1 1329 163 HIGH-FREQUENCY CEREBRAL ACTIVATION AND INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION FOLLOWING SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA AS GLOBAL BRAIN RHYTHMS: THE STATE EFFECTS. CONTEXT: RESPIRATION IS KNOWN TO MODULATE NEURONAL OSCILLATIONS IN THE BRAIN AND IS MEASURED BY ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG). SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) IS A POPULAR BREATHING PROCESS AND IS ESTABLISHED FOR ITS SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS ON THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF PHYSIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY. AIMS: THIS STUDY AIMED TO OBSERVE NEURONAL OSCILLATIONS IN MULTIFREQUENCY BANDS AND INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION FOLLOWING SKY. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: THIS STUDY EMPLOYED BEFORE- AND AFTER-STUDY DESIGN. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: FORTY HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (AVERAGE AGE 25.45 +/- 5.75, 23 MALES AND 17 FEMALES) PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. NINETEEN-CHANNEL EEG WAS RECORDED AND ANALYZED FOR 5 MIN EACH: BEFORE AND AFTER SKY. SPECTRAL POWER FOR DELTA, THETA, ALPHA, BETA, AND GAMMA FREQUENCY BAND WAS CALCULATED USING MULTI-TAPER FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM (CHRONUX TOOLBOX). THE ASYMMETRY INDEX WAS CALCULATED BY SUBTRACTING THE NATURAL LOG OF POWERS OF LEFT (L) HEMISPHERE FROM THE RIGHT((R)) TO SHOW INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: PAIRED T-TEST WAS USED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. RESULTS: SPECTRAL POWER INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN ALL FREQUENCY BANDS BILATERALLY IN FRONTAL, CENTRAL, PARIETAL, TEMPORAL, AND OCCIPITAL REGIONS OF THE BRAIN AFTER LONG SKY. ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY SHIFTED FROM LOWER TO HIGHER FREQUENCY RANGE WITH A SIGNIFICANT RISE IN THE GAMMA AND BETA POWERS FOLLOWING SKY. ASYMMETRY INDEX VALUES TENDED TOWARD 0 FOLLOWING SKY. CONCLUSIONS: A SINGLE SESSION OF SKY GENERATES GLOBAL BRAIN RHYTHM DOMINANTLY WITH HIGH-FREQUENCY CEREBRAL ACTIVATION AND INITIATES APPROPRIATE INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION IN BRAIN RHYTHMS AS STATE EFFECTS. THIS SUGGESTS THAT SKY LEADS TO BETTER ATTENTION, MEMORY, AND EMOTIONAL AND AUTONOMIC CONTROL ALONG WITH ENHANCED COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, WHICH FINALLY IMPROVES PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING. 2020 2 2334 31 TWELVE-WEEK YOGA VS. AEROBIC CYCLING INITIATION IN SEDENTARY HEALTHY SUBJECTS: A BEHAVIORAL AND MULTIPARAMETRIC INTERVENTIONAL PET/MR STUDY. INTERVENTIONAL YOGA STUDIES WITH AN ACTIVE CONTROL GROUP REMAIN SCARCE AND ARE IMPORTANT TO CLARIFY THE UNDERLYING NEUROBIOLOGY. WE CONDUCTED AN INTERVENTIONAL STUDY IN HEALTHY CONTROLS USING SIMULTANEOUS POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY/MAGNETIC RESONANCE (PET/MR) IMAGING AND PSYCHOMETRIC SCALES. THIRTY HEALTHY, FEMALE VOLUNTEERS (28.4 +/- 8.4 YEARS) PARTICIPATED AND WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A 12-WEEK YOGA OR INDOOR CYCLING INTERVENTION. BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION, [(18)F]FDG AND [(11)C]UCB-J PET WAS PERFORMED ON A SIMULTANEOUS GE SIGNA PET/MR WITH VOLUMETRIC IMAGING. PSYCHOMETRIC SCALES WERE EVALUATED ON AFFECT, MINDFULNESS, STRESS, WORRYING, SELF-COMPASSION, AND INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS. YOGA SUBJECTS SCORED HIGHER ON INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS COMPARED TO BASELINE (P < 0.001). COGNITIVE (P = 0.009) AND OVERALL COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING (P = 0.01) IMPROVED AFTER THE YOGA INTERVENTION COMPARED TO THE CYCLING GROUP. WE DID NOT OBSERVE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN GLUCOSE METABOLISM, SYNAPTIC DENSITY, OR GRAY MATTER (GM) VOLUME. THE INDOOR CYCLING GROUP DID NOT SHOW CHANGES IN PSYCHOMETRIC VARIABLES, BUT SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN RELATIVE GLUCOSE METABOLISM WERE OBSERVED IN THE PARAHIPPOCAMPAL/FUSIFORM GYRUS AND CEREBELLUM (P < 0.001). IN CONCLUSION, 12 WEEKS OF YOGA PRACTICE HAS SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS ON INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS AND PERCEIVED COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN STARTERS. LONGER INTERVENTIONS AND/OR HIGHER FREQUENCY OF YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE NEEDED TO DETECT CEREBRAL METABOLIC AND/OR MORPHOLOGIC EFFECTS ON THE MACROSCOPIC LEVEL. 2021 3 693 36 EFFECT OF CONTROLLED BREATHING EXERCISES ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL STATUS AND THE CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE: SUDARSHAN KRIYA AND PRANA-YOGA. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY WAS TO OBSERVE THE EFFECT OF CONTROLLED BREATHING EXERCISES INCLUDING SUDARSHAN KRIYA (SK) AND PRANA-YOGA (PY) ON THE PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL STATUS. METHODS: THE STUDY GROUP INCLUDED 60 HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (M:30, F:30) IN THE AGE GROUP OF 18 TO 30 YEARS (21.3 +/- 3.2 YRS), RANDOMLY DIVIDED IN TO THREE GROUPS OF 20 SUBJECTS EACH--(1) THE SK GROUP (2) THE PY GROUP AND THE (3) CONTROL GROUP. THE PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL DATA WAS COLLECTED AT THE FOLLOWING FOUR TIME INTERVENTIONS: BASELINE, 6TH, 60TH AND THE 150TH DAY. PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT WAS DONE USING QUESTIONNAIRES AND FOR THE AUTONOMIC TONE QUANTIFICATION HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) ANALYSIS WAS DONE USING THE STANDARD LEAD II ELECTROCARDIOGRAM RECORDINGS. IN A POST-HOC ANALYSIS EACH GROUP WAS FURTHER SUB DIVIDED IN TO THE FOLLOWING TWO PATTERNS, BASED ON THE BASELINE VALUES OF NORMALIZED LOW FREQUENCY (LF) POWER (CUTOFF 64 MS2): (I) PATTERN A-SUBJECTS WITH LOW LEVEL LF POWER, AND (II) PATTERN B- SUBJECTS WITH HIGH LEVEL LF POWER. RESULTS: THE STRESS MANAGEMENT SKILLS HAVE SHOWN SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SK GROUP BUT NOT IN PY AND CONTROL GROUP. SUBJECTS OF SK, PY, AND CONTROL GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN LF VALUE AND LF:HF RATIO FOR PATTERN A AND SIGNIFICANT DECREASE FOR PATTERN B. PLOTTED LF VALUE FOR PATTERN A & B IN SK AND PY PRACTITIONERS SHOWED CONVERGENCE, COMING TO A MEAN VALUE OVER THE PERIOD OF 150 DAYS. THE LF:HF RATIO CURVE PLOTTED OVER TIME FOR PATTERN A & B SHOWED CONVERGENCE IN SK GROUP ONLY. NO SUCH CONVERGENCE IN LF VALUE & LF/HF RATIO FOR PATTERN A & B WAS SEEN IN CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: IN CONCLUSION, SUDARSHAN KRIYA POSITIVELY MODIFIES STRESS COPING BEHAVIOR AND INITIATES APPROPRIATE BALANCE IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE. 2014 4 1545 35 LARGER WHOLE BRAIN GREY MATTER ASSOCIATED WITH LONG-TERM SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION: A DETAILED AREA BY AREA COMPARISON. OBJECTIVES: OUR PREVIOUS STUDY SHOWED THAT LONG-TERM PRACTITIONERS OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION (SYM) HAD AROUND 7% LARGER GREY MATTER VOLUME (GMV) IN THE WHOLE BRAIN COMPARED WITH HEALTHY CONTROLS; HOWEVER, WHEN TESTING INDIVIDUAL REGIONS, ONLY 5 SMALL BRAIN AREAS WERE STATISTICALLY DIFFERENT BETWEEN GROUPS. UNDER THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THOSE RESULTS WERE STATISTICALLY CONSERVATIVE, WITH THE SAME DATASET, WE INVESTIGATED IN MORE DETAIL THE REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN GMV ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRACTICE OF SYM, WITH A DIFFERENT STATISTICAL APPROACH. DESIGN: TWENTY-THREE EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS OF SYM AND 23 HEALTHY NON-MEDITATORS MATCHED ON AGE, SEX AND EDUCATION LEVEL, WERE SCANNED USING STRUCTURAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI). THEIR GMV WERE EXTRACTED AND COMPARED USING VOXEL-BASED MORPHOMETRY (VBM). USING A NOVEL AD-HOC GENERAL LINEAR MODEL, STATISTICAL COMPARISONS WERE MADE TO OBSERVE IF THE GMV DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEDITATORS AND CONTROLS WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. RESULTS: IN THE 16 LOBE AREA SUBDIVISIONS, GMV WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT IN 4 OUT OF 16 AREAS: IN RIGHT HEMISPHERIC TEMPORAL AND FRONTAL LOBES, LEFT FRONTAL LOBE AND BRAINSTEM. IN THE 116 AAL AREA SUBDIVISIONS, GMV DIFFERENCE WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IN 11 AREAS. THE GMV DIFFERENCES WERE STATISTICALLY MORE SIGNIFICANT IN RIGHT HEMISPHERIC BRAIN AREAS. CONCLUSIONS: THE STUDY SHOWS THAT LONG-TERM PRACTICE OF SYM IS ASSOCIATED WITH LARGER GMV OVERALL, AND WITH SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES MAINLY IN TEMPORAL AND FRONTAL AREAS OF THE RIGHT HEMISPHERE AND THE BRAINSTEM. THESE NEUROPLASTIC CHANGES MAY REFLECT EMOTIONAL AND ATTENTIONAL CONTROL MECHANISMS DEVELOPED WITH SYM. ON THE OTHER HAND, OUR STATISTICAL AD-HOC METHOD SHOWS THAT THERE WERE MORE BRAIN AREAS WITH STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE COMPARED TO THE TRADITIONAL METHODOLOGY WHICH WE THINK IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO CONSERVATIVE TYPE II ERRORS. 2020 5 1305 29 HATHA YOGA PRACTICES: ENERGY EXPENDITURE, RESPIRATORY CHANGES AND INTENSITY OF EXERCISE. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO CRITICALLY OBSERVE THE ENERGY EXPENDITURE, EXERCISE INTENSITY AND RESPIRATORY CHANGES DURING A FULL YOGA PRACTICE SESSION. OXYGEN CONSUMPTION ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]), CARBON DIOXIDE OUTPUT ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]), PULMONARY VENTILATION ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]E), RESPIRATORY RATE (FR) AND TIDAL VOLUME (VT), WERE MEASURED IN 16 PHYSICAL POSTURE (ASANAS), FIVE YOGA BREATHING MANEUVERS (BM) AND TWO TYPES OF MEDITATION. TWENTY MALE (AGE 27.3 +/- 3.5 YEARS, HEIGHT 166.6 +/- 5.4 CM AND BODY WEIGHT 58.8 +/- 9.6 KG) YOGA INSTRUCTORS WERE STUDIED. THEIR MAXIMAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]) WAS RECORDED. THE EXERCISE INTENSITY IN ASANAS WAS EXPRESSED IN PERCENTAGE [FORMULA: SEE TEXT] . IN ASANAS, EXERCISE INTENSITY VARIED FROM 9.9 TO 26.5% OF [FORMULA: SEE TEXT] . HIGHEST ENERGY COST WAS 3.02 KCAL MIN(-1). IN BM HIGHEST [FORMULA: SEE TEXT]E WAS 53.7 +/- 15.5 L MIN(-1). VT WAS 0.97 +/- 0.59, 1.41 +/- 1.27 AND 1.28 +/- L/BREATH WITH CORRESPONDING FR OF 14.0 +/- 5.3, 10.0 +/- 6.35, 10.0 +/- 5.8 BREATHS/MIN. AVERAGE ENERGY EXPENDITURE IN ASANAS, BM AND MEDITATION WERE 2.29, 1.91 AND 1.37 KCAL MIN(-1), RESPECTIVELY. METABOLIC RATE WAS GENERALLY IN THE RANGE OF 1-2 METABOLIC EQUIVALENTS (MET) EXCEPT IN THREE ASANAS WHERE IT WAS >2 MET. [FORMULA: SEE TEXT] WAS 0.27 +/- 0.05 AND 0.24 +/- 0.04 L MIN(-1) IN MEDITATION AND SHAVASANA, RESPECTIVELY. ALTHOUGH YOGIC PRACTICES ARE LOW INTENSITY EXERCISES WITHIN LACTATE THRESHOLD, PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT IS POSSIBLE OWING TO BOTH BETTER ECONOMY OF BREATHING BY BM AND ALSO BY IMPROVEMENT IN CARDIOVASCULAR RESERVE. OTHER FACTORS SUCH AS PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BETTER RELAXATION MAY CONTRIBUTE TO IT. 2011 6 800 27 EFFECT OF YOGA NIDRA ON PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES IN PATIENTS OF MENSTRUAL DISTURBANCES OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE GROUP. AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO SEE ANY EFFECT ON AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS IN MENSTRUAL DISTURBANCES PATIENTS AFTER YOGA NIDRA PRACTICE. THE SUBJECTS FOR THE STUDY WERE 150 FEMALES WITH MENSTRUAL IRREGULARITIES, 28.08 +/- 7.43 YEARS OF MEAN AGE, REFERRED FROM DEPARTMENT OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY CSMMU, UP, LUCKNOW. SUBJECTS WERE DIVIDED RANDOMLY IN TO TWO GROUPS' INTERVENTION AND IN CONTROL GROUPS -SEVENTY FIVE (75) IN EACH GROUP. OUT OF THESE, ONE HUNDRED TWENTY SIX (126) COMPLETED THE STUDY PROTOCOL. THE YOGIC INTERVENTION CONSISTED OF 35-40 MINUTES/DAY, FIVE DAYS IN A WEEK TILL SIX MONTHS. AN AUTONOMIC FUNCTION TESTING WAS DONE IN BOTH THE GROUPS AT ZERO TIME AND AFTER SIX MONTHS. A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE EFFECT WAS OBSERVED WHEN YOGA THERAPY WAS USED AS AN ADJUNCT IN THE PATIENTS OF MENSTRUAL DISTURBANCES. THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE BLOOD PRESSURE, POSTURAL HYPOTENSION AND SUSTAINED HAND GRIP, HEART RATE EXPIRATION INSPIRATION RATIO AND 30:15 BEAT RATIOS OF THE SUBJECTS AFTER YOGIC PRACTICE. 2012 7 2863 26 YOGA-BASED GUIDED RELAXATION REDUCES SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY JUDGED FROM BASELINE LEVELS. 35 MALE VOLUNTEERS WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 20 TO 46 YEARS WERE STUDIED IN TWO SESSIONS OF YOGA-BASED GUIDED RELAXATION AND SUPINE REST. ASSESSMENTS OF AUTONOMIC VARIABLES WERE MADE FOR 15 SUBJECTS, BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE PRACTICES, WHEREAS OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND BREATH VOLUME WERE RECORDED FOR 25 SUBJECTS BEFORE AND AFTER BOTH TYPES OF RELAXATION. A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND INCREASE IN BREATH VOLUME WERE RECORDED AFTER GUIDED RELAXATION (PAIRED T TEST). THERE WERE COMPARABLE REDUCTIONS IN HEART RATE AND SKIN CONDUCTANCE DURING BOTH TYPES OF RELAXATION. DURING GUIDED RELAXATION THE POWER OF THE LOW FREQUENCY COMPONENT OF THE HEART-RATE VARIABILITY SPECTRUM REDUCED, WHEREAS THE POWER OF THE HIGH FREQUENCY COMPONENT INCREASED, SUGGESTING REDUCED SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY. ALSO, SUBJECTS WITH A BASELINE RATIO OF LF/HF > 0.5 SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE RATIO AFTER GUIDED RELAXATION, WHILE SUBJECTS WITH A RATIO < OR = 0.5 AT BASELINE SHOWED NO SUCH CHANGE. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY DECREASED AFTER GUIDED RELAXATION BASED ON YOGA, DEPENDING ON THE BASELINE LEVELS. 