1 1336 119 HOW DOES YOGA REDUCE STRESS? A CLINICAL TRIAL TESTING PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS. YOGA INTERVENTIONS CAN REDUCE STRESS, BUT THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THAT STRESS REDUCTION REMAIN LARGELY UNIDENTIFIED. UNDERSTANDING HOW YOGA WORKS IS ESSENTIAL TO OPTIMIZING INTERVENTIONS. THE PRESENT STUDY TESTED FIVE POTENTIAL PSYCHOSOCIAL MECHANISMS (INCREASED MINDFULNESS, INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS, SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING, SELF-COMPASSION AND SELF-CONTROL) THAT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO EXPLAIN YOGA'S IMPACT ON STRESS. FORTY-TWO PARTICIPANTS (62% FEMALE; 64% WHITE) IN A YOGA PROGRAM FOR STRESS REDUCTION COMPLETED SURVEYS AT BASELINE (T1), MID-INTERVENTION (T2) AND POST-INTERVENTION (12 WEEKS; T3). WE MEASURED TWO ASPECTS OF STRESS, PERCEIVED STRESS AND STRESS REACTIVITY. CHANGES WERE ASSESSED WITH PAIRED T-TESTS; ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN CHANGES IN MECHANISMS WERE TESTED IN RESIDUAL CHANGE MODELS. ONLY STRESS REACTIVITY DECREASED, ON AVERAGE, FROM T1 TO T3. EXCEPT FOR SELF-COMPASSION, ALL PSYCHOSOCIAL MECHANISMS INCREASED FROM T1 TO T3, WITH MINIMAL CHANGES FROM T2 TO T3. EXCEPT FOR SELF-CONTROL, INCREASES IN EACH MECHANISM WERE STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASES IN BOTH MEASURES OF STRESS BETWEEN T1 AND T2 AND DECREASES IN PERCEIVED STRESS FROM T1 TO T3 (ALL P'S < 0.05). INCREASED PSYCHOSOCIAL RESOURCES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH STRESS REDUCTION. YOGA INTERVENTIONS TARGETING THESE RESOURCES MAY SHOW STRONGER STRESS REDUCTION EFFECTS. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD TEST THESE LINKAGES MORE RIGOROUSLY USING ACTIVE COMPARISON GROUPS AND LARGER SAMPLES. 2021 2 1238 31 FEASIBILITY OF A GROUP-BASED LAUGHTER YOGA INTERVENTION AS AN ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND STRESS IN PEOPLE WITH DEPRESSION. BACKGROUND: LAUGHTER YOGA (LY) IS A GROUP-BASED INTERVENTION INVOLVING SIMULATED LAUGHTER, GENTLE STRETCHING, RHYTHMIC BREATHING AND MEDITATION. THERE IS SOME LIMITED EVIDENCE THAT LY REDUCES DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS OVER THE SHORT TERM. HOWEVER, THE QUALITY OF PREVIOUS LY STUDIES IS POOR AND NONE INVOLVED WORKING-AGED PEOPLE WITH A CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS OF DEPRESSION. THEREFORE, THIS STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY AND POTENTIAL EFFICACY OF LY FOR IMPROVING RESIDUAL MOOD, ANXIETY AND STRESS SYMPTOMS IN ADULTS DIAGNOSED WITH DEPRESSION. METHODS: FIFTY PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMISED TO THE GROUP LY INTERVENTION (N=23) CONSISTING OF EIGHT SESSIONS OVER FOUR WEEKS, OR TREATMENT-AS-USUAL (N=27). PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED THE DEPRESSION ANXIETY STRESS SCALE AND THE SHORT FORM 12 ITEM HEALTH SURVEY AT BASELINE (T0), POST-INTERVENTION (T1) AND AT 3 MONTHS FOLLOW-UP (T2). LY PARTICIPANTS ALSO COMPLETED A CLIENT SATISFACTION QUESTIONNAIRE (CSQ8) AT T1 AND ELEVEN PARTICIPATED IN INDIVIDUAL QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS AT T2. RESULTS: THE LY GROUP HAD STATISTICALLY GREATER DECREASES IN DEPRESSION AND IMPROVEMENTS IN MENTAL HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP FROM T0 TO T1. THE CSQ8 SCORES INDICATED A FAVOURABLE LEVEL OF SATISFACTION WITH THE LY INTERVENTION. THE QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS HIGHLIGHTED ASPECTS OF THE INTERVENTION THAT WERE EFFECTIVE AND THOSE REQUIRING MODIFICATION. LIMITATIONS: LIMITATIONS INCLUDE THE SMALL SAMPLE SIZE AND TREATMENT-AS-USUAL CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: A FULL SCALE RCT OF LY COULD BE FEASIBLE IF SOME MODIFICATIONS WERE MADE TO THE PROTOCOL/INTERVENTION. THE INTERVENTION MAY BE EFFECTIVE TO IMPROVE DEPRESSION AND MENTAL HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IMMEDIATELY POST INTERVENTION. 