1 1810 158 PROCESSING OF PROPRIOCEPTIVE AND VESTIBULAR BODY SIGNALS AND SELF-TRANSCENDENCE IN ASHTANGA YOGA PRACTITIONERS. IN THE ROD AND FRAME TEST (RFT), PARTICIPANTS ARE ASKED TO SET A TILTED VISUAL LINEAR MARKER (I.E., A ROD), EMBEDDED IN A SQUARE, TO THE SUBJECTIVE VERTICAL, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE SURROUNDING FRAME. PEOPLE NOT INFLUENCED BY THE FRAME TILT ARE DEFINED AS FIELD-INDEPENDENT, WHILE PEOPLE BIASED IN THEIR ROD VERTICALITY PERCEPTION ARE FIELD-DEPENDENT. PERFORMING RFT REQUIRES THE INTEGRATION OF PROPRIOCEPTIVE, VESTIBULAR AND VISUAL SIGNALS WITH THE LATTER ACCOUNTING FOR FIELD-DEPENDENCY. STUDIES INDICATE THAT MOTOR EXPERTS IN BODY-RELATED, BALANCE-IMPROVING DISCIPLINES TEND TO BE FIELD-INDEPENDENT, I.E., BETTER AT VERTICALITY PERCEPTION, SUGGESTING THAT PROPRIOCEPTIVE AND VESTIBULAR EXPERTISE ACQUIRED BY SUCH EXERCISE MAY WEAKEN THE INFLUENCE OF IRRELEVANT VISUAL SIGNALS. WHAT REMAINS UNKNOWN IS WHETHER THE EFFECT OF BODY-RELATED EXPERTISE IN WEIGHTING PERCEPTUAL INFORMATION MIGHT ALSO BE MEDIATED BY PERSONALITY TRAITS, IN PARTICULAR THOSE INDEXING SELF-FOCUSING ABILITIES. TO EXPLORE THIS ISSUE, WE TESTED FIELD-DEPENDENCY IN A CLASS OF BODY EXPERTS, NAMELY YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND IN NON-EXPERT PARTICIPANTS. MOREOVER WE EXPLORED ANY LINK BETWEEN PERFORMANCE ON RFT AND SELF-TRANSCENDENCE (ST), A COMPLEX PERSONALITY CONSTRUCT, WHICH REFERS TO TENDENCY TO EXPERIENCE SPIRITUAL FEELINGS AND IDEAS. AS EXPECTED, YOGA PRACTITIONERS (I) WERE MORE ACCURATE IN ASSESSING THE ROD'S VERTICALITY ON THE RFT, AND (II) EXPRESSED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER ST. INTERESTINGLY, THE PERFORMANCE IN THESE TWO TESTS WAS NEGATIVELY CORRELATED. MORE SPECIFICALLY, WHEN ASKED TO PROVIDE VERTICALITY JUDGMENTS, HIGHLY SELF-TRANSCENDENT YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS INFLUENCED BY A MISLEADING VISUAL CONTEXT. OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT BEING HIGHLY SELF-TRANSCENDENT MAY ENABLE YOGA PRACTITIONERS TO OPTIMIZE VERTICALITY JUDGMENT TASKS BY RELYING MORE ON INTERNAL (VESTIBULAR AND PROPRIOCEPTIVE) SIGNALS COMING FROM THEIR OWN BODY, RATHER THAN ON EXTEROCEPTIVE, VISUAL CUES. 2014
2 899 27 EFFECT OF YOGASANAS VERSUS GAZE STABILITY AND HABITUATION EXERCISES ON DIZZINESS IN VESTIBULAR DYSFUNCTION. BACKGROUND: DIZZINESS IS A TYPICAL MANIFESTATION OF VESTIBULAR PATHOLOGIES. CLINICAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT IT AFFECTS 1.82% OF YOUNG ADULTS TO MORE THAN 30% OLDER ADULTS. HABITUATION AND COMPENSATION ARE SOME TRADITIONAL REHABILITATION PROTOCOLS. OBJECTIVE: YOGA IS ALSO KNOWN TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON VESTIBULOPATHY. HENCE, A NEED ARISES TO COMPARE THE ABOVE TWO MANEUVERS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE RECRUITED (N = 32) AFTER SCREENING USING THE DIX-HALLPIKE AND HEAD IMPULSE TEST. THEY WERE THEN DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS (N = 16). THE FIRST ONE, GROUP A, RECEIVED YOGASANAS, AND THE SECOND ONE, GROUP B, RECEIVED GAZE STABILIZATION AND HABITUATION EXERCISES FOR 4 DAYS A WEEK FOR 3 WEEKS. PRE- AND POST INTERVENTION OUTCOME MEASURES WERE TAKEN USING THE MOTION SENSITIVITY QUOTIENT (MSQ) SCORE AND DIZZINESS HANDICAP INVENTORY (DHI) SCALE. RESULTS: IN REDUCING SYMPTOMS OF DIZZINESS, THE BETWEEN-GROUP COMPARISON SHOWS THAT GROUP A HAS SHOWN GREATER IMPROVEMENT (12.37% +/-1.43%) IN MSQ AND GROUP B HAS SHOWN GREATER IMPROVEMENT (16.12 +/- 3.56) IN DHI. WITHIN-GROUP COMPARISON SHOWS THAT BOTH THE INTERVENTIONS ARE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING SYMPTOMS OF DIZZINESS (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: BOTH GAZE STABILIZATION ALONG WITH HABITUATION EXERCISES AND YOGASANAS ARE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING THE SYMPTOMS OF DIZZINESS IN PATIENTS WITH PERIPHERAL VESTIBULAR DYSFUNCTION. WHEN COMPARED BETWEEN THE GROUPS, YOGASANAS HAD A SUPERIOR HAND IN THE MSQ SCORE, WHEREAS GAZE STABILIZATION AND HABITUATION EXERCISES HAD A SUPERIOR HAND IN THE DHI SCALE. 2021
