1  370 143 AUTONOMIC TONE AND BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY DURING 70 DEGREES HEAD-UP TILT IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. INTRODUCTION: THE INTERVENTION OF YOGA WAS SHOWN TO IMPROVE THE AUTONOMIC CONDITIONING IN HUMANS EVIDENT FROM THE ENHANCEMENT OF PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY (BRS). FROM THE DOCUMENTED HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE EXPERIENCE OF YOGA MAY RESULT IN ADAPTATION TO THE ORTHOSTATIC STRESS DUE TO ENHANCED BRS. AIM: TO DECIPHER THE EFFECTS OF YOGA IN THE MODULATION OF AUTONOMIC FUNCTION DURING ORTHOSTATIC CHALLENGE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS WAS A COMPARATIVE STUDY DESIGN CONDUCTED IN AUTONOMIC FUNCTION TEST LAB, OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY, ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, NEW DELHI, INDIA. HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV), BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY, AND BRS WERE ANALYZED ON FORTY NAIVE TO YOGA (NY) SUBJECTS AND FORTY YOGA PRACTITIONERS WITH AN AVERAGE AGE OF 31.08 +/- 7.31 YEARS AND 29.93 +/- 7.57 YEARS, RESPECTIVELY. ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE HEALTHY. SEVENTY DEGREES HEAD UP TILT (HUT) WAS USED AS AN INTERVENTION TO EVALUATE THE CARDIOVASCULAR VARIABILITY DURING ORTHOSTATIC CHALLENGE. RESULTS: DURING HUT, THE R-R INTERVAL (P = 0.042), ROOT MEAN SQUARE OF SUCCESIVE R-R INTERVAL DIFFERENCES (RMSSD) (P = 0.039), STANDARD DEVIATION OF INSTANTANEOUS BEAT-TO-BEAT R-R INTERVAL VARIABILITY (SD1) (P = 0.039) OF HRV, AND SEQUENCE BRS (P = 0.017) AND ALPHA LOW FREQUENCY OF SPECTRAL BRS (P = 0.002) WERE HIGHER IN THE YOGA GROUP. THE DELTA DECREASE IN RRI (P = 0.033) AND BRS (P < 0.01) WAS HIGHER IN THE YOGA GROUP THAN THE NY GROUP. CONCLUSION: THE EFFERENT VAGAL ACTIVITY AND BRS WERE HIGHER IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. THE DELTA CHANGE (DECREASE) IN PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BRS WAS HIGHER, WITH RELATIVELY STABLE SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE INDICATING AN ADAPTIVE RESPONSE TO ORTHOSTATIC CHALLENGE BY THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS COMPARED TO THE NY GROUP.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
2 2759  67 YOGA PRACTITIONERS EXHIBIT HIGHER PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY AND BETTER ADAPTABILITY TO 40 MM HG LOWER-BODY NEGATIVE PRESSURE. YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE AUTONOMIC CONDITIONING IN HUMANS, AS EVIDENCED BY THE ENHANCEMENT OF PARASYM-PATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY. THEREFORE, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE EXPERIENCE OF YOGA MAY RESULT IN ADAPTATION TO ACUTE HEMODYNAMIC CHANGES. TO DECIPHER THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CARDIOVASCULAR VARIABILITY, YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE COMPARED TO YOGA-NAIVE SUBJECTS DURING EXPOSURE TO -40 MM HG LOWER-BODY NEGATIVE PRESSURE (LBNP). A COMPARATIVE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ON 40 YOGANAIVE SUBJECTS AND 40 YOGA PRACTITIONERS WITH AN AVERAGE AGE OF 31.08 +/- 7.31 YEARS AND 29.93 +/- 7.57 YEARS, RESPECTIVELY. HEART RATE VARIABILITY, BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY, BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY, AND CORRELATION BETWEEN SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE AND RR INTERVAL WERE EVALUATED AT REST AND DURING LBNP. IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS, THE HEART RATE WAS LOWER IN SUPINE REST (P = 0.011) AND DURING LBNP (P = 0.043); THE PNN50 MEASURE OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY WAS HIGHER IN SUPINE REST (P = 0.011) AND DURING LBNP (P = 0.034). THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS' STANDARD DEVIATION OF SUCCESSIVE BEAT-TO-BEAT BLOOD PRESSURE INTERVALS OF SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY WAS LOWER IN SUPINE REST (P = 0.034) AND DURING LBNP (P = 0.007), WITH HIGHER SEQUENCE BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY (P = 0.019) AND ~ HIGH-FREQUENCY BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY. MEAN SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE AND RR INTERVAL WERE INVERSELY CORRELATED IN THE YOGA GROUP (R = -0.317, P = 0.049). THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS EXHIBITED HIGHER PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY WITH LOWER SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY, INDICATING BETTER ADAPTABILITY TO LBNP COMPARED TO THE YOGA-NAIVE GROUP. OUR FINDINGS INDICATE THAT THE YOGA MODULE WAS HELPFUL IN CONDITIONS OF HYPOVOLEMIA IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS; IT IS PROPOSED TO BE BENEFICIAL IN CLINICAL CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH SYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE, IMPAIRED BARORE-FLEX SENSITIVITY, AND ORTHOSTATIC INTOLERANCE.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
3  758  60 EFFECT OF SLOW BREATHING ON AUTONOMIC TONE & BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: SLOW BREATHING INCREASES PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY (BRS) IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS, ALSO SIMILARLY OBSERVED IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. PRANAYAMA WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF YOGA WHEN PRACTICED AT A SLOW PACE WAS AT A RESPIRATORY FREQUENCY OF AROUND 0.1 HZ (6 BREATHS/MIN). THEREFORE, IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT YOGA PRACTITIONERS MIGHT HAVE ADAPTED TO SLOW BREATHING. THIS STUDY WAS AIMED TO DECIPHER THE ROLE OF YOGA ON CARDIOVASCULAR VARIABILITY DURING SLOW BREATHING (0.1 HZ) IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. METHODS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN IN NAIVE-TO-YOGA INDIVIDUALS (N=40) AND YOGA PRACTITIONERS (N=40) WITH AN AVERAGE AGE OF 31.08 +/- 7.31 AND 29.93 +/- 7.57 YR, RESPECTIVELY. THE ANALYSIS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY, BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY (BPV) AND BRS DURING SPONTANEOUS AND SLOW BREATHING WAS COMPARED BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS. RESULTS: DURING SLOW BREATHING, THE HEART RATE (P<0.01) WAS LOWER, RESPIRATORY RATE INTERVAL (P<0.05) AND PNN50 PER CENT (P=0.01) WERE HIGHER, MEAN SYSTOLIC BP (SBP) (P<0.05) AND SDSD (STANDARD DEVIATION OF SUCCESSIVE BEAT TO BEAT SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE DIFFERENCES) (P<0.01) OF SBP VARIABILITY WERE LOWER WITH SEQUENCE BRS (P<0.001) AND ALPHA LOW FREQUENCY (P<0.01) AND ALPHA HIGH FREQUENCY (P<0.001) OF SPECTRAL BRS WERE HIGHER IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: THE PRESENT STUDY INDICATED HIGHER PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BRS WITH LOWER SBP VARIABILITY AT REST AND DURING SLOW BREATHING IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS COMPARED TO NAIVE GROUP. FINDINGS INDICATE THAT THE SHORT-TERM PRACTICE OF SLOW BREATHING COMPLEMENTS THE AUGMENTED PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BRS IN THE YOGA GROUP.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
4 2065 100 THE CARDIOVASCULAR VARIABILITY DURING TRANSIENT 6 DEGREES HEAD DOWN TILT AND SLOW BREATHING IN YOGA EXPERIENCED HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. OBJECTIVE: THE INTERVENTION OF YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE AUTONOMIC CONDITIONING IN HUMANS AND BETTER ADAPTABILITY TO ORTHOSTATIC CHALLENGES. SIMILARLY, SLOW BREATHING AT 0.1 HZ AKIN TO PRANAYAMA ALSO INCREASES BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY (BRS). HENCE, WE INTENDED TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAVE DIFFERENT AUTONOMIC RESPONSES AT REST,DURING SLOW DEEP BREATHINGAS WELL AS DURING 6 DEGREES HEAD DOWN TILT (HDT) COMPARED TO NAIVE GROUP INDIVIDUALS. AIM: THE AIM OF THE STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF SLOW BREATHING ON CARDIOVASCULAR VARIABILITY DURING HDT IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS COMPARED TO YOGA-NAIVE INDIVIDUALS. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: THIS WAS A COMPARATIVE STUDY WITH REPEATED MEASURES DESIGN CONDUCTED IN AUTONOMIC FUNCTION TEST LAB OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY, ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, NEW DELHI, INDIA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TIME DOMAIN AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN PARAMETERS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY, BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY (BPV), AND BRS WERE EVALUATED DURING 6 DEGREES HDT AND SLOW BREATHING AT 0.1 HZ ON FORTY YOGA-NAIVE INDIVIDUALS AND FORTY YOGA PRACTITIONERS WITH AN AVERAGE AGE OF 31.08 +/- 7.31 YEARS AND 29.93 +/- 7.57 YEARS, RESPECTIVELY. ALL OF THE PARTICIPANTS WERE HEALTHY. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: GENERAL LINEAR MIXED MODEL ANOVA WAS APPLIED WITH YOGA EXPERIENCE AS A BETWEEN-GROUP FACTOR IN REPEATED MEASURES. INDEPENDENT SAMPLE T-TEST WAS APPLIED FOR BETWEEN GROUP COMPARISON OF RESPIRATORY RATE, DEMOGRAPHIC, AND ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA. P <0.05 IS CONSIDERED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. RESULTS: BETWEEN-GROUP COMPARISON DURING HDT WITH SPONTANEOUS BREATHING HAS SHOWN A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER HEART RATE (P = 0.004) WITH HIGHER RR INTERVAL (RRI) (P = 0.002) AND PNN50% (P = 0.019) IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. THE SEQUENCE BRS (P < 0.0001) AND ALPHA LOW FREQUENCY (LF) OF SPECTRAL BRS (P = 0.035) WERE ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPARED TO THE NAIVE GROUP. SIMILARLY, DURING HDT WITH SLOW BREATHING, THE HEART RATE WAS LOWER (P = 0.01); WITH HIGHER RRI (P = 0.009); PNN50% (P = 0.048). STANDARD DEVIATION OF SUCCESSIVE RR INTERVAL DIFFERENCE OF SYSTOLIC BPV WAS LOWER (P = 0.024) WITH HIGHER SEQUENCE BRS (P = 0.001) AND ALPHA LF OF SPECTRAL BRS (P = 0.002) IN YOGA GROUP THAN NAIVE GROUP. CONCLUSION: THE YOGA EXPERIENCED INDIVIDUALS EXHIBIT HIGHER RESTING PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY, LOWER SYSTOLIC BPV, AND HIGHER BRS THAN NAIVE TO YOGA INDIVIDUALS. IT IS INFERRED FROM THE FINDINGS THAT YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE BETTER ADAPTED TO TRANSIENT CEPHALAD FLUID SHIFT THAT HAPPENS DURING 6 DEGREES HDT. FURTHERMORE, ACUTE SLOW BREATHING DURING 6 DEGREES HDT REDUCED THE SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE IN ALL THE PARTICIPANTS SUGGESTING THE BENEFICIAL ROLE OF SLOW BREATHING DURING EXPOSURE TO EXTREME CONDITIONS SUCH AS MICROGRAVITY WHICH MIGHT HELP IN THE PREVENTION OF ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CEPHALAD FLUID SHIFT DURING LONG-TERM WEIGHTLESSNESS AND MAINTAIN THE ASTRONAUT HEALTH. FUTURE MECHANISTIC STUDIES WITH ACTIVE YOGA INTERVENTION ARE NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND THE ADAPTIVE MECHANISMS INVOLVING CENTRAL AND VASCULAR MODULATIONS CONTRIBUTING TO EITHER ATTENUATION OR ACCENTUATION OF THE CARDIOVAGAL BAROREFLEX DURING HDT AND SLOW BREATHING IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS.	2021	

5  438  32 CARDIOVASCULAR AND RESPIRATORY EFFECT OF YOGIC SLOW BREATHING IN THE YOGA BEGINNER: WHAT IS THE BEST APPROACH? SLOW BREATHING INCREASES CARDIAC-VAGAL BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY (BRS), IMPROVES OXYGEN SATURATION, LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE, AND REDUCES ANXIETY. WITHIN THE YOGA TRADITION SLOW BREATHING IS OFTEN PAIRED WITH A CONTRACTION OF THE GLOTTIS MUSCLES. THIS RESISTANCE BREATH "UJJAYI" IS PERFORMED AT VARIOUS RATES AND RATIOS OF INSPIRATION/EXPIRATION. TO TEST WHETHER UJJAYI HAD ADDITIONAL POSITIVE EFFECTS TO SLOW BREATHING, WE COMPARED BRS AND VENTILATORY CONTROL UNDER DIFFERENT BREATHING PATTERNS (EQUAL/UNEQUAL INSPIRATION/EXPIRATION AT 6 BREATH/MIN, WITH/WITHOUT UJJAYI), IN 17 YOGA-NAIVE YOUNG HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS. BRS INCREASED WITH SLOW BREATHING TECHNIQUES WITH OR WITHOUT EXPIRATORY UJJAYI (P < 0.05 OR HIGHER) EXCEPT WITH INSPIRATORY + EXPIRATORY UJJAYI. THE MAXIMAL INCREASE IN BRS AND DECREASE IN BLOOD PRESSURE WERE FOUND IN SLOW BREATHING WITH EQUAL INSPIRATION AND EXPIRATION. THIS CORRESPONDED WITH A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN OXYGEN SATURATION WITHOUT INCREASE IN HEART RATE AND VENTILATION. UJJAYI SHOWED SIMILAR INCREASE IN OXYGEN SATURATION BUT SLIGHTLY LESSER IMPROVEMENT IN BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY WITH NO CHANGE IN BLOOD PRESSURE. THE SLOW BREATHING WITH EQUAL INSPIRATION AND EXPIRATION SEEMS THE BEST TECHNIQUE FOR IMPROVING BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY IN YOGA-NAIVE SUBJECTS. THE EFFECTS OF UJJAYI SEEMS DEPENDENT ON INCREASED INTRATHORACIC PRESSURE THAT REQUIRES GREATER EFFORT THAN NORMAL SLOW BREATHING.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
6 1396  16 IMPACT OF YOGA IN A CASE OF VOCAL CORD DYSFUNCTION WITH DYSAUTONOMIA. A 23-YEAR-OLD FEMALE WITH A PAST MEDICAL HISTORY OF GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE PRESENTED WITH SHORTNESS OF BREATH INDUCED BY EXERCISE AND CERTAIN ODORS. SHE REPORTED THE SYMPTOMS OF AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION INCLUDING FATIGUE, CHEST PAIN, LIGHTHEADEDNESS, HEADACHES, NUMBNESS/TINGLING IN THE ARMS AND LEGS, AND EXERCISE INTOLERANCE. VITAL SIGNS WERE SIGNIFICANT FOR ORTHOSTATIC INTOLERANCE. VOLUME FLOW LOOP IN THE PULMONARY FUNCTION TESTS SHOWED A FLATTENING OF THE INSPIRATORY PORTION CHARACTERISTIC OF VOCAL CORD DYSFUNCTION. LARYNGOSCOPY SHOWED DYSKINESIA OF THE LEFT VOCAL CORD, ESPECIALLY AFTER EXERCISE. MULTIFACTORIAL APPROACH WAS USED INCLUDING INCREASED FLUID INTAKE AND BREATHING EXERCISES. AFTER 6 WEEKS OF BREATHING AND ISOMETRIC EXERCISES, THE PATIENT REPORTED IMPROVEMENT IN DYSPNEA AFTER EXERCISE. THIS CASE REPORT DEMONSTRATES THE THERAPEUTIC ROLE OF BREATHING AND ISOMETRIC EXERCISES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF VOCAL CORD AND AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
7  985  37 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
8  350  54 ASSESSMENT OF CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE FOLLOWING LONG SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA IN ART OF LIVING PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVE: THE BREATHING PROCESSES ARE KNOWN TO MODULATE CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE AND IMPROVE PSYCHOLOGICAL STATUS. WE INVESTIGATED CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE FOLLOWING LONG SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) AND SKIN CONDUCTANCE LEVEL (SCL). METHODS: THIRTY HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (AGE 28.3 +/- 8.4 YEARS; 23 M: 7 F) PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. ELECTROCARDIOGRAM (ECG) AND SCL WERE RECORDED FOR 5 MIN EACH, BEFORE AND AFTER LONG SKY. LONG SKY IS A COMBINATION OF PRANAYAMA AND CYCLIC RHYTHMIC BREATHING AND IS PERFORMED BY FOLLOWING THE GUIDED AUDIO INSTRUCTIONS. HRV ANALYSIS WAS USED FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE. TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN PARAMETERS OF HRV WERE CALCULATED BY USING RR INTERVAL OF ECG. SCL WAS ACQUIRED USING GALVANIC SKIN RESPONSE (GSR) AMPLIFIER OF POWERLAB IN MICROSEIMENS (MUS). RESULTS: TIME DOMAIN PARAMETERS OF HRV, INCLUDING MEAN RR INTERVAL (P = 0.000), RESPIRATORY SINUS ARRHYTHMIA (RSA) (P = 0.037), STANDARD DEVIATION OF ALL NN INTERVALS (SDNN) (P = 0.013), NN50 COUNT DIVIDED BY THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ALL NN INTERVALS (PNN50) (P = 0.004), AND SQUARE ROOT OF THE MEAN OF THE SUM OF THE SQUARES OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ADJACENT NN INTERVALS (RMSSD) (P = 0.002) INCREASED, AND MEAN HEART RATE DECREASED (P = 0.000) FOLLOWING LONG SKY. IN FREQUENCY DOMAIN ANALYSIS, POWER OF LOW-FREQUENCY (LF) COMPONENT (P = 0.010) AND LF/HF RATIO (P = 0.008) DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY, WHEREAS POWER OF HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (P = 0.010). SCL DECREASED FOLLOWING LONG SKY, ALTHOUGH IT DID NOT ATTAIN STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT LONG SKY INDUCES SIGNIFICANT OSCILLATIONS IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE. PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY INCREASES AND SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY DECREASES AND SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE IMPROVES FOLLOWING LONG SKY. DECREASE IN SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY IS ALSO DEMONSTRATED BY DECREASE IN CONDUCTANCE ALTHOUGH IT DID NOT REACH STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE. FROM THIS STUDY IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT LONG SKY HAS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON CARDIAC AUTONOMIC TONE, AND PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL RELAXATION. IT MAY SERVE AS A TOOL TO IMPROVE HRV, WHICH IS THE MARKER OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
9 1578  47 MEASUREMENT OF THE EFFECT OF ISHA YOGA ON CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM USING SHORT-TERM HEART RATE VARIABILITY. BACKGROUND: BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA HAVE BEEN POSTULATED TO BE DUE TO MODULATION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF ISHA YOGA PRACTICES ON CARDIOVASCULAR AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM THROUGH SHORT-TERM HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). DESIGN OF THE STUDY: SHORT-TERM HRV OF LONG-TERM REGULAR HEALTHY 14 (12 MALES AND 2 FEMALES) ISHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS WAS COMPARED WITH THAT OF AGE- AND GENDER-MATCHED 14 (12 MALES AND 2 FEMALES) NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS. METHODS AND MATERIALS: ECG LEAD II AND RESPIRATORY MOVEMENTS WERE RECORDED IN BOTH GROUPS USING POLYRITE DURING SUPINE REST FOR 5 MIN AND CONTROLLED DEEP BREATHING FOR 1 MINUTE. FREQUENCY DOMAIN ANALYSIS [RR INTERVAL IS THE MEAN OF DISTANCE BETWEEN SUBSEQUENT R WAVE PEAKS IN ECG], LOW FREQUENCY (LF) POWER, HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) POWER, LF NORMALIZED UNITS (NU), HF NU, LF/HF RATIO] AND TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS [STANDARD DEVIATION OF NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVAL (SDNN), SQUARE OF MEAN SQUARED DIFFERENCE OF SUCCESSIVE NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVALS (RMSSD), NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVALS WHICH ARE DIFFERING BY 50 MS (NN50), AND PERCENTAGE OF NN50 (PNN50)] OF HRV VARIABLES WERE ANALYZED FOR SUPINE REST. TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS WAS RECORDED FOR DEEP BREATHING. RESULTS: RESULTS SHOWED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND CONTROLS IN BOTH FREQUENCY AND TIME DOMAIN ANALYSES OF HRV INDICES, WITH NO DIFFERENCE IN RESTING HEART RATE BETWEEN THE GROUPS. CONCLUSIONS: PRACTITIONERS OF ISHA YOGA SHOWED WELL-BALANCED BENEFICIAL ACTIVITY OF VAGAL EFFERENTS, AN OVERALL INCREASED HRV, AND SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE, COMPARED TO NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS DURING SUPINE REST AND DEEP BREATHING.	2012	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
10 2209  25 THE GEOMETRIC CURVATURE OF THE SPINE DURING THE SIRSHASANA, THE YOGA'S HEADSTAND. THIS STUDY ANALYSED THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE GEOMETRIC CURVATURE OF THE SPINE DURING SIRSHASANA. THE POSITION OF DORSAL RETROREFLECTIVE MARKERS WAS COMPUTED VIA STEREOPHOTOGRAMMETRIC ANALYSIS IN SIX MALES AND FIVE FEMALES (29.4 +/- 8.8 YEARS, 63.0 +/- 11.4 KG, 1.66 +/- 0.08 M [AVERAGE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION]). THE SPINAL POINTS WERE PROJECTED ONTO THE SAGITTAL AND FRONTAL PLANES OF THE TRUNK, A POLYNOMIAL WAS FITTED TO THE DATA AND THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL GEOMETRIC CURVATURE WAS QUANTIFIED. THE INFERIOR LUMBAR LORDOSIS DECREASED COMPARED TO THE ORTHOSTATIC POSITION AND GAIT, WHICH MAY FAVOUR THE POSTERIOR PROTRUSION OF THE LUMBAR SPINAL NUCLEUS PULPOSUS IN PEOPLE WITH POSTERIOR HERNIATION. THE LATERAL DEVIATION AT THE MIDDLE OF THE THORACIC SPINE INCREASES DURING SIRSHASANA, WHICH MAY REFLECT INCREASED DIFFICULTIES FOR POSTURAL CONTROL AND SPINAL LOADS. IT COULD BE USEFUL FOR PROMOTING POSITIVE SPINAL STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHRONIC ADAPTATIONS FOR HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS, IF THE YOGA PROGRAMME IS CAREFULLY PLANNED AND THE SPINAL ALIGNMENT IS CAREFULLY MONITORED DURING A HEADSTAND. HOWEVER, IT MAY AGGRAVATE SOME SPINAL DISEASES, ESPECIALLY SCOLIOSIS.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
