1 747 106 EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (AEP) AND VISUAL CONTRAST SENSITIVITY (VCS) IN EPILEPTICS. THE EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON 32 PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY IDIOPATHIC EPILEPSY ON REGULAR AND MAINTAINED ANTIEPILEPTIC MEDICATION WAS STUDIED. THE PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUPS: GROUP I PRACTICED SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION TWICE DAILY FOR 6 MONTHS UNDER PROPER GUIDANCE; GROUP II PRACTICED POSTURAL EXERCISES MIMICKING THE MEDITATION FOR THE SAME DURATION; AND GROUP III WAS THE CONTROL GROUP. VISUAL CONTRAST SENSITIVITY (VCS), AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (AEP), BRAINSTEM AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (BAEP), AND MID LATENCY RESPONSES (MLR) WERE RECORDED INITIALLY (0 MONTH) AND AT 3 AND 6 MONTHS FOR EACH GROUP. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN VCS FOLLOWING MEDITATION PRACTICE IN GROUP I PARTICIPANTS. NA, THE FIRST PROMINENT NEGATIVE PEAK OF MLR AND PA, THE POSITIVE PEAK FOLLOWING NA DID NOT REGISTER CHANGES IN LATENCY. THE NA-PA AMPLITUDE OF MLR ALSO SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE ABSOLUTE AND INTERPEAK LATENCIES OF BAEP. THE REDUCED LEVEL OF STRESS FOLLOWING MEDITATION PRACTICE MAY MAKE PATIENTS MORE RESPONSIVE TO SPECIFIC STIMULI. SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION APPEARS TO BRING ABOUT CHANGES IN SOME OF THE ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES STUDIED IN EPILEPTIC PATIENTS. 2000 2 305 27 AN EVALUATION OF PULMONARY PARAMETERS IN TWO GROUPS OF SUBJECTS DURING YOGA PRACTICE. THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE HOW FAR THE SHORT TERM PRACTICE OF YOGA (30 AND 60 DAYS) FOR AN HOUR DAILY CAN IMPROVE THE RESPIRATORY FUNCTION. MALE SUBJECTS (N=50, AGE 30-50 YEARS) WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED. RESPIRATORY PARAMETERS (FVC, FEV1, PEFR, FEF(25-75%) AND MVV) WERE DETERMINED BY USING A MULTIFUNCTIONAL COMPUTERIZED SPIROMETER. YOGA (POSTURE AND PRANAYAMAS) PRACTICE FOR A MONTH PRODUCED NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN PULMONARY PARAMETERS. NEVERTHELESS, WHEN THE SUBJECTS CONTINUED IT FOR NEXT 30 DAYS, I.E., AFTER 60 DAYS SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE NOTED IN FVC (P<0.001), FEV, (P<0.01) AND PEFR (P<0.05). THE RESULT ALSO REVEALED THAT AMONGST THEM 30 DAYS YOGA TRAINING RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN FVC IN ELDER GROUP OF PEOPLE (AGE 41-50 YRS) WHERE AS IN YOUNGER GROUP (AGE 30-40 YRS) THE CHANGES WERE NOT SO PROMINENT. RESULT INDICATED THAT SHORT TERM (30 DAYS) YOGA PRACTICE QUICKLY IMPROVES RESPIRATORY FUNCTIONS IN RELATIVELY ELDER PEOPLE (AGE 41-50 YRS), WHEN MANY OF THEM IN OUR TROPICAL COUNTRY SUFFER FROM PRIMARY LEVEL OF RESPIRATORY PROBLEM. REGULAR PRACTICE OF YOGA (POSTURE AND PRANAYAMAS) CAN PREVENT IT BY INCREASING THE EFFICACY OF RESPIRATORY MUSCLES. 2010 3 1513 21 IS THIS WHAT A FEMALE YOGI LOOKS LIKE? A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF YOGA IMAGES ON INSTAGRAM. AS YOGA CONTINUES TO INCREASE IN GLOBAL POPULARITY, IDEALIZED REPRESENTATIONS OF A THIN, ATHLETIC 'YOGA BODY' HAVE ALSO BECOME MORE PROMINENT ACROSS COMMERCIAL MEDIA. TO EXAMINE HOW YOGA IS TYPICALLY REPRESENTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA, A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE POSTS OF FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS ON INSTAGRAM WAS UNDERTAKEN. IMAGES WERE SOURCED USING HASHTAGS #YOGA, #YOGABODY, #YOGAPRACTICE, AND #YOGAWOMAN, AND 200 FEMALES PER HASHTAG WERE THEN CODED ON DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS, BODY SHAPE, ACTIVITY, OBJECTIFICATION, AND PRACTICE OF YOGA. RESULTS SHOWED THAT OVER 90 % OF WOMEN IN THE IMAGES WERE CODED AS BEING UNDER 40 YEARS OF AGE WITH THE VAST MAJORITY IN THEIR 20 S. ALMOST THREE-QUARTERS OF WOMEN WERE PERCEIVED TO BE WHITE, 100 % APPEARED ABLE BODIED. MORE THAN 80 % WERE CLASSED AS THIN AND/OR ATHLETIC, WHILE LESS THAN 15 % DISPLAYED AVERAGE LEVELS OF VISIBLE BODY FAT. MORE THAN 50 % OF YOGA POSES WERE ADVANCED WHILE A QUARTER DISPLAYED POTENTIALLY UNSAFE ALIGNMENT. THE FINDINGS DEMONSTRATE THAT THE TYPICAL 'YOGA BODY' ON INSTAGRAM WAS PERCEIVED TO CONFORM TO THE YOUNG, THIN/ATHLETIC IDEAL AND THAT OVERALL YOGA IS NOT BEING REPRESENTED AS AN INCLUSIVE PHYSICAL PRACTICE THAT CAN BE ADAPTED FOR WOMEN OF DIVERSE AGES, BODY TYPES, AND ABILITIES. 