1 2719 124 YOGA MEDITATION ENHANCES PROPRIOCEPTION AND BALANCE IN INDIVIDUALS DIAGNOSED WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE. THIS STUDY COMPARED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TWO PROPRIOCEPTIVE EXERCISE PROGRAMS FOR PERSONS DIAGNOSED WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE (PD). THIRTY-THREE PATIENTS WITH MILD TO MODERATE PD WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A YOGA MEDITATION PROGRAM (YOMED) OR TO AN ESTABLISHED PROPRIOCEPTIVE TRAINING PROGRAM (PRO). BOTH INTERVENTIONS INCLUDED TWICE WEEKLY SESSIONS (45 MINUTES EACH), SPANNING A 12-WEEK PERIOD. OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED: JOINT POSITION SENSE (JPS45 DEGREES , JPS55 DEGREES , JPS65 DEGREES ) AND JOINT KINESTHESIA (JKFLEX AND JKEXT), THE TINETTI BALANCE ASSESSMENT TOOL (TIN), FALLS EFFICACY SCALE (FES), BALANCE ERROR SCORING SYSTEM (BESS), DYNAMIC POSTUROGRAPHY (DMA AND TIME) AND THE TIMED UP-AND-GO TEST (TUG). TEST ADMINISTRATORS WERE BLINDED TO GROUP AFFILIATION. SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES FAVORING THE YOMED GROUP WERE OBSERVED FOR TIN (P = 0.01, D = 0.77) AND JKFLEX (P = 0.05, D = -0.72). DMA AND TIME SCORES SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED FOR BOTH GROUPS, AND NO ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED. THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT THE YOMED PROGRAM IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE FOR PATIENTS WITH PD. RESEARCHERS SHOULD CONTINUE TO EXAMINE THE CLINICAL EFFICACY OF MIND-BODY TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE MOVEMENT CONTROL AND BODY AWARENESS IN THIS POPULATION. 2021 2 1284 19 GOT YOGA?: A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF THEMATIC CONTENT AND MODELS' APPEARANCE-RELATED ATTRIBUTES IN ADVERTISEMENTS SPANNING FOUR DECADES OF YOGA JOURNAL. YOGA HAS BECOME AN INCREASINGLY COMMON HEALTH PRACTICE AMONG U.S. ADULTS OVER THE PAST DECADE. WITH THIS GROWTH IN POPULARITY, YOGA-RELATED PRINT MEDIA HAVE BEEN CRITICIZED FOR SHIFTING AWAY FROM YOGA'S TRADITIONAL PHILOSOPHIES AND PROMOTING A THIN, LEAN IDEAL PHYSIQUE REPRESENTING THE "YOGA BODY." THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO (A) ANALYZE THE PRESENCE AND CONTENT OF ADVERTISEMENTS OVER THE 40-YEAR PUBLICATION HISTORY OF YOGA JOURNAL MAGAZINE AND (B) EXPLORE FEMALE ADVERTISEMENT MODELS' SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC AND APPEARANCE-RELATED ATTRIBUTES OVER TIME. RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT YOGA JOURNAL NOW CONTAINS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE ADVERTISEMENTS FOR FOOD, NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS, AND APPAREL AND FEWER ADVERTISEMENTS FOR MEDITATION AND NUTRITIONAL PRACTICES THAN IN ITS EARLY YEARS OF PUBLICATION. MODELS WERE MORE FREQUENTLY RATED AS WHITE AND IN THEIR 20S AND 30S IN RECENT YEARS OF PUBLICATION. TRENDS IN MODEL BODY SIZE MATCHED SHIFTS IN CULTURALLY DOMINANT BODY IDEALS OVER TIME. IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS ARE CONSIDERED. 2017 3 879 18 EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON EXERCISE TOLERANCE IN ADOLESCENTS WITH CHILDHOOD ASTHMA. FORTY SIX YOUNG ASTHMATICS WITH A HISTORY OF CHILDHOOD ASTHMA WERE ADMITTED FOR YOGA TRAINING. EFFECTS OF TRAINING ON RESTING PULMONARY FUNCTIONS, EXERCISE CAPACITY, AND EXERCISE-INDUCED BRONCHIAL LABILITY INDEX WERE MEASURED. YOGA TRAINING RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN PULMONARY FUNCTION AND EXERCISE CAPACITY. A FOLLOW-UP STUDY SPANNING TWO YEARS SHOWED A GOOD RESPONSE WITH REDUCED SYMPTOM SCORE AND DRUG REQUIREMENTS IN THESE SUBJECTS. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT YOGA TRAINING IS BENEFICIAL FOR YOUNG ASTHMATICS. 1991 4 2718 53 YOGA MEDITATION (YOMED) AND ITS EFFECT ON PROPRIOCEPTION AND BALANCE FUNCTION IN ELDERS WHO HAVE FALLEN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL STUDY. OBJECTIVE: YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE MUSCLE STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY, AND BALANCE. HOWEVER, THE IMPACT OF MEDITATION ON DYNAMIC FACTORS SUCH AS GAIT, REACTIVE BALANCE AND PROPRIOCEPTION HAS YET TO BE EXAMINED. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO TEST IF A NOVEL YOGA MEDITATION PROGRAM (YOMED) IS AS EFFECTIVE AS A STANDARD PROPRIOCEPTIVE TRAINING IN IMPROVING PROPRIOCEPTION, BALANCE AND POWER IN OLDER INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE FALLEN. DESIGN: SIXTEEN OLDER PERSONS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER THE YOMED GROUP (YM) OR PROPRIOCEPTION TRAINING GROUP (PT). EACH GROUP RECEIVED 45MIN OF TRAINING, 3DAYS PER WEEK, FOR 6 WEEKS. PRETEST AND POST-TEST OUTCOME MEASURES WERE USED TO QUANTIFY THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTS OF THE INTERVENTIONS. SETTING: RESEARCH LABORATORY. INTERVENTIONS: YOGA MEDITATION AND PROPRIOCEPTIVE TRAINING. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: THE BALANCE ERROR SCORING SYSTEM (BESS), THE TENETTI BALANCE AND GAIT ASSESSMENT, DYNAMIC POSTUROGRAPHY, JOINT POSITION SENSE, JOINT KINESTHESIA AND LEG EXTENSOR POWER. RESULTS: THE PRIMARY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY WERE THAT NEITHER THE YM OR PT INTERVENTION GROUPS SHOWED STATISTICAL IMPROVEMENTS IN ANY VARIABLE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE DYNAMIC POSTUROGRAPHY OVERALL SCORE (DMA), WHICH SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT BY THE YM GROUP (D=1.238; P=0.049). ADDITIONALLY CHANGES IN A NUMBER OF VARIABLES THAT DID NOT REACH SIGNIFICANCE DEMONSTRATED EFFECT SIZES IN THE MEDIUM TO HIGH RANGE. CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS INDICATE THE POTENTIAL FOR THE YOMED PROGRAM TO BE USED AS A CLINICAL INTERVENTION IN OLDER INDIVIDUALS. GIVEN THESE RESULTS A LONGER STUDY USING A LARGER SAMPLE SIZE AND INDIVIDUALS AT HIGHER RISK OF FALLING IS WARRANTED. 2018 5 2099 30 THE EFFECT OF YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICE ON YOUNG ADULTS' INHIBITORY CONTROL: AN FNIRS STUDY. OBJECTIVES: THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED TO TEST THE EFFECT OF YOGA MEDITATION (YOMED) PRACTICE ON INHIBITORY CONTROL OF YOUNG ADULTS. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 50 PARTICIPANTS (23 MALE, 21-28 YEARS OLD) FROM A UNIVERSITY IN JINAN, SHANDONG PROVINCE WERE ENROLLED IN THIS STUDY. PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A YOMED GROUP OR A CONTROL GROUP. PARTICIPANTS' BASIC INFORMATION, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND INHIBITORY CONTROL WERE MEASURED. A MULTI-CHANNEL CONTINUOUS-WAVE NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROMETER WAS USED TO MONITOR THE BRAIN'S HEMODYNAMIC RESPONSES. RESULTS: AFTER THE INTERVENTION, WE FOUND SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN FLANKER TASKS BETWEEN THE YOMED GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP. THE ACCURACY IN THE YOMED GROUP WAS HIGHER THAN THOSE IN THE CONTROL GROUP (P < 0.05). ANALYSIS OF FNIRS DATA SHOWED THAT OXYHEMOGLOBIN (OXY-HB) LEVELS IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX (PFC) INCREASED IN THE YOMED GROUP DURING THE FLANKER TASKS AFTER THE YOMED INTERVENTION. CONCLUSION: YOMED HAS A TEMPORARILY PROMOTING EFFECT ON THE BRAIN ACTIVATION OF YOUNG ADULTS. IT IS AN EFFECTIVE AND APPROPRIATE EXERCISE TO IMPROVE THE INHIBITORY CONTROL OF YOUNG ADULTS. 