1 963 108 EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM ON MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA: A SINGLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM ON MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. DESIGN: SINGLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. PARTICIPANTS: 40 RANDOMLY SELECTED UNDERGRADUATE NURSING STUDENTS, WITH 20 EACH ASSIGNED TO AN EXERCISE OR A CONTROL GROUP. INTERVENTION: THE PARTICIPANTS ENGAGED IN A YOGA PROGRAM FOR 60 MINUTES ONCE A WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. THE PROGRAM CONSISTED OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE COMBINED WITH RELAXATION AND MEDITATION. OUTCOME MEASURES: MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS LEVELS WERE MEASURED BY USING THE VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE FOR PAIN AND THE MENSTRUAL DISTRESS QUESTIONNAIRE, RESPECTIVELY. DATA WERE ANALYZED BY USING THE KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV AND SHAPIRO-WILK NORMALITY TESTS, T-TEST, CHI-SQUARE TEST, LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS, AND MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (SPSS PROGRAM). RESULTS: MENSTRUAL PAIN INTENSITY (GROUP DIFFERENCE, -0.94; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI], -1.47 TO -0.42; P = 0.001) AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS (GROUP DIFFERENCE, -1.13; 95% CI, -1.43 TO -0.82; P < 0.0001) SCORES DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT YOGA INTERVENTIONS MAY REDUCE MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS IN FEMALE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. 2016 2 1859 40 RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT TRIAL OF YOGA IN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS: EFFECTS ON QUALITY OF LIFE AND ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASURES. PURPOSE: TO OBTAIN ESTIMATES OF TIME TO RECRUIT THE STUDY SAMPLE, RETENTION, FACILITY-BASED CLASS ATTENDANCE AND HOME PRACTICE FOR A STUDY OF YOGA IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS, AND ITS EFFICACY ON FATIGUE, QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL), AND WEIGHT CHANGE. METHODS: SIXTY-THREE POST-TREATMENT STAGES 0-III BORDERLINE OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE (BODY MASS INDEX >/= 24 KG/M(2)) BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A 6-MONTH, FACILITY- AND HOME-BASED VINIYOGA INTERVENTION (N = 32) OR A WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP (N = 31). THE YOGA GOAL WAS FIVE PRACTICES PER WEEK. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES WERE CHANGES IN QOL, FATIGUE, AND WEIGHT FROM BASELINE TO 6 MONTHS. SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDED CHANGES IN WAIST AND HIP CIRCUMFERENCE. RESULTS: IT TOOK 12 MONTHS TO COMPLETE RECRUITMENT. PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED A MEAN OF 19.6 CLASSES AND PRACTICED AT HOME A MEAN OF 55.8 TIMES DURING THE 6-MONTH PERIOD. AT FOLLOW-UP, 90% OF PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRES AND 87% COMPLETED ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS. QOL AND FATIGUE IMPROVED TO A GREATER EXTENT AMONG WOMEN IN THE YOGA GROUP RELATIVE TO WOMEN IN THE CONTROL GROUP, ALTHOUGH NO DIFFERENCES WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE DECREASED 3.1 CM (95% CI, -5.7 AND -0.4) MORE AMONG WOMEN IN THE YOGA COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP, WITH NO DIFFERENCE IN WEIGHT CHANGE. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY PROVIDES IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND PRACTICE LEVELS ACHIEVED DURING A 6-MONTH, INTENSIVE YOGA INTERVENTION IN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. YOGA MAY HELP DECREASE WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE AND IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE; FUTURE STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM THESE RESULTS. 2012 3 74 34 A GROUP-BASED YOGA THERAPY INTERVENTION FOR URINARY INCONTINENCE IN WOMEN: A PILOT RANDOMIZED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO EXAMINE THE FEASIBILITY, EFFICACY, AND SAFETY OF A GROUP-BASED YOGA THERAPY INTERVENTION FOR MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER WOMEN WITH URINARY INCONTINENCE. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED A PILOT RANDOMIZED TRIAL OF AMBULATORY WOMEN AGED 40 YEARS AND OLDER WITH STRESS, URGENCY, OR MIXED-TYPE INCONTINENCE. WOMEN WERE RANDOMIZED TO A 6-WEEK YOGA THERAPY PROGRAM (N = 10) CONSISTING OF TWICE WEEKLY GROUP CLASSES AND ONCE WEEKLY HOME PRACTICE OR A WAIT-LIST CONTROL GROUP (N = 9). ALL PARTICIPANTS ALSO RECEIVED WRITTEN PAMPHLETS ABOUT STANDARD BEHAVIORAL SELF-MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR INCONTINENCE. CHANGES IN INCONTINENCE WERE ASSESSED WITH 7-DAY VOIDING DIARIES. RESULTS: THE MEAN (SD) AGE WAS 61.4 (8.2) YEARS, AND THE MEAN BASELINE FREQUENCY OF INCONTINENCE WAS 2.5 (1.3) EPISODES/D. AFTER 6 WEEKS, THE TOTAL INCONTINENCE FREQUENCY DECREASED BY 70% (1.8 [0.9] FEWER EPISODES/D) IN THE YOGA THERAPY VERSUS 13% (0.3 [1.7] FEWER EPISODES/D) IN THE CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.049). PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA THERAPY GROUP ALSO REPORTED AN AVERAGE OF 71% DECREASE IN STRESS INCONTINENCE FREQUENCY (0.7 [0.8] FEWER EPISODES/D) COMPARED WITH A 25% INCREASE IN CONTROLS (0.2 [1.1] MORE EPISODES/D) (P = 0.039). NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN REDUCTION IN URGENCY INCONTINENCE WERE DETECTED BETWEEN THE YOGA THERAPY VERSUS CONTROL GROUPS (1.0 [1.0] VERSUS 0.5 [0.5] FEWER EPISODES/D; P = 0.20). ALL WOMEN STARTING THