1 1068 90 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS AND SLEEP QUALITY ACROSS MENOPAUSE STATUSES: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS AND SLEEP QUALITY ACROSS MENOPAUSE STATUSES. PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER THE INTERVENTION OR CONTROL GROUP (N = 104 EACH), AND THOSE IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP PRACTICED YOGA FOR 20 WEEKS. THE PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONNAIRES: THE DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND STRESS SCALE; MULTIDIMENSIONAL SCALE OF PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT; MENOPAUSE RATING SCALE; AND PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX. THE RESULTS REVEALED THAT YOGA EFFECTIVELY DECREASED MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS, WITH THE STRONGEST EFFECTS NOTED IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN (MEAN +/- STANDARD DEVIATION: 14.98 +/- 7.10), FOLLOWED BY PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN (6.11 +/- 2.07). YOGA SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED SLEEP QUALITY IN POSTMENOPAUSAL AND PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN AFTER CONTROLLING FOR SOCIAL SUPPORT, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, STRESS, AND MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS (P < 0.001). HOWEVER, YOGA DID NOT AFFECT SLEEP QUALITY IN PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. OVERALL SLEEP QUALITY SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED IN POSTMENOPAUSAL AND PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. OUR DATA INDICATE THAT YOGA CAN HELP DECREASE MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS, PARTICULARLY IN PERIMENOPAUSAL AND POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN, AND IMPROVE THEIR HEALTH. 2022 2 2692 24 YOGA INCREASED SERUM ESTROGEN LEVELS IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN-A CASE REPORT. OBJECTIVE: THIS CASE REPORT AIMED TO EVALUATE 4 MONTHS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) AND ESTRADIOL LEVELS OF TWO POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE CLINICALLY HEALTHY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN, WITH FOLLICLE-STIMULATING HORMONE LEVELS GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO 30 MIU/ML AND A BODY MASS INDEX LOWER THAN 30 KG/M. THE PARTICIPANTS PRACTICED YOGA FOR 4 MONTHS IN TWO 1-HOUR SESSIONS PER WEEK. RESULTS: THE PARTICIPANTS EXHIBITED AN ABNORMAL ESTROGEN-LEVEL INCREASE AFTER 4 MONTHS OF YOGA PRACTICE AND SHOWED QOL IMPROVEMENTS. CONCLUSIONS: IN SOME CASES, YOGA PRACTICE CAN AFFECT THE FEMALE NEUROENDOCRINE SYSTEM, INCREASING ESTROGEN AND IMPROVING QOL. 2016 3 1602 40 MENOPAUSAL QUALITY OF LIFE: RCT OF YOGA, EXERCISE, AND OMEGA-3 SUPPLEMENTS. OBJECTIVE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF 3 NONHORMONAL THERAPIES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF MENOPAUSE-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN WOMEN WITH VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS. STUDY DESIGN: WE CONDUCTED A 12-WEEK 3 X 2 RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED, FACTORIAL DESIGN TRIAL. PERI- AND POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN, 40-62 YEARS OLD, WERE ASSIGNED RANDOMLY TO YOGA (N = 107), EXERCISE (N = 106), OR USUAL ACTIVITY (N = 142) AND ALSO ASSIGNED RANDOMLY TO A DOUBLE-BLIND COMPARISON OF OMEGA-3 (N = 177) OR PLACEBO (N = 178) CAPSULES. WE PERFORMED THE FOLLOWING INTERVENTIONS: (1) WEEKLY 90-MINUTE YOGA CLASSES WITH DAILY AT-HOME PRACTICE, (2) INDIVIDUALIZED FACILITY-BASED AEROBIC EXERCISE TRAINING 3 TIMES/WEEK, AND (3) 0.615 G OMEGA-3 SUPPLEMENT, 3 TIMES/DAY. THE OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED WITH THE FOLLOWING SCORES: MENOPAUSAL QUALITY OF LIFE QUESTIONNAIRE (MENQOL) TOTAL AND DOMAIN (VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS, PSYCHOSOCIAL, PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL). RESULTS: AMONG 355 RANDOMLY ASSIGNED WOMEN WHO AVERAGE AGE WAS 54.7 YEARS, 338 WOMEN (95%) COMPLETED 12-WEEK ASSESSMENTS. MEAN BASELINE VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS FREQUENCY WAS 7.6/DAY, AND THE MEAN BASELINE TOTAL MENQOL SCORE WAS 3.8 (RANGE, 1-8 FROM BETTER TO WORSE) WITH NO BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES. FOR YOGA COMPARED TO USUAL ACTIVITY, BASELINE TO 12-WEEK