2002 8 1555 33 LONG-TERM ASHTANGA YOGA PRACTICE DECREASES MEDIAL TEMPORAL AND BRAINSTEM GLUCOSE METABOLISM IN RELATION TO YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS INCREASINGLY POPULAR WORLDWIDE WITH SEVERAL PHYSICAL AND MENTAL BENEFITS, BUT THE UNDERLYING NEUROBIOLOGY REMAINS UNCLEAR. WHEREAS MANY STUDIES HAVE FOCUSED ON PURE MEDITATIONAL ASPECTS, THE TRIAD OF YOGA INCLUDES MEDITATION, POSTURES, AND BREATHING. WE CONDUCTED A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY COMPARING EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS TO YOGA-NAIVE HEALTHY SUBJECTS USING A MULTIPARAMETRIC 2 X 2 DESIGN WITH SIMULTANEOUS POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY/MAGNETIC RESONANCE (PET/MR) IMAGING. METHODS: (18)F-FDG PET, MORPHOMETRIC AND DIFFUSION TENSOR IMAGING, RESTING STATE FMRI, AND MR SPECTROSCOPY WERE ACQUIRED IN 10 EXPERIENCED (4.8 +/- 2.3 YEARS OF REGULAR YOGA EXPERIENCE) YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND 15 MATCHED CONTROLS IN REST AND AFTER A SINGLE PRACTICE (YOGA PRACTICE AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE, RESPECTIVELY). RESULTS: IN REST, DECREASED REGIONAL GLUCOSE METABOLISM IN THE MEDIAL TEMPORAL CORTEX, STRIATUM, AND BRAINSTEM WAS OBSERVED IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS COMPARED TO CONTROLS (P < 0.0001), WITH A SIGNIFICANT INVERSE CORRELATION OF RESTING PARAHIPPOCAMPAL AND BRAINSTEM METABOLISM WITH YEARS OF REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE (RHO < - 0.63, P < 0.05). A SINGLE YOGA PRACTICE RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT HYPERMETABOLISM IN THE CEREBELLUM (P < 0.0001). NONE OF THE MR MEASURES DIFFERED, BOTH AT REST AND AFTER INTERVENTION. CONCLUSIONS: EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOW REGIONAL LONG-TERM DECREASES IN GLUCOSE METABOLISM RELATED TO YEARS OF PRACTICE. TO ELUCIDATE A POTENTIAL CAUSALITY, A PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDY IN YOGA-NAIVE INDIVIDUALS IS WARRANTED. 2020 9 985 35 EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA AND OMKAR MEDITATION ON CARDIORESPIRATORY PERFORMANCE, PSYCHOLOGIC PROFILE, AND MELATONIN SECRETION. OBJECTIVES: TO EVALUATE EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA AND OMKAR MEDITATION ON CARDIORESPIRATORY PERFORMANCE, PSYCHOLOGIC PROFILE, AND MELATONIN SECRETION. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: THIRTY HEALTHY MEN IN THE AGE GROUP OF 25-35 YEARS VOLUNTEERED FOR THE STUDY. THEY WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED IN TWO GROUPS OF 15 EACH. GROUP 1 SUBJECTS SERVED AS CONTROLS AND PERFORMED BODY FLEXIBILITY EXERCISES FOR 40 MINUTES AND SLOW RUNNING FOR 20 MINUTES DURING MORNING HOURS AND PLAYED GAMES FOR 60 MINUTES DURING EVENING HOURS DAILY FOR 3 MONTHS. GROUP 2 SUBJECTS PRACTICED SELECTED YOGIC ASANAS (POSTURES) FOR 45 MINUTES AND PRANAYAMA FOR 15 MINUTES DURING THE MORNING, WHEREAS DURING THE EVENING HOURS THESE SUBJECTS PERFORMED PREPARATORY YOGIC POSTURES FOR 15 MINUTES, PRANAYAMA FOR 15 MINUTES, AND MEDITATION FOR 30 MINUTES DAILY, FOR 3 MONTHS. ORTHOSTATIC TOLERANCE, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, RESPIRATORY RATE, DYNAMIC LUNG FUNCTION (SUCH AS FORCED VITAL CAPACITY, FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME IN 1 SECOND, FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME PERCENTAGE, PEAK EXPIRATORY FLOW RATE, AND MAXIMUM VOLUNTARY VENTILATION), AND PSYCHOLOGIC PROFILE WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER 3 MONTHS OF YOGIC PRACTICES. SERIAL BLOOD SAMPLES WERE DRAWN AT VARIOUS TIME INTERVALS TO STUDY EFFECTS OF THESE YOGIC PRACTICES AND OMKAR MEDITATION ON MELATONIN LEVELS. RESULTS: YOGIC PRACTICES FOR 3 MONTHS RESULTED IN AN IMPROVEMENT IN CARDIORESPIRATORY PERFORMANCE AND PSYCHOLOGIC PROFILE. THE PLASMA MELATONIN ALSO SHOWED AN INCREASE AFTER THREE MONTHS OF YOGIC PRACTICES. THE SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, MEAN ARTERIAL PRESSURE, AND ORTHOSTATIC TOLERANCE DID NOT SHOW ANY SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION WITH PLASMA MELATONIN. HOWEVER, THE MAXIMUM NIGHT TIME MELATONIN LEVELS IN YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION (R = 0.71, P < 0.05) WITH WELL-BEING SCORE. CONCLUSION: THESE OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST THAT YOGIC PRACTICES CAN BE USED AS PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGIC STIMULI TO INCREASE ENDOGENOUS SECRETION OF MELATONIN, WHICH, IN TURN, MIGHT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPROVED SENSE OF WELL-BEING. 2004 10 785 39 EFFECT OF YOGA BASED TECHNIQUES ON STRESS AND HEALTH INDICES USING ELECTRO PHOTONIC IMAGING TECHNIQUE IN MANAGERS. BACKGROUND: MEDITATION TECHNIQUES ARE KNOWN TO ELICIT RELAXATION RESPONSE IN WHICH MOVING MEDITATION WHICH COMBINES THE PRACTICE OF YOGA POSTURES AND GUIDED RELAXATION IS KNOWN AS CYCLIC MEDITATION REPORTED HELPFUL IN REDUCING THE SYMPATHETIC AROUSAL AND IMPROVING HEALTH OF PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVES: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF CYCLIC MEDITATION ON STRESS AND HEALTH INDICES IN MANAGERS AS MEASURED BY ELECTRO PHOTONIC IMAGING (EPI) TECHNIQUE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: EPI TECHNIQUE WAS USED TO ASSESS PARTICIPANTS BEFORE AND AFTER 35 MIN OF CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) AND EQUAL DURATION OF SUPINE REST (SR) SESSION. A TOTAL OF SIXTY SIX MALE MANAGERS, AGE RANGES FROM 35 TO 60 YEARS (MEAN +/- SD 53.97 +/- 5.96) WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY. EPI PARAMETERS, INCLUDING ACTIVATION COEFFICIENT, INTEGRAL AREA LEFT AND RIGHT AND INTEGRAL ENTROPY, LEFT AND RIGHT WERE TAKEN FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSES. RESULTS: CYCLIC MEDITATION HAS PRODUCED A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN STRESS LEVEL, WHEREAS THIS REDUCTION WAS NOT FOUND SIGNIFICANT WITHIN SR GROUP. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH INDEX 'INTEGRAL AREA' VALUES IN BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES WITHIN THE CM GROUP WHILE ONLY IA RIGHT SIDE SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT WITHIN THE CM GROUP. THE INTEGRAL ENTROPY VALUE RIGHT SIDE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY WITHIN THE CM GROUP, WHEREAS IE LEFT WAS FOUND DETERIORATED WITHIN THE SR GROUP. MOREOVER, ONLY IE LEFT SIDE HAS SHOWN A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS. CONCLUSION: THE INVESTIGATIONS IN THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT CYCLIC MEDITATION PRACTICE REDUCES STRESS AND IMPROVES PSYCHOSOMATIC HEALTH INDICES MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN SUPINE REST IN MANAGERS. 2016 11 1944 28 SALT AND WATER BALANCE AFTER SWEAT LOSS: A STUDY OF BIKRAM YOGA. BIKRAM YOGA IS PRACTICED IN A ROOM HEATED TO 105 DEGREES F WITH 40% HUMIDITY FOR 90 MIN. DURING THE CLASS A LARGE VOLUME OF WATER AND ELECTROLYTES ARE LOST IN THE SWEAT, SPECIFICALLY, SODIUM IS LOST, THE MAIN CATION OF THE EXTRACELLULAR FLUID. THERE IS LITTLE KNOWN ABOUT THE VOLUME OF SWEAT AND THE AMOUNT OF SODIUM LOST IN SWEAT DURING BIKRAM YOGA OR THE OPTIMUM QUANTITY OF FLUID REQUIRED TO REPLACE THESE LOSSES. THE PARTICIPANTS WHO TOOK PART IN THIS SMALL FEASIBILITY STUDY WERE FIVE FEMALES WITH A MEAN AGE OF 47.4 +/- 4.7 YEARS AND 2.6 +/- 1.6 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AT BIKRAM YOGA. THE TOTAL BODY WEIGHT, WATER CONSUMED, SERUM SODIUM CONCENTRATION, SERUM OSMOLALITY, AND SERUM ALDOSTERONE LEVELS WERE ALL MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER A BIKRAM YOGA PRACTICE. SWEAT SODIUM CHLORIDE CONCENTRATION AND OSMOLALITY WERE MEASURED AT THE END OF THE PRACTICE. THE MEAN ESTIMATED SWEAT LOSS WAS 1.54 +/- 0.65 L, WHILE THE AMOUNT OF WATER CONSUMED DURING BIKRAM YOGA WAS 0.38 +/- 0.22 L. EVEN THOUGH ONLY 25% OF THE SWEAT LOSS WAS REPLENISHED WITH WATER INTAKE DURING THE BIKRAM YOGA CLASS, WE DID NOT OBSERVE A CHANGE IN SERUM SODIUM LEVELS OR SERUM OSMOLALITY. THE SWEAT CONTAINED 82 +/- 16 MMOL/L OF SODIUM CHLORIDE FOR AN ESTIMATED TOTAL OF 6.8 +/- 2.1 G OF SODIUM CHLORIDE LOST IN THE SWEAT. THE SERUM ALDOSTERONE INCREASED 3.5-FOLD FROM BEFORE TO AFTER BIKRAM YOGA. THERE WAS A DECREASE IN THE EXTRACELLULAR BODY FLUID COMPARTMENT OF 9.7%. SWEAT LOSS IN BIKRAM YOGA PREDOMINATELY PRODUCED A VOLUME DEPLETION RATHER THAN THE DEHYDRATION OF BODY FLUIDS. THE SWEATING-STIMULATED RISE IN SERUM ALDOSTERONE LEVELS WILL LEAD TO INCREASED SODIUM REABSORPTION FROM THE KIDNEY TUBULES AND RESTORE THE EXTRACELLULAR FLUID VOLUME OVER THE NEXT 24 HR. 2020 12 752 32 EFFECT OF SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM BRAHMAKUMARIS RAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES. EFFECT OF SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM BRAHMAKUMARIS RAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES LIKE HEART RATE (HR), RESPIRATORY RATE (RR), SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (SBP) AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (DBP) WAS EVALUATED IN 100 SUBJECTS PRACTICING RAJA YOGA MEDITATION. ALL 100 SUBJECTS (33 MEN AND 67 WOMEN) WERE AGED 30 YEARS AND ABOVE (MEAN AGE 52.06 +/- 12.76 YEARS). SHORT-TERM MEDITATORS (STM) (N = 27) PRACTICED RAJA YOGA MEDITATION FOR DURATION OF SIX MONTHS TO FIVE YEARS (MEAN DURATION 3.37 +/- 1.67 YEARS) AND LONG-TERM MEDITATORS (LTM) (N = 73) PRACTICED RAJA YOGA MEDITATION FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS (MEAN DURATION 11.19 +/- 5.13 YEARS). THE PARTICIPANTS WERE ASKED TO MEDITATE AND THE PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES (HR, RR, SBP AND DBP) WERE RECORDED TWICE (15 MINUTES AND 30 MINUTES) AFTER BEGINNING OF MEDITATION. ALSO, THE FASTING BLOOD SUGAR WAS ESTIMATED BY GLUCOMETER. THE STUDY SUBJECTS DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY IN AGE AND VARIOUS ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS BODY WEIGHT, BODY MASS INDEX, WAIST-HIP RATIO AND FASTING BLOOD SUGAR. COMPARISON BETWEEN STM AND LTM SHOWED THAT THE CHANGES FROM BASELINE VALUES (FROM PREMEDITATION TO POST-MEDITATION AT 15 AND 30 MINUTES) IN LTM WERE NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT WITH THOSE IN STM (P > 0.05). HOWEVER, WITHIN GROUP DIFFERENCES IN LTM REVEALED THAT CHANGES IN THE PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT WHEN COMPARED BETWEEN PRE AND POST MEDITATION BOTH AT 15 AND 30 MINUTES. THE STUDY SUGGESTS THAT THE LONG-TERM PRACTICE OF RAJA YOGA MEDITATION IMPROVES BASIC CARDIO-RESPIRATORY FUNCTIONS DUE TO SHIFTING OF THE AUTONOMIC BALANCE IN FAVOR OF PARASYMPATHETIC INSTEAD OF SYMPATHETIC SYSTEM. 2012 13 756 28 EFFECT OF SIX WEEKS YOGA TRAINING ON WEIGHT LOSS FOLLOWING STEP TEST, RESPIRATORY PRESSURES, HANDGRIP STRENGTH AND HANDGRIP ENDURANCE IN YOUNG HEALTHY SUBJECTS. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO TEST WHETHER YOGA TRAINING OF SIX WEEKS DURATION MODULATES SWEATING RESPONSE TO DYNAMIC EXERCISE AND IMPROVES RESPIRATORY PRESSURES, HANDGRIP STRENGTH AND HANDGRIP ENDURANCE. OUT OF 46 HEALTHY SUBJECTS (30 MALES AND 16 FEMALES, AGED 17-20 YR), 23 MOTIVATED SUBJECTS (15 MALE AND 8 FEMALE) WERE GIVEN YOGA TRAINING AND THE REMAINING 23 SUBJECTS SERVED AS CONTROLS. WEIGHT LOSS FOLLOWING HARVARD STEP TEST (AN INDEX OF SWEAT LOSS), MAXIMUM INSPIRATORY PRESSURE, MAXIMUM EXPIRATORY PRESSURE, 40 MM ENDURANCE, HANDGRIP STRENGTH AND HANDGRIP ENDURANCE WERE DETERMINED BEFORE AND AFTER THE SIX WEEK STUDY PERIOD. IN THE YOGA GROUP, WEIGHT LOSS IN RESPONSE TO HARVARD STEP TEST WAS 64 +/- 30 G AFTER YOGA TRAINING AS COMPARED TO 161 +/- 133 G BEFORE THE TRAINING AND THE DIFFERENCE WAS SIGNIFICANT (N = 15 MALE SUBJECTS, P < 0.0001). IN CONTRAST, WEIGHT LOSS FOLLOWING STEP TEST WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT IN THE CONTROL GROUP AT THE END OF THE STUDY PERIOD. YOGA TRAINING PRODUCED A MARKED INCREASE IN RESPIRATORY PRESSURES AND ENDURANCE IN 40 MM HG TEST IN BOTH MALE AND FEMALE SUBJECTS (P < 0.05 FOR ALL COMPARISONS). IN CONCLUSION, THE PRESENT STUDY DEMONSTRATES ATTENUATION OF THE SWEATING RESPONSE TO STEP TEST BY YOGA TRAINING. FURTHER, YOGA TRAINING FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF SIX WEEKS CAN PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN RESPIRATORY MUSCLE STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE. 2008 14 884 29 EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON ONE LEG STANDING AND FUNCTIONAL REACH TESTS IN OBESE INDIVIDUALS WITH POOR POSTURAL CONTROL. [PURPOSE] THE AIM OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON STATIC AND DYNAMIC STANDING BALANCE IN OBESE INDIVIDUALS WITH POOR STANDING BALANCE. [SUBJECTS AND METHODS] SIXTEEN OBESE VOLUNTEERS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED INTO YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS. THE YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM WAS PERFORMED FOR 45 MINUTES PER DAY, 3 TIMES PER WEEK, FOR 4 WEEKS. STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCE WERE ASSESSED IN VOLUNTEERS WITH ONE LEG STANDING AND FUNCTIONAL REACH TESTS. OUTCOME MEASURES WERE TESTED BEFORE TRAINING AND AFTER A SINGLE WEEK OF TRAINING. TWO-WAY REPEATED MEASURE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WITH TUKEY'S HONESTLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE POST HOC STATISTICS WAS USED TO ANALYZE THE DATA. [RESULTS] OBESE INDIVIDUALS SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED STATIC STANDING BALANCE IN THE YOGA TRAINING GROUP, BUT THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT OF STATIC OR DYNAMIC STANDING BALANCE IN THE CONTROL GROUP AFTER 4 WEEKS. IN THE YOGA GROUP, SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN STATIC STANDING BALANCE WAS FOUND AFTER THE 2ND, 3RD, AND 4TH WEEKS. COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP, STATIC STANDING BALANCE IN THE YOGA GROUP WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT AFTER THE 2ND WEEK, AND DYNAMIC STANDING BALANCE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT AFTER THE 4TH WEEK. [CONCLUSION] YOGA TRAINING WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR IMPROVING STANDING BALANCE IN OBESE INDIVIDUALS WITH POOR STANDING BALANCE. 2015 15 1692 26 OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND RESPIRATION FOLLOWING TWO YOGA RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO EVALUATE A STATEMENT IN ANCIENT YOGA TEXTS THAT SUGGESTS THAT A COMBINATION OF BOTH "CALMING" AND "STIMULATING" MEASURES MAY BE ESPECIALLY HELPFUL IN REACHING A STATE OF MENTAL EQUILIBRIUM. TWO YOGA PRACTICES, ONE COMBINING "CALMING AND STIMULATING" MEASURES (CYCLIC MEDITATION) AND THE OTHER, A "CALMING" TECHNIQUE (SHAVASAN), WERE COMPARED. THE OXYGEN CONSUMPTION, BREATH RATE, AND BREATH VOLUME OF 40 MALE VOLUNTEERS (GROUP MEAN +/- SD, 27.0 +/- 5.7 YEARS) WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER SESSIONS OF CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) AND BEFORE AND AFTER SESSIONS OF SHAVASAN (SH). THE 2 SESSIONS (CM, SH) WERE 1 DAY APART. CYCLIC MEDITATION INCLUDES THE PRACTICE OF YOGA POSTURES INTERSPERSED WITH PERIODS OF SUPINE RELAXATION. DURING SH THE SUBJECT LIES IN A SUPINE POSITION THROUGHOUT THE PRACTICE. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF OXYGEN CONSUMED AND IN BREATH RATE AND AN INCREASE IN BREATH VOLUME AFTER BOTH TYPES OF SESSIONS (2-FACTOR ANOVA, PAIRED T TEST). HOWEVER, THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE ON ALL 3 MEASURES WAS GREATER AFTER CM: (1) OXYGEN CONSUMPTION DECREASED 32.1% AFTER CM COMPARED WITH 10.1% AFTER SH; (2) BREATH RATE DECREASED 18.0% AFTER CM AND 15.2% AFTER SH; AND (3) BREATH VOLUME INCREASED 28.8% AFTER CM AND 15.9% AFTER SH. THESE RESULTS SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT A COMBINATION OF YOGA POSTURES INTERSPERSED WITH RELAXATION REDUCES AROUSAL MORE THAN RELAXATION ALONE DOES. 2000 16 1835 20 PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES AT THE TIME OF EXAMINATION IN MEDICAL STUDENTS BEFORE AND AFTER THE PRACTICE OF YOGA AND RELAXATION. THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND RELAXATION CHANGES IN PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN RESPONSE TO THE STRESS OF EXAMINATION IN 75 MEDICAL STUDENTS WAS STUDIED. INITIALLY FIVE PARAMETERS (ANXIETY LEVEL, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, GALVANIC SKIN RESISTANCE AND CHOICE REACTION TIME) WERE RECORDED, A MONTH BEFORE THE EXAMINATION AND ON THE DAY OF EXAMINATION. STUDENTS WERE THEN RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUP OF 25 EACH. ONE GROUP PRACTICED YOGA (GROUP- Y), AND ANOTHER GROUP PRACTICED RELAXATION (GROUP-R) REGULARLY FOR THREE MONTHS. THE THIRD GROUP WAS CONTROL GROUP (GROUP-C). ALL THE PARAMETERS WERE RECORDED AFTER THE CHANGES IN ANXIETY LEVEL, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, AND GALVANIC SKIN RESISTANCE IN RESPONSE TO STRESS OF EXAMINATION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATED AND THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN CHOICE REACTION TIME IN GROUP-Y AND GROUP-R AS COMPARED TO GROUP-C AFTER YOGA AND RELAXATION. 1998 17 1605 45 MENTAL STRESS: NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND ITS REGULATION BY SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA. AIM: THE PRESENT STUDY FOCUSES ON ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) ON EEG AS WELL AS ECG SIGNALS FOR STRESS REGULATION. TO ENVISION THE REGULATION OF STRESS DETERMINATION TEST (DT) HAS BEEN USED. WE HAVE CHOSEN A CONTROL GROUP FOR CONTRIVING A COGENT COMPARISON THAT COULD BE CORROBORATED USING STATISTICAL TESTS. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 20 SUBJECTS WERE TAKEN IN THE STUDY, OF WHICH 10 WERE ALLOTTED TO A CONTROL GROUP. ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPH WAS TAKEN DURING A DT TASK, BEFORE AND AFTER SKY THE SKY SESSION WITH 30 DAYS OF SKY SESSION GIVEN TO THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. NO SKY WAS GIVEN TO THE CONTROL GROUP. RESULTS: WE QUANTIFIED MENTAL STRESS USING EEG, ECG AND DT SYNERGISTICALLY AND USED SKY TO REGULATE IT. WE OBSERVED THAT ALPHA BAND POWER DECREASES IN THE FRONTAL LOBE OF THE BRAIN WITH INCREASING MENTAL STRESS WHILE FRONTAL BRAIN ASYMMETRY DECREASES WITH INCREASING STRESS TOLERANCE. CONCLUSIONS: THESE EEG, ECG AND DT SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT DECREMENT IN MENTAL STRESS AND IMPROVEMENT IN COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AFTER SKY, INDICATING SKY AS A GOOD ALTERNATIVE OF MEDICATION FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT. 2017 18 300 24 AN ASSESSMENT OF A SEQUENCE OF YOGA EXERCISES TO PATIENTS WITH ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION. THIS QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY DESCRIBES THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA SEQUENCE FOLLOWING HEMODYNAMIC AND BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION. THIRTY-THREE VOLUNTEERS PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY (CONTROL = 16 AND YOGA = 17) FOR FOUR MONTHS. BLOOD PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS, CARDIAC AND RESPIRATORY RATE WERE COLLECTED MONTHLY, WHILE THE BIOCHEMICAL PROFILE WAS TAKEN AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE PROGRAM. TO ANALYZE THE DATA, STUDENT'S T TEST AND REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSES WERE PERFORMED. THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART AND RESPIRATORY RATE (P < 0.05). AS FOR THE BIOCHEMICAL PROFILE, THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS BETWEEN INITIAL VALUES AND FINAL RESPONSES GREATER THAN THE CONTROL OF FASTING GLUCOSE, TOTAL CHOLESTEROL, LDL-CHOLESTEROL AND TRIGLYCERIDES. THE ELABORATED SEQUENCE PRACTICE PROMOTED SIGNIFICANT CARDIOVASCULAR AND METABOLIC BENEFITS. THE YOGA EXERCISES PERFORMED IN THE PROPOSED SEQUENCE CONSTITUTE COMPLEMENTARY NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL CONTROL OF BLOOD PRESSURE IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION. 2013 19 525 21 COMPARISON OF EFFECTS OF YOGA & PHYSICAL EXERCISE IN ATHLETES. THE EFFECT OF PRANAYAMA A CONTROLLED BREATHING PRACTICE, ON EXERCISE TESTS WAS STUDIED IN ATHLETES IN TWO PHASES; SUB-MAXIMAL AND MAXIMAL EXERCISE TESTS. AT THE END OF PHASE I (ONE YEAR) BOTH THE GROUPS (CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL) ACHIEVED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER WORK RATE AND REDUCTION IN OXYGEN CONSUMPTION PER UNIT WORK. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN BLOOD LACTATE AND AN INCREASE IN P/L RATIO IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP, AT REST. AT THE END OF PHASE II (TWO YEARS), THE OXYGEN CONSUMPTION PER UNIT WORK WAS FOUND TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED AND THE WORK RATE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. BLOOD LACTATE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AT REST IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP ONLY. PYRUVATE AND PYRUVATE-LACTATE RATIO INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN BOTH THE GROUPS AFTER EXERCISE AND AT REST IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. THE RESULTS IN BOTH PHASES SHOWED THAT THE SUBJECTS WHO PRACTISED PRANAYAMA COULD ACHIEVE HIGHER WORK RATES WITH REDUCED OXYGEN CONSUMPTION PER UNIT WORK AND WITHOUT INCREASE IN BLOOD LACTATE LEVELS. THE BLOOD LACTATE LEVELS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOW AT REST. 1994 20 1382 33 IMPACT OF PRAJNA YOGA ON COGNITION IN ADOLESCENTS WITH CONGENITAL AND ADVENTITIOUS VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. CONTEXT: NUMEROUS SCIENTIFIC STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON COGNITION IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS. HOWEVER, FEWER STUDIES HAVE ASSESSED THE IMPACT OF YOGIC PRACTICES ON COGNITION IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. DESPITE THEIR KEEN INTELLECTUAL ABILITIES AND ADVANCED LINGUISTIC SKILLS, TEENS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT OFTEN EXPERIENCE DIFFICULTIES WITH COGNITIVE CONTROL AND BEHAVIORAL REGULATION. MEMORY PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN COGNITION. BESIDES STORING INFORMATION, MEMORY IS ALSO USED FOR RECALL, DEFINED AS THE RETRIEVAL OF INFORMATION THE BRAIN HAS RECENTLY BEEN EXPOSED TO, AND RECOGNITION, DEFINED AS THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE OR RETRIEVE THE INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY ENCOUNTERED AND STORED IN THE BRAIN. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY WAS TO OBSERVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRAJNA YOGA ON ENHANCING THE COGNITION AND VERBAL MEMORY IN ADOLESCENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. DEGREE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND AGE OF ONSET OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT WERE CONSIDERED WHILE ANALYZING THE STUDY DATA. DESIGN: AN OPEN-TRIAL, SINGLE ARM, PRE-POST STUDY DESIGN WAS ADOPTED. 273 ADOLESCENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT WERE ASSESSED ACROSS INDIA USING THE REY AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST (RAVLT), AT BASELINE (BEFORE THE INTERVENTION), IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE INTERVENTION, AND AT 40 DAYS AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RAVLT MEASURES RECALL AND RECOGNITION THROUGH VERBAL MEMORY. INTERVENTION: PRAJNA YOGA (PY) OR THE ART OF LIVING INTUITION PROGRAM IS A UNIQUE INTERVENTION, BASED ON ANCIENT TECHNIQUES OF PRANAYAMA, SUPER BRAIN YOGA, AND MEDITATION, TAUGHT TO CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS BETWEEN THE AGES 5 AND 17. RESULTS: THE MEAN SCORES FOR RECOGNITION (P=0.011) AND IMMEDIATE RECALL (P=0.011) IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER PY FOR THE ENTIRE STUDY POPULATION, REGARDLESS OF THE DEGREE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT, GENDER AND AGE OF ONSET. A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN MEAN SCORES FOR DELAYED RECALL WAS SEEN AFTER 40 DAYS OF DAILY PRACTICE (P = 0.007). 2022