3 343 35 ASHTANGA-BASED YOGA THERAPY INCREASES THE SENSORY CONTRIBUTION TO POSTURAL STABILITY IN VISUALLY-IMPAIRED PERSONS AT RISK FOR FALLS AS MEASURED BY THE WII BALANCE BOARD: A PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: PERSONS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT (VI) ARE AT GREATER RISK FOR FALLS DUE TO IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO VISUAL SENSORY INPUT CONTRIBUTING TO BALANCE. TARGETED TRAINING MAY SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE POSTURAL STABILITY BY STRENGTHENING THE REMAINING SENSORY SYSTEMS. HERE, WE EVALUATE THE ASHTANGA-BASED YOGA THERAPY (AYT) PROGRAM AS A MULTI-SENSORY BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION TO DEVELOP POSTURAL STABILITY IN VI. DESIGN: A RANDOMIZED, WAITLIST-CONTROLLED, SINGLE-BLIND CLINICAL TRIAL. METHODS: THE TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED BETWEEN OCTOBER 2012 AND DECEMBER 2013. TWENTY-ONE LEGALLY BLIND PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO AN 8-WEEK AYT PROGRAM (N = 11, MEAN (SD) AGE = 55(17)) OR WAITLIST CONTROL (N=10, MEAN (SD) AGE = 55(10)). AYT SUBJECTS CONVENED FOR ONE GROUP SESSION AT A LOCAL YOGA STUDIO WITH AN INSTRUCTOR AND TWO INDIVIDUAL HOME-BASED PRACTICE SESSIONS PER WEEK FOR A TOTAL OF 8 WEEKS. SUBJECTS COMPLETED OUTCOME MEASURES AT BASELINE AND POST-8 WEEKS OF AYT. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME, ABSOLUTE CENTER OF PRESSURE (COP), WAS DERIVED FROM THE WII BALANCE BOARD (WBB), A STANDALONE POSTUROGRAPHY DEVICE, IN 4 SENSORY CONDITIONS: FIRM SURFACE, EYES OPEN (EO); FIRM SURFACE, EYES CLOSED (EC); FOAM SURFACE, EO; AND FOAM SURFACE, EC. STABILIZATION INDICES (SI) WERE COMPUTED FROM COP MEASURES TO DETERMINE THE RELATIVE VISUAL (SIFIRM, SIFOAM), SOMATOSENSORY (SIEO, SIEC) AND VESTIBULAR (SIV, I.E., FOAMEC VS. FIRMEO) CONTRIBUTIONS TO BALANCE. THIS STUDY WAS NOT POWERED TO DETECT BETWEEN GROUP DIFFERENCES, SO SIGNIFICANCE OF PRE-POST CHANGES WAS ASSESSED BY PAIRED SAMPLES T-TESTS WITHIN EACH GROUP. RESULTS: GROUPS WERE EQUIVALENT AT BASELINE (ALL P > 0.05). IN THE AYT GROUP, ABSOLUTE COP SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN THE FOAMEO (T(8) = -3.66, P = 0.01) AND FOAMEC (T(8) = -3.90, P = 0.01) CONDITIONS. RELATIVE SOMATOSENSORY SIEO (T(8) = -2.42, P = 0.04) AND SIEC (T(8) = -3.96, P = 0.01), AND VESTIBULAR SIV (T(8) = -2.47, P = 0.04) CONTRIBUTIONS TO BALANCE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. AS EXPECTED, NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FROM EO TO EC CONDITIONS WERE FOUND INDICATING AN ABSENCE OF VISUAL DEPENDENCY IN VI. NO SIGNIFICANT PRE-POST CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN THE CONTROL GROUP (ALL P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: THESE PRELIMINARY RESULTS ESTABLISH THE POTENTIAL FOR AYT TRAINING TO DEVELOP THE REMAINING SOMATOSENSORY AND VESTIBULAR RESPONSES USED TO OPTIMIZE POSTURAL STABILITY IN A VI POPULATION. TRIAL REGISTRATION: WWW.CLINICALTRIALS.GOV NCT01366677. 2015
4 1672 35 NONLINEAR MEASURES IN POSTUROGRAPHY COMPARED TO LINEAR MEASURES BASED ON YOGA POSES PERFORMANCE. PURPOSE: YOGA IS KNOWN AS A TYPE OF EXERCISE THAT COMBINES PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL ASPECTS. THERE HAS NOT BEEN MUCH RESEARCH ON THE POSTURAL CONTROL IN VARIOUS YOGA POSES. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE COP REGULARITY IN BOTH YOGA INSTRUCTORS AND NOVICES DURING THE PERFORMANCE OF FOUR YOGA POSES, AND TO VERIFY THE SENSITIVITY OF LINEAR AND NONLINEAR METHODS FOR ASSESSING POSTURAL STABILITY. METHODS: THE DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF COP FLUCTUATIONS WERE EXAMINED USING LINEAR AND NONLINEAR METHODS ON A GROUP OF 22 YOGA INSTRUCTORS (Y) AND 18 AGE-MATCHED NON-PRACTITIONERS OF YOGA (NY). THE STUDY INVOLVED MAINTAINING A BALANCE FOR 20 SECONDS WHILE PERFORMING FOUR YOGA POSES. RESULTS: CONVENTIONAL ANALYSIS OF COP TRAJECTORIES SHOWED THAT NY AND Y EXHIBITED SIMILAR CONTROL OF POSTURAL SWAY, AS INDICATED BY SIMILAR COP PATH-LENGTH AND AREA VALUES OBSERVED IN BOTH GROUPS. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE SPECIAL BALANCE YOGA TRAINING RECEIVED BY Y MAY NOT HAVE AN IMPACT ON LESS CHALLENGING BALANCE CONDITIONS, SUCH AS THE POSES USED IN THIS EXPERIMENT. INTERESTINGLY, NONLINEAR DYNAMICAL ANALYSIS OF COP SHOWED THAT Y EXHIBITED LESS COP REGULARITY AND MORE COMPLEX SIGNAL THAN NY, AS EVIDENCED BY HIGHER VALUES OF SAMPLE ENTROPY AND FRACTAL DIMENSION. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS SHED LIGHT ON THE SURPLUS VALUES OF COP TRAJECTORIES IN THE NONLINEAR DYNAMICAL ANALYSIS TO GAIN FURTHER INSIGHT INTO THE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN POSTURE CONTROL. 2020