2019 3 418 36 BREATHING-FOCUSED YOGA AS AUGMENTATION FOR UNIPOLAR AND BIPOLAR DEPRESSION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL: LE YOGA AXE SUR LA RESPIRATION COMME TRAITEMENT D'APPOINT POUR LA DEPRESSION UNIPOLAIRE ET BIPOLAIRE: UN ESSAI RANDOMISE CONTROLE. OBJECTIVE: PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION FREQUENTLY EXPERIENCE PERSISTENT RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS EVEN WITH OPTIMAL INTERVENTIONS. THESE PATIENTS OFTEN USE COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENTS, INCLUDING YOGA, AS A PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE OR ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT. THERE IS EVIDENCE FOR THE BENEFIT OF YOGA FOR DEPRESSION, BUT THIS HAS NOT BEEN RIGOROUSLY EVALUATED, PARTICULARLY IN BIPOLAR DEPRESSION. WE AIMED TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY AND BENEFIT OF MANUALIZED BREATHING-FOCUSED YOGA IN COMPARISON TO PSYCHOEDUCATION AS AUGMENTATION TO PHARMACOTHERAPY FOR IMPROVING RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION IN UNIPOLAR AND BIPOLAR PATIENTS. METHODS: USING A RANDOMIZED SINGLE-BLIND CROSSOVER DESIGN, 72 OUTPATIENTS WITH UNIPOLAR OR BIPOLAR DEPRESSION WERE AUGMENTED WITH THE TWO 8-WEEK INTERVENTIONS AT SEPARATE TIMES, AS ADD-ONS TO CURRENT FIRST-LINE ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND MOOD STABILIZERS. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE WAS THE MONTGOMERY-ASBERG DEPRESSION RATING SCALE (MADRS). DUE TO THE HIGH DROPOUT OF PARTICIPANTS AFTER CROSSOVER AT WEEK 8, ANALYSIS FOCUSED ON BETWEEN-GROUP COMPARISONS OF YOGA AND PSYCHOEDUCATION DURING THE INITIAL 8 WEEKS OF THE STUDY. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, AS MEASURED BY THE MADRS, FOLLOWING 8 WEEKS OF YOGA. HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN MADRS RATINGS BETWEEN INTERVENTION GROUPS. SIMILAR IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-RATED DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND WELL-BEING WERE ALSO OBSERVED ACROSS TIME. CONCLUSIONS: BOTH YOGA AND PSYCHOEDUCATION MAY IMPROVE RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS OF UNIPOLAR AND BIPOLAR DEPRESSION AS ADD-ON TO MEDICATIONS. IN-CLASS GROUP SESSIONS AND LONG STUDY DURATIONS MAY REDUCE FEASIBILITY FOR THIS POPULATION. LARGER TRIALS WITH PARALLEL GROUP DESIGN AND SHORTER DURATION MAY BE MORE FEASIBLE. 2021 4 1376 28 IMPACT OF HATHA YOGA ON THE AIRWAY RESISTANCES IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS AND ALLERGIC RHINITIS PATIENTS. THERE HAVE BEEN LIMITED STUDIES ON HATHA YOGA TRAINING AS A COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY TO MANAGE THE SYMPTOMS OF ALLERGIC RHINITIS. THE MAIN AIM OF THE STUDY WAS TO CHECK THE IMPACT OF HATHA YOGASANAS ON THE AIRWAY RESISTANCES IN HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS, A BASELINE DATA CAN BE ESTABLISHED AND ALSO TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF HATHA YOGASANAS ON THE AIRWAY RESISTANCES IN ALLERGIC RHINITIS PATIENTS IN BANGALORE, INDIA. THIS IS A PROSPECTIVE CASE SERIES OF 51 HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (18 MALES AND 33 FEMALES) GROUP 1 AND 51 ALLERGIC RHINITIS PATIENTS (18 MALES AND 33 FEMALES) GROUP 2. THE OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE UPPER AIRWAY RESISTANCE WAS MEASURED USING A RHINOMANOMETER AND THE LOWER AIRWAY RESISTANCE WAS MEASURED USING A SPIROMETER. THEN THE SUBJECTS PRACTICED SPECIFIC HATHA YOGASANAS FOR THREE MONTHS. THEN THE AIRWAY RESISTANCE TESTS WERE AGAIN DONE AT 3 MONTHS INTERVAL. THE SUBJECTIVE ANALYSIS WAS DONE PRE YOGA AND POST YOGA USING THE SHORT FORM-12 (SF-12) AND SINO NASAL OUTCOME TEST (SNOT) QUESTIONNAIRES TO ASSESS THE QUALITY OF LIFE. THE DATA WAS ANALYZED BY DOING A PAIRED (2-TAILED) T TEST, USING SPSS (SOFTWARE PACKAGE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES) VERSION 16. TOTAL NASAL AIRWAY RESISTANCE PRE YOGA AND POST YOGA IN 51 HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS HAD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED AT 150 PA AND