1 2792 111 YOGA THERAPY FOR DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN MID-LIFE MANAGERS. BACKGROUND: BUSINESS EXECUTIVES' LIVES HAVE BECOME A NEVER-ENDING RACE AGAINST TIME, TECHNOLOGY, AND TARGETS. THIS RACE CREATES TENSION, WHICH LEADS TO DISSATISFACTION AND FRUSTRATION AND EVENTUALLY MANIFESTS ITSELF AS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS WITH MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DRAIN. THIS MODERN LIFESTYLE INTENSIFIES THE STRESS LEADING TO "EXCESSIVE TENSION" AND CONSEQUENT DETERIORATION IN "EXECUTIVE EFFICIENCY". OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENT QUOTIENT (EQ) IN MANAGERS UNDERGOING YOGA-BASED SELF MANAGEMENT OF EXCESSIVE TENSION (SMET) PROGRAM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 72 MANAGERS PARTICIPATED IN THIS STUDY WHICH IS OF "SINGLE GROUP PRE-POST DESIGN." THE EQ TEST DEVELOPED BY PROF N. K. CHADHA FROM UNIVERSITY OF DELHI WAS ADMINISTERED AS PRE AND POST THE 5 DAYS OF SMET PROGRAM. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS, KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV TEST, AND WILCOXON SIGNED RANK TEST WERE USED TO ANALYZE THE DATA. RESULTS: THE DATA ANALYSIS SHOWED 72.02% SIGNIFICANT INCREASE (P<0.001) IN EQ. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT PARTICIPATION IN A SMET PROGRAM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENT IN EQ AND MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR "EXECUTIVE EFFICIENCY." 2011 2 1050 45 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON BRAIN WAVE COHERENCE IN EXECUTIVES. AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF SELF MANAGEMENT OF EXCESSIVE TENSION (SMET), A YOGA BASED STRESS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM ON BRAIN WAVE COHERENCE. BRAIN WAVE RECORDINGS WERE TAKEN WITH BRAIN MASTER 2 CHANNEL EEG (VERSION-2.0). THE SUBJECTS FOR THE STUDY WERE 72 CORPORATE EXECUTIVES, 48.75 +/- 3.86 YEARS OF MEAN AGE REFERRED FROM OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION LIMITED. EEG DATA WAS RECORDED ON THE FIRST AND SIXTH DAY OF 5 DAYS SMET PROGRAM. A COMPLETE STATISTICAL AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS SHOWED 19.31% INCREASE (P=0.03) IN DELTA, 5.04% INCREASE (P=0.65) IN THETA, 15.40% INCREASE (P=0.09) IN ALPHA, 1.67% DECREASE (P=0.54) IN BETA AND 18.68% INCREASE (P=0.07) IN GAMMA WAVE COHERENCE BETWEEN PRE AND POST INTERVENTION MEASUREMENTS. TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT PARTICIPATION IN A SMET PROGRAM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENT IN EMOTIONAL STABILITY AND MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR 'EXECUTIVE EFFICIENCY'. BECAUSE BEFORE AND AFTER DESIGNS LIMIT INFERENCES ABOUT INTERVENTION EFFECTS, FURTHER RESEARCH IS WARRANTED TO EXPLORE THE EFFECTS OF SMET PROGRAM FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT USING A LARGER, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. 2011 3 1478 78 INTEGRATED YOGA THERAPY FOR IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH IN MANAGERS. BACKGROUND: MANAGERS' LIVES HAVE BECOME A NEVER-ENDING RACE AGAINST TIME, TECHNOLOGY, AND TARGETS. THIS RACE CREATES TENSION, WHICH LEADS TO DISSATISFACTION AND FRUSTRATION AND EVENTUALLY MANIFESTS ITSELF AS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS WITH MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DRAIN. THIS MODERN LIFESTYLE INTENSIFIES THE STRESS LEADING TO "EXCESSIVE TENSION" AND CONSEQUENT DETERIORATION IN "EXECUTIVE EFFICIENCY." OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS MENTAL HEALTH IN MANAGERS UNDERGOING YOGA-BASED SELF-MANAGEMENT OF EXCESSIVE TENSION (SMET) PROGRAM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 72 MANAGERS WITH 48.75+/-3.86 YEARS OF MEAN AGE WERE PARTICIPATED IN THIS STUDY OF SINGLE GROUP PRE-POST DESIGN. THE GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE DATA WERE TAKEN ON THE FIRST AND SIXTH DAY OF 5 DAYS SMET PROGRAM. RESULTS: THE DATA ANALYSIS SHOWED 68.25% DECREASE (P<0.001) IN SOMATIC SYMPTOMS, 66.29% DECREASE (P<0.001) IN ANXIETY AND INSOMNIA, 65.00% DECREASE (P<0.001) IN SOCIAL DYSFUNCTION, 87.08% DECREASE (P<0.001) IN SEVERE DEPRESSION, AND 71.47% DECREASE (P<0.001) IN ALL MEDICAL COMPLAINTS. CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT PARTICIPATION IN A SMET PROGRAM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENT IN MENTAL HEALTH AND MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR "EXECUTIVE EFFICIENCY." 