1  846 118 EFFECT OF YOGA ON PULSE RATE VARIABILITY MEASURED FROM A VENOUS PRESSURE WAVEFORM. THE BENEFITS OF YOGA HAVE BEEN STUDIED IN DIFFERENT FIELDS, FROM CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS TO MENTAL DISORDERS, SHOWING THAT IT CAN HELP TO IMPROVE THE OVERALL HEALTH. IN PARTICULAR, IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THAT YOGA ALSO IMPROVES THE AUTONOMIC FUNCTION. HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) AT REST IS COMMONLY USED AS A NON-INVASIVE MEASURE OF AUTONOMIC REGULATION OF HEART RATE. ALTERNATIVELY, PULSE RATE VARIABILITY (PRV) HAS BEEN PROPOSED AS A SURROGATE OF HRV. VOLUMETRIX HAS DEVELOPED A NOVEL TECHNOLOGY THAT CAPTURES VENOUS WAVEFORMS VIA SENSORS ON THE VOLAR ASPECT OF THE WRIST, CALLED NIVABAND. THIS STUDY AIMS TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA IN THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM BY ANALYZING THE PRV OBTAINED FROM THE NIVA SIGNAL. TEMPORAL (STATISTICS OF THE NORMAL-TO-NORMAL INTERVALS), SPECTRAL (POWER IN LOW AND HIGH FREQUENCY BANDS) AND NONLINEAR (LAGGED POINCARE PLOT ANALYSIS) PARAMETERS ARE ANALYZED BEFORE AND AFTER A YOGA SESSION IN 20 HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. THE PRV ANALYSIS SHOWS AN INCREASE IN PARAMETERS RELATED TO PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND OVERALL VARIABILITY, AND A DECREASE IN PARAMETERS RELATED TO SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND MEAN HEART RATE. THESE RESULTS SUPPORT THE BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF YOGA IN AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, INCREASING THE PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
2 2680  49 YOGA IN SCHOOL SPORTS IMPROVES FUNCTIONING OF AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM IN YOUNG ADULTS: A NON-RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: YOGA IN SCHOOL IS A BENEFICIAL TOOL TO PROMOTE THE GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF STUDENTS BY CHANGING THE WAY THEY REACT TO STRESS. THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA-TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS-ON CHILDREN, YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN FORMER STUDIES USING MOSTLY SUBJECTIVE PSYCHOMETRIC DATA. AIM: THE PRESENT TRIAL AIMS TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA ON AUTONOMIC REGULATION IN YOUNG ADULTS BY ANALYZING HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). METHODS: THIS STUDY IS A NON-RANDOMIZED, EXPLORATIVE, TWO-ARM-PILOT STUDY WITH AN ACTIVE CONTROL GROUP. FOURTEEN HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS TOOK PART IN A 10-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM (90 MIN ONCE A WEEK) IN SCHOOL AND WERE COMPARED TO A CONTROL GROUP OF 11 STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN CONVENTIONAL SCHOOL SPORTS (90 MIN ONCE A WEEK OVER 10 WEEKS). 24-HOUR ELECTROCARDIOGRAMS (ECGS) WERE RECORDED AT BASELINE AND FOLLOWING THE 10-WEEK INTERVENTION. FROM 20-MINUTE OF NOCTURNAL SLEEP PHASES, HRV PARAMETERS WERE CALCULATED FROM LINEAR (TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN) AND NONLINEAR DYNAMICS (SUCH AS SYMBOLIC DYNAMICS AND POINCARE PLOT ANALYSIS). ANALYSES OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) FOLLOWED BY T-TESTS AS POST-HOC TESTS ESTIMATING BOTH STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE AND EFFECT SIZE WERE USED TO COMPARE PRE-POST-INTERVENTION FOR THE TWO GROUPS. RESULTS: THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE INTERACTION EFFECTS DID NOT REVEAL A SIGNIFICANT GROUP AND TIME INTERACTION FOR THE INDIVIDUAL NOCTURNAL HRV INDICES. ALMOST ALL INDICES REVEALED MEDIUM AND LARGE EFFECTS REGARDING THE TIME MAIN EFFECTS. THE CHANGES IN THE HRV INDICES FOLLOWING THE INTERVENTION WERE MORE DRAMATIC FOR THE YOGA GROUP THAN FOR THE CONTROL GROUP WHICH IS REFLECTED IN PREDOMINANTLY HIGHER SIGNIFICANCES AND STRONGER EFFECT SIZES IN THE YOGA GROUP. CONCLUSION: IN THIS EXPLORATIVE PILOT TRIAL, AN INCREASE OF HRV (MORE PARASYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE AND OVERALL HIGHER HRV) AFTER TEN WEEKS OF YOGA IN SCHOOL IN COMPARISON TO REGULAR SCHOOL SPORTS WAS DEMONSTRATED, SHOWING AN IMPROVED SELF-REGULATION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                       
