1 2338 142 UNIQUE AUTONOMIC RESPONSES TO PAIN IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVE: AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH NEUROBEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF PAIN. YOGIS USE BREATHING, RELAXATION, AND MINDFULNESS TO TOLERATE PAIN, WHICH COULD INFLUENCE AUTONOMIC RESPONSES. TO EVALUATE HOW THE LINK BETWEEN AUTONOMIC RESPONSES AND PAIN IS ALTERED BY OTHER FACTORS, WE COMPARED PERCEPTUAL AND AUTONOMIC RESPONSES TO PAIN BETWEEN YOGIS AND CONTROLS. METHODS: NINETEEN YOGIS AND 15 CONTROLS RATED WARM AND PAINFULLY HOT STIMULI (1-CM THERMODE ON CALF), WITH VISUAL ANTICIPATORY CUES INDICATING CERTAINLY PAINFUL, CERTAINLY NONPAINFUL, OR UNCERTAINLY EITHER PAINFUL OR NONPAINFUL. HEART RATE, SKIN CONDUCTANCE, RESPIRATION, AND BLOOD PRESSURE WERE MEASURED. RESULTS: AT BASELINE, YOGIS BREATHED SLOWER AND DEEPER THAN DID CONTROLS, WITH NO DIFFERENCES IN OTHER AUTONOMIC MEASURES. DURING THE TASK, PERCEPTUAL RATINGS DID NOT DIFFER BETWEEN GROUPS IN EITHER THE CERTAIN OR UNCERTAIN CONDITIONS. NEVERTHELESS, YOGIS HAD HIGHER PHASIC SKIN CONDUCTANCE RESPONSES IN ANTICIPATION OF AND RESPONSE TO ALL STIMULI, BUT PARTICULARLY DURING PAINFUL HEAT IN UNCERTAIN CONTEXTS (UNCERTAIN: 0.46 [0.34] MUS; CERTAIN: 0.37 [0.28] MUS; T(18) = 3.962, P = .001). FURTHERMORE, CONTROLS SHOWED A DECREASE IN HEART RATE TO WARM (-2.51 [2.17] BEATS/MIN) VERSUS PAINFUL STIMULI (0.83 [1.63] BEATS/MIN; T(13) = 5.212, P < .001) AND LOWER RESPIRATORY SINUS ARRHYTHMIA DURING PAIN COMPARED WITH WARM TRIALS, WHEREAS YOGIS HAD SIMILAR REACTIONS TO PAINFUL AND NONPAINFUL STIMULI. CONCLUSIONS: AUTONOMIC RESPONSES TO PAIN DIFFERED IN YOGIS AND HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS, DESPITE SIMILAR PAIN RATINGS. THUS, AUTONOMIC REACTIVITY TO PAIN MAY BE ALTERED BY ENVIRONMENTAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS THROUGHOUT AN INDIVIDUAL'S LIFE. 2018 2 1472 28 INSULAR CORTEX MEDIATES INCREASED PAIN TOLERANCE IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. YOGA, AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR DISCIPLINE AMONG WESTERNERS, IS FREQUENTLY USED TO IMPROVE PAINFUL CONDITIONS. WE INVESTIGATED POSSIBLE NEUROANATOMICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA USING SENSORY TESTING AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING TECHNIQUES. NORTH AMERICAN YOGIS TOLERATED PAIN MORE THAN TWICE AS LONG AS INDIVIDUALLY MATCHED CONTROLS AND HAD MORE GRAY MATTER (GM) IN MULTIPLE BRAIN REGIONS. ACROSS SUBJECTS, INSULAR GM UNIQUELY CORRELATED WITH PAIN TOLERANCE. INSULAR GM VOLUME IN YOGIS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH YOGA EXPERIENCE, SUGGESTING A CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA AND INSULAR SIZE. YOGIS ALSO HAD INCREASED LEFT INTRAINSULAR WHITE MATTER INTEGRITY, CONSISTENT WITH A STRENGTHENED INSULAR INTEGRATION OF NOCICEPTIVE INPUT AND PARASYMPATHETIC AUTONOMIC REGULATION. YOGIS, AS OPPOSED TO CONTROLS, USED COGNITIVE STRATEGIES INVOLVING PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION AND INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS TO TOLERATE PAIN, WHICH COULD HAVE LED TO USE-DEPENDENT HYPERTROPHY OF INSULAR CORTEX. TOGETHER, THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT REGULAR AND LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVES PAIN TOLERANCE IN TYPICAL NORTH AMERICANS BY TEACHING DIFFERENT WAYS TO DEAL WITH SENSORY INPUTS AND THE POTENTIAL EMOTIONAL REACTIONS ATTACHED TO THOSE INPUTS LEADING TO A CHANGE IN INSULAR BRAIN ANATOMY AND CONNECTIVITY. 2014 3 1697 45 PAIN UNCERTAINTY IN PATIENTS WITH FIBROMYALGIA, YOGA PRACTITIONERS, AND HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. BACKGROUND: UNCERTAINTY ABOUT POTENTIALLY PAINFUL EVENTS AFFECTS HOW PAIN IS EXPERIENCED. INDIVIDUALS WITH FIBROMYALGIA (FM) OFTEN EXHIBIT ANXIETY AND CATASTROPHIC THOUGHTS REGARDING PAIN AND DIFFICULTIES DEALING WITH PAIN UNCERTAINTY. OBJECTIVES: THE EFFECTS OF PAIN UNCERTAINTY IN PREDICTABLY HIGH ODDS (HO), PREDICTABLY LOW ODDS (LO), AND EVEN ODDS (EO) CONDITIONS ON SUBJECTIVE RATINGS OF PAIN (PR) AND SKIN CONDUCTANCE RESPONSES (SCR) FOLLOWING THE ADMINISTRATION OF A PAINFUL STIMULUS WERE EXAMINED FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH FIBROMYALGIA (IWFM), HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (HVS), AND YOGA PRACTITIONERS (YPS). WE HYPOTHESIZED IWFM WOULD DEMONSTRATE THE GREATEST PHYSIOLOGICAL REACTIVITY TO PAIN UNCERTAINTY, FOLLOWED BY HVS