1 209 139 A SINGLE SESSION OF HATHA YOGA IMPROVES STRESS REACTIVITY AND RECOVERY AFTER AN ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS TASK-A COUNTERBALANCED, RANDOMIZED-CROSSOVER TRIAL IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. OBJECTIVES: YOGA IS PROMOTED AS AN ANTI-STRESS ACTIVITY, HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE MECHANISMS THROUGH WHICH IT ACTS. THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATED THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF A HATHA YOGA SESSION, DISPLAYED ON A VIDEO, ON THE RESPONSE TO AND RECOVERY FROM AN ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESSOR. METHODS: TWENTY-FOUR HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS TOOK PART IN A COUNTERBALANCED, RANDOMIZED-CROSSOVER TRIAL, WITH A YOGA AND A CONTROL CONDITION (WATCHING TV). PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED THE LABORATORY IN THE AFTERNOON ON TWO DAYS AND EACH SESSION COMPRISED A BASELINE, CONTROL OR YOGA TASK, STRESS TASK AND RECOVERY. BLOOD PRESSURE (BP), HEART RATE (HR) AND SALIVARY CORTISOL RESPONSES WERE MEASURED. STATE COGNITIVE- AND SOMATIC-ANXIETY ALONG WITH SELF-CONFIDENCE WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE STRESSOR. RESULTS: ALTHOUGH NO DIFFERENCE IN THE BP OR HR RESPONSES TO STRESS WERE FOUND BETWEEN CONDITIONS, SYSTOLIC BP (P=0.047) AND DIASTOLIC BP (P=0.018) RECOVERY FROM STRESS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ACCELERATED AND SALIVARY CORTISOL REACTIVITY WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER (P=0.01) IN THE YOGA CONDITION. A YOGA SESSION ALSO INCREASED SELF-CONFIDENCE (P=0.006) IN PREPARATION FOR THE TASK AND AFTER COMPLETION. MOREOVER, SELF-CONFIDENCE REPORTED AFTER THE STRESS TASK WAS CONSIDERED DEBILITATIVE TOWARDS PERFORMANCE IN THE CONTROL CONDITION, BUT REMAINED FACILITATIVE IN THE YOGA CONDITION. CONCLUSION: OUR RESULTS SHOW THAT A SINGLE VIDEO-INSTRUCTED SESSION OF HATHA YOGA WAS ABLE TO IMPROVE STRESS REACTIVITY AND RECOVERY FROM AN ACUTE STRESS TASK IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. THESE POSITIVE PRELIMINARY FINDINGS ENCOURAGE FURTHER INVESTIGATION IN AT-RISK POPULATIONS IN WHICH THE MAGNITUDE OF EFFECTS MAY BE GREATER, AND SUPPORT THE USE OF YOGA FOR STRESS REACTIVITY AND RECOVERY. 2017 2 1964 34 SEPARATING THE "LIMBS" OF YOGA: LIMITED EFFECTS ON STRESS AND MOOD. THOUGH MILLIONS OF PEOPLE PRACTICE YOGA TO REDUCE STRESS AND IMPROVE THEIR MOOD, IT IS UNCLEAR WHICH ASPECT OF YOGA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE EFFECTS. TO INVESTIGATE RELEVANT ASPECTS, OR "LIMBS" OF YOGA, PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE NOVICES IN THE PRACTICE OF YOGA ENGAGED IN A SINGLE YOGA MANIPULATION (I.E., POSES, BREATH WORK, MEDITATION, OR LISTENING TO A LECTURE ABOUT YOGA) FOR 20 MIN BEFORE EXPERIENCING A MILD STRESSOR. PARTICIPANTS' HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, MOOD, AND ANXIETY LEVEL WERE ASSESSED, BOTH IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE YOGA MANIPULATION AND AFTER THE MILD STRESSOR. THE 20-MIN YOGA MANIPULATION DID NOT DIFFERENTIALLY AFFECT ANY OF THE MEASURES, INCLUDING PARTICIPANTS' STRESS RESPONSE AFTER THE MILD STRESSOR. RESULTS ARE DISCUSSED REGARDING THE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS OF A YOGA PRACTICE. 2019 3 341 57 ARTERIAL BLOOD PRESSURE AND CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSES TO YOGA PRACTICE. CONTEXT: YOGA IS QUALITATIVELY DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER MODE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN THAT IT CONSISTS OF A UNIQUE COMBINATION OF ISOMETRIC MUSCULAR CONTRACTIONS, STRETCHING EXERCISES, RELAXATION TECHNIQUES, AND BREATHING EXERCISES. IN PARTICULAR, YOGA POSTURES CONSIST OF SYSTEMIC ISOMETRIC CONTRACTIONS THAT ARE KNOWN TO ELICIT MARKED INCREASES IN MEAN BLOOD PRESSURE THAT ARE NOT OBSERVED DURING DYNAMIC EXERCISE. STRETCHING CAN ALSO INDUCE INCREASES IN BLOOD PRESSURE AND SYMPATHETIC NERVE ACTIVITY IN THE MUSCLES. CURRENTLY, NOT MUCH IS KNOWN ABOUT CHANGES IN BLOOD PRESSURE AND OTHER CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSES TO YOGA PRACTICE. OBJECTIVE: THE STUDY INTENDED TO DETERMINE THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF ONE SESSION OF HATHA YOGA PRACTICE ON BLOOD PRESSURE AND OTHER CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSES. TO GAIN INSIGHT INTO THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE, BOTH NOVICE (N = 19) AND ADVANCED (N = 18) YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE STUDIED. DESIGN: THE TWO GROUPS WERE MATCHED FOR AGE, GENDER, BMI, AND BLOOD PRESSURE. SETTING: THE SETTING WAS A RESEARCH LABORATORY AT A UNIVERSITY. PARTICIPANTS: THIRTY-SIX APPARENTLY HEALTHY, NONOBESE, SEDENTARY, OR RECREATIONALLY ACTIVE INDIVIDUALS FROM THE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. INTERVENTION THE INTERVENTION COMPRISED ONE SESSION OF YOGA PRACTICE, IN WHICH PARTICIPANTS FOLLOWED A CUSTOM MADE INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO PROVIDING A YOGA ROUTINE THAT CONSISTED OF A SERIES OF 23 HATHA-BASED YOGA POSTURES. OUTCOME MEASURES: PRIOR TO ARRIVING AT THE LABORATORY, EACH PARTICIPANT COMPLETED A RESEARCH HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE, A TRAINING-STATUS QUESTIONNAIRE, AND A YOGA-EXPERIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE. PRIOR TO THE YOGA PRACTICE, EACH PARTICIPANT'S HEIGHT, BODY FAT PERCENTAGE, TRUNK OR LUMBAR FLEXIBILITY, AND ARTERIAL STIFFNESS AS ASSESSED BY CAROTID FEMORAL PULSE WAVE VELOCITY (CFPWV) WERE MEASURED. FOR EACH POSTURE DURING THE YOGA PRACTICE, THE STUDY CONTINUOUSLY MEASURED SYSTOLIC, MEAN, AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES, HEART RATE, STROKE VOLUME, AND CARDIAC OUTPUT. RESULTS: SYSTOLIC, MEAN, AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING THE YOGA PRACTICE. THE MAGNITUDE OF THESE INCREASES IN BLOOD PRESSURE WAS GREATEST WITH STANDING POSTURES. HEART RATE AND CARDIAC OUTPUT INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING YOGA PRACTICE, ESPECIALLY WITH STANDING POSTURES. OVERALL, NO DIFFERENCES EXISTED IN CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSES BETWEEN THE NOVICE AND ADVANCED PRACTITIONERS THROUGHOUT THE YOGA TESTING SESSION; CFPWV VELOCITY WAS SIGNIFICANTLY AND INVERSELY ASSOCIATED WITH LUMBAR FLEXION BUT NOT WITH SIT-AND-REACH TEST SCORES. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESEARCH TEAM CONCLUDED THAT A VARIETY OF HATHA YOGA POSTURES, ESPECIALLY STANDING POSTURES, EVOKED SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN BLOOD PRESSURE. THE ELEVATION IN BLOOD PRESSURE DUE TO YOGA PRACTICE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASES IN CARDIAC OUTPUT AND HEART RATE, WHICH ARE RESPONSES SIMILAR TO THOSE OBSERVED IN ISOMETRIC EXERCISE. THE LACK OF OBVIOUS DIFFERENCES IN BLOOD PRESSURE AND OTHER CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSES BETWEEN NOVICE AND ADVANCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS SUGGESTS THAT LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE DOES NOT ATTENUATE ACUTE YOGA RESPONSES. 2013 4 59 43 A COMPARISON OF THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF YOGA ON PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS: A PILOT STUDY. YOGA IS A FREQUENTLY RECOMMENDED STRESS MANAGEMENT STRATEGY; HOWEVER, THE ACUTE STRESS RESPONSE TO VARYING TYPES OF YOGA ARE NOT FULLY CLEAR. THUS, THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COMPARE THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF MEDITATIVE AND POWER YOGA ON INDICES OF PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS. IN A CROSSOVER COUNTERBALANCED DESIGN, PHYSICALLY ACTIVE FEMALES (N = 13; AGE = 20.8 YRS +/- 0.8, HEIGHT = 164.5 CM +/- 6.1, BODY MASS = 65.0 KG +/- 13.8) WHO DID NOT REGULARLY PARTICIPATE IN YOGA OR MINDFUL TRAINING ENROLLED IN THIS STUDY. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED TWO VISITS EACH, WITH A STANDARDIZED INSTRUCTIONAL-VIDEO 30-MIN YOGA SESSION WITH EITHER A) MEDITATIVE (HATHA STYLE) YOGA OR B) POWER (VINYASA STYLE) YOGA. PRIOR TO AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER EACH YOGA BOUT, PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS WAS ASSESSED USING THE STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY (STAI) QUESTIONNAIRE, AND SALIVARY CORTISOL SAMPLES WERE OBTAINED TO MEASURE INDICES OF PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS. STATE ANXIETY SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER FOLLOWING MEDITATIVE YOGA (P = 0.047) BUT WERE NOT DIFFERENT FOLLOWING POWER YOGA (P = 0.625). SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER FOLLOWING MEDITATIVE YOGA (P = 0.020) BUT NOT FOLLOWING POWER YOGA (P = 0.242). RESULTS INDICATE THAT ACUTE ENGAGEMENT IN MEDITATIVE YOGA DECREASES MARKERS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS, WHILE POWER YOGA DOES NOT IMPART A SIGNIFICANT STRESS-RELIEVING BENEFIT. FINDINGS INDICATE THAT DIFFERING TYPES OF YOGA MAY HAVE VARIOUS STRESS-RELIEVING CAPABILITIES AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BY INDIVIDUALS SEEKING ANXIOLYTIC BENEFITS. 2020 5 1879 35 REASONS, YEARS AND FREQUENCY OF YOGA PRACTICE: EFFECT ON EMOTION RESPONSE REACTIVITY. YOGA PRACTICE, EVEN IN THE SHORT TERM, IS SUPPOSED TO ENHANCE WELLBEING AND COUNTERACT PSYCHOPATHOLOGY THROUGH MODIFICATION OF EMOTION REACTIVITY. YOGA TEACHES THAT EMOTIONAL RESPONSES MAY BE LESS PRONOUNCED WITH LONGER AND MORE FREQUENT PRACTICE, AND POTENTIALLY WHEN PEOPLE PERFORM YOGA FOR MENTAL RATHER THAN PHYSICAL REASONS. WE TESTED 36 YOGA PRACTITIONERS OF VARYING EXPERIENCE (BETWEEN 6 MONTHS AND 11 YEARS OF PRACTICE). WE ASSESSED PARTICIPANTS' SELF-REPORTED EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE AND PERIPHERAL PHYSIOLOGICAL REACTIONS (HEART RATE, SKIN CONDUCTANCE, RESPIRATION) WHEN SEEING POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE PICTURES. RESULTS WERE ANALYZED AS A FUNCTION OF THE YEARS OF, FREQUENCY OF, AND REASONS FOR YOGA