THE FORCED VITAL CAPACITY(FVC) PRE YOGA AND POST YOGA HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED,FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME (FEV1) & % RESIDUAL STANDARD DEVIATION (%RSD) HAD INCREASED BUT NOT SIGNIFICANT. THE PHYSICAL COMPONENT SCORE (PCS) AND MENTAL COMPONENT SCORE (MCS) OF THE SF-12 HEALTH SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE HAD SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED WITH AND THE SNOT QUESTIONNAIRE SCORE HAD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED. THE TOTAL NASAL AIRWAY RESISTANCE IN 51 ALLERGIC RHINITIS HAD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED AT 150 PA AND THE FVC PRE YOGA AND POST YOGA SHOWED INCREASE BUT CHANGE WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT, FEV1 PRE YOGA AND POST YOGA HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED, %RSD PRE YOGA AND POST YOGA HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED. THE PCS AND MCS OF THE SF-12 HEALTH SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED AND THE SNOT QUESTIONNAIRE SCORE HAD SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED. THE SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENTATION OF THE IMPACT OF HATHA YOGA ON THE AIRWAY RESISTANCES CAN BE AN EYE OPENER IN THE MANAGEMENT OF SEVERAL OTHER DISEASES OF THE AIRWAYS. 2019 5 699 24 EFFECT OF HATHA YOGA TRAINING ON RHINITIS SYMPTOMS AND CYTOKINES IN ALLERGIC RHINITIS PATIENTS. INTRODUCTION: ALLERGIC RHINITIS IS AN INFLAMMATION OF THE NASAL MUCOSA IN RESPONSE TO ALLERGENS. THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT YOGA CAN IMPROVE PERSONAL HEALTH AND HAS POSITIVE EFFECTS ON IMMUNE FUNCTION. HOWEVER, THE EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA TRAINING ON RHINITIS SYMPTOMS AND CYTOKINES IN PATIENTS WITH ALLERGIC RHINITIS ARE STILL UNCLEAR. OBJECTIVE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA TRAINING ON RHINITIS SYMPTOMS AND CYTOKINES IN ALLERGIC RHINITIS PATIENTS. METHODS: TWENTY-SEVEN ALLERGIC RHINITIS PATIENTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO 2 GROUPS: A CONTROL GROUP (CON; N = 14) AND A YOGA GROUP (YOG; N = 13). THE CON GROUP CONTINUED WITH NORMAL ACTIVITIES AND THE YOG GROUP WAS REQUIRED TO COMPLETE A PROTOCOL OF HATHA YOGA TRAINING FOR 60 MINUTES PER SESSION, 3 TIMES PER WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS. PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS, ALLERGIC RHINITIS SYMPTOMS, AND CYTOKINE SECRETIONS WERE COMPARATIVELY ANALYZED BEFORE AND AFTER YOGA TRAINING. RESULTS: AFTER 8 WEEKS, THE YOG GROUP HAD INCREASED PEAK NASAL INSPIRATORY FLOW (PNIF) AND EXHIBITED SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED RHINITIS SYMPTOMS AND NASAL BLOOD FLOW (NBF) COMPARED TO PRE-TEST. MOREOVER, THE YOG GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER NASAL SECRETION OF INTERLEUKIN (IL)-2 THAN THE CON GROUP. CONCLUSION: THE PRESENT FINDINGS DEMONSTRATED THAT 8 WEEKS OF HATHA YOGA TRAINING HAD BENEFICIAL EFFECTS IN ALLERGIC RHINITIS BY IMPROVED CLINICAL ALLERGIC RHINITIS AND CYTOKINE PROFILES. 2022 6 1541 29 KRIPALU YOGA FOR MILITARY VETERANS WITH PTSD: A RANDOMIZED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF YOGA FOR MILITARY VETERANS AND ACTIVE DUTY PERSONNEL WITH POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) EVALUATED THE EFFICACY OF A 10-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION ON PTSD. METHOD: FIFTY-ONE PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO YOGA OR NO-TREATMENT ASSESSMENT-ONLY CONTROL GROUPS. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED QUESTIONNAIRES AND THE CLINICIAN ADMINISTERED PTSD SCALE. RESULTS: BOTH YOGA (N = 9) AND CONTROL (N = 6) PARTICIPANTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN REEXPERIENCING SYMPTOMS, WITH NO SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES. SECONDARY WITHIN-GROUP ANALYSES OF A SELF-SELECTED WAIT-LIST YOGA GROUP (N = 7) SHOWED SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN PTSD SYMPTOMS AFTER YOGA PARTICIPATION, IN CONTRAST TO THEIR CONTROL GROUP PARTICIPATION. CONSISTENT WITH CURRENT LITERATURE REGARDING HIGH RATES OF PTSD TREATMENT DROPOUT FOR VETERANS, THIS STUDY FACED CHALLENGES RETAINING PARTICIPANTS ACROSS CONDITIONS. CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS ARE CONSISTENT WITH RECENT LITERATURE INDICATING THAT YOGA MAY HAVE POTENTIAL AS A PTSD THERAPY IN A VETERAN OR MILITARY POPULATION. HOWEVER, ADDITIONAL LARGER SAMPLE SIZE TRIALS ARE NECESSARY TO CONFIRM THIS CONCLUSION. 2018 7 181 36 A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF YOGA VS NONAEROBIC EXERCISE FOR VETERANS WITH PTSD: UNDERSTANDING EFFICACY, MECHANISMS OF CHANGE, AND MODE OF DELIVERY. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) IS A CHRONIC, DISABLING, AND PREVALENT MENTAL HEALTH DISORDER AMONG VETERANS. DESPITE THE AVAILABILITY OF EMPIRICALLY SUPPORTED PSYCHOTHERAPIES, MANY VETERANS REMAIN SYMPTOMATIC AFTER TREATMENT AND/OR PREFER TO SEEK COMPLEMENTARY AND INTEGRATIVE HEALTH APPROACHES, INCLUDING YOGA, TO MANAGE PTSD. THE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT) DESCRIBED HEREIN WILL EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF A MANUALIZED YOGA PROGRAM AS COMPARED TO NONAEROBIC EXERCISE IN REDUCING PTSD SEVERITY AMONG VETERANS. A SECONDARY AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS OF CHANGE. METHODS: VETERANS (N = 192) WITH PTSD WILL BE RANDOMIZED TO HATHA YOGA OR NONAEROBIC PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CONTROL; BOTH GROUPS CONSIST OF 12 WEEKLY, 60-MIN GROUP OR ONLINE TRAINING SESSIONS WITH 15-20 MIN OF DAILY AT-HOME PRACTICE. OUTCOME MEASURES WILL BE ADMINISTERED AT BASELINE, MID-TREATMENT, POSTTREATMENT, AND 12-WEEK FOLLOW-UP. PROJECTED OUTCOMES: THIS STUDY WILL EVALUATE CHANGES IN PTSD SEVERITY (PRIMARY OUTCOME) AS WELL AS DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, ANGER, SLEEP PROBLEMS, AND PSYCHOSOCIAL DISABILITY (SECONDARY OUTCOMES). WE WILL ALSO USE MULTIPLE MEDIATION TO EXAMINE TWO POTENTIAL MODELS OF THE MECHANISMS OF CLINICAL EFFECT: THE ATTENTION MODEL (I.E., YOGA INCREASES ATTENTIONAL CONTROL, WHICH REDUCES PTSD SYMPTOMS), THE COPING MODEL (I.E., YOGA INCREASES DISTRESS TOLERANCE, WHICH IMPROVES COPING, WHICH REDUCES PTSD SYMPTOMS), AND THE COMBINATION OF THESE MODELS. THIS ASPECT OF THE STUDY IS INNOVATIVE AND IMPORTANT GIVEN THE ABSENCE OF AN EXISTING, COMPREHENSIVE MODEL FOR UNDERSTANDING YOGA'S IMPACT ON PTSD. ULTIMATELY, WE HOPE TO DEVELOP GUIDELINES FOR APPLICATION OF YOGA TO PTSD RECOVERY. 2021 8 252 20 A YOGA PROGRAM FOR THE SYMPTOMS OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN VETERANS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PILOT STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF A YOGA PROGRAM AS AN ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY FOR IMPROVING POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) SYMPTOMS IN VETERANS WITH MILITARY-RELATED PTSD. VETERANS (N = 12) PARTICIPATED IN A 6 WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION HELD TWICE A WEEK. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN PTSD HYPERAROUSAL SYMPTOMS AND OVERALL SLEEP QUALITY AS WELL AS DAYTIME DYSFUNCTION RELATED TO SLEEP. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TOTAL PTSD, ANGER, OR QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOME SCORES. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THIS YOGA PROGRAM MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY FOR IMPROVING HYPERAROUSAL SYMPTOMS OF PTSD INCLUDING SLEEP QUALITY. THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATES THAT THE YOGA PROGRAM IS ACCEPTABLE, FEASIBLE, AND THAT THERE IS GOOD ADHERENCE IN A VETERAN POPULATION. 