1 2814 94 YOGA TRAINING AND MOTOR SPEED BASED ON A FINGER TAPPING TASK. A FINGER TAPPING TASK WAS USED TO ASSESS MOTOR SPEED (MS) OF BOTH HANDS IN 53 ADULTS AND 152 CHILDREN BEFORE AND AFTER YOGA TRAINING AND IN 38 ADULTS OF A NON-YOGA (CONTROL) GROUP. ALL SUBJECTS WERE RIGHT HAND DOMINANT. THE 30-SECOND TAPPING SPEED (TS) TEST WAS CONSIDERED AS THREE TIME INTERVALS, I.E. 0-10 SECOND (TS1), 10-20 SECONDS (TS2) AND 20-30 SECONDS (TS3). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT (STUDENT'S T-TEST) INCREASE IN ALL THREE TS VALUES FOLLOWING 10 DAYS OF YOGA IN CHILDREN AND 30 DAYS OF YOGA IN ADULTS. HOWEVER FOR BOTH GROUPS AT BASELINE AND FINAL ASSESSMENTS, TS2 AND TS3 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN TS1. HENCE THE TS WAS INCREASED AFTER YOGA TRAINING DURING THE FIRST 10-SECONDS OF THE TEST BUT NOT DURING THE NEXT 20 SECONDS. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST AN INCREASE IN MOTOR SPEED FOR REPETITIVE FINGER MOVEMENTS FOLLOWING YOGA TRAINING, BUT NOT IN STRENGTH OR ENDURANCE, AS THE INCREASE WAS NOT SUSTAINED OVER 30 SEC. 1999 2 1350 35 IMMEDIATE CHANGES IN MUSCLE STRENGTH AND MOTOR SPEED FOLLOWING YOGA BREATHING. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO ASSESS THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING ON MUSCLE STRENGTH AND MOTOR SPEED. BILATERAL HANDGRIP STRENGTH, LEG AND BACK STRENGTH, FINGER TAPPING AND ARM TAPPING SPEED WERE ASSESSED IN FIFTY MALE PARTICIPANTS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD, 26.9 +/- 6.2 YEARS) BEFORE AND AFTER (A) HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING FOR 15 MINUTES AND (B) BREATH AWARENESS FOR THE SAME DURATION. SESSIONS (A) AND (B) WERE ON TWO DIFFERENT DAYS BUT AT THE SAME TIME OF THE DAY. THE SCHEDULE WAS ALTERNATED FOR DIFFERENT PARTICIPANTS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE (P < 0.05) IN RIGHT HAND GRIP STRENGTH AFTER HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING. BOTH FINGER AND ARM TAPPING IMPROVED AFTER BOTH PRACTICES. THE RESULTS SUGGEST A ROLE FOR HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING IN IMPROVING THE HAND GRIP STRENGTH AS AN IMMEDIATE EFFECT. 2014 3 832 34 EFFECT OF YOGA ON MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT AND MOTOR FUNCTIONS IN PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER USERS. THE SELF-RATED MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT, HAND GRIP STRENGTH, TAPPING SPEED, AND LOW BACK AND HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY (BASED ON A SIT AND REACH TASK) WERE ASSESSED IN 291 PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER USERS. THEY WERE THEN RANDOMIZED AS YOGA (YG; N=146) AND WAIT-LIST CONTROL (WL; N=145) GROUPS. FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENTS FOR BOTH GROUPS WERE AFTER 60 DAYS DURING WHICH THE YG GROUP PRACTICED YOGA FOR 60 MINUTES DAILY, FOR 5 DAYS IN A WEEK. THE WL GROUP SPENT THE SAME TIME IN THEIR USUAL RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES. AT THE END OF 60 DAYS, THE YG GROUP (N=62) SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE FREQUENCY, INTENSITY AND DEGREE OF INTERFERENCE DUE TO MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT, AN INCREASE IN BILATERAL HAND GRIP STRENGTH, THE RIGHT HAND TAPPING SPEED, AND LOW BACK AND HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY (REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA AND POST HOC ANALYSIS WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT). IN CONTRAST, THE WL GROUP (N=56) SHOWED AN INCREASE IN MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT AND A DECREASE IN LEFT HAND TAPPING SPEED. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PRACTICE IS A USEFUL ADDITION TO THE ROUTINE OF PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER USERS. 