PRACTICE. WE FOUND A HEART RATE INCREASE WITH THE DEGREE PARTICIPANTS PERFORMED YOGA FOR MENTAL REASONS. IN ADDITION, YEARS OF YOGA PRACTICE WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED ABDOMINAL RESPIRATORY RATE WHEN FACING NEGATIVE PICTURES, SPEAKING IN FAVOR OF REDUCED AROUSAL WITH YOGA EXPERIENCE. FINALLY, REGARDING FREQUENCY OF PRACTICE, A HIGHER FREQUENCY IN THE LAST MONTH WAS LINKED TO LESS NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE EXPERIENCES AS WELL AS A REDUCED ABDOMINAL RESPIRATORY AMPLITUDE WHEN VIEWING POSITIVE PICTURES. ALTOGETHER, THESE RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THAT INTENSE SHORT-TERM YOGA PRACTICE MIGHT RELATE TO A (I) DECREASE IN THE INTENSITY OF SELF-REPORTED EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES AND (II) DEEPENED RESPIRATION. SHORT-TERM EFFECTS MIGHT BE SHAPED BY WHAT PARTICIPANTS EXPECT AS PRACTICE BENEFITS. HOWEVER, SEVERAL YEARS OF PRACTICE MIGHT BE NEEDED TO DECREASE RESPIRATORY AROUSAL IN THE FACE OF NEGATIVE SITUATIONS, WHICH LIKELY IS A MANIFESTATION OF AN EVOLUTION IN THE EMOTION REGULATION PROCESS. 2018 6 1835 25 PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES AT THE TIME OF EXAMINATION IN MEDICAL STUDENTS BEFORE AND AFTER THE PRACTICE OF YOGA AND RELAXATION. THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND RELAXATION CHANGES IN PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN RESPONSE TO THE STRESS OF EXAMINATION IN 75 MEDICAL STUDENTS WAS STUDIED. INITIALLY FIVE PARAMETERS (ANXIETY LEVEL, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, GALVANIC SKIN RESISTANCE AND CHOICE REACTION TIME) WERE RECORDED, A MONTH BEFORE THE EXAMINATION AND ON THE DAY OF EXAMINATION. STUDENTS WERE THEN RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUP OF 25 EACH. ONE GROUP PRACTICED YOGA (GROUP- Y), AND ANOTHER GROUP PRACTICED RELAXATION (GROUP-R) REGULARLY FOR THREE MONTHS. THE THIRD GROUP WAS CONTROL GROUP (GROUP-C). ALL THE PARAMETERS WERE RECORDED AFTER THE CHANGES IN ANXIETY LEVEL, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, AND GALVANIC SKIN RESISTANCE IN RESPONSE TO STRESS OF EXAMINATION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATED AND THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN CHOICE REACTION TIME IN GROUP-Y AND GROUP-R AS COMPARED TO GROUP-C AFTER YOGA AND RELAXATION. 1998 7 2001 41 STRESS, INFLAMMATION, AND YOGA PRACTICE. OBJECTIVE: TO ADDRESS THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING HATHA YOGA'S POTENTIAL STRESS-REDUCTION BENEFITS, WE COMPARED INFLAMMATORY AND ENDOCRINE RESPONSES OF NOVICE AND EXPERT YOGA PRACTITIONERS BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER A RESTORATIVE HATHA YOGA SESSION, AS WELL AS IN TWO CONTROL CONDITIONS. STRESSORS BEFORE EACH OF THE THREE CONDITIONS PROVIDED DATA ON THE EXTENT TO WHICH YOGA SPEEDED AN INDIVIDUAL'S PHYSIOLOGICAL RECOVERY. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 50 HEALTHY WOMEN (MEAN AGE, 41.32 YEARS; RANGE, 30-65 YEARS), 25 NOVICES AND 25 EXPERTS, WERE EXPOSED TO EACH OF THE CONDITIONS (YOGA, MOVEMENT CONTROL, AND PASSIVE-VIDEO CONTROL) DURING THREE SEPARATE VISITS. RESULTS: THE YOGA SESSION BOOSTED PARTICIPANTS' POSITIVE AFFECT COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL CONDITIONS, BUT NO OVERALL DIFFERENCES IN INFLAMMATORY OR ENDOCRINE RESPONSES WERE UNIQUE TO THE YOGA SESSION. IMPORTANTLY, EVEN THOUGH NOVICES AND EXPERTS DID NOT DIFFER ON KEY DIMENSIONS, INCLUDING AGE, ABDOMINAL ADIPOSITY, AND CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS, NOVICES' SERUM INTERLEUKIN (IL)-6 LEVELS WERE 41% HIGHER THAN THOSE OF EXPERTS ACROSS SESSIONS, AND THE ODDS OF A NOVICE HAVING DETECTABLE C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP) WERE 4.75 TIMES AS HIGH AS THAT OF AN EXPERT. DIFFERENCES IN STRESS RESPONSES BETWEEN EXPERTS AND NOVICES PROVIDED ONE PLAUSIBLE MECHANISM FOR THEIR DIVERGENT SERUM IL-6 DATA; EXPERTS PRODUCED LESS LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE-STIMULATED IL-6 IN RESPONSE TO THE STRESSOR THAN NOVICES, AND IL-6 PROMOTES CRP PRODUCTION. CONCLUSION: THE ABILITY TO MINIMIZE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES TO STRESSFUL ENCOUNTERS INFLUENCES THE BURDEN THAT STRESSORS PLACE ON AN INDIVIDUAL. IF YOGA DAMPENS OR LIMITS STRESS-RELATED CHANGES, THEN REGULAR PRACTICE COULD HAVE SUBSTANTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS. 2010 8 2364 31 VOLUNTARY HEART RATE REDUCTION FOLLOWING YOGA USING DIFFERENT STRATEGIES. BACKGROUND/AIMS: ONE MONTH OF YOGA TRAINING HAS BEEN SHOWN TO REDUCE THE PULSE RATE VOLUNTARILY WITHOUT USING EXTERNAL CUES. HENCE, THE PRESENT STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO UNDERSTAND THE STRATEGIES USED BY YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND AUTONOMIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH VOLUNTARY HEART RATE REDUCTION. MATERIALS AND METHODS: FIFTY VOLUNTEERS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- S.D., 25.4 +/- 4.8 YEARS; 25 MALES) WERE