1 432 170 CAN YOGA PRACTICES BENEFIT HEALTH BY IMPROVING ORGANISM REGULATION? EVIDENCE FROM ELECTRODERMAL MEASURES OF ACUPUNCTURE MERIDIANS. OBJECTIVES: TO DOCUMENT AND EXPLAIN YOGA'S EFFECTS ON ACUPUNCTURE MERIDIAN ENERGIES. TO UNDERSTAND MECHANISMS BEHIND YOGA'S EFFICACY BY TESTING LINKS BETWEEN YOGA AND TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE STUDY COMPARED TWO GROUPS OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS: NOVICE AND EXPERIENCED. NOVICES CONSISTED OF 33 VOLUNTEERS FROM A SWAMI VIVEKANANDA YOGA ANUSANDHANA SAMSTHANA (S-VYASA) YOGA INSTRUCTOR TRAINING MODULE AND THE EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS WERE 20 RESIDENT SVYASA STUDENTS. THE INTERVENTION WAS 3 WEEKS OF A YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM, NEW FOR THE NOVICES, BUT THE LIFESTYLE OF THE EXPERIENCED GROUP, WHO WERE THEREFORE ASSESSED ONLY ONCE. NOVICES WERE ASSESSED ON DAY 2 AND 23 OF THEIR PROGRAM AT SVYASA'S YOGA MEDICINE HOSPITAL, MAKING THEIR DATA A PRE-POST, SELF-AS-CONTROL, PROSPECTIVE STUDY. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES WERE MEAN ACUMERIDIAN ENERGY LEVELS ASSESSED BY ACUGRAPH3 MEASURES OF ELECTRODERMAL RESISTANCE AT ACUPOINTS; ADDITIONALLY, GENDER DIFFERENCES, STANDARD DEVIATIONS (SDS) OF ALL MEASURES, AND COMPARISON OF POST AND EXPERIENCED GROUP DATA. RESULTS: AVERAGED ENERGY LEVELS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED IN ALL 24 MERIDIANS (MAXIMUM P = 0.032, 4-P < 0.01, AND 19-P < 0.001). FEMALES IMPROVED MORE THAN MALES (P < 0.05), BOTH ENDING AT SIMILAR LEVELS TO EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS, WHOSE SDS WERE LOWER THAN NOVICES ON 19/24 MERIDIANS (MEAN F = 3.715, P = 0.0022), AND 4/5 AVERAGE VARIABLES. CONCLUSIONS: ACUGRAPH3 ELECTRODERMAL MEASURES CONTAIN SUBSTANTIAL INFORMATION, P << 0.00001. YOGA-LIFESTYLE PRACTICE CAN INCREASE AND BALANCE ACUMERIDIAN ENERGIES; LONG-TERM PRACTICE DECREASES GROUP SD'S. THESE THREE SUGGEST REASONS WHY YOGA PRACTICE IMPACTS HEALTH: ONE, INCREASED PRANA LEVELS ARE IMPORTANT; TWO AND THREE, IMPROVED PHYSIOLOGICAL REGULATION IS THE KEY. FURTHER STUDIES RELATING TRADITIONAL INDIAN AND CHINESE MEDICAL SYSTEMS ARE NEEDED. 2014 2 1094 57 EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON ACUMERIDIAN ENERGIES: VARIANCE REDUCTION IMPLIES BENEFITS FOR REGULATION. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: THIS PAPER CONCERNS MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EFFICACY OF YOGA MEDICINE, TRADITIONALLY ATTRIBUTED TO THE ENLIVENMENT OF PRANA. OUR STRATEGY WAS TO INVESTIGATE LEVELS OF QI IN ACUPUNCTURE MERIDIANS, SINCE QI IS USUALLY CONSIDERED EQUIVALENT TO PRANA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ELECTRODERMAL MEASUREMENTS AT ACUMERIDIAN ENDPOINTS (TSING POINTS) WERE MADE ON 32 HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS, PRE AND POST 3 WEEKS YOGA LIFESTYLE PROGRAM USING ACUGRAPH 3 (AN INSTRUMENT IN WIDE USE). A PREVIOUS STUDY FOUND THAT INHERENT ERRORS PREVENT ACUGRAPH FROM PRECISELY EVALUATING QI ENERGIES IN SINGLE MERIDIANS, SO GROUP RESULTS ARE REPORTED: (A) ENERGY LEVELS, (B) ENERGY STABILITY, AND (C) ENERGY BALANCE BETWEEN (I) YIN/YANG MERIDIANS, (II) UPPER AND LOWER, AND (III) LEFT AND RIGHT REGIONS OF THE BODY. RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE OBSERVED IN ALL BUT ENERGY STABILITY, SUPPORTING THE IDEAS THAT YOGA ENLIVENS PRANA, AND THAT BALANCE IN MERIDIANS CONSTITUTES HEALTH. FOR BALANCE VARIABLES, THE STUDY OBSERVED SHIFTS TOWARD NORMAL AT BOTH ENDS OF VARIABLE DISTRIBUTIONS, REDUCING STANDARD DEVIATIONS: POST-INTERVENTION PERCENTAGES OF SUBJECTS WITH VALUES IN THE 'HEALTHY' RANGE INCREASED. CONCLUSION: YOGA IMPROVED REGULATION OF QI LEVELS IN ACUMERIDIAN MERIDIANS AS WELL AS INCREASING THEM. 2013 3 920 40 EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AND EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION ON DISABILITY, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND PAIN IN PEOPLE WITH CLBP: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: THE CURRENT STUDY INVESTIGATES THE EFFECTS OF AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM WITH EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION COMPARED WITH AN INFORMATIONAL PAMPHLET ON DISABILITY, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND PAIN, IN PEOPLE AFFECTED BY CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP). METHODS: THIRTY INDIVIDUALS (AGE 34.2+/-4.52YRS) WITH CLBP WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED INTO A YOGA GROUP (YG, N=15) AND A PAMPHLET GROUP (PG, N=15). THE YG PARTICIPATED IN AN 8-WEEK (2 DAYS PER WEEK) YOGA PROGRAM WHICH INCLUDED EDUCATION ON SPINE ANATOMY/BIOMECHANICS AND THE MANAGEMENT OF CLBP. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: MONITORING RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION, THE OSWESTRY LOW BACK PAIN DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE (ODI-I), ZUNG SELF-RATING DEPRESSION SCALE (SDS), ZUNG SELF-RATING ANXIETY SCALE (SAS) AND NUMERIC RATING SCALE FOR PAIN (NRS 0-10) WERE USED TO COLLECT DATA. RESULTS: AFTER INTERVENTION, THE YG SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE (P<0.05) IN THE MEAN SCORE IN ALL ASSESSED VARIABLES WHEN COMPARED WITH BASELINE DATA. IN ADDITION, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT (P<0.05) DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED AMONG GROUPS AT THE END OF INTERVENTION IN DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND PAIN, BUT NOT IN DISABILITY. CONCLUSIONS: THE YOGA PROGRAM AND EDUCATION TOGETHER APPEAR TO BE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, WHICH CAN AFFECT PERCEPTION OF PAIN. 2018 4 764 37 EFFECT OF THE INFORMATION SUPPORT METHOD COMBINED WITH YOGA EXERCISE ON THE DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND SLEEP QUALITY OF MENOPAUSAL WOMEN. BACKGROUND: MENOPAUSE IS A SPECIAL STAGE IN A WOMAN'S LIFE, BUT NO SAFE CLINICAL TREATMENT EXISTS AGAINST MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. TO ANALYZE THE EFFECT OF THE INFORMATION SUPPORT METHOD COMBINED WITH YOGA EXERCISE ON THE DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND SLEEP QUALITY OF MENOPAUSAL WOMEN. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: FROM JUNE 2019 TO DECEMBER 2019, MENOPAUSAL WOMEN WHO WERE NEWLY RECRUITED IN THREE YOGA CLUBS IN THREE CITIES IN EAST CHINA WERE SELECTED AS THE PARTICIPANTS BY CONVENIENCE SAMPLING. A TOTAL OF 52 WOMEN WERE IN THE EXPERIMENT GROUP AND 54 WERE IN THE CONTROL GROUP. IN 24 WEEKS, THE EXPERIMENT GROUP ENGAGED IN YOGA EXERCISE FOR 60 MINUTES EACH TIME, THREE TIMES A WEEK. THEY GROUP WAS GIVEN PROFESSIONAL POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL INFORMATION SUPPORT AT THE SAME TIME. THE KUPPERMAN MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOM DISTRESS SCALE, SELF-RATING DEPRESSION SCALE (SDS), SELF-RATING ANXIETY SCALE (SAS), AND PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX (PSQI) WERE USED BEFORE THE EXPERIMENT, THREE MONTHS INTO THE EXPERIMENT, AND SIX MONTHS INTO THE EXPERIMENT TO MONITOR THE INTERVENTION EFFECT ON THE PARTICIPANTS. RESULTS: AFTER THE INTERVENTION, THE SYMPTOMS OF DISTRESS AMONG MENOPAUSAL WOMEN IN THE EXPERIMENT GROUP AND THE KUPPERMAN SCORE OF THE EXPERIMENT GROUP REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY. REPEATED MEASURES OF ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WERE CONDUCTED IN THE TWO GROUPS (P<0.001). AFTER THE INTERVENTION, THE DEPRESSION SCORE OF THE EXPERIMENT GROUP DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS FOUND BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS IN REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE IN THE SDS SCORE (P<0.001). AFTER THE INTERVENTION, THE ANXIETY SCORE OF THE EXPERIMENT GROUP REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY, AND REPEATED MEASURES OF ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE IN THE SAS SCORE WERE CONDUCTED IN THE TWO GROUPS (P<0.001). AFTER THE INTERVENTION, THE SLEEP QUALITY OF THE EXPERIMENT GROUP IMPROVED, AND REPEATED MEASURES OF ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE IN SLEEP QUALITY WERE CONDUCTED IN THE TWO GROUPS (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: THE INFORMATION SUPPORT METHOD COMBINED WITH YOGA EXERCISE CAN ALLEVIATE THE DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY OF MENOPAUSAL WOMEN, IMPROVE THEIR SLEEP QUALITY, AND REDUCE THEIR SYMPTOMS OF MENOPAUSAL DISTRESS. 2020 5 847 44 EFFECT OF YOGA ON QUALITY OF LIFE OF CLBP PATIENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL STUDY. CONTEXT: IN TWO OF THE EARLIER RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS ON YOGA FOR CHRONIC LOWER BACK PAIN (CLBP), 12 TO 16 WEEKS OF INTERVENTION WERE FOUND EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING PAIN AND DISABILITY. AIM: TO STUDY THE EFFICACY OF A RESIDENTIAL SHORT TERM INTENSIVE YOGA PROGRAM ON QUALITY OF LIFE IN CLBP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ABOUT 80 PATIENTS WITH CLBP (FEMALES 37) REGISTERED FOR A WEEK LONG TREATMENT AT SVYASA HOLISTIC HEALTH CENTRE IN BENGALURU, INDIA. THEY WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS (40 EACH). THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED A SPECIFIC MODULE FOR CLBP COMPRISING OF ASANAS (PHYSICAL POSTURES), PRANAYAMA (BREATHING PRACTICES), MEDITATION AND LECTURES ON YOGA PHILOSOPHY. THE CONTROL GROUP PRACTICED PHYSICAL THERAPY EXERCISES FOR BACK PAIN. PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE (PSS) WAS USED TO MEASURE BASELINE STRESS LEVELS. OUTCOME MEASURES WERE WHOQOL BREF FOR QUALITY OF LIFE AND STRAIGHT LEG RAISING TEST (SLR) USING A GONIOMETER. RESULTS: THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE CORRELATIONS (PEARSON'S, P<0.005, R>0.30) BETWEEN BASELINE PSS WITH ALL FOUR DOMAINS AND THE TOTAL SCORE OF WHOQOLBREF. ALL THE FOUR DOMAINS' WHOQOLBREF IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP (REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA P=0.001) WITH SIGNIFICANT GROUP*TIME INTERACTION (P<0.05) AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS (P<0.01). SLR INCREASED IN BOTH GROUPS (P=0.001) WITH HIGHER INCREASE IN YOGA (31.1 % RIGHT, 28.4 % LEFT) THAN CONTROL (18.7% RIGHT, 21.5 % LEFT) GROUP WITH SIGNIFICANT GROUP*TIME INTERACTION (SLR RIGHT LEG P=0.044). CONCLUSION: IN CLBP, A NEGATIVE CORRELATION EXISTS BETWEEN STRESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE. YOGA INCREASES QUALITY OF LIFE AND SPINAL FLEXIBILITY BETTER THAN PHYSICAL THERAPY EXERCISES. 2010 6 360 36 ASSOCIATION OF YOGA PRACTICE AND SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS IN CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS PATIENTS WITH STRESS-RELATED ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION. AIM: REDUCING THE PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS BY VARIOUS METHODS CAN IMPROVE OVERALL HEALTH, AND YOGA IS NOW CONSIDERED AS AN EASILY AVAILABLE ALTERNATIVE METHOD. THE PRESENT CROSS-SECTIONAL PILOT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED MAINLY TO FIND THE ASSOCIATION OF YOGA PRACTICE WITH PERIODONTAL DISEASE BY MEASURING SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 70 SUBJECTS WITH AGE RANGE OF 35-60 YEARS SUFFERING WITH CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS WERE DIVIDED INTO GROUP I (WITH STRESS), GROUP II (WITHOUT STRESS), AND GROUP III (PRACTICING YOGA). PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION WAS CARRIED OUT USING HAMILTON ANXIETY RATING SCALE (HAM-A) AND ZUNG SELF-RATING DEPRESSION SCALE (ZSDS). PERIODONTAL PARAMETERS LIKE PLAQUE INDEX (PI), PROBING POCKET DEPTH (PPD), AND CLINICAL ATTACHMENT LEVEL (CAL) AT 5-8 MM AND >8 MM WERE RECORDED. BLOOD SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED AND SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS WERE MEASURED. RESULTS: MEAN AGE, PLAQUE SCORES, AND NUMBER OF TEETH WITH PPD AND CAL AT 5-8 MM AND >8 MM WERE SIMILAR IN ALL THE GROUPS, EXCEPT BETWEEN GROUP I AND GROUP III WHERE A MULTIPLE COMPARISON WITH TUKEY'S POST-HOC TEST SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN PLAQUE INDEX (P < 0.038) AND THE NUMBER OF TEETH WITH CAL 5-8 MM (P < 0.016). SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS AND HAM-A SCALE AND ZSDS SCORES SHOWED HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT VALUE (P < 0.001) IN GROUP I SUBJECTS WHEN COMPARED WITH GROUP II AND GROUP III SUBJECTS. CONCLUSION: CROSS-SECTIONAL OBSERVATION DONE AMONG THREE GROUPS SHOWED THAT INDIVIDUALS PRACTICING YOGA REGULARLY HAD LOW SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS, HAM-A SCALE AND ZSDS SCORES, AND BETTER PERIODONTAL HEALTH. 2016 7 1080 34 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON QUALITY OF SLEEP OF WOMEN WITH PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME. OBJECTIVE: WOMEN WITH PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME (PMS) COMMONLY COMPLAIN OF SLEEP DISTURBANCES, SPECIFICALLY IN THE LUTEAL PHASE OF THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE. THEREFORE, THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON QUALITY OF SLEEP OF WOMEN EXPERIENCING PMS WAS INVESTIGATED. MATERIAL AND METHODS: WOMEN (AGED 20-45 Y) MONITORED FOR PMS, WHO WERE REFERRED TO THE PRIVATE OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY CLINICS IN TABRIZ, IRAN, WERE REFERRED TO THE PRIVATE OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY CLINICS IN TABRIZ, IRAN. AFTERWARD, 62 WOMEN, WERE SELECTED AND DIVIDED INTO 2 GROUPS, RANDOMLY: 31 SUBJECTS IN YOGA THE YOGA GROUP AND 31 IN THE CONTROL GROUP. SUBJECTS IN YOGA PERFORMED FOR 10 WK IN 3 SESSIONS, WITH EACH SESSION LASTING 60 MIN. SUBJECTS IN THE CONTROL GROUP DID NOT PERFORM ANY YOGA. SUBJECTS COMPLETED A DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONNAIRE AND THE PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX QUESTIONNAIRE BEFORE AND AFTER YOGA IN BOTH GROUPS. RESULTS: AFTER YOGA INTERVENTION, SUBJECTS SIGNIFICANTLY EXPRESSED IMPROVEMENT IN SLEEPING (P < .05). BASED ON THE MANN-WHITNEY U TEST, A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED IN THE SUBDOMAINS OF BOTH GROUPS ON QUALITY OF SLEEP (P < .01), SLEEP LATENCY (P < .01), AND SLEEP EFFICIENCY (P < .05). CONCLUSION: YOGA REDUCED THE DISTURBANCES OF SLEEP IN THE SUBJECTS WITH PMS, WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY IMPROVED THE EFFICIENCY OF THEIR SLEEP. THEREFORE, WE CONCLUDE THAT YOGA CAN BE PRESCRIBED FOR IMPROVING SLEEP DISTURBANCES IN WOMEN WITH PMS AND MEDICAL THERAPY WILL PROBABLY BE NEEDED IN SEVERE SITUATIONS. 2019 8 2507 41 YOGA BASED CARDIAC REHABILITATION AFTER CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS SURGERY: ONE-YEAR RESULTS ON LVEF, LIPID PROFILE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES--A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE THE LONG TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA BASED CARDIAC REHABILITATION PROGRAM WITH ONLY PHYSIOTHERAPY BASED PROGRAM AS AN ADD-ON TO CONVENTIONAL REHABILITATION AFTER CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFTING (CABG) ON RISK FACTORS. METHODS: IN THIS SINGLE BLIND PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED PARALLEL TWO ARMED ACTIVE CONTROL STUDY, 1026 PATIENTS POSTED FOR CABG AT NARAYANA HRUDAYALAYA INSTITUTE OF CARDIAC SCIENCES, BENGALURU (INDIA) WERE SCREENED. OF THESE, 250 MALE PARTICIPANTS (35-65 YEARS) WHO SATISFIED THE SELECTION CRITERIA AND CONSENTED WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS. WITHIN AND BETWEEN GROUP COMPARISONS WERE DONE AT THREE POINTS OF FOLLOW UP (I.E. 6TH WEEK, 6TH MONTH, AND 12TH MONTH) BY USING WILCOXON'S SIGNED RANKS TEST AND MANN WHITNEY U TEST RESPECTIVELY. RESULTS: YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY (P = 0.001, MANN WHITNEY) BETTER IMPROVEMENT IN LVEF THAN CONTROL GROUP IN THOSE WITH ABNORMAL BASELINE EF (<53%) AFTER 1 YEAR. THERE WAS A BETTER REDUCTION IN BMI IN THE YOGA GROUP (P = 0.038, BETWEEN GROUPS) IN THOSE WITH HIGH BASELINE BMI (>/=23) AFTER 12 MONTHS. YOGA GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT (P = 0.008, WILCOXON'S) REDUCTION IN BLOOD GLUCOSE AT ONE YEAR IN THOSE WITH HIGH BASELINE FBS >/=110 MG/DL. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER IMPROVEMENT IN YOGA THAN THE CONTROL GROUP IN HDL (P = 0.003), LDL (P = 0.01) AND VLDL (P = 0.03) IN THOSE WITH ABNORMAL BASELINE VALUES. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER IMPROVEMENT (P = 0.02, BETWEEN GROUPS) IN POSITIVE AFFECT IN YOGA GROUP. WITHIN YOGA GROUP, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN PERCEIVED STRESS (P = 0.001), ANXIETY (P = 0.001), DEPRESSION (P = 0.001), AND NEGATIVE AFFECT (P = 0.03) WHILE IN THE CONTROL GROUP THERE WAS REDUCTION (P = 0.003) ONLY IN SCORES ON ANXIETY. CONCLUSION: ADDITION OF YOGA BASED RELAXATION TO CONVENTIONAL POST-CABG CARDIAC REHABILITATION HELPS IN BETTER MANAGEMENT OF RISK FACTORS IN THOSE WITH ABNORMAL BASELINE VALUES AND MAY HELP IN PREVENTING RECURRENCE. 2014 9 2030 14 TAI CHI/YOGA REDUCES PRENATAL DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND SLEEP DISTURBANCES. NINETY-TWO PRENATALLY DEPRESSED PREGNANT WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A TAI CHI/YOGA OR A WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP AT AN AVERAGE OF 22 WEEKS GESTATION. THE TAI CHI/YOGA GROUP PARTICIPATED IN A 20-MIN GROUP SESSION PER WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. AT THE END OF THE TREATMENT PERIOD THE TAI CHI/YOGA GROUP HAD LOWER SUMMARY DEPRESSION (CES-D) SCORES, AS WELL AS LOWER NEGATIVE AFFECT AND SOMATIC/VEGETATIVE SYMPTOMS SUBSCALE SCORES ON THE CES-D, LOWER ANXIETY (STAI) SCORES AND LOWER SLEEP DISTURBANCES SCORES. 2013 10 2091 36 THE EFFECT OF TELE-YOGA TRAINING IN HEALTHY WOMEN ON MENSTRUAL SYMPTOMS, QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY-DEPRESSION LEVEL, BODY AWARENESS, AND SELF-ESTEEM DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC. BACKGROUND AND AIMS: THIS STUDY WAS PLANNED TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF TELE-YOGA TRAINING ON MENSTRUAL SYMPTOMS, QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY-DEPRESSION LEVEL, BODY AWARENESS, AND SELF-ESTEEM IN HEALTHY WOMEN. METHODS: THIRTY-TWO HEALTHY PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18 AND 45 WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY. THE WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS AS TELE-YOGA TRAINING (N: 16) AND THE CONTROL GROUP (N: 16). THE TELE-YOGA TRAINING WAS PERFORMED ON THE ZOOM SOFTWARE FOR 6 WEEKS, 2 TIMES A WEEK AND 45 MIN A DAY. NO INTERVENTION WAS MADE IN THE CONTROL GROUP. MENSTRUAL PAIN AND SYMPTOMS BY MENSTRUAL SYMPTOM SCALE (MSS), QUALITY OF LIFE BY NOTTINGHAM HEALTH PROFILE (NHP), DEPRESSION LEVELS BY BECK DEPRESSION SCALE (BDS), ANXIETY LEVELS BY STATE AND TRAIT ANXIETY SCALE (STAI), BODY AWARENESS BY BODY AWARENESS QUESTIONNAIRE (BAQ), AND SELF-ESTEEM BY ROSENBERG SELF-ESTEEM SCALE (RSES) WERE DETERMINED. RESULTS: IN THE TELE-YOGA TRAINING GROUP, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE OBSERVED IN THE MSS TOTAL (P = 0.001), NEGATIVE EFFECTS (P = 0.003), MENSTRUAL PAIN SYMPTOMS (P = 0.003), COPING METHODS (P = 0.001) SUB-PARAMETERS, BDS SCORE (P = 0.000), NHP SLEEP (P = 0.021), ENERGY (P = 0.002), EMOTIONAL (P = 0.000), AND ISOLATION (P = 0.039) SUB-PARAMETERS. IN THE CONTROL GROUP, THERE WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT WORSENING IN THE NHP TOTAL SCORE (P = 0.000). AS REGARDS THE DIFFERENCES IN VALUES BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS, THERE WERE STATISTICALLY DIFFERENCE IN FAVOR OF THE TRAINING GROUP IN SUB-PARAMETERS OF MSS, NHP SLEEP, ENERGY, EMOTIONAL, AND ISOLATION SUB-PARAMETERS, AND BDS AND BAQ SCORES (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: IT IS THOUGHT THAT TELE-YOGA TRAINING MAY BE A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE METHOD IN REDUCING MENSTRUAL SYMPTOMS AND DEPRESSION, INCREASING QUALITY OF LIFE, AND BODY AWARENESS. 2022 11 884 36 EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON ONE LEG STANDING AND FUNCTIONAL REACH TESTS IN OBESE INDIVIDUALS WITH POOR POSTURAL CONTROL. [PURPOSE] THE AIM OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON STATIC AND DYNAMIC STANDING BALANCE IN OBESE INDIVIDUALS WITH POOR STANDING BALANCE. [SUBJECTS AND METHODS] SIXTEEN OBESE VOLUNTEERS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED INTO YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS. THE YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM WAS PERFORMED FOR 45 MINUTES PER DAY, 3 TIMES PER WEEK, FOR 4 WEEKS. STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCE WERE ASSESSED IN VOLUNTEERS WITH ONE LEG STANDING AND FUNCTIONAL REACH TESTS. OUTCOME MEASURES WERE TESTED BEFORE TRAINING AND AFTER A SINGLE WEEK OF TRAINING. TWO-WAY REPEATED MEASURE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WITH TUKEY'S HONESTLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE POST HOC STATISTICS WAS USED TO ANALYZE THE DATA. [RESULTS] OBESE INDIVIDUALS SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED STATIC STANDING BALANCE IN THE YOGA TRAINING GROUP, BUT THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT OF STATIC OR DYNAMIC STANDING BALANCE IN THE CONTROL GROUP AFTER 4 WEEKS. IN THE YOGA GROUP, SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN STATIC STANDING BALANCE WAS FOUND AFTER THE 2ND, 3RD, AND 4TH WEEKS. COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP, STATIC STANDING BALANCE IN THE YOGA GROUP WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT AFTER THE 2ND WEEK, AND DYNAMIC STANDING BALANCE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT AFTER THE 4TH WEEK. [CONCLUSION] YOGA TRAINING WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR IMPROVING STANDING BALANCE IN OBESE INDIVIDUALS WITH POOR STANDING BALANCE. 2015 12 963 35 EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM ON MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA: A SINGLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM ON MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. DESIGN: SINGLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. PARTICIPANTS: 40 RANDOMLY SELECTED UNDERGRADUATE NURSING STUDENTS, WITH 20 EACH ASSIGNED TO AN EXERCISE OR A CONTROL GROUP. INTERVENTION: THE PARTICIPANTS ENGAGED IN A YOGA PROGRAM FOR 60 MINUTES ONCE A WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. THE PROGRAM CONSISTED OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE COMBINED WITH RELAXATION AND MEDITATION. OUTCOME MEASURES: MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS LEVELS WERE MEASURED BY USING THE VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE FOR PAIN AND THE MENSTRUAL DISTRESS QUESTIONNAIRE, RESPECTIVELY. DATA WERE ANALYZED BY USING THE KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV AND SHAPIRO-WILK NORMALITY TESTS, T-TEST, CHI-SQUARE TEST, LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS, AND MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (SPSS PROGRAM). RESULTS: MENSTRUAL PAIN INTENSITY (GROUP DIFFERENCE, -0.94; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI], -1.47 TO -0.42; P = 0.001) AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS (GROUP DIFFERENCE, -1.13; 95% CI, -1.43 TO -0.82; P < 0.0001) SCORES DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT YOGA INTERVENTIONS MAY REDUCE MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS IN FEMALE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. 2016 13 710 42 EFFECT OF INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE ON POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS IN HOME GUARDS IN BENGALURU: A WAIT LIST RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL. BACKGROUND: THE BENEFICIAL ASPECT OF POSITIVE EMOTIONS ON THE PROCESS OF LEARNING AND THE HARMFUL AFFECT OF NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ON COPING WITH STRESS AND HEALTH ARE WELL-DOCUMENTED THROUGH STUDIES. THE HOME GUARDS (HGS) ARE WORKING IN A VERY STRESSFUL SITUATION DURING ELECTION, MANAGING TRAFFIC AND OTHER CROWDED PLACES. IT IS QUITE ESSENTIAL IN PRESENT DAY CIRCUMSTANCES THAT THEY HAVE TO MANAGE THEIR EMOTIONS AND COPE UP WITH DIFFERENT STRESSFUL SITUATIONS. OBJECTIVE: TO STUDY THE EFFICACY OF INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE (IYM) ON EMOTIONS (POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE AFFECT [PA AND NA]) OF HGS. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 148 HGS BOTH MALES AND FEMALES WHO QUALIFIED THE INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO YOGA GROUP (YG) AND CONTROL GROUPS (CG). THE YG HAD SUPERVISED PRACTICE SESSIONS (BY TRAINED EXPERTS) FOR 1 H DAILY, 6 DAYS A WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS ALONG WITH THEIR REGULAR ROUTINE WORK WHEREAS CG PERFORMING THEIR ROUTINE WORK. POSITIVE AFFECT NEGATIVE AFFECT SCALE (PANAS) WAS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER 8 WEEKS USING A MODIFIED VERSION OF PANAS. RESULTS: PA IN YG HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (P < 0.05) WHEREAS IT HAD DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY (P < 0.05) IN CG. OTHER POSITIVE EFFECT IN YG HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (P < 0.001), WHEREAS IT HAD DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY (P < 0.001) IN CG. NA IN YG HAD SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED (P < 0.001), WHEREAS IT HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (P < 0.001) IN CG. OTHER NA IN YG HAD SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED (P < 0.001), WHEREAS IT HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (P < 0.01) IN CG. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT IYM CAN BE USEFUL FOR HGS TO IMPROVE THE PA AND TO DECREASE NA SCORE. MOREOVER, IYM IS COST-EFFECTIVE AND HELPS HGS FOR COPING UP WITH EMOTIONS IN STRESSFUL SITUATIONS. 2016 14 703 45 EFFECT OF INTEGRAL YOGA ON PSYCHOLOGICAL AND HEALTH VARIABLES AND THEIR CORRELATIONS. OBJECTIVE: CERTAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL AND HEALTH VARIABLES ARE COMMONLY MEASURED IN INDIA. THIS STUDY EVALUATES THE EFFECTS OF INTEGRAL YOGA PRACTICES ON THESE VARIABLES AND ALSO THE CONSISTENCY OF CORRELATIONS OBSERVED BETWEEN THEM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE STUDY WAS A PRE-POST INTERVENTION STUDY. THE VARIABLES WERE MEASURED AT THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF A ONE-MONTH YOGA COURSE. THERE WAS NO CONTROL GROUP.THE STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT AT SWAMI VIVEKANANDA YOGA ANUSANDHANA SAMSTHANA (S-VYASA) UNIVERSITY, IN ITS RURAL CAMPUS SOUTH OF BANGALORE. BASED ON HEALTH CRITERIA, 108 SUBJECTS WERE SELECTED OUT OF 198 VOLUNTEERS TO FORM THE EXPERIMENTAL YOGA GROUP. AGES RANGED FROM 17 TO 63 YEARS. THE YOGASANAS (POSTURES), PRANAYAMA (BREATHING EXERCISES), RELAXATION TECHNIQUES, MEDITATION, CHANTING AND LECTURES WERE THE COMPONENTS OF YOGA INTERVENTION. THE VARIABLES MEASURED WERE SUSTAINED ATTENTION, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE - EQ, GENERAL HEALTH - GHQ, GUNA PERSONALITY - SATTVA, RAJAS AND TAMAS. RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT PRE-POST CHANGES WERE FOUND IN ALL VARIABLES. SIGNIFICANT CORRELATIONS WERE FOUND BETWEEN THE FOLLOWING PAIRS: THE TWO SUSTAINED ATTENTION VARIABLES; EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND GENERAL HEALTH; GHQ AND TAMAS; SATTVA AND TAMAS; AND RAJAS AND TAMAS. CONCLUSION: THE STUDY SHOWS THAT THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN ALL VARIABLES (P< 0.001) EXCEPT IN SATTVA. IT ALSO CONFIRMS THAT EQ AND GENERAL HEALTH VARIABLES CORRELATE SIGNIFICANTLY WITH EACH OTHER AND NEGATIVELY WITH TAMAS. EQ AND TAMAS FORM POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE PREDICTORS OF HEALTH RESPECTIVELY. SATTVA CORRELATES POSITIVELY WITH EQ SUGGESTING THAT A SATTVIC PERSONALITY INDICATES BETTER SELF-CONTROL. THIS SUGGESTS THAT, BY IMPROVING GUNA PERSONALITY, LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE MAY STABILIZE EQ. 2011 15 829 30 EFFECT OF YOGA ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. OBJECTIVES: TO OBSERVE THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS USING A PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED AND INTERVENTIONAL STUDY. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES TOTAL MENOPAUSE RATING SCALE (MRS) SCORE AND THREE SUBSCALE SCORES (SOMATOVEGETATIVE, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND UROGENITAL) WERE MEASURED ON DAY 1 AND DAY 90 IN THE STUDY GROUP WHICH PERFORMED YOGA (ASANA, PRANAYAM AND MEDITATION) UNDER SUPERVISION FOR THREE MONTHS, AND WERE COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP THAT DID NOT PERFORM YOGA. MRS HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO MEASURE HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE OF AGEING WOMEN. IT CONSISTS OF 11 SYMPTOMS AND THREE SUBSCALES. RESULTS: IT WAS OBSERVED THAT ON DAY 1 THE SCORES IN BOTH THE GROUPS WERE COMPARABLE. ON DAY 90, THE SCORES IN THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A REDUCTION IN SCORE ON ALL THE SUBSCALES, WHICH WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS NOTED IN THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: YOGA IS EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS ALTERNATIVE THERAPY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. 2011 16 2088 36 THE EFFECT OF PRACTICING YOGA DURING PREGNANCY ON LABOR STAGES LENGTH, ANXIETY AND PAIN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: ANXIETY AND FEAR OF LABOR PAIN HAS LED TO ELEVATED CESAREAN SECTION RATE IN SOME COUNTRIES. THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA IN PREGNANCY ON ANXIETY, LABOR PAIN AND LENGTH OF LABOR STAGES. METHODS: THIS CLINICAL TRIAL STUDY WAS PERFORMED ON 84 NULLIPAROUS WOMEN WHO WERE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD AND WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS OF YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS. PREGNANCY YOGA PROGRAM CONSISTING OF 6 60-MIN TRAINING SESSIONS WAS STARTED EVERY 2 WEEKS FROM WEEK 26 OF PREGNANCY AND CONTINUED UNTIL 37 WEEKS OF GESTATION. ANXIETY SEVERITY AT MATERNAL ADMISSION TO LABOR WAS MEASURED BY THE SPIELBERGERS STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY, AND LABOR PAIN WAS MEASURED BY VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE (VAS) AT DILATATION (4-5 CM) AND 2 H AFTER THE FIRST MEASUREMENT. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING CHI-SQUARE AND T-TEST. RESULTS: INTERVENTION GROUP REPORTED LESS PAIN AT DILATATION (4-5 CM) (P=0.001) AND 2 H AFTER THE FIRST MEASUREMENT (P=0.001) THAN THE CONTROL GROUP. STAT ANXIETY WAS ALSO LOWER IN INTERVENTION GROUP THAN THE CONTROL GROUP (P=0.003) AT THE ENTRANCE TO LABOR ROOM. SUBJECTS IN THE CONTROL GROUP REQUIRED MORE INDUCTION COMPARED TO INTERVENTION GROUP (P=0.003). WOMEN IN INTERVENTION GROUP EXPERIENCED SHORTER DURATION OF THE FIRST PHASE OF THE LABOR THAN THE CONTROL GROUP (P=0.002). ALSO, THE TOTAL DURATION OF TWO STAGES OF LABOR WAS SHORTER IN INTERVENTION GROUP THAN THE CONTROL GROUP (P=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: PRACTICING YOGA DURING PREGNANCY MAY REDUCE WOMEN'S ANXIETY DURING LABOR; SHORTEN LABOR STAGES, AND LOWER LABOR PAIN. 2020 17 807 29 EFFECT OF YOGA ON ARRHYTHMIA BURDEN, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PAROXYSMAL ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: THE YOGA MY HEART STUDY. OBJECTIVES: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON ATRIAL FIBRILLATION (AF) BURDEN, QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL), DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY SCORES. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS KNOWN TO HAVE SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT ON CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH. THE EFFECT OF YOGA IN REDUCING AF BURDEN IS UNKNOWN. METHODS: THIS SINGLE-CENTER, PRE-POST STUDY ENROLLED PATIENTS WITH SYMPTOMATIC PAROXYSMAL AF WITH AN INITIAL 3-MONTH NONINTERVENTIONAL OBSERVATION PERIOD FOLLOWED BY TWICE-WEEKLY 60-MIN YOGA TRAINING FOR NEXT 3 MONTHS. AF EPISODES DURING THE CONTROL AND STUDY PERIODS AS WELL AS SF-36, ZUNG SELF-RATED ANXIETY, AND ZUNG SELF-RATED DEPRESSION SCORES AT BASELINE, BEFORE, AND AFTER THE STUDY PHASE WERE ASSESSED. RESULTS: YOGA TRAINING REDUCED SYMPTOMATIC AF EPISODES (3.8 +/- 3 VS. 2.1 +/- 2.6, P < 0.001), SYMPTOMATIC NON-AF EPISODES (2.9 +/- 3.4 VS. 1.4 +/- 2.0; P < 0.001), ASYMPTOMATIC AF EPISODES (0.12 +/- 0.44 VS. 0.04 +/- 0.20; P < 0.001), AND DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY (P < 0.001), AND IMPROVED THE QOL PARAMETERS OF PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING, GENERAL HEALTH, VITALITY, SOCIAL FUNCTIONING, AND