1 673 89 EFFECT OF A ONE-MONTH YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM ON PERFORMANCE IN A MIRROR-TRACING TASK. THE PERFORMANCE IN A MIRROR STAR TRACING TASK WAS ASSESSED IN TWO GROUPS OF VOLUNTEERS (YOGA AND CONTROL) WITH 26 PEOPLE IN EACH GROUP, AND AGE RANGE BETWEEN 18 AND 45 YEARS. THE STAR TO BE TRACED WAS SIX POINTED AND THE OUTLINE WAS MADE UP OF 60 CIRCLES (4 MM IN DIAMETER). AT THE END OF ONE MONTH THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN TERMS OF AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CIRCLES CROSSED (P<0.001, WILCOXON PAIRED SIGNED RANKS TEST) FOR BOTH HANDS AND A DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CIRCLES LEFT OUT FOR THE RIGHT HAND (P<0.05). THE CONTROL GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN NUMBER OF CIRCLES CROSSED FOR THE LEFT HAND ALONE (P<0.05) AT THE END OF A MONTH ATTRIBUTED TO RE-TEST. THE STUDY SUGGESTS THAT ONE MONTH OF YOGA IMPROVED REVERSAL ABILITY, EYE-HAND CO-ORDINATION, SPEED AND ACCURACY WHICH ARE NECESSARY FOR MIRROR STAR TRACING. 2006 2 883 34 EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON MAZE LEARNING. THE PERFORMANCE IN A MAZE LEARNING TASK WAS ASSESSED IN ADULTS OF EITHER SEX (N = 31) BEFORE AND AFTER 30 DAYS OF YOGA TRAINING AND IN AN AGE AND GENDER MATCHED CONTROL GROUP OF SUBJECTS WHO DID NOT RECEIVE TRAINING IN YOGA. SUBJECTS WERE BLIND FOLDED AND USED THE DOMINANT HAND TO TRACE THE PATH IN A WOODEN PENCIL MAZE. AT EACH ASSESSMENT, SUBJECTS WERE GIVEN 5 TRIALS, WITHOUT A GAP BETWEEN THEM. PERFORMANCE WAS BASED ON THE TIME TAKEN TO COMPLETE THE MAZE AND THE NUMBER OF BLIND ALLEYS TAKEN. THE TIME AND ERROR SCORES OF TRIAL 1 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS AFTER YOGA (TWO-FACTOR ANOVA, TUKEY TEST). REPEATING TRIALS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED TIME SCORES AT TRIAL 5 VERSUS TRIAL 1, FOR BOTH GROUPS ON DAY 1 AND FOR THE CONTROL GROUP ON DAY 30. HENCE THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED IMPROVED PERFORMANCE IN MAZE TRACING AT RETEST 30 DAYS LATER, WHICH MAY BE RELATED TO THIS GROUP BEING FASTER LEARNERS AND ALSO THE EFFECT OF YOGA ITSELF. YOGA TRAINING DID NOT INFLUENCE MAZE LEARNING, BASED ON THE PERFORMANCE IN 5 REPEAT TRIALS. 2000 3 1671 15 NEW ENERGY GEOGRAPHIES: A CASE STUDY OF YOGA, MEDITATION AND HEALTHFULNESS. BEGINNING WITH A ROUTINE DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PRACTITIONER OF YOGA AND MEDITATION AND EMPHASISING THE IMPORTANCE OF NURTURING, MAINTAINING AND PREVENTING THE DISSIPATION OF DIVERSE 'ENERGIES', THIS PAPER EXPLORES THE POSSIBILITIES FOR GEOGRAPHICAL HEALTH STUDIES WHICH TAKE SERIOUSLY 'NEW ENERGY GEOGRAPHIES'. IT IS EXPLAINED HOW THIS ACCOUNT IS DERIVED FROM IN-DEPTH FIELDWORK TRACING HOW PRACTITIONERS OF YOGA AND MEDITATION FIND TIMES AND SPACES FOR THESE PRACTICES, OFTEN IN THE FACE OF BUSY URBAN LIFESTYLES. ATTENTION IS PAID TO THE 'ENERGY TALK' FEATURING HEAVILY IN HOW PRACTITIONERS DESCRIBE THE BENEFITS THAT THEY PERCEIVE THEMSELVES TO