2021 6 1722 25 PERCEPTIONS OF BENEFITS AND BARRIERS TO YOGA PRACTICE ACROSS RURAL AND URBAN INDIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WORKPLACE YOGA. BACKGROUND: EVEN THOUGH YOGA IS USEFUL FOR PREVENTION OF OBESITY, DIABETES AND HYPERTENSION IT IS NOT UNIVERSALLY PRACTICED. THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE BENEFITS AND BARRIERS CONFRONTED BY THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHILE INCORPORATING YOGA INTO ROUTINE PRACTICE AND AT WORKPLACE. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE MOTIVATORS AND BARRIERS TO YOGA PRACTICE BY ESTIMATING HOW THESE ELEMENTS CAN BE USEFUL FOR DEVELOPMENT AND INCORPORATION OF YOGA AS A WORKPLACE ACTIVITY AND AS A PROFESSION. METHODS: A NATIONWIDE MULTI-CENTERED PROSPECTIVE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED RECRUITING INDIVIDUALS OF DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS AND GEOGRAPHICAL ZONES IN INDIA. PARTICIPANTS OF YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP WERE ADMINISTERED A QUESTIONNAIRE WITH 19 ITEMS ON BENEFITS (YBS) AND 18 ITEMS ON BARRIERS FOR YOGA PRACTICE (BFYS). DATA WAS ANALYZED USING SPSS V21 SOFTWARE. RESULTS: MAJORITY OF THE PARTICIPANTS PERCEIVED YOGA IMPROVES "PHYSICAL FITNESS", "RELAXES MIND AND BODY", IMPROVES "STAMINA", ACROSS AGE GROUPS. "LIFESTYLE", "FAMILY COMMITMENTS", "PHYSICAL OVER-EXERTION", "NO ENCOURAGEMENT FROM FAMILY", "OCCUPATIONAL COMMITMENTS" AND "FEW PLACES TO DO YOGA" WERE PERCEIVED BARRIERS ACROSS VARIOUS GEOGRAPHICAL ZONES. DESPITE KNOWING THE BENEFITS OF YOGA, THESE BARRIERS PREVENTED INDIVIDUALS FROM INTEGRATING IT INTO THEIR DAILY ROUTINE. CONCLUSIONS: THE PRESENT STUDY MAY BE CONSIDERED AS A STARTING POINT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF YOGA AS A WORKPLACE ACTIVITY AND A PROFESSION BASED ON THE PERCEPTIONS OF ITS VARIOUS BENEFITS AND BARRIERS FACED BY A LARGE STUDY POPULATION SPANNING AN ENTIRE NATION. 2020 7 973 36 EFFECTS OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA PROGRAM ON QUALITY OF LIFE, SPINAL FLEXIBILITY, AND STRENGTH IN OLDER ADULTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL. CONTEXT: AGING CAN CONTRIBUTE TO A DECREASE IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AS A RESULT OF METABOLIC DYSFUNCTION AND HORMONAL IMBALANCE THAT CAN CAUSE DEGENERATIVE JOINT DISEASE AND AGING-RELATED INFLAMMATION. AS AGE ADVANCES, A DECREASE IN MUSCLE MASS, MUSCLE STRENGTH, AND FLEXIBILITY CAN IMPAIR PHYSICAL FUNCTION. OBJECTIVE: THE STUDY INTENDED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE IN IMPROVING THE FLEXIBILITY, MUSCLE STRENGTH, AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) OF OLDER ADULTS. DESIGN: THIS RESEARCH TEAM DESIGNED A PROSPECTIVE, TWO-ARM, OPEN-LABEL, AND PARALLEL, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTING: THE STUDY TOOK PLACE IN AN OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT AT DIVINE PARK, YOGA & NATUROPATHY HOSPITAL, UDUPI, KARNATAKA, INDIA. PARTICIPANTS: PARTICIPANTS WERE 96 OLDER ADULTS, AGED 60-75 YEARS (64.1 +/- 3.95 YEARS) TAKING PART IN A YOGA PROGRAM IN THE DEPARTMENT. INTERVENTION: THE PROGRAM WAS A THREE-MONTH, YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO THE INTERVENTION GROUP (N = 48) OR TO A WAITLISTED CONTROL GROUP (N = 48). THE INTERVENTION GROUP UNDERWENT THREE ONE-HOUR SESSIONS OF YOGA WEEKLY, WITH EACH SESSION INCLUDING LOOSENING EXERCISES, ASANAS, PRANAYAMA, AND MEDITATION SPANNING. OUTCOME MEASURES: AT BASELINE AND POST INTERVENTION, ASSESSMENTS WERE MADE: (1) FOR SPINAL FLEXIBILITY USING A SIT AND REACH TEST, (2) FOR BACK AND LEG STRENGTH USING A BACK LEG DYNAMOMETER, (3) FOR HANDGRIP STRENGTH (HGS) AND ENDURANCE (HGE) USING A HAND-GRIP DYNAMOMETER, AND (4) THE OLDER PEOPLE'S QUALITY OF LIFE (OPQOL) QUESTIONNAIRE. ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED EMPLOYING WILCOXON'S SIGN RANK TESTS AND MANN WHITNEY TESTS, USING AN INTENTION-TO-TREAT APPROACH. RESULTS: COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP, THE INTERVENTION GROUP EXPERIENCED A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER INCREASE IN SPINAL FLEXIBILITY (P < .001), BACK LEG STRENGTH (P < .001), HGE (P < .01), AND QOL (P < .001) AFTER THREE MONTHS OF YOGA. CONCLUSION: YOGA CAN BE USED SAFELY FOR OLDER ADULTS TO IMPROVE FLEXIBILITY, STRENGTH, AND FUNCTIONAL QOL. LARGER RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WITH AN ACTIVE CONTROL INTERVENTION ARE WARRANTED. 2022 8 1510 19 IS THE "YOGA BOD" THE NEW SKINNY?: A COMPARATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS OF MAINSTREAM YOGA LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE COVERS. AS YOGA HAS GAINED POPULARITY IN WESTERN CULTURE, CONCERNS HAVE BEEN RAISED ABOUT ITS INCREASED COMMERCIALIZATION AND ASSIMILATION INTO THE PREDOMINANTLY APPEARANCE-FOCUSED EXERCISE AND FITNESS CULTURE. IN THIS CONTEXT, THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED THE PHYSICAL APPEARANCE-RELATED CHARACTERISTICS (E.G., RACE/ETHNICITY, BODY SIZE, SHAPE, OBJECTIFYING APPAREL) OF 142 FEMALE MODELS AND THE MEDIA FRAMES OF 567 CAPTIONS (E.G., COMMERCIALISM, BODY COMPETENCE, HEALTH, WEIGHT/PHYSICAL APPEARANCE) FEATURED ON THE COVERS OF THREE WESTERNIZED YOGA LIFESTYLE MAGAZINES PUBLISHED BETWEEN 2010-2015. RESULTS INDICATED THAT MOST MODELS WERE WHITE, EMBODYING THE CONTEMPORARY "THIN-AND-LEAN" MEDIA FITNESS AESTHETIC. MODELS WERE ACTIVELY POSED WITH HIGH BODY VISIBILITY; AN APPRECIABLE MINORITY WAS PARTIALLY-CLAD IN SKIN-REVEALING OR FORM-FITTING UPPER-BODY ATTIRE. MEDIA FRAMES CONVEYING COMMERCIALISM AND BODY COMPETENCE WERE EQUALLY PRESENT. THE PATTERN OF EFFECTS TENDED TO REFLECT THE STRENGTH OF THE MAGAZINE TITLE'S ENDORSEMENT OF EXERCISE AND FITNESS CULTURAL VALUES. CLINICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS ALONG WITH FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS ARE DISCUSSED. 2017 9 837 27 EFFECT OF YOGA ON PERFORMANCE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS IN CRICKET BOWLERS. CRICKET-BOWLING PERFORMANCE IS KNOWN TO BE INFLUENCED BY SPEED OF BALL RELEASE AND ACCURACY. CURRENTLY, TRAINING SESSIONS TYPICALLY INVOLVE FIELDING-SPECIFIC DRILLS AND CONDITIONING EXERCISES. SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE FOR INCLUSION OF A COMPREHENSIVE YOGA INTERVENTION IN DAILY TRAINING AND EXERCISE SESSIONS REMAINS UNEXPLORED. THE PRESENT STUDY EXPLORED THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON BOWLING PERFORMANCE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS IN CRICKET BOWLERS. SPORTS FITNESS TESTING AND TRAINING WERE CONDUCTED AMONG 60 NON-ELITE RECREATIONAL-CLUB MALE CRICKET PLAYERS AGED 13-25 YEARS. CRICKET-BOWLING SPEED WAS E VALUATED USING A SPEED RADAR GUN, ACCURACY WITH A TEST DEVELOPED BY PORTUS ET AL., CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE USING THE YO-YO INTERMITTENT RECOVERY TEST, LOWER-EXTREMITY AND TRUNK STRENGTH USING A BACK-LEG DYNAMOMETER, UPPER-LIMB POWER USING A MEDICINE BALL-THROW TEST, POWER USING A VERTICAL-JUMP TEST, AND FLEXIBILITY USING A SIT-AND-REACH TEST. IN ADDITION TO BOWLING PRACTICE, THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP (N = 30) PERFORMED PRANAYAMA AND STANDING AND PRONE ASANA, WHEREAS THE CONTROL GROUP (N = 30) PRACTICED CONVENTIONAL CONDITIONING EXERCISES, FOR 45 MINUTES/DAY, THREE TIMES A WEEK, FOR 12 WEEKS. IMPROVEMENT IN BOWLING SPEED, ACCURACY, CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE, MUSCLE STRENGTH, AND FLEXIBILITY WERE COMPARABLE BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS. STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN BASELINE SCORES IN BOWLING SPEED, ACCURACY, CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE, MUSCLE FLEXIBILITY, STRENGTH, AND POWER WERE COMPARABLE BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS OF NON-ELITE MALE CRICKET PLAYERS. BOWLING SPEED IMPROVED BY 6.52% IN THE YOGA GROUP AND BY 5.18% IN THE CONTROL GROUP. BOWLING ACCURACY IMPROVED BY 35.40% IN THE YOGA GROUP AND BY 31.29% IN THE CONTROL GROUP. ADDITIONAL RESEARCH ON LONG-DURATION INTERVENTION IN ELITE PLAYERS MAY HELP TO ESTABLISH THE ROLE OF YOGA IN CONVENTIONAL CRICKET-BOWLING TRAINING. 