2013 9 1666 21 NEURAL NETWORK-ORIENTED BIG DATA MODEL FOR YOGA MOVEMENT RECOGNITION. THE USE OF COMPUTER VISION FOR TARGET DETECTION AND RECOGNITION HAS BEEN AN INTERESTING AND CHALLENGING AREA OF RESEARCH FOR THE PAST THREE DECADES. PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES AND SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS IN GENERAL CAN BE TRAINED WITH APPROPRIATE SYSTEMS FOR CORRECTIVE TRAINING AND ASSISTIVE TRAINING. SUCH A NEED HAS MOTIVATED RESEARCHERS TO COMBINE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH THE FIELD OF SPORTS TO CONDUCT RESEARCH. IN THIS PAPER, WE PROPOSE A MASK REGION-CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK (MR-CNN)- BASED METHOD FOR YOGA MOVEMENT RECOGNITION BASED ON THE IMAGE TASK OF YOGA MOVEMENT RECOGNITION. THE IMPROVED MR-CNN MODEL IS BASED ON THE FRAMEWORK AND STRUCTURE OF THE REGION-CONVOLUTIONAL NETWORK, WHICH PROPOSES A CERTAIN NUMBER OF CANDIDATE REGIONS FOR THE IMAGE BY FEATURE EXTRACTION AND CLASSIFIES THEM, THEN OUTPUTS THESE REGIONS AS DETECTED BOUNDING BOXES, AND DOES MASK PREDICTION FOR THE CANDIDATE REGIONS USING SEGMENTATION BRANCHES. THE IMPROVED MR-CNN MODEL USES AN IMPROVED DEEP RESIDUAL NETWORK AS THE BACKBONE NETWORK FOR FEATURE EXTRACTION, BILINEAR INTERPOLATION OF THE EXTRACTED CANDIDATE REGIONS USING REGION OF INTEREST (ROI) ALIGN, FOLLOWED BY TARGET CLASSIFICATION AND DETECTION, AND SEGMENTATION OF THE IMAGE USING THE SEGMENTATION BRANCH. THE MODEL IMPROVES THE CONVOLUTION PART IN THE SEGMENTATION BRANCH BY REPLACING THE ORIGINAL STANDARD CONVOLUTION WITH A DEPTH-SEPARABLE CONVOLUTION TO IMPROVE THE NETWORK EFFICIENCY. EXPERIMENTALLY CONSTRUCTED POLYGON-LABELED DATASETS ARE SIMULATED USING THE ALGORITHM. THE DEEPENING OF THE NETWORK AND THE USE OF DEPTH-SEPARABLE NETWORK IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF DETECTION WHILE MAINTAINING THE RELIABILITY OF THE NETWORK AND VALIDATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE IMPROVED MR-CNN. 2021 10 133 33 A PRAGMATIC PREFERENCE TRIAL OF THERAPEUTIC YOGA AS AN ADJUNCT TO GROUP COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY VERSUS GROUP CBT ALONE FOR DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY. BACKGROUND: YOGA HAS SEVERAL MECHANISMS THAT MAKE IT A PROMISING TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, INCLUDING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, BEHAVIOURAL ACTIVATION, AND MINDFULNESS. FOLLOWING POSITIVE OUTCOMES FROM ADAPTED CBT INTERVENTIONS INCORPORATING MINDFULNESS-BASED PRACTICES, THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE EFFECTS OF A THERAPEUTIC YOGA PROGRAM AS AN ADJUNCT TO GROUP-BASED CBT FOR DEPRESSION OR ANXIETY. METHODS: THIS WAS A PRAGMATIC PREFERENCE TRIAL INVOLVING ADULTS DIAGNOSED WITH DEPRESSION OR ANXIETY IN A REGIONAL PRIMARY MENTAL HEALTHCARE SERVICE (N = 59), COMPARING TRANSDIAGNOSTIC GROUP CBT (N = 27) WITH TRANSDIAGNOSTIC GROUP CBT COMBINED WITH AN ADJUNCT THERAPEUTIC YOGA PROGRAM (N = 32). A PREFERENCE RECRUITMENT DESIGN ALLOWED ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS (N = 35) TO SELF-SELECT INTO THE ADJUNCT PROGRAM. THE DEPRESSION ANXIETY STRESS SCALE-21 (DASS) WAS ASSESSED AT BASELINE, POST-INTERVENTION, AND THREE-MONTHS FOLLOW UP. RESULTS: CBT + YOGA WAS AN ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVE TO CBT ALONE. SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS WERE OBSERVED IN TOTAL DASS SCORES AND THE 3 SUBSCALES OF THE DASS FOR BOTH GROUPS, HOWEVER CBT + YOGA SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER DEPRESSIVE AND ANXIETY SYMPTOMS POST-INTERVENTION, COMPARED TO CBT ALONE. CBT + YOGA ALSO SHOWED SUSTAINED REDUCTIONS IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS OVER THREE-MONTHS, AND MORE RAPID REDUCTIONS IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, COMPARED TO CBT ALONE. LIMITATIONS: THESE FINDINGS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED PRELIMINARY DUE TO THE MODERATE SAMPLE SIZE, WITH A RIGOROUS RANDOMISED CONTROL TRIAL NECESSARY TO DEFINITIVELY SUPPORT THE INTEGRATION OF YOGA WITHIN MENTAL HEALTH CARE TO AUGMENT THE BENEFITS AND UPTAKE OF TRANSDIAGNOSTIC CBT FOR DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY. CONCLUSIONS: COMPLEMENTING OTHER MINDFULNESS-BASED PRACTICES, THERAPEUTIC YOGA SHOWS PROMISE AS AN ADJUNCT TO