2009 4 2758 25 YOGA PRACTICES AS AN ALTERNATIVE TRAINING FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS IN CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES PROVIDE FUNDAMENTAL BENEFITS TO CHILDREN'S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. THEY ARE VITAL FOR DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTHY LIFE, BUT PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT IS LIMITED. HEREIN, THE AUTHORS REPORT RESULTS OF A 16-WK YOGA PROGRAM, EVALUATING ITS EFFECTS ON PHYSICAL FITNESS IN CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. EIGHTY-THREE CHILDREN AGE 9-16 YEARS (12.37 +/- 2.19) PARTICIPATED IN A 2-ARM, SINGLE-BLIND WAIT-LIST-CONTROLLED STUDY AT A RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL IN SOUTH INDIA. PARTICIPANTS (YOGA GROUP 41, CONTROLS 42) WERE ASSESSED ON MUSCLE STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY, ENDURANCE, COORDINATION, AND RESPIRATORY HEALTH. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN PHYSICAL FITNESS WERE OBSERVED AFTER THE YOGA INTERVENTION (GROUP X TIME INTERACTIONS FOR RIGHT-HAND GRIP STRENGTH, P < .001; SIT-UP, P < .001; SIT AND REACH, P < .001; BILATERAL PLATE TAPPING, P < .001; AND PEAK EXPIRATORY FLOW RATE, P < .001). LEFT-HAND GRIP STRENGTH SHOWED MAIN EFFECTS OF TIME, ALTHOUGH THERE WERE NO GROUP X TIME INTERACTIONS. RESULTS DEMONSTRATE YOGA'S ABILITY TO IMPROVE A WIDE RANGE OF PHYSICAL VARIABLES IN CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. 2019 5 885 27 EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON REACTION TIME, RESPIRATORY ENDURANCE AND MUSCLE STRENGTH. THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT THE PRACTICE OF YOGA IMPROVES PHYSICAL AND MENTAL PERFORMANCE. THE PRESENT INVESTIGATION WAS UNDERTAKEN TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON VISUAL AND AUDITORY REACTION TIMES (RTS), MAXIMUM EXPIRATORY PRESSURE (MEP), MAXIMUM INSPIRATORY PRESSURE (MIP), 40 MMHG TEST, BREATH HOLDING TIME AFTER EXPIRATION (BHTEXP), BREATH HOLDING TIME AFTER INSPIRATION (BHTINSP), AND HAND GRIP STRENGTH (HGS). TWENTY SEVEN STUDENT VOLUNTEERS WERE GIVEN YOGA TRAINING FOR 12 WEEKS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.001) DECREASE IN VISUAL RT (FROM 270.0 +/- 6.20 (SE) TO 224.81 +/- 5.76 MS) AS WELL AS AUDITORY RT (FROM 194.18 +/- 6.00 TO 157.33 +/- 4.85 MS). MEP INCREASED FROM 92.61 +/- 9.04 TO 126.46 +/- 10.75 MMHG, WHILE MIP INCREASED FROM 72.23 +/- 6.45 TO 90.92 +/- 6.03 MMHG, BOTH THESE CHANGES BEING STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.05). 40 MMHG TEST AND HGS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY (P < 0.001) FROM 36.57 +/- 2.04 TO 53.36 +/- 3.95 S AND 13.78 +/- 0.58 TO 16.67 +/- 0.49 KG RESPECTIVELY. BHTEXP INCREASED FROM 32.15 +/- 1.41 TO 44.53 +/- 3.78S (P < 0.01) AND BHTINSP INCREASED FROM 63.69 +/- 5.38 TO 89.07 +/- 9.61 S (P < 0.05). OUR RESULTS SHOW THAT YOGA PRACTICE FOR 12 WEEKS RESULTS IN SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN VISUAL AND AUDITORY RTS AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN RESPIRATORY PRESSURES, BREATH HOLDING TIMES AND HGS. 1992 6 1728 23 PERFORMANCE ON PSYCHOMOTOR TASKS FOLLOWING TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. PREVIOUSLY CYCLIC MEDITATION AND SUPINE REST HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN A LETTER CANCELLATION TASK REQUIRING ATTENTION, VISUAL SCANNING, AND MOTOR SPEED. THE PRESENT STUDY ASSESSED THE PERFORMANCE IN 57 VOLUNTEERS (ALL MALE, M AGE = 26.5 YR., SD = 4.6) IN THREE TASKS, VIZ., A DIGIT-LETTER SUBSTITUTION TASK (DLST), A LETTER-COPYING TASK, AND A CIRCLE-DOTTING TASK. THE DLST ASSESSED ATTENTION AND SPEED OF INFORMATION PROCESSING, WHILE THE OTHER 2 TESTS ASSESSED MOTOR SPEED. EACH PARTICIPANT WAS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THREE TYPES OF SESSIONS: CYCLIC MEDITATION, SUPINE REST, AND CONTROL (NO INTERVENTION). DLST SCORES AND SCORES FOR LETTER-COPYING AND CIRCLE-DOTTING TASKS IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION; THE SAME SCORES ALSO IMPROVED AFTER SUPINE REST. THERE WAS NO CHANGE AFTER THE NO-INTERVENTION/CONTROL SESSION. FROM THE RESULTS IT WAS DIFFICULT TO CONCLUDE WHETHER IMPROVED DLST SCORES AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION WERE DUE TO BETTER INFORMATION PROCESSING SPEED OR IMPROVED MOTOR SPEED. 