AND YPS, RESPECTIVELY. METHODS: NINE IWFM, 7 YPS, AND 10 HVS PARTICIPATED. RESULTS: CUSTOM CONTRAST ESTIMATES COMPARING RESPONSES FOR HO, LO, AND EO PAIN CONDITIONS SHOWED HIGHER SCR FOR IWFM (CE = 1.27, P = 0.01) BUT NOT FOR HVS OR FOR YPS. PR FOR THE EO CONDITION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN FOR HO AND LO CONDITIONS FOR IWFM (CE = 0.60, P = 0.012) BUT NOT FOR HVS OR YPS. YPS HAD LOWER SCR AND PR THAN DID HVS. CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS SHOW THAT UNCERTAINTY REGARDING PAIN INCREASES THE EXPERIENCE OF PAIN, WHEREAS CERTAINTY REGARDING PAIN MAY REDUCE PAIN RATINGS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH FIBROMYALGIA. 2012 4 362 23 ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN YOGA PRACTICE AND JOINT PROBLEMS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY AMONG 9151 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN. YOGA EXERCISES HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH JOINT PROBLEMS RECENTLY, INDICATING THAT YOGA PRACTICE MIGHT BE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS FOR JOINT HEALTH. THIS STUDY AIMED TO ANALYSE WHETHER REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FREQUENCY OF JOINT PROBLEMS IN UPPER MIDDLE-AGED AUSTRALIAN WOMEN. WOMEN AGED 62-67 YEARS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON WOMEN'S HEALTH (ALSWH) WERE QUESTIONED IN 2013 WHETHER THEY EXPERIENCED REGULAR JOINT PAIN OR PROBLEMS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS AND WHETHER THEY REGULARLY PRACTICED YOGA. ASSOCIATIONS OF JOINT PROBLEMS WITH YOGA PRACTICE WERE ANALYSED USING CHI-SQUARED TESTS AND MULTIPLE LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODELLING. OF 9151 WOMEN, 29.8% REPORTED REGULAR PROBLEMS WITH STIFF OR PAINFUL JOINTS, AND 15.2, 11.9, 18.1 AND 15.9% REPORTED REGULAR PROBLEMS WITH SHOULDERS, HIPS, KNEES AND FEET, RESPECTIVELY, IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS. YOGA WAS PRACTICED SOMETIMES BY 10.1% AND OFTEN BY 8.4% OF WOMEN. PRACTICING YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH UPPER OR LOWER LIMB JOINT PROBLEMS. NO ASSOCIATION BETWEEN YOGA PRACTICE AND JOINT PROBLEMS HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED. FURTHER STUDIES ARE WARRANTED FOR CONCLUSIVE JUDGEMENT OF BENEFITS AND SAFETY OF YOGA IN RELATION TO JOINT PROBLEMS. 2017 5 908 25 EFFECTIVENESS OF DEEP CERVICAL FASCIAL MANIPULATION AND YOGA POSTURES ON PAIN, FUNCTION, AND OCULOMOTOR CONTROL IN PATIENTS WITH MECHANICAL NECK PAIN: STUDY PROTOCOL OF A PRAGMATIC, PARALLEL-GROUP, RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL. INTRODUCTION: MECHANICAL NECK PAIN (MNP) IS A COMMONLY OCCURRING MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITION THAT IS USUALLY MANAGED USING ELECTRICAL MODALITIES, JOINT MOBILIZATION TECHNIQUES, AND THERAPEUTIC EXERCISES, BUT HAS LIMITED EVIDENCE OF THEIR EFFICACY. PATHOLOGY (DENSIFICATION) OF THE DEEP CERVICAL FASCIA THAT OCCURS DUE TO THE INCREASED VISCOSITY OF HYALURONIC ACID (HA) MAY INDUCE NECK PAIN AND ASSOCIATED PAINFUL SYMPTOMS OF THE UPPER QUARTER REGION. FASCIAL MANIPULATION (FM) AND YOGA POSES ARE CONSIDERED TO REDUCE THE THIXOTROPY OF THE GROUND SUBSTANCES OF THE DEEP FASCIA AND IMPROVE MUSCLE FUNCTION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY IS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF FM AND SEQUENTIAL YOGA POSES (SYP) WHEN COMPARED TO THE USUAL CARE ON PAIN, FUNCTION, AND OCULOMOTOR CONTROL IN MNP. METHODS: THIS FACE-MAN TRIAL WILL RECRUIT 160 PATIENTS WITH SUBACUTE AND CHRONIC MECHANICAL NECK PAIN DIAGNOSED USING PREDEFINED CRITERIA. PARTICIPANTS WILL BE RANDOMIZED TO EITHER THE INTERVENTION GROUP OR THE USUAL CARE GROUP, USING A RANDOM ALLOCATION RATIO OF 1:1. PATIENTS IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP WILL RECEIVE FM (4 SESSIONS IN 4 WEEKS) AND SYP (12 WEEKS) WHEREAS THE STANDARD CARE GROUP WILL RECEIVE CERVICAL MOBILIZATION/ THORACIC MANIPULATION (4 SESSIONS IN 4 WEEKS) AND THERAPEUTIC EXERCISES (12 WEEKS). THE PRIMARY OUTCOME IS THE CHANGE IN THE NUMERIC PAIN RATING SCALE (NPRS). THE SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDE CHANGES IN THE PATIENT-SPECIFIC FUNCTIONAL SCALE AND OCULOMOTOR CONTROL, MYOFASCIAL STIFFNESS, FEAR-AVOIDANCE BEHAVIOR QUESTIONNAIRE, AND ELBOW EXTENSION RANGE OF MOTION DURING NEURODYNAMICS TEST 1. DISCUSSION: IF FOUND EFFECTIVE, FM ALONG WITH SYP INVESTIGATED IN THIS TRIAL CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A TREATMENT STRATEGY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MECHANICAL NECK PAIN. CONSIDERING THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM, AND THE PRAGMATIC AND PATIENT-CENTERED APPROACH TO BE FOLLOWED, IT IS WORTH INVESTIGATING THIS TRIAL. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV CTRI/2020/01/022934 . REGISTERED ON JANUARY 24, 2020 WITH CTRI.NIC.IN. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY - INDIA. 2021 6 1922 27 ROLE OF YOGA AS AN ADJUNCT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MIGRAINE HEADACHE-CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE INDICATIONS. MIGRAINE HEADACHE IS A PAINFUL, DISABLING CONDITION AFFLICTING 7% OF THE POPULATION. THE LONG-TERM EFFORT OF COPING WITH A CHRONIC HEADACHE DISORDER PREDISPOSES THE INDIVIDUAL TO OTHER PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESSES, ISCHEMIC CEREBROVASCULAR DISEASE AS WELL AS MEDICINE OVERUSE HEADACHE. THE USE OF NONPHARMACOLOGICAL METHODS TO REDUCE THE STRESS AND PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH HEADACHE CAN IMPROVE THE OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE AND REDUCE THE BURDEN OF THE DISEASE. TO EXAMINE THE UTILITY OF YOGA AS AN ADJUNCT TO PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF MIGRAINE HEADACHE. THE REVIEW ARTICLE IS BASED ON THE SECONDARY LITERATURE COLLECTED THROUGH THE GOOGLE SCHOLAR DATABASE BETWEEN THE YEARS 2010 AND 2020. SEVERAL THEMES WERE IDENTIFIED REGARDING THE BURDEN OF MIGRAINE/HEADACHE AND THE NEED FOR THE INTEGRATION OF YOGA INTO THE EXISTING HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. DESPITE THE LIMITATIONS AND THE NEED FOR GREATER SCIENTIFIC RIGOR, THERE HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT REPORTS OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA IN THE REDUCTION OF STRESS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND AN ENHANCED QUALITY OF LIFE, AS WELL AS BETTER PAIN MANAGEMENT IN CHRONIC DISEASES. STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF YOGA IN THE TREATMENT OF MIGRAINE HAVE BEEN FEW IN NUMBER. THEY HAVE CONSISTENTLY SHOWN THAT YOGA CAN BE A VALUABLE ADJUNCT TO THE EXISTING PHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MIGRAINE HEADACHE. IN RECENT YEARS, THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT HAS MADE ENORMOUS STRIDES IN ESTABLISHING YOGA OUTREACH PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. THE NEED OF THE HOUR IS TO INTEGRATE EVIDENCE-BASED YOGA WITH THE WELLNESS CENTERS AND NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES TREATMENT PLAN. IT CAN HELP TO REDUCE THE BURDEN ON THE EXISTING HEALTH CARE RESOURCES. 2022 7 1670 21 NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE: AGE-, EXPERIENCE-, AND FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT PLASTICITY. YOGA COMBINES POSTURES, BREATHING, AND MEDITATION. DESPITE REPORTED HEALTH BENEFITS, YOGA'S EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN HAVE RECEIVED LITTLE STUDY. WE USED MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING TO COMPARE AGE-RELATED GRAY MATTER (GM) DECLINE IN YOGIS AND CONTROLS. WE ALSO EXAMINED THE EFFECT OF INCREASING YOGA EXPERIENCE AND WEEKLY PRACTICE ON GM VOLUME AND ASSESSED WHICH ASPECTS OF WEEKLY PRACTICE CONTRIBUTED MOST TO BRAIN SIZE. CONTROLS DISPLAYED THE WELL DOCUMENTED AGE-RELATED GLOBAL BRAIN GM DECLINE WHILE YOGIS DID NOT, SUGGESTING THAT YOGA CONTRIBUTES TO PROTECT THE BRAIN AGAINST AGE-RELATED DECLINE. YEARS OF YOGA EXPERIENCE CORRELATED MOSTLY WITH GM VOLUME DIFFERENCES IN THE LEFT HEMISPHERE (INSULA, FRONTAL OPERCULUM, AND ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX) SUGGESTING THAT YOGA TUNES THE BRAIN TOWARD A PARASYMPATICALLY DRIVEN MODE AND POSITIVE STATES. THE NUMBER OF HOURS OF WEEKLY PRACTICE CORRELATED WITH GM VOLUME IN THE PRIMARY SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX/SUPERIOR PARIETAL LOBULE (S1/SPL), PRECUNEUS/POSTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX (PCC), HIPPOCAMPUS, AND PRIMARY VISUAL CORTEX (V1). COMMONALITY ANALYSES INDICATED THAT THE COMBINATION OF POSTURES AND MEDITATION CONTRIBUTED THE MOST TO THE SIZE OF THE HIPPOCAMPUS, PRECUNEUS/PCC, AND S1/SPL WHILE THE COMBINATION OF MEDITATION AND BREATHING EXERCISES CONTRIBUTED THE MOST TO V1 VOLUME. YOGA'S POTENTIAL NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS MAY PROVIDE A NEURAL BASIS FOR SOME OF ITS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS. 2015 8 2563 26 YOGA FOR CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT: A QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION. OBJECTIVE: TO EXPLORE PATIENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR PAIN WHILE PARTICIPATING IN A WEEKLY YOGA PROGRAM. METHODS: A CONSECUTIVE CONVENIENCE SAMPLE WAS RECRUITED FROM A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PAIN CENTRE. SEVEN ADULT PATIENTS (SIX WOMEN), AGREED TO PARTICIPATE IN AN 8-WEEK HATHA YOGA PROGRAM, INCLUDING WEEKLY GROUP SESSIONS AND AT-HOME PRACTICE. DATA WERE GATHERED FROM PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION AND IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS. INTERVIEWS EXPLORED THE EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICING YOGA AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE PARTICIPANT'S PAIN EXPERIENCE. AN INDUCTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE INTERVIEWS EXPLORED EMERGENT THEMES FROM PARTICIPANTS' DESCRIPTIONS OF THEIR EXPERIENCE. RESULTS: ANALYSES IDENTIFIED THREE THEMES: RENEWED AWARENESS OF THE BODY; TRANSFORMED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BODY IN PAIN; AND ACCEPTANCE. DISCUSSION: PARTICIPANTS' DATA SUGGESTED THAT THEY REFRAMED WHAT IT MEANT TO LIVE WITH CHRONIC PAIN. SOME PARTICIPANTS REPORTED THAT THE SENSORY ASPECTS OF PAIN DID NOT CHANGE BUT THAT PAIN BECAME LESS BOTHERSOME. THEY WERE BETTER ABLE TO CONTROL THE DEGREE TO WHICH PAIN INTERFERED WITH THEIR DAILY LIFE. OTHER PARTICIPANTS REPORTED LESS FREQUENT OR LESS INTENSE PAIN EPISODES BECAUSE THEY COULD RECOGNIZE BODY SIGNALS AND ADJUST THEMSELVES TO ALLEVIATE PAINFUL SENSATIONS. THE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT PATIENTS WHO BENEFIT FROM YOGA MAY DO SO IN PART BECAUSE YOGA ENABLES CHANGES IN COGNITIONS AND BEHAVIOURS TOWARDS PAIN. 2011 9 1286 21 GRAY MATTER AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE DURING SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. SOME MEDITATION TECHNIQUES TEACH THE PRACTITIONER TO ACHIEVE THE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE BRAIN REGIONS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR VOLUME AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY (FC) WITH THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE IN LONG-TERM PRACTITIONERS OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. TWENTY-THREE LONG-TERM PRACTITIONERS OF THIS MEDITATION WERE SCANNED USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING. IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE NEURAL CORRELATES OF THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE, WE TESTED WHICH GRAY MATTER VOLUMES (GMV) WERE CORRELATED WITH THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE AND WHICH REGIONS THESE AREAS WERE FUNCTIONALLY CONNECTED TO UNDER A MEDITATION CONDITION. GMV IN MEDIAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX INCLUDING ROSTRAL ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THE SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTION OF THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE INSIDE THE SCANNER. FURTHERMORE, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED FC BETWEEN THIS AREA AND BILATERAL ANTERIOR INSULA/PUTAMEN DURING A MEDITATION-STATE SPECIFICALLY, WHILE DECREASED CONNECTIVITY WITH THE RIGHT THALAMUS/PARAHIPPOCAMPAL GYRUS WAS PRESENT DURING THE MEDITATION-STATE AND THE RESTING-STATE. THE CAPACITY OF LONG-TERM MEDITATORS TO ESTABLISH A DURABLE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE INSIDE AN MRI SCANNER WAS ASSOCIATED WITH LARGER GRAY MATTER VOLUME IN A MEDIAL FRONTAL REGION THAT IS CRUCIAL FOR TOP-DOWN COGNITIVE, EMOTION AND ATTENTION CONTROL. THIS IS FURTHERMORE CORROBORATED BY INCREASED FC OF THIS REGION DURING THE MEDITATION-STATE WITH BILATERAL ANTERIOR INSULA/PUTAMEN, WHICH ARE IMPORTANT FOR INTEROCEPTION, EMOTION, AND ATTENTION REGULATION. THE FINDINGS HENCE SUGGEST THAT THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE IS ASSOCIATED WITH MEDIAL FRONTO-INSULAR-STRIATAL NETWORKS THAT ARE CRUCIAL FOR TOP-DOWN ATTENTION AND EMOTIONAL CONTROL. 