2021 4 624 20 DIABETES MELLITUS TYPE 2 AND YOGA: ELECTRO PHOTONIC IMAGING PERSPECTIVE. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS THE MOST POPULAR FORM OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF DIABETES MELLITUS TYPE 2. THE ELECTRO-PHOTONIC IMAGING (EPI) IS ANOTHER CONTRIBUTION FROM ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE IN HEALTH MONITORING. AIM: TO EVALUATE DIABETES FROM EPI PERSPECTIVE. OBJECTIVES: (1) COMPARE VARIOUS EPI PARAMETERS IN NORMAL, PREDIABETIC AND DIABETIC PATIENTS. (2) FIND DIFFERENCE IN CONTROLLED AND UNCONTROLLED DIABETES. (3) STUDY THE EFFECT OF 7 DAYS DIABETES-SPECIFIC YOGA PROGRAM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: FOR THE FIRST OBJECTIVE, THERE WERE 102 PATIENTS (NORMAL 29, PREDIABETIC 13, DIABETIC 60). IN THE SECOND STUDY, THERE WERE 60 PATIENTS (CONTROLLED DIABETES 27, UNCONTROLLED DIABETES 33). THE THIRD STUDY COMPRISED 37 PATIENTS. EPI PARAMETERS WERE RELATED TO GENERAL HEALTH AS WELL TO SPECIFIC ORGANS. RESULTS: IN THE FIRST STUDY, SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED BETWEEN (1) DIABETICS AND NORMAL: AVERAGE INTENSITY 5.978, FORM COEFFICIENT 3.590, IMMUNE ORGANS 0.281 ALL P < 0.001; (2) DIABETICS AND PREDIABETICS: AVERAGE INTENSITY 6.676, FORM COEFFICIENT 4.158, IMMUNE ORGANS 5.890 P < 0.032; (3) NORMAL AND PREDIABETES: IMMUNE ORGANS (-6.171 P = 000). IN THE SECOND STUDY, REMARKABLE DIFFERENCE WAS IN THE IMMUNE ORGANS (0.201, P = 0.031). IN THE PRE- AND POST-STUDY, THE MEAN DIFFERENCE WAS: AREA 630.37, FORM COEFFICIENT 1.78, ENTROPY 0.03, LIVER 0.24, PANCREAS 0.17, CORONARY VESSELS 0.11, AND LEFT KIDNEY 29, WITH ALL P < 0.02. CONCLUSION: THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN EPI PARAMETERS BETWEEN NORMAL, PREDIABETICS AND DIABETICS, THE PROMINENT BEING AVERAGE INTENSITY, FORM COEFFICIENT, AND IMMUNE ORGANS. BETWEEN CONTROLLED AND UNCONTROLLED DIABETES, IMMUNE ORGANS SHOW SIGNIFICANT CHANGE. INTERVENTION OF YOGA RESULTS IN CHANGE IN MOST PARAMETERS. 2017 5 1452 28 INFLUENCE OF LONG-TERM SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICE ON EMOTIONAL PROCESSING IN THE BRAIN: AN ERP STUDY. DESPITE GROWING INTEREST IN MEDITATION AS A TOOL FOR ALTERNATIVE THERAPY OF STRESS-RELATED AND PSYCHOSOMATIC DISEASES, BRAIN MECHANISMS OF BENEFICIAL INFLUENCES OF MEDITATION PRACTICE ON HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE ARE STILL UNCLEAR. WE PROPOSE THAT THE KEY POINT IS A PERSISTENT CHANGE IN EMOTIONAL FUNCTIONING, SPECIFICALLY THE MODULATION OF THE EARLY APPRAISAL OF MOTIVATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS. THE MAIN AIM WAS TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM MEDITATION PRACTICE ON EVENT-RELATED BRAIN POTENTIALS (ERPS) DURING AFFECTIVE PICTURE VIEWING. ERPS WERE RECORDED IN 20 LONG-TERM SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATORS AND 20 CONTROL SUBJECTS WITHOUT PRIOR EXPERIENCE IN MEDITATION. THE MEDITATORS' MID-LATENCY (140-400MS) ERPS WERE ATTENUATED FOR BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE PICTURES (I.E. THERE WERE NO AROUSAL-RELATED INCREASES IN ERP POSITIVITY) AND THIS EFFECT WAS MORE PROMINENT OVER THE RIGHT HEMISPHERE. HOWEVER, WE FOUND NO DIFFERENCES IN THE LONG LATENCY (400-800MS) RESPONSES TO EMOTIONAL IMAGES, ASSOCIATED WITH MEDITATION PRACTICE. IN ADDITION WE FOUND STRONGER ERP NEGATIVITY IN THE TIME WINDOW 200-300MS FOR MEDITATORS COMPARED TO THE CONTROLS, REGARDLESS OF PICTURE VALENCE. WE ASSUME THAT LONG-TERM MEDITATION PRACTICE ENHANCES FRONTAL TOP-DOWN CONTROL OVER FAST AUTOMATIC SALIENCE DETECTION, BASED ON AMYGDALA FUNCTIONS. 2014 6 1397 24 IMPACT OF YOGA IN FACILITATING MUSCULAR FUNCTIONING AMONG ASYMPTOMATIC MALE CRICKET PLAYERS: LONGITUDINAL RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. BACKGROUND: CRICKET IS ONE OF THE PROMINENT GLOBAL TEAM SPORTS. WITH AN EMERGENCE OF TWENTY20 TOURNAMENTS, THE PHYSICAL PREPARATION OF ELITE CRICKET PLAYERS HAS BECOME COMPLEX WITH HIGH MATCH INJURY INCIDENCE. YOGA AS A BODY-MIND TRAINING IS ASSOCIATED WITH HAVING POSITIVE EFFECTS ON A PERSON'S PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS, BRINGING IN BETTER MIND-BODY EQUILIBRIUM. OBJECTIVES: EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF YOGA IN FACILITATING MUSCULAR FUNCTIONING AND MINDFULNESS AMONG ASYMPTOMATIC MALE CRICKET PLAYERS. METHOD: FIRST-CLASS DOMESTIC MALE CRICKET PLAYERS IN THE AGE GROUP OF 18-35 YEARS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO YOGA GROUP N=42 AND WAIT-LIST CONTROL GROUP N=40. PLAYERS RECEIVED THE YOGA MODULE FOR FIVE DAYS PER WEEK FOR A DURATION OF SIX WEEKS. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES OF MUSCULAR FUNCTIONING WERE CORE STABILITY, FLEXIBILITY, RANGE OF MOTION, STATIC BALANCE, DYNAMIC BALANCE AND PROPRIOCEPTION OF THE ANKLE. ASSESSMENTS WERE HELD AT BASELINE, IMMEDIATE POST-INTERVENTION, AND A FOLLOW-UP AFTER SIX MONTHS OF INTERVENTION. RESULTS: A STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE WITH P < .001 WAS OBSERVED FOR MOST OF THE VARIABLES AT T2 AND T3. COMPARISON OF THE MODEL FIT SHOWS A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT P < 0.001 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MODEL AS COMPARED TO THE BASELINE MODEL AMONG MOST OF THE VARIABLES. CONCLUSION: THIS YOGA MODULE WAS APPROPRIATE FOR ENHANCING MUSCULAR FUNCTIONING VARIABLES OF THIS STUDY. CONTINUOUS PRACTICE OF THIS YOGA MODULE CAN REINFORCE SUSTAINABLE BENEFITS FOR MALE CRICKET PLAYERS. 2021 7 2709 21 YOGA IS FOR EVERY (ABLE) BODY: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF DISABILITY THEMES WITHIN MAINSTREAM YOGA MEDIA. YOGA IS INCREASINGLY BEING RECOMMENDED AS A HEALTH SELF-MANAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR PEOPLE WITH A RANGE OF DISABILITIES. MAINSTREAM YOGA MEDIA HAVE BEEN CRITICIZED FOR LIMITED REPRESENTATION OF RACIAL/ETHNIC, GENDER, AGE, AND BODY SIZE DIVERSITY WITHIN THEIR PUBLICATIONS; HOWEVER, IT IS NOT KNOWN HOW THESE MEDIA OUTLETS INCLUDE VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF OR TEXTUAL INFORMATION RELEVANT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (PWDS). THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO UNDERSTAND IF AND HOW MAINSTREAM YOGA MEDIA VISUALLY REPRESENT AND INCLUDE INFORMATION FOR PWDS. WE CONDUCTED A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE "YOGAPEDIA" SECTION OF EACH YOGA JOURNAL MAGAZINE PUBLISHED IN 2015 AND 2016 (N = 17). TWO INDEPENDENT CODERS RATED ALL OF THE IMAGES AND TEXT IN THESE SECTIONS. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING A THEMATIC APPROACH INFORMED BY A PROMINENT THEORETICAL MODEL OF DISABLEMENT. RESULTS SUGGEST THAT IMAGES CONTAINED NO REPRESENTATION OF DISABILITY. IN CONTRAST, MAGAZINE TEXT INCLUDED AN ABUNDANCE OF REFERENCES TO DISABILITY; HOWEVER, THESE MENTIONS PREDOMINATELY ALIGNED WITH CONSTRUCTS FOUND EARLY IN THE DISABLEMENT PROCESS AND STRONGLY FOCUSED ON PHYSICAL AND MOBILITY LIMITATIONS. THESE FINDINGS EXPAND UPON PREVIOUS RESEARCH EXAMINING THE UNDERREPRESENTATION OF MARGINALIZED GROUPS WITHIN YOGA MEDIA AND ILLUMINATE A PAUCITY OF RELEVANT INFORMATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES WHO ARE INTERESTED IN AND MAY BENEFIT FROM YOGA PRACTICE. 2019 8 1776 20 PRACTICE OR PERFORMANCE? A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF YOGA-RELATED VIDEOS ON INSTAGRAM. REPRESENTATIONS OF YOGA WITHIN MEDIA HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY IDEALISED, DEPICTING TYPICAL PRACTITIONERS AS YOUNG, THIN, AND PHYSICALLY COMPETENT. WHILE PREVIOUS CONTENT ANALYSES OF YOGA HAVE FOCUSED ON STILL IMAGES, SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS SUCH AS INSTAGRAM ENCOURAGE THE USE OF VIDEO TO ENHANCE VIEWER ENGAGEMENT. VIDEO MAY CONTAIN FEATURES WHICH REFLECT A MORE NUANCED VIEW OF THE BODY, AND THEREFORE THE CURRENT STUDY ANALYSED 400 WOMEN IN YOGA-RELATED VIDEOS ON INSTAGRAM FOR APPEARANCE CHARACTERISTICS, BODY CONCEPTUALISATION, YOGA POSE TYPE, RISK, AND PERCEIVED INTENTION. THE VAST MAJORITY OF WOMEN WERE PERCEIVED TO BE IN THEIR 20S AND THIN OR ATHLETIC. ONLY 13.2 % OF WOMEN SHOWED AVERAGE VISIBLE