3 1578  41 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
4  350  50 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	
                             
5 1023  33 EFFECTS OF YOGA AND MINDFULNESS PRACTICES ON THE AUTONOMOUS NERVOUS SYSTEM IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN: A NON-RANDOMISED CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVES: THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA AND MINDFULNESS-BASED PROGRAMME ON THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN BY USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY PARAMETERS. DESIGN: A TWO-ARM NON-RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL COMPARED AN INTEGRATED YOGA AND MINDFULNESS-BASED PROGRAMME (16 WEEKS) TO CONVENTIONAL PRIMARY SCHOOL LESSONS. SETTING: PRIMARY SCHOOL CLASSROOMS AND CONFERENCE ROOMS. INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS WERE ALLOCATED TO A 16-WEEK INTEGRATED YOGA-BASED PROGRAMME OR CONVENTIONAL SCHOOL LESSONS. A SUBGROUP WAS RANDOMISED TO RECEIVE 24H ELECTROCARDIOGRAM-RECORDINGS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: HEART RATE VARIABILITY INDICES WERE MEASURED, BOTH LINEAR (TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN) AND NON-LINEAR (SYMBOLIC DYNAMICS, COMPRESSION ENTROPY), CALCULATED FROM 30-MINUTE EXTRACTS OF HOLTER-ELECTROCARDIOGRAM-RECORDINGS. ASSESSMENTS WERE CONDUCTED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF INTERVENTION. RESULTS: 40 PARTICIPANTS (42.5% FEMALE) WERE INCLUDED INTO THE ANALYSIS OF HRV. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY PARAMETERS WERE OBSERVED BETWEEN THE GROUPS AFTER 16 WEEKS. IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP, A TREND TOWARDS INCREASED PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY COULD BE SEEN OVER TIME, ALTHOUGH NOT SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: RESULTS OBTAINED HERE DO NOT CLEARLY SHOW THAT CHILDREN IN GERMAN PRIMARY SCHOOL SETTINGS BENEFIT FROM AN INTEGRATED YOGA-BASED INTERVENTION. HOWEVER, EXPLORATORY POST-HOC ANALYSES POINT INTERESTINGLY TO AN INCREASED NOCTURNAL PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP. FURTHER STUDIES ARE REQUIRED WITH HIGH-QUALITY STUDY DESIGNS, LARGER SAMPLE SIZES AND LONGER-TERM FOLLOW-UPS.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
6 1441  34 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
7 2731  39 YOGA OFFERS CARDIOVASCULAR PROTECTION IN EARLY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. CONTEXT: POSTMENOPAUSE, AN ESTROGEN DEFICIENT STATE COMES WITH INCREASED INCIDENCE OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES (CVDS). YOGA HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS HAVING A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV), A MARKER FOR CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY WHICH CAN ASSESS CARDIOVASCULAR RISK, IN VARIOUS POPULATIONS. AIM: THE AIM OF THE STUDY WAS TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF 3-MONTH LONG YOGA PRACTICE ON HRV IN EARLY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF 67 WOMEN WITHIN 5 YEARS OF MENOPAUSE BETWEEN 45 AND 60 YEARS OF AGE ATTENDING MENOPAUSE CLINIC OF DEPARTMENT OF GYNAECOLOGY, SUCHETA KRIPLANI HOSPITAL FULFILLING INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA AND CONSENTING WERE ENROLLED FOR THE STUDY. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: HRV OF 37 CASES (YOGA GROUP) AND 30 CONTROLS (NON-YOGA GROUP) WAS RECORDED PRE AND 3-MONTH POSTINTERVENTION. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: GRAPHPAD PRISM VERSION 5 SOFTWARE WAS USED. VALUES ARE A MEAN AND STANDARD ERROR OF MEAN. STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE WAS SET UP AT P < 0.05. RESULTS: IN HRV, FREQUENCY DOMAIN ANALYSIS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT FALL IN LOW FREQUENCY (LF) IN NORMALIZED UNITS (NU) AND LF: HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) RATIO AND SIGNIFICANT RISE IN HF IN NU IN THE YOGA GROUP (DEPICTING PARASYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE) AGAINST A SIGNIFICANT RISE IN LF (NU) AND LF: HF RATIO AND SIGNIFICANT FALL IN HF (NU) IN NON-YOGA GROUP (INDICATING SYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE). TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN STANDARD DEVIATION OF NN INTERVALS IN NON-YOGA GROUP AGAINST NONSIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN YOGA GROUP INDICATING DETERIORATION IN PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY IN NON-YOGA GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THREE-MONTH LONG YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVED HRV IN EARLY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN SIGNIFICANTLY AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ATTENUATE THE CVD RISK IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
8  297  36 ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING AT DIFFERENT RATES AND ITS INFLUENCE ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN NON PRACTITIONERS OF YOGA. INTRODUCTION: HEART RATE VARIABILITY IS A MEASURE OF MODULATION IN AUTONOMIC INPUT TO THE HEART AND IS ONE OF THE MARKERS OF AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS. THOUGH THERE ARE MANY STUDIES ON THE LONG TERM INFLUENCE OF BREATHING ON HRV (HEART RATE VARIABILITY) THERE ARE ONLY A FEW STUDIES ON THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF BREATHING ESPECIALLY ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING ON HRV. THIS STUDY FOCUSES ON THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING AND THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT BREATHING RATES ON HRV. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE STUDY WAS DONE ON 25 SUBJECTS IN THE AGE GROUP OF 17-35 YEARS. ECG AND RESPIRATION WERE RECORDED BEFORE INTERVENTION AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SUBJECTS WERE ASKED TO PERFORM ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING FOR FIVE MINUTES. RESULTS: LOW FREQUENCY (LF) WHICH IS A MARKER OF SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY INCREASED, HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) WHICH IS A MARKER OF PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY DECREASED AND THEIR RATIO LF/HF WHICH IS A MARKER OF SYMPATHO/VAGAL BALANCE INCREASED IMMEDIATELY AFTER 6 AND 12 MINUTES IN COMPARISON TO BASELINE VALUES WHEREAS THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE MEANS OF THESE COMPONENTS WHEN BOTH 6 AND 12 MINUTES WERE COMPARED. CONCLUSION: IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING ON HRV IN NON PRACTITIONERS OF YOGIC BREATHING ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE LONG TERM INFLUENCE OF YOGIC BREATHING ON HRV WHICH SHOW A PREDOMINANT PARASYMPATHETIC INFLUENCE ON THE HEART.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
9  758  36 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
10  780  41 EFFECT OF YOGA AS AN ADD-ON THERAPY IN THE MODULATION OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN CHILDREN WITH DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY. BACKGROUND: DUCHENE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY (DMD) IS A PROGRESSIVE MUSCULAR DISORDER. CARDIAC DISORDER IS THE SECOND-MOST COMMON CAUSE OF DEATH IN CHILDREN WITH DMD, WITH 10%-20% OF THEM DYING OF CARDIAC FAILURE. HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) IS SHOWN TO BE A PREDICTOR OF CARDIO-AUTONOMIC FUNCTION. PHYSIOTHERAPY (PT) IS ADVISED FOR THESE CHILDREN AS A REGULAR TREATMENT FOR MAINTAINING THEIR FUNCTIONAL STATUS. THE EFFECT OF YOGIC PRACTICES ON THE CARDIO-AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN VARIOUS NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND MAY PROVE BENEFICIAL IN DMD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: IN THIS STUDY, 124 PATIENTS WITH DMD WERE RANDOMIZED TO PT ALONE OR PT WITH YOGA INTERVENTION. HOME-BASED PT AND YOGA WERE ADVISED. ADHERENCE WAS SERIALLY ASSESSED AT A FOLLOW-UP INTERVAL OF 3 MONTHS. ERROR-FREE, ELECTROCARDIOGRAM WAS RECORDED IN ALL PATIENTS AT REST IN THE SUPINE POSITION. HRV PARAMETERS WERE COMPUTED IN TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAINS. HRV WAS RECORDED AT BASELINE AND AT AN INTERVAL OF 3 MONTHS UP TO 1 YEAR. REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA WAS USED TO ANALYZE LONGITUDINAL FOLLOW-UP AND LEAST SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE FOR POST HOC ANALYSIS AND P < 0.05 WAS CONSIDERED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. RESULTS: IN OUR STUDY, WITH PT PROTOCOL, STANDARD DEVIATION OF NN, ROOT OF SQUARE MEAN OF SUCCESSIVE NN, TOTAL POWER, LOW FREQUENCY, HIGH-FREQUENCY NORMALIZED UNITS (HFNU), AND SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE IMPROVED AT VARYING TIME POINTS AND THE IMPROVEMENT LASTED UP FOR 6-9 MONTHS, WHEREAS PT AND YOGA PROTOCOL SHOWED AN IMPROVEMENT IN HFNU DURING THE LAST 3 MONTHS OF THE STUDY PERIOD AND ALL THE OTHER PARAMETERS WERE STABLE UP TO 1 YEAR. THUS, IT IS EVIDENT THAT BOTH THE GROUPS IMPROVED CARDIAC FUNCTIONS IN DMD. HOWEVER, NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS NOTED IN THE CHANGES OBSERVED BETWEEN THE GROUPS. CONCLUSION: THE INTENSE PT AND PT WITH YOGA, PARTICULARLY HOME-BASED PROGRAM, IS INDEED BENEFICIAL AS A THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY IN DMD CHILDREN TO MAINTAIN AND/OR TO SUSTAIN HRV IN DMD.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
11  243  32 A YOGA & EXERCISE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL FOR VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS: EFFECTS ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY. OBJECTIVES: HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) REFLECTS THE INTEGRATION OF THE PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM WITH THE REST OF THE BODY. STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND EXERCISE ON HRV HAVE BEEN MIXED BUT SUGGEST THAT EXERCISE INCREASES HRV. WE CONDUCTED A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND EXERCISE ON HRV BASED ON A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL OF TREATMENTS FOR VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS IN PERI/POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL OF BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS IN WOMEN WITH VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS (N=335), 40-62 YEARS OLD FROM THREE CLINICAL STUDY SITES. INTERVENTIONS: 12-WEEKS OF A YOGA PROGRAM, DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR MID-LIFE WOMEN, OR A SUPERVISED AEROBIC EXERCISE-TRAINING PROGRAM WITH SPECIFIC INTENSITY AND ENERGY EXPENDITURE GOALS, COMPARED TO A USUAL ACTIVITY GROUP. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN HRV MEASURED AT BASELINE AND AT 12 WEEKS FOR 15MIN USING HOLTER MONITORS. RESULTS: WOMEN HAD A MEDIAN OF 7.6 VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS PER 24H. TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN HRV MEASURES DID NOT CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY IN EITHER OF THE INTERVENTION GROUPS COMPARED TO THE CHANGE IN THE USUAL ACTIVITY GROUP. HRV RESULTS DID NOT DIFFER WHEN THE ANALYSES WERE RESTRICTED TO POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN. CONCLUSIONS: ALTHOUGH YOGA AND EXERCISE HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO INCREASE PARASYMPATHETIC-MEDIATED HRV IN OTHER POPULATIONS, NEITHER INTERVENTION INCREASED HRV IN MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN WITH VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS. MIXED RESULTS IN PREVIOUS RESEARCH MAY BE DUE TO SAMPLE DIFFERENCES. YOGA AND EXERCISE LIKELY IMPROVE SHORT-TERM HEALTH IN MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN THROUGH MECHANISMS OTHER THAN HRV.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
12  650  37 DYNAMICS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF COURSE YOGA BREATHING EXERCISES ON HEALTHY YOUNG PEOPLE. OBJECTIVE: INTRODUCTION: HEART RATE VARIABILITY IS A HIGHLY INFORMATIVE NON-INVASIVE METHOD OF RESEARCH NOT ONLY FOR THE FUNCTIONAL STATE OF THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM AND ALSO FOR THE INTEGRATIVE REGULATORY ACTIVITY OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. THE POSITIVE EFFECT OF DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING IS POSITIVE IN THE MODE OF BIOLOGICAL FEEDBACK USING PORTABLE DEVICES, BUT THERE IS LITTLE EVIDENCE OF THE USE OF YOGA BREATHING GYMNASTICS IN ORDER TO INFLUENCE THE HEART RATE VARIABILITY. THE AIM: TO COMPARE THE POSSIBILITIES OF USING COURSES OF BREATHING GYMNASTICS OF YOGIS AND DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING SESSIONS IN THE MODE OF BIOLOGICAL FEEDBACK USING A PORTABLE DEVICE. PATIENTS AND METHODS: MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE STUDY INVOLVED 70 PRACTICALLY HEALTHY FOREIGNERS, WHO WERE DIVIDED INTO 2 GROUPS OF 35 PEOPLE. PARTICIPANTS OF THE 1ST GROUP DAILY ENGAGE IN RESPIRATORY EXERCISES PRANAYAMA FOR 15 MINUTES IN 1 MONTH. PARTICIPANTS IN THE 2ND GROUP USED THE MYCALMBEAT PORTABLE DEVICE. HEART RATE VARIABILITY WAS REGISTERED BY USING THE COMPUTER DIAGNOSTIC COMPLEX "CARDIOLAB" ("KHAI-MEDIKA", UKRAINE). RESULTS: RESULTS: IN BOTH GROUPS THERE WAS SIMILAR DYNAMICS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY INDICES, BUT ITS SEVERITY WAS DIFFERENT. THE COMMON INTEGRAL EFFECT WAS A SIGNIFICANT GROWTH OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY BOTH ACCORDING TO STATISTICAL AND SPECTRAL INDICATORS - TOTAL POWER INCREASED, AS WELL AS HIGH-FREQUENCY COMPONENT. THE POWER OF THE VERY-LOW FREQUENCY WAVES HAS PROBABLY DECREASED ONLY IN THE GROUP WITH THE DEVICE. IN THE PERCENTAGE STRUCTURE OF THE CARDIAC RHYTHM SPECTRUM, THE SPECIFIC WEIGHT OF VERY-LOW FREQUENCY COMPONENT AND THE PERCENTAGE OF HIGH-FREQUENCY COMPONENT INCREASED. CONCLUSION: CONCLUSIONS: RESPIRATORY GYMNASTICS YOGA FOR 15 MINUTES DAILY CONTRIBUTES TO THE GROWTH OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY THROUGH THE SUPPRESSION OF THE CENTRAL LINK (VERY-LOW FREQUENCY COMPONENT) OF REGULATION OF CARDIAC RHYTHM AND INCREASED ACTIVITY OF PARASYMPATHETIC INFLUENCES (HIGH-FREQUENCY COMPONENT), AS WELL AS THE REDISTRIBUTION OF REGULATORY ACTIVITY OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM BETWEEN THE CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL LINKS OF REGULATION OF THE CARDIAC RHYTHM IN FAVOR OF THE LATTER.	2019	

13  452  40 CHANGES IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY AFTER YOGA ARE DEPENDENT ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AT BASELINE AND DURING YOGA: A STUDY SHOWING AUTONOMIC NORMALIZATION EFFECT IN YOGA-NAIVE AND EXPERIENCED SUBJECTS. BACKGROUND: YOGA THERAPY IS WIDELY APPLIED TO THE MAINTENANCE OF HEALTH AND TO TREATMENT OF VARIOUS ILLNESSES. PREVIOUS RESEARCHES INDICATE THE INVOLVEMENT OF AUTONOMIC CONTROL IN ITS EFFECTS, ALTHOUGH THE GENERAL AGREEMENT HAS NOT BEEN REACHED REGARDING THE ACUTE MODULATION OF AUTONOMIC FUNCTION. AIM: THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED AT REVEALING THE ACUTE EFFECT OF YOGA ON THE AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) MEASUREMENT. METHODS: TWENTY-SEVEN HEALTHY CONTROLS PARTICIPATED IN THE PRESENT STUDY. FIFTEEN OF THEM (39.5 +/- 8.5 YEARS OLD) WERE NAIVE AND 12 (45.1 +/- 7.0 YEARS OLD) WERE EXPERIENCED IN YOGA. YOGA SKILLS INCLUDED BREATH AWARENESS, TWO TYPES OF ASANA, AND TWO TYPES OF PRANAYAMA. HRV WAS MEASURED AT THE BASELINE, DURING YOGA, AND AT THE RESTING STATE AFTER YOGA. RESULTS: IN BOTH YOGA-NAIVE AND EXPERIENCED PARTICIPANTS, THE CHANGES IN LOW-FREQUENCY (LF) COMPONENT OF HRV AND ITS RATIO TO HIGH-FREQUENCY (HF) COMPONENT (LF/HF) AFTER YOGA WERE FOUND TO BE CORRELATED NEGATIVELY WITH THE BASELINE DATA. THE CHANGES IN LF AFTER YOGA WERE ALSO CORRELATED WITH LF DURING YOGA. THE CHANGES IN HF AS WELL AS THE RAW HRV DATA AFTER YOGA WERE NOT RELATED TO THE BASELINE HRV OR THE HRV DURING YOGA. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT YOGA LEADS TO AN INCREASE IN LF WHEN LF IS LOW AND LEADS TO A DECREASE IN LF WHEN IT IS HIGH AT THE BASELINE. THIS NORMALIZATION OF LF IS DEPENDENT ON THE AUTONOMIC MODULATION DURING YOGA AND MAY UNDERLIE THE CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA THERAPY BOTH IN YOGA-NAIVE AND EXPERIENCED SUBJECTS.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
14 1317  30 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
15 1530  32 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
16  370  39 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
17 1318  36 HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN PATIENTS RANDOMIZED TO YOGA OR STANDARD CARE. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC PAIN CAN ALTER THE AUTONOMIC BALANCE WITH INCREASED SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY REFLECTED IN ALTERED HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). IT HAS BEEN PROPOSED THAT YOGA CAN BE USEFUL TO CORRECT THE AUTONOMIC IMBALANCE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PAIN WHO HAVE REDUCED HRV. METHODS AND DESIGNS: IN THE PRESENT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL 62 PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH ALTERED ALIGNMENT OF INTERVERTEBRAL DISCS (AGED BETWEEN 20 AND 45 YEARS, 32 MALES) WERE RANDOMIZED TO 2 GROUPS. ONE GROUP RECEIVED YOGA FOR 3 MONTHS WHILE THE OTHER GROUP CARRIED OUT STANDARD MEDICAL CARE BASED ON THE PHYSICIAN'S ADVICE. THE DURATION WAS THE SAME, I.E., 3 MONTHS. THE HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND RATE OF RESPIRATION WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF 3 MONTHS. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE BASELINE (PRE) VALUES BETWEEN GROUPS (P = 0.008) FOR RESPIRATION RATE WHICH WAS HIGHER IN THE YOGA GROUP. THE CHANGES REPORTED BELOW ARE PRE-POST COMPARISONS WITHIN EACH GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.05; REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA, POST-HOC ANALYSES) DECREASE IN THE LF POWER OF HRV, RATE OF RESPIRATION AND A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE HF POWER OF HRV AND IN THE PNN50. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PRACTICE CAN SHIFT THE AUTONOMIC BALANCE TOWARDS VAGAL DOMINANCE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH ALTERED ALIGNMENT OF INTERVERTEBRAL DISCS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: THE STUDY IS REGISTERED WITH THE CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY OF INDIA ( CTRI/2012/11/003094 ) AND CAN BE ACCESSED AT.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
18  448  44 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	
                                                                                                            
19  873  32 EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY ON HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE AND CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION IN HEART FAILURE. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT A HALL MARK OF HEART FAILURE IS ADVERSE CHANGES IN AUTONOMIC FUNCTION. ELEVATED BLOOD PRESSURE IS A POWERFUL PREDICTOR OF CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE AND OTHER CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) OUTCOMES. IN THIS STUDY, WE PLANNED TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF A 12 WEEK YOGA THERAPY ON BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE, HEART RATE VARIABILITY, AND RATE PRESSURE PRODUCT (RPP). METHODS: OUT OF 130 HEART FAILURE PATIENTS RECRUITED FOR THE STUDY, 65 PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED TO RECEIVE 12 WEEK YOGA THERAPY ALONG WITH STANDARD MEDICAL THERAPY (YOGA GROUP). OTHER PATIENTS (N=65) RECEIVED ONLY STANDARD MEDICAL THERAPY (CONTROL GROUP). HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION (BY SHORT-TERM HEART-RATE VARIABILITY ANALYSIS) AND MYOCARDIAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION (BY RPP) WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS. IN THE YOGA GROUP, 44 PATIENTS AND IN THE CONTROL GROUP, 48 PATIENTS COMPLETED THE STUDY. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE AND RPP IN YOGA GROUP COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. ALSO, LFNU AND LF-HF RATIO DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AND HFNU INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN YOGA GROUP COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: TWELVE-WEEK YOGA THERAPY SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED THE PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND DECREASED THE SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY IN HEART FAILURE PATIENTS (NYHA I&II).	2014	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
20 2004  40 STUDY OF IMMEDIATE NEUROLOGICAL AND AUTONOMIC CHANGES DURING KAPALBHATI PRANAYAMA IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. BACKGROUND: KAPALBHATI IS A FAST PACE RESPIRATORY EXERCISE OR PRANAYAM, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE PRACTICED BY YOGIS TO CLEAN THEIR BRAIN. PRANAYAMAS ARE WELL KNOWN TO IMPROVE HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) ULTIMATELY LEADING TO BETTER AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS. OTHER STUDIES HAVE OBSERVED THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF KAPALBHATI ON VARIOUS NEUROLOGICAL (BRAIN AND SPINE) AND AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS, BUT THEIR RESULTS ARE VARIED AND INCONCLUSIVE. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO FIND OUT THE CHANGES IN HRV AND BRAIN WAVES DURING AND AFTER PRACTICE OF KAPALBHATI AS COMPARED WITH THE BASELINE VALUES OF DIFFERENT PARAMETERS. METHODS: VARIOUS PARAMETERS WERE MEASURED AT BASELINE, DURING AND AFTER KAPALBHATI PRANAYAM WITH THE HELP OF DINAMIKA HRV-ADVANCED HRV TEST SYSTEM, MOSCOW, RUSSIA. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED EMPLOYING REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WITH BONFERRONI POST-HOC ANALYSIS AND HOLM'S MULTIPLE COMPARISONS USING THE VERSION 28.0.0.0 OF THE STATISTICAL PACKAGE FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES (SPSS) FOR WINDOWS (190) SPSS INC., CHICAGO. RESULTS: WE FOUND THAT DURING AND AFTER KAPALBHATI, CHANGES IN HRV WERE SIGNIFICANT IN TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN SHOWING PARASYMPATHETIC WITHDRAWAL AND INSIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN BRAIN WAVES AS COMPARED WITH REFERENCE POINT VALUES. CONCLUSION: KAPALBHATI IS INITIALLY ENERGIZING, CLEANSING, AND HEATING. THERE OCCURS PARASYMPATHETIC WITHDRAWAL AND SYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION DURING PRANAYAMA. THERE IS AN INCREASE GAMMA WAVE ACTIVATION POST PRANAYAMA SHOWING CONTROL OF THE DEFAULT MODE NETWORK.	2022