ASSESSED IN TWO TRIALS ON SEPARATE DAYS. EACH TRIAL WAS FOR 12 MINUTES, WITH A 'PRE' STATE AND 'DURING' STATE OF 6 MINUTES EACH. FOR BOTH TRIALS THE 'PRE' STATE WAS RELAXATION WITH EYES CLOSED. IN THE 'DURING' STATE OF TRIAL I, SUBJECTS WERE ASKED TO VOLUNTARILY REDUCE THEIR HEART RATE USING A STRATEGY OF THEIR CHOICE. FROM THEIR RESPONSES TO SPECIFIC QUESTIONS IT WAS DETERMINED THAT 22 OUT OF 50 PERSONS USED BREATH REGULATION AS A STRATEGY. HENCE, IN THE 'DURING' STATE OF TRIAL II, SUBJECTS WERE ASKED TO VOLUNTARILY REDUCE THEIR HEART RATE BY BREATH REGULATION. RESULTS: IN THE FIRST TRIAL, THE HEART RATE WAS REDUCED BY AN AVERAGE OF 19.6 BEATS PER MINUTE AND IN THE SECOND TRIAL (WITH BREATH REGULATION EXCLUSIVELY) AN AVERAGE DECREASE OF 22.2 BEATS PER MINUTE WAS ACHIEVED. CONCLUSIONS: HENCE, THE STRATEGY USED DID NOT MARKEDLY ALTER THE OUTCOME. 2013 9 2863 26 YOGA-BASED GUIDED RELAXATION REDUCES SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY JUDGED FROM BASELINE LEVELS. 35 MALE VOLUNTEERS WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 20 TO 46 YEARS WERE STUDIED IN TWO SESSIONS OF YOGA-BASED GUIDED RELAXATION AND SUPINE REST. ASSESSMENTS OF AUTONOMIC VARIABLES WERE MADE FOR 15 SUBJECTS, BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE PRACTICES, WHEREAS OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND BREATH VOLUME WERE RECORDED FOR 25 SUBJECTS BEFORE AND AFTER BOTH TYPES OF RELAXATION. A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND INCREASE IN BREATH VOLUME WERE RECORDED AFTER GUIDED RELAXATION (PAIRED T TEST). THERE WERE COMPARABLE REDUCTIONS IN HEART RATE AND SKIN CONDUCTANCE DURING BOTH TYPES OF RELAXATION. DURING GUIDED RELAXATION THE POWER OF THE LOW FREQUENCY COMPONENT OF THE HEART-RATE VARIABILITY SPECTRUM REDUCED, WHEREAS THE POWER OF THE HIGH FREQUENCY COMPONENT INCREASED, SUGGESTING REDUCED SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY. ALSO, SUBJECTS WITH A BASELINE RATIO OF LF/HF > 0.5 SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE RATIO AFTER GUIDED RELAXATION, WHILE SUBJECTS WITH A RATIO < OR = 0.5 AT BASELINE SHOWED NO SUCH CHANGE. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY DECREASED AFTER GUIDED RELAXATION BASED ON YOGA, DEPENDING ON THE BASELINE LEVELS. 2002 10 2386 51 YOGA AIDS BLOOD PRESSURE RECOVERY AFTER EXPOSURE OF FOREHEAD TO COLD: A PILOT STUDY. CONTEXT: HYPOTENSION THAT OCCURS AFTER A SINGLE BOUT OF AEROBIC EXERCISE ALSO ATTENUATES THE VASCULAR RESPONSE TO DISCRETE STRESSORS, AN EFFECT THAT CAN LAST FOR HOURS. IT IS UNKNOWN WHETHER THE HYPOTENSIVE BENEFITS OF TRADITIONAL EXERCISE EXTEND TO ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF MINDFUL EXERCISE, SUCH AS YOGA, TO CONFER TRANSIENT PROTECTION AGAINST NEUROVASCULAR CHALLENGES THAT INCREASE BLOOD PRESSURE (BP). OBJECTIVES: THE STUDY INTENDED TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF ACUTE EXERCISE ON NEUROVASCULAR RESPONSES TO EXPOSURE OF THE FOREHEAD OF FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS TO VASOCONSTRICTIVE COLD (IE, TO COLD PRESSOR STRESS). DESIGN: THE RESEARCH TEAM DESIGNED A STUDY WITH 3 CONDITIONS (IE, WITH PARTICIPANTS' PARTICIPATION IN 3 ACTIVITIES ON SEPARATE DAYS IN A REPEATED-MEASURES DESIGN). PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO PERFORM THE ACTIVITIES IN 1 OF 3 ORDERS ACROSS SUCCESSIVE VISITS. PARTICIPANTS: PARTICIPANTS WERE 9 FEMALES, 20 TO 33 Y OLD, WHO HAD REGULARLY PRACTICED HATHA YOGA FROM 6 MO TO 12 Y BEFORE THE START OF THE STUDY. ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE NORMOTENSIVE AT ENTRY TO THE STUDY AND HAD NORMAL BODY WEIGHTS FOR THEIR HEIGHTS. INTERVENTIONS: ALL PARTICIPANTS PERFORMED 3 ACTIVITIES: (1) SELF-DIRECTED YOGA PRACTICE, THE INTERVENTION; (2) CYCLING EXERCISE AT A SELF-SELECTED INTENSITY, A POSITIVE CONTROL; AND (3) QUIET REST, A NEGATIVE CONTROL. OUTCOME MEASURES: POSTINTERVENTION, PARTICIPANTS' FOREHEADS WERE EXPOSED TO COLD. THEIR SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES (SBPS), DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES (DBPS), PULSE RATES, AND FOREARM OXYGENATION WERE ASSESSED USING NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY. RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS' SBPS AND DBPS INCREASED DURING COLD PRESSOR STRESS UNDER ALL CONDITIONS, CONCURRENT WITH DECREASED FOREARM OXYGENATION. DURING RECOVERY FROM THE COLD, PARTICIPANTS' BPS DECLINED TO NEAR PRECOLD PRESSOR BASELINE LEVELS AFTER YOGA AND CYCLING BUT REMAINED ELEVATED AFTER QUIET REST. CONCLUSIONS: THE ENHANCED RECOVERY OF BP FROM COLD APPLIED TO THE FOREHEAD AFTER YOGA PRACTICE OR CYCLING EXERCISE SUGGESTS THAT BOTH TYPES OF EXERCISE PROMOTE A HYPOTENSIVE RESPONSE, WHICH COULD INDICATE LOWERED CARDIOVASCULAR RISK. 2018 11 2149 32 THE EFFECTS OF POWER AND STRETCH YOGA ON AFFECT AND SALIVARY CORTISOL IN WOMEN. YOGA PRACTICE IS KNOWN TO IMPROVE WELL-BEING AND DECREASE STRESS. HOWEVER, ACUTE YOGA IS UNDERSTUDIED. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF YOGA ON AFFECT AND SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS IN COLLEGE WOMEN. THIRTY-THREE WOMEN AGED 18-30 YEARS EACH COMPLETED 1-HOUR SESSIONS OF POWER YOGA AND STRETCH YOGA. MEASURES OF AFFECT AND SALIVARY CORTISOL WERE ASSESSED BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER EACH SESSION. PARTICIPANTS PERCEIVED POWER YOGA TO BE MORE PLEASURABLE AND ENERGIZING. SALIVARY CORTISOL SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED AFTER BOTH YOGA SESSIONS. THUS, EVEN ONE SESSION OF YOGA MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING AFFECT AND DECREASING STRESS IN COLLEGE WOMEN. 2019 12 1319 35 HEART RATE VARIABILITY, FLOW, MOOD AND MENTAL STRESS DURING YOGA PRACTICES IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS, NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND PEOPLE WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME. HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) AND RESPIRATORY SINUS ARRHYTHMIA ARE DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH AUTONOMIC FLEXIBILITY, SELF-REGULATION AND WELL-BEING, AND INVERSELY ASSOCIATED WITH PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS, PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND PATHOLOGY. YOGA ENHANCES AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY, MITIGATES STRESS AND BENEFITS STRESS-RELATED CLINICAL CONDITIONS, YET THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY AND PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES DURING YOGA PRACTICES AND STRESSFUL STIMULI HAS NOT BEEN WIDELY EXPLORED. THIS EXPERIMENTAL STUDY EXPLORED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HRV, MOOD STATES AND FLOW EXPERIENCES IN REGULAR YOGA PRACTITIONERS (YP), NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS (NY) AND PEOPLE WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME (METS), DURING MENTAL ARITHMETIC STRESS TEST (MAST) AND VARIOUS YOGA PRACTICES. THE STUDY FOUND THAT THE MAST PLACED A CARDIO-AUTONOMIC BURDEN IN ALL PARTICIPANTS WITH THE YP GROUP SHOWING THE GREATEST REACTIVITY AND THE MOST RAPID RECOVERY, WHILE THE METS GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY BLUNTED RECOVERY. THE YP GROUP ALSO REPORTED A HEIGHTENED EXPERIENCE OF FLOW AND POSITIVE MOOD STATES COMPARED TO NY AND METS GROUPS AS WELL AS HAVING A HIGHER VAGAL TONE DURING ALL RESTING CONDITIONS. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAVE A GREATER HOMEOSTATIC CAPACITY AND AUTONOMIC, METABOLIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL RESILIENCE. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NOW NEEDED TO DETERMINE IF REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE MAY IMPROVE AUTONOMIC FLEXIBILITY IN NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND METABOLIC SYNDROME PATIENTS. CLINICAL TRIAL NO 'ACTRN 2614001075673'. 2016 13 1258 35 FIFTEEN MINUTES OF CHAIR-BASED YOGA POSTURES OR GUIDED MEDITATION PERFORMED IN THE OFFICE CAN ELICIT A RELAXATION RESPONSE. THIS STUDY COMPARED ACUTE (15 MIN) YOGA POSTURE AND GUIDED MEDITATION PRACTICE, PERFORMED SEATED IN A TYPICAL OFFICE WORKSPACE, ON PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MARKERS OF STRESS. TWENTY PARTICIPANTS (39.6 +/- 9.5 YR) COMPLETED THREE CONDITIONS: YOGA, MEDITATION, AND CONTROL (I.E., USUAL WORK) SEPARATED BY >/=24 HRS. YOGA AND MEDITATION SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PERCEIVED STRESS VERSUS CONTROL, AND THIS EFFECT WAS MAINTAINED POSTINTERVENTION. YOGA INCREASED HEART RATE WHILE MEDITATION REDUCED HEART RATE VERSUS CONTROL (P < 0.05). RESPIRATION RATE WAS REDUCED DURING YOGA AND MEDITATION VERSUS CONTROL (P < 0.05). DOMAINS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (E.G., SDNN AND TOTAL POWER) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED DURING CONTROL VERSUS YOGA AND MEDITATION. SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE WERE REDUCED SECONDARY TO MEDITATION VERSUS CONTROL ONLY (P < 0.05). PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS GENERALLY REGRESSED TOWARD BASELINE POSTINTERVENTION. IN CONCLUSION, YOGA POSTURES OR MEDITATION PERFORMED IN THE OFFICE CAN ACUTELY IMPROVE SEVERAL PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MARKERS OF STRESS. THESE EFFECTS MAY BE AT LEAST PARTIALLY MEDIATED BY REDUCED RESPIRATION RATE. 2012 14 306 35 AN EVALUATION OF THE ABILITY TO VOLUNTARILY REDUCE THE HEART RATE AFTER A MONTH OF YOGA PRACTICE. THE STUDY AIMED AT DETERMINING WHETHER NOVICES TO YOGA WOULD BE ABLE TO REDUCE THEIR HEART RATE VOLUNTARILY AND WHETHER THE MAGNITUDE OF REDUCTION WOULD BE MORE AFTER 30 DAYS OF YOGA TRAINING. TWO GROUPS (YOGA AND CONTROL, N = 12 EACH) WERE ASSESSED ON DAY 1 AND ON DAY 30. DURING THE INTERVENING 30 DAYS, THE YOGA GROUP RECEIVED TRAINING IN YOGA TECHNIQUES WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP CARRIED ON WITH THEIR ROUTINE. AT EACH ASSESSMENT THE BASELINE HEART RATE WAS RECORDED FOR ONE MINUTE, THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY A SIX-MINUTE PERIOD DURING WHICH PARTICIPANTS WERE ASKED TO ATTEMPT TO VOLUNTARILY REDUCE THEIR HEART RATE, USING ANY STRATEGY. BOTH THE BASELINE HEART RATE AND THE LOWEST HEART RATE ACHIEVED VOLUNTARILY DURING THE SIX-MINUTE PERIOD WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN THE YOGA GROUP ON DAY 30 COMPARED TO DAY 1 BY A GROUP AVERAGE OF 10.7 BEATS PER MINUTE (I.E., BPM) AND 6.8 BPM, RESPECTIVELY (P < .05, WILCOXON PAIRED SIGNED RANKS TEST). IN CONTRAST, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN EITHER THE BASELINE HEART RATE OR THE LOWEST HEART RATE ACHIEVED VOLUNTARILY IN THE CONTROL GROUP ON DAY 30 COMPARED TO DAY 1. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA TRAINING CAN ENABLE PRACTITIONERS TO USE THEIR OWN STRATEGIES TO REDUCE THE HEART RATE, WHICH HAS POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS. 2004 15 1549 51 LAUGHTER YOGA REDUCES THE CORTISOL RESPONSE TO ACUTE STRESS IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. STRESS IS ONE OF THE FOREMOST CONTRIBUTORS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHIATRIC DISEASES. SINCE THE PREVALENCE OF STRESS-RELATED COMPLAINTS IS INCREASING, WE ARE IN NEED FOR AFFORDABLE AND EFFECTIVE TREATMENT ALTERNATIVES. LAUGHTER YOGA (LY), A POPULAR METHOD ENCOURAGING PARTICIPANTS TO SIMULATE LAUGHTER AND PARTICIPATE IN YOGIC BREATHING EXERCISES, IS HYPOTHESIZED TO BUFFER NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF STRESS. ALTHOUGH WIDELY PRACTICED, EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FOR BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF LY IS SCARCE. WE INVESTIGATED THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF A SINGLE 30-MIN LY SESSION ON THE AUTONOMIC, ENDOCRINE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO A STANDARDIZED PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESSOR. THIRTY-FIVE HEALTHY SUBJECTS (51% FEMALE) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EXPERIENCE EITHER A LY (N = 11), A RELAXATION BREATHING (N = 12) OR A (NON-INTERVENTION) CONTROL (N = 12) SESSION PRIOR TO THEIR EXPOSURE TO THE TRIER SOCIAL STRESS TEST FOR GROUPS (TSST-G). SALIVARY CORTISOL, SALIVARY ALPHA AMYLASE, AND SUBJECTIVE STRESS WERE ASSESSED REPEATEDLY THROUGHOUT THE EXPERIMENT. WE EXPECTED THAT LY AND RELAXATION BREATHING GROUP EACH SHOW A DOWNREGULATION OF STRESS RESPONSE INDICES COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. FURTHER, WE EXPECTED THAT LY HAS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS COMPARED TO RELAXATION BREATHING. THE GROUPS DID NOT DIFFER IN SALIVARY CORTISOL, ALPHA AMYLASE OR SUBJECTIVE STRESS REACTIVITY DURING THE 30-MIN INTERVENTION. HOWEVER, IN RESPONSE TO THE TSST-G, THE LY, BUT NEITHER THE RELAXATION BREATHING, NOR THE CONTROL CONDITION, SHOWED AN ATTENUATED CORTISOL STRESS RESPONSE. THESE FINDINGS HIGHLIGHT THE POTENTIAL OF LY TO BUFFER THE ENDOCRINE STRESS RESPONSE. THEREFORE, LY COULD BE USED AS A CHEAP AND EASILY-TO-IMPLEMENT ADD-ON TO MORE TRADITIONAL STRESS INTERVENTIONS. LAY SUMMARY IN RECENT YEARS, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED TO FEEL STRESSED. ALTHOUGH OUR BODY IS WELL EQUIPPED TO DEAL WITH ACUTE STRESS, CHRONIC STRESS CAN TIRE OUR SYSTEM AND CONTRIBUTE TO ILLNESS IN THE LONG RUN. THEREFORE, WE NEED AFFORDABLE AND EFFECTIVE MEASURES TO REDUCE STRESS. IN THIS STUDY WE HAVE INVESTIGATED WHETHER A SINGLE LAUGHTER YOGA SESSION CAN HELP US TO DEAL WITH ACUTE STRESS. ALTHOUGH LAUGHTER YOGA DID NOT CHANGE HOW STRESSFUL A SITUATION WAS PERCEIVED, IT REDUCED THE AMOUNT OF STRESS HORMONES THAT WERE RELEASED IN RESPONSE TO THE SITUATION. AS SUCH, LAUGHTER YOGA MIGHT BE A CHEAP AND EASILY-TO-IMPLEMENT ADD-ON TO MORE TRADITIONAL STRESS REDUCTION INTERVENTIONS. 2021 16 2736 40 YOGA POSES INCREASE SUBJECTIVE ENERGY AND STATE SELF-ESTEEM IN COMPARISON TO 'POWER POSES'. RESEARCH ON BENEFICIAL CONSEQUENCES OF YOGA FOCUSES ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGIC BREATHING AND MEDITATION. LESS IS KNOWN ABOUT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF PERFORMING YOGA POSTURES. THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA POSES ON SUBJECTIVE SENSE OF ENERGY AND SELF-ESTEEM. THE EFFECTS OF YOGA POSTURES WERE COMPARED TO THE EFFECTS OF 'POWER POSES,' WHICH ARGUABLY INCREASE THE SENSE OF POWER AND SELF-CONFIDENCE DUE TO THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH INTERPERSONAL DOMINANCE (CARNEY ET AL., 2010). THE STUDY TESTED THE NOVEL PREDICTION THAT YOGA POSES, WHICH ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH INTERPERSONAL DOMINANCE BUT INCREASE BODILY ENERGY, WOULD INCREASE THE SUBJECTIVE FEELING OF ENERGY AND THEREFORE INCREASE SELF-ESTEEM COMPARED TO 'HIGH POWER' AND 'LOW POWER' POSES. A TWO FACTORIAL, BETWEEN PARTICIPANTS DESIGN WAS EMPLOYED. PARTICIPANTS PERFORMED EITHER TWO STANDING YOGA POSES WITH OPEN FRONT OF THE BODY (N = 19), TWO STANDING YOGA POSES WITH COVERED FRONT OF THE BODY (N = 22), TWO EXPANSIVE, HIGH POWER POSES (N = 21), OR TWO CONSTRICTIVE, LOW POWER POSES (N = 20) FOR 1-MIN EACH. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT YOGA POSES IN COMPARISON TO 'POWER POSES' INCREASED SELF-ESTEEM. THIS EFFECT WAS MEDIATED BY AN INCREASED SUBJECTIVE SENSE OF ENERGY AND WAS OBSERVED WHEN BASELINE TRAIT SELF-ESTEEM WAS CONTROLLED FOR. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE EFFECTS OF PERFORMING OPEN, EXPANSIVE BODY POSTURES MAY BE DRIVEN BY PROCESSES OTHER THAN THE POSES' ASSOCIATION WITH INTERPERSONAL POWER AND DOMINANCE. THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATES THAT POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE CAN OCCUR AFTER PERFORMING YOGA POSES FOR ONLY 2 MIN. 2017 17 427 42 CAN YOGA BOOST ACCESS TO THE BODILY AND EMOTIONAL SELF? CHANGES IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND IN AFFECTIVE EVALUATION BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER A SINGLE SESSION OF YOGA EXERCISE WITH AND WITHOUT INSTRUCTIONS OF CONTROLLED BREATHING AND MINDFUL BODY AWARENESS IN YOUNG HEALTHY WOMEN. EXERCISE IS INDISPENSABLE FOR A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. YOGA EXERCISE CAN HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON WELL-BEING AND ON CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY MAKING IT AN IDEAL INTERVENTION FOR IMPROVING MIND-BODY INTERACTIONS AND RESILIENCE TO PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STRESSORS. EMOTIONS TRIGGER ESPECIALLY STRONG BODILY AND AFFECTIVE-COGNITIVE RESPONSES BECAUSE OF THEIR SOCIAL RELEVANCE FOR THE SELF AND THEIR BIOLOGICAL RELEVANCE OF MOBILIZING THE ORGANISM FOR ACTION. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES WHETHER CHANGES IN EMOTION PROCESSING RELATED TO SELF-OTHER REFERENTIAL PROCESSING AND CHANGES IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY, REFLECTED BY HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV), OCCUR IMMEDIATELY AFTER ALREADY A SINGLE SESSION OF YOGA EXERCISE WHEN YOGA POSTURES ARE PRACTICED WITH OR WITHOUT BREATHING- AND MINDFUL BODY AWARENESS INSTRUCTIONS. WOMEN, ALL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS (N = 34, FINAL SAMPLE: N = 30, N = 25 NAIVE TO YOGA PRACTICE) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO TWO EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS WHO PERFORMED THE SAME YOGA EXERCISES WITH OR WITHOUT CONTROLLED BREATHING AND MINDFULNESS INSTRUCTIONS. EMOTIONAL, SELF-OTHER REFERENTIAL PROCESSING, AWARENESS OF BODILY SIGNALS AND HRV INDICATORS WERE INVESTIGATED BEFORE AND AFTER THE EXERCISE USING STANDARDIZED EXPERIMENTAL TASKS, STANDARDIZED QUESTIONNAIRES, AND MOBILE RECORDING DEVICES. EXERCISING FOR 30 MINUTES CHANGED CARDIAC ACTIVITY SIGNIFICANTLY. HRV MEASURES SHOWED ADAPTABILITY OF CARDIAC ACTIVITY DURING THE EXERCISE AS WELL AS DURING THE AFFECTIVE TASK POST- TO PRE-EXERCISE. EXERCISING WITH BREATHING INSTRUCTIONS AND MINDFUL BODY AWARENESS HAD NO SUPERIOR EFFECTS ON CARDIAC, PARTICULARLY PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY, COMPARED TO PRACTICING THE SAME MOVEMENTS WITHOUT SUCH EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS. SELF-REFERENTIAL PROCESSING DID NOT CHANGE; HOWEVER, PARTICIPANTS WERE FASTER AND MORE ACCURATE IN THEIR AFFECTIVE JUDGMENTS OF EMOTIONAL STIMULI [REGARDLESS OF THEIR REFERENCE (SELF/OTHER)], AND SHOWED BETTER AWARENESS OF BODILY SIGNALS AFTER COMPARED TO BEFORE THE EXERCISE SESSION. THE RESULTS SUPPORT IMMEDIATE, ADAPTIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA EXERCISE ON CARDIAC AND AFFECTIVE-COGNITIVE PROCESSING IN AN ALL-FEMALE HEALTHY SAMPLE. THEREFORE, YOGA EXERCISE COULD BE RECOMMENDED AS A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR BOOSTING CARDIAC AND EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE IN THIS TARGET GROUP. 2021 18 314 35 AN IN-SITU INVESTIGATION OF THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF BIKRAM YOGA ON POSITIVE- AND NEGATIVE AFFECT, AND STATE-ANXIETY IN CONTEXT OF PERCEIVED STRESS. BACKGROUND: BIKRAM YOGA IS A RELATIVELY NEW, BUT AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR FORM OF EXERCISE. ITS HEALTH BENEFITS WERE DEMONSTRATED ON PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES. AIMS: THE CURRENT FIELD STUDY TESTED THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF BIKRAM YOGA ON PRACTITIONERS' POSITIVE-/NEGATIVE-AFFECT AND STATE-ANXIETY, AND THEIR LINK TO THE SELF-PERCEIVED STRESS, IN BIKRAM YOGA PARTICIPANTS. METHOD: FIELD STUDY, WITHIN-PARTICIPANTS DESIGN, TESTING PERCEIVED STRESS AND ITS RELATION TO CHANGES IN POSITIVE-/NEGATIVE-AFFECT AND STATE-ANXIETY IN 53 HABITUAL BIKRAM YOGA PARTICIPANTS. RESULTS: STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE CHANGES EMERGED IN ALL THREE PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES AFTER THE 90-MIN BIKRAM YOGA SESSION. THE DECREASE IN NEGATIVE-AFFECT AND STATE-ANXIETY WERE SIGNIFICANTLY AND POSITIVELY RELATED TO THE PERCEIVED STRESS. ESTIMATED EFFORT WAS UNRELATED TO THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CHANGES RECORDED IN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES. HEART