11 2775  42 YOGA RESPIRATORY TRAINING IMPROVES RESPIRATORY FUNCTION AND CARDIAC SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE IN ELDERLY SUBJECTS: A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: SINCE AGEING IS ASSOCIATED WITH A DECLINE IN PULMONARY FUNCTION, HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND SPONTANEOUS BAROREFLEX, AND RECENT STUDIES SUGGEST THAT YOGA RESPIRATORY EXERCISES MAY IMPROVE RESPIRATORY AND CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTION, WE HYPOTHESISED THAT YOGA RESPIRATORY TRAINING MAY IMPROVE RESPIRATORY FUNCTION AND CARDIAC AUTONOMIC MODULATION IN HEALTHY ELDERLY SUBJECTS. DESIGN: 76 HEALTHY ELDERLY SUBJECTS WERE ENROLLED IN A RANDOMISED CONTROL TRIAL IN BRAZIL AND 29 COMPLETED THE STUDY (AGE 68 +/- 6 YEARS, 34% MALES, BODY MASS INDEX 25 +/- 3 KG/M(2)). SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMISED INTO A 4-MONTH TRAINING PROGRAM (2 CLASSES/WEEK PLUS HOME EXERCISES) OF EITHER STRETCHING (CONTROL, N=14) OR RESPIRATORY EXERCISES (YOGA, N=15). YOGA RESPIRATORY EXERCISES (BHASTRIKA) CONSISTED OF RAPID FORCED EXPIRATIONS FOLLOWED BY INSPIRATION THROUGH THE RIGHT NOSTRIL, INSPIRATORY APNOEA WITH GENERATION OF INTRATHORACIC NEGATIVE PRESSURE, AND EXPIRATION THROUGH THE LEFT NOSTRIL. PULMONARY FUNCTION, MAXIMUM EXPIRATORY AND INSPIRATORY PRESSURES (PE(MAX) AND PI(MAX), RESPECTIVELY), HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY FOR SPONTANEOUS BAROREFLEX DETERMINATION WERE DETERMINED AT BASELINE AND AFTER 4 MONTHS. RESULTS: SUBJECTS IN BOTH GROUPS HAD SIMILAR DEMOGRAPHIC PARAMETERS. PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES DID NOT CHANGE AFTER 4 MONTHS IN THE CONTROL GROUP. HOWEVER, IN THE YOGA GROUP, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN PE(MAX) (34%, P<0.0001) AND PI(MAX) (26%, P<0.0001) AND A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE LOW FREQUENCY COMPONENT (A MARKER OF CARDIAC SYMPATHETIC MODULATION) AND LOW FREQUENCY/HIGH FREQUENCY RATIO (MARKER OF SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE) OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (40%, P<0.001). SPONTANEOUS BAROREFLEX DID NOT CHANGE, AND QUALITY OF LIFE ONLY MARGINALLY INCREASED IN THE YOGA GROUP. CONCLUSION: RESPIRATORY YOGA TRAINING MAY BE BENEFICIAL FOR THE ELDERLY HEALTHY POPULATION BY IMPROVING RESPIRATORY FUNCTION AND SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE. TRIAL REGISTRATION CINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT00969345; TRIAL REGISTRY NAME: EFFECTS OF RESPIRATORY YOGA TRAINING (BHASTRIKA) ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND BAROREFLEX, AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF HEALTHY ELDERLY SUBJECTS.	2011	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
12  411  40 BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY DURING YOGA-BASED ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING PRACTICE AND BREATH AWARENESS. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS RESEARCH HAS SHOWN A REDUCTION IN BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PRACTICE OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB) IN NORMAL HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS AND IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS OF BOTH SEXES. THE BP DURING ANYB HAS NOT BEEN RECORDED. MATERIAL/METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE 26 MALE VOLUNTEERS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/-SD, 23.8+/-3.5 YEARS). WE ASSESSED (1) HEART RATE VARIABILITY, (2) NON-INVASIVE ARTERIAL BP, AND (3) RESPIRATION RATE, DURING (A) ANYB AND (B) BREATH AWARENESS (BAW) SESSIONS. EACH SESSION WAS 25 MINUTES. WE PERFORMED ASSESSMENTS AT 3 TIME POINTS: PRE (5 MINUTES), DURING (15 MINUTES; FOR ANYB OR BAW) AND POST (5 MINUTES). A NAIVE-TO-YOGA CONTROL GROUP (N=15 MALES, MEAN AGE +/-SD 26.1+/-4.0 YEARS) WERE ASSESSED WHILE SEATED QUIETLY FOR 25 MINUTES. RESULTS: DURING ANYB THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE (REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA) IN SYSTOLIC BP AND RESPIRATION RATE; WHILE RMSSD (THE SQUARE ROOT OF THE MEAN OF THE SUM OF SQUARES OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ADJACENT NN INTERVALS) AND NN50 (THE NUMBER OF INTERVAL DIFFERENCES OF SUCCESSIVE NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVALS GREATER THAN 50 MS) SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED. DURING BAW RESPIRATION RATE DECREASED. IN CONTRAST, RESPIRATION RATE INCREASED DURING THE CONTROL STATE. ANYB AND BAW WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT (2-FACTOR ANOVA) IN RMSSD AND RESPIRATION RATE. BAW AND CONTROL WERE DIFFERENT WITH RESPECT TO RESPIRATION RATE. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT VAGAL ACTIVITY INCREASED DURING AND AFTER ANYB, WHICH COULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE DECREASE IN BP AND CHANGES IN THE HRV.	2014	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
13  967  34 EFFECTS OF AEROBIC EXERCISE TRAINING AND YOGA ON THE BAROREFLEX IN HEALTHY ELDERLY PERSONS. IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER THE AGE-ASSOCIATED REDUCTION IN BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY IS MODIFIABLE BY EXERCISE TRAINING. THE EFFECTS OF AEROBIC EXERCISE TRAINING AND YOGA, A NON-AEROBIC CONTROL INTERVENTION, ON THE BAROREFLEX OF ELDERLY PERSONS WAS DETERMINED. BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY WAS QUANTIFIED BY THE ALPHA-INDEX, AT HIGH FREQUENCY (HF; 0.15-0.35 HZ, REFLECTING PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY) AND MID-FREQUENCY (MF; 0.05-0.15 HZ, REFLECTING SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AS WELL), DERIVED FROM SPECTRAL AND CROSS-SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF SPONTANEOUS FLUCTUATIONS IN HEART RATE AND BLOOD PRESSURE. TWENTY-SIX (10 WOMEN) SEDENTARY, HEALTHY, NORMOTENSIVE ELDERLY (MEAN 68 YEARS, RANGE 62-81 YEARS) SUBJECTS WERE STUDIED. FOURTEEN (4 WOMEN) OF THE SEDENTARY ELDERLY SUBJECTS COMPLETED 6 WEEKS OF AEROBIC TRAINING, WHILE THE OTHER 12 (6 WOMEN) SUBJECTS COMPLETED 6 WEEKS OF YOGA. HEART RATE DECREASED FOLLOWING YOGA (69 +/- 8 VS. 61 +/- 7 MIN-1, P < 0.05) BUT NOT AEROBIC TRAINING (66 +/- 8 VS. 63 +/- 9 MIN-1, P = 0.29). VO2 MAX INCREASED BY 11% FOLLOWING YOGA (P < 0.01) AND BY 24% FOLLOWING AEROBIC TRAINING (P < 0.01). NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN ALPHA MF (6.5 +/- 3.5 VS. 6.2 +/- 3.0 MS MMHG-1, P = 0.69) OR ALPHA HF (8.5 +/- 4.7 VS. 8.9 +/- 3.5 MS MMHG-1, P = 0.65) OCCURRED AFTER AEROBIC TRAINING. FOLLOWING YOGA, ALPHA HF (8.0 +/- 3.6 VS. 11.5 +/- 5.2 MS MMHG-1, P < 0.01) BUT NOT ALPHA MF (6.5 +/- 3.0 VS. 7.6 +/- 2.8 MS MMHG-1, P = 0.29) INCREASED. SHORT-DURATION AEROBIC TRAINING DOES NOT MODIFY THE ALPHA-INDEX AT ALPHA MF OR ALPHA HF IN HEALTHY NORMOTENSIVE ELDERLY SUBJECTS. ALPHA HF BUT NOT ALPHA MF INCREASED FOLLOWING YOGA, SUGGESTING THAT THESE PARAMETERS ARE MEASURING DISTINCT ASPECTS OF THE BAROREFLEX THAT ARE SEPARATELY MODIFIABLE.	1997	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
14  448  42 CHANGES IN AUTONOMIC VARIABLES FOLLOWING TWO MEDITATIVE STATES DESCRIBED IN YOGA TEXTS. OBJECTIVES: IN ANCIENT YOGA TEXTS THERE ARE TWO MEDITATIVE STATES DESCRIBED. ONE IS DHARANA, WHICH REQUIRES FOCUSING, THE SECOND IS DHYANA, DURING WHICH THERE IS NO FOCUSING, BUT AN EXPANSIVE MENTAL STATE IS REACHED. WHILE AN EARLIER STUDY DID SHOW IMPROVED PERFORMANCE IN AN ATTENTION TASK AFTER DHARANA, THE AUTONOMIC CHANGES DURING THESE TWO STATES HAVE NOT BEEN STUDIED. METHODS: AUTONOMIC AND RESPIRATORY VARIABLES WERE ASSESSED IN 30 HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD, 29.1 +/- 5.1 YEARS) DURING FOUR MENTAL STATES DESCRIBED IN TRADITIONAL YOGA TEXTS. THESE FOUR MENTAL STATES ARE RANDOM THINKING (CANCALATA), NONMEDITATIVE FOCUSING (EKAGRATA), MEDITATIVE FOCUSING (DHARANA), AND EFFORTLESS MEDITATION (DHYANA). ASSESSMENTS WERE MADE BEFORE (5 MINUTES), DURING (20 MINUTES), AND AFTER (5 MINUTES), EACH OF THE FOUR STATES, ON FOUR SEPARATE DAYS. RESULTS: DURING DHYANA THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE SKIN RESISTANCE LEVEL (P<0.001; POST HOC ANALYSIS FOLLOWING ANOVA, DURING COMPARED TO PRE) AND PHOTO-PLETHYSMOGRAM AMPLITUDE (P<0.05), WHEREAS THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE HEART RATE (P<0.001) AND BREATH RATE (P<0.001). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE LOW FREQUENCY (LF) POWER (P<0.001) AND INCREASE IN THE HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) POWER (P<0.001) IN THE FREQUENCY DOMAIN ANALYSIS OF THE HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) SPECTRUM, ON WHICH HF POWER IS ASSOCIATED WITH PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY. THERE WAS ALSO A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE NN50 COUNT (THE NUMBER OF INTERVAL DIFFERENCES OF SUCCESSIVE NN INTERVALS GREATER THAN 50 MS; P<0.001) AND THE PNN50 (THE PROPORTION DERIVED BY DIVIDING NN50 BY THE TOTAL NUMBER OF NN INTERVALS; P<0.001) IN TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS OF HRV, BOTH INDICATIVE OF PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY. CONCLUSIONS: MAXIMUM CHANGES WERE SEEN IN AUTONOMIC VARIABLES AND BREATH RATE DURING THE STATE OF EFFORTLESS MEDITATION (DHYANA). THE CHANGES WERE ALL SUGGESTIVE OF REDUCED SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND/OR INCREASED VAGAL MODULATION. DURING DHARANA THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN SKIN RESISTANCE. THE CHANGES IN HRV DURING EKAGRATA AND CANCALATA WERE INCONCLUSIVE.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