2009 7 442 23 CEREBROVASCULAR DYNAMICS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA BREATHING AND BREATH AWARENESS. AIMS: BREATH FREQUENCY CAN ALTER CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW. THE STUDY AIMED TO DETERMINE BILATERAL MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERIAL HEMODYNAMICS IN HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) AND SLOW FREQUENCY ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB) USING TRANSCRANIAL DOPPLER SONOGRAPHY. METHODS: HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS WERE ASSESSED IN TWO SEPARATE TRIALS BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER HFYB (2.0 HZ FOR 1 MIN, N = 16) AND ANYB (12 BREATHS PER MINUTE FOR 5 MIN, N = 22). HFYB AND ANYB WERE SEPARATELY COMPARED TO BREATH AWARENESS (BAW) AND TO CONTROL SESSIONS. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: THE DATA WERE ANALYZED USING REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST HOC TESTS. RESULTS: DURING HFYB THERE WAS A DECREASE IN END-DIASTOLIC VELOCITY (EDV) AND MEAN FLOW VELOCITY (MFV) (P < 0.01 FOR LEFT AND P < 0.05 FOR RIGHT MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERIES; MCA) WITH AN INCREASE IN PULSATILITY INDEX (PI) FOR THE RIGHT MCA (P < 0.05). DURING ANYB, THERE WAS A BILATERAL DECREASE IN PEAK SYSTOLIC VELOCITY (P < 0.05 FOR LEFT AND P < 0.01 FOR RIGHT MCA), EDV (P < 0.01) AND MFV (P < 0.01 FOR LEFT AND P < 0.001 FOR RIGHT MCA) AND AN INCREASE IN PI (P < 0.01). DURING BAW OF THE TWO SESSIONS THERE WAS A DECREASE IN LATERALIZED FLOW AND END-DIASTOLIC VELOCITIES (P < 0.05) AND AN INCREASE IN PI (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: CHANGES IN PEAK FLOW VELOCITIES AND PULSATILITY INDICES DURING AND AFTER HFYB, ANYB, AND BAW SUGGEST DECREASED CEREBROVASCULAR BLOOD FLOW AND INCREASED FLOW RESISTANCE BASED ON DIFFERENT MECHANISMS. 2022 8 72 25 A FUNCTIONAL NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY STUDY OF HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING COMPARED TO BREATH AWARENESS. BACKGROUND HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (BREATH RATE OF 2.0 HZ) HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN OXY-HEMOGLOBIN IN THE PREFRONTAL REGION OF THE BRAIN. THE PRESENT STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) AT 1.0 HZ ON FRONTAL OXY-HEMOGLOBIN (OXY-HB) AND DEOXY-HEMOGLOBIN (DEOXY-HB). MATERIAL AND METHODS FORTY HEALTHY MALE PARTICIPANTS WERE RECRUITED FOR THE STUDY. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP CONSISTED OF 20 PARTICIPANTS 23-40 YEARS OLD (GROUP MEAN +/-S.D., 26.4+/-4.7 YEARS) WITH AT LEAST 3 MONTHS OF EXPERIENCE PERFORMING HFYB (GROUP MEAN +/-S.D., 16.3+/-9.8 MONTHS). THE CONTROL GROUP CONSISTED OF 20 PARTICIPANTS AGES 23-38 YEARS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- S.D., 27.4+/-4.1 YEARS), WHO WERE SEATED QUIETLY FOR THE SAME DURATION AND THEIR AVERAGE EXPERIENCE OF YOGA PRACTICE WAS (+/-S.D.) 4.3+/-2.7 MONTHS. EACH PARTICIPANT IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WAS ASSESSED AT 2 SESSIONS (HFYB AND BREATH AWARENESS [BAW]) ON ALTERNATE DAYS. HEMODYNAMIC CHANGES WERE ASSESSED USING A FUNCTIONAL NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY SENSOR PLACED OVER THE FOREHEAD. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING REPEATED-MEASURES ANALYSES OF VARIANCE FOLLOWED BY POST HOC BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT. RESULTS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION WAS OBSERVED IN OXY-HB DURING AND AFTER HFYB ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES COMPARED TO VALUES BEFORE. WE ALSO FOUND A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN DEOXY-HB DURING AND AFTER THE QUIET SITTING CONTROL SESSION COMPARED TO PRE-SESSION VALUES ON LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES. CONCLUSIONS THE DECREASE IN OXY-HB DURING AND AFTER HFYB SUGGESTS THAT THERE WAS NO FRONTAL ACTIVATION DURING HFYB WHEN PRACTICED AT THE RATE OF 1.0 HZ. 2016 9 866 27 EFFECT OF YOGA PROGRAM ON EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS OF ADOLESCENTS DWELLING IN AN ORPHAN HOME: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. EXECUTIVE FUNCTION (EF) IS IMPORTANT FOR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT CHILDREN WITH POVERTY AND EARLY LIFE STRESS HAVE REDUCED EF. THE AIM OF THE STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PROGRAM ON THE EF OF ORPHAN ADOLESCENTS. SEVENTY TWO APPARENTLY HEALTHY ORPHAN ADOLESCENTS RANDOMIZED AND ALLOCATED INTO TWO GROUPS AS YOGA GROUP (N = 40; 14 GIRLS, AGE = 12.69 +/- 1.35 YRS) AND WAIT LIST CONTROL (WLC) GROUP (N = 32, 13 GIRLS, AGE = 12.58 +/- 1.52 YRS). YOGA GROUP UNDERWENT THREE MONTHS OF YOGA PROGRAM IN A SCHEDULE OF 90 MIN PER DAY, FOUR DAYS PER WEEK WHEREAS THE WLC GROUP FOLLOWED THE ROUTINE ACTIVITIES. THEY WERE ASSESSED BY STROOP COLOR-WORD TASK, DIGIT SYMBOL SUBSTITUTION TEST (DSST), DIGITS SPAN TEST AND TRIAL MAKING TEST (TMT) AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE PROGRAM. THE REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN TIME AND GROUP INTERACTIONS (P < 0.05) FOR ALL SUBTESTS OF STROOP COLOR-WORD TASK AND DIGIT SPAN TEST AND PART-A OF TMT WHEREAS THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE FOUND IN DSST AND TMT (PART-B). THE POST-HOC TEST WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT ALSO SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS (P < 0.001) WITHIN THE YOGA GROUP IN ALL TEST SCORES WHILE IN WRONG SCORE OF DSST DID NOT EXHIBIT SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION. WHEREAS THE WLC GROUP, SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT (P < 0.05) IN STROOP COLOR, COLOR-WORD SCORE, NET SCORE OF DSST, DIGIT SPAN FORWARD AND DIGIT SPAN TOTAL. THREE MONTHS YOGA PROGRAM WAS FOUND USEFUL FOR THE YOUNG ORPHAN ADOLESCENTS IN IMPROVING THEIR EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS. 2017 10 1726 32 PERFORMANCE IN A CORSI BLOCK-TAPPING TASK FOLLOWING HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING OR BREATH AWARENESS. BACKGROUND: UNINOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES HAVE IMPROVED SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES. THERE HAS BEEN NO ASSESSMENT ON THE EFFECT OF HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) ON WORKING MEMORY AND SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES USING THE CORSI BLOCK-TAPPING TASK (CBTT). OBJECTIVES: THE PRESENT STUDY WAS PLANNED TO ASSESS THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF HFYB AND BREATH AWARENESS (BAW) COMPARED TO A CONTROL SESSION ON PERFORMANCE IN A CBTT. METHODS: FIFTEEN PARTICIPANTS OF BOTH SEXES WITH AGES BETWEEN 18 AND 24 YEARS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION, 20.0 +/- 1.6 YEARS; 10 FEMALES) WERE RECRUITED FOR THE TRIAL FROM A UNIVERSITY IN NORTH INDIA. EACH PARTICIPANT WAS ASSESSED IN THREE SESSIONS CONDUCTED ON 3 SEPARATE DAYS AT THE SAME TIME OF THE DAY. THE THREE SESSIONS WERE (I) HFYB, (II) BAW, AND (III) QUIET SITTING (QS). THE DURATION OF THE INTERVENTION WAS 18 MIN. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER ALL THE THREE SESSIONS. REPEATED-MEASURES-ANALYSES OF VARIANCE FOLLOWED BY POST HOC TESTS WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT WERE PERFORMED TO COMPARE DATA BEFORE AND AFTER ALL THE THREE SESSIONS. RESULTS: BAW RESULTED IN AN IMPROVEMENT IN BACKWARD TOTAL SCORES (P < 0.05) AND THE BACKWARD CORSI SPAN (P < 0.05; ONE TAILED). CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT BAW IMPROVES PRIMARY WORKING MEMORY, SPATIAL MEMORY, AND SPATIAL ATTENTION. HFYB DID NOT CAUSE ANY CHANGE. 2019 11 1013 29 EFFECTS OF ONLINE YOGA AND TAI CHI ON PHYSICAL HEALTH OUTCOME MEASURES OF ADULT INFORMAL CAREGIVERS. AIMS: THIS STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF ONLINE VINYASA YOGA (VY) AND TAIJIFIT (12 WEEKS) IN INFORMAL CAREGIVERS (>/=18 YEARS OF AGE). METHODS: TWENTY-NINE PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO TWO GROUPS: VY (N = 16, 55.87 +/- 12.31 YEARS) OR TAIJIFIT (N = 13, 55.07 +/- 12.65 YEARS). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: PRIOR TO AND FOLLOWING THE STUDY, ASSESSMENTS WERE MADE FOR MUSCLE STRENGTH (1-RM LEG PRESS, CHEST PRESS, AND HANDGRIP), MUSCLE ENDURANCE (LEG PRESS AND CHEST PRESS; MAXIMAL NUMBER OF REPETITIONS PERFORMED TO FATIGUE AT 80% AND 70% BASELINE 1-RM, RESPECTIVELY), ABDOMINAL ENDURANCE (MAXIMUM NUMBER OF CONSECUTIVE CURL-UPS TO FATIGUE), TASKS OF FUNCTIONALITY (DYNAMIC BALANCE AND WALKING SPEED), AND FLEXIBILITY (SIT AND REACH). RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OVER TIME FOR MUSCLE STRENGTH, MUSCLE ENDURANCE, TASKS OF FUNCTIONALITY, AND FLEXIBILITY (P = 0.001). THE VY GROUP EXPERIENCED A GREATER IMPROVEMENT IN CHEST PRESS ENDURANCE (VY: PRE 19.25 +/- 5.90, POST 28.06 +/- 7.60 REPS; TAIJIFIT PRE 15.69 +/- 4.49, POST 21.07 +/- 5.85 REPS; P = 0.019) AND ABDOMINAL ENDURANCE (VY: PRE 37.12 +/- 31.26, POST 68.43 +/- 55.07 REPS; TAIJIFIT PRE 19.23 +/- 19.00, POST 32.07 +/- 20.87 REPS; P = 0.034) COMPARED TO THE TAIJIFIT GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: VY AND TAIJIFIT ARE EFFECTIVE FOR IMPROVING MUSCLE STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE, TASKS OF FUNCTIONALITY, AND FLEXIBILITY IN INFORMAL CAREGIVERS. VY LED TO GREATER GAINS IN CHEST PRESS ENDURANCE AND ABDOMINAL CURL-UPS. 2019 12 1354 24 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF THREE YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES ON PERFORMANCE ON A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK. THE EFFECTS OF THREE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES WERE EVALUATED ON PERFORMANCE ON A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK WHICH IS A LEFT-HEMISPHERE DOMINANT TASK. THE THREE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES (RIGHT, LEFT, AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING) WERE SELECTED BECAUSE UNILATERAL FORCED NOSTRIL BREATHING STIMULATES THE CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE. THERE WERE 20 MALE VOLUNTEERS WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 20 TO 45 YEARS (M AGE=28.4 YR., SD=5.7). ALL SUBJECTS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER FOUR SESSIONS, I.E., RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, LEFT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, AND BREATH AWARENESS AS A CONTROL. THE LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED, I.E., THERE WERE FEWER ERRORS FOLLOWING RIGHT AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (WILCOXON PAIRED SIGNED-RANKS TEST). THE IMPROVED PERFORMANCE MAY BE RELATED TO THE ENHANCEMENT OF CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE FUNCTION FOUND WITH SELECTIVE NOSTRIL BREATHING. 2007 13 1420 28 IMPROVED PERFORMANCE IN THE TOWER OF LONDON TEST FOLLOWING YOGA. TWENTY GIRLS BETWEEN 10 AND 13 YEARS OF AGE, STUDYING AT A RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO TWO GROUPS. ONE GROUP PRACTICED YOGA FOR ONE HOUR FIFTEEN MINUTES PER DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK, WHILE THE OTHER GROUP WAS GIVEN PHYSICAL TRAINING FOR THE SAME TIME. TIME FOR PLANNING AND FOR EXECUTION AND THE NUMBER OF MOVES REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE TOWER OF LONDON TASK WERE ASSESSED FOR BOTH GROUPS AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF A MONTH. THESE THREE ASSESSMENTS WERE SEPARATELY TESTED IN INCREASINGLY COMPLEX TASKS REQUIRING 2-MOVES, 4-MOVES AND 5-MOVES. THE PRE-POST DATA WERE COMPARED USING THE WILCOXON PAIRED SIGNED RANKS TEST. THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN PLANNING TIME FOR BOTH 2-MOVES AND 4-MOVES TASKS (53.9 AND 59.1 PERCENT RESPECTIVELY), EXECUTION TIME IN BOTH 4-MOVES AND 5-MOVES TASKS (63.7 AND 60.3 PERCENT RESPECTIVELY), AND IN THE NUMBER OF MOVES IN THE 4-MOVES TASKS (20.9 PERCENT). THE PHYSICAL TRAINING GROUP SHOWED NO CHANGE. HENCE YOGA TRAINING FOR A MONTH REDUCED THE PLANNING AND EXECUTION TIME IN SIMPLE (2-MOVES) AS WELL AS COMPLEX TASKS (4, 5-MOVES) AND FACILITATED REACHING THE TARGET WITH A SMALLER NUMBER OF MOVES IN A COMPLEX TASK (4-MOVES). 