2021 10 612 21 DEVELOPMENT OF A YOGA POSTURE COACHING SYSTEM USING AN INTERACTIVE DISPLAY BASED ON TRANSFER LEARNING. YOGA IS A FORM OF EXERCISE THAT IS BENEFICIAL FOR HEALTH, FOCUSING ON PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND SPIRITUAL CONNECTIONS. HOWEVER, PRACTICING YOGA AND ADOPTING INCORRECT POSTURES CAN CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS, SUCH AS MUSCLE SPRAINS AND PAIN. IN THIS STUDY, WE PROPOSE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A YOGA POSTURE COACHING SYSTEM USING AN INTERACTIVE DISPLAY, BASED ON A TRANSFER LEARNING TECHNIQUE. THE 14 DIFFERENT YOGA POSTURES WERE COLLECTED FROM AN RGB CAMERA, AND EIGHT PARTICIPANTS WERE REQUIRED TO PERFORM EACH YOGA POSTURE 10 TIMES. DATA AUGMENTATION WAS APPLIED TO OVERSAMPLE AND PREVENT OVER-FITTING OF THE TRAINING DATASETS. SIX TRANSFER LEARNING MODELS (TL-VGG16-DA, TL-VGG19-DA, TL-MOBILENET-DA, TL-MOBILENETV2-DA, TL-INCEPTIONV3-DA, AND TL-DENSENET201-DA) WERE EXPLOITED FOR CLASSIFICATION TASKS TO SELECT THE OPTIMAL MODEL FOR THE YOGA COACHING SYSTEM, BASED ON EVALUATION METRICS. AS A RESULT, THE TL-MOBILENET-DA MODEL WAS SELECTED AS THE OPTIMAL MODEL, SHOWING AN OVERALL ACCURACY OF 98.43%, SENSITIVITY OF 98.30%, SPECIFICITY OF 99.88%, AND MATTHEWS CORRELATION COEFFICIENT OF 0.9831. THE STUDY PRESENTED A YOGA POSTURE COACHING SYSTEM THAT RECOGNIZED THE YOGA POSTURE MOVEMENT OF USERS, IN REAL TIME, ACCORDING TO THE SELECTED YOGA POSTURE GUIDANCE AND CAN COACH THEM TO AVOID INCORRECT POSTURES. 2022 11 2779 16 YOGA TECHNIQUES AS A MEANS OF CORE STABILITY TRAINING. CORE STABILITY IN GENERAL INVOLVES THE MUSCULAR CONTROL REQUIRED AROUND THE LUMBAR SPINE TO MAINTAIN FUNCTIONAL STABILITY. STABILITY AND MOVEMENT ARE CRITICALLY DEPENDENT ON THE COORDINATION OF ALL THE MUSCLES SURROUNDING THE LUMBAR SPINE. THIS PAPER AIMS TO SHOW THAT AN AGE-OLD YOGA PRACTICE, CALLED UDDHYANA BHANDA AND NOULI, IS AN EFFECTIVE MEANS OF CORE STABILITY. 2009 12 2357 22 VARYING ALIGNMENT AFFECTS LOWER EXTREMITY JOINT AND LIMB LOADING DURING YOGA'S TRIANGLE (TRIKONASANA) POSE. BACKGROUND: LIMITED BIOMECHANICAL DATA EXIST DESCRIBING HOW YOGA ASANAS (POSTURES) LOAD THE LIMBS AND JOINTS, AND LITTLE EVIDENCE-BASED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOGA INJURY PREVENTION ARE AVAILABLE. THIS STUDY AIMED TO ESTABLISH JOINT LOADING METRICS FOR AN INJURY-PRONE, YET COMMON YOGA POSE, THE TRIANGLE ASANA (TRIKONASANA) BY IDENTIFYING HOW STANCE WIDTH ADJUSTMENTS ALTER LOWER EXTREMITY LOADING. METHODS: EIGHTEEN YOGA PRACTITIONERS UNDERWENT 3D MOTION ANALYSIS WHILE PERFORMING TRIKONASANA WITH SELF-SELECTED (SS) STANCE WIDTH AND -30, -20, -10, +10, +20, AND +30% OF SS STANCE WIDTH. GROUND REACTION FORCES (GRFS), JOINT FORCES, AND JOINT MOMENTS WERE CALCULATED FOR THE LEADING AND TRAILING LIMB ANKLE, KNEE, AND HIP. ONE-WAY REPEATED-MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE DETERMINED DIFFERENCES IN LOADING DUE TO STANCE WIDTH. RESULTS: GRFS, NET JOINT FORCES, AND NET JOINT MOMENTS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED BY STANCE WIDTH WHERE INCREASING STANCE WIDTH INCREASED LEADING LIMB LOADING BUT DECREASED TRAILING LIMB LOADING. CONCLUSIONS: ALTERING STANCE WIDTH OF TRIKONASANA INFLUENCES LOWER EXTREMITY LIMB LOADING, AND THESE LOADING RESPONSES WERE LIMB-DEPENDENT. YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND INSTRUCTORS CAN USE THIS INFORMATION TO OBJECTIVELY SUPPORT INCREASING OR DECREASING STANCE WIDTH TO REDUCE OR INCREASE LIMB LOADING ACCORDING TO THEIR GOALS OR TO MAKE ACCOMMODATIONS TO GROUPS SUCH AS BEGINNERS OR AT-RISK POPULATIONS FOR SAFER, MORE ACCESSIBLE YOGA PRACTICES. CUING A WIDER OR NARROWER STANCE WIDTH WILL NOT HAVE THE SAME EFFECT ON BOTH LIMBS. 