DERIVE FROM THESE PRACTICES, AND TO CLAIMS MADE ABOUT 'ENERGIES' GENERATED DURING THE TIME-SPACES OF THESE PRACTICES WHICH SEEMINGLY FLOW, USUALLY WITH POSITIVE EFFECTS, INTO OTHER DOMAINS OF THEIR LIVES. THE PAPER THEN DISCUSSES THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS ENERGY TALK IN THE CONTEXT OF: (A) CRITICALLY REVIEWING CONVENTIONAL APPROACHES TO STUDYING 'ENERGY GEOGRAPHIES'; (B) IDENTIFYING AN ALERTNESS TO THE LIKES OF 'AFFECTIVE ENERGIES' SURFACING IN RECENT THEORETICALLY-ATTUNED WORKS OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY (AND COGNATE DISCIPLINES); AND (C) EXPLORING DIFFERING UNDERSTANDINGS OF ENERGY/ENERGIES EXTANT IN GEOGRAPHICAL STUDIES OF HEALTH AND IN STEP WITH THE EMPIRICAL RESEARCH MATERIALS PRESENTED ABOUT YOGA, MEDITATION AND HEALTHFULNESS. WHILE ORIENTATED TOWARDS EXPLICITLY GEOGRAPHICAL INQUIRIES, THE PAPER IS INTENDED AS A STATEMENT OF INTEREST TO THE WIDER MEDICAL HUMANITIES. 2015 4 1009 27 EFFECTS OF MULTIMODAL MANDALA YOGA ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS FOR YOUTH WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY. CONTEXT: YOUTH WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) DEMONSTRATES IMPAIRMENT IN THE ABILITY TO SOCIALLY AND EMOTIONALLY RELATE TO OTHERS THAT CAN LIMIT PARTICIPATION IN GROUPS, INTERACTION WITH PEERS, AND BUILDING SUCCESSFUL LIFE RELATIONSHIPS. AIMS: THE AIM OF THIS EXPLORATORY STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF A NOVEL MULTIMODAL MANDALA YOGA PROGRAM ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS FOR YOUTH WITH ASD. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: FIVE MALES WITH ASD ATTENDED 1 H YOGA SESSIONS, TWICE A WEEK FOR 4 WEEKS. MULTIMODAL MANDALA YOGA COMPRISED 26 CIRCULAR PARTNER/GROUP POSES, COLOR AND TRACING SHEETS, RHYTHMIC CHANTING, YOGA CARDS, AND GAMES. TREATMENT AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR ASD SOCIAL SKILLS ASSESSMENT (TSSA) SCORES WERE COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE EIGHT YOGA SESSIONS. THE MODIFIED FACIAL MOOD SCALE (MFMS) WAS USED TO OBSERVE MOOD CHANGES BEFORE AND AFTER EACH YOGA CLASS. PAIRED SAMPLE T-TESTS WERE CONDUCTED ON TSSA AND MFMS SCORES TO COMPARE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DIFFERENCES POST THE 4-WEEK CAMP. NARRATIVE FIELD NOTES WERE DOCUMENTED AFTER EACH OF THE EIGHT YOGA SESSIONS. RESULTS: A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT FROM PRE- TO POST-TEST WAS FOUND IN OVERALL TSSA (T(4) = -5.744, P = 0.005) AND ON RESPONDENT TO INITIATION (T(4) = -3.726, P = 0.020), INITIATING INTERACTION (T(4) = -8.5, P = 0.039), AND AFFECTIVE UNDERSTANDING AND PERSPECTIVE TAKING SUBSCALES (T(4) = -5.171 P = 0.007). YOUTH'S MFMS SCORES INCREASED FROM 80% TO 100% AT THE END OF EIGHT YOGA SESSIONS DEMONSTRATING A PLEASANT OR POSITIVE MOOD. THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE NARRATIVE NOTES IDENTIFIED THREE KEY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE YOGA EXPERIENCE: (A) ENHANCED MOOD AND EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, (B) INCREASED EMPATHY TOWARD OTHERS, AND (C) IMPROVED TEAMWORK SKILLS. CONCLUSION: THIS MULTIMODAL MANDALA YOGA TRAINING HAS IMPLICATION FOR DEVELOPING POSITIVE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS FOR YOUTH WITH ASD. 2018 5 182 22 A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS REACTIVITY IN 6TH GRADE STUDENTS. THERE IS AN INCREASING INTEREST IN DEVELOPING SCHOOL PROGRAMS THAT IMPROVE THE ABILITY OF CHILDREN TO COPE WITH PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS. YOGA MAY BE AN APPROPRIATE INTERVENTION AS IT HAS DEMONSTRATED IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ABILITY OF CHILDREN TO MANAGE PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS. YOGA IS THOUGHT TO IMPROVE THE CONTROL OF REACTIVITY TO STRESS VIA THE REGULATION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. THE CURRENT STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA COMPARED TO A PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASS ON PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE (BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) AND HEART RATE (HR)) TO BEHAVIORAL STRESSOR TASKS (MENTAL ARITHMETIC AND MIRROR TRACING TASKS). DATA ANALYSIS OF BP AND HR WAS PERFORMED USING A 2 X 2 X 4 REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA (TIME X GROUP X STRESSOR TIME POINTS). 30 (17 MALE) 6TH GRADERS PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. YOGA DID NOT PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN STRESS REACTIVITY COMPARED TO A PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASS (GROUP X TIME: SYSTOLIC (F(1,28) = .538, P = .470); DIASTOLIC (F(1,28) = .1.061, P = .312); HR (F(1,28) = .401, P = .532)). THE LACK OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES MAY BE DUE TO THE YOGA INTERVENTION FAILING TO FOCUS ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AND/OR THE STRESSOR TASKS NOT ADEQUATELY CAPTURING ATTENUATION OF STRESSOR RESPONSE. 2013 6 1420 35 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 7 489 27 CLINICAL STUDY ON THE EFFICACY OF RAJAYAPANA BASTI AND BALADI YOGA IN MOTOR DISABILITIES OF CEREBRAL PALSY IN CHILDREN. BACKGROUND: CEREBRAL PALSY IS A STATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY THAT MAY BE DEFINED AS A NON-PROGRESSIVE DISORDER OF POSTURE AND MOVEMENT OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH EPILEPSY AND ABNORMALITIES IN SPEECH, VISION AND INTELLECT RESULTING FROM A DEFECT OR LESION OF THE DEVELOPING BRAIN. THERE ARE 25 LAKHS CEREBRAL PALSY AFFECTED CHILDREN IN INDIA. AIM: TO ASSESS THE EFFICACY OF RAJAYAPANA BASTI (RB) AND BALADI YOGA IN MOTOR DISABILITIES OF CEREBRAL PALSY IN CHILDREN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TOTAL 98 CHILDREN SATISFYING DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA AND BETWEEN THE AGE GROUP OF 2-10 YEARS WERE INCLUDED AND RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS. IN RB WITH BALADI GROUP (N = 