2001 14 858 35 EFFECT OF YOGA OR PHYSICAL EXERCISE ON PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL MEASURES IN CHILDREN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SEPARATELY REPORTED THE EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND YOGA IN CHILDREN, SHOWING PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL BENEFITS. OBJECTIVES: THE PRESENT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA OR PHYSICAL EXERCISE ON PHYSICAL FITNESS, COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE, SELF-ESTEEM, AND TEACHER-RATED BEHAVIOR AND PERFORMANCE, IN SCHOOL CHILDREN. METHODS: 98 SCHOOL CHILDREN BETWEEN 8 TO 13 YEARS WERE RANDOMIZED AS YOGA AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUPS {N = 49 EACH; (YOGA: 15 GIRLS, GROUP MEAN AGE 10.4 +/- 1.2 YEARS), (PHYSICAL EXERCISE: 23 GIRLS, GROUP MEAN AGE 10.5 +/- 1.3 YEARS)}. BOTH GROUPS WERE BLIND ASSESSED AFTER ALLOCATION, USING: (I) THE EUROFIT PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST BATTERY, (II) STROOP COLOR-WORD TASK FOR CHILDREN, (III) BATTLE'S SELF-ESTEEM INVENTORY AND (IV) THE TEACHERS' RATING OF THE CHILDREN'S OBEDIENCE, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, ATTENTION, PUNCTUALITY, AND BEHAVIOR WITH FRIENDS AND TEACHERS. AFTER ASSESSMENTS THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED YOGA (BREATHING TECHNIQUES, POSTURES, GUIDED RELAXATION AND CHANTING), 45 MINUTES EACH DAY, 5 DAYS A WEEK. DURING THIS TIME THE PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUP HAD JOGGING-IN-PLACE, RAPID REPETITIVE MOVEMENTS AND RELAY RACES OR GAMES. BOTH GROUPS WERE ASSESSED AT THE END OF 3 MONTHS. DATA WERE ANALYZED WITH RM ANOVA AND POST-HOC TESTS WERE BONFERRONI ADJUSTED. RESULTS: THERE WAS ONE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS. THIS WAS IN SOCIAL SELF-ESTEEM WHICH WAS HIGHER AFTER PHYSICAL EXERCISE COMPARED TO YOGA (P < 0.05). ALL THE CHANGES REPORTED BELOW ARE BASED ON AFTER-BEFORE COMPARISONS, WITHIN EACH GROUP. BOTH GROUPS SHOWED AN INCREASE IN BMI, AND NUMBER OF SIT-UPS (P < 0.001). BALANCE WORSENED IN THE PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUP, WHILE PLATE TAPPING IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.001). IN THE STROOP TASK BOTH GROUPS SHOWED IMPROVED COLOR, WORD- AND COLOR-WORD NAMING (P < 0.01), WHILE THE PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUP SHOWED HIGHER INTERFERENCE SCORES. TOTAL, GENERAL AND PARENTAL SELF-ESTEEM IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: YOGA AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE ARE USEFUL ADDITIONS TO THE SCHOOL ROUTINE, WITH PHYSICAL EXERCISE IMPROVING SOCIAL SELF-ESTEEM. TRIAL REGISTRATION: THE STUDY WAS REGISTERED IN THE CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY OF INDIA (CTRI/2012/11/003112). 2013 15 1357 25 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ON PERFORMANCE IN A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK. THE PERFORMANCE IN A SIX-LETTER CANCELLATION TASK WAS ASSESSED WITH 69 MALE VOLUNTEERS, AGES 18 TO 48 YEARS, IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES AND A CONTROL SESSION OF EQUAL DURATION. THE TECHNIQUES WERE CYCLIC MEDITATION AND SUPINE REST. CYCLIC MEDITATION CONSISTS OF ALTERNATING CYCLES OF YOGA POSTURES AND SUPINE REST. AFTER BOTH PRACTICES, THE NET SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER, ALTHOUGH THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE WAS MORE AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION THAN AFTER SUPINE REST (24.9% VERSUS 13.6%). THERE WAS REDUCTION IN SCORES FOR WRONG CANCELLATIONS AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION AND NOT AFTER SUPINE REST. THE CONTROL GROUP SHOWED NO CHANGE. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT CYCLIC MEDITATION BRINGS ABOUT A GREATER IMPROVEMENT IN PERFORMANCE IN THIS TASK, WHICH REQUIRES SELECTIVE ATTENTION, CONCENTRATION, VISUAL SCANNING ABILITIES, AND A REPETITIVE MOTOR RESPONSE. 2007 16 1365 24 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 2362 29 VOLITIONAL YOGA BREATHING INFLUENCES ATTENTION AND ANXIETY: AN EXPLORATORY RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER STUDY. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS STUDIES ASSESSED YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES INDIVIDUALLY. THIS EXPLORATORY, RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER STUDY ASSESSED ATTENTION AND ANXIETY FOLLOWING FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES, BREATH AWARENESS, AND QUIET SEATED REST. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIRTY-EIGHT MALE VOLUNTEERS BETWEEN 20 AND 37 YEARS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD; 24.08 +/- 4.01 YEARS) WERE ASSESSED IN SIX SESSIONS IN RANDOM ORDER (WWW.RANDOMIZER.ORG) ON SEPARATE DAYS. THE SESSIONS WERE: (I) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, (II) BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING, (III) BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING, (IV) HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING, (V) BREATH AWARENESS, AND (VI) QUIET SEATED REST. THE SESSIONS WERE FOR 18 MIN EACH. SIX LETTER CANCELLATION TEST (SLCT) AND SPIELBERGER'S STATE TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY-STATE (STAI-S) WERE ADMINISTERED PRE AND POST EACH SESSION. DATA ANALYSIS USED GENERAL LINEAR MIXED MODEL ANALYSIS, WITH FIXED EFFECT OF STATES (PRE AND POST) AND SESSIONS. RESULTS: A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT OF STATES WAS OBSERVED ON TOTAL ATTEMPTED (F1,407 = 5.374, P = 0.021) AND NET ATTEMPTED SCORES (F1,407 = 6.178, P = 0.013) OF THE SLCT, WITH A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SCORES FOLLOWING HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.031 FOR TOTAL ATTEMPTED SCORES; PADJ = 0.029 FOR NET ATTEMPTED SCORES). ALSO, A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT OF STATES ON STAI-S SCORES WAS OBSERVED (F1,407 = 33.979, P < 0.001), WITH A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN SCORES FOLLOWING ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.001), BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.008), BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.002), AND HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (PADJ = 0.042) COMPARED TO THE CORRESPONDING PRE STATE. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT OF SESSIONS (F5,407 = 3.043, P = 0.010) ON STAI-S SCORES, WITH SCORES POST ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN POST BREATH AWARENESS (PADJ = 0.037). CONCLUSION: FOLLOWING HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING SUSTAINED ATTENTION WAS BETTER THAN BEFORE WHILE STATE ANXIETY DECREASED IN POST-PRE COMPARISONS OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING, BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING, AND HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BREATHING PRACTICES MAY BE DUE TO DIFFERENCES IN DEGREE OF VOLITIONAL REGULATION OF BREATHING AND IN THE BREATH PATTERNS MODIFIED VOLITIONALLY. THE GENERALIZABILITY OF THE FINDINGS WAS LIMITED BY INCLUDING AN ALL MALE, YOGA EXPERIENCED SAMPLE. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD INCLUDE PARTICIPANTS OF BOTH GENDERS AND COULD INCLUDE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF YOGA EXPERIENCE, WITH ASSESSMENTS INCLUDING OBJECTIVE MEASURES OF ATTENTION AND ANXIETY. 2022 18 295 28 AGE RELATED DIFFERENCES OF SELECTED HATHA YOGA PRACTICES ON ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS, MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY OF HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. BACKGROUND: PHYSIOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF YOGA ON VOLUNTEERS OF A PARTICULAR AGE GROUP ARE AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, REPORTS ON EFFICACY OF A SPECIFIC YOGA PACKAGE ON THE POPULACE OF DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS FROM SIMILAR OCCUPATIONAL BACKGROUND IS STILL VERY LIMITED. THEREFORE, THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO APPRAISE THE EFFECT OF A SPECIFIC HATHA YOGA PACKAGE ON ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS, FLEXIBILITY AND MUSCULAR STRENGTH OF HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS OF DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS FROM SIMILAR OCCUPATIONAL TRADE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 71 PARTICIPANTS (GROUP ALL) FROM INDIAN AIR FORCE GROUND PERSONNEL VOLUNTEERED AND AGE WISE DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUPS - (I) GROUP I (GR. - I) (N1 = 27, 20-29 YEARS), (II) GROUP II (GR. - II) (N2 = 21, 30-39 YEARS) AND (III) GROUP III (GR. - III) (N3 = 23, 40-49 YEARS). ALL THE PARTICIPANTS