LEVELS OF BODY FAT, WHILE MORE THAN A THIRD DISPLAYED VISIBLE MUSCULARITY ACROSS MULTIPLE MUSCLE GROUPS. THERE WAS LITTLE PRESENCE OF OBJECTIFICATION WITH THE MAJORITY OF WOMEN IN ACTIVE POSES, THOUGH MORE THAN 60 % OF POSES/SEQUENCES WERE ADVANCED AND POTENTIALLY RISKY. THE VAST MAJORITY OF VIDEOS APPEARED TO BE FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEMONSTRATING SKILL RATHER THAN INSTRUCTING THE VIEWER. THE FINDINGS SHOW THAT VIDEOS ON INSTAGRAM PERPETUATE UNREALISTIC APPEARANCE IDEALS IN YOGA AND ALSO PROVIDE A PLATFORM FOR CONTENT CREATORS TO ENGAGE VIEWERS BY REPRESENTING YOGA AS A HIGHLY PERFORMATIVE, PREDOMINANTLY ADVANCED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. 2021 9 429 18 CAN YOGA MEET THE REQUIREMENT OF THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GUIDELINE OF INDIA? A DESCRIPTIVE REVIEW. BACKGROUND: PHYSICAL INACTIVITY IS THE FOURTH MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR GLOBAL MORTALITY ACCOUNTING FOR 6% OF ALL DEATHS GLOBALLY AND IT IS A KEY RISK FACTOR FOR NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASE OCCURRENCES. ABOUT 54.4% OF INDIANS ARE PHYSICALLY INACTIVE AND <10% ENGAGE IN RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES. ON THE ONE HAND, INDIA IS SPREADING THE MESSAGE OF YOGA, AS A FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (PA) TO THE WHOLE WORLD. ON THE OTHER HAND, UNTIL NOW, THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GUIDELINE (PAG) IN INDIA IS NOT YET FULLY DEVELOPED. THEREFORE, WE CONDUCTED A DESCRIPTIVE REVIEW OF THE RATIONALITY OF YOGA AS ONE OF THE PA TOOLS WITH TWO HYPOTHESES - DOES YOGA QUALIFY AS A PA TOOL? MOREOVER, CAN YOGA HELP TO MEET THE REQUIREMENT OF INDIAN PAG?. METHODS: AN IN-DEPTH LITERATURE REVIEW WAS CARRIED OUT USING DATABASES SUCH AS PUBMED, SCOPEMED, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, AND COCHRANE LIBRARY. ALL THE PUBLISHED ARTICLES, GOVERNMENT REPORTS AND POLICY DOCUMENTS, WHICH MET INCLUSION CRITERIA WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO YOGA AND ENERGY EXPENDITURE, WERE GATHERED. RESULTS: THE SEARCH STRATEGY YIELDED 838 ARTICLES, OF WHICH 16 DOCUMENTS WERE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW. THE REVIEW INCLUDED 7 POLICY DOCUMENTS AND/OR STUDIES THAT DISCUSSED PAGS/POLICY/STRATEGY GLOBALLY AND 9 RESEARCH STUDIES TARGETED TOWARD THE ENERGY EXPENDITURE AND YOGA. HUGE VARIABILITY WAS DOCUMENTED IN THE RECOMMENDED PAGS GLOBALLY AND YOGA FOUND TO BE THE MODERATE METABOLIC EQUIVALENTS OF TASKS IN THE FORM OF ENERGY EXPENDITURE IN THIS REVIEW. CONCLUSION: THE COMPENDIUM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES SHOULD ADD A SEPARATE CATEGORY FOR ENERGY EXPENDITURE BY YOGA. THIS WILL HELP BUILD-UP NEWER EXERCISE FORMATS INVOLVING YOGIC PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES TO COMPLY WITH THE DAILY-RECOMMENDED PA DOSE. IN THE NATIONAL PA PLAN FOR INDIA, YOGA SHOULD GET A PROMINENT PLACE. FURTHER, IN THE INDIAN PERSPECTIVE, AN EXCLUSIVE PA PLAN IS JUSTIFIED INSTEAD OF A PA EMBEDDED WITHIN THE NATIONAL HEALTH PROGRAMS IN LIEU OF WIDER SCOPE. 2020 10 1481 13 INTEGRATING YOGA INTO PSYCHOTHERAPY: THE ETHICS OF MOVING FROM THE MIND TO THE MAT. GIVEN THE RISE IN ATTENTION TO CLIENT PREFERENCES IN MEDICAL TREATMENT AND THE SHIFT IN FOCUS TOWARD HEALTH PROMOTION, IT IS NOT SURPRISING THAT THE USE OF COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH APPROACHES HAVE INCREASED IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. YOGA IS AMONG THE MOST PROMINENT COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH APPROACHES. RECENTLY, BOTH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE WORK HAS EMERGED SUPPORTING ITS USE FOR A VARIETY OF MEDICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS. HOWEVER, THERE IS A CRITICAL GAP IN KNOWLEDGE REGARDING HOW TO MOST OPTIMALLY AND ETHICALLY INTEGRATE COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES (I.E., YOGA) INTO CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY PRACTICES. MOREOVER, IT REMAINS UNCLEAR WHICH CLIENTS ARE THE BEST CANDIDATES FOR RECEIVING SUCH COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENTS AND WHICH THERAPISTS SHOULD PROVIDE THEM. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER IS TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF YOGA, THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF ITS USE FOR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, AND AN ETHICAL FRAMEWORK TO GUIDE PSYCHOLOGISTS INTERESTED IN INTEGRATING YOGA INTO PSYCHOTHERAPY. 2017 11 785 27 EFFECT OF YOGA BASED TECHNIQUES ON STRESS AND HEALTH INDICES USING ELECTRO PHOTONIC IMAGING TECHNIQUE IN MANAGERS. BACKGROUND: MEDITATION TECHNIQUES ARE KNOWN TO ELICIT RELAXATION RESPONSE IN WHICH MOVING MEDITATION WHICH COMBINES THE PRACTICE OF YOGA POSTURES AND GUIDED RELAXATION IS KNOWN AS CYCLIC MEDITATION REPORTED HELPFUL IN REDUCING THE SYMPATHETIC AROUSAL AND IMPROVING HEALTH OF PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVES: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF CYCLIC MEDITATION ON STRESS AND HEALTH INDICES IN MANAGERS AS MEASURED BY ELECTRO PHOTONIC IMAGING (EPI) TECHNIQUE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: EPI TECHNIQUE WAS USED TO ASSESS PARTICIPANTS BEFORE AND AFTER 35 MIN OF CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) AND EQUAL DURATION OF SUPINE REST (SR) SESSION. A TOTAL OF SIXTY SIX MALE MANAGERS, AGE RANGES FROM 35 TO 60 YEARS (MEAN +/- SD 53.97 +/- 5.96) WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY. EPI PARAMETERS, INCLUDING ACTIVATION COEFFICIENT, INTEGRAL AREA LEFT AND RIGHT AND INTEGRAL ENTROPY, LEFT AND RIGHT WERE TAKEN FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSES. RESULTS: CYCLIC MEDITATION HAS PRODUCED A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN STRESS LEVEL, WHEREAS THIS REDUCTION WAS NOT FOUND SIGNIFICANT WITHIN SR GROUP. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH INDEX 'INTEGRAL AREA' VALUES IN BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES WITHIN THE CM GROUP WHILE ONLY IA RIGHT SIDE SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT WITHIN THE CM GROUP. THE INTEGRAL ENTROPY VALUE RIGHT SIDE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY WITHIN THE CM GROUP, WHEREAS IE LEFT WAS FOUND DETERIORATED WITHIN THE SR GROUP. MOREOVER, ONLY IE LEFT SIDE HAS SHOWN A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS. CONCLUSION: THE INVESTIGATIONS IN THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT CYCLIC MEDITATION PRACTICE REDUCES STRESS AND IMPROVES PSYCHOSOMATIC HEALTH INDICES MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN SUPINE REST IN MANAGERS. 2016 12 405 14 BIOENERGY AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR YOGA THERAPY. ELECTRO PHOTONIC IMAGING (EPI) IS BEING RESEARCHED RELATIVE TO ITS APPLICATION FOR YOGA THERAPY. THREE PARAMETERS OF INTEREST IN EPI MEASUREMENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS: COMMUNICATION ENERGY (C), INTEGRAL OR NORMALIZED AREA (IA), AND ENTROPY (E). IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT C INDICATES THE TOTAL ENERGY OF COMMUNICATION FOR THE ORGAN SYSTEM; IA IS AN INDICATION OF TOTAL AMOUNT OF ENERGY THAT IS AVAILABLE FOR THE ORGAN SYSTEM WHILE ENTROPY IS AN INDICATION OF THE AMOUNT OF COHERENCE OF THE ENERGY. COHERENCE AND ENTROPY ARE INVERSELY RELATED; THIS MEANS LESS THE ENTROPY, MORE THE COHERENCE AND VICE VERSA. ILLUSTRATIVE CASES OF SUCCESSFUL THERAPY WITH YOGA PRACTICES IN A WIDE VARIETY OF ABNORMAL CONDITIONS ARE EXAMINED, AND IN EVERY CASE, ENTROPY IS SHOWN TO DECREASE FOR THE AFFECTED ORGAN SYSTEM WHILE COMMUNICATION ENERGY STAYS WITHIN STABLE RANGE. RELATIVE TO THE ELECTROMAGNETIC (RUBIK) AND LIVING MATRIX (OSCHMAN) MODELS, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE REGULATION OF ENERGY, ITS COHERENCE IN THE BIOLOGICAL SYSTEM AND INTERACTION WITH LIFE PROCESSES PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR MODEL BUILDING AND DESIGN OF HEALTH-PROMOTING PROCEDURES. FURTHER, THIS APPROACH IS EXAMINED RELATIVE TO YOGA THEORY, TRADITIONAL MEDICINE SYSTEMS, AND SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELD OF GENE EXPRESSION AND NEUROPLASTICITY AND A GENERALIZED MODEL THAT WE CALL UNIFIED SYSTEM OF MEDICINE IS PROPOSED. THIS MODEL HAS DIRECT IMPLICATIONS ON METHODS USED TO CONTROL THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS TO GET ROBUST RESULTS FROM EPI APPLICATION FOR THERAPEUTIC PURPOSES. IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHERING RESEARCH IN YOGA THERAPY USING EPI AND IMPLICATIONS OF EPI AS A TRANSLATIONAL TECHNOLOGY BETWEEN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE SYSTEMS AND MODERN MEDICINE IS DISCUSSED. 2018 13 737 32 EFFECT OF PRANAYAMA & YOGA-ASANA ON COGNITIVE BRAIN FUNCTIONS IN TYPE 2 DIABETES-P3 EVENT RELATED EVOKED POTENTIAL (ERP). BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF DELAYED COGNITION AS MEASURED BY P300, AN EVOKED POTENTIAL IS OBSERVED IN DIABETES MELLITUS. P300 (OR P3) IS A COMPONENT OF ENDOGENOUS CEREBRAL EVOKED RESPONSE THAT ASSESSES HIGHER FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN. OUR STUDY AIMS TO SEE THE ROLE OF PRANAYAMA AND YOGA-ASANA ON P300 LATENCY AND AMPLITUDE IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS. METHODS: SIXTY PATIENTS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES WERE RECRUITED FROM DIABETIC CLINIC AND DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS - CONTROL GROUP ON ONLY CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY AND YOGA-GROUP ON CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY ALONG WITH PRANAYAMA AND YOGA-ASANA. BASAL RECORDINGS OF P300 AND BLOOD GLUCOSE WERE TAKEN AT THE TIME OF RECRUITMENT AND SECOND RECORDINGS REPEATED AFTER FORTY FIVE DAYS FOR BOTH THE GROUPS. P300 WAS RECORDED ON NIHON KOHDEN NEUROPACK MU MEB 9100 USING AUDITORY "ODD-BALL PARADIGM". THE DATA WERE ANALYSED USING REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) FOLLOWED BY TUKEY'S TEST AT 5 PER CENT LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE. RESULTS: STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE LATENCY AND THE AMPLITUDE OF N200, P300 WAS OBSERVED IN THE YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT YOGA HAS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON P300 AND THUS CAN BE INCORPORATED ALONG WITH THE CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY FOR IMPROVING COGNITIVE BRAIN FUNCTIONS IN DIABETES. 2010 14 2425 21 YOGA AND NATUROPATHY INTERVENTION FOR REDUCING ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION OF COVID-19 PATIENTS - A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) INFECTION HAS CAUSED A PROMINENT PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MENTAL HAVOC AMONG THE PATIENTS. TILL NOW, THERE IS PAUCITY IN LITERATURE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS AMONG PATIENTS WITH COVID-19. SO WE AIMED IN OUR STUDY TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND NATUROPATHY INTERVENTION ON ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION OF COVID-19 PATIENTS. METHODS: THIS QUASI EXPERIMENTAL STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AMONG 130 COVID-19 POSITIVE PATIENTS ADMITTED IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL. YOGA AND NATUROPATHIC INTERVENTION WAS GIVEN FOR 60 MIN A DAY FOR TWO WEEKS. HOSPITAL ANXIETY DEPRESSION SCALE (HADS) AND CORONA ANXIETY SCALE (CAS) WAS USED TO ASSESS THE GENERALIZED ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AMONG THE PATIENTS. RESULTS: AVERAGE AGE OF THE PATIENTS PARTICIPATED WAS 44 WITH THE RANGE FROM 36 TO 53 YEARS. AMONG THEM 85 WERE MALE AND 45 WERE FEMALE. OF ALL 130 PATIENTS, 33% HAD SYMPTOMS OF BORDERLINE DEPRESSION, 9.2% HAD SEVERE DEPRESSION, 40% HAD BORDERLINE ANXIETY AND 12.3% HAD SEVERE ANXIETY. IN CAS, 59 PATIENTS (45.38%) REPORTED COVID-19 RELATED DYSFUNCTIONAL ANXIETY. ALL THE PATIENTS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THE HADS- ANXIETY (P < 0.01), HADS-DEPRESSION (P < 0.01) AND CAS (P < 0.01) SCORE AFTER THE INTERVENTION. CONCLUSION: THE PRESENT STUDY SHOWED SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION LEVEL AMONG THE COVID-19 PATIENTS. THESE INTERVENTIONS CAN BE ADDED TO THE CONVENTIONAL CARE FOR BETTER MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELLBEING OF THE PATIENTS AFTER VALIDATING THE FINDINGS WITH JUSTIFIED STUDY DESIGN. 