2022 13 80 17 A MATHEMATICAL METHOD FOR ELECTROMYOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF MUSCLE FUNCTIONS DURING YOGASANA. CONTEXT: FOR THE PAST FEW DECADES, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE PRACTICING YOGA IS INCREASING IN NUMBER. YOGASANAS NEED SMOOTH BODY MOVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF ATTAINING DEFINED POSTURES THAT THE PERSON MUST HOLD ON TO ACTIVATE SPECIFIC MUSCLES OF THE BODY RELATED TO THAT ASANA. YOGASANAS SHOULD BE PERFORMED WITH PERFECTION TO DERIVE MAXIMUM BENEFITS. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INTRODUCE A MATHEMATICAL METHOD TO UNDERSTAND MUSCLE FUNCTIONALITIES WHILE DOING YOGASANAS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: USED DELSYS SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY (SEMG) - TRIGNO (DELSYS INC.) SENSORS FOR DATA RECORDING AND ANALYZING MUSCLE ACTIVATION PATTERNS. RESULTS: PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS WAS QUANTIFIED USING NORMALIZED SEMG SIGNALS. THE SEMG DATA DURING FINAL POSTURE WERE FIT TO A STRAIGHT LINE USING LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT THE SLOPE OF THE BEST FIT LINE IS A GOOD METRIC FOR MONITORING THE MUSCLE ACTIVITY DURING YOGA PERFORMANCE. THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS METHOD ARE THE SLOPE OF THE LINE IS A GOOD INDICATOR FOR MONITORING THE MUSCLE ACTIVITY WHILE DOING YOGASANA AND THE METHOD SUGGESTED IN THIS STUDY CAN BE EXTENDED FOR ANALYZING OTHER ASANAS AS WELL. 2019 14 1513 18 IS THIS WHAT A FEMALE YOGI LOOKS LIKE? A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF YOGA IMAGES ON INSTAGRAM. AS YOGA CONTINUES TO INCREASE IN GLOBAL POPULARITY, IDEALIZED REPRESENTATIONS OF A THIN, ATHLETIC 'YOGA BODY' HAVE ALSO BECOME MORE PROMINENT ACROSS COMMERCIAL MEDIA. TO EXAMINE HOW YOGA IS TYPICALLY REPRESENTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA, A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE POSTS OF FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS ON INSTAGRAM WAS UNDERTAKEN. IMAGES WERE SOURCED USING HASHTAGS #YOGA, #YOGABODY, #YOGAPRACTICE, AND #YOGAWOMAN, AND 200 FEMALES PER HASHTAG WERE THEN CODED ON DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS, BODY SHAPE, ACTIVITY, OBJECTIFICATION, AND PRACTICE OF YOGA. RESULTS SHOWED THAT OVER 90 % OF WOMEN IN THE IMAGES WERE CODED AS BEING UNDER 40 YEARS OF AGE WITH THE VAST MAJORITY IN THEIR 20 S. ALMOST THREE-QUARTERS OF WOMEN WERE PERCEIVED TO BE WHITE, 100 % APPEARED ABLE BODIED. MORE THAN 80 % WERE CLASSED AS THIN AND/OR ATHLETIC, WHILE LESS THAN 15 % DISPLAYED AVERAGE LEVELS OF VISIBLE BODY FAT. MORE THAN 50 % OF YOGA POSES WERE ADVANCED WHILE A QUARTER DISPLAYED POTENTIALLY UNSAFE ALIGNMENT. THE FINDINGS DEMONSTRATE THAT THE TYPICAL 'YOGA BODY' ON INSTAGRAM WAS PERCEIVED TO CONFORM TO THE YOUNG, THIN/ATHLETIC IDEAL AND THAT OVERALL YOGA IS NOT BEING REPRESENTED AS AN INCLUSIVE PHYSICAL PRACTICE THAT CAN BE ADAPTED FOR WOMEN OF DIVERSE AGES, BODY TYPES, AND ABILITIES. 2021 15 2264 18 THE PSYCHO-LINGUISTIC EFFECTS OF YOGA: A LEXICAL ANALYSIS OF SHIFTS IN POSITIVITY, AGENCY, AND CREATIVITY. INTRODUCTION: YOGA IS UNDERSTOOD IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AS A POWERFUL DE-STRESSOR. REDUCED STRESS HAS BEEN LINKED TO IMPROVED MOOD, INCREASED AGENCY, AND ENHANCED CREATIVITY. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES THESE POTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF YOGA BY COMPARING TWO LEXICAL DATA SETS, COMPOSED OF NEARLY 3000 WORDS COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER YOGA CLASSES. METHODS: EACH WORD IS SCORED ALONG THREE DIMENSIONS: POSITIVITY, AGENCY, AND CREATIVITY. POSITIVITY IS CALCULATED USING SENTIWORDS SENTIMENT DICTIONARY 1.0; AGENCY IS DETERMINED BY GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIZATION; AND CREATIVITY IS VIEWED AS A FUNCTION OF THE SET DISTRIBUTION. RESULTS: ANALYSIS REVEALS A SHIFT TOWARD MORE POSITIVE AND LESS AGENTFUL SELF-REPORTING AFTER PRACTICE. NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IS FOUND IN CREATIVITY. CONCLUSION: THIS STUDY PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO HOW YOGA ALTERS THOUGHT PROCESSES AND AFFECTS THE MENTAL HEALTH OF PRACTITIONERS. 2019 16 1365 30 IMPACT OF 10-WEEKS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE OF COLLEGE ATHLETES. BACKGROUND: WITH CLEARER EVIDENCE OF ITS BENEFITS, COACHES, AND ATHLETES MAY BETTER SEE THAT YOGA HAS A ROLE IN OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE. AIMS: TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON MALE COLLEGE ATHLETES (N = 26). METHODS: OVER A 10-WEEK PERIOD, A YOGA GROUP (YG) OF ATHLETES (N = 14) TOOK PART IN BIWEEKLY YOGA SESSIONS; WHILE A NONYOGA GROUP (NYG) OF ATHLETES (N = 12) TOOK PART IN NO ADDITIONAL YOGA ACTIVITY. PERFORMANCE MEASURES WERE OBTAINED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER THIS PERIOD. MEASUREMENTS OF FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE, INCLUDED: SIT-REACH (SR), SHOULDER FLEXIBILITY (SF), AND STORK STAND (SS); DYNAMIC MEASUREMENTS CONSISTED OF JOINT ANGLES (JA) MEASURED DURING THE PERFORMANCE OF THREE DISTINCT YOGA POSITIONS (DOWNWARD DOG [DD]; RIGHT FOOT LUNGE [RFL]; CHAIR [C]). RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT GAINS WERE OBSERVED IN THE YG FOR FLEXIBILITY (SR, P = 0.01; SF, P = 0.03), AND BALANCE (SS, P = 0.05). NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED IN THE NYG FOR FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE. SIGNIFICANTLY, GREATER JA WERE OBSERVED IN THE YG FOR: RFL (DORSIFLEXION, L-ANKLE; P = 0.04), DD (EXTENSION, R-KNEE, P = 0.04; R-HIP; P = 0.01; FLEXION, R-SHOULDER; P = 0.01) AND C (FLEXION, R-KNEE; P = 0.01). SIGNIFICANT JA DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED IN THE NYG FOR: DD (FLEXION, R-KNEE, P = 0.01: R-HIP, P = 0.05; R-SHOULDER, P = 0.03) AND C (FLEXION R-KNEE, P = 0.01; EXTENSION, R-SHOULDER; P = 0.05). A BETWEEN GROUP COMPARISON REVEALED THE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES FOR: RFL (L-ANKLE; P = 0.01), DD (R-KNEE, P = 0.01; R-HIP; P = 0.01), AND C (R-SHOULDER, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS SUGGEST THAT A REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE MAY INCREASE THE FLEXIBILITY AND BALANCE AS WELL AS WHOLE BODY MEASURES OF MALE COLLEGE ATHLETES AND THEREFORE, MAY ENHANCE ATHLETIC PERFORMANCES THAT REQUIRE THESE CHARACTERISTICS. 2016 17 618 20 DEVELOPMENT OF THE BELIEFS ABOUT YOGA SCALE. BELIEFS ABOUT YOGA MAY INFLUENCE PARTICIPATION IN YOGA AND OUTCOMES OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS. THERE IS CURRENTLY NO SCALE APPROPRIATE FOR ASSESSING THESE BELIEFS IN THE GENERAL U.S. POPULATION. THIS STUDY TOOK THE FIRST STEPS IN DEVELOPING AND VALIDATING A BELIEFS ABOUT YOGA SCALE (BAYS) TO ASSESS BELIEFS ABOUT YOGA THAT MAY INFLUENCE PEOPLE'S ENGAGEMENT IN YOGA INTERVENTIONS. ITEMS WERE GENERATED BASED ON PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED RESEARCH ABOUT PERCEPTIONS OF YOGA AND REVIEWED BY EXPERTS WITHIN THE PSYCHOLOGY AND YOGA COMMUNITIES. 