UNDERGONE SELECTED HATHA YOGA TRAINING FOR 1 H DAILY FOR A PERIOD OF 12 WEEKS. PARAMETERS WERE RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER THE TRAINING. PRE AND POST TRAINING DIFFERENCES WERE ASSESSED BY STUDENT'S T-TEST. RESULTS: BODY WEIGHT (ALL, GR. - II AND GR. - III [ALL P < 0.05]), BODY MASS INDEX (GR. - II AND GR. - III [BOTH P < 0.01]) AND FAT% (GR. - II AND III [BOTH P < 0.05]) WERE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. NECK CIRCUMFERENCE WAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN GR. - I (P < 0.05) BUT DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN GR. - III (P < 0.05). CHEST CIRCUMFERENCE (ALL (P < 0.001), IN GR. - I AND II [BOTH P < 0.05]), GRIP STRENGTH (ALL [LEFT: P < 0.01 AND RIGHT: P < 0.05], IN GR. - I [LEFT: P < 0.05 AND RIGHT: P < 0.01], IN GR. - II [RIGHT: P < 0.05] AND IN GR. - III [LEFT: P < 0.05 AND RIGHT: P < 0.01]), BACK LEG STRENGTH (GROUP WISE P < 0.001, P < 0.05, P < 0.01 AND P < 0.05 RESPECTIVELY) AND FLEXIBILITY (ALL P < 0.001) WERE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: HATHA YOGA CAN IMPROVE ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS, MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY AMONG VOLUNTEERS OF DIFFERENT AGE GROUP AND CAN ALSO BE HELPFUL IN PREVENTING AND ATTENUATING AGE RELATED DETERIORATION OF THESE PARAMETERS. 2015 19 695 23 EFFECT OF FOUR VOLUNTARY REGULATED YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES ON GRIP STRENGTH. BILATERAL HAND-GRIP STRENGTH WAS STUDIED IN 21 MALE VOLUNTEERS (M AGE = 25.6 YR., SD = 5.2). ALL WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER FIVE PRACTICE SESSIONS OF 20 MIN. DURATION: RIGHT-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, LEFT-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, BREATH AWARENESS, AND A NO-INTERVENTION SESSION. DATA WERE ANALYZED WITH ANALYSES OF VARIANCE AND AN ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE USING THE NO-BREATH AWARENESS CONTROL CONDITION AS A COVARIATE. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES. THE LEFT-HAND-GRIP STRENGTH REDUCED AFTER LEFT-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING. HOWEVER, FINDINGS WERE NOT CONSIDERED SIGNIFICANT, SO METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES IN YOGA RESEARCH WHICH COULD CONTRIBUTE TO NULL FINDINGS AND EVEN MASK ACTUAL CHANGES WERE DISCUSSED. 2009 20 1360 23 IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF YOGA BREATHING WITH INTERMITTENT BREATH HOLDING ON RESPONSE INHIBITION AMONG HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. BACKGROUND: THERE IS VERY LITTLE EVIDENCE AVAILABLE ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA-BASED BREATHING PRACTICES ON RESPONSE INHIBITION. THE CURRENT STUDY USED STOP-SIGNAL PARADIGM TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA BREATHING WITH INTERMITTENT BREATH HOLDING (YBH) ON RESPONSE INHIBITION AMONG HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIRTY-SIX HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS (17 MALES + 19 FEMALES), WITH MEAN AGE OF 20.31 +/- 3.48 YEARS FROM A UNIVERSITY, WERE RECRUITED IN A WITHIN-SUBJECT REPEATED MEASURES (RM) DESIGN. THE RECORDINGS FOR STOP SIGNAL TASK WERE PERFORMED ON THREE DIFFERENT DAYS FOR BASELINE, POST-YBH, AND POST YOGIC BREATH AWARENESS (YBA) SESSIONS. STOP-SIGNAL REACTION TIME (SSRT), MEAN REACTION TIME TO GO STIMULI (GO RT), AND THE PROBABILITY OF RESPONDING ON-STOP SIGNAL TRIALS (P [R/S]) WERE ANALYZED FOR 36 VOLUNTEERS USING RM ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE. RESULTS: SSRT REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY IN BOTH YBH (218.33 +/- 38.38) AND YBA (213.15 +/- 37.29) GROUPS WHEN COMPARED TO BASELINE (231.98 +/- 29.54). NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN GO RT AND P (R/S). FURTHER, THE CHANGES IN SSRT WERE NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT AMONG YBH AND YBA GROUPS. CONCLUSION: BOTH YBH AND YBA GROUPS WERE FOUND TO ENHANCE RESPONSE INHIBITION IN THE STOP-SIGNAL PARADIGM. YBH COULD BE FURTHER EVALUATED IN CLINICAL SETTINGS FOR CONDITIONS WHERE RESPONSE INHIBITION IS ALTERED. 2018