MENTAL HEALTH DOMAINS ON SF-36 (P = 0.017, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P = 0.019, AND P < 0.001, RESPECTIVELY). THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN HEART RATE, AND SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE BEFORE AND AFTER YOGA (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: IN PATIENTS WITH PAROXYSMAL AF, YOGA IMPROVES SYMPTOMS, ARRHYTHMIA BURDEN, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCORES, AND SEVERAL DOMAINS OF QOL. 2013 18 2737 32 YOGA POSITIVELY AFFECTED DEPRESSION AND BLOOD PRESSURE IN WOMEN WITH PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL. WOMEN WITH PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME (PMS) OFTEN COMPLAIN ABOUT DEPRESSION WHEN THEIR MENSTRUAL CYCLE BEGINS. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON WOMEN WITH PMS SUFFERING FROM DEPRESSION DURING MENSTRUAL CYCLE. METHODS: THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED FROM APRIL TO OCTOBER 2015 IN TABRIZ, IRAN. ALL SUBJECTS (20-45 YEARS OLD), WHO WERE FREQUENTLY REFERRED TO THE PRIVATE OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY CLINICS, WERE INITIALLY MONITORED FOR PMS AND DEPRESSION. SUBJECTS COMPLETED THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY-II (BDI-II) QUESTIONNAIRES BEFORE AND AFTER INTERVENTION. IN ADDITION, SUBJECTS WERE MONITORED FOR ELIGIBLE AND INELIGIBLE CRITERIA. IN THIS STUDY 62 SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED FOR THE YOGA GROUP AND CONTROL GROUPS. SUBJECTS PRACTICED YOGA OVER TWO MONTHS IN THREE SESSIONS, THE DURATION OF EACH SESSION WAS 60MIN. RESULTS: THE GENERAL SCORE OF THE DEPRESSION AFTER YOGA INTERVENTION WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP (P<0.036) AND YOGA GROUP BEFORE INTERVENTION (P<0.001). THE DIASTOLIC PRESSURE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER YOGA INTERVENTION (P<0.029). YOGA DECREASED THE STATE OF DEPRESSION AND DIASTOLIC PRESSURE OF THE SUBJECTS WITH PMS COMPLAINING FROM DEPRESSION. CONCLUSION: WE CONCLUDE THAT YOGA HAS STRONG EFFECTS ON DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS AND BLOOD PRESSURE, THEREFORE IT CAN BE USED AS A COMPLEMENTARY OR ALTERNATIVE REMEDY FOR PMS PATIENTS. 2019 19 961 31 EFFECTS OF A YOGA NIDRA ON THE LIFE STRESS AND SELF-ESTEEM IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA NIDRA ON LIFE STRESS AND SELF-ESTEEM IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. METHODS: THIS STUDY IS A NON-EQUIVALENT CONTROL GROUP PRETEST-POSTTEST DESIGN. FORTY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WERE SELECTED BY CONVENIENCE SAMPLING, WITH 20 ASSIGNED TO A YOGA NIDRA GROUP AND 20 TO A CONTROL GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP PARTICIPATED IN BI-WEEKLY, 1-H SESSIONS OF YOGA NIDRA FOR 8 WEEKS. LIFE STRESS INTENSITY LEVEL WAS MEASURED USING A 10CM VISUAL ANALOG SCALE. SELF-ESTEEM SCORE WAS MEASURED BY ROSENBERG'S SELF-ESTEEM SCALE. RESULTS: THE YOGA NIDRA GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED LIFE STRESS INTENSITY LEVELS COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP ALSO SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED SELF-ESTEEM SCORES COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT YOGA NIDRA COULD ALLEVIATE THE LIFE STRESS INTENSITY LEVEL AND INCREASE THE SELF-ESTEEM IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. 2019 20 713 34 EFFECT OF INTEGRATED YOGA ON ANXIETY, DEPRESSION & WELL BEING IN NORMAL PREGNANCY. OBJECTIVE: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF INTEGRATED YOGA ON PREGNANCY EXPERIENCE, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION IN NORMAL PREGNANCY. METHODS: THIS PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED CONTROL STUDY RECRUITED 96 WOMEN IN 20TH WEEK OF NORMAL PREGNANCY. YOGA GROUP (N = 51) PRACTICED INTEGRATED YOGA AND CONTROL GROUP (N = 45) DID STANDARD ANTENATAL EXERCISES, ONE HOUR DAILY, FROM 20TH TO 36TH WEEK OF GESTATION. MANN-WHITNEY AND WILCOXON'S TESTS WERE USED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. RESULTS: THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS (MANN-WHITNEY P < 0.001) IN ALL VARIABLES. THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WITHIN GROUPS (WILCOXON'S P < 0.001) IN BOTH GROUPS. PREGNANCY RELATED EXPERIENCE (PEQ) REDUCED IN YOGA BY 26.86%, STATE (STAI I) ANXIETY (DECREASED 15.65% IN YOGA, INCREASED 13.76% IN CONTROL), TRAIT (STAI II) ANXIETY (DECREASED 8.97% IN YOGA, INCREASED 5.02% IN CONTROL) AND DEPRESSION (HADS) (DECREASED 30.67% IN YOGA, INCREASED 3.57% IN CONTROL). CONCLUSION: YOGA REDUCES ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND PREGNANCY RELATED UNCOMFORTABLE EXPERIENCES. 2013