163 113 A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL OF THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON GUNAS (PERSONALITY) AND HEALTH IN NORMAL HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. OBJECTIVE: TO STUDY THE EFFICACY OF YOGA ON GUNA (YOGIC PERSONALITY MEASURE) AND GENERAL HEALTH IN NORMAL ADULTS. METHODS: OF THE 1228 PERSONS WHO ATTENDED INTRODUCTORY LECTURES, 226 SUBJECTS AGED 18-71 YEARS, OF BOTH SEXES, WHO SATISFIED THE INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA AND WHO CONSENTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED INTO TWO GROUPS. THE YOGA(Y) GROUP PRACTISED AN INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE THAT INCLUDED ASANAS, PRANAYAMA, MEDITATION, NOTIONAL CORRECTION AND DEVOTIONAL SESSIONS. THE CONTROL GROUP PRACTISED MILD TO MODERATE PHYSICAL EXERCISES (PE). BOTH GROUPS HAD SUPERVISED PRACTICE SESSIONS (BY TRAINED EXPERTS) FOR ONE HOUR DAILY, SIX DAYS A WEEK FOR EIGHT WEEKS. GUNA (YOGIC PERSONALITY) WAS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER EIGHT WEEKS USING THE SELF-ADMINISTERED VEDIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY (VPI) WHICH ASSESSES SATTVA (GENTLE AND CONTROLLED), RAJAS (VIOLENT AND UNCONTROLLED) AND TAMAS (DULL AND UNCONTROLLED). THE GENERAL HEALTH STATUS (TOTAL HEALTH), WHICH INCLUDES FOUR DOMAINS NAMELY SOMATIC SYMPTOMS (SS), ANXIETY AND INSOMNIA (AI), SOCIAL DYSFUNCTION (SF) AND SEVERE DEPRESSION (SP), WAS ASSESSED USING A GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE (GHQ). RESULTS: BASELINE SCORES FOR ALL THE DOMAINS FOR BOTH THE GROUPS DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY (P > 0.05, INDEPENDENT SAMPLES T TEST). SATTVA SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WITHIN THE GROUPS AND THE EFFECT SIZE WAS MORE IN THE Y THAN IN THE PE GROUP. RAJAS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE WITHIN AND BETWEEN THE GROUPS WITH A HIGHER EFFECT SIZE IN THE PE GROUP. TAMAS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION WITHIN THE PE GROUP ONLY. THE GHQ REVEALED THAT THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN SS, AI, SF AND SP IN BOTH Y AND PE GROUPS (WILCOXCON SINGED RANK T TEST). SS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS (MANN WHITNEY U TEST). CONCLUSIONS: THERE WAS AN IMPROVEMENT IN SATTVA IN BOTH THE YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS WITH A TREND OF HIGHER EFFECT SIZE IN YOGA; RAJAS REDUCED IN BOTH BUT SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER IN PE THAN IN YOGA AND TAMAS REDUCED IN PE. THE GENERAL HEALTH STATUS IMPROVED IN BOTH THE YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS. 2008 3 2326 45 TREATMENT OF PREGNANCY-RELATED LUMBAR AND PELVIC GIRDLE PAIN BY THE YOGA METHOD: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVE: PREGNANCY-RELATED LUMBOPELVIC PAIN IS A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR THE MAJORITY OF PREGNANT WOMEN. COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE HAS BEEN USED TO ALLEVIATE PAIN, AND YOGA IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMONLY CHOSEN ALTERNATIVE METHODS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HATHA YOGA IN THE REDUCTION OF LUMBOPELVIC PAIN IN PREGNANCY. METHODS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH 60 PREGNANT WOMEN (AGE RANGE, 14-40 YEARS) WHO REPORTED LUMBOPELVIC PAIN AT 12 TO 32 WEEKS OF GESTATION WAS CONDUCTED FROM JUNE 2009 TO JUNE 2011. PREGNANT WOMEN WHO HAD TWIN PREGNANCIES, HAD MEDICAL