426 ADULT PARTICIPANTS WERE RECRUITED FROM AN URBAN MEDICAL CENTER TO RESPOND TO THESE ITEMS. THE MEAN AGE WAS 40.7 (SD=13.5) YEARS. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED THE BAYS AND SEVEN ADDITIONAL INDICATORS OF CRITERION-RELATED VALIDITY. THE BAYS DEMONSTRATED INTERNAL CONSISTENCY (11 ITEMS; ALPHA=0.76) AND THREE FACTORS EMERGED: EXPECTED HEALTH BENEFITS, EXPECTED DISCOMFORT, AND EXPECTED SOCIAL NORMS. THE FACTOR STRUCTURE WAS CONFIRMED: X2 (41, N=213)=72.06, P<.001; RMSEA=06, P=.23. CRITERION-RELATED VALIDITY WAS SUPPORTED BY POSITIVE ASSOCIATIONS OF THE BAYS WITH PAST EXPERIENCES AND FUTURE INTENTIONS RELATED TO YOGA. THIS INITIAL ANALYSIS OF THE BAYS DEMONSTRATED THAT IT IS AN ADEQUATELY RELIABLE AND VALID MEASURE OF BELIEFS ABOUT YOGA WITH A THREE-FACTOR STRUCTURE. HOWEVER, THE SCALE MAY NEED TO BE MODIFIED BASED ON THE POPULATION TO WHICH IT IS APPLIED. 2011 18 1443 13 INCREASED MUSCLE ENZYME ACTIVITY AFTER YOGA BREATHING DURING AN EXACERBATION OF ASTHMA. THE CASE IS REPORTED OF A YOGA PRACTITIONER WHO, DURING AN EXACERBATION OF ASTHMA, DEVELOPED A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN SERUM MUSCLE ENZYMES. THIS WAS RELATED TO HIS YOGA BREATHING EXERCISES, WHICH HE USED TO ENHANCE THE DELIVERY OF AEROSOLISED BRONCHODILATORS. AS HIS CONDITION IMPROVED AND THE USE OF THESE YOGA MANOEUVRES DIMINISHED, THE MUSCLE ENZYME LEVELS FELL TO NORMAL. 1988 19 1163 12 EVALUATING THE ADDITION OF HATHA YOGA IN CARDIAC REHABILITATION. CARDIAC EVENTS OFTEN OCCUR SUDDENLY, ALTERING A PERSON'S LIFESTYLE AND OUTLOOK. RESEARCHERS STUDIED THE ADDITION OF A YOGA INTERVEN- TION TO STANDARD CARDIAC REHABILITATION, FINDING SIGNIFICANT IMPROVE- MENT IN PERCEIVED STRESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE. 2017 20 506 39 COMPARATIVE EFFECT OF POWER TRAINING AND HIGH-SPEED YOGA ON MOTOR FUNCTION IN OLDER PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON DISEASE. OBJECTIVES: TO COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF POWER TRAINING (PWT) AND A HIGH-SPEED YOGA PROGRAM ON PHYSICAL PERFORMANCES IN OLDER PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON DISEASE (PD), AND TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT BOTH TRAINING INTERVENTIONS WOULD ATTENUATE PD SYMPTOMS AND IMPROVE PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTING: A LABORATORY OF NEUROMUSCULAR RESEARCH AND ACTIVE AGING. PARTICIPANTS: PATIENTS WITH PD (N=41; MEAN AGE +/- SD, 72.2 +/- 6.5Y). INTERVENTIONS: TWO HIGH-SPEED EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS (SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED YOGA PROGRAM AND PWT) WERE GIVEN FOR 12 WEEKS (TWICE A WEEK), AND 1 NONEXERCISE CONTROL GROUP. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: UNIFIED PARKINSON DISEASE RATING SCALE MOTOR SCORE (UPDRSMS), BERG BALANCE SCALE (BBS), MINI-BALANCE EVALUATION SYSTEMS TEST (MINI-BESTEST), TIMED UP AND GO, FUNCTIONAL REACH, SINGLE LEG STANCE (SLS), POSTURAL SWAY TEST, 10-M USUAL AND MAXIMAL WALKING SPEED TESTS, 1 REPETITION MAXIMUM (RM), AND PEAK POWER (PPW) FOR LEG PRESS. RESULTS: FOR THE POSTTESTS, BOTH TRAINING GROUPS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS (P<.05) IN ALL PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS EXCEPT FUNCTIONAL REACH ON THE MORE AFFECTED SIDE, SLS, AND POSTURAL SWAY COMPARED WITH THE PRETESTS, AND SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER SCORES FOR UPDRSMS, BBS, MINI-BESTEST, TIMED UP AND GO, FUNCTIONAL REACH ON THE LESS AFFECTED SIDE, 10-M USUAL AND MAXIMAL WALKING SPEED TESTS, 1RM, AND PPW THAN CONTROLS, WITH NO DIFFERENCES DETECTED BETWEEN THE YOGA PROGRAM AND PWT. CONCLUSIONS: BOTH THE SPECIALLY DESIGNED YOGA PROGRAM AND PWT PROGRAMS CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE IN OLDER PERSONS WITH PD. 2016