IMPROVEMENTS WERE SEEN FOR MENQOL TOTAL -0.3 (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, -0.6 TO 0; P = .02), VASOMOTOR SYMPTOM DOMAIN (P = .02), AND SEXUALITY DOMAIN (P = .03) SCORES. FOR WOMEN WHO UNDERWENT EXERCISE AND OMEGA-3 THERAPY COMPARED WITH CONTROL SUBJECTS, IMPROVEMENTS IN BASELINE TO 12-WEEK TOTAL MENQOL SCORES WERE NOT OBSERVED. EXERCISE SHOWED BENEFIT IN THE MENQOL PHYSICAL DOMAIN SCORE AT 12 WEEKS (P = .02). CONCLUSION: ALL WOMEN BECOME MENOPAUSAL, AND MANY OF THEM SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE ON WAYS TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE; LITTLE EVIDENCE-BASED INFORMATION EXISTS. WE FOUND THAT, AMONG HEALTHY SEDENTARY MENOPAUSAL WOMEN, YOGA APPEARS TO IMPROVE MENOPAUSAL QUALITY OF LIFE; THE CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF OUR FINDING IS UNCERTAIN BECAUSE OF THE MODEST EFFECT. 2014 4 1111 22 EFFECTS OF YOGASANAS ON OSTEOPOROSIS IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. BACKGROUND: OSTEOPOROSIS IS COMMONLY ENCOUNTERED BY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. THERE IS AN INCREASED NEED FOR A LOW COST AND EFFICIENT TREATMENT ALTERNATIVE TO ADDRESS THIS POPULATION. AIMS: TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF INTEGRATED YOGA ON BONE MINERAL DENSITY (BMD) IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH OSTEOPOROSIS. SETTINGS AND DESIGNS: EXPERIMENTAL PRE-POST STUDY CONDUCTED IN A COMMUNITY SETTING. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 30 FEMALES IN THE AGE GROUP OF 45-62 YEARS SUFFERING FROM POSTMENOPAUSAL OSTEOPOROSIS WITH A DUAL-ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY (DEXA) SCORE OF 12 MO OF AMENORRHEA)--AGED 45 TO 58 YEARS AND WHO EXPERIENCED AT LEAST FOUR HOT FLASHES PER DAY, ON AVERAGE, FOR AT LEAST 4 WEEKS--TO ONE OF THREE GROUPS: YOGA, HEALTH AND WELLNESS EDUCATION (HW), AND WAIT LIST (WL). YOGA AND HW CLASSES CONSISTED OF WEEKLY 90-MINUTE CLASSES FOR 10 WEEKS. ALL WOMEN COMPLETED DAILY HOT FLASH DIARIES THROUGHOUT THE TRIAL (10 WK) TO TRACK THE FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF HOT FLASHES. THE MEAN HOT FLASH INDEX SCORE IS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF MILD, MODERATE, SEVERE, AND VERY SEVERE HOT FLASHES. RESULTS: HOT FLASH FREQUENCY DECLINED SIGNIFICANTLY ACROSS TIME FOR ALL THREE GROUPS, WITH THE STRONGEST DECLINE OCCURRING DURING THE FIRST WEEK. THERE WAS NO OVERALL SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN HOT FLASH FREQUENCY DECREASE OVER TIME BY TREATMENT GROUPS, BUT THE YOGA AND HW GROUPS FOLLOWED SIMILAR PATTERNS AND SHOWED GREATER DECREASES THAN THE WL GROUP. ON WEEK 10, WOMEN IN THE YOGA GROUP REPORTED AN APPROXIMATELY 66% DECREASE IN HOT FLASH FREQUENCY, WOMEN IN THE HW GROUP REPORTED A 63% DECREASE, AND WOMEN IN THE WL GROUP REPORTED A 36% DECREASE. THE HOT FLASH INDEX SHOWED A SIMILAR PATTERN. CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA CAN SERVE AS A BEHAVIORAL OPTION FOR REDUCING HOT FLASHES BUT MAY NOT OFFER ANY ADVANTAGE OVER OTHER TYPES OF INTERVENTIONS. 2014 6 1020 36 EFFECTS OF YOGA AND AEROBIC EXERCISE ON ACTIGRAPHIC SLEEP PARAMETERS IN MENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH HOT FLASHES. STUDY OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND AEROBIC EXERCISE COMPARED WITH USUAL ACTIVITY ON OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENTS OF SLEEP IN MIDLIFE WOMEN. METHODS: SECONDARY ANALYSES OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL IN THE MENOPAUSE STRATEGIES: FINDING LASTING ANSWERS FOR SYMPTOMS AND HEALTH (MSFLASH) NETWORK CONDUCTED AMONG 186 LATE TRANSITION AND POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN AGED 40-62 Y WITH HOT FLASHES. WOMEN WERE RANDOMIZED TO 12 W OF YOGA, SUPERVISED AEROBIC EXERCISE, OR USUAL ACTIVITY. THE MEAN AND COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION (CV) OF CHANGE IN ACTIGRAPH SLEEP MEASURES FROM EACH INTERVENTION GROUP WERE COMPARED TO THE USUAL ACTIVITY GROUP USING LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS. RESULTS: BASELINE VALUES OF THE PRIMARY SLEEP MEASURES FOR THE ENTIRE SAMPLE WERE MEAN TOTAL SLEEP TIME (TST) = 407.5 +/- 56.7 MIN; MEAN WAKE AFTER SLEEP ONSET (WASO) = 54.6 +/- 21.8 MIN; MEAN CV FOR WASO = 37.7 +/- 18.7 AND MEAN CV FOR NUMBER OF LONG AWAKENINGS > 5 MIN = 81.5 +/- 46.9. CHANGES IN THE ACTIGRAPHIC SLEEP OUTCOMES FROM BASELINE TO WEEKS 11-12 WERE SMALL, AND NONE DIFFERED BETWEEN GROUPS. IN AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS, WOMEN WITH BASELINE PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX HIGHER THAN 8 HAD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED TST-CV FOLLOWING YOGA COMPARED WITH USUAL ACTIVITY. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY ADDS TO THE CURRENTLY SCANT LITERATURE ON OBJECTIVE SLEEP OUTCOMES FROM YOGA AND AEROBIC EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS FOR THIS POPULATION. ALTHOUGH SMALL EFFECTS ON SELF-REPORTED SLEEP QUALITY WERE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED, THE INTERVENTIONS HAD NO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS ON ACTIGRAPH MEASURES, EXCEPT FOR POTENTIALLY IMPROVED SLEEP STABILITY WITH YOGA IN WOMEN WITH POOR SELF-REPORTED SLEEP QUALITY. 2017 7 2731 26 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 1030 33 EFFECTS OF YOGA EXERCISE ON SERUM ADIPONECTIN AND METABOLIC SYNDROME FACTORS IN OBESE POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. OBJECTIVE: REGULAR AND CONTINUOUS YOGA EXERCISE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT NONPHARMACOLOGICAL METHODS OF IMPROVING SERUM LIPID CONCENTRATIONS, ADIPOSE TISSUE, AND METABOLIC SYNDROME FACTORS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ANALYZE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA EXERCISE ON SERUM ADIPONECTIN AND METABOLIC SYNDROME FACTORS IN OBESE POSTMENOPAUSAL KOREAN WOMEN. METHODS: SIXTEEN HEALTHY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN AGED 54.50 +/- 2.75 YEARS WITH MORE THAN 36% BODY FAT WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER A YOGA EXERCISE GROUP (N = 8) OR TO A "NO EXERCISE" CONTROL GROUP (N = 8). THE VARIABLES OF BODY COMPOSITION, VISCERAL FAT, SERUM ADIPONECTIN, AND METABOLIC SYNDROME FACTORS WERE MEASURED IN ALL THE PARTICIPANTS BEFORE AND AFTER THE 16-WEEK STUDY. RESULTS: BODY WEIGHT, PERCENTAGE OF BODY FAT, LEAN BODY MASS, BODY MASS INDEX, WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE, AND VISCERAL FAT AREA HAD SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED. HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL AND ADIPONECTIN HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED, BUT TOTAL CHOLESTEROL, TRIGLYCERIDE, LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL, BLOOD PRESSURE, INSULIN, GLUCOSE, AND HOMOEOSTASIS MODEL ASSESSMENT-INSULIN RESISTANCE HAD SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED. SERUM ADIPONECTIN CONCENTRATIONS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATED WITH WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE, HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL, DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, AND HOMOEOSTASIS MODEL ASSESSMENT-INSULIN RESISTANCE IN THE POSTYOGA EXERCISE GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: OUR FINDINGS INDICATE THAT YOGA EXERCISE IMPROVES ADIPONECTIN LEVEL, SERUM LIPIDS, AND METABOLIC SYNDROME RISK FACTORS IN OBESE POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. CONSEQUENTLY, YOGA EXERCISE WILL BE EFFECTIVE IN PREVENTING CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE CAUSED BY OBESITY IN OBESE POSTMENOPAUSAL KOREAN WOMEN. 2012 9 111 30 A PILOT STUDY OF A HATHA YOGA TREATMENT FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFICACY OF A YOGA TREATMENT FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. BOTH PHYSIOLOGIC AND SELF-REPORTED MEASURES OF HOT FLASHES WERE INCLUDED. METHODS: A PROSPECTIVE WITHIN-GROUP PILOT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED. PARTICIPANTS WERE 12 PERI- AND POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN EXPERIENCING AT LEAST 4 MENOPAUSAL HOT FLASHES PER DAY, AT LEAST 4 DAYS PER WEEK. ASSESSMENTS WERE ADMINISTERED BEFORE AND AFTER COMPLETION OF A 10-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM. PRE- AND POST-TREATMENT MEASURES INCLUDED: SEVERITY OF QUESTIONNAIRE-RATED MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS (WIKLUND SYMPTOM CHECK LIST), FREQUENCY, DURATION, AND SEVERITY OF HOT FLASHES (24-H AMBULATORY SKIN-CONDUCTANCE MONITORING; HOT-FLASH DIARY), INTERFERENCE OF HOT FLASHES WITH DAILY LIFE (HOT FLASH RELATED DAILY INTERFERENCE SCALE), AND SUBJECTIVE SLEEP QUALITY (PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX). YOGA CLASSES INCLUDED BREATHING TECHNIQUES, POSTURES, AND RELAXATION POSES DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. PARTICIPANTS WERE ASKED TO PRACTICE AT HOME 15 MIN EACH DAY IN ADDITION TO WEEKLY CLASSES. RESULTS: ELEVEN WOMEN COMPLETED THE STUDY AND ATTENDED A MEAN OF 7.45 (S.D. 1.63) CLASSES. SIGNIFICANT PRE- TO POST-TREATMENT IMPROVEMENTS WERE FOUND FOR SEVERITY OF QUESTIONNAIRE-RATED TOTAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS, HOT-FLASH DAILY INTERFERENCE; AND SLEEP EFFICIENCY, DISTURBANCES, AND QUALITY. NEITHER 24-H MONITORING NOR ACCOMPANYING DIARIES YIELDED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN HOT FLASHES. CONCLUSIONS: THE YOGA TREATMENT AND STUDY PROCEDURES WERE FEASIBLE FOR MIDLIFE WOMEN. IMPROVEMENT IN SYMPTOM PERCEPTIONS AND WELL BEING WARRANT FURTHER STUDY OF YOGA FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS, WITH A LARGER NUMBER OF WOMEN AND INCLUDING A CONTROL GROUP. 2007 10 1405 30 IMPACT OF YOGA ON FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WITH AROMATASE INHIBITOR-ASSOCIATED ARTHRALGIAS. ARTHRALGIA AFFECTS POSTMENOPAUSAL BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS (BCSS) RECEIVING AROMATASE INHIBITORS (AIS). THIS STUDY AIMS TO ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF STUDYING THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON OBJECTIVE FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES, PAIN, AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HR-QOL) FOR AI-ASSOCIATED ARTHRALGIA (AIAA). POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH STAGE I TO III BREAST CANCER WHO REPORTED AIAA WERE ENROLLED IN A SINGLE-ARM PILOT TRIAL. A YOGA PROGRAM WAS PROVIDED TWICE A WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS. THE FUNCTIONAL REACH (FR) AND SIT AND REACH (SR) WERE EVALUATED AS PRIMARY OUTCOMES. PAIN, AS MEASURED BY THE BRIEF PAIN INVENTORY (BPI), SELF-REPORTED PATIENT SPECIFIC FUNCTIONAL SCALE (PSFS), AND FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CANCER THERAPY-BREAST (FACT-B) WERE SECONDARY OUTCOMES. PAIRED T TESTS WERE USED FOR ANALYSIS, AND 90% PROVIDED DATA FOR ASSESSMENT AT THE END OF THE INTERVENTION. PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN BALANCE, AS MEASURED BY FR, AND FLEXIBILITY, AS MEASURED BY SR. THE PSFS IMPROVED FROM 4.55 TO 7.21, AND HR-QOL MEASURED BY FACT-B ALSO IMPROVED; BOTH P < .05. THE SCORE FOR THE PAIN SEVERITY SUBSCALE OF THE BPI REDUCED. NO ADVERSE EVENTS NOR DEVELOPMENT OR WORSENING OF LYMPHEDEMA WAS OBSERVED. IN ALL, 80% OF PARTICIPANTS ADHERED TO THE HOME PROGRAM. PRELIMINARY DATA SUGGEST THAT YOGA MAY REDUCE PAIN AND IMPROVE BALANCE AND FLEXIBILITY IN BCSS WITH AIAA. A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL IS NEEDED TO ESTABLISH THE DEFINITIVE EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR OBJECTIVE FUNCTIONAL IMPROVEMENT IN BCSS RELATED TO AIAA. 2012 11 2521 41 YOGA DECREASES INSOMNIA IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: THE PRACTICE OF YOGA HAS BEEN PROVEN TO HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON REDUCING INSOMNIA. STUDIES HAVE ALSO SHOWN ITS EFFECTS ON REDUCING CLIMACTERIC SYMPTOMS. TO DATE, HOWEVER, NO STUDIES THAT EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF INSOMNIA IN A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICE ON THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH AND CLIMACTERIC SYMPTOMS OF POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF INSOMNIA. METHODS: POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN NOT UNDERGOING HORMONE THERAPY, WHO WERE 50 TO 65 YEARS OLD, WHO HAD AN APNEA-HYPOPNEA INDEX LESS THAN 15, AND WHO HAD A DIAGNOSIS OF INSOMNIA WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO ONE OF THREE GROUPS, AS FOLLOWS: CONTROL, PASSIVE STRETCHING, AND YOGA. QUESTIONNAIRES WERE ADMINISTERED BEFORE AND 4 MONTHS AFTER THE INTERVENTION TO EVALUATE QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS, CLIMACTERIC SYMPTOMS, INSOMNIA SEVERITY, DAYTIME SLEEPINESS, AND STRESS. THE VOLUNTEERS ALSO UNDERWENT POLYSOMNOGRAPHY. THE STUDY LASTED 4 MONTHS. RESULTS: THERE WERE 44 VOLUNTEERS AT THE END OF THE STUDY. WHEN COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP, THE YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER POSTTREATMENT SCORES FOR CLIMACTERIC SYMPTOMS AND INSOMNIA SEVERITY AND HIGHER SCORES FOR QUALITY OF LIFE AND RESISTANCE PHASE OF STRESS. THE REDUCTION IN INSOMNIA SEVERITY IN THE YOGA GROUP WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THAT IN THE CONTROL AND PASSIVE-STRETCHING GROUPS. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY SHOWED THAT A SPECIFIC SEQUENCE OF YOGA MIGHT BE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING INSOMNIA AND MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS AS WELL AS IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH INSOMNIA. 2012 12 2826 33 YOGA VERSUS MASSAGE IN THE TREATMENT OF AROMATASE INHIBITOR-ASSOCIATED KNEE JOINT PAIN IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. AROMATASE INHIBITORS (AIS) ARE STANDARD ADJUVANT THERAPY FOR POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH OESTROGEN RECEPTOR-POSITIVE, EARLY-STAGE, AND METASTATIC BREAST CANCER. ALTHOUGH EFFECTIVE, THE RISK OF FALLS DUE TO AI-ASSOCIATED KNEE JOINT PAIN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS OF YOGA AND MASSAGE ON AI-ASSOCIATED KNEE JOINT PAIN. BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A 6-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION-2-WEEK REST-6-WEEK MASSAGE EXPOSURE (YOGA FIRST, N = 30) OR A 6-WEEK MASSAGE INTERVENTION-2-WEEK REST-6-WEEK YOGA EXPOSURE (MASSAGE FIRST, N = 30). EVALUATIONS OF THE TREATMENT EFFICACY WERE MADE AT BASELINE, POST-INTERVENTION, AND POST-EXPOSURE USING THE WESTERN ONTARIO AND MCMASTER UNIVERSITIES OSTEOARTHRITIS INDEX (WOMAC) SCALE, PLASMA CYTOKINE LEVELS, AND CHANGES IN MERIDIAN ENERGY. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT YOGA, SUPERIOR TO MASSAGE INTERVENTION, SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED AI-ASSOCIATED KNEE JOINT PAIN, AS DEMONSTRATED BY THE WOMAC PAIN SCORE. THE YOGA INTERVENTION IMPROVEMENTS WERE ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN PLASMA CYTOKINE LEVELS AND MERIDIAN ENERGY CHANGES. IN CONCLUSION, THIS STUDY PROVIDES SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THAT YOGA WAS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN MASSAGE FOR REDUCING AI-ASSOCIATED KNEE JOINT PAIN. MERIDIAN ENERGY CHANGES MAY PROVIDE ANOTHER SCIENTIFIC, OBJECTIVE, NON-INVASIVE WAY TO MONITOR THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS OF YOGA AND INVESTIGATE ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE, COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE. 2021 13 2722 21 YOGA MIGHT BE AN ALTERNATIVE TRAINING FOR THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND BALANCE IN POSTMENOPAUSAL OSTEOPOROSIS. AIM: OSTEOPOROTIC VERTEBRA AND HIP FRACTURES ARE MAJOR CAUSES OF DYSFUNCTION, DISABILITY, MORTALITY AND IMPAIRED LIFE QUALITY IN THE AGEING POPULATION. IN THE POSTMENOPAUSAL PERIOD, EXERCISES PREVENT RAPID BONE LOSS AND INCREASE MUSCLE STRENGTH, MOBILITY AND FLEXIBILITY THEREBY DECREASING THE RISK OF FALLS AND FRACTURES. YOGA EXERCISES, WHICH HAVE BEEN AN INSEPARABLE PART OF EASTERN CULTURE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, ARE NOW BEING USED IN THE FIELD OF OSTEOPOROSIS REHABILITATION. YOGA HAS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON BALANCE, POSTURE, FLEXIBILITY, AND LIFE QUALITY RESULTING FROM ITS EFFECTS ON BALANCE, STRETCHING, RELAXATION AND STRENGTHENING. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA EXERCISES IN POSTMENOPAUSAL OSTEOPOROTIC WOMEN ON BALANCE AND LIFE QUALITY AND TO COMPARE THE RESULTS WITH A CLASSIC OSTEOPOROSIS EXERCISE PROGRAM. METHODS: TWENTY-SIX POSTMENOPAUSAL OSTEOPOROTIC WOMEN OVER 55 YEARS OF AGE WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY. A NEUROMUSCULAR TEST BATTERY AND THE QUALEFFO AS A LIFE QUALITY INDEX WERE USED FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF BALANCE AND LIFE QUALITY, RESPECTIVELY. RESULTS: THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT YOGA EDUCATION HAS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON PAIN, PHYSICAL FUNCTIONS, SOCIAL FUNCTIONS, GENERAL CONCLUSION: IN CONCLUSION, YOGA APPEARS TO BE AN ALTERNATIVE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR THE REHABILITATION OF OSTEOPOROTIC SUBJECTS. 2010 14 1398 32 IMPACT OF YOGA INTERVENTION ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS-SPECIFIC QUALITY OF LIFE AND CHANGES IN HORMONAL LEVEL AMONG MENOPAUSAL WOMEN. AIM: THE MENOPAUSE TRANSITION IS EXPERIENCED BY WOMEN OFTEN INVOLVES TROUBLESOME SYMPTOMS DUE TO CHANGES IN THE LEVEL OF REPRODUCTIVE HORMONES. NON-HORMONAL THERAPIES ARE MORE COMMONLY ACCEPTED BY WOMEN THAN HORMONAL THERAPY FOR COPING WITH THE CLIMACTERIC SYMPTOMS. THE AIM OF THE STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS, SPECIFIC QUALITY OF LIFE, AND CHANGES IN HORMONAL LEVELS AMONG MENOPAUSAL WOMEN. METHOD: A SINGLE-BLINDED RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED AMONG 80 PARTICIPANTS AGED 40 OF 50 YEARS AND WAS RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO STUDY ARMS, THAT IS, SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) AND BRISK WALKING INTERVENTION, TO FIND THE EFFECT ON THE HORMONAL CHANGES AND MENOPAUSAL QUALITY OF LIFE (MEASURED BY MENQOL TOOL). THE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE OUTCOME MEASURES WERE MEASURED BY USING REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE AND MCNEMAR'S TEST. RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MENOPAUSAL-SPECIFIC QUALITY OF LIFE WERE OBSERVED IN THE DOMAIN OF VASOMOTOR, PSYCHOSOCIAL, AND PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS (P < 0.05). THE ANTIOXIDANT ENZYMES (SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE AND GLUTATHIONE PEROXIDASE (GPX) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED AFTER 1 YEAR OF REGULAR PRACTICE OF SKY COMPARED TO WALKING INTERVENTION (P < 0.05). IN CONTRAST, NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT WAS OBSERVED IN FOLLICLE-STIMULATING HORMONE AND DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE SULFATE LEVELS. THE WOMEN REPORTED NO ADVERSE EVENTS AFTER SKY PRACTICE OR BRISK WALKING. CONCLUSION: THE STUDY CONCLUDED THAT 1 YEAR OF SKY PRACTICE COULD BE ONE OF THE PREFERRED NON-HORMONAL, LIFESTYLE-MODIFYING REGIMENS FOR IMPROVING THE OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE IN MENOPAUSAL WOMEN. 2021 15 2415 42 YOGA AND MEDITATION FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS-A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS HAVE ONLY VERY LIMITED TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS TRIAL WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEK TRADITIONAL HATHA YOGA AND MEDITATION INTERVENTION ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. METHODS: PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED EITHER TO A 12-WEEK YOGA AND MEDITATION INTERVENTION OR TO USUAL CARE. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE WAS TOTAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS (MENOPAUSE RATING SCALE [MRS] TOTAL SCORE). SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED MRS SUBSCALES, QUALITY OF LIFE (FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CANCER THERAPY-BREAST), FATIGUE (FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CHRONIC ILLNESS THERAPY-FATIGUE), DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY (HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE). OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED AT WEEK 12 AND WEEK 24 AFTER RANDOMIZATION. RESULTS: IN TOTAL, 40 WOMEN (MEAN AGE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION, 49.2 +/- 5.9 YEARS) WERE RANDOMIZED TO YOGA (N = 19) OR TO USUAL CARE (N = 21). WOMEN IN THE YOGA GROUP REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER TOTAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS COMPARED WITH THE USUAL CARE GROUP AT WEEK 12 (MEAN DIFFERENCE, -5.6; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, -9.2 TO -1.9; P = .004) AND AT WEEK 24 (MEAN DIFFERENCE, -4.5; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, -8.3 TO -0.7; P = .023). AT WEEK 12, THE YOGA GROUP REPORTED LESS SOMATOVEGETATIVE, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND UROGENITAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS; LESS FATIGUE; AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE (ALL P < .05). AT WEEK 24, ALL EFFECTS PERSISTED EXCEPT FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS REMAINED SIGNIFICANT WHEN ONLY WOMEN WHO WERE RECEIVING ANTIESTROGEN MEDICATION (N = 36) WERE ANALYZED. SIX MINOR ADVERSE EVENTS OCCURRED IN EACH GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA COMBINED WITH MEDITATION CAN BE CONSIDERED A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE COMPLEMENTARY INTERVENTION FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. THE EFFECTS SEEM TO PERSIST FOR AT LEAST 3 MONTHS. 2015 16 1133 34 EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY AIMS TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA IN ALLEVIATING VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS (VMS) FREQUENCY AND BOTHER. METHODS: THIS STUDY WAS A THREE-BY-TWO FACTORIAL, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. ELIGIBLE WOMEN WERE RANDOMIZED TO YOGA (N = 107), EXERCISE (N = 106), OR USUAL ACTIVITY (N = 142), AND WERE SIMULTANEOUSLY RANDOMIZED TO A DOUBLE-BLIND COMPARISON OF OMEGA-3 FATTY ACID (N = 177) OR PLACEBO (N = 178) CAPSULES. YOGA INTERVENTION CONSISTED OF 12 WEEKLY 90-MINUTE YOGA CLASSES WITH DAILY HOME PRACTICE. PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE VMS FREQUENCY AND BOTHER ASSESSED BY DAILY DIARIES AT BASELINE, 6 WEEKS, AND 12 WEEKS. SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDED INSOMNIA SYMPTOMS (INSOMNIA SEVERITY INDEX) AT BASELINE AND 12 WEEKS. RESULTS: AMONG 249 RANDOMIZED WOMEN, 237 (95%) COMPLETED 12-WEEK ASSESSMENTS. THE MEAN BASELINE VMS FREQUENCY WAS 7.4 PER DAY (95% CI, 6.6 TO 8.1) IN THE YOGA GROUP AND 8.0 PER DAY (95% CI, 7.3 TO 8.7) IN THE USUAL ACTIVITY GROUP. INTENT-TO-TREAT ANALYSES INCLUDED ALL PARTICIPANTS WITH RESPONSE DATA (N = 237). THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTERVENTION GROUPS IN THE CHANGE IN VMS FREQUENCY FROM BASELINE TO 6 AND 12 WEEKS (MEAN DIFFERENCE [YOGA--USUAL ACTIVITY] FROM BASELINE AT 6 WK, -0.3 [95% CI, -1.1 TO 0.5]; MEAN DIFFERENCE [YOGA--USUAL ACTIVITY] FROM BASELINE AT 12 WK, -0.3 [95% CI, -1.2 TO 0.6]; P = 0.119 ACROSS BOTH TIME POINTS). RESULTS WERE SIMILAR FOR VMS BOTHER. AT WEEK 12, YOGA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH AN IMPROVEMENT IN INSOMNIA SYMPTOMS (MEAN DIFFERENCE [YOGA - USUAL ACTIVITY] IN THE CHANGE IN INSOMNIA SEVERITY INDEX, 1.3 [95% CI, -2.5 TO -0.1]; P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: AMONG HEALTHY WOMEN, 12 WEEKS OF YOGA CLASS PLUS HOME PRACTICE, COMPARED WITH USUAL ACTIVITY, DO NOT IMPROVE VMS FREQUENCY OR BOTHER BUT REDUCE INSOMNIA SYMPTOMS. 2014 17 276 33 ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENT OF RESPIRATORY TECHNIQUE ON VASCULAR FUNCTION IN HYPERTENSIVE POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN FOLLOWING YOGA OR STRETCHING VIDEO CLASSES: THE YOGINI STUDY. BACKGROUND: HYPERTENSION REMAINS HIGHLY PREVALENT IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN, ALONG WITH VASCULAR DYSFUNCTION AND INCREASED OXIDATIVE STRESS. IN SUCH CONTEXT, REGULAR EXERCISES, YOGA PRACTICE, AND SLOW BREATHING HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED TO TREAT HYPERTENSION. HOWEVER, THE EFFECTS OF THE MULTIPLE COMPONENTS OF YOGA, INCLUDING THE RESPIRATORY TECHNIQUES INVOLVED IN THE PRACTICE, ON HYPERTENSION AND ON VASCULAR AND ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION HAVE NEVER BEEN EVALUATED. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE ADDITIONAL EFFECTS OF RESPIRATORY TECHNIQUE ON VASCULAR FUNCTION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS PROFILE IN HYPERTENSIVE POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN (HPMWS) FOLLOWING YOGA OR STRETCHING VIDEO CLASSES. STUDY DESIGN: HYPERTENSIVE POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WERE RECRUITED AND RANDOMIZED FOR 12 WEEKS, TWICE A WEEK, OF SUPERVISED YOGA OR STRETCHING VIDEO CLASSES OF 75 MIN FOR 12 WEEKS ASSOCIATED OR NOT WITH RESPIRATORY TECHNIQUE. BASELINE AND POST-INTERVENTION MEASUREMENTS INCLUDED PULSE WAVE VELOCITY (PWV), FLOW-MEDIATED DILATION (FMD), AND OXIDATIVE STRESS PARAMETERS. HYPERTENSIVE POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN (59 +/- 0.7 YEARS) WHO ENDED THE PROTOCOL WERE DISTRIBUTED INTO THREE GROUPS: (1) CONTROL GROUP (YOGA OR STRETCHING, C, N = 14); (2) YOGA + RESPIRATORY TECHNIQUE (Y+, N = 10); (3) STRETCHING + RESPIRATORY TECHNIQUE (S+, N = 9). RESULTS: DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE AND FMD [BASELINE: C: 6.94 +/- 1.97%, Y+: 7.05 +/- 1.65%, AND S+: 3.54 +/- 2.01% VS. POST: C: 16.59 +/- 3.46% (P = 0.006), Y+: 13.72 +/- 2.81% (P = 0.005), AND S+: 11.79 +/- 0.99% (P = 0.0001)] HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN ALL GROUPS WHEN BASELINE AND POST-PRACTICE VALUES WERE COMPARED. HOWEVER, RESTING HEART RATE AND PWV [BASELINE: Y+: 10.44 +/- 3.69 AND S+: 9.50 +/- 0.53 M/S VS. POST: Y+: 9.45 +/- 0.39 (P = 0.003) AND S+: 8.02 +/- 0.47 M/S (P = 0.003)] DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY ONLY IN THE Y+ AND S+ GROUPS (BASELINE VS. POST). SYSTEMIC ANTIOXIDANT ENZYME ACTIVITIES (SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE AND CATALASE) INCREASED IN ALL GROUPS, AND HYDROGEN PEROXIDE AND LIPOPEROXIDATION REDUCED IN Y+ AND S+ (BASELINE VS. POST). CONCLUSIONS: TWELVE WEEKS OF YOGA OR STRETCHING VIDEO CLASSES PROMOTED POSITIVE CHANGES IN SEVERAL OUTCOMES GENERALLY REGARDED AS CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN HPMWS, AND THESE CHANGES WERE EVEN MORE PRONOUNCED BY THE ASSOCIATION WITH RESPIRATORY TECHNIQUE. 2020 18 2729 30 YOGA OF AWARENESS PROGRAM FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS: RESULTS FROM A RANDOMIZED TRIAL. GOAL OF WORK: BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS HAVE LIMITED OPTIONS FOR THE TREATMENT OF HOT FLASHES AND RELATED SYMPTOMS. FURTHER, THERAPIES WIDELY USED TO PREVENT RECURRENCE IN SURVIVORS, SUCH AS TAMOXIFEN, TEND TO INDUCE OR EXACERBATE MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. THE AIM OF THIS PRELIMINARY, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA INTERVENTION ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN A SAMPLE OF SURVIVORS OF EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER (STAGES IA-IIB). MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIRTY-SEVEN DISEASE-FREE WOMEN EXPERIENCING HOT FLASHES WERE RANDOMIZED TO THE 8-WEEK YOGA OF AWARENESS PROGRAM (GENTLE YOGA POSES, MEDITATION, AND BREATHING EXERCISES) OR TO WAIT-LIST CONTROL. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS DAILY REPORTS OF HOT FLASHES COLLECTED AT BASELINE, POSTTREATMENT, AND 3 MONTHS AFTER TREATMENT VIA AN INTERACTIVE TELEPHONE SYSTEM. DATA WERE ANALYZED BY INTENTION TO TREAT. MAIN RESULTS: AT POSTTREATMENT, WOMEN WHO RECEIVED THE YOGA PROGRAM SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER IMPROVEMENTS RELATIVE TO THE CONTROL CONDITION IN HOT-FLASH FREQUENCY, SEVERITY, AND TOTAL SCORES AND IN LEVELS OF JOINT PAIN, FATIGUE, SLEEP DISTURBANCE, SYMPTOM-RELATED BOTHER, AND VIGOR. AT 3 MONTHS FOLLOW-UP, PATIENTS MAINTAINED THEIR TREATMENT GAINS IN HOT FLASHES, JOINT PAIN, FATIGUE, SYMPTOM-RELATED BOTHER, AND VIGOR AND SHOWED ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN NEGATIVE MOOD, RELAXATION, AND ACCEPTANCE. CONCLUSIONS: THIS PILOT STUDY PROVIDES PROMISING SUPPORT FOR THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF A COMPREHENSIVE YOGA PROGRAM FOR HOT FLASHES AND OTHER MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. 2009 19 1223 33 FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY OF RESTORATIVE YOGA FOR TREATMENT OF HOT FLUSHES: A PILOT TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY OF A RESTORATIVE YOGA INTERVENTION FOR THE TREATMENT OF HOT FLUSHES IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. METHODS: A PILOT TRIAL IN 14 POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN EXPERIENCING > OR =4 MODERATE TO SEVERE HOT FLUSHES PER DAY OR > OR =30 MODERATE TO SEVERE HOT FLUSHES PER WEEK. THE INTERVENTION CONSISTED OF EIGHT RESTORATIVE YOGA POSES TAUGHT IN A 3-H INTRODUCTORY SESSION AND 8 WEEKLY 90-MIN SESSIONS. FEASIBILITY WAS MEASURED BY RECRUITMENT RATES, SUBJECT RETENTION AND ADHERENCE. ACCEPTABILITY WAS ASSESSED BY SUBJECT INTERVIEW AND QUESTIONNAIRES. EFFICACY MEASURES INCLUDED CHANGE IN FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF HOT FLUSHES AS RECORDED ON A 7-DAY DIARY. RESULTS: RECRUITMENT WAS ACCOMPLISHED AS PLANNED. THE MAJORITY OF STUDY SUBJECTS (93%) COMPLETED THE TRIAL. OF THOSE WHO COMPLETED THE TRIAL, 92% ATTENDED SEVEN OR MORE OF THE EIGHT YOGA SESSIONS. THE MAJORITY OF THE SUBJECTS WERE SATISFIED WITH THE STUDY AND 75% CONTINUED TO PRACTICE YOGA 3 MONTHS AFTER THE STUDY. MEAN NUMBER OF HOT FLUSHES PER WEEK DECREASED BY 30.8% (95% CI 15.6-45.9%) AND MEAN HOT FLUSH SCORE DECREASED 34.2% (95% CI 16.0-52.5%) FROM BASELINE TO WEEK 8. NO ADVERSE EVENTS WERE OBSERVED. CONCLUSIONS: THIS PILOT TRIAL DEMONSTRATES THAT IT IS FEASIBLE TO TEACH RESTORATIVE YOGA TO MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN WITHOUT PRIOR YOGA EXPERIENCE. THE HIGH RATES OF SUBJECT RETENTION AND SATISFACTION SUGGEST THAT YOGA IS AN ACCEPTABLE INTERVENTION IN THIS POPULATION. OUR RESULTS INDICATE THAT A LARGER, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL TO EXPLORE THE EFFICACY OF RESTORATIVE YOGA FOR TREATMENT OF MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS WOULD BE SAFE AND FEASIBLE. 2007 20 243 29 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