40) PATIENTS WERE TREATED WITH MUSTADI RAJAYAPANA BASTI FOR 8 DAYS, FOLLOWED BY ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF BALADI YOGA WITH HONEY AND GHEE FOR 60 DAYS. BEFORE ADMINISTERING BASTI, PATIENTS WERE SUBJECTED TO SARVANGA ABHYANGA AND SASTIKASHALI PINDA SVEDA. IN THE CONTROL GROUP (N = 40), PATIENTS WERE GIVEN TABLETS OF GODHUMA CHOORNA FOR 60 DAYS. BEFORE ADMINISTERING THE PLACEBO TABLET, THE PATIENTS OF THE CONTROL GROUP WERE GIVEN SARVANGA ABHYANGA AND SASTIKASHALI PINDA SVEDA FOR 8 DAYS. THE PATIENTS OF THE CONTROL GROUP WERE GIVEN BASTI WITH LUKEWARM WATER FOR 8 DAYS. RESULTS: RB GROUP HAS SHOWN IMPROVEMENTS IN UNDERSTANDING ABILITY (13.43%), SPEECH (10%) AND PERFORMANCE SKILL (11.11%), IN FINE MOTOR FUNCTIONS SUCH AS PUTTING SMALL OBJECT IN TO A CONTAINER (14.3%), THROWS THE BALL IN ALL DIRECTION (21.8%), USE OF THUMB AND INDEX FINGER (10.93%), RETAINING 2 INCH CUBE IN FIST (19.04%), FOLDS PAPER AND INSERTS INTO ENVELOPE (10.30%), IN GROSS MOTOR FUNCTIONS SUCH AS IN CRAWLING (26.7%), SITTING (31.7%), STANDING (13.75%), WALKING (9.5%) AND CLAPS HANDS (13.9%) RESPECTIVELY. CONCLUSION: MUSTADI RB ALONG WITH BALADI YOGA PROVIDED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN ALL THE PARAMETERS AND HAS PROMISING RESULT IN MANAGING MOTOR DISABILITIES OF CEREBRAL PALSY IN CHILDREN. 2014 8 885 23 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 9 2814 25 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 10 898 16 EFFECT OF YOGASANAS ON THE VISUAL AND AUDITORY REACTION TIME. VISUAL AND AUDITORY REACTION TIME (VRT, ART) WAS STUDIED IN 83 HEALTHY MALE SUBJECTS OF 30-40 YEARS OF AGE WHO HAD NEVER PRACTICED YOGASANAS BEFORE. THESE SUBJECTS WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS VIZ. GROUP A WHOSE VRT AND ART WAS DETERMINED AFTER 1 HR. YOGASANAS AND GROUP B WHOSE ART AND VRT WAS DETERMINED AFTER 6 WEEKS YOGASANAS TRAINING PROGRAMME. VRT AND ART SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN GROUP A (P LESS THAN .05) AND GROUP B (P LESS THAN .001). 1989 11 1653 29 MUSCLE POWER, DEXTERITY SKILL AND VISUAL PERCEPTION IN COMMUNITY HOME GIRLS TRAINED IN YOGA OR SPORTS AND IN REGULAR SCHOOL GIRLS. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO COMPARE CRITICAL FLICKER FUSION FREQUENCY (CFF), DEGREE OF OPTICAL ILLUSION ("DI"), DEXTERITY SCORES, AND GRIP STRENGTH IN THREE GROUPS OF SUBJECTS, VIZ COMMUNITY HOME GIRLS WHO HAD LEARNED YOGA FOR 6 MONTHS (CHY), AGE-MATCHED COMMUNITY HOME GIRLS WHO HAD PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TRAINING FOR 6 MONTHS (CHP), AND GIRLS WHO WERE ATTENDING A REGULAR SCHOOL (SCH). THERE WERE EQUAL NUMBERS IN EACH GROUP FOR EACH OF THE 4 ASSESSMENT (RANGE 11 TO 30 SUBJECTS) AND AGE RANGE WAS 12 TO 16 YEARS OF AGE. THE CHP GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER CFF AND "DI" WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER (ONE FACTOR ANOVA, T TEST FOR UNPAIRED DATA) IN THE CHP GROUP, BOTH COMPARED TO CHY AND SCH GROUPS. RIGHT HAND GRIP STRENGTH WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY LESS IN THE CHP GROUP COMPARED TO SCH. THE RESULTS WERE EXPLAINED BY PREVIOUS REPORTS OF HIGH LEVELS OF ANXIETY AND AGGRESSION IN COMMUNITY-HOME GROUPS, WHICH IS KNOWN TO INFLUENCE THE FOUR PARAMETERS DESCRIBED HERE. THE BETTER PERFORMANCE OF THE CHY GROUP COMPARED TO CHP, SUGGESTED THAT YOGA PRACTICE HAS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT IN THESE SUBJECTS. 