15 2727  41 YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION INCREASES HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND IS UNAFFECTED BY A PRIOR BOUT OF HATHA YOGA. OBJECTIVE: THE MEASUREMENT OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) IS OFTEN APPLIED AS AN INDEX OF AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (ANS) BALANCE AND, THEREFORE, MYOCARDIAL STABILITY. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SUGGESTED THAT RELAXATION OR MIND-BODY EXERCISE CAN INFLUENCE ANS BALANCE POSITIVELY AS MEASURED BY HRV BUT MAY ACT VIA DIFFERENT MECHANISMS. NO STUDIES, TO THE AUTHORS' KNOWLEDGE, HAVE EXAMINED THE ACUTE RESPONSE IN HRV TO INTERVENTIONS COMBINING RELAXATION AND MIND-BODY EXERCISE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COMPARE THE ACUTE HRV RESPONSES TO YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION ALONE VERSUS YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION PRECEDED BY HATHA YOGA. DESIGN: THIS WAS A RANDOMIZED COUNTER-BALANCED TRIAL. SETTING: THE TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED IN A UNIVERSITY EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY. SUBJECTS: SUBJECTS INCLUDED 20 WOMEN AND MEN (29.15+/-6.98 YEARS OF AGE, WITH A RANGE OF 18-47 YEARS). INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED A YOGA PLUS RELAXATION (YR) SESSION AND A RELAXATION ONLY (R) SESSION. RESULTS: THE YR CONDITION PRODUCED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FROM BASELINE IN HEART RATE (HR; BEATS PER MINUTE [BPM], P<0.001) AND INDICES OF HRV: R-R (MS, P<0.001), PNN50 (%, P=0.009), LOW FREQUENCY (LF; %, P=0.008) AND HIGH FREQUENCY (HF; %, P=0.035). THE R CONDITION PRODUCED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FROM BASELINE IN HEART RATE (BPM, P<0.001) AS WELL AS INDICES OF HRV: R-R (MS, P<0.001), HF (MS(2), P=0.004), LF (%, P=0.005), HF (%, P=0.008) AND LF:HF RATIO (%, P=0.008). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONDITIONS AT BASELINE NOR FOR THE CHANGES FROM BASELINE FOR ANY OF THE VARIABLES. CONCLUSIONS: THESE CHANGES DEMONSTRATE A FAVORABLE SHIFT IN AUTONOMIC BALANCE TO THE PARASYMPATHETIC BRANCH OF THE ANS FOR BOTH CONDITIONS, AND THAT YOGA NIDRA RELAXATION PRODUCES FAVORABLE CHANGES IN MEASURES OF HRV WHETHER ALONE OR PRECEDED BY A BOUT OF HATHA YOGA.	2012	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
16 1317  34 HEART RATE VARIABILITY CHANGES DURING HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING AND BREATH AWARENESS. BACKGROUND: PRE AND POST COMPARISON AFTER ONE MINUTE OF HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) SUGGESTED THAT THE HFYB MODIFIES THE AUTONOMIC STATUS BY INCREASING SYMPATHETIC MODULATION, BUT ITS EFFECT DURING THE PRACTICE WAS NOT ASSESSED. METHODS: THIRTY-EIGHT MALE VOLUNTEERS WITH GROUP AVERAGE AGE +/- S.D., 23.3 +/- 4.4 YEARS WERE EACH ASSESSED ON TWO SEPARATE DAYS IN TWO SESSIONS, (I) HFYB AND (II) BREATH AWARENESS. EACH SESSION WAS FOR 35 MINUTES, WITH 3 PERIODS, I.E., PRE (5 MINUTES), DURING HFYB OR BREATH AWARENESS (15 MINUTES) AND POST (5 MINUTES). RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN NN50, PNN50 AND THE MEAN RR INTERVAL DURING AND AFTER HFYB AND AFTER BREATH AWARENESS, COMPARED TO THE RESPECTIVE 'PRE' VALUES (P < 0.05) (REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA FOLLOWED BY POST-HOC ANALYSIS). THE LF POWER INCREASED AND HF POWER DECREASED DURING AND AFTER BREATH AWARENESS AND LF/HF RATIO INCREASED AFTER BREATH AWARENESS (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THERE WAS REDUCED PARASYMPATHETIC MODULATION DURING AND AFTER HFYB AND INCREASED SYMPATHETIC MODULATION WITH REDUCED PARASYMPATHETIC MODULATION DURING AND AFTER BREATH AWARENESS.	2011	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
17 1441  40 INCREASED HEART RATE VARIABILITY BUT NO EFFECT ON BLOOD PRESSURE FROM 8 WEEKS OF HATHA YOGA - A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: YOGA EXERCISES ARE KNOWN TO DECREASE STRESS AND RESTORE AUTONOMIC BALANCE. YET KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF INVERSION POSTURES IS LIMITED. THIS STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF INVERSION POSTURES (HEAD BELOW THE HEART) ON BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). METHODS: TWELVE HEALTHY WOMEN AND MEN TOOK PART IN AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM (60 MIN ONCE A WEEK). BP WAS MEASURED WITH AN AUTOMATIC OMRON MX3 OSCILLOMETRIC MONITORING DEVICE AND HRV WITH A HOLTER 24-HOUR ECG AT BASELINE AND 8 WEEKS AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT OF INVERSION POSTURES ON BP. NINE OUT OF 12 PARTICIPANTS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN HRV (P < 0.05) AT NIGHT (2 HOURS) ON PNN50% (12.7 +/- 12.5 TO 18.2 +/- 13.3). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN OTHER HRV MEASURES SUCH AS NN50, LF, HF, LF/HF RATIO, LF NORMALIZED UNITS (N.U.), HF N.U. AND RMSSD. CONCLUSION: EIGHT WEEKS OF HATHA YOGA IMPROVED HRV SIGNIFICANTLY WHICH SUGGESTS AN INCREASED VAGAL TONE AND REDUCED SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