5 652 32 EASTERN APPROACHES FOR ENHANCING WOMEN'S SEXUALITY: MINDFULNESS, ACUPUNCTURE, AND YOGA (CME). INTRODUCTION: A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF WOMEN REPORT UNSATISFYING SEXUAL EXPERIENCES DESPITE NO OBVIOUS DIFFICULTIES IN THE TRADITIONAL COMPONENTS OF SEXUAL RESPONSE (DESIRE, AROUSAL, AND ORGASM). SOME SUGGEST THAT NONGOAL-ORIENTED SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS TO SEXUALITY MIGHT FILL THE GAP THAT MORE CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF TREATMENT ARE NOT ADDRESSING. AIM: EASTERN TECHNIQUES INCLUDING MINDFULNESS, ACUPUNCTURE, AND YOGA, ARE EASTERN TECHNIQUES, WHICH HAVE BEEN APPLIED TO WOMEN'S SEXUALITY. HERE, WE REVIEW THE LITERATURE ON THEIR EFFICACY. METHODS: OUR SEARCH REVEALED TWO EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF MINDFULNESS, TWO OF ACUPUNCTURE, AND ONE OF YOGA IN THE TREATMENT OF SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: LITERATURE REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL SOURCES. RESULTS: MINDFULNESS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES SEVERAL ASPECTS OF SEXUAL RESPONSE AND REDUCES SEXUAL DISTRESS IN WOMEN WITH SEXUAL DESIRE AND AROUSAL DISORDERS. IN WOMEN WITH PROVOKED VESTIBULODYNIA, ACUPUNCTURE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES PAIN AND IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE. THERE IS ALSO A CASE SERIES OF ACUPUNCTURE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVING DESIRE AMONG WOMEN WITH HYPOACTIVE SEXUAL DESIRE DISORDER. ALTHOUGH YOGA HAS ONLY BEEN EMPIRICALLY EXAMINED AND FOUND TO BE EFFECTIVE FOR TREATING SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION (PREMATURE EJACULATION) IN MEN, NUMEROUS HISTORICAL BOOKS CITE BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR WOMEN'S SEXUALITY. CONCLUSIONS: THE EMPIRICAL LITERATURE SUPPORTING EASTERN TECHNIQUES, SUCH AS MINDFULNESS, ACUPUNCTURE, AND YOGA, FOR WOMEN'S SEXUAL COMPLAINTS AND LOSS OF SATISFACTION IS SPARSE BUT PROMISING. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD AIM TO EMPIRICALLY SUPPORT EASTERN TECHNIQUES IN WOMEN'S SEXUALITY. 2008
6 896 25 EFFECT OF YOGASANA INTERVENTION ON STANDING BALANCE PERFORMANCE AMONG PEOPLE WITH DIABETIC PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY: A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: DIABETIC PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY (DPN) IS KNOWN TO CAUSE IMPAIRED BALANCE AND EVENTUALLY INCREASED RISK OF FALL. YOGASANAS CHARACTERIZED BY SLOW, GENTLE TRANSITIONS INTO POSTURES WITH A VARYING BASE OF SUPPORT AND FOCUS ON BODY AWARENESS DURING MOVEMENT HOLD POTENTIAL FOR TRAINING BALANCE CONTROL. THEREFORE, THE CURRENT STUDY AIMED TO EVALUATE EFFECT OF STRUCTURED YOGASANA INTERVENTION COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL BALANCE EXERCISE ON STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCE PERFORMANCE AMONG PEOPLE WITH DIABETIC NEUROPATHY. METHODS: : THIRTY-FIVE PEOPLE WITH DPN AGED 42-70 YEARS WERE RECRUITED TO YOGASANA INTERVENTION GROUP (N = 11), CONVENTIONAL BALANCE EXERCISES GROUP (N = 10), AND CONTROL GROUP (N = 14) FOLLOWING ETHICAL APPROVAL. ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE EVALUATED AT BASELINE AND POST 12-WEEK INTERVENTION ON STAR EXCURSION BALANCE TEST, SINGLE-LIMB STANCE TEST, AND CENTER OF PRESSURE (COP) EXCURSION FOR BALANCE PERFORMANCE, MODIFIED FALL EFFICACY SCALE FOR FEAR OF FALLS AND LOWER EXTREMITY STRENGTH USING CHAIR STAND TEST AND STEP-UP TEST. RESULTS: BALANCE PERFORMANCE (STATIC AND DYNAMIC MEASURED BY STAR EXCURSION BALANCE TEST, SINGLE-LIMB STANCE TEST, AND COP EXCURSION, LOWER EXTREMITY STRENGTH (USING CHAIR STAND TEST AND STEP-UP TEST) DEMONSTRATED IMPROVEMENT AND FEAR OF FALL REDUCED AMONG YOGASANA INTERVENTION GROUP (P = 0.05) AND CONVENTIONAL BALANCE EXERCISES GROUP (P = 0.05) POST 12-WEEK INTERVENTION. COP EXCURSION INCREASED IN THE CONTROL GROUP INDICATING DETERIORATION IN BALANCE PERFORMANCE AFTER 12 WEEKS (P = 0.05). POST HOC COMPARISON REVEALED THAT YOGASANA INTERVENTION WAS MARGINALLY MORE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCE PERFORMANCE COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL BALANCE EXERCISES IN ALL VARIABLES OF STANDING BALANCE PERFORMANCE (P = 0.025). CONCLUSION: YOGASANA AND CONVENTIONAL BALANCE EXERCISES WERE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCE PERFORMANCE, LOWER EXTREMITY MUSCLE STRENGTH, AND REDUCING FEAR OF FALL AMONG PEOPLE WITH DPN. YOGASANA INTERVENTION DEMONSTRATED MARGINALLY GREATER IMPROVEMENT IN STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCE PERFORMANCE AND LOWER EXTREMITY MUSCLE STRENGTH COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL EXERCISE. 2021