RESTRICTIONS FOR EXERCISE, USED ANALGESICS, AND PARTICIPATED IN PHYSICAL THERAPY WERE EXCLUDED FROM THE STUDY. PREGNANT WOMEN WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS: THE YOGA GROUP, PRACTICING EXERCISES GUIDED BY THIS METHOD, AND THE POSTURAL ORIENTATION GROUP, PERFORMING STANDARDIZED POSTURE ORIENTATION ACCORDING TO INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED IN A PAMPHLET. TREATMENT IN EACH GROUP LASTED 10 WEEKS. A VISUAL ANALOG SCALE (VAS) WAS USED TO MEASURE PAIN INTENSITY. LUMBAR PAIN AND POSTERIOR PELVIC PAIN PROVOCATION TESTS WERE USED TO CONFIRM THE PRESENCE OF PAIN. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS INCLUDED THE MANN-WHITNEY TEST, THE MCNEMAR TEST, A PAIRED WILCOXON TEST, AND ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE. RESULTS: THE MEDIAN PAIN SCORE WAS LOWER IN THE YOGA GROUP (P<.0058) THAN THE POSTURAL ORIENTATION GROUP. LUMBAR PAIN PROVOCATION TESTS SHOWED A DECREASED RESPONSE IN RELATION TO POSTERIOR PELVIC PAIN PROVOCATION TESTS AND A GRADUAL REDUCTION IN PAIN INTENSITY DURING 10 YOGA SESSIONS (P<.024). CONCLUSIONS: THE YOGA METHOD WAS MORE EFFECTIVE AT REDUCING LUMBOPELVIC PAIN INTENSITY COMPARED WITH POSTURAL ORIENTATION. 2014 4 2750 38 YOGA PRACTICE INCREASES MINIMUM MUSCULAR FITNESS IN CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. INTRODUCTION: MUSCLE STRENGTH, A COMPONENT FOR BALANCE, GAIT AND FUNCTIONAL MOBILITY IS VITAL FOR CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. YOGA HAS FREQUENTLY BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO IMPROVE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL FITNESS IN CHILDREN. THIS STUDY AIMED TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF 16 WEEKS YOGA TRAINING ON MUSCULAR FI TNESS IN CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. METHODS: THIS WAS A WAIT-LISTED TWO-ARMED-MATCHED CASE-CONTROL STUDY. EIGHTY (41 YOGA, 39 CONTROL) VISUAL IMPAIRMENT STUDENTS OF BOTH GENDERS AGED 9-16 YEARS MATCHED ON AGE, GENDER AND DEGREE OF BLINDNESS WERE ASSESSED AT PRE, MID (AFTER 8 WEEKS) AND POST (AFTER 16 WEEKS) YOGA INTERVENTION USING THE KRAUS-WEBER TEST. RESULTS: THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS PASSED IN YOGA GROUP WERE 12.2%, 43.9% AND 68.3% WHEREAS PERCENTAGES IN THE CONTROL GROUP WERE 23.1%, 30.8% AND 30.8% IN PRE, MID, AND POST TESTS RESPECTIVELY. MCNEMAR TEST SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRE AND MID, MID AND POST IN THE YOGA GROUP WHILE THOSE PARAMETERS WERE NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT IN THE CONTROL GROUP. YOGA THERAPY SEEMED TO HAVE CONSIDERABLE BENEFITS FOR THE CHILDREN'S MUSCULAR FI TNESS. CONCLUSION: THE STUDY SUGGESTS THAT YOGA HAVE CONSIDERABLE BENEFITS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF FITNESS LEVEL IN CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND MAY BE RECOMMENDED AS AND EFFECTIVE, ALTERNATIVE, INEXPENSIVE LOW RISK TRAINING ACTIVITY OPTION FOR THEM. 2015 5 165 96 A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL OF THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS IN NORMAL HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. OBJECTIVE: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS IN NORMAL HEALTHY ADULTS. METHODS: OF THE 1228 PERSONS WHO ATTENDED INTRODUCTORY LECTURES, 226 SUBJECTS OF BOTH SEXES WHO SATISFIED THE INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA AND WHO CONSENTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED INTO TWO GROUPS. THESE 226 SUBJECTS