18 1530  52 IYENGAR YOGA INCREASES CARDIAC PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS MODULATION AMONG HEALTHY YOGA PRACTITIONERS. RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ARE ESTABLISHED IN MANAGING OF CARDIAC PATIENTS DURING REHABILITATION AIMING TO REDUCE FUTURE ADVERSE CARDIAC EVENTS. IT HAS BEEN HYPOTHESIZED THAT RELAXATION-TRAINING PROGRAMS MAY SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NERVOUS TONE. HOWEVER, THIS HAS NOT BEEN PROVEN FOR ALL AVAILABLE RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. WE TESTED THIS ASSUMPTION BY INVESTIGATING CARDIAC VAGAL MODULATION DURING YOGA.WE EXAMINED 11 HEALTHY YOGA PRACTITIONERS (7 WOMEN AND 4 MEN, MEAN AGE: 43 +/- 11; RANGE: 26-58 YEARS). EACH INDIVIDUAL WAS SUBJECTED TO TRAINING UNITS OF 90 MIN ONCE A WEEK OVER FIVE SUCCESSIVE WEEKS. DURING TWO SESSIONS, THEY PRACTICED A YOGA PROGRAM DEVELOPED FOR CARDIAC PATIENTS BY B.K.S. IYENGAR. ON THREE SESSIONS, THEY PRACTICED A PLACEBO PROGRAM OF RELAXATION. ON EACH TRAINING DAY THEY UNDERWENT AMBULATORY 24 H HOLTER MONITORING. THE GROUP OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS WAS COMPARED TO A MATCHED GROUP OF HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS NOT PRACTICING ANY RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. PARAMETERS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) WERE DETERMINED HOURLY BY A BLINDED OBSERVER. MEAN RR INTERVAL (INTERVAL BETWEEN TWO R-WAVES OF THE ECG) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER DURING THE TIME OF YOGA INTERVENTION COMPARED TO PLACEBO AND TO CONTROL (P < 0.001 FOR BOTH). THE INCREASE IN HRV PARAMETERS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER DURING YOGA EXERCISE THAN DURING PLACEBO AND CONTROL ESPECIALLY FOR THE PARAMETERS ASSOCIATED WITH VAGAL TONE, I.E. MEAN STANDARD DEVIATION OF NN (NORMAL BEAT TO NORMAL BEAT OF THE ECG) INTERVALS FOR ALL 5-MIN INTERVALS (SDNNI, P < 0.001 FOR BOTH) AND ROOT MEAN SQUARE SUCCESSIVE DIFFERENCE (RMSSD, P < 0.01 FOR BOTH). IN CONCLUSION, RELAXATION BY YOGA TRAINING IS ASSOCIATED WITH A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF CARDIAC VAGAL MODULATION. SINCE THIS METHOD IS EASY TO APPLY WITH NO SIDE EFFECTS, IT COULD BE A SUITABLE INTERVENTION IN CARDIAC REHABILITATION PROGRAMS.	2007	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
19 1836  24 PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF THE PRACTICE OF TANTRIC YOGA MEDITATION. AUTONOMIC AND ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC (EEG) CORRELATES OF TANTRIC YOGA MEDITATION WERE STUDIED IN THREE GROUPS OF SUBJECTS AS THEY PROGRESSED FROM NORMAL CONSCIOUSNESS INTO MEDITATION. GROUPS DIFFERED IN THEIR LEVEL OF MEDITATION PROFICIENCY. MEASURES OF SKIN RESISTANCE, HEART RATE, RESPIRATION, AUTONOMIC ORIENTING RESPONSES, RESTING EEG, EEG ALPHA AND THETA FREQUENCIES, SLEEP-SCORED EEG, AVERAGED EVOKED RESPONSES, AND SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE WERE EMPLOYED. UNLIKE MOST PREVIOUSLY REPORTED MEDITATION STUDIES, PROFICIENT MEDITATORS DEMONSTRATED INCREASED AUTONOMIC ACTIVATION DURING MEDITATION WHILE UNEXPERIENCED MEDITATORS DEMONSTRATED AUTONOMIC RELAXATION. DURING MEDITATION, PROFICIENT MEDITATORS DEMONSTRATED INCREASED ALPHA AND THETA POWER, MINIMAL EVIDENCE OF EEG-DEFINED SLEEP, AND DECREASED AUTONOMIC ORIENTING TO EXTERNAL STIMULATION. AN EPISODE OF SUDDEN AUTONOMIC ACTIVATION WAS OBSERVED THAT WAS CHARACTERIZED BY THE MEDITATOR AS AN APPROACH TO THE YOGIC ECSTATIC STATE OF INTENSE CONCENTRATION. THESE FINDINGS CHALLENGE THE CURRENT "RELAXATION" MODEL OF MEDITATIVE STATES.	1978	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
20 1359  43 IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF OM CHANTING ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY MEASURES COMPARED BETWEEN EXPERIENCED AND INEXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS. BACKGROUND: CHANTING "OM" IS A FORM OF MEDITATION THAT HAS NUMEROUS HEALTH BENEFITS. HOWEVER, THE NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERPINNING ITS EFFECT ARE SURPRISINGLY SCARCE. THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF OM CHANTING ON AUTONOMIC MODULATION, USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV), ON EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND YOGA NAIVE PERSONS. METHODS: THIS PROSPECTIVE STUDY INCLUDED 19 YOGA PRACTITIONERS (9 FEMALES AND 10 MALES; GROUP MEAN AGE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION [SD]; 25.9 +/- 3.2 YEARS) AND 17 YOGA NAIVE PERSONS (8 FEMALES AND 9 MALES; GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD; 24.8 +/- 3.6 YEARS) OF BOTH SEXES AND SIMILAR AGE RANGE. BOTH THE GROUPS WERE ASSESSED FOR HRV INDICES (TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN MEASURES) BEFORE AND AFTER LOUD OM CHANTING FOR 5 MIN. RESULTS: BASELINE COMPARISON USING MANN-WHITNEY U TEST BETWEEN GROUPS SHOWED YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) POWER (P < 0.029) THAN NONYOGA PRACTITIONERS, SIGNIFYING A STATE OF TRANQUILITY BEFORE THE CHANTING OF OM. AFTER 5 MIN OF LOUD CHANTING OF OM, A COMPARISON BETWEEN GROUPS ASSESSED USING WILCOXON SIGNED RANKS TEST REVEALED: HF POWER, A COMPONENT OF THE PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, WAS FURTHER AMPLIFIED WITH A SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE (P < 0.001) IN THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS GROUP COMPARED TO NONYOGA PRACTITIONERS. FURTHERMORE, THIS INCREASE IN HF POWER WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN YOGA. CONCLUSION: THE PRESENT STUDY SHOWED THAT A BRIEF CHANTING OF OM (5 MIN) MIGHT ENHANCE PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY, PROMOTE RELAXATION, AND PROVIDE CALMNESS. FURTHER, THIS EXPERIENCE MAY BE ACHIEVED EFFECTIVELY IN INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCED IN YOGA THAN NONYOGA PRACTITIONERS.	2022