RATES AND SELF-REPORT MEASURES INDICATED THAT PHYSICALLY BIKRAM YOGA IS ONLY MILDLY CHALLENGING. CONCLUSIONS: THE FINDINGS ILLUSTRATE THAT, INDEPENDENTLY OF THE PHYSICAL EFFORT, BIKRAM YOGA IS A NEW MILD FORM OF EXERCISE THAT REDUCES NEGATIVE-AFFECT AND STATE-ANXIETY, AND THE REDUCTION IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PERCEIVED STRESS. THEREFORE, BIKRAM YOGA APPEARS TO BE BENEFICIAL FOR ALL PRACTITIONERS, BUT EVEN MORE SO FOR THE INDIVIDUALS WHO EXPERIENCE SUBSTANTIAL STRESS IN THE DAILY LIFE. 2017 19 2760 40 YOGA PRACTITIONERS UNIQUELY ACTIVATE THE SUPERIOR PARIETAL LOBULE AND SUPRAMARGINAL GYRUS DURING EMOTION REGULATION. CHRONIC STRESS CONTRIBUTES TO BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ILLNESS. A HIGH PREVALENCE AND COST OF STRESS-RELATED ILLNESSES NORTH AMERICA WARRANTS INVESTIGATION INTO ALTERNATIVE OR COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES WHICH MAY HELP REDUCE ADVERSE REACTIONS TO STRESSFUL STIMULI. EMOTION REGULATION IS THE PROCESS OF MONITORING AND ADJUSTING EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI AND STRESSORS. INDIVIDUALS WHO PARTICIPATE IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ARE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE ADVERSE RESPONSES TO POTENTIALLY STRESSFUL SITUATIONS, POTENTIALLY DUE TO ADAPTIONS IN EMOTION REGULATION. YOGA IS A FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INVOLVING STRETCHING EXERCISES AND MEDITATION, THAT MAY LESSEN INDIVIDUALS' LEVELS OF STRESS AND ANXIETY AND IMPROVE EMOTION REGULATION. HIGH-FREQUENCY HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HF-HRV) IS CONSIDERED A MEASURE OF PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (PNS) ACTIVITY DURING THE EMOTION REGULATION. MEASURING HRV AND BRAIN ACTIVITY USING FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI) OFFERS A USEFUL, NONINVASIVE APPROACH TO EVALUATING "NEUROVISCERAL" COMPONENTS OF EMOTION REGULATION. WE AIMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOGA PRACTITIONERS (YP) EXHIBIT DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF BRAIN ACTIVATION COMPARED TO RECREATIONAL ATHLETES (RA) WITHOUT CURRENT YOGA EXPERIENCE, WHILE VIEWING EMOTIONALLY AROUSING VISUAL STIMULI. OUR SECONDARY AIM WAS TO EXAMINE POTENTIAL DIFFERENCES ACROSS GROUPS IN HRV THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION OF THESE STIMULI. ANALYSIS OF FMRI DATA DURING EXPOSURE TO EMOTION-EVOKING (EE) STIMULI REVEALED THAT THE YP GROUP ACTIVATED TWO UNIQUE BRAIN AREAS, NAMELY THE SUPERIOR PARIETAL LOBULE AND THE SUPRAMARGINAL GYRUS. THESE AREAS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENTIONAL AWARENESS AND REDUCED EGOCENTRIC BIAS, PROCESSES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN EMOTION REGULATION BY OTHERS. THE RA GROUP ACTIVATED THE INFERIOR MIDDLE FRONTAL CORTEX, AN AREA ASSOCIATED WITH COGNITIVE REAPPRAISAL DURING EMOTION REGULATION. THE YP GROUP ALSO DEMONSTRATED A TREND TOWARDS A HIGHER RATIO OF LOW- TO HIGH-FREQUENCY HRV COMPARED TO THE RA GROUP. THE PRESENT FINDINGS SUPPORT THE PRESENCE OF EXPERIENCE-DEPENDENT NEUROVISCERAL MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH EMOTION REGULATION. INDIVIDUALS WHO PRACTICE YOGA REGULATE THEIR NEUROVISCERAL RESPONSES TO POTENTIALLY STRESSFUL EXTERNAL STIMULI IN A DIFFERENT MANNER THAN RECREATIONAL ATHLETES WHO DO NOT ENGAGE IN YOGA PRACTICE. THE PRESENT STUDY HAD A SMALL SAMPLE SIZE (RA: N = 12; YP: N = 19), WHICH SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN INTERPRETING THE RESULTS. 2018 20 1451 27 INFLUENCE OF INTENSIVE YOGA TRAINING ON PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES IN 6 ADULT WOMEN: A CASE REPORT. THE SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF 4 WEEKS OF INTENSIVE YOGA PRACTICE ON PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES IN SIX HEALTHY ADULT FEMALE VOLUNTEERS WERE MEASURED USING THE MAXIMAL EXERCISE TREADMILL TEST. YOGA PRACTICE INVOLVED DAILY MORNING AND EVENING SESSIONS OF 90 MINUTES EACH. PRE- AND POST-YOGA EXERCISE PERFORMANCE WAS COMPARED. MAXIMAL WORK OUTPUT (WMAX) FOR THE GROUP INCREASED BY 21%, WITH A SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED LEVEL OF OXYGEN CONSUMPTION PER UNIT WORK BUT WITHOUT A CONCOMITANT SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN HEART RATE. AFTER INTENSIVE YOGA TRAINING, AT 154 WMIN(-1) (CORRESPONDING TO WMAX OF THE PRE-YOGA MAXIMAL EXERCISE TEST) PARTICIPANTS COULD EXERCISE MORE COMFORTABLY, WITH A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER HEART RATE (P < 0.05), REDUCED MINUTE VENTILATION (P < 0.05), REDUCED OXYGEN CONSUMPTION PER UNIT WORK (P < 0.05), AND A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RESPIRATORY QUOTIENT (P < 0.05). THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EFFECT OF INTENSIVE YOGA ON CARDIORESPIRATORY EFFICIENCY ARE DISCUSSED, WITH THE SUGGESTION THAT YOGA HAS SOME TRANSPARENTLY DIFFERENT QUANTIFIABLE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS TO OTHER EXERCISES. 1997