TRANSDIAGNOSTIC CBT. 2022 11 2638 30 YOGA FOR VETERANS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: DESIGN AND METHODS OF A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL. CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) AFFLICTS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE, WITH PARTICULARLY HIGH PREVALENCE IN MILITARY VETERANS. MANY TREATMENT OPTIONS EXIST FOR CLBP, BUT MOST HAVE LIMITED EFFECTIVENESS AND SOME HAVE SIGNIFICANT SIDE EFFECTS. IN GENERAL POPULATIONS WITH CLBP, YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES WITH FEW SIDE EFFECTS. HOWEVER, YOGA HAS NOT BEEN ADEQUATELY STUDIED IN MILITARY VETERAN POPULATIONS. IN THE CURRENT PAPER WE WILL DESCRIBE THE DESIGN AND METHODS OF A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL AIMED AT EXAMINING WHETHER YOGA CAN EFFECTIVELY REDUCE DISABILITY AND PAIN IN US MILITARY VETERANS WITH CLBP. A TOTAL OF 144 US MILITARY VETERANS WITH CLBP WILL BE RANDOMIZED TO EITHER YOGA OR A DELAYED TREATMENT COMPARISON GROUP. THE YOGA INTERVENTION WILL CONSIST OF 2X WEEKLY YOGA CLASSES FOR 12WEEKS, COMPLEMENTED BY REGULAR HOME PRACTICE GUIDED BY A MANUAL. THE DELAYED TREATMENT GROUP WILL RECEIVE THE SAME INTERVENTION AFTER SIX MONTHS. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME IS THE CHANGE IN BACK PAIN-RELATED DISABILITY MEASURED WITH THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE AT BASELINE AND 12-WEEKS. SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDE PAIN INTENSITY, PAIN INTERFERENCE, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, FATIGUE/ENERGY, QUALITY OF LIFE, SELF-EFFICACY, SLEEP QUALITY, AND MEDICATION USAGE. ADDITIONAL PROCESS AND/OR MEDIATIONAL FACTORS WILL BE MEASURED TO EXAMINE DOSE RESPONSE AND EFFECT MECHANISMS. ASSESSMENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED AT BASELINE, 6-WEEKS, 12-WEEKS, AND 6-MONTHS. ALL RANDOMIZED PARTICIPANTS WILL BE INCLUDED IN INTENTION-TO-TREAT ANALYSES. STUDY RESULTS WILL PROVIDE MUCH NEEDED EVIDENCE ON THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AS A THERAPEUTIC MODALITY FOR THE TREATMENT OF CLBP IN US MILITARY VETERANS. 2016 12 815 38 EFFECT OF YOGA ON CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC NECK PAIN: AN UNCONDITIONAL GROWTH MODEL. OBJECTIVE: CHRONIC NECK PAIN IS A COMMON PROBLEM THAT AFFECTS APPROXIMATELY HALF OF THE POPULATION. CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS SUCH AS MEDICATION AND EXERCISE HAVE SHOWN LIMITED ANALGESIC EFFECTS. THIS ANALYSIS IS BASED ON AN ORIGINAL STUDY THAT WAS CONDUCTED TO INVESTIGATE THE PHYSICAL AND BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS OF A 9-WEEK IYENGAR YOGA COURSE ON CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC NECK PAIN. THIS SECONDARY ANALYSIS USES LINEAR MIXED MODELS TO INVESTIGATE THE INDIVIDUAL TRAJECTORIES OF PAIN INTENSITY IN PARTICIPANTS BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE IYENGAR YOGA COURSE. METHOD: PARTICIPANTS WITH CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC NECK PAIN WERE SELECTED FOR THE STUDY. THE PARTICIPANTS SUFFERED FROM NECK PAIN FOR AT LEAST 5DAYS PER WEEK FOR AT LEAST THE PRECEDING 3 MONTHS, WITH A MEAN NECK PAIN INTENSITY (NPI) OF 40MM OR MORE ON A VISUAL ANALOG SCALE OF 100MM. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO EITHER A YOGA GROUP (23) OR TO A SELF-DIRECTED EXERCISE GROUP (24). THE MEAN AGE OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA GROUP WAS 46, AND RANGED FROM 19 TO 59. THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA GROUP PARTICIPATED IN AN IYENGAR YOGA PROGRAM DESIGNED TO TREAT CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC NECK PAIN. OUR CURRENT ANALYSIS ONLY INCLUDES PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE INITIALLY RANDOMIZED INTO THE YOGA GROUP. THE AVERAGE WEEKLY NECK PAIN INTENSITY AT BASELINE, DURING AND POST INTERVENTION, COMPRISING 11 TOTAL TIME POINTS, WAS USED TO CONSTRUCT THE GROWTH MODELS. WE PERFORMED A STEP-UP LINEAR MIXED MODEL ANALYSIS TO INVESTIGATE CHANGE IN NPI DURING THE YOGA INTERVENTION. WE FIT NESTED MODELS USING RESTRICTED MAXIMUM-LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION (REML), TESTED FIXED EFFECTS WITH WALD TEST P-VALUES AND RANDOM EFFECTS WITH THE LIKELIHOOD RATIO TEST. WE CONSTRUCTED 10 REML MODELS. RESULTS: THE MODEL THAT FIT THE DATA BEST WAS AN UNCONDITIONAL RANDOM QUADRATIC GROWTH MODEL, WITH A FIRST-ORDER AUTO-REGRESSIVE STRUCTURE SPECIFIED FOR THE RESIDUAL R MATRIX. PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT VARIATION IN NPI. THEY DEMONSTRATED VARIATION IN THEIR INTERCEPTS, IN THEIR LINEAR RATES OF CHANGE, AND MOST TELLINGLY, IN THEIR QUADRATIC RATES OF CHANGE. CONCLUSIONS: WHILE ALL PARTICIPANTS BENEFITTED FROM THE YOGA INTERVENTION, THE DEGREE TO WHICH THEY BENEFITTED VARIED. ADDITIONALLY, THEY DID NOT EXPERIENCE A CONSISTENT RATE OF REDUCTION IN NPI - THEIR NPI FLUCTUATED, EITHER INCREASING AND THEN DECREASING, OR VICE-VERSA. WE COMMENT ON THE CLINICAL AND RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS OF OUR FINDINGS. 2018 13 113 29 A PILOT STUDY OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION FOR PTSD SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN. POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) IS A DEBILITATING CONDITION THAT AFFECTS APPROXIMATELY 10% OF WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES. ALTHOUGH EFFECTIVE PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC TREATMENTS FOR PTSD EXIST, CLIENTS WITH PTSD REPORT ADDITIONAL BENEFITS OF COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES SUCH AS YOGA. IN PARTICULAR, YOGA MAY DOWNREGULATE THE STRESS RESPONSE AND POSITIVELY IMPACT PTSD AND COMORBID DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY SYMPTOMS. WE CONDUCTED A PILOT STUDY OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL COMPARING A 12-SESSION KRIPALU-BASED YOGA INTERVENTION WITH AN ASSESSMENT CONTROL GROUP. PARTICIPANTS INCLUDED 38 WOMEN WITH CURRENT FULL OR SUBTHRESHOLD PTSD SYMPTOMS. DURING THE INTERVENTION, YOGA PARTICIPANTS SHOWED DECREASES IN REEXPERIENCING AND HYPERAROUSAL SYMPTOMS. THE ASSESSMENT CONTROL GROUP, HOWEVER, SHOWED DECREASES IN REEXPERIENCING AND ANXIETY SYMPTOMS AS WELL, WHICH MAY BE A RESULT OF THE POSITIVE EFFECT OF SELF-MONITORING ON PTSD AND ASSOCIATED SYMPTOMS. BETWEEN-GROUPS EFFECT SIZES WERE SMALL TO MODERATE (0.08-0.31). ALTHOUGH MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED, YOGA MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR PTSD. PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED POSITIVELY TO THE INTERVENTION, SUGGESTING THAT IT WAS TOLERABLE FOR THIS SAMPLE. FINDINGS UNDERSCORE THE NEED FOR FUTURE RESEARCH INVESTIGATING MECHANISMS BY WHICH YOGA MAY IMPACT MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS, GENDER COMPARISONS, AND THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE. 2014 14 2577 31 YOGA FOR GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER: DESIGN OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL. GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER (GAD) IS A COMMON DISORDER ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT DISTRESS AND INTERFERENCE. ALTHOUGH COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (CBT) HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE FORM OF PSYCHOTHERAPY, FEW PATIENTS RECEIVE OR HAVE ACCESS TO THIS INTERVENTION. YOGA THERAPY OFFERS ANOTHER PROMISING, YET UNDER-RESEARCHED, INTERVENTION THAT IS GAINING INCREASING POPULARITY IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC, AS AN ANXIETY REDUCTION INTERVENTION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS INNOVATIVE CLINICAL TRIAL PROTOCOL IS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFICACY OF A KUNDALINI YOGA INTERVENTION, RELATIVE TO CBT AND A CONTROL CONDITION. KUNDALINI YOGA AND CBT ARE COMPARED WITH EACH OTHER IN A NONINFERIORITY TEST AND BOTH TREATMENTS ARE COMPARED TO STRESS EDUCATION TRAINING, AN ATTENTION CONTROL INTERVENTION, IN SUPERIORITY TESTS. THE SAMPLE WILL CONSIST OF 230 