WERE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 17 AND 62 YEARS AND 173/226 COMPLETED THE EIGHT WEEKS OF INTERVENTION. THE YOGA (Y) GROUP PRACTISED AN INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE THAT INCLUDED ASANAS, PRANAYAMA, MEDITATION, NOTIONAL CORRECTION, AND DEVOTIONAL SESSIONS. THE CONTROL GROUP PRACTISED MILD TO MODERATE PHYSICAL EXERCISES (PE). BOTH GROUPS HAD SUPERVISED PRACTICES (BY TRAINED EXPERTS) FOR ONE HOUR DAILY, SIX DAYS A WEEK FOR EIGHT WEEKS. VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS WAS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER EIGHT WEEKS USING THE SELF-ADMINISTERED VERBAL AGGRESSIVE SCALE. RESULTS: THE BASELINE SCORE OF THE TWO GROUPS DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY (P = 0.66). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS IN THE YOGA GROUP (P = 0.01 PAIRED SAMPLES T-TEST) WITH A NONSIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PE GROUP. ANCOVA USING PRE- VALUES AS COVARIATES SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS (P = 0.013). RMANOVA FOR INTERACTION BETWEEN THE SEXES OR AGE GROUPS IN CHANGE SCORES WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT AN EIGHT WEEK INTERVENTION OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE DECREASED VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS IN THE YOGA GROUP (IN MALES AND THOSE BELOW 25 YEARS OF AGE), WITH A NONSIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PE GROUP. 2008 6 703 44 EFFECT OF INTEGRAL YOGA ON PSYCHOLOGICAL AND HEALTH VARIABLES AND THEIR CORRELATIONS. OBJECTIVE: CERTAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL AND HEALTH VARIABLES ARE COMMONLY MEASURED IN INDIA. THIS STUDY EVALUATES THE EFFECTS OF INTEGRAL YOGA PRACTICES ON THESE VARIABLES AND ALSO THE CONSISTENCY OF CORRELATIONS OBSERVED BETWEEN THEM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE STUDY WAS A PRE-POST INTERVENTION STUDY. THE VARIABLES WERE MEASURED AT THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF A ONE-MONTH YOGA COURSE. THERE WAS NO CONTROL GROUP.THE STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT AT SWAMI VIVEKANANDA YOGA ANUSANDHANA SAMSTHANA (S-VYASA) UNIVERSITY, IN ITS RURAL CAMPUS SOUTH OF BANGALORE. BASED ON HEALTH CRITERIA, 108 SUBJECTS WERE SELECTED OUT OF 198 VOLUNTEERS TO FORM THE EXPERIMENTAL YOGA GROUP. AGES RANGED FROM 17 TO 63 YEARS. THE YOGASANAS (POSTURES), PRANAYAMA (BREATHING EXERCISES), RELAXATION TECHNIQUES, MEDITATION, CHANTING AND LECTURES WERE THE COMPONENTS OF YOGA INTERVENTION. THE VARIABLES MEASURED WERE SUSTAINED ATTENTION, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE - EQ, GENERAL HEALTH - GHQ, GUNA PERSONALITY - SATTVA, RAJAS AND TAMAS. RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT PRE-POST CHANGES WERE FOUND IN ALL VARIABLES. SIGNIFICANT CORRELATIONS WERE FOUND BETWEEN THE FOLLOWING PAIRS: THE TWO SUSTAINED ATTENTION VARIABLES; EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND GENERAL HEALTH; GHQ AND TAMAS; SATTVA AND TAMAS; AND RAJAS AND TAMAS. CONCLUSION: THE STUDY SHOWS THAT THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN ALL VARIABLES (P< 0.001) EXCEPT IN SATTVA. IT ALSO CONFIRMS THAT EQ AND GENERAL HEALTH VARIABLES CORRELATE SIGNIFICANTLY WITH EACH OTHER AND NEGATIVELY WITH TAMAS. EQ AND TAMAS FORM POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE PREDICTORS OF HEALTH RESPECTIVELY. SATTVA CORRELATES POSITIVELY WITH EQ SUGGESTING THAT A SATTVIC PERSONALITY INDICATES BETTER SELF-CONTROL. THIS SUGGESTS THAT, BY IMPROVING GUNA PERSONALITY, LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE MAY STABILIZE EQ. 2011 7 516 48 COMPARING COGNITION, COPING SKILLS AND VEDIC PERSONALITY OF INDIVIDUALS PRACTICING YOGA, PHYSICAL EXERCISE OR SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE: A CROSS-SECTIONAL FMRI STUDY. BACKGROUND: NATURE AND INTENSITY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MAY INFLUENCE COGNITION, COPING MECHANISMS AND OVERALL PERSONALITY OF AN INDIVIDUAL. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY WAS TO COMPARE COGNITION, COPING STYLES AND VEDIC PERSONALITY AMONG INDIVIDUALS PRACTICING DIFFERENT LIFESTYLE. METHODS: THIRTY-NINE HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS OF BOTH GENDER (27.63+/-4.04 YEARS) WERE RECRUITED AND CATEGORIZED INTO THREE GROUPS; I.E. YOGA, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OR SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE GROUPS. PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED ON COGNITION, COPING STYLES AND VEDIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY (VPI). VERBAL-N-BACK AND STROOP TASKS WERE PERFORMED USING 3 TESLA MRI SCANNER. TASK BASED CONNECTIVITY (TBC) ANALYSIS WAS DONE USING CONN TOOLBOX IN SPM. RESULTS: THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN THE COGNITIVE DOMAINS ACROSS THE GROUPS. THE PLANNING (P=0.03) AND ACCEPTANCE DOMAIN (P=0.03) OF THE BRIEF COPE SCALE SHOWED DIFFERENCE ACROSS THE GROUPS. POST-HOC ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT PLANNING AND ACCEPTANCE SCORES WERE DISTINCTLY HIGHER IN THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GROUP, HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GROUP AND YOGA PRACTITIONERS. SIMILARLY, IN THE VPI, SATTVA (P=0.003), RAJAS (P=0.05) AND TAMAS (P=0.01) WERE DIFFERENT ACROSS THE GROUPS, AND THE POST HOC ANALYSIS SHOWED SUPERIORITY IN SATTVA SCORES IN YOGA GROUP, MEANWHILE, BOTH RAJAS AND TAMAS WERE HIGHER IN THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GROUP. YOGA PRACTITIONERS PREFERENTIALLY RECRUITED LEFT SUPERIOR FRONTAL GYRUS IN RELATION TO THE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE GROUP AND PRECUNEUS IN RELATION TO THE SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE GROUP. CONCLUSION: THE STUDY REVEALED THAT YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAD A DISTINCT HIGHER SATTVA GUNA AND PREFERENTIALLY RECRUITED BRAIN AREAS ASSOCIATED WITH SELF-REGULATION AND INHIBITORY CONTROL. 2022 8 2088 41 THE EFFECT OF PRACTICING YOGA DURING PREGNANCY ON LABOR STAGES LENGTH, ANXIETY AND PAIN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: ANXIETY AND FEAR OF LABOR PAIN HAS LED TO ELEVATED CESAREAN SECTION RATE IN SOME COUNTRIES. THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA IN PREGNANCY ON ANXIETY, LABOR PAIN AND LENGTH OF LABOR STAGES. METHODS: THIS CLINICAL TRIAL STUDY WAS PERFORMED ON 84 NULLIPAROUS WOMEN WHO WERE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD AND WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS OF YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS. PREGNANCY YOGA PROGRAM CONSISTING OF 6 60-MIN TRAINING SESSIONS WAS STARTED EVERY 2 WEEKS FROM WEEK 26 OF PREGNANCY AND CONTINUED UNTIL 37 WEEKS OF GESTATION. ANXIETY SEVERITY AT MATERNAL ADMISSION TO LABOR WAS MEASURED BY THE SPIELBERGERS STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY, AND LABOR PAIN WAS MEASURED BY VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE (VAS) AT DILATATION (4-5 CM) AND 2 H AFTER THE FIRST MEASUREMENT. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING CHI-SQUARE AND T-TEST. RESULTS: INTERVENTION GROUP REPORTED LESS PAIN AT DILATATION (4-5 CM) (P=0.001) AND 2 H AFTER THE FIRST MEASUREMENT (P=0.001) THAN THE CONTROL GROUP. STAT ANXIETY WAS ALSO LOWER IN INTERVENTION GROUP THAN THE CONTROL GROUP (P=0.003) AT THE ENTRANCE TO LABOR ROOM. SUBJECTS IN THE CONTROL GROUP REQUIRED MORE INDUCTION COMPARED TO INTERVENTION GROUP (P=0.003). WOMEN IN INTERVENTION GROUP EXPERIENCED SHORTER DURATION OF THE FIRST PHASE OF THE LABOR THAN THE CONTROL GROUP (P=0.002). ALSO, THE TOTAL DURATION OF TWO STAGES OF LABOR WAS SHORTER IN INTERVENTION GROUP THAN THE CONTROL GROUP (P=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: PRACTICING YOGA DURING PREGNANCY MAY REDUCE WOMEN'S ANXIETY DURING LABOR; SHORTEN LABOR STAGES, AND LOWER LABOR PAIN. 2020 9 2525 41 YOGA DURING PREGNANCY: THE EFFECTS ON LABOR PAIN AND DELIVERY OUTCOMES (A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL). OBJECTIVE: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF AN ANTENATAL YOGA PROGRAM ON PERCEIVED MATERNAL LABOR PAIN AND DELIVERY OUTCOMES. MATERIAL & METHODS: THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED WITH SIXTY PRIMIPAROUS WOMEN, AGED 18-35 YEARS OLD, WHO WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER AN ANTENATAL YOGA PROGRAM OR CONTROL GROUPS. LABOR PAIN AND DISCOMFORT LEVEL OF THE PARTICIPANTS WERE MEASURED USING A VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE AT CERVICAL DILATATION OF 3-4 C AND AT 2 AND 4 H AFTER THE INITIAL MEASUREMENT. DEMOGRAPHIC AND OBSTETRICAL INFORMATION WERE COLLECTED. THE ANTENATAL YOGA PROGRAM CONSISTED OF A 1-H SUPERVISED YOGA CLASS, THREE TIMES A WEEKLY, STARTING AT 26 WEEKS GESTATION. . RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS IN CONTROL GROUP REPORTED HIGHER PAIN INTENSITY COMPARED TO EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AT 3-4 CM OF DILATATION (P = 0.01) AND AT 2 H AFTER THE FIRST AND THE SECOND MEASUREMENTS (P = 0.000). MOTHERS IN THE ANTENATAL INTERVENTION GROUP THAT COMPLETED THE YOGA CLASS REQUIRED A DECREASED FREQUENCY OF LABOR INDUCTION IN COMPARISON WITH CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.008). IN ADDITION, MODE OF DELIVERY OF THE INTERVENTION GROUP RESULTED IN A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF CESAREAN SECTION THAN CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.002). LASTLY, THE INTERVENTION GROUP EXPERIENCED A SHORTER DURATION OF THE SECOND AND THIRD STAGES OF LABOR. INTERVAL LEVEL DATA WAS ANALYZED BY USING AN INDEPENDENT T-TEST AND CHI-SQUARE. CONCLUSION: YOGA DURING PREGNANCY MAY CONTRIBUTE TO A REDUCTION PAIN OF LABOR AND IMPROVED ADEQUACY OF CHILDBIRTH. 2017 10 2123 35 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GENTLE PRENATAL YOGA ON THE RECOVERY OF DEPRESSION LEVEL IN PREGNANT WOMEN AGED. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY AIMED TO ANALYZE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GENTLE PRENATAL YOGA TOWARD DEPRESSION AND ABNORMAL SEROTONIN HORMONE LEVELS IN PREGNANT WOMEN AGED <20 AND >35 YEARS OLD. METHOD: THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AT BARA BARAYA HEALTH CENTER, ANTANG HEALTH CENTER, KAPASA HEALTH CENTER, AND MAMAJANG HEALTH CENTER. THE APPLIED RESEARCH DESIGN IN THIS STUDY WAS A QUASI-EXPERIMENT WITH A NON-EQUIVALENT CONTROL GROUP DESIGN APPROACH. SAMPLES WERE SELECTED USING A PURPOSIVE