2021 15 760 33 EFFECT OF SUDARSANKRIYA YOGA PRACTICES ON P300 AMPLITUDE AND LATENCY. THE COGNITIVE ABILITY WHICH WAS PERCEIVED AS A CONSTANT TRAIT, IS NOW UNDERSTOOD TO BE UPGRADED BY ADAPTIVE AND EXTENDED TRAINING. YOGA PRACTICES ARE KNOWN TO SHARPEN THE INTELLECT AND ENHANCE CONCENTRATION. IN THE INITIAL PERIOD OF PRACTICING YOGA AS AN ALTERNATIVE/SUPPORTING TOOL TO MEDICAL LINE OF TREATMENT, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO INVESTIGATE EFFECT OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE ABILITY USING OBJECTIVE METHOD, IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH EVIDENCES. HENCE, AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXPLORE THE EFFECT OF REGULAR PRACTICE OF SUDARSANKRIYA YOGA ON AUDITORY EVENT RELATED POTENTIAL (P300) BY RECORDING AND COMPARING PEAK LATENCY AND AMPLITUDE. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUPS WITH GROUP I AND GROUP II PARTICIPANTS PRACTICING SUDARSANKRIYA YOGA FOR MORE THAN 36 MONTHS AND LESS THAN 36 MONTHS RESPECTIVELY. GROUP III WERE NON-PRACTITIONERS WITH NO PRIOR PRACTICE OF ANY FORM OF YOGA. TWENTY PARTICIPANTS IN EACH GROUP WITH A TOTAL OF 60 PARTICIPANTS BETWEEN 40 TO 65 YEARS OF AGE WERE RECRUITED FOR THE STUDY. RESULTS REVEALED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE FOR MEAN LATENCY AND AMPLITUDE BETWEEN THREE GROUPS. FINDINGS OF THE CURRENT STUDY SUGGEST THAT SUDARSANKRIYA YOGA PRACTICES SLOWS DOWN THE PROCESS OF AGING EFFECT OR MAINTAINS ON COGNITIVE ABILITY IN ADULTS. 2021 16 1985 11 SOME THOUGHTS ON NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF YOGA. YOGA PRESENTS THE CULMINATION OF EFFORTS MADE BY MANKIND TILL NOW CONTROL MIND AND BEHAVIOUR. IT IS LIVING SCIENCE, PRACTICED IN AN ELEMENTARY FASHION BY MANY IN INDIA. WHILE A FEW PERHAPS ARE THERE WHO HAVE ATTAINED MASTERY OF THIS SCIENCE.THE BACKGROUND OF THE DERIVATION AND CONCEPT OF YOGA IN INDIA IS PRESENTED FOLLOWED BY A SIMPLE EXPOSITION OF YOGIC PRACTICES AND SOME POSSIBLE NEUROPHYSIOLOGIC EXPLANATIONS. RESEARCH IN YOGA WILL BE REWARDING AS IT GIVES MEANS OF EXPLORING AND ENLARGING THE FUNCTIONS OF THE HUMAN BRAIN. 1981 17 100 18 A PERSPECTIVE ON YOGA AS A PREVENTIVE STRATEGY FOR CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019. THE PANDEMIC OUTBREAK OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) INFECTION CAUSED BY SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME-CORONAVIRUS 2 HAS LED TO PROFOUND PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS. IN PARTICULAR, INDIVIDUALS WITH PREEXISTING CONDITIONS OF HEART DISEASE, DIABETES, CEREBROVASCULAR DISEASES AND THE ELDERLY ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO SUCCUMB TO THIS INFECTION. THE CURRENT COVID-19 EMERGENCY CALLS FOR RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF POTENTIAL PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AGAINST THIS VIRUS-MEDIATED DISEASE. THERE IS A PLETHORA OF EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS THE ADD-ON BENEFITS OF YOGA IN STRESS MANAGEMENT, AS WELL AS PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES. THERE ARE SOME STUDIES ON THE EFFECT OF YOGA IN COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AS WELL BUT VERY FEW FOR ACUTE CONDITIONS AND ALMOST NONE FOR THE RAPIDLY SPREADING INFECTIONS RESULTING IN PANDEMICS. BASED ON THE AVAILABLE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCES ON YOGA IN IMPROVING RESPIRATORY AND IMMUNE FUNCTIONS, WE HAVE FORMULATED VERY SIMPLE DOABLE INTEGRATED YOGA MODULES IN THE FORM OF VIDEOS TO BE PRACTICED FOR PREVENTION OF THE DISEASE BY CHILDREN, ADULTS, AND THE ELDERLY. 2020 18 806 25 EFFECT OF YOGA ON ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND SELF-ESTEEM IN ORPHANAGE RESIDENTS: A PILOT STUDY. INTRODUCTION: THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE IN A NUMBER OF ORPHANAGES AND CHILDREN LIVING IN ORPHANAGES IN LAST FEW YEARS. THE CHILDREN LIVING IN ORPHANAGES OFTEN HAVE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS AMONG WHICH ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND LOW SELF-ESTEEM ARE CONSIDERED TO BE MOST PROMINENT. YOGA IS A NONINVASIVE, COST-EFFECTIVE, AND SAFE INTERVENTION AMONG COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE WHICH IS KNOWN TO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS. AIMS: THE PRESENT PILOT STUDY