1997 12 2779 13 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 13 736 26 EFFECT OF PRACTICING YOGA ON CERVICAL VESTIBULAR EVOKED MYOGENIC POTENTIAL. THE PRESENT STUDY ATTEMPTED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF PRACTICING YOGA ON FUNCTIONING OF SACCULO-COLLIC PATHWAY USING CERVICAL VESTIBULAR EVOKED MYOGENIC POTENTIAL (CVEMP). CVEMP WAS RECORDED FROM 40 PARTICIPANTS (20 WHO PRACTICE YOGA REGULARLY AND 20 WHO DO NOT PRACTICE YOGA REGULARLY). THE DIFFERENCES IN AMPLITUDE OF P1, N1, P1-N1 COMPLEX, ASYMMETRY RATIO AND LATENCIES OF P1 AND N1 OF CVEMP WERE COMPARED BETWEEN BOTH THE GROUPS. THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY SHOWED THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE (P < 0.05) IN THE AMPLITUDE OF P1, N1 AND P1-N1 COMPLEX AND A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN LATENCY (P < 0.05) FOR EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. THE ASYMMETRY RATIO IN INDIVIDUALS WHO PRACTICE YOGA WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER (MEAN = 6.73) COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP (MEAN = 19.13). MULTIVARIATE REGRESSION ANALYSES SUGGESTED THAT THE NUMBER OF YEARS OF YOGA PRACTICE SIGNIFICANTLY PREDICTED THE AMPLITUDE OF P1-N1 COMPLEX (BETA = 0.70, P < 0.01) AND AMPLITUDE RATIO (BETA = 0.72, P < 0.01). THUS, PRACTICING YOGA IMPROVES POSTURAL CONTROL AND STRENGTHENS THE MUSCLES AND VESTIBULAR SYSTEM LEADING TO ENHANCED CVEMP RESPONSES. THE PLASTIC CHANGES IN THE VESTIBULAR SYSTEM AND INCREASED MUSCULAR STRENGTH BECAUSE OF CONSTANT PRACTICING OF YOGA COULD HAVE LED TO CHANGES IN CVEMP RESPONSES. HOWEVER, FURTHER STUDIES ON A LARGER GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR BETTER CLINICAL APPLICABILITY OF THE RESULTS. 2017 14 2784 20 YOGA THERAPY AS AN ADJUNCT TO TRADITIONAL TOOTH BRUSHING TRAINING METHODS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER. AIM: TO EVALUATE IF YOGA COULD BE AN ADJUNCT TO REGULAR TRAINING METHODS IN TRAINING BRUSHING SKILL TO CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD). METHODS: SEVENTY-TWO CHILDREN WITH ASD AGED 7-15 YEARS WERE SELECTED AND DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS (N = 36). CHILDREN IN GROUP I RECEIVED VISUAL PEDAGOGY AND VIDEO MODELING AND CHILDREN IN GROUP II RECEIVED VISUAL PEDAGOGY AND VIDEO MODELING WITH YOGA. PLAQUE AND GINGIVAL INDICES (PI AND GI) WERE RECORDED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, AND SIXTH MONTH. THE SCORES WERE SUMMARIZED AS MEAN AND STANDARD DEVIATION AND INTER-GROUP COMPARISON WAS DONE USING INDEPENDENT