2018 10 1496 32 INTRACEREBRAL PAIN PROCESSING IN A YOGA MASTER WHO CLAIMS NOT TO FEEL PAIN DURING MEDITATION. WE RECORDED MAGNETOENCEPHALOGRAPHY (MEG) AND FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI) FOLLOWING NOXIOUS LASER STIMULATION IN A YOGA MASTER WHO CLAIMS NOT TO FEEL PAIN WHEN MEDITATING. AS FOR BACKGROUND MEG ACTIVITY, THE POWER OF ALPHA FREQUENCY BANDS PEAKING AT AROUND 10 HZ WAS MUCH INCREASED DURING MEDITATION OVER OCCIPITAL, PARIETAL AND TEMPORAL REGIONS, WHEN COMPARED WITH THE NON-MEDITATIVE STATE, WHICH MIGHT MEAN THE SUBJECT WAS VERY RELAXED, THOUGH HE DID NOT FALL ASLEEP, DURING MEDITATION. PRIMARY PAIN-RELATED CORTICAL ACTIVITIES RECORDED FROM PRIMARY (SI) AND SECONDARY SOMATOSENSORY CORTICES (SII) BY MEG WERE VERY WEAK OR ABSENT DURING MEDITATION. AS FOR FMRI RECORDING, THERE WERE REMARKABLE CHANGES IN LEVELS OF ACTIVITY IN THE THALAMUS, SII-INSULA (MAINLY THE INSULA) AND CINGULATE CORTEX BETWEEN MEDITATION AND NON-MEDITATION. ACTIVITIES IN ALL THREE REGIONS WERE INCREASED DURING NON-MEDITATION, SIMILAR TO RESULTS IN NORMAL SUBJECTS. IN CONTRAST, ACTIVITIES IN ALL THREE REGIONS WERE WEAKER DURING MEDITATION, AND THE LEVEL WAS LOWER THAN THE BASELINE IN THE THALAMUS. RECENT NEUROIMAGING AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL STUDIES HAVE CLARIFIED THAT THE EMOTIONAL ASPECT OF PAIN PERCEPTION MAINLY INVOLVES THE INSULA AND CINGULATE CORTEX. THOUGH WE CANNOT CLEARLY EXPLAIN THIS UNUSUAL CONDITION IN THE YOGA MASTER, A CHANGE OF MULTIPLE REGIONS RELATING TO PAIN PERCEPTION COULD BE RESPONSIBLE, SINCE PAIN IS A COMPLEX SENSORY AND EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE. 2005 11 1289 26 GREATER WIDESPREAD FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY OF THE CAUDATE IN OLDER ADULTS WHO PRACTICE KRIPALU YOGA AND VIPASSANA MEDITATION THAN IN CONTROLS. THERE HAS BEEN A GROWING INTEREST IN UNDERSTANDING HOW CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES AFFECT BRAIN FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION. HOWEVER, MOST STUDIES HAVE RESTRICTED THEIR EXPLORATION TO PREDEFINED NETWORKS. FURTHERMORE, SCIENTIFIC COMPARISONS OF DIFFERENT CONTEMPLATIVE TRADITIONS ARE LARGELY LACKING. HERE WE EXPLORED DIFFERENCES IN WHOLE BRAIN RESTING STATE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS, EXPERIENCED MEDITATORS, AND MATCHED CONTROLS. ANALYSES WERE REPEATED IN AN INDEPENDENT SAMPLE OF EXPERIENCED MEDITATORS AND MATCHED CONTROLS. ANALYSES UTILIZING NETWORK-BASED STATISTICS (ZALESKY ET AL., 2010) REVEALED DIFFERENCE COMPONENTS FOR YOGA PRACTITIONERS > CONTROLS AND MEDITATORS > CONTROLS IN WHICH THE RIGHT CAUDATE WAS A CENTRAL NODE. FOLLOW UP ANALYSES REVEALED THAT YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND MEDITATORS HAD SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER DEGREE CENTRALITY IN THE CAUDATE THAN CONTROLS. THIS GREATER DEGREE CENTRALITY WAS NOT DRIVEN BY SINGLE CONNECTIONS BUT BY GREATER CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE CAUDATE AND NUMEROUS BRAIN REGIONS. FINDINGS OF GREATER CAUDATE CONNECTIVITY IN MEDITATORS THAN IN CONTROLS WAS REPLICATED IN AN INDEPENDENT DATASET. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT YOGA AND MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS HAVE STRONGER FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY WITHIN BASAL GANGLIA CORTICO-THALAMIC FEEDBACK LOOPS THAN NON-PRACTITIONERS. ALTHOUGH WE COULD NOT PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR ITS MECHANISTIC ROLE, THIS GREATER CONNECTIVITY MIGHT BE RELATED TO THE OFTEN REPORTED EFFECTS OF MEDITATION AND YOGA ON BEHAVIORAL FLEXIBILITY, MENTAL HEALTH, AND WELL-BEING. 2015 12 2502 16 YOGA AS THERAPY IN PSYCHOSOMATIC MEDICINE. YOGA AS THERAPY WITH PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDERS HAS BEEN PRACTICED FOR MANY CENTURIES IN INDIA, AND ONLY RECENTLY HAS BECOME UTILIZED FOR THIS PURPOSE IN OTHER COUNTRIES. THE YOGA SYSTEM EVOLVED AS A 'SYSTEM OF LIBERATION' TO ALLOW MAN TO DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN HIS EGO-SELF AND PURE CONSCIOUSNESS, AND AS SUCH, ITS MEDICAL BENEFITS ARE REALLY 'SIDE-EFFECTS'. INTEGRAL YOGA PRACTICE, HOWEVER, WITH WHICH MANY OTHER SELF-REGULATORY SOMATOPSYCHIC APPROACHES HAVE MUCH IN COMMON, CONSISTS OF A HOLISTIC TECHNOLOGY WHICH FUNCTIONS TO RESTORE OPTIMAL HOMEOSTATIS BY A VARIETY OF SPECIAL TECHNIQUES NOT FOUND IN OTHER APPROACHES. CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS OF PSYCHOSOMATIC PATIENTS INDICATE THAT THEIR DISTORTED SOMATOPSYCHIC FUNCTIONING NECESSITATES THEIR PRACTICE OF YOGA-LIKE THERAPY. A REVIEW OF THE CLINICAL EVIDENCE AVAILABLE INDICATES THAT YOGA PRACTICE HAS PROVEN MOST EFFECTIVE WITH A WIDE RANGE OF PSYCHOSOMATIC AND PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA CAN BE PARTIALLY UNDERSTOOD IN TERMS OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL THEORY. 1979 13 1596 29 MEDITATION HAS STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH MINDFULNESS, KUNDALINI, AND MYSTICAL EXPERIENCES THAN YOGA OR PRAYER. CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES CAN HAVE PROFOUND EFFECTS ON MINDFULNESS AND ON PHYSICAL AND SENSORY AND MYSTICAL EXPERIENCES. INDIVIDUALS WHO SELF-REPORTED MEDITATION, YOGA, CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER, OR A COMBINATION OF PRACTICES AND THEIR PATTERNS OF PRACTICE WERE COMPARED FOR MINDFULNESS, KUNDALINI EFFECTS, AND MYSTICAL EXPERIENCES. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE AMOUNT OF PRACTICE BUT NOT THE PATTERN AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF PRACTICE INFLUENCES MINDFULNESS AND POSSIBLY MYSTICAL EXPERIENCES. MEDITATION, YOGA, CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER, OR A COMBINATION OF PRACTICES ALL WERE FOUND TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH ENHANCEMENTS OF MINDFULNESS, KUNDALINI EFFECTS, AND MYSTICAL EXPERIENCES, BUT MEDITATION HAD PARTICULARLY STRONG ASSOCIATIONS AND MAY BE THE BASIS OF THE ASSOCIATIONS OF YOGA AND PRAYER WITH THESE OUTCOMES. THE RESULTS FURTHER SUGGEST THAT THE PRIMARY ASSOCIATION OF CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES IS WITH THE REAL TIME AWARENESS AND APPRECIATION OF SENSORY AND PERCEPTUAL EXPERIENCES WHICH MAY BE THE INTERMEDIARY BETWEEN DISPARATE PRACTICES AND MINDFULNESS, KUNDALINI EFFECTS, AND MYSTICAL EXPERIENCES. 2015 14 2420 19 YOGA AND MENTAL HEALTH: A DIALOGUE BETWEEN ANCIENT WISDOM AND MODERN PSYCHOLOGY. BACKGROUND: MANY YOGA TEXTS MAKE REFERENCE TO THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL HEALTH AND THE USE OF SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES IN THE TREATMENT OF MENTAL DISORDERS. DIFFERENT CONCEPTS UTILIZED IN MODERN PSYCHOLOGY MAY NOT COME WITH CONTEMPORARY IDEAS, INSTEAD, THEY SEEM TO SHARE A COMMON ROOT WITH ANCIENT WISDOM. AIMS: THE GOAL OF THIS PERSPECTIVE ARTICLE IS TO CORRELATE MODERN TECHNIQUES USED IN PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY WITH YOGIC PRACTICES, IN THE TREATMENT OF MENTAL DISORDERS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE CURRENT ARTICLE PRESENTED A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE YOGIC APPROACH FOR THE TREATMENT OF MENTAL DISORDER AND CONCEPTS USED IN MODERN PSYCHOLOGY, SUCH AS META-COGNITION, DISIDENTIFICATION, DECONDITIONING AND INTEROCEPTIVE EXPOSURE. CONCLUSIONS: CONTEMPLATIVE RESEARCH FOUND OUT THAT MODERN INTERVENTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGY MIGHT NOT COME FROM MODERN CONCEPTS AFTER ALL, BUT SHARE GREAT SIMILARITY WITH ANCIENT YOGIC KNOWLEDGE, GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTEGRATE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WISDOM OF BOTH EAST AND WEST. 2016 15 1768 26 POTENTIAL FOR INTEGRATING YOGA WITHIN PULMONARY REHABILITATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF REPORTING FRAMEWORK. THERE IS A RISING BURDEN OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) IN INDIA. PULMONARY REHABILITATION (PR), IS A UNIVERSALLY RECOMMENDED MULTIDISCIPLINARY THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF COPD; HOWEVER, ITS NEEDS ARE UNMET. THE DIVERSITY IN THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS, AVAILABILITY OF PR SPECIALISTS AND SOCIOCULTURAL MULTIFORMITY REQUIRES CONTEXTUALISED AND INNOVATIVE PR MODELS. CULTURALLY SENSITIVE ELEMENTS, SUCH AS YOGA, HAVE SOME EVIDENCE OF A POSITIVE IMPACT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF COPD. YOGA AND PR ARE BASED ON SIMILAR PRINCIPLES WITH A HOLISTIC APPROACH OF INVOLVING PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES, BEHAVIOUR CHANGE TECHNIQUES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT TO IMPROVE DISEASE OUTCOMES. ARGUABLY THE PRINCIPLES OF PR AND YOGA ARE COMPLEMENTARY BUT THERE ARE SOME IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES IN THE INTENSITIES OF ACTIVITIES, EXERCISE TYPES AND INCLUSION OF MINDFULNESS IN COMPONENTS THAT MUST BE CONSIDERED. COMPONENTS OF PR ENABLE AEROBIC CAPACITY BUILDING, STRENGTHENING OF MUSCLES OF THE UPPER AND LOWER EXTREMITIES AND BUILDING AWARENESS TOWARDS DISEASE MANAGEMENT. YOGA, ON THE OTHER HAND, PRIMARILY CAN FOCUS ON CORE STRENGTHENING, BREATHING CONTROL, MINDFULNESS AND SELF-AWARENESS. WE DISCUSS THE POTENTIAL OF INTEGRATING THE SOCIOCULTURAL APPEAL OF YOGA WITH PR DELIVERED AT INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, AND HOW AN INTEGRATED APPROACH MAY LEAD TO OPTIMAL REFERRAL, UPTAKE AND COMPLETION. 2021 16 1698 20 PAIN-RELATED ENCEPHALIC REGIONS INFLUENCED BY YOGA MEDITATION: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW. INTRODUCTION: THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE USE OF YOGA IN PAIN RELIEF ARE STILL UNCLEAR. THIS STUDY REVIEWED LITERATURE REPORTS ON ENCEPHALIC ACTIVITY RELATED TO ANALGESIA INDUCED BY YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICE. METHODS: THIS INTEGRATIVE REVIEW EXAMINED STUDIES PUBLISHED IN THE PUBMED, LILACS AND MEDLINE DATABASES WITHOUT RESTRICTION OF THE YEAR OF PUBLICATION. THE RESEARCH INVOLVED 16 DESCRIPTORS RELATED TO THE WORDS: YOGA, PAIN AND NEUROIMAGING METHODS. INCLUSION CRITERIA INVOLVED ONLY THE PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE ONLINE, WITH FREE ACCESS AND WRITTEN IN ENGLISH. RESULTS: 2 CASE STUDIES AND 1 PILOT STUDY MET THE CRITERIA. YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICE INDUCES ANALGESIA PRIMARILY THROUGH ATTENUATION OF THE MEDIAL PAIN PERCEPTION SYSTEM INCLUDING THE ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX AND INSULA REGIONS, AS WELL AS THE LATERAL SYSTEM INCLUDING THE SECONDARY SENSORY CORTEX AND THALAMUS. CONCLUSION: YOGA INDUCED ANALGESIA IS A POTENTIALLY IMPORTANT ADJUNCT TO CURRENT PAIN MANAGEMENT. THIS INTEGRATIVE REVIEW REVEALED THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR FURTHER RESEARCH THAT ANALYZES THE ENCEPHALIC REGIONS RELATED TO ANALGESIA INDUCED BY YOGA PRACTICE. 2018 17 2760 42 YOGA PRACTITIONERS UNIQUELY ACTIVATE THE SUPERIOR PARIETAL LOBULE AND SUPRAMARGINAL GYRUS DURING EMOTION REGULATION. CHRONIC STRESS CONTRIBUTES TO BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ILLNESS. A HIGH PREVALENCE AND COST OF STRESS-RELATED ILLNESSES NORTH AMERICA WARRANTS INVESTIGATION INTO ALTERNATIVE OR COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES WHICH MAY HELP REDUCE ADVERSE REACTIONS TO STRESSFUL STIMULI. EMOTION REGULATION IS THE PROCESS OF MONITORING AND ADJUSTING EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI AND STRESSORS. INDIVIDUALS WHO PARTICIPATE IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ARE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE ADVERSE RESPONSES TO POTENTIALLY STRESSFUL SITUATIONS, POTENTIALLY DUE TO ADAPTIONS IN EMOTION REGULATION. YOGA IS A FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INVOLVING STRETCHING EXERCISES AND MEDITATION, THAT MAY LESSEN INDIVIDUALS' LEVELS OF STRESS AND ANXIETY AND IMPROVE EMOTION REGULATION. HIGH-FREQUENCY HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HF-HRV) IS CONSIDERED A MEASURE OF PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (PNS) ACTIVITY DURING THE EMOTION REGULATION. MEASURING HRV AND BRAIN ACTIVITY USING FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI) OFFERS A USEFUL, NONINVASIVE APPROACH TO EVALUATING "NEUROVISCERAL" COMPONENTS OF EMOTION REGULATION. WE AIMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOGA PRACTITIONERS (YP) EXHIBIT DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF BRAIN ACTIVATION COMPARED TO RECREATIONAL ATHLETES (RA) WITHOUT CURRENT YOGA EXPERIENCE, WHILE VIEWING EMOTIONALLY AROUSING VISUAL STIMULI. OUR SECONDARY AIM WAS TO EXAMINE POTENTIAL DIFFERENCES ACROSS GROUPS IN HRV THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION OF THESE STIMULI. ANALYSIS OF FMRI DATA DURING EXPOSURE TO EMOTION-EVOKING (EE) STIMULI REVEALED THAT THE YP GROUP ACTIVATED TWO UNIQUE BRAIN AREAS, NAMELY THE SUPERIOR PARIETAL LOBULE AND THE SUPRAMARGINAL GYRUS. THESE AREAS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENTIONAL AWARENESS AND REDUCED EGOCENTRIC BIAS, PROCESSES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN EMOTION REGULATION BY OTHERS. THE RA GROUP ACTIVATED THE INFERIOR MIDDLE FRONTAL CORTEX, AN AREA ASSOCIATED WITH COGNITIVE REAPPRAISAL DURING EMOTION REGULATION. THE YP GROUP ALSO DEMONSTRATED A TREND TOWARDS A HIGHER RATIO OF LOW- TO HIGH-FREQUENCY HRV COMPARED TO THE RA GROUP. THE PRESENT FINDINGS SUPPORT THE PRESENCE OF EXPERIENCE-DEPENDENT NEUROVISCERAL MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH EMOTION REGULATION. INDIVIDUALS WHO PRACTICE YOGA REGULATE THEIR NEUROVISCERAL RESPONSES TO POTENTIALLY STRESSFUL EXTERNAL STIMULI IN A DIFFERENT MANNER THAN RECREATIONAL ATHLETES WHO DO NOT ENGAGE IN YOGA PRACTICE. THE PRESENT STUDY HAD A SMALL SAMPLE SIZE (RA: N = 12; YP: N = 19), WHICH SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN INTERPRETING THE RESULTS. 