INTENDED TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF A TWO WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION ON ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND SELF-ESTEEM OF ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS LIVING IN AN ORPHANAGE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ADOLESCENT AND YOUNG ADULTS PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE THE PERMANENT RESIDENTS OF AN ORPHANAGE (N = 34; MALES = 27, FEMALES = 7) BETWEEN AGE RANGES OF 12-20 YEARS UNDERWENT 2 WEEK OF YOGA INTERVENTION. YOGA INTERVENTION COMPRISED ASANA (YOGIC POSTURES), PRANAYAMA (YOGIC BREATHING PRACTICES), AND DHARANA-DHYANA (YOGIC RELAXATION TECHNIQUES) FOR 1 H DAILY OVER 15 DAYS. HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AND ROSENBERG SELF-ESTEEM SCALE WERE ADMINISTERED AT BASELINE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION TO ASSESS ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND SELF-ESTEEM, RESPECTIVELY. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION (P = 0.001) IN ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN SELF-ESTEEM (P = 0.001) AT THE END OF 2 WEEKS YOGA INTERVENTION. CONCLUSIONS: THIS PILOT STUDY SUGGESTS THAT 2 WEEKS OF YOGA PRACTICE POTENTIALLY REDUCED ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AND IMPROVED SELF-ESTEEM OF ORPHANAGE ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS. THESE FINDINGS NEED CONFIRMATION FROM STUDIES WITH A LARGER SAMPLE SIZE AND RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED DESIGN, WHICH ARE IMPLICATED IN THE FUTURE. 2016 19 1850 15 RAISING BURDEN OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES: IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRATING YOGA AND NATUROPATHY AT PRIMARY CARE LEVEL. PRIMARY HEALTH CARE IS A VITAL COMPONENT IN HEALTH CARE DELIVERY. NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCD'S) ARE RISING LIKE A MAJOR THREAT TO HUMAN SURVIVAL, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO ACCOUNT FOR 75% OF THE TOTAL MORTALITY BY 2030. LIFESTYLE AND BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES ARE RECKONED AS THE WAY AHEAD. YOGA AND NATUROPATHY, A DRUGLESS SYSTEM OF MEDICINE HAS INTERSECTING PARADIGMS WHICH ADDRESSES ALL PLANES OF HEALTH EFFECTIVELY. YOGA AND NATUROPATHY THROUGH ITS HOLISTIC APPROACH EDUCATE AND MAKE THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN HEALTH. IT HAS SHOWN ITS EFFICACY IN ALLEVIATING AND PREVENTING VARIOUS NCD'S. A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH SHOULD BE INITIATED, WHICH CAN CHANNELIZE THE INTEGRATION OF YOGA AND NATUROPATHY AT THE PRIMARY CARE LEVEL CONSIDERING ITS COST-EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICACY OVER NCD'S. 2020 20 373 16 AYURVEDA AND YOGA IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES. AYURVEDA IS DERIVED FROM 2 SANSKRIT WORDS, NAMELY, "AYUS" AND "VEDA," MEANING LIFE AND KNOWLEDGE, RESPECTIVELY. IT LITERALLY MEANS SCIENCE OF LIFE. AYURVEDA, OF WHICH YOGA IS AN INTEGRAL PART, IS WIDELY PRACTICED IN INDIA AND IS GAINING ACCEPTANCE IN MANY COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. IT IS A COMPREHENSIVE AND A HOLISTIC SYSTEM, THE FOCUS OF WHICH IS ON THE BODY, MIND, AND CONSCIOUSNESS. THE AYURVEDIC TREATMENT CONSISTS OF THE USE HERBAL PREPARATIONS, DIET, YOGA, MEDITATION, AND OTHER PRACTICES. BASED ON THE REVIEW OF AVAILABLE STUDIES, THE EVIDENCE IS NOT CONVINCING THAT ANY AYURVEDIC HERBAL TREATMENT IS EFFECTIVE IN THE TREATMENT OF HEART DISEASE OR HYPERTENSION. HOWEVER, THE USE OF CERTAIN SPICES AND HERBS SUCH AS GARLIC AND TURMERIC IN AN OVERALL HEALTHY DIET IS APPROPRIATE. MANY HERBS USED BY AYURVEDIC PRACTITIONERS SHOW PROMISE AND COULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR LARGER RANDOMIZED TRIALS. YOGA, AN INTEGRAL PART OF AYURVEDA, HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE USEFUL TO PATIENTS WITH HEART DISEASE AND HYPERTENSION. YOGA REDUCES ANXIETY, PROMOTES WELL-BEING, AND IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE. ITS SAFETY PROFILE IS EXCELLENT. ITS USE AS A COMPLEMENTARY THERAPEUTIC REGIMEN UNDER MEDICAL SUPERVISION IS APPROPRIATE AND COULD BE WORTH CONSIDERING. 2005