T-TEST. RESULTS: INTER-GROUP COMPARISON OF MEAN PLAQUE AND GINGIVAL INDICES SCORES WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT AT SECOND MONTH (P = .039 FOR PI AND P = .009 FOR GI). THE SCORES WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT EVEN AT THIRD MONTH (P = .001 FOR PI AND P = .002 FOR GI) AND SIXTH MONTH (P = .001 PI AND GI), WITH CHILDREN IN GROUP II DEMONSTRATING BETTER ORAL HYGIENE. CONCLUSION: YOGA TRAINING CAN BE USED AS AN ADJUNCT TO ENHANCE TOOTH BRUSHING LEARNING CAPABILITIES OF CHILDREN WITH ASD IN ADDITION TO VISUAL MODELING AND PEDAGOGY. 2019 15 1766 18 POSTURAL CONTROL ADAPTATIONS IN YOGA SINGLE-LEG SUPPORT POSTURES: COMPARISON BETWEEN PRACTITIONERS AND NONPRACTITIONERS. THIS PAPER INVESTIGATES WHETHER A GROUP OF REGULAR YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWS POSTURAL CONTROL DIFFERENCES COMPARED WITH HEALTHY CONTROLS WHILE PERFORMING SINGLE-LEG YOGA POSTURES. TEN YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE COMPARED WITH A CONTROL GROUP OF 10 NONPRACTITIONERS PERFORMING TWO SINGLE-LEG SUPPORT YOGA POSTURES: VRKSASANA (TREE POSTURE) AND NATARAJASANA (DANCER POSTURE). RAMBLING AND TREMBLING DECOMPOSITION OF THE CENTER OF PRESSURE TRAJECTORIES WAS IMPLEMENTED USING A GENETIC ALGORITHM SPECTRAL OPTIMIZATION THAT AVOIDS USING HORIZONTAL FORCES AND WAS VALIDATED WITH BIPEDAL POSTURE DATA. ADDITIONALLY, THE CENTER OF MASS WAS ESTIMATED FROM BODY KINEMATICS USING OPENSIM AND COMPARED WITH THE RAMBLING OUTPUTS. DURING NATARAJASANA, NO POSTURAL CONTROL ADAPTATIONS WERE OBSERVED. FOR VRKSASANA, THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWED A LOWER CENTER OF PRESSURE ELLIPSE CONFIDENCE INTERVAL AREA, CENTER OF PRESSURE ANTEROPOSTERIOR SD, AND SMALLER RAMBLING SD IN THE MEDIOLATERAL DIRECTION, SUGGESTING POSSIBLE SUPRASPINAL FEED-FORWARD MOTOR ADAPTATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA TRAINING. 2022 16 804 16 EFFECT OF YOGA ON AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC POWER OF MUSCLES. AEROBIC POWER (VO2 MAX) AND ANAEROBIC POWER WERE ESTIMATED IN MEDICAL STUDENTS BEFORE AND AFTER SIX WEEKS OF YOGIC TRAINING. A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN AEROBIC POWER AND A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN ANAEROBIC POWER WAS OBSERVED. THIS MAY BE DUE TO CONVERSION OF SOME OF THE FAST TWITCH (F.T.) MUSCLE FIBRES INTO SLOW TWITCH FIBRES (S.T.) DURING YOGIC TRAINING. 1991 17 1264 21 FLEXIBILITY, FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) IN ELDERLY YOGA PRACTITIONERS. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE LEVELS OF FLEXIBILITY, FUNCTIONAL AUTONOMY AND QOL IN ELDERLY YOGA PRACTITIONERS. THE SUBJECTS WERE DIVIDED INTO A YOGA GROUP (YG; N = 52; AGE = 66.79 +/- 3.30 YEARS; BMI = 24.77 +/- 3.18) AND CONTROL GROUP (CG; N = 31; AGE = 69.33 +/- 4.84 YEARS; BMI = 24.32 +/- 3.71) AND SUBMITTED TO FLEXIBILITY TESTS THROUGH GONIOMETRY, THE LADEG AUTONOMY PROTOCOL AND QOL, USING THE WHOQOL-OLD QUESTIONNAIRE. REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA SHOWED INCREASES IN ARTICULAR RANGE OF MOTION IN SHOULDER ABDUCTION (DELTA%SA = 14.11%; P = 0.0001), HORIZONTAL SHOULDER EXTENSION (DELTA%HSE = 33.90%; P = 0.0001), LUMBAR SPINE FLEXION (DELTA%LSF = 50.74%; P = 0.0001), HIP FLEXION (DELTA%HF = 35.75%; P = 0.0001), HIP EXTENSION (DELTA%HE = 10.93%; P = 0.021) AND KNEE FLEXION (DELTA%KF = 3.90%; P = 0.001) AND IN THE GDLAM AUTONOMY INDEX (DELTA%AI = -13.67%; P = 0.0001) IN THE YG COMPARED TO THE CG. THE MANN-WHITNEY TEST REVEALED INCREASES IN QOL SCORES IN FACET 1 (DELTA%FAC1 = 9.04%; P=0.043), FACET 5 (DELTA%FAC5 = 51.06%; P = 0.0001) AND IN OVERALL QOL (DELTA%OQOL = 8.13%; P = 0.046) IN THE YG COMPARED TO THE CG. THE REMAINING VARIABLES SHOWED NO SIGNIFICANT INTERGROUP MODIFICATIONS. THUS, THE STUDY SUGGESTS THAT THE REGULAR PRACTICE OF YOGA MAY LEAD TO IMPROVED RANGE OF MOTION IN THE PERFORMANCE OF ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING IN ELDERLY WOMEN. 2011 18 1354 25 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 19 837 29 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 20 2005 19 STUDY OF PULMONARY AND AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS OF ASTHMA PATIENTS AFTER YOGA TRAINING. "THE CONCEPT OF YOGA IS HELPFUL FOR THE TREATMENT OF BRONCHIAL ASTHMA", HAS CREATED A GREAT INTEREST IN THE MEDICAL RESEARCH FIELD. IN ORDER TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS AND PULMONARY FUNCTIONS ARE IMPROVED IN ASTHMA PATIENTS AFTER SHORT TERM YOGA TRAINING, A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED WITH NINE DIAGNOSED BRONCHIAL ASTHMA PATIENTS. YOGA TRAINING WAS GIVEN FOR SEVEN DAYS IN A CAMP IN ADHYATMA SADHNA KENDRA, NEW DELHI. THE AUTONOMIC FUNCTION TESTS TO MEASURE THE PARASYMPATHETIC REACTIVITY (DEEP BREATHING TEST, VALSALVA MANOUEVER), SYMPATHETIC REACTIVITY (HAND GRIP TEST, COLD PRESSURE TEST), AND PULMONARY FUNCTION TESTS FVC, FEV1, PEFR, PIF, BHT AND CE WERE RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER YOGA TRAINING. THE RESTING HEART RATE AFTER YOGA TRAINING (P < 0.05) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED (89.55 +/- 18.46/MIN TO 76.22 +/- 16.44/MIN). THE SYMPATHETIC REACTIVITY WAS REDUCED FOLLOWING YOGA TRAINING AS INDICATED BY SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.01) REDUCTION IN DBP AFTER HGT. THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN PARASYMPATHETIC REACTIVITY. THE FVC, FEV1, PEFR DID NOT SHOW ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE. THE PIF (P < 0.01), BHT (P < 0.01) AND CE (P < 0.01) SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT. THE RESULTS CLOSELY INDICATED THE REDUCTION IN SYMPATHETIC REACTIVITY AND IMPROVEMENT IN THE PULMONARY VENTILATION BY WAY OF RELAXATION OF VOLUNTARY INSPIRATORY AND EXPIRATORY MUSCLES. THE "COMPREHENSIVE YOGIC LIFE STYLE CHANGE PROGRAMME FOR PATIENTS OF BRONCHIAL ASTHMA" HAVE SHOWN SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT EVEN WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD. 1996