2018 18 26 19 'A TOOL TO HELP ME THROUGH THE DARKNESS': SUFFERING AND HEALING AMONG TEACHER-PRACTITIONERS OF ASHTANGA YOGA. YOGA IS WIDELY REGARDED AS BENEFICIAL FOR PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH, AND AS A SAFE ANCILLARY INTERVENTION FOR MANAGING A RANGE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS. EVIDENCE OF INJURY, HARM, AND ABUSE IN YOGA TRADITIONS IS DIFFICULT TO SQUARE WITH THIS EMPHASIS ON HEALING. DRAWING MAINLY FROM ON ONLINE MEMOIRS BY LONG-TERM PRACTITIONERS OF ASHTANGA YOGA, THIS PAPER EXAMINES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUFFERING AND HEALING IN YOGA, SHOWING HOW LONG-TERM ABUSE CAN BE PERPETUATED AND INJURY SUSTAINED IN A SYSTEM WIDELY UNDERSTOOD AND LABELLED BY ITS PRACTITIONERS AS THERAPEUTIC. THE PAPER ARGUES THAT ELEMENTS OF HEALING AND HARM ARE PRESENT IN THE RITUALS OF PRACTICE, THE CONCEPTS THAT SUPPORT IT, AND THE POWER STRUCTURE OF THE ASHTANGA SYSTEM. THE SYSTEM'S ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS TOGETHER WITH A THERAPEUTIC DISCOURSE THAT LINKS SUFFERING TO ITS TRANSCENDENCE ENABLED THE SAME KINDS OF ABUSE AND TRAUMA THAT ASHTANGA YOGA IS PURPORTED TO HEAL. THE ANALYSIS RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE OVERARCHING NARRATIVE OF YOGA AS SAFE AND HEALTHY, AND ABOUT THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN HEALING AND HARM WITHIN THERAPEUTIC TRADITIONS. 2021 19 1089 22 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC-ACID, AND ALLOSTASIS IN EPILEPSY, DEPRESSION, AND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. A THEORY IS PROPOSED TO EXPLAIN THE BENEFITS OF YOGA PRACTICES IN DIVERSE, FREQUENTLY COMORBID MEDICAL CONDITIONS BASED ON THE CONCEPT THAT YOGA PRACTICES REDUCE ALLOSTATIC LOAD IN STRESS RESPONSE SYSTEMS SUCH THAT OPTIMAL HOMEOSTASIS IS RESTORED. IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT STRESS INDUCES (1) IMBALANCE OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (ANS) WITH DECREASED PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (PNS) AND INCREASED SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (SNS) ACTIVITY, (2) UNDERACTIVITY OF THE GAMMA AMINO-BUTYRIC ACID (GABA) SYSTEM, THE PRIMARY INHIBITORY NEUROTRANSMITTER SYSTEM, AND (3) INCREASED ALLOSTATIC LOAD. IT IS FURTHER HYPOTHESIZED THAT YOGA-BASED PRACTICES (4) CORRECT UNDERACTIVITY OF THE PNS AND GABA SYSTEMS IN PART THROUGH STIMULATION OF THE VAGUS NERVES, THE MAIN PERIPHERAL PATHWAY OF THE PNS, AND (5) REDUCE ALLOSTATIC LOAD. DEPRESSION, EPILEPSY, POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD), AND CHRONIC PAIN EXEMPLIFY MEDICAL CONDITIONS THAT ARE EXACERBATED BY STRESS, HAVE LOW HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) AND LOW GABAERGIC ACTIVITY, RESPOND TO PHARMACOLOGIC AGENTS THAT INCREASE ACTIVITY OF THE GABA SYSTEM, AND SHOW SYMPTOM IMPROVEMENT IN RESPONSE TO YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS. THE OBSERVATION THAT TREATMENT RESISTANT CASES OF EPILEPSY AND DEPRESSION RESPOND TO VAGAL NERVE STIMULATION CORROBORATES THE NEED TO CORRECT PNS UNDERACTIVITY AS PART OF A SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT PLAN IN SOME CASES. ACCORDING TO THE PROPOSED THEORY, THE DECREASED PNS AND GABAERGIC ACTIVITY THAT UNDERLIES STRESS-RELATED DISORDERS CAN BE CORRECTED BY YOGA PRACTICES RESULTING IN AMELIORATION OF DISEASE SYMPTOMS. THIS HAS FAR-REACHING IMPLICATIONS FOR THE INTEGRATION OF YOGA-BASED PRACTICES IN THE TREATMENT OF A BROAD ARRAY OF DISORDERS EXACERBATED BY STRESS. 2012 20 2228 18 THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: A REVIEW OF THE YOGA MY HEART STUDY. ATRIAL FIBRILLATION IS A COMMON ARRHYTHMIA AFFECTING THOUSANDS OF INDIVIDUALS WORLDWIDE. IT IS A CONDUCTION DISORDER THAT CAUSES THE HEART TO BEAT IRREGULARLY AND RAPIDLY. THERE ARE A FEW MEDICAL APPROACHES TO MANAGE THIS COSTLY HEALTH CARE BURDEN: ANTIARRHYTHMICS TO MAINTAIN NORMAL SINUS RHYTHM, BETA BLOCKERS TO ACHIEVE RATE CONTROL WHILE ALLOWING ATRIAL FIBRILLATION TO PERSIST, AND ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOGIC INTERVENTION FOR RATE AND RHYTHM CONTROL. THESE TREATMENTS CAN BE COSTLY AND ARE NOT WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS. YOGA, AN INTERVENTION THAT IS AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE WORLDWIDE, HAS SHOWN SOME PROMISE IN COMBATING THIS WIDESPREAD HEART DISORDER. 2015