1 2061 131 THE BENEFITS OF YOGA IN CHILDREN. THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN SUFFERING FROM STRESS AND ANXIETY IN MALAYSIA IS ON THE RISE. EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT MIND-BODY THERAPIES SUCH AS MINDFULNESS THERAPY, MEDITATION AND YOGA HAVE BEEN PRACTICED IN MANY OTHER COUNTRIES TO REDUCE AND/OR MANAGE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF STRESS AND ANXIETY. THIS REVIEW ARTICLE LOOKS AT THE INTERVENTION OF YOGA AS A MEDITATIVE MOVEMENT PRACTICE IN HELPING SCHOOL CHILDREN MANAGE STRESS AND ANXIETY. ARTICLES WERE RETRIEVED USING A COMBINATION OF DATABASES INCLUDING PUBMED/MEDLINE, AND PSYCINFO. NOT ONLY PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES, BUT ALSO THOSE WRITTEN IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE WERE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. ALL STUDIES REVIEWED HAD INCORPORATED SOME FORM OF MEDITATIVE MOVEMENT EXERCISE. THE INTERVENTION ENCOMPASSED ASANAS (POSTURES), PRANAYAMA (EXPANSION OF LIFE FORCE), DHARANA (CONCENTRATION) AND DHYANA (MEDITATION), WHICH ARE THE DIFFERENT PATHS IN YOGA. A TOTAL OF EIGHT ARTICLES MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA AND WERE REVIEWED. THE FINDINGS OF THIS REVIEW REVEAL THAT THE PRACTICE OF YOGA HAS BROUGHT ABOUT, AMONG OTHER THINGS, IMPROVEMENT IN MANAGING AND REDUCING STRESS AND ANXIETY. DESPITE THE LIMITATIONS IN MOST, IF NOT ALL OF THE STUDIES REVIEWED, IN TERMS OF HETEROGENEITY AND SAMPLE SIZE, YOGA APPEARS TO BE AN EFFECTIVE MODALITY FOR HELPING CHILDREN COPE WITH STRESS AND ANXIETY. IT APPEARS THAT IF SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIA CAN INCORPORATE YOGA AS PART OF THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM, IT WILL DEFINITELY BENEFIT THE STUDENTS. 2018 2 317 38 AN INTEGRATED METHODOLOGY TO ASSESS COMPLIANCE WITH DELPHI SURVEY KEY COMPONENTS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS AS APPLIED IN A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF FIBROMYALGIA STUDIES. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS ARTICLE WAS TO PRESENT A METHODOLOGY INCORPORATING EXISTING GUIDELINES AND TOOLS FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND TO EVALUATE THE DELPHI SURVEY 33 KEY COMPONENT RECOMMENDATIONS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS AS A TOOL FOR A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW IN FIBROMYALGIA STUDIES. DATA SOURCES: DATABASES SEARCHED INCLUDED PUBMED, OVID MEDLINE, PSYCHINFO, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, CINAHL, ALT HEALTHWATCH, PEDRO, AND WEB OF SCIENCE. ARTICLE SELECTION: SELECTED WERE ARTICLES PUBLISHED BETWEEN NOVEMBER 14, 2004 AND NOVEMBER 13, 2014, WRITTEN IN ENGLISH, REPORTING ORIGINAL RESEARCH OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR ADULTS WITH FIBROMYALGIA. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: SIX ARTICLES MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA, REVEALING THAT THREE YOGA STYLES ("RELAXING" YOGA, YOGA OF AWARENESS, AND HATHA YOGA) HAVE BEEN ASSESSED IN PERSONS WITH FIBROMYALGIA. OVERALL, REPORTING COMPLIANCE WITH THE 33 KEY COMPONENTS RANGED FROM 39.4% TO 84.8%, WITH A MEAN ADHERENCE RATE OF 62.63% +/- 17.74. NONE OF THE AUTHORS USED AN ACCEPTED REPORTING GUIDELINE; SPECIFIC COMPONENTS OF ASANA, PRANAYAMA, RELAXATION, AND MINDFULNESS PRACTICES THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THE INTERVENTIONS TESTED WERE IDENTIFIED IN ONLY 33.33% OF THE ARTICLES REVIEWED; AND NONE OF THE ARTICLES INCLUDED DETAILED, REPLICABLE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INTERVENTIONS. CONCLUSIONS: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW SUPPORTS THE NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE YOGA RESEARCH GUIDELINES. FINDINGS REVEAL A LACK OF REPORTING OF INTERVENTION DETAILS, THE NEED TO REPORT A DISEASE-SPECIFIC RATIONALE FOR SELECTION OF THE PARTICULAR YOGA STYLE USED FOR THE INTERVENTION, AND THAT A LIMITED NUMBER OF YOGA STYLES HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED IN PERSONS WITH FIBROMYALGIA. 2016 3 1266 21 FLUID INTELLIGENCE AND BRAIN FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION IN AGING YOGA AND MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS. NUMEROUS STUDIES HAVE DOCUMENTED THE NORMAL AGE-RELATED DECLINE OF NEURAL STRUCTURE, FUNCTION, AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE. PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT MEDITATION MAY REDUCE DECLINE IN SPECIFIC COGNITIVE DOMAINS AND IN BRAIN STRUCTURE. HERE WE EXTENDED THIS RESEARCH BY INVESTIGATING THE RELATION BETWEEN AGE AND FLUID INTELLIGENCE AND RESTING STATE BRAIN FUNCTIONAL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE USING GRAPH THEORY, IN MIDDLE-AGED YOGA AND MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS, AND MATCHED CONTROLS. FLUID INTELLIGENCE DECLINED SLOWER IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND MEDITATORS COMBINED THAN IN CONTROLS. RESTING STATE FUNCTIONAL NETWORKS OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND MEDITATORS COMBINED WERE MORE INTEGRATED AND MORE RESILIENT TO DAMAGE THAN THOSE OF CONTROLS. FURTHERMORE, MINDFULNESS WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH FLUID INTELLIGENCE, RESILIENCE, AND GLOBAL NETWORK EFFICIENCY. THESE FINDINGS REVEAL THE POSSIBILITY TO INCREASE RESILIENCE AND TO SLOW THE DECLINE OF FLUID INTELLIGENCE AND BRAIN FUNCTIONAL ARCHITECTURE AND SUGGEST THAT MINDFULNESS PLAYS A MECHANISTIC ROLE IN THIS PRESERVATION. 2014 4 82 39 A MECHANISTIC MODEL FOR YOGA AS A PREVENTIVE AND THERAPEUTIC MODALITY. YOGA IS AN ANCIENT INDIAN TECHNIQUE OF HEALTHY LIVING. NUMEROUS STUDIES HAVE CORROBORATED YOGA'S BENEFICIAL EFFECTS, INCLUDING A FAVORABLE INFLUENCE ON AUTONOMIC FUNCTION AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS. EXTENSIVE RESEARCH IN THE LAST FEW DECADES HAS REVEALED THE CRITICAL ROLE THAT YOGA CAN PLAY IN ERADICATING STRESS. THIS HAS LAID TO THE FOUNDATION FOR A SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES ATTRIBUTED TO STRESS, PARTICULARLY AT THE MOLECULAR AND GENETIC LEVELS. THIS PRIMARILY HAS HELPED UNDERSTAND THE EPIGENETIC AND GENETIC MECHANISM AT PLAY TO INDUCE AND ALLEVIATE STRESS, PARTICULARLY THOSE RELATED TO EMOTIONAL ABERRATIONS. AS RESEARCH HAS INDICATED, NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ARE TRANSLATED INTO VASCULAR INFLAMMATION APPROPRIATELY ACCENTUATED BY A SYMPATHETIC PREDOMINANT AUTONOMIC FUNCTION. THIS CASCADE IS BOLSTERED BY MULTIPLE FACTORS, INCLUDING ACTIVATION OF "STRESSOR" GENES AND ELABORATING HORMONES, INCLUDING STEROIDS WITH SOMETIMES NOCUOUS CONSEQUENCES, PARTICULARLY WHEN CHRONIC. YOGA HAS BEEN CATEGORICALLY FOUND TO HAVE INHIBITED EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE BANEFUL EFFECTS OF STRESS. IN FACT, IT ALSO CHANGES THE NEURONAL CIRCUITS THAT POTENTIATE SUCH A PLETHORA OF PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES. THIS, IN TURN, HAS ACCENTUATED YOGA'S RELEVANCE AS A POWERFUL PREVENTIVE INTERVENTION IN NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCD). NCDS, INCLUDING HEART DISEASE, STROKE, AND RHEUMATOLOGICAL DISORDERS, ARE ESSENTIALLY INFLAMMATORY DISEASES THAT PERPETUATE INFLAMMATION IN DIFFERENT BEDS LIKE VASCULAR OR JOINT SPACES. THE PRECISE MECHANISM BY WHICH YOGA INDUCES SUCH BENEFICIAL CHANGES IS YET TO BE DELINEATED. HOWEVER, A CORNUCOPIA OF POINTERS INDICATES THAT NEURAL, ENDOCRINE, IMMUNOLOGICAL, CELLULAR, GENETIC, AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ARE AT PLAY. THIS ARTICLE ATTEMPTS TO COBBLE TOGETHER NEWFANGLED RESEARCH TO DELINEATE A MEDICAL MODEL FOR THIS 5000-YEAR-OLD PRACTICE FROM INDIA. THIS IS IMPERATIVE, AS A MECHANISTIC MODEL OF THIS ANCIENT-BUT-COMPLEX SYSTEM WOULD ENABLE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF ITS MECHANISM AND REVEAL ITS YET-UNDISCOVERED POSITIVE HEALTH EFFECTS. 2021 5 654 39 EEG BASED INTERPRETATION OF HUMAN BRAIN ACTIVITY DURING YOGA AND MEDITATION USING MACHINE LEARNING: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVES: THE PRESENT INVESTIGATION IS TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF YOGA AND MEDITATION ON BRAIN WAVES CONCERNING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH. THERE ARE MAINLY THREE STAGES (STEPS) IN THE BRAIN WAVE CLASSIFICATION:(I) PREPROCESSING, II) FEATURE EXTRACTION, AND III) CLASSIFICATION. THIS WORK PROVIDES A REVIEW OF INTERPRETATION METHODS OF BRAIN SIGNALS (ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG)) EEG DURING YOGA AND MEDITATION. PAST RESEARCH HAS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ADVANTAGES WITH YOGA AND MEDITATION. METHODS: THE RESEARCH TOPIC REVIEWED FOCUSED ON THE MACHINE LEARNING STRATEGIES APPLIED FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF BRAIN WAVES. IN ADDRESSING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS HIGHLIGHTED EARLIER IN THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION, WE CONDUCTED A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH OF ARTICLES FROM TARGETED SCIENTIFIC AND JOURNAL ONLINE DATABASES THAT INCLUDED PUBMED, WEB OF SCIENCE, IEEE XPLORE DIGITAL LIBRARY (IEEE), AND ARXIV DATABASES BASED ON THEIR RELEVANCE TO THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND DOMAIN TOPIC. THE SURVEY TOPIC IS RELATIVELY NASCENT, AND THEREFORE, THE SCOPE OF THE SEARCH PERIOD WAS LIMITED TO THE 20-YEAR TIMELINE THAT WAS DEEMED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RESEARCH TOPIC UNDER INVESTIGATION. THE LITERATURE SEARCH WAS BASED ON THE KEYWORDS "EEG", "YOGA*" AND "MEDITATION*". THE KEY PHRASES WERE CONCATENATED USING BOOLEAN EXPRESSIONS AND APPLIED TO SEARCH THROUGH THE SELECTED ONLINE DATABASES YIELDING A TOTAL OF 120 ARTICLES. THE ONLINE DATABASES WERE SELECTED BASED ON THE RELEVANCY OF CONTENT WITH THE RESEARCH TITLE, RESEARCH QUESTIONS, AND THE DOMAIN APPLICATION. THE LITERATURE REVIEW SEARCH, PROCESS, AND CLASSIFICATION WERE CAREFULLY CONDUCTED GUIDED BY TWO DEFINED MEASURES; 1.) INCLUSION CRITERIA; AND 2.) EXCLUSION CRITERIA. THESE MEASURES DEFINE THE CRITERIA FOR SEARCHING AND EXTRACTING RELEVANT ARTICLES RELATING TO THE RESEARCH TITLE AND DOMAIN OF INTEREST. RESULTS: OUR LITERATURE SEARCH AND REVIEW INDICATE A BROAD SPECTRUM OF NEURAL MECHANICS UNDER A VARIETY OF MEDITATION STYLES HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED. A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS MENTAL STATES USING ZEN, CHAN, MINDFULNESS, TM, RAJAYOGA, KUNDALINI, YOGA, AND OTHER MEDITATION STYLES HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED BY MEANS OF EEG BANDS. CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL STATES USING KNN, SVM, RANDOM FOREST, FUZZY LOGIC, NEURAL NETWORKS, CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS HAS BEEN DESCRIBED. SUPERIOR RESEARCH IS STILL REQUIRED TO CLASSIFY THE EEG SIGNATURES CORRESPONDING TO DIFFERENT MENTAL STATES. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR A CLINICAL AND AGING POPULATION. ADVANCED RESEARCH CAN EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC BRANCHES OF YOGA ON A DESIGNATED CLINICAL GROUPING. YOGA AND MEDITATION INCREASED OVERALL HEALTHY BRAIN ACTIVITY. 2021 6 1590 26 MEDITATION AND YOGA CAN MODULATE BRAIN MECHANISMS THAT AFFECT BEHAVIOR AND ANXIETY-A MODERN SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE. MEDITATION AND YOGA TECHNIQUES ARE RECEIVING INCREASED ATTENTION THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, DUE TO THE ACCUMULATION OF EVIDENCE BASED RESEARCH THAT PROVES THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT BENEFITS OF SUCH PRACTICES. BASED ON STUDIES CONDUCTED SO FAR, IT HAS BEEN FOUND THAT THE PRACTICE OF MEDITATION TRIGGERS NEUROTRANSMITTERS THAT MODULATE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS SUCH AS ANXIETY. THIS PAPER WILL REVIEW THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THE PRACTICE OF MEDITATION, THE ROLE OF NEUROTRANSMITTERS, AND STUDIES USING EEG AND FMRI. 2015 7 2369 43 WHAT ARE THE KNOWN EFFECTS OF YOGA ON THE BRAIN IN RELATION TO MOTOR PERFORMANCES, BODY AWARENESS AND PAIN? A NARRATIVE REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: THE CURRENT BODY OF LITERATURE WAS REVIEWED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON THE BRAIN IN RELATION TO MOTOR PERFORMANCE, BODY AWARENESS AND PAIN. BACKGROUND: YOGA HAS BEEN INCREASINGLY POPULAR IN THE WESTERN COUNTRIES ESPECIALLY FOR ITS UNIQUE INTEGRATION OF THE MIND AND BODY. YOGA HAS BEEN STUDIED MORE INTENSELY IN THE LAST DECADE. ALTHOUGH IT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, FEW STUDIES HAVE LOOKED INTO THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON IMPROVING MOTOR PERFORMANCE, BODY AWARENESS OR PAIN AND THE POSSIBLE UNDERLYING BRAIN MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM. METHODS: A SEARCH OF THE CURRENT LITERATURE WAS MADE USING KEYWORDS SUCH AS: "YOGA BRAIN MOTOR", "YOGA BRAIN PAIN", "EFFECTS YOGA BRAIN" AND "EFFECTS YOGA BRAIN MOTOR PERFORMANCE". THE FINDINGS WERE THEN DISCUSSED IN RELATION TO MOTOR PERFORMANCE, BODY AWARENESS AND PAIN AND THEIR REPORTED MECHANISMS OF ACTION ON THE BRAIN. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 61 ARTICLES WERE SELECTED, OUT OF WHICH 29 WERE EXCLUDED BECAUSE THEY DID NOT MEET OUR CRITERIA. A TOTAL OF THIRTY-TWO ARTICLES WERE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW, WHICH WE FURTHER SUBDIVIDED BY FOCUS: MOTOR PERFORMANCE (N=10), BODY AWARENESS (N=14) AND PAIN (N=8). DISCUSSION: OUR REVIEW SHOWS THAT YOGA HAS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON LEARNING RATE, SPEED AND ACCURACY OF A MOTOR TASK BY INCREASING ATTENTION AND DECREASING STRESS THROUGH A BETTER CONTROL OF SENSORIMOTOR RHYTHMS. YOGA ALSO SEEMS TO IMPROVE SENSORY AWARENESS AND INTEROCEPTION, REGULATE AUTONOMIC INPUT, INCREASE PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND PROMOTE SELF-REGULATION. YOGA WAS ALSO SHOWN TO REDUCE THE THREAT SIGNAL, INCREASE PAIN TOLERANCE, DECREASE PAIN UNPLEASANTNESS AND DECREASE THE ANXIETY AND DISTRESS ASSOCIATED WITH PAIN. THOSE CHANGES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECRUITMENT OF SPECIFIC BRAIN AREAS SUCH AS THE INSULA, THE AMYGDALA AND THE HIPPOCAMPUS. CONCLUSION: BASED ON THE STUDIES REVIEWED IN THIS REPORT, WE FOUND THAT THE PRACTICE OF YOGA SEEMS TO FACILITATE MOTOR LEARNING, TO INCREASE BODY AWARENESS AND TO DECREASE PAIN. THESE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF CHANGES IN TERMS OF BRAIN ACTIVITY AND STRUCTURE. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NECESSARY TO REVEAL ITS PRECISE MECHANISM OF ACTION ON THE BRAIN AND TO VALIDATE ITS WIDER APPLICATION IN CLINICAL SETTINGS. 2019 8 2171 40 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS AMONG PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (T2DM) IS A FASTEST EVOLVING METABOLIC DISORDER AND INDIA HOUSES SECOND HIGHEST NUMBER OF PATIENTS WITH DIABETES AFTER CHINA. CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES ARE THE MAJOR CAUSE OF MORTALITY AMONG PATIENTS WITH T2DM. YOGA IS AN ANCIENT INDIAN PRACTICE THAT PROVES TO BE EFFECTIVE FOR PATIENTS WITH DIABETES. THE PRESENT SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS HAS BEEN CONDUCTED TO SEE THE BENEFITS OF YOGA ON BLOOD PRESSURE, LIPID PROFILE, AND ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASURES AMONG PATIENTS WITH T2DM. THE ARTICLES WERE EXTRACTED FROM THREE DATABASES - PUBMED, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, AND GOOGLE SCHOLAR. ONLY ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTICLES, WITH PEDRO SCORE>/=6, WERE INCLUDED IN THE CURRENT STUDY. THE DUPLICATES WERE REMOVED USING MENDELEY. FOURTEEN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) AND THREE 3 NON-RCTS WERE INCLUDED IN THE ANALYSIS. THE META-ANALYSIS WAS DONE USING REVIEW MANAGER 5.3. THE RESULTS REVEAL THAT YOGA IS EFFECT IN IMPROVING BLOOD PRESSURE (P<0.01), LIPID PROFILE (P<0.01) EXCEPT HDL (P=0.06), AND ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASURES (P<0.01) EXCEPT WAIST-HIP RATIO (P=0.79). HETEROGENEITY WAS ALSO HIGH FOR MOST OF THE VARIABLES. IT MAY BE CONCLUDED FROM THE RESULTS THAT THE YOGA IS EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING OF BLOOD PRESSURE, LIPID PROFILE, AND ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASURES. HOWEVER, HIGH HETEROGENEITY SOUGHT THE NEED OF MORE HIGH QUALITY RCTS TO AFFIRM THESE FINDINGS. 2022 9 2269 42 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA AND SPIRITUALITY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH. OBJECTIVE: BOTH YOGA PRACTICE AND SPIRITUALITY ARE ASSOCIATED WITH BENEFICIAL MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES. WITHIN YOGA RESEARCH, HOWEVER, SPIRITUALITY IS STILL A WIDELY NEGLECTED AREA. THE PRESENT SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AIMS TO EXPLORE EMPIRICAL STUDIES, WHICH DO, IN FACT, INVESTIGATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA AND SPIRITUALITY IN ORDER TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH ON THIS TOPIC. THE REVIEW EXAMINES WHETHER AVAILABLE EMPIRICAL RESEARCH SUPPORTS AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN YOGA PRACTICE AND SPIRITUALITY AND, IF SO, WHICH SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF SPIRITUALITY ARE ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA PRACTICE. METHODS: THE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW FOLLOWED THE PRISMA GUIDELINE (PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020155043). EMPIRICAL STUDIES WRITTEN IN ENGLISH, GERMAN, OR HUNGARIAN LANGUAGE WERE SELECTED FROM A DATABASE SEARCH IN GOOGLE SCHOLAR, PSYCINFO, AND SCIENCE DIRECT. A TOTAL OF 30 STUDIES MET THE FINAL INCLUSION CRITERIA. RESULTS: ACCORDING TO THE QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE STUDIES REVIEWED, YOGA PRACTICE SEEMS TO BE POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SPIRITUALITY. THIS ASSOCIATION CONCERNS VARIOUS ASPECTS OF SPIRITUALITY, SUCH AS SPIRITUAL ASPIRATIONS, A SEARCH FOR INSIGHT/WISDOM, AN INTEGRATIVE WORLDVIEW, A SENSE OF MEANING AND PEACE, FAITH, HOPE, COMPASSION, AND HAPPINESS WITHIN. TO HARNESS THE POTENTIAL SPIRITUAL BENEFITS OF YOGA, REGULAR PRACTICE APPEARS TO BE ESSENTIAL. YOGA PRACTITIONERS SEEM TO HAVE BOTH PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL MOTIVES FOR PRACTICING. AT LEAST IN WESTERN SOCIETIES, HOWEVER, PHYSICAL INTENTIONS ARE MORE PREVALENT THAN SPIRITUAL ONES. THE MEANING OF SPIRITUALITY FOR YOGA PRACTITIONERS IS ALSO DISCUSSED. DUE TO RISK OF BIAS OF THE MAJORITY OF THE REVIEWED STUDIES, HOWEVER, OUTCOMES MUST BE TAKEN WITH CAUTION. CONCLUSION: YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERAL ASPECTS OF SPIRITUALITY. FOR MORE EVIDENCE, FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF THE TOPIC IS SUGGESTED. PARTICULARLY, WE PROPOSE THE INCLUSION OF HOLISTIC FORMS OF YOGA PRACTICE AND A COMPARISON OF EASTERN AND WESTERN APPROACHES TO YOGA. 2021 10 1824 47 PSYCHO-NEURO-ENDOCRINE-IMMUNE MECHANISMS OF ACTION OF YOGA IN TYPE II DIABETES. YOGA HAS BEEN FOUND TO BENEFIT ALL THE COMPONENTS OF HEALTH VIZ. PHYSICAL, MENTAL, SOCIAL AND SPIRITUAL WELL BEING BY INCORPORATING A WIDE VARIETY OF PRACTICES. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF TYPE II DM AND CO-MORBIDITIES IN TYPE II DM HAS BEEN CORRELATED WITH STRESS MECHANISMS. STRESS SUPPRESSES BODY'S IMMUNE SYSTEM AND NEURO-HUMORAL ACTIONS THEREBY AFF ECTING NORMAL PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE. IT WOULD NOT BE WRONG TO STATE THAT CORRELATION OF DIABETES WITH STRESS, ANXIETY AND OTHER PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS ARE BIDIRECTIONAL AND LEAD TO DIFFICULTY IN UNDERSTANDING THE INTERRELATED MECHANISMS. TYPE II DM CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD IN ISOLATION WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS SUCH AS STRESS, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION, NEURO-ENDOCRINE AND IMMUNOLOGICAL FACTORS. THERE IS NO REVIEW WHICH TRIES TO UNDERSTAND THESE MECHANISMS EXCLUSIVELY. THE PRESENT LITERATURE REVIEW AIMS TO UNDERSTAND INTERRELATED PSYCHO-NEURO-ENDOCRINE AND IMMUNOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF ACTION OF YOGA IN TYPE II DIABETES MELLITUS. PUBLISHED LITERATURE CONCERNING MECHANISMS OF ACTION OF YOGA IN TYPE II DM EMPHASIZING PSYCHO-NEURO-ENDOCRINE OR IMMUNOLOGICAL RELATIONS WAS RETRIEVED FROM PUBMED USING KEY WORDS YOGA, TYPE II DIABETES MELLITUS, PSYCHOLOGICAL, NEURAL, ENDOCRINE, IMMUNE AND MECHANISM OF ACTION. THOSE STUDIES WHICH EXPLAINED THE PSYCHO-NEUROENDOCRINE AND IMMUNE MECHANISMS OF ACTION OF YOGA WERE INCLUDED AND REST WERE EXCLUDED. ALTHOUGH PRIMARY AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO EXPLAIN THESE MECHANISMS IN TYPE II DM, SOME STUDIES IN NON-DIABETIC POPULATION WHICH HAD A SIMILAR PATHWAY OF STRESS MECHANISM WAS INCLUDED BECAUSE MANY INSIGHTFUL STUDIES WERE AVAILABLE IN THAT AREA. SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED USING TERMS YOGA OR YOGIC AND DIABETES OR DIABETIC IN TITLE OR ABSTRACT FOR ENGLISH ARTICLES. OF THE 89 ARTICLES, WE EXCLUDED NON-ENGLISH ARTICLES (22), EDITORIALS (20) AND LETTERS TO EDITOR (10). 37 STUDIES WERE CONSIDERED FOR THIS REVIEW. THE POSTULATED MECHANISM OF ACTION OF YOGA IS THROUGH PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION AND THE ASSOCIATED ANTI STRESS MECHANISM. IT REDUCES PERCEIVED STRESS AND HPA AXIS ACTIVATION THEREBY IMPROVING OVERALL METABOLIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILES, INCREASING INSULIN SENSITIVITY, AND IMPROVING GLUCOSE TOLERANCE AND LIPID METABOLISM. YOGA HAS POSITIVE EFFECTS ON IMMUNE SYSTEM OF DIABETICS.- OVERALL, TYPE II DM IS INFLUENCED BY PSYCHO-NEURO-ENDOCRINE AND IMMUNE MECHANISMS WHERE YOGA HAS IMPORTANT POSITIVE ROLE IN COMBATING STRESSORS AND IMPROVING THESE SYSTEMS TO REGAIN HEALTH. 2015 11 1051 38 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON BRAIN WAVES AND STRUCTURAL ACTIVATION: A REVIEW. PREVIOUS RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THE VAST MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA. YOGA PRACTICE CAN BE DIVIDED INTO SUBCATEGORIES THAT INCLUDE POSTURE-HOLDING EXERCISE (ASANA), BREATHING (PRANAYAMA, KRIYA), AND MEDITATION (SAHAJ) PRACTICE. STUDIES MEASURING MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES HAVE SHOWN DECREASES IN ANXIETY, AND INCREASES IN COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AFTER YOGA INTERVENTIONS. SIMILAR STUDIES HAVE ALSO SHOWN COGNITIVE ADVANTAGES AMONGST YOGA PRACTITIONERS VERSUS NON-PRACTITIONERS. THE MENTAL HEALTH AND COGNITIVE BENEFITS OF YOGA ARE EVIDENT, BUT THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE BRAIN THAT LEAD TO THIS REMAIN A TOPIC THAT LACKS CONSENSUS. THEREFORE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE AND REVIEW EXISTING LITERATURE ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON BRAIN WAVES AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES AND ACTIVATION. AFTER A NARROWED SEARCH THROUGH A SET OF SPECIFIC INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA, 15 ARTICLES WERE USED IN THIS REVIEW. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT BREATHING, MEDITATION, AND POSTURE-BASED YOGA INCREASED OVERALL BRAIN WAVE ACTIVITY. INCREASES IN GRAYGRAY MATTER ALONG WITH INCREASES IN AMYGDALA AND FRONTAL CORTEX ACTIVATION WERE EVIDENT AFTER A YOGA INTERVENTION. YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR A CLINICAL AND HEALTHY AGING POPULATION. FURTHER RESEARCH CAN EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC BRANCHES OF YOGA ON A DESIGNATED CLINICAL POPULATION. 2015 12 1435 29 IN SEARCH OF YOGA: RESEARCH TRENDS IN A WESTERN MEDICAL DATABASE. CONTEXT: THE PROMOTION OF YOGA PRACTICE AS A PREVENTATIVE AND TREATMENT THERAPY FOR HEALTH OUTCOMES IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE IS INCREASING RAPIDLY. AS THE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS OF YOGA BURGEONS IN POPULAR CULTURE, IT IS IMPORTANT TO INVESTIGATE THE TRENDS OF YOGA AS A THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION IN ACADEMIC LITERATURE. THE FREE-ACCESS SEARCH ENGINE, PUBMED IS A PREEMINENT RESOURCE TO IDENTIFY HEALTH-RELATED RESEARCH ARTICLES PUBLISHED FOR ACADEMICS, HEALTH PRACTITIONERS AND OTHERS. AIMS: TO REPORT THE RECENT YOGA-RELATED PUBLICATIONS IN THE WESTERN HEALTHCARE CONTEXT WITH PARTICULAR INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT AND TYPE OF YOGA TITLES. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS TO DESCRIBE THE ANNUAL TRENDS IN PUBLICATION ON PUBMED FROM JANUARY 1950 TO DECEMBER 2012. RESULTS: THE NUMBER OF YOGA-RELATED TITLES INCLUDED IN THE PUBMED DATABASE IS LIMITED UNTIL A MARKED INCREASE 2000 AND STEADY SURGE SINCE 2007. BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT MORE THAN 200 NEW TITLES ARE ADDED PER ANNUM SINCE 2011. SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND YOGA TRIALS ARE INCREASING EXPONENTIALLY, INDICATING A POTENTIAL INCREASE IN THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE. TITLES INCLUDING PAIN MANAGEMENT, STRESS OR ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND CANCER CONDITIONS ARE HIGHLY CORRELATED WITH YOGA AND HEALTHCARE RESEARCH. CONCLUSIONS: THE PREVALENCE OF YOGA RESEARCH IN WESTERN HEALTHCARE IS INCREASING. THE MARKED INCREASE IN VOLUME INDICATES THE NEED FOR MORE SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE LITERATURE IN TERMS OF QUALITY AND RESULTS. 2014 13 61 46 A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF YOGA RESEARCH IN 2020. OBJECTIVES: ACCUMULATED EVIDENCE GARNERED IN THE LAST FEW DECADES HAS HIGHLIGHTED THE ROLE OF YOGA IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. THE OVERWHELMING MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY MEDIATED BY NONCOMMUNICABLE EPIDEMICS SUCH AS HEART DISEASE AND CANCER HAVE FOSTERED A SEARCH FOR MECHANISMS TO ATTENUATE THEM. DESPITE OVERWHELMING SUCCESS IN ACUTE CARE, THE EFFICACY OF MODERN MEDICINES HAS BEEN LIMITED ON THIS FRONT. YOGA IS ONE OF THE INTEGRATIVE THERAPIES THAT HAS COME TO LIGHT AS HAVING A SUBSTANTIAL ROLE IN PREVENTING AND MITIGATING SUCH DISORDERS. IT THUS SEEMS TRITE TO ANALYZE AND DISCUSS THE RESEARCH ADVANCEMENTS IN YOGA FOR 2020. THE PRESENT REVIEW ATTEMPTS TO DISTILL RECENT RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM VOLUMINOUS LITERATURE GENERATED IN 2020. METHODS: THIS REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED ON THE ARTICLES PUBLISHED OR ASSIGNED TO AN ISSUE IN 2020. THE AUTHORS SEARCHED THE PUBMED DATABASE FOR CLINICAL STUDIES PUBLISHED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, USING YOGA (INCLUDING MEDITATION) AS THE INTERVENTION, AND HAVING AN ADEQUATE DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERVENTION. THEN, THEY EXTRACTED DATA FROM EACH STUDY INTO A STANDARDIZED GOOGLE SHEET. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 1149 CITATIONS WERE RETRIEVED IN THE INITIAL SEARCH. OF THESE, 46 STUDIES MET ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND WERE FINALLY INCLUDED. THE STUDIES WERE PREDOMINANTLY ON MENTAL HEALTH AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, ADDRESSING VARIOUS ISSUES SUCH AS ANXIETY, POSTURAL BALANCE, MIGRAINE, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, AND CHILDHOOD NEGLECT. ANXIETY, STRESS, AND DEPRESSION WERE OTHER COMMON DENOMINATORS. EIGHT STUDIES WERE ON CARDIORESPIRATORY SYSTEMS, INCLUDING EXERCISE CAPACITY, CARDIAC REHABILITATION, MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION, AND HYPERTENSION. THREE STUDIES WERE ON DIABETES, EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF YOGA. FIVE STUDIES FOCUSED ON COGNITION, HEALTH STATUS, AND AUTONOMIC REGULATION AND FEW OTHERS INCLUDED CANCERS, INFERTILITY, ULCERATIVE COLITIS, URINARY INCONTINENCE, RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, CHRONIC PAIN, AND METABOLIC SYNDROME. FINALLY, MOST STUDIES WERE ON NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES WITH ONE EXCEPTION, HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS; TWO RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WERE DEDICATED TO IT. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA HAS BEEN STUDIED UNDER A WIDE VARIETY OF CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN THE YEAR 2020. THIS LANDSCAPE REVIEW INTENDS TO PROVIDE AN IDEA OF THE ROLE OF YOGA IN VARIOUS CLINICAL CONDITIONS AND ITS FUTURE THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS. 2022 14 646 45 DOES YOGA THERAPY REDUCE BLOOD PRESSURE IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION?: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW. THE AIM OF THIS ARTICLE WAS TO PRESENT A EVIDENCE-BASED INTEGRATIVE RESEARCH REVIEW THAT VALIDATES YOGA THERAPY AS AN EFFECTIVE COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE (BP). THE ARTICLE ALSO USES THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF DR HANS SELYE'S GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME. YOGA RESEARCHERS DEMONSTRATE THAT YOGA WORKS BECAUSE IT MODULATES THE PHYSIOLOGICAL SYSTEM OF THE BODY, SPECIFICALLY ITS EFFECT ON THE HEART RATE. THIS REVIEW IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE YOGA PRESENTS AN EFFECTIVE METHOD OF TREATING HYPERTENSION THAT IS NONPHARMACOLOGIC AND THEREFORE THERE ARE NO ADVERSE EFFECTS AND THERE ARE OTHER VALUABLE HEALTH BENEFITS. RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT STRESS IS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO HIGH BP; HENCE, THE USE OF THE GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME AND THE MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTE OF YOGA, THAT IS, IT IS A PHYSICAL AND MENTAL EXERCISE PROGRAM, THAT IS IN SYNC WITH THE PHILOSOPHY OF HOLISTIC NURSING CARE WHERE ONE TREATS THE WHOLE INDIVIDUAL AND NOT JUST THE DISEASE. THE REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED WITH A SEARCH OF COMPUTERIZED DATABASES SUCH AS OVID, ACADEMIC SEARCH PREMIER, CINAHL, MEDLINE, AND HEALTH SOURCE: NURSING/ACADEMIC EDITION, PSYCHINFO, AS WELL AS RELIABLE WEB SITES SUCH AS THE CDC.GOV, AMONG OTHERS. AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED, AND 10 STUDIES MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. THEY INCLUDE A COMBINATION OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS, QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES, AND PILOT STUDIES. YOGA THERAPY IS A MULTIFUNCTIONAL EXERCISE MODALITY WITH NUMEROUS BENEFITS. NOT ONLY DOES YOGA REDUCE HIGH BP BUT IT HAS ALSO BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO EFFECTIVELY REDUCE BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVEL, CHOLESTEROL LEVEL, AND BODY WEIGHT, MAJOR PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE AMERICAN SOCIETY. THE COMPLETED INTEGRATIVE REVIEW PROVIDES GUIDELINES FOR NURSING IMPLEMENTATION AS A COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENT OF HIGH BP. 2012 15 1208 30 EXPLORATION OF LOWER FREQUENCY EEG DYNAMICS AND CORTICAL ALPHA ASYMMETRY IN LONG-TERM RAJYOGA MEDITATORS. BACKGROUND: RAJYOGA MEDITATION IS TAUGHT BY PRAJAPITA BRAHMAKUMARIS WORLD SPIRITUAL UNIVERSITY (BRAHMAKUMARIS) AND HAS BEEN FOLLOWED BY MORE THAN ONE MILLION FOLLOWERS ACROSS THE GLOBE. HOWEVER, RARE STUDIES WERE CONDUCTED ON PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF RAJYOGA MEDITATION USING ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY (EEG). BAND POWER AND CORTICAL ASYMMETRY WERE NOT STUDIED WITH RAJYOGA MEDITATORS. AIMS: THIS STUDY AIMS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF REGULAR MEDITATION PRACTICE ON EEG BRAIN DYNAMICS IN LOW-FREQUENCY BANDS OF LONG-TERM RAJYOGA MEDITATORS. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: SUBJECTS WERE MATCHED FOR AGE IN BOTH GROUPS. LOWER FREQUENCY EEG BANDS WERE ANALYZED IN RESTING AND DURING MEDITATION. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TWENTY-ONE MALE LONG-TERM MEDITATORS (LTMS) AND SAME NUMBER OF CONTROLS WERE SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN STUDY AS PAR INCLUSION CRITERIA. SEMI HIGH-DENSITY EEG WAS RECORDED BEFORE AND DURING MEDITATION IN LTM GROUP AND RESTING IN CONTROL GROUP. THE MAIN OUTCOME OF THE STUDY WAS SPECTRAL POWER OF ALPHA AND THETA BANDS AND CORTICAL (HEMISPHERICAL) ASYMMETRY CALCULATED USING BAND POWER. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: ONE-WAY ANOVA WAS PERFORMED TO FIND THE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EEG SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF GROUPS. PEARSON'S CHI-SQUARE TEST WAS USED TO FIND DIFFERENCE AMONG DEMOGRAPHICS DATA. RESULTS: RESULTS REVEAL HIGH-BAND POWER IN ALPHA AND THETA SPECTRA IN MEDITATORS. CORTICAL ASYMMETRY CALCULATED THROUGH EEG POWER WAS ALSO FOUND TO BE HIGH IN FRONTAL AS WELL AS PARIETAL CHANNELS. HOWEVER, NO CORRELATION WAS SEEN BETWEEN THE EXPERIENCE OF MEDITATION (YEARS, HOURS) PRACTICE AND EEG INDICES. CONCLUSION: OVERALL FINDINGS INDICATE CONTRIBUTION OF SMALLER FREQUENCIES (ALPHA AND THETA) WHILE MAINTAINING MEDITATIVE EXPERIENCE. THIS SUGGESTS A POSITIVE IMPACT OF MEDITATION ON FRONTAL AND PARIETAL AREAS OF BRAIN, INVOLVED IN THE PROCESSES OF REGULATION OF SELECTIVE AND SUSTAINED ATTENTION AS WELL AS PROVIDE EVIDENCE ABOUT THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN EMOTION AND COGNITIVE PROCESSING. 2018 16 2704 36 YOGA INTERVENTIONS INVOLVING OLDER ADULTS: INTEGRATIVE REVIEW. THERE IS GROWING SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THAT YOGA INTERVENTIONS HAVE POSITIVE IMPACTS ON HEALTH IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS. OLDER ADULTS ARE AN EXPONENTIALLY GROWING COHORT; EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THEIR HEALTH CAN ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO COMMUNITY HEALTH. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE CURRENT INTEGRATIVE REVIEW WAS TO EXAMINE QUANTITATIVE EVIDENCE CONCERNING EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS RELATED TO THE HEALTH OF COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS. SIX STUDIES MET INCLUSION CRITERIA OF COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT) DESIGN, AND YOGA INTERVENTION IN THE PAST 10 YEARS. HATHA YOGA WAS MOST FREQUENTLY USED; INTERVENTIONS WERE WELL-RECEIVED WITH HIGH ADHERENCE RATES. BENEFITS FROM PARTICIPATION IN YOGA INCLUDED IMPROVEMENTS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH, SUCH AS REDUCTIONS IN ANGER, ANXIETY, AND FEAR OF FALLING, AND INCREASES IN WELL-BEING, SELF-EFFICACY, IMPROVED EXECUTIVE AND IMMUNOLOGICAL FUNCTION, STRENGTH, AND BALANCE. FINDINGS REVEAL THAT ADDITIONAL WELL-DESIGNED YOGA RCTS ARE INDICATED WITH LONGER INTERVENTION AND FOLLOW UP TO ASSESS LIFESPAN CHANGES. [JOURNAL OF GERONTOLOGICAL NURSING, 48(2), 43-52.]. 2022 17 2800 35 YOGA THERAPY FOR THE MIND EIGHT-WEEK COURSE: PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCES. MINDFULNESS-BASED THERAPIES ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY COMMON IN THE TREATMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS. WHILE THE POPULARITY OF YOGA CONTINUES TO RISE IN WESTERN CULTURE, LITTLE HAS BEEN DONE TO EXPLORE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF YOGA FROM A QUALITATIVE, CLINICAL PERSPECTIVE. THIS STUDY EXPLORES PARTICIPANT EXPERIENCES OF THE "YOGA THERAPY FOR THE MIND EIGHT-WEEK COURSE" (YTFTM), AN INTERNATIONAL, MANUALIZED YOGA AND MINDFULNESS-BASED INTERVENTION FOR DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY. EIGHT FEMALE PARTICIPANTS TOOK PART IN SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS, AND TRANSCRIPTS WERE ANALYZED USING AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS, WITH FOUR MASTER THEMES EMERGING: "PERSONAL JOURNEY OF CHANGE," "AMBIVALENCE," "MIND/BODY CONNECTION," AND "GROUP EXPERIENCE." THE FINDINGS HIGHLIGHT POTENTIAL CHALLENGES OF YOGA AND MINDFULNESS-BASED INTERVENTIONS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PROVIDING ADEQUATE SUPPORT IN OVERCOMING THESE. FINDINGS ALSO REVEAL THAT PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCE PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS FROM THE PRACTICE OF YOGA ASANA IN ADDITION TO MINDFULNESS, SUCH AS A MORE HOLISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, ADAPTIVE COPING STRATEGIES, AND ENHANCED WELL-BEING. 2017 18 1927 38 ROLE OF YOGA IN CARDIAC DISEASE AND REHABILITATION. PURPOSE: CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE CONTINUES TO BE THE LEADING CAUSE OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY AROUND THE WORLD. YOGA, A COMBINATION OF PHYSICAL POSTURES (ASANA), BREATHING EXERCISES (PRANAYAMA), AND MEDITATION (DHYANA), HAS GAINED INCREASING RECOGNITION AS A FORM OF MIND-BODY EXERCISE. IN THIS NARRATIVE REVIEW, WE INTENDED TO REVIEW THE EMERGING EVIDENCE ASSESSING THE PHYSIOLOGIC AND CLINICAL EFFECTS OF YOGA ON THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM AND THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF YOGA AS A COMPONENT OF COMPREHENSIVE CARDIAC REHABILITATION. METHODS: WE SEARCHED PUBMED, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, EMBASE, AND COCHRANE DATABASES FOR LITERATURE RELATED TO CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS OF YOGA FROM INCEPTION UP UNTIL 2017. RESULTS: YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE FAVORABLE EFFECTS ON SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION, STRESS, THE CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, AND TRADITIONAL AND EMERGING CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA HAS SHOWN PROMISE AS A USEFUL LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION THAT CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE MANAGEMENT ALGORITHMS. ALTHOUGH MANY INVESTIGATORS HAVE REPORTED THE CLINICAL BENEFITS OF YOGA IN REDUCING CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS, MORBIDITY, AND MORTALITY, EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THESE CONCLUSIONS IS SOMEWHAT LIMITED, THEREBY EMPHASIZING THE NEED FOR LARGE, WELL-DESIGNED RANDOMIZED TRIALS THAT MINIMIZE BIAS AND METHODOLOGICAL DRAWBACKS. 2019 19 1983 38 SLEEP, COGNITION, AND YOGA. STRESS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR PROBLEMS GLOBALLY, ASSOCIATED WITH POOR SLEEP QUALITY AND COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION. MODERN SOCIETY IS PLAGUED BY SLEEP DISTURBANCES, EITHER DUE TO PROFESSIONAL DEMANDS OR LIFESTYLE OR BOTH THE ASPECTS, OFTEN LEADING TO REDUCED ALERTNESS AND COMPROMISED MENTAL FUNCTION, BESIDES THE WELL DOCUMENTED ILL EFFECTS OF DISTURBED SLEEP ON PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS. THIS PERTINENT ISSUE NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. YOGA IS AN ANCIENT INDIAN SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY AND WAY OF LIFE. RECENTLY, YOGA PRACTICE HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY POPULAR WORLDWIDE. YOGA PRACTICE IS AN ADJUNCT EFFECTIVE FOR STRESS, SLEEP AND ASSOCIATED DISORDERS. THERE ARE LIMITED WELL CONTROLLED PUBLISHED STUDIES CONDUCTED IN THIS AREA. WE REVIEWED THE AVAILABLE LITERATURE INCLUDING THE EFFECT OF MODERN LIFESTYLE IN CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS, ADULTS AND GERIATRIC POPULATION. THE ROLE OF YOGA AND MEDITATION IN OPTIMIZING SLEEP ARCHITECTURE AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS LEADING TO OPTIMAL BRAIN FUNCTIONING IN NORMAL AND DISEASED STATE IS DISCUSSED. WE INCLUDED ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH WITH NO FIXED TIME DURATION FOR LITERATURE SEARCH. LITERATURE WAS SEARCHED MAINLY BY USING PUBMED AND SCIENCE DIRECT SEARCH ENGINES AND CRITICALLY EXAMINED. STUDIES HAVE REVEALED POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON SLEEP AND COGNITIVE SKILLS AMONG HEALTHY ADULTS AS WELL AS PATIENTS OF SOME NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES. FURTHER, ON EVALUATING THE PUBLISHED STUDIES, IT IS CONCLUDED THAT SLEEP AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS ARE OPTIMIZED BY YOGA PRACTICE, WHICH BRINGS ABOUT CHANGES IN AUTONOMIC FUNCTION, STRUCTURAL CHANGES, CHANGES IN METABOLISM, NEUROCHEMISTRY AND IMPROVED FUNCTIONAL BRAIN NETWORK CONNECTIVITY IN KEY REGIONS OF THE BRAIN. 2021 20 1918 31 ROLE OF YOGA AND MEDITATION AS COMPLIMENTARY THERAPEUTIC REGIME FOR STRESS-RELATED NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS: UTILIZATION OF BRAIN WAVES ACTIVITY AS NOVEL TOOL. DURING RECENT DECADES, STRESS-RELATED NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS SUCH AS ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, CHRONIC TENSION HEADACHE, AND MIGRAINE HAVE ESTABLISHED THEIR STRONGHOLD IN THE LIVES OF A VAST NUMBER OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE. IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THIS GLOBAL PHENOMENON, INTENSIVE STUDIES HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT LEADING TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF DRUGS LIKE ANTI-DEPRESSANTS, ANXIOLYTICS, AND ANALGESICS WHICH ALTHOUGH HELP IN COMBATING THE SYMPTOMS OF SUCH DISORDERS BUT ALSO CREATE LONG-TERM SIDE EFFECTS. THUS, AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO SUCH CLINICAL PRACTICES, VARIOUS COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES SUCH AS YOGA AND MEDITATION HAVE BEEN PROVED TO BE EFFECTIVE IN ALLEVIATING THE CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS OF DIFFERENT NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. THE ROLE OF ALTERED BRAIN WAVES IN THIS CONTEXT HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AND NEEDS TO BE PURSUED AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. THUS, THE CURRENT STUDY PROVIDES A REVIEW FOCUSED ON DESCRIBING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND MEDITATION ON ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AS WELL AS EXPLORING BRAIN WAVES AS A TOOL FOR ASSESSING THE POTENTIAL OF THESE COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES FOR SUCH DISORDERS. 2020