7 884 21 EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON ONE LEG STANDING AND FUNCTIONAL REACH TESTS IN OBESE INDIVIDUALS WITH POOR POSTURAL CONTROL. [PURPOSE] THE AIM OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON STATIC AND DYNAMIC STANDING BALANCE IN OBESE INDIVIDUALS WITH POOR STANDING BALANCE. [SUBJECTS AND METHODS] SIXTEEN OBESE VOLUNTEERS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED INTO YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS. THE YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM WAS PERFORMED FOR 45 MINUTES PER DAY, 3 TIMES PER WEEK, FOR 4 WEEKS. STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCE WERE ASSESSED IN VOLUNTEERS WITH ONE LEG STANDING AND FUNCTIONAL REACH TESTS. OUTCOME MEASURES WERE TESTED BEFORE TRAINING AND AFTER A SINGLE WEEK OF TRAINING. TWO-WAY REPEATED MEASURE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WITH TUKEY'S HONESTLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE POST HOC STATISTICS WAS USED TO ANALYZE THE DATA. [RESULTS] OBESE INDIVIDUALS SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED STATIC STANDING BALANCE IN THE YOGA TRAINING GROUP, BUT THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT OF STATIC OR DYNAMIC STANDING BALANCE IN THE CONTROL GROUP AFTER 4 WEEKS. IN THE YOGA GROUP, SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN STATIC STANDING BALANCE WAS FOUND AFTER THE 2ND, 3RD, AND 4TH WEEKS. COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP, STATIC STANDING BALANCE IN THE YOGA GROUP WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT AFTER THE 2ND WEEK, AND DYNAMIC STANDING BALANCE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT AFTER THE 4TH WEEK. [CONCLUSION] YOGA TRAINING WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR IMPROVING STANDING BALANCE IN OBESE INDIVIDUALS WITH POOR STANDING BALANCE. 2015
8 818 30 EFFECT OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS IN CLIMACTERIC SYNDROME: A RANDOMISED CONTROL STUDY. OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS THE EFFICACY OF AN INTEGRATED APPROACH OF YOGA THERAPY (IAYT) ON COGNITIVE ABILITIES IN CLIMACTERIC SYNDROME. DESIGN: A RANDOMISED CONTROL STUDY WHEREIN THE PARTICIPANTS WERE DIVIDED INTO EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS. SETTINGS: FOURTEEN CENTRES OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA YOGA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, BANGALORE, INDIA. SAMPLE: ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN BETWEEN 40 AND 55 YEARS WITH FOLLICLE-STIMULATING HORMONE LEVEL EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN 15 MIU/ML. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ALLOTTED INTO THE YOGA AND THE CONTROL GROUPS. METHODS: THE YOGA GROUP PRACTISED A MODULE COMPRISING BREATHING PRACTICES, SUN SALUTATION AND CYCLIC MEDITATION, WHEREAS THE CONTROL GROUP PRACTISED A SET OF SIMPLE PHYSICAL EXERCISES, UNDER SUPERVISION (1 HOUR/DAY, 5 DAYS/WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ASSESSMENTS WERE MADE BY VASOMOTOR SYMPTOM CHECKLIST, SIX-LETTER CANCELLATION TEST (SLCT) FOR ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION AND PUNIT GOVIL INTELLIGENCE MEMORY SCALE (PGIMS) WITH TEN SUBTESTS. RESULTS: THE WILCOXON TEST SHOWED SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.001) REDUCTION IN HOT FLUSHES, NIGHT SWEATS AND SLEEP DISTURBANCE IN YOGA GROUP, WITH A TREND OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS AT P = 0.06 ON MANN-WHITNEY TEST IN NIGHT SWEATS. THERE WAS NO CHANGE WITHIN OR BETWEEN GROUPS IN THE CONTROL GROUP. THE SLCT SCORE AND THE PGIMS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN EIGHT OF TEN SUBTESTS IN THE YOGA GROUP AND SIX OF TEN SUBTESTS IN THE CONTROL GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP PERFORMED SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER (P < 0.001) WITH HIGHER EFFECT SIZES IN SLCT AND SEVEN TESTS OF PGIMS COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: INTEGRATED APPROACH OF YOGA THERAPY CAN IMPROVE HOT FLUSHES AND NIGHT SWEATS. IT ALSO CAN IMPROVE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS SUCH AS REMOTE MEMORY, MENTAL BALANCE, ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION, DELAYED AND IMMEDIATE RECALL, VERBAL RETENTION AND RECOGNITION TESTS. 2008
9 702 40 EFFECT OF HOME-BASED TAI CHI, YOGA OR CONVENTIONAL BALANCE EXERCISE ON FUNCTIONAL BALANCE AND MOBILITY AMONG PERSONS WITH IDIOPATHIC PARKINSON'S DISEASE: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY. BACKGROUND: INDIVIDUALS WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE (PD) INVARIABLY EXPERIENCE FUNCTIONAL DECLINE IN A NUMBER OF MOTOR AND NON-MOTOR DOMAINS AFFECTING POSTURE, BALANCE AND GAIT. NUMEROUS CLINICAL STUDIES HAVE EXAMINED EFFECTS OF VARIOUS TYPES OF EXERCISE ON MOTOR AND NON-MOTOR PROBLEMS. BUT STILL MUCH GAP REMAINS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF VARIOUS THERAPIES AND THEIR EFFECT ON DELAYING OR SLOWING THE DOPAMINE NEURON DEGENERATION. RECENTLY, TAI CHI AND YOGA BOTH HAVE GAINED POPULARITY AS COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES, SINCE BOTH HAVE COMPONENTS FOR MIND AND BODY CONTROL. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER EIGHT WEEKS OF HOME-BASED TAI CHI OR YOGA WAS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN REGULAR BALANCE EXERCISES ON FUNCTIONAL BALANCE AND MOBILITY. METHODS: TWENTY-SEVEN INDIVIDUALS WITH IDIOPATHIC PD (MODIFIED HOEHN AND YAHR STAGES 2.5-3) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER TAI CHI, YOGA OR CONVENTIONAL EXERCISE GROUP. ALL THE PARTICIPANTS WERE EVALUATED FOR FUNCTIONAL BALANCE AND MOBILITY USING BERG BALANCE SCALE, TIMED 10 M WALK TEST AND TIMED UP AND GO TEST BEFORE AND AFTER EIGHT WEEKS OF TRAINING. RESULTS: THE RESULTS WERE ANALYZED USING TWO-WAY MIXED ANOVA WHICH SHOWED THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT FOR TIME AS F (1, 24) = 74.18, P = 0 . 000 , ETA P 2 = 0 . 76 FOR OVERALL BALANCE IN BERG BALANCE SCALE. THERE WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT OF TIME ON MOBILITY OVERALL AS F(1, 24) = 77 . 78 , P = 0 . 000 , ETA P 2 = 0 . 76 IN TIMED UP AND GO TEST AND F(1, 24) = 48 . 24 , P = 0 . 000 , ETA P 2 = 0 . 67 FOR 10 M WALK TEST. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION EFFECT FOR TIME X GROUP WITH F(2, 24) = 8 . 67 , P = 0 . 001 , ETA P 2 = 0 . 420 FOR BALANCE. WITH RESPECT TO MOBILITY, THE VALUES F(2, 24) = 5 . 92 , P = 0 . 008 , ETA P 2 = 0 . 330 IN TIMED UP AND GO TEST AND F(2, 24) = 10 . 40 , P = 0 . 001 , ETA P 2 = 0 . 464 IN 10 M WALK TEST SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION. BUT THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT MAIN EFFECT BETWEEN THE GROUPS FOR BOTH BALANCE AND MOBILITY. CONCLUSION: THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT TAI CHI AS WELL AS YOGA ARE WELL ADHERED AND ARE ATTRACTIVE OPTIONS FOR A HOME-BASED SETTING. AS ANY FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS CONSIDERED BENEFICIAL FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH PD EITHER TAI CHI, YOGA OR CONVENTIONAL BALANCE EXERCISES COULD BE USED AS THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION TO OPTIMIZE BALANCE AND MOBILITY. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND THE MIND-BODY BENEFITS OF TAI CHI AND YOGA EITHER AS MULTICOMPONENT PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES OR AS INDIVIDUAL THERAPIES IN VARIOUS STAGES OF PD. 2020
10 2718 31 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
11 736 25 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
12 1301 32 HATHA YOGA ON BODY BALANCE. BACKGROUND: A GOOD BODY BALANCE REQUIRES A PROPER FUNCTION OF VESTIBULAR, VISUAL, AND SOMATOSENSORY SYSTEMS WHICH CAN BE REACH WITH EXERCISE PRACTICE AND/OR YOGA. AIM: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF A 5-MONTH HATHA YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM ON BODY BALANCE IN YOUNG ADULTS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS STUDY USED A CONTROLLED, NONRANDOMIZED DESIGN, WHERE THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP UNDERWENT A 5-MONTH TRAINING PROGRAM AND WERE THEN COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP THAT HAD A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE. A CONVENIENCE SAMPLE OF 34 OUT OF 40 MEN AGED 25-55 YEARS OLD (34.0 +/- 0.9) WERE DEEMED ELIGIBLE FOR THIS STUDY. THEY WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS: EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS. SUBJECTS IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WERE ENGAGED IN 60 MIN SESSIONS OF HATHA YOGA THREE TIMES A WEEK FOR 5 MONTHS. WE EVALUATED POSTURAL CONTROL BY MEASURING THE LIMIT OF STABILITY AND VELOCITY OF OSCILLATION (VOS) IN THREE CONDITIONS OF THE BALANCE REHABILITATION UNIT (BRU) AND THROUGH FIELD PROCEDURES (FOUR POSITION, PLANE, FLAMINGO, HOPSCOTCH, AND DYNAMIC TEST). RESULTS: WE OBSERVED DIFFERENCES (P < 0.05) IN POSTINTERVENTION SCORES BETWEEN THE GROUPS REGARDLESS OF BRU PARAMETERS AND FIELD PROCEDURES (EXCEPT FOR FLAMINGO) EVEN AFTER ADJUSTING FOR PREINTERVENTION SCORES, SUGGESTING THAT THESE CHANGES WERE INDUCED BY HATHA YOGA TRAINING. THE PARTIAL ETA SQUARED ON BRU PARAMETERS RANGED FROM 0.78 (VOS1)-0.97 (COP2), AND FROM 0.00 (FLAMINGO)-0.94 (FOUR POSITION) FOR THE FIELD PROCEDURES. CONCLUSIONS: OUR RESULTS PROVIDE SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE THAT POSTURAL CONTROL IN HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS CAN BE IMPROVED THROUGH PRACTICING HATHA YOGA. 2014