SAMPLE TECHNIQUE. THE INSTRUMENT USED WAS THE BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY (BDI) QUESTIONNAIRE. THE NUMBER OF SAMPLES IN THIS STUDY WAS 24 RESPONDENTS DIVIDED INTO 2, 12 IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP AND 12 IN THE CONTROL GROUP. SAMPLE CRITERIA IN THIS STUDY WERE PREGNANT WOMEN AGED <20 AND >35 YEARS OLD, HAVING BEEN IN TRIMESTER II-III WITH THE GESTATIONAL AGE OF >/=20 TO <31 WEEKS, AND NOT HAVING COMPLICATIONS IN PREGNANCY. RESULTS: THE MEAN VALUES FOR THE INTERVENTION GROUP WERE 6.50 IN THE PRE-TEST TO THE MID-TEST AND 6.50 IN THE MID-TEST TO THE POST-TEST. MEANWHILE, THE MEAN VALUES FOR THE CONTROL GROUP WERE 5.61 IN THE PRE-TEST TO THE MID-TEST AND 4.50 IN THE MID-TEST TO THE POST-TEST. THIS INDICATED THAT THE INTERVENTION GROUP EXPERIENCED A SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED LEVEL OF DEPRESSION BASED ON THE BD-II (BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY-II) SCORES WHEN COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. FURTHERMORE, BASED ON THE COMPARISON OF THE POST-TEST DATA BETWEEN THE INTERVENTION GROUP AND THE CONTROL GROUP, IT WAS OBTAINED THE P-VALUE OF 0.005 (ALPHA<0.05). CONCLUSION: THERE WERE DIFFERENCES IN BDI-II (BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY-II) SCORES BETWEEN THE INTERVENTION GROUP AND THE CONTROL GROUP AFTER RECEIVING PRENATAL GENTLE YOGA TREATMENT. 2021 11 1814 35 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 12 1797 57 PRENATAL YOGA: EFFECTS ON ALLEVIATION OF LABOR PAIN AND BIRTH OUTCOMES. BACKGROUND: THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT PRENATAL YOGIC EXERCISES ARE EFFECTIVE IN ALLEVIATING LABOR PAIN AND IMPROVING BIRTH OUTCOMES, BY COMPARING PREGNANT WOMEN UNDERTAKING YOGA WITH A CONTROL GROUP. TRIAL DESIGN: SINGLE BLINDED, PARALLEL RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL. METHODS: TWO HUNDRED PRIMIGRAVID WOMEN OF 30 WEEKS OF GESTATION ONWARD WHO MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA (PRIMIGRAVIDA, 20-35 YEARS OF AGE, GESTATIONAL AGE OF 30 WEEKS, NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE OF YOGA) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO STUDY (N = 100) AND CONTROL GROUPS (N = 100) BY USING THE MINIMIZED RANDOMIZATION PROGRAM VERSION 2.01. THE STUDY GROUP RECEIVED THE INTERVENTION IN THE FORM OF INTEGRATED YOGA CONSISTING OF A SERIES OF 30-MIN PRACTICE SESSIONS AT THE 30TH, 32ND, 34TH, 36TH, 37TH, 38TH, AND 39TH WEEKS OF GESTATIONAL AGE. THE MATCHED CONTROL GROUP DID NOT PERFORM YOGA. THE PATIENTS WERE FOLLOWED TILL DELIVERY FOR MATERNAL COMFORT, ALLEVIATION OF LABOR PAIN, AND BIRTH OUTCOME. ALLEVIATION OF LABOR PAIN WAS ASSESSED BY USING NUMERICAL PAIN INTENSITY SCALE (NPIS), PAIN BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONAL SCALE (PBOS), AND MATERNAL DELIVERY COMFORT QUESTIONNAIRE. ONLY THE ASSESSORS WERE BLINDED. RESULTS: TWO HUNDRED PATIENTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO 100 EACH IN CASE AND CONTROL GROUPS. FINAL ANALYSIS WAS DONE ON 75 PATIENTS IN EACH GROUP AFTER EXCLUSION DUE TO DEVELOPMENT OF COMPLICATIONS, LOSS TO FOLLOW-UP. THE REQUIREMENT OF INDUCTION OF LABOR AND ANALGESICS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS IN THE STUDY GROUP (P < 0.044, P < 0.045). THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE NUMBER OF NORMAL VAGINAL DELIVERIES (P < 0.037) AND LESS CAESAREAN SECTIONS (P < 0.048), SHORTER FIRST STAGE OF LABOR (P < 0.0003) IN THE STUDY GROUP PRACTICING YOGA. THE