2011 4 2797 59 YOGA THERAPY FOR PROMOTING EMOTIONAL SENSITIVITY IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. BACKGROUND: STUDENTS NEED EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EI) FOR THEIR BETTER ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE. THERE ARE THREE IMPORTANT PSYCHOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS OF EI: EMOTIONAL SENSITIVITY (ES), EMOTIONAL MATURITY (EM) AND EMOTIONAL COMPETENCY (EC), WHICH MOTIVATE STUDENTS TO RECOGNIZE TRUTHFULLY, INTERPRET HONESTLY AND HANDLE TACTFULLY THE DYNAMICS OF THEIR BEHAVIORAL PATTERN. OBJECTIVE: THE STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO ASSESS ES IN THE STUDENTS UNDERGOING YOGA THERAPY PROGRAM IN THE FORM OF YOGA INSTRUCTOR'S COURSE (YIC) MODULE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FOUR YIC STUDENTS WITH 25.77 +/- 4.85 YEARS OF MEAN AGE PARTICIPATED IN THIS STUDY OF 21 DAYS DURATION (A SINGLE GROUP PRE-POST DESIGN). THE ES DATA WAS COLLECTED BEFORE (PRE) AND AFTER (POST) YIC MODULE USING EMOTIONAL QUOTIENT TEST DEVELOPED BY DR DALIP SINGH AND DR N K CHADHA. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS, KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV TEST, AND WILCOXON SIGNED RANK TEST WERE USED FOR ANALYZING THE DATA WITH THE HELP OF SPSS 16. RESULTS: THE DATA ANALYSIS SHOWED 3.63% SIGNIFICANT INCREASE (P < 0.01) IN ES. CONCLUSION: THE PRESENT STUDY SUGGESTS THAT YIC MODULE CAN RESULT IN IMPROVEMENT OF ES AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, THUS PAVING THE WAY FOR THEIR ACADEMIC SUCCESS. ADDITIONAL WELL-DESIGNED STUDIES ARE NEEDED BEFORE A STRONG RECOMMENDATION CAN BE MADE. 2014 5 1131 54 EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR MENTAL PERFORMANCE IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. BACKGROUND: WITH GROWING SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE, YOGA IS EMERGING AS AN IMPORTANT HEALTH BEHAVIOR-LIFESTYLE MODIFYING MODULE TO ACHIEVE HOLISTIC HEALTH AT PHYSICAL, MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL AND SPIRITUAL LEVELS. BRAIN WAVE COHERENCE (BWC) RECORDINGS FROM THE SURFACE OF THE SKULL ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT COGNITIVE PROCESSES AND PLAYS BOTH CRITICAL AND USEFUL ROLES IN YOGA WITH WIDE RANGE OF FUNCTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE. THE PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES THAT CHARACTERIZE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR BETTER MENTAL PERFORMANCE IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS HAVE NOT BEEN STUDIED ADEQUATELY. OBJECTIVE: THE STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE MENTAL PERFORMANCE THROUGH BWC ANALYSIS IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS UNDERGOING INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE (IYM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE IYM SUBJECTS (N=30) WITH 25.77+/-4.85 YEARS OF MEAN AGE PARTICIPATED IN THIS SINGLE GROUP PRE-POST STUDY. THE BWC DATA WAS COLLECTED BEFORE (PRE) AND AFTER (POST) THE 21 DAYS IYM USING BRAIN MASTER (MODEL: 2E PART # 390-001), MICHIGAN, USA. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS, KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV TEST AND WILCOXON SIGNED RANK TEST WERE USED FOR ANALYZING DATA WITH THE HELP OF SPSS-16. RESULTS: A COMPLETE STATISTICAL AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS SHOWED 43.24% INCREASE (P<0.001) IN DELTA, 9.13% INCREASE (P=0.289) IN THETA, 57.85% INCREASE (P<0.001) IN ALPHA, 17.65% DECREASE (P=0.136) IN BETA AND 9.19% INCREASE (P=0.586) IN GAMMA BWC BETWEEN PRE AND POST INTERVENTION MEASUREMENTS. CONCLUSION: BWC STUDY SHOWED SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN BOTH DELTA AND ALPHA WAVE COHERENCE SUGGESTING THAT IYM CAN RESULT IN IMPROVEMENT OF COHERENT AND INTEGRATED BRAIN FUNCTIONING AMONG STUDENTS, THUS PAVING THE WAY FOR THEIR BETTER MENTAL PERFORMANCE. ALTHOUGH THIS PRELIMINARY RESEARCH IS PROMISING, MORE WELL-DESIGNED STUDIES ARE NEEDED BEFORE A STRONG RECOMMENDATION CAN BE MADE. 2013 6 1132 35 EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR SUSTAINED ATTENTION IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. SUSTAINED ATTENTION (SA) IS A VITAL FUNCTION MEDIATED BY THE RIGHT FRONTAL - PARIETAL CORTEX. THE DIGIT VIGILANCE TEST (DVT) MEASURES SA. ASSESSMENT OF SA IN STUDENTS FOR THEIR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE IS CONSIDERED TO BE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF A NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY IS TO DETERMINE SA IN STUDENTS UNDERGOING TRAINING OF INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE (IYM). A TOTAL OF 66 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AGED BETWEEN 18-37 YEARS PARTICIPATED IN THIS STUDY WITH A SINGLE GROUP PRE-POST DESIGN. THE DVT DATA WAS COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE IYM. STATISTICAL PACKAGE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES VERSION 19 WAS USED FOR DATA ANALYSIS. THE KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV TEST SHOWED THAT THE DATA WERE NOT NORMALLY DISTRIBUTED. THE WILCOXON'S SIGNED RANKS TEST WAS USED TO COMPARE MEANS OF DATA. THE DATA ANALYSIS SHOWED 11.66% DECREASE (P < 0.001) IN TOTAL TIME TAKEN FOR DVT AND 31.90% DECREASE (P < 0.001) IN ERROR SCORES FOR DVT. THE PRESENT STUDY SUGGESTS THAT IYM CAN RESULT IN IMPROVEMENT OF SA AMONG STUDENTS, THUS PAVING THE WAY FOR THEIR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE. ADDITIONAL WELL-DESIGNED STUDIES ARE NEEDED BEFORE A STRONG RECOMMENDATION CAN BE MADE. 2013 7 711 19 EFFECT OF INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE ON SELECTED PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES AMONG WOMEN WITH ANXIETY PROBLEM. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF YOGIC PRACTICES HAS PROVEN BENEFITS IN BOTH ORGANIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISEASES. FORTY-FIVE WOMEN WITH ANXIETY SELECTED BY A RANDOM SAMPLING METHOD WERE DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUPS. EXPERIMENTAL GROUP I WAS SUBJECTED TO ASANAS, RELAXATION AND PRANAYAMA WHILE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP II WAS SUBJECTED TO AN INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE. THE CONTROL GROUP DID NOT RECEIVE ANY INTERVENTION. ANXIETY WAS MEASURED BY TAYLOR'S MANIFEST ANXIETY SCALE BEFORE AND AFTER TREATMENT. FRUSTRATION WAS MEASURED THROUGH REACTION TO FRUSTRATION SCALE. ALL DATA WERE SPREAD IN AN EXCEL SHEET TO BE ANALYSED WITH SPSS 16 SOFTWARE USING ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE (ANCOVA). SELECTED YOGA AND ASANAS DECREASED ANXIETY AND FRUSTRATION SCORES BUT TREATMENT WITH AN INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF ANXIETY AND FRUSTRATION. TO CONCLUDE, THE PRACTICE OF ASANAS AND YOGA DECREASED ANXIETY IN WOMEN, AND YOGA AS AN INTEGRATED MODULE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED ANXIETY SCORES IN YOUNG WOMEN WITH PROVEN ANXIETY WITHOUT ANY ILL EFFECTS. 2014 8 2649 51 YOGA IMPROVES ATTENTION AND SELF-ESTEEM IN UNDERPRIVILEGED GIRL STUDENT. BACKGROUND: A STUDENT UNDER OPTIMAL STRESS DOES BRING OUT HIS OR HER BEST; HOWEVER, EXTREME STRESS CAN RESULT IN MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AND DETERIORATES THEIR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE. STUDENTS WHO ESTEEM THEMSELVES LOW ARE MOST LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN DESTRUCTIVE AND SELF-DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIORS. MOREOVER, EXCESSIVE STRESS IS HARMFUL TO ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND MAY LEAD TO DROPPING OUT IN STUDENT. CAN YOGA BE OF BENEFIT IN STUDENTS FOR IMPROVING THEIR ATTENTION AND SELF-ESTEEM (SE)? OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS ATTENTION AND SE IN GIRLS UNDERGOING INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE (IYM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: SIXTY LOW-INCOME HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS WITH 15.17 + 0.64 YEARS OF MEAN AGE PARTICIPATED IN THIS SINGLE GROUP PRE-POST STUDY. THE DATA WAS COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER 5 DAYS OF IYM. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS, KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV TEST, AND WILCOXON SIGNED RANK TEST WERE USED TO ANALYZE THE DATA WITH THE HELP OF SPSS 16. RESULTS: THE DATA ANALYSIS SHOWED 9.04% INCREASE (P = 0.001) IN SE SCORES, WHEREAS D2 TEST FOR ATTENTION REVEALED 10.12% INCREASE (P < 0.001) IN TOTAL NUMBER OF SYMBOLS PROCESSED SCORES AND 44.73% DECREASE (P < 0.001) IN TOTAL NUMBER OF ERRORS. CONCLUSION: THE PRESENT STUDY SUGGESTS THAT OF IYM CAN RESULT IN IMPROVEMENT OF ATTENTION AND SE AMONG STUDENTS AND THEREBY ENHANCING THEIR MENTAL HEALTH AND CAN HELP THEM IN IMPROVING THEIR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. EFFORTS AIMED AT REDUCING MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AMONG STUDENTS MAY FOCUS MORE ON IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE AND CULTURALLY ACCEPTABLE INTERVENTIONS, SUCH AS YOGA, COUNSELING, AND SOCIAL SUPPORT. ADDITIONAL WELL-DESIGNED STUDIES ARE NEEDED BEFORE A STRONG RECOMMENDATION CAN BE MADE. 2013 9 2889 42 YOGA: MANAGING OVERWEIGHT IN MID-LIFE T2DM. BACKGROUND: THE DRAMATIC RISE IN THE PREVALENCE OF OBESITY AND TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (T2DM) IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED MORTALITY, MORBIDITY AS WELL AS PUBLIC HEALTH CARE EXPENSES WORLDWIDE. PREVIOUS RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT YOGA HOLDS PROMISE FOR OBESITY AND T2DM MANAGEMENT. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF INTENSIVE INTEGRATED APPROACH OF YOGA THERAPY (IAYT) ON BODY FAT AND BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) AND RESTING METABOLISM IN MID-LIFE OVERWEIGHT PATIENTS WITH T2DM (BMI, MEAN +/- SD, 27.05 +/- 4.51). MATERIALS AND METHODS: TWENTY-FOUR MID-LIFE PATIENTS (6 FEMALES) WITH T2DM (AGE, MEAN +/- SD, 55.38 +/- 7.96 YEARS) PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY AND PRACTICED IAYT FOR 7 DAYS. THE IAYT WORKS AT FIVE LAYERS OF HUMAN EXISTENCE (PHYSICAL, VITAL, MENTAL, INTELLECTUAL AND BLISS) TO BRING POSITIVE HEALTH. THE BODY FAT AND BMI AND RESTING METABOLISM WERE RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER IAYT USING KARADA SCAN BODY COMPOSITION MONITOR HBF-375 FROM OMRON HEALTHCARE SINGAPORE PTE LTD. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: SPSS-16 WAS USED TO ANALYZE THE DATA. SHAPIRO-WILK TEST SHOWED THAT THE DATA WAS NOT NORMALLY DISTRIBUTED. FURTHER, THE WILCOXON SIGNED-RANKS TEST WAS USED TO ANALYZE THE CHANGE IN MEANS OF PRE- AND POST-MEASUREMENTS. RESULTS: DATA ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN BODY FAT AND BMI AND RESTING METABOLISM (IN ALL ASSESSMENTS, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: THE PRESENT STUDY SUGGESTS THAT 7 DAYS PRACTICE OF IAYT HAS A GREAT PROMISE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OVERWEIGHT IN MID-LIFE PATIENTS WITH T2DM. ADDITIONAL WELL-DESIGNED STUDIES ARE NEEDED BEFORE A STRONG RECOMMENDATION CAN BE MADE. 2015 10 1321 24 HEMISPHERE SPECIFIC EEG RELATED TO ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUSLY, FORCED UNILATERAL NOSTRIL BREATHING WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IPSILATERAL, OR CONTRALATERAL CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE CHANGES, OR NO CHANGE. HENCE IT WAS INCONCLUSIVE. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ON 13 NORMAL HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING ON (A) CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE ASYMMETRY, AND (B) CHANGES IN THE STANDARD EEG BANDS. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO THREE SESSIONS (A) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB), (B) BREATH AWARENESS AND (C) QUIET SITTING, ON SEPARATE DAYS. EEG WAS RECORDED FROM BILATERALLY SYMMETRICAL SITES (FP1, FP2, C3, C4, O1 AND O2). ALL SITES WERE REFERENCED TO THE IPSILATERAL EAR LOBE. RESULTS: THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE SYMMETRY. THE RELATIVE POWER IN THE THETA BAND WAS DECREASED DURING ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB) AND THE BETA AMPLITUDE WAS LOWER AFTER ANYB. DURING QUIET SITTING THE RELATIVE POWER IN THE BETA BAND INCREASED, WHILE THE AMPLITUDE OF THE ALPHA BAND REDUCED. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT ANYB WAS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER CALMNESS, WHEREAS QUIET SITTING WITHOUT SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS WAS ASSOCIATED WITH AROUSAL. THE RESULTS IMPLY A POSSIBLE USE OF ANYB FOR STRESS AND ANXIETY REDUCTION. 2017 11 1329 35 HIGH-FREQUENCY CEREBRAL ACTIVATION AND INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION FOLLOWING SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA AS GLOBAL BRAIN RHYTHMS: THE STATE EFFECTS. CONTEXT: RESPIRATION IS KNOWN TO MODULATE NEURONAL OSCILLATIONS IN THE BRAIN AND IS MEASURED BY ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG). SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) IS A POPULAR BREATHING PROCESS AND IS ESTABLISHED FOR ITS SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS ON THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF PHYSIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY. AIMS: THIS STUDY AIMED TO OBSERVE NEURONAL OSCILLATIONS IN MULTIFREQUENCY BANDS AND INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION FOLLOWING SKY. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: THIS STUDY EMPLOYED BEFORE- AND AFTER-STUDY DESIGN. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: FORTY HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (AVERAGE AGE 25.45 +/- 5.75, 23 MALES AND 17 FEMALES) PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. NINETEEN-CHANNEL EEG WAS RECORDED AND ANALYZED FOR 5 MIN EACH: BEFORE AND AFTER SKY. SPECTRAL POWER FOR DELTA, THETA, ALPHA, BETA, AND GAMMA FREQUENCY BAND WAS CALCULATED USING MULTI-TAPER FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM (CHRONUX TOOLBOX). THE ASYMMETRY INDEX WAS CALCULATED BY SUBTRACTING THE NATURAL LOG OF POWERS OF LEFT (L) HEMISPHERE FROM THE RIGHT((R)) TO SHOW INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: PAIRED T-TEST WAS USED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. RESULTS: SPECTRAL POWER INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN ALL FREQUENCY BANDS BILATERALLY IN FRONTAL, CENTRAL, PARIETAL, TEMPORAL, AND OCCIPITAL REGIONS OF THE BRAIN AFTER LONG SKY. ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY SHIFTED FROM LOWER TO HIGHER FREQUENCY RANGE WITH A SIGNIFICANT RISE IN THE GAMMA AND BETA POWERS FOLLOWING SKY. ASYMMETRY INDEX VALUES TENDED TOWARD 0 FOLLOWING SKY. CONCLUSIONS: A SINGLE SESSION OF SKY GENERATES GLOBAL BRAIN RHYTHM DOMINANTLY WITH HIGH-FREQUENCY CEREBRAL ACTIVATION AND INITIATES APPROPRIATE INTERHEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION IN BRAIN RHYTHMS AS STATE EFFECTS. THIS SUGGESTS THAT SKY LEADS TO BETTER ATTENTION, MEMORY, AND EMOTIONAL AND AUTONOMIC CONTROL ALONG WITH ENHANCED COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, WHICH FINALLY IMPROVES PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING. 2020 12 464 21 CHANGES IN VIGILANCE, SELF RATED SLEEP AND STATE ANXIETY IN MILITARY PERSONNEL IN INDIA FOLLOWING YOGA. OBJECTIVES: TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF 9 DAYS OF YOGA ON SELF-RATED SLEEP, STATE ANXIETY AND PERFORMANCE IN A VIGILANCE TEST AMONG BORDER SECURITY FORCE (BSF) PERSONNEL. SEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO BSF PERSONNEL TOOK PART IN THE TRIAL. THEY WERE ALL MALES, WITH AN AVERAGE AGE OF 30.9 +/- 7.4 YEARS. ALL OF THEM WERE INVOLVED IN GUARDING THE COUNTRY'S BORDER. THEY WERE DEPUTED FOR 9 DAYS RESIDENTIAL TRAINING IN YOGA. BEFORE AND AFTER TRAINING THEY WERE ASSESSED FOR SELF-RATED SLEEP, STATE ANXIETY AND VIGILANCE. RESULTS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THE BENEFITS OF YOGA IN BSF PERSONNEL. THE BSF PERSONNEL SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SCORES IN THE VIGILANCE TEST, A DECREASE IN STATE ANXIETY, AND IMPROVED SELF-RATED SLEEP. 2018 13 754 26 EFFECT OF SHORT-TERM YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION ON PLASMA GLUCOSE LEVELS IN INDIVIDUALS WITH DIABETES AND PRE-DIABETES IN THE COMMUNITY. AIM: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF SHORT TERM YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF DIABETES AND PRE-DIABETES, THROUGH A 'PILOT' COMMUNITY-BASED STUDY. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 1292 SUBJECTS WITH DIAGNOSED TYPE 2 DIABETES AND PRE-DIABETES WERE RECRUITED FROM DIFFERENT STATES OF INDIA VIZ., KARNATAKA, MAHARASHTRA, GUJARAT, RAJASTHAN, AND TAMILNADU PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION WAS INTRODUCED THROUGH 10-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL CAMPS. BASELINE AND POST INTERVENTION ASSESSMENTS OF FASTING PLASMA GLUCOSE (FPG) WERE MEASURED ON THE FIRST DAY AND TENTH DAY RESPECTIVELY. OF 1292 SUBJECTS, 896 BOTH PRE- AND POST- FPG READINGS WERE AVAILABLE. DATA ANALYSIS WAS DONE USING STATISTICAL PACKAGE FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES (SPSS), VERSION 16. RESULTS: MEAN BASELINE FPG LEVEL WAS 133.1 (+/-47.98) AND THE MEAN POST INTERVENTION FPG REDUCED TO 121.19 (+/-40.56). THERE WAS A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN FPG, P VALUE (<0.0001). CONCLUSION: THE RESULT SUGGESTS THAT A SHORT-TERM YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION EFFECTIVELY REDUCES FPG LEVELS IN TYPE 2 DIABETES PATIENTS AND PRE-DIABETES. 2017 14 857 23 EFFECT OF YOGA ON VIGILANCE, SELF RATED SLEEP AND STATE ANXIETY IN BORDER SECURITY FORCE PERSONNEL IN INDIA. BACKGROUND: MILITARY OCCUPATIONS REQUIRE HEIGHTENED VIGILANCE WITH RESULTANT SLEEP DISTURBANCES, INCREASED ANXIETY AND REDUCED VIGILANCE. OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE YOGA WITH PHYSICAL TRAINING TO REDUCE INSOMNIA, ANXIETY AND INCREASE VIGILANCE IN SECURITY PERSONNEL. METHODS: ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE BORDER SECURITY FORCE PERSONNEL (BSF GROUP, MALES; MEAN AGE+/-SD = 30.4+/-7.4 YEARS) WERE COMPARED WITH 112 PERSONNEL OF A PRIVATE SECURITY FIRM (SIS GROUP). THE BSF GROUP RECEIVED YOGA FOR NINE DAYS AND THE SIS GROUP RECEIVED PHYSICAL TRAINING FOR THE SAME PERIOD. ASSESSMENTS WERE AT BASELINE AND AFTER 9 DAYS, WITH THE DIGIT VIGILANCE TEST (DVT), SPIELBERGER'S STAI-S, AND A SLEEP RATING QUESTIONNAIRE. RESULTS: (1) BETWEEN GROUPS: (I) AT BASELINE THE BSF GROUP HAD HIGHER VIGILANCE AND MORE DAYTIME NAPS COMPARED TO THE SIS GROUP AND (II) AFTER NINE DAYS THE SIS GROUP HAD HIGHER STATE ANXIETY COMPARED TO THE BSF GROUP (ANOVA, BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST-HOC COMPARISONS; SPSS VERSION 24.0) (2) IN POST-PRE INTERVENTION COMPARISONS (I) THE BSF GROUP INCREASED VIGILANCE AND DECREASED STATE ANXIETY AFTER YOGA, WITH IMPROVED SLEEP, WHILE (II) THE SIS GROUP SHOWED INCREASED VIGILANCE AFTER PHYSICAL TRAINING. CONCLUSION: YOGA MAY IMPROVE SLEEP, REDUCE ANXIETY WHILE INCREASING VIGILANCE IN OCCUPATIONS REQUIRING VIGILANCE. 2019 15 2257 25 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF KUNDALINI YOGA MEDITATION: A STUDY OF A YOGA MASTER. THIS STUDY EXPLORES THE PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF A HIGHLY PRACTICED KUNDALINI YOGA MEDITATOR. THORACIC AND ABDOMINAL BREATHING PATTERNS, HEART RATE (HR), OCCIPITAL PARIETAL ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPH (EEG), SKIN CONDUCTANCE LEVEL (SCL), AND BLOOD VOLUME PULSE (BVP) WERE MONITORED DURING PREBASELINE, MEDITATION, AND POSTBASELINE PERIODS. VISUAL ANALYSES OF THE DATA SHOWED A DECREASE IN RESPIRATION RATE DURING THE MEDITATION FROM A MEAN OF 11 BREATHS/MIN FOR THE PRE- AND 13 BREATHS/MIN FOR THE POSTBASELINE TO A MEAN OF 5 BREATHS/MIN DURING THE MEDITATION, WITH A PREDOMINANCE OF ABDOMINAL/DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING. THERE WAS ALSO MORE ALPHA EEG ACTIVITY DURING THE MEDITATION (M = 1.71 MICROV) COMPARED TO THE PRE- (M = .47 MICROV) AND POSTBASELINE (M = .78 MICROV) PERIODS, AND AN INCREASE IN THETA EEG ACTIVITY IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE MEDITATION (M = .62 MICROV) COMPARED TO THE PRE-BASELINE AND MEDITATIVE PERIODS (EACH WITH M = .26 MICROV). THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT A SHIFT IN BREATHING PATTERNS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALPHA EEG, AND THOSE PATTERNS NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED FURTHER. 2001 16 492 27 COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR EVALUATION BASED ON PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AMONG YOUNG HEALTHY SUBJECTS WITH YOGA AS INTERVENTION. OBJECTIVE: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICE ON COGNITIVE SKILLS, AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY BY ANALYZING PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS. METHODS: THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ON 30 NORMAL YOUNG HEALTHY ENGINEERING STUDENTS. THEY WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED INTO TWO GROUPS: YOGA GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED YOGA ONE AND HALF HOUR PER DAY FOR SIX DAYS IN A WEEK, FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE MONTHS. RESULTS: THE YOGA PRACTISING GROUP SHOWED INCREASED ALPHA, BETA, AND DELTA EEG BAND POWERS AND SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THETA AND GAMMA BAND POWERS. THE INCREASED ALPHA AND BETA POWER CAN REPRESENT ENHANCED COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS SUCH AS MEMORY AND CONCENTRATION, AND THAT OF DELTA SIGNIFIES SYNCHRONIZATION OF BRAIN ACTIVITY. THE HEART RATE INDEX THETA/ALPHA DECREASED, NEURAL ACTIVITY BETA/THETA INCREASED, ATTENTION RESOURCE INDEX BETA/(ALPHA + THETA) INCREASED, EXECUTIVE LOAD INDEX (DELTA + THETA)/ALPHA DECREASED, AND THE RATIO (DELTA + THETA)/(ALPHA + BETA) DECREASED. THE YOGA PRACTICE GROUP SHOWED IMPROVEMENT IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY, INCREASED SDNN/RMSSD, AND REDUCTION IN LF/HF RATIO. CONCLUSION: YOGA PRACTISING GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN VARIOUS COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, SUCH AS PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT, NEURAL ACTIVITY, ATTENTION, AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION. IT ALSO RESULTED IN INCREASE IN THE HEART RATE VARIABILITY, PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY, AND BALANCED AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM REACTIVITY. 2015 17 1605 30 MENTAL STRESS: NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND ITS REGULATION BY SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA. AIM: THE PRESENT STUDY FOCUSES ON ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) ON EEG AS WELL AS ECG SIGNALS FOR STRESS REGULATION. TO ENVISION THE REGULATION OF STRESS DETERMINATION TEST (DT) HAS BEEN USED. WE HAVE CHOSEN A CONTROL GROUP FOR CONTRIVING A COGENT COMPARISON THAT COULD BE CORROBORATED USING STATISTICAL TESTS. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 20 SUBJECTS WERE TAKEN IN THE STUDY, OF WHICH 10 WERE ALLOTTED TO A CONTROL GROUP. ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPH WAS TAKEN DURING A DT TASK, BEFORE AND AFTER SKY THE SKY SESSION WITH 30 DAYS OF SKY SESSION GIVEN TO THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. NO SKY WAS GIVEN TO THE CONTROL GROUP. RESULTS: WE QUANTIFIED MENTAL STRESS USING EEG, ECG AND DT SYNERGISTICALLY AND USED SKY TO REGULATE IT. WE OBSERVED THAT ALPHA BAND POWER DECREASES IN THE FRONTAL LOBE OF THE BRAIN WITH INCREASING MENTAL STRESS WHILE FRONTAL BRAIN ASYMMETRY DECREASES WITH INCREASING STRESS TOLERANCE. CONCLUSIONS: THESE EEG, ECG AND DT SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT DECREMENT IN MENTAL STRESS AND IMPROVEMENT IN COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AFTER SKY, INDICATING SKY AS A GOOD ALTERNATIVE OF MEDICATION FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT. 2017 18 602 27 DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A YOGA MODULE FOR PARKINSON DISEASE. BACKGROUND PARKINSON'S DISEASE (PD), A PROGRESSIVE NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE, AFFECTS MOTOR AND NONMOTOR FUNCTIONS, LEADING TO SEVERE DEBILITY AND POOR QUALITY OF LIFE. STUDIES HAVE REPORTED THE BENEFICIAL ROLE OF YOGA IN ALLEVIATING THE SYMPTOMS OF PD; HOWEVER, A VALIDATED YOGA MODULE FOR PD IS UNAVAILABLE. THIS STUDY DEVELOPED AND VALIDATED AN INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE(IYM) FOR PD. METHODS THE IYM WAS PREPARED AFTER A THOROUGH REVIEW OF CLASSICAL YOGA TEXTS AND PREVIOUS FINDINGS. TWENTY EXPERIENCED YOGA EXPERTS, WHO FULFILLED THE INCLUSION CRITERIA, WERE SELECTED VALIDATING THE CONTENT OF THE IYM. A TOTAL OF 28 PRACTICES WERE INCLUDED IN THE IYM, AND EACH PRACTICE WAS DISCUSSED AND RATED AS (I) NOT ESSENTIAL, (II) USEFUL BUT NOT ESSENTIAL, AND (III) ESSENTIAL; THE CONTENT VALIDITY RATIO (CVR) WAS CALCULATED USING LAWSHE'S FORMULA. RESULTS DATA ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT OF THE 28 IYM PRACTICES, 21 EXHIBITED SIGNIFICANT CONTENT VALIDITY (CUT-OFF VALUE: 0.42, AS CALCULATED BY APPLYING LAWSHE'S FORMULA FOR THE CVR). CONCLUSIONS THE IYM IS VALID FOR PD, WITH GOOD CONTENT VALIDITY. HOWEVER, FUTURE STUDIES MUST DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFICACY OF THE DEVELOPED MODULE. 2017 19 737 34 EFFECT OF PRANAYAMA & YOGA-ASANA ON COGNITIVE BRAIN FUNCTIONS IN TYPE 2 DIABETES-P3 EVENT RELATED EVOKED POTENTIAL (ERP). BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF DELAYED COGNITION AS MEASURED BY P300, AN EVOKED POTENTIAL IS OBSERVED IN DIABETES MELLITUS. P300 (OR P3) IS A COMPONENT OF ENDOGENOUS CEREBRAL EVOKED RESPONSE THAT ASSESSES HIGHER FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN. OUR STUDY AIMS TO SEE THE ROLE OF PRANAYAMA AND YOGA-ASANA ON P300 LATENCY AND AMPLITUDE IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS. METHODS: SIXTY PATIENTS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES WERE RECRUITED FROM DIABETIC CLINIC AND DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS - CONTROL GROUP ON ONLY CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY AND YOGA-GROUP ON CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY ALONG WITH PRANAYAMA AND YOGA-ASANA. BASAL RECORDINGS OF P300 AND BLOOD GLUCOSE WERE TAKEN AT THE TIME OF RECRUITMENT AND SECOND RECORDINGS REPEATED AFTER FORTY FIVE DAYS FOR BOTH THE GROUPS. P300 WAS RECORDED ON NIHON KOHDEN NEUROPACK MU MEB 9100 USING AUDITORY "ODD-BALL PARADIGM". THE DATA WERE ANALYSED USING REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) FOLLOWED BY TUKEY'S TEST AT 5 PER CENT LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE. RESULTS: STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE LATENCY AND THE AMPLITUDE OF N200, P300 WAS OBSERVED IN THE YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT YOGA HAS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON P300 AND THUS CAN BE INCORPORATED ALONG WITH THE CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY FOR IMPROVING COGNITIVE BRAIN FUNCTIONS IN DIABETES. 2010 20 1266 19 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