13 510 28 COMPARATIVE IMPACTS OF TAI CHI, BALANCE TRAINING, AND A SPECIALLY-DESIGNED YOGA PROGRAM ON BALANCE IN OLDER FALLERS. OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE THE EFFECT OF A CUSTOM-DESIGNED YOGA PROGRAM WITH 2 OTHER BALANCE TRAINING PROGRAMS. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTING: RESEARCH LABORATORY. PARTICIPANTS: A GROUP OF OLDER ADULTS (N=39; MEAN AGE, 74.15 +/- 6.99 Y) WITH A HISTORY OF FALLING. INTERVENTIONS: THREE DIFFERENT EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS (TAI CHI, STANDARD BALANCE TRAINING, YOGA) WERE GIVEN FOR 12 WEEKS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: BALANCE PERFORMANCE WAS EXAMINED DURING PRE- AND POSTTEST USING FIELD TESTS, INCLUDING THE 8-FOOT UP-AND-GO TEST, 1-LEG STANCE, FUNCTIONAL REACH, AND USUAL AND MAXIMAL WALKING SPEED. THE STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCES WERE ALSO ASSESSED BY POSTURAL SWAY AND DYNAMIC POSTUROGRAPHY, RESPECTIVELY. RESULTS: TRAINING PRODUCED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN ALL FIELD TESTS (P<.005), BUT GROUP DIFFERENCE AND TIME X GROUP INTERACTION WERE NOT DETECTED. FOR POSTURAL SWAY, SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN THE AREA OF THE CENTER OF PRESSURE WITH EYES OPEN (P=.001) AND EYES CLOSED (P=.002) WERE DETECTED AFTER TRAINING. FOR EYES OPEN, MAXIMUM MEDIAL-LATERAL VELOCITY SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED FOR THE SAMPLE (P=.013). FOR EYES CLOSED, MEDIAL-LATERAL DISPLACEMENT DECREASED FOR TAI CHI (P<.01). FOR DYNAMIC POSTUROGRAPHY, SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN OVERALL SCORE (P=.001), TIME ON THE TEST (P=.006), AND 2 LINEAR MEASURES IN LATERAL (P=.001) AND ANTERIOR-POSTERIOR (P<.001) DIRECTIONS WERE SEEN FOR THE SAMPLE. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA WAS AS EFFECTIVE AS TAI CHI AND STANDARD BALANCE TRAINING FOR IMPROVING POSTURAL STABILITY AND MAY OFFER AN ALTERNATIVE TO MORE TRADITIONAL PROGRAMS. 2014
14 681 31 EFFECT OF ADD-ON YOGA ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS AMONG SUBSTANCE ABUSERS IN A RESIDENTIAL THERAPEUTIC CENTER: RANDOMIZED COMPARATIVE STUDY. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC VULNERABILITY CHARACTERIZES SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDER WITH CONSEQUENT RELAPSE. THE PROCESS OF ABSTINENCE DEPENDS ON COGNITIVE RECOVERY. HENCE, BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION SHOULD ACCOUNT FOR COGNITIVE DIMENSION OF SUBSTANCE ABUSERS. RECENT STUDIES HIGHLIGHT YOGA-BASED INTERVENTION AS A PROMISING ADD-ON THERAPY FOR TREATING AND PREVENTING ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS. PURPOSE: THE STUDY AIMED TO EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF A YOGA-BASED INTERVENTION AS AN ADD-ON IN ENHANCING COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, COMPARED WITH PHYSICAL EXERCISE TO NEWLY ADMITTED SUBSTANCE ABUSERS SEEKING AN INPATIENT TREATMENT PROGRAM. METHODS: THE STUDY WAS A SINGLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED, COMPARATIVE DESIGN THAT INCLUDED 96 MALE PARTICIPANTS, BETWEEN 18 AND 40 YEARS IN A RESIDENTIAL REHABILITATION TREATMENT UNIT. PARTAKERS IN THE YOGA OR PHYSICAL EXERCISE GROUP RECEIVED SUPERVISED DAILY TRAINING FOR 12 WEEKS, IN ADDITION TO STANDARD REHABILITATION TREATMENT. RATERS BLIND TO THE STUDY ASSESSED THE PATIENTS ON DIGIT SPAN TASK, CANCELLATION TEST, AND STROOP TESTS AT THE BASELINE AND FOLLOWING 12 WEEKS OF INTERVENTION. RESULTS: A SIGNIFICANT ENHANCEMENT IN DIGIT FORWARD (YOGA - P < 0.0005, D = 0.81; EXERCISE - P < 0.0005, D = 0.73), DIGIT BACKWARD (YOGA - P < 0.0005, D = 0.88; EXERCISE - P < 0.0005, D = 0.58), AND LETTER CANCELLATION TEST SCORES (YOGA - P < 0.0005, D = 1.31; EXERCISE - P < 0.0005, D = 1.4) WERE OBSERVED IN BOTH THE YOGA AND THE EXERCISE GROUPS. STROOP WORD AND COLOR TASK SCORES WERE SEEN SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER FOLLOWING YOGA (P < 0.005, D = 0.74; P < 0.005, D = 1.13) AND EXERCISE (P < 0.0005, D = 0.62; P < 0.0005, D = 0.61). FURTHERMORE, STROOP COLOR-WORD TEST SHOWED SIGNIFICANT ENHANCEMENT AFTER YOGA (P < 0.0005, D = 1.10) AND EXERCISE (P < 0.0005, D = 0.42), WITH DEGREE OF VARIATION HIGHER IN THE YOGA GROUP. CONCLUSION: OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE ADD-ON YOGA OR EXERCISE-BASED INTERVENTION SHOW ENHANCEMENT OF COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS. THESE FINDINGS PROVIDE THE UTILITY OF YOGA AND EXERCISE-BASED INTERVENTION IN IMPROVING COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS AMONG SUBSTANCE ABUSERS. FURTHERMORE, RIGOROUS TRIALS ARE NEEDED TO EXPLORE THE POTENTIAL LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF THESE PROCEDURES. 2018
15 1357 29 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
16 785 33 EFFECT OF YOGA BASED TECHNIQUES ON STRESS AND HEALTH INDICES USING ELECTRO PHOTONIC IMAGING TECHNIQUE IN MANAGERS. BACKGROUND: MEDITATION TECHNIQUES ARE KNOWN TO ELICIT RELAXATION RESPONSE IN WHICH MOVING MEDITATION WHICH COMBINES THE PRACTICE OF YOGA POSTURES AND GUIDED RELAXATION IS KNOWN AS CYCLIC MEDITATION REPORTED HELPFUL IN REDUCING THE SYMPATHETIC AROUSAL AND IMPROVING HEALTH OF PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVES: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF CYCLIC MEDITATION ON STRESS AND HEALTH INDICES IN MANAGERS AS MEASURED BY ELECTRO PHOTONIC IMAGING (EPI) TECHNIQUE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: EPI TECHNIQUE WAS USED TO ASSESS PARTICIPANTS BEFORE AND AFTER 35 MIN OF CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) AND EQUAL DURATION OF SUPINE REST (SR) SESSION. A TOTAL OF SIXTY SIX MALE MANAGERS, AGE RANGES FROM 35 TO 60 YEARS (MEAN +/- SD 53.97 +/- 5.96) WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY. EPI PARAMETERS, INCLUDING ACTIVATION COEFFICIENT, INTEGRAL AREA LEFT AND RIGHT AND INTEGRAL ENTROPY, LEFT AND RIGHT WERE TAKEN FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSES. RESULTS: CYCLIC MEDITATION HAS PRODUCED A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN STRESS LEVEL, WHEREAS THIS REDUCTION WAS NOT FOUND SIGNIFICANT WITHIN SR GROUP. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH INDEX 'INTEGRAL AREA' VALUES IN BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES WITHIN THE CM GROUP WHILE ONLY IA RIGHT SIDE SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT WITHIN THE CM GROUP. THE INTEGRAL ENTROPY VALUE RIGHT SIDE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY WITHIN THE CM GROUP, WHEREAS IE LEFT WAS FOUND DETERIORATED WITHIN THE SR GROUP. MOREOVER, ONLY IE LEFT SIDE HAS SHOWN A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS. CONCLUSION: THE INVESTIGATIONS IN THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT CYCLIC MEDITATION PRACTICE REDUCES STRESS AND IMPROVES PSYCHOSOMATIC HEALTH INDICES MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN SUPINE REST IN MANAGERS. 2016
17 1359 29 IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF OM CHANTING ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY MEASURES COMPARED BETWEEN EXPERIENCED AND INEXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS. BACKGROUND: CHANTING "OM" IS A FORM OF MEDITATION THAT HAS NUMEROUS HEALTH BENEFITS. HOWEVER, THE NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERPINNING ITS EFFECT ARE SURPRISINGLY SCARCE. THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF OM CHANTING ON AUTONOMIC MODULATION, USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV), ON EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND YOGA NAIVE PERSONS. METHODS: THIS PROSPECTIVE STUDY INCLUDED 19 YOGA PRACTITIONERS (9 FEMALES AND 10 MALES; GROUP MEAN AGE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION [SD]; 25.9 +/- 3.2 YEARS) AND 17 YOGA NAIVE PERSONS (8 FEMALES AND 9 MALES; GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD; 24.8 +/- 3.6 YEARS) OF BOTH SEXES AND SIMILAR AGE RANGE. BOTH THE GROUPS WERE ASSESSED FOR HRV INDICES (TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN MEASURES) BEFORE AND AFTER LOUD OM CHANTING FOR 5 MIN. RESULTS: BASELINE COMPARISON USING MANN-WHITNEY U TEST BETWEEN GROUPS SHOWED YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) POWER (P < 0.029) THAN NONYOGA PRACTITIONERS, SIGNIFYING A STATE OF TRANQUILITY BEFORE THE CHANTING OF OM. AFTER 5 MIN OF LOUD CHANTING OF OM, A COMPARISON BETWEEN GROUPS ASSESSED USING WILCOXON SIGNED RANKS TEST REVEALED: HF POWER, A COMPONENT OF THE PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, WAS FURTHER AMPLIFIED WITH A SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE (P < 0.001) IN THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS GROUP COMPARED TO NONYOGA PRACTITIONERS. FURTHERMORE, THIS INCREASE IN HF POWER WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN YOGA. CONCLUSION: THE PRESENT STUDY SHOWED THAT A BRIEF CHANTING OF OM (5 MIN) MIGHT ENHANCE PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY, PROMOTE RELAXATION, AND PROVIDE CALMNESS. FURTHER, THIS EXPERIENCE MAY BE ACHIEVED EFFECTIVELY IN INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCED IN YOGA THAN NONYOGA PRACTITIONERS. 2022
18 1578 24 MEASUREMENT OF THE EFFECT OF ISHA YOGA ON CARDIAC AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM USING SHORT-TERM HEART RATE VARIABILITY. BACKGROUND: BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA HAVE BEEN POSTULATED TO BE DUE TO MODULATION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF ISHA YOGA PRACTICES ON CARDIOVASCULAR AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM THROUGH SHORT-TERM HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). DESIGN OF THE STUDY: SHORT-TERM HRV OF LONG-TERM REGULAR HEALTHY 14 (12 MALES AND 2 FEMALES) ISHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS WAS COMPARED WITH THAT OF AGE- AND GENDER-MATCHED 14 (12 MALES AND 2 FEMALES) NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS. METHODS AND MATERIALS: ECG LEAD II AND RESPIRATORY MOVEMENTS WERE RECORDED IN BOTH GROUPS USING POLYRITE DURING SUPINE REST FOR 5 MIN AND CONTROLLED DEEP BREATHING FOR 1 MINUTE. FREQUENCY DOMAIN ANALYSIS [RR INTERVAL IS THE MEAN OF DISTANCE BETWEEN SUBSEQUENT R WAVE PEAKS IN ECG], LOW FREQUENCY (LF) POWER, HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) POWER, LF NORMALIZED UNITS (NU), HF NU, LF/HF RATIO] AND TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS [STANDARD DEVIATION OF NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVAL (SDNN), SQUARE OF MEAN SQUARED DIFFERENCE OF SUCCESSIVE NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVALS (RMSSD), NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVALS WHICH ARE DIFFERING BY 50 MS (NN50), AND PERCENTAGE OF NN50 (PNN50)] OF HRV VARIABLES WERE ANALYZED FOR SUPINE REST. TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS WAS RECORDED FOR DEEP BREATHING. RESULTS: RESULTS SHOWED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND CONTROLS IN BOTH FREQUENCY AND TIME DOMAIN ANALYSES OF HRV INDICES, WITH NO DIFFERENCE IN RESTING HEART RATE BETWEEN THE GROUPS. CONCLUSIONS: PRACTITIONERS OF ISHA YOGA SHOWED WELL-BALANCED BENEFICIAL ACTIVITY OF VAGAL EFFERENTS, AN OVERALL INCREASED HRV, AND SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE, COMPARED TO NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS DURING SUPINE REST AND DEEP BREATHING. 2012
19 1261 32 FINGER DEXTERITY AND VISUAL DISCRIMINATION FOLLOWING TWO YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES. BACKGROUND: PRACTICING YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE MOTOR FUNCTIONS AND ATTENTION. THOUGH ATTENTION IS REQUIRED FOR FINE MOTOR AND DISCRIMINATION TASKS, THE EFFECT OF YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES ON FINE MOTOR SKILLS AND VISUAL DISCRIMINATION HAS NOT BEEN ASSESSED. AIM: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES ON FINGER DEXTERITY AND VISUAL DISCRIMINATION. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE PRESENT STUDY CONSISTED OF ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY SUBJECTS WHO HAD ENROLLED FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT. THEY WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS, ONE GROUP PRACTICED HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING WHILE THE OTHER GROUP PRACTICED BREATH AWARENESS. HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (KAPALABHATI, BREATH RATE 1.0 HZ) AND BREATH AWARENESS ARE TWO YOGA PRACTICES WHICH IMPROVE ATTENTION. THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING AND BREATH AWARENESS (I) WERE ASSESSED ON THE PERFORMANCE ON THE O'CONNOR FINGER DEXTERITY TASK AND (II) (IN) A SHAPE AND SIZE DISCRIMINATION TASK. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE FINGER DEXTERITY TASK BY 19% AFTER KAPALABHATI AND 9% AFTER BREATH AWARENESS (P<0.001 IN BOTH CASES, REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA AND POST-HOC ANALYSES). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION (P<0.001) IN ERROR (41% AFTER KAPALABHATI AND 21% AFTER BREATH AWARENESS) AS WELL AS TIME TAKEN TO COMPLETE THE SHAPE AND SIZE DISCRIMINATION TEST (15% AFTER KAPALABHATI AND 15% AFTER BREATH AWARENESS; P<0.001) WAS ALSO OBSERVED. CONCLUSION: BOTH KAPALABAHATI AND BREATH AWARENESS CAN IMPROVE FINE MOTOR SKILLS AND VISUAL DISCRIMINATION, WITH A GREATER MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE AFTER KAPALABHATI. 2012
20 778 26 EFFECT OF YOGA AND WORKING MEMORY TRAINING ON COGNITIVE COMMUNICATIVE ABILITIES AMONG MIDDLE AGED ADULTS. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE REPORTED IMPROVEMENTS IN COGNITIVE COMMUNICATIVE ABILITIES WITH WORKING MEMORY TRAINING AND ALTERNATIVE THERAPEUTIC METHODS CONDUCTED SEPARATELY. THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF COMBINING YOGA AND WORKING MEMORY TRAINING AMONG HEALTHY MIDDLE AGED ADULTS. A TOTAL OF 45 PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED INTO THREE GROUPS. GROUP 1 RECEIVED BOTH YOGA AND WORKING MEMORY TRAINING, GROUP 2 RECEIVED ONLY WORKING MEMORY TRAINING AND GROUP 3 SERVED AS THE CONTROL GROUP. WORKING MEMORY TRAINING WAS PROVIDED ON SIX TASKS. YOGA TRAINING INVOLVED PRANAYAMAS AND MUDRAS. EFFECTS OF TRAINING WERE ASSESSED ALONG WITH THE SELF-PERCEPTUAL RATING OF THE PARTICIPANTS TOWARDS TRAINING. RESULTS REVEAL GREATER TRAINING EFFECTS AMONG GROUP 1 PARTICIPANTS, FOLLOWED BY GROUP 2 AND GROUP 3. GROUP 1 ALSO REPORTED BETTER PERCEPTION OF TRAINING (P < 0.05) THAN GROUP 2. THE STUDY HIGHLIGHTS THAT YOGA IS NOT ONLY AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH, BUT ALSO AUGMENTATIVE IN IMPROVING COGNITIVE COMMUNICATIVE ABILITIES. 2017