TOLERANCE OF PAIN WAS BETTER IN THE STUDY GROUP AS SHOWN BY NPIS (P < 0.001) AND PBOS SCORES (P < 0.0001). POSTPARTUM, THE MATERNAL COMFORT QUESTIONNAIRE SCORE SHOWED HIGHER COMFORT IN THE STUDY GROUP (P < 0.032). THE NUMBER OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT BABIES WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY LESS IN THE STUDY GROUP (P < 0.042). THERE WERE NO ADVERSE EFFECTS ATTRIBUTED TO YOGA. CONCLUSION: THE STUDY HAS HIGHLIGHTED THAT YOGA IS A NONINVASIVE, EASY TO LEARN MIND-BODY MEDICINE AND COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH PRACTICE, EFFECTIVE IN ALLEVIATION OF LABOR PAIN AND POSSIBLY IMPROVING BIRTH OUTCOME. 2018 13 2325 46 TREATMENT OF MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER WITH IYENGAR YOGA AND COHERENT BREATHING: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED DOSING STUDY. OBJECTIVES: THE AIMS OF THIS STUDY WERE TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF AN INTERVENTION OF IYENGAR YOGA AND COHERENT BREATHING AT FIVE BREATHS PER MINUTE ON DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND TO DETERMINE OPTIMAL INTERVENTION YOGA DOSING FOR FUTURE STUDIES IN INDIVIDUALS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER (MDD). METHODS: SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO THE HIGH-DOSE GROUP (HDG) OR LOW-DOSE GROUP (LDG) FOR A 12-WEEK INTERVENTION OF THREE OR TWO INTERVENTION CLASSES PER WEEK, RESPECTIVELY. ELIGIBLE SUBJECTS WERE 18-64 YEARS OLD WITH MDD, HAD BASELINE BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY-II (BDI-II) SCORES >/=14, AND WERE EITHER ON NO ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATIONS OR ON A STABLE DOSE OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS FOR >/=3 MONTHS. THE INTERVENTION INCLUDED 90-MIN CLASSES PLUS HOMEWORK. OUTCOME MEASURES WERE BDI-II SCORES AND INTERVENTION COMPLIANCE. RESULTS: FIFTEEN HDG (MAGE = 38.4 +/- 15.1 YEARS) AND 15 LDG (MAGE = 34.7 +/- 10.4 YEARS) SUBJECTS COMPLETED THE INTERVENTION. BDI-II SCORES AT SCREENING AND COMPLIANCE DID NOT DIFFER BETWEEN GROUPS (P = 0.26). BDI-II SCORES DECLINED SIGNIFICANTLY FROM SCREENING (24.6 +/- 1.7) TO WEEK 12 (6.0 +/- 3.8) FOR THE HDG (-18.6 +/- 6.6; P < 0.001), AND FROM SCREENING (27.7 +/- 2.1) TO WEEK 12 (10.1 +/- 7.9) IN THE LDG (-17.7 +/- 9.3; P < 0.001). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS, BASED ON RESPONSE (I.E., >50% DECREASE IN BDI-II SCORES; P = 0.65) FOR THE HDG (13/15 SUBJECTS) AND LDG (11/15 SUBJECTS) OR REMISSION (I.E., NUMBER OF SUBJECTS WITH BDI-II SCORES <14; P = 1.00) FOR THE HDG (14/15 SUBJECTS) AND LDG (13/15 SUBJECTS) AFTER THE 12-WEEK INTERVENTION, ALTHOUGH A GREATER NUMBER OF SUBJECTS IN THE HDG HAD 12-WEEK BDI-II SCORES 0.30) BETWEEN BASELINE PSS WITH ALL FOUR DOMAINS AND THE TOTAL SCORE OF WHOQOLBREF. ALL THE FOUR DOMAINS' WHOQOLBREF IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP (REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA P=0.001) WITH SIGNIFICANT GROUP*TIME INTERACTION (P<0.05) AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS (P<0.01). SLR INCREASED IN BOTH GROUPS (P=0.001) WITH HIGHER INCREASE IN YOGA (31.1 % RIGHT, 28.4 % LEFT) THAN CONTROL (18.7% RIGHT, 21.5 % LEFT) GROUP WITH SIGNIFICANT GROUP*TIME INTERACTION (SLR RIGHT LEG P=0.044). CONCLUSION: IN CLBP, A NEGATIVE CORRELATION EXISTS BETWEEN STRESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE. YOGA INCREASES QUALITY OF LIFE AND SPINAL FLEXIBILITY BETTER THAN PHYSICAL THERAPY EXERCISES. 2010