INDIVIDUALS WITH A PRIMARY DSM-5 DIAGNOSIS OF GAD. THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WILL COMPARE YOGA (N=95) TO BOTH CBT FOR GAD (N=95) AND STRESS EDUCATION (N=40), A COMMONLY USED CONTROL CONDITION. ALL THREE TREATMENTS WILL BE ADMINISTERED BY TWO INSTRUCTORS IN A GROUP FORMAT OVER 12 WEEKLY SESSIONS WITH FOUR TO SIX PATIENTS PER GROUP. GROUPS WILL BE RANDOMIZED USING PERMUTED BLOCK RANDOMIZATION, WHICH WILL BE STRATIFIED BY SITE. TREATMENT OUTCOME WILL BE EVALUATED BI-WEEKLY AND AT 6MONTH FOLLOW-UP. FURTHERMORE, POTENTIAL MEDIATORS OF TREATMENT OUTCOME WILL BE INVESTIGATED. GIVEN THE INDIVIDUAL AND ECONOMIC BURDEN ASSOCIATED WITH GAD, IDENTIFYING ACCESSIBLE ALTERNATIVE BEHAVIORAL TREATMENTS WILL HAVE SUBSTANTIVE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS. 2015 15 176 30 A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF KUNDALINI YOGA IN MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT. BACKGROUND: GLOBAL POPULATION AGING WILL RESULT IN INCREASING RATES OF COGNITIVE DECLINE AND DEMENTIA. THUS, EFFECTIVE, LOW-COST, AND LOW SIDE-EFFECT INTERVENTIONS FOR THE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF COGNITIVE DECLINE ARE URGENTLY NEEDED. OUR STUDY IS THE FIRST TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF KUNDALINI YOGA (KY) TRAINING ON MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT (MCI). METHODS: OLDER PARTICIPANTS (>/=55 YEARS OF AGE) WITH MCI WERE RANDOMIZED TO EITHER A 12-WEEK KY INTERVENTION OR MEMORY ENHANCEMENT TRAINING (MET; GOLD-STANDARD, ACTIVE CONTROL). COGNITIVE (I.E. MEMORY AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING) AND MOOD (I.E. DEPRESSION, APATHY, AND RESILIENCE) ASSESSMENTS WERE ADMINISTERED AT BASELINE, 12 WEEKS AND 24 WEEKS. RESULTS: AT BASELINE, 81 PARTICIPANTS HAD NO SIGNIFICANT BASELINE GROUP DIFFERENCES IN CLINICAL OR DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS. AT 12 WEEKS AND 24 WEEKS, BOTH KY AND MET GROUPS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN MEMORY; HOWEVER, ONLY KY SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING. ONLY THE KY GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND RESILIENCE AT WEEK 12. CONCLUSION: KY GROUP SHOWED SHORT- AND LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENTS IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING AS COMPARED TO MET, AND BROADER EFFECTS ON DEPRESSED MOOD AND RESILIENCE. THIS OBSERVATION SHOULD BE CONFIRMED IN FUTURE CLINICAL TRIALS OF YOGA INTERVENTION FOR TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF COGNITIVE DECLINE (NCT01983930). 2017 16 1592 26 MEDITATION AND YOGA FOR POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: A META-ANALYTIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) IS A CHRONIC AND DEBILITATING DISORDER THAT AFFECTS THE LIVES OF 7-8% OF ADULTS IN THE U.S. ALTHOUGH SEVERAL INTERVENTIONS DEMONSTRATE CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS FOR TREATING PTSD, MANY PATIENTS CONTINUE TO HAVE RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS AND ASK FOR A VARIETY OF TREATMENT OPTIONS. COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH APPROACHES, SUCH AS MEDITATION AND YOGA, HOLD PROMISE FOR TREATING SYMPTOMS OF PTSD. THIS META-ANALYSIS EVALUATES THE EFFECT SIZE (ES) OF YOGA AND MEDITATION ON PTSD OUTCOMES IN ADULT PATIENTS. WE ALSO EXAMINED WHETHER THE INTERVENTION TYPE, PTSD OUTCOME MEASURE, STUDY POPULATION, SAMPLE SIZE, OR CONTROL CONDITION MODERATED THE EFFECTS OF COMPLEMENTARY APPROACHES ON PTSD OUTCOMES. THE STUDIES INCLUDED WERE 19 RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS WITH DATA ON 1173 PARTICIPANTS. A RANDOM EFFECTS MODEL YIELDED A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT ES IN THE SMALL TO MEDIUM RANGE (ES=-0.39, P<0.001, 95% CI [-0.57, -0.22]). THERE WERE NO APPRECIABLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INTERVENTION TYPES, STUDY POPULATION, OUTCOME MEASURES, OR CONTROL CONDITION. THERE WAS, HOWEVER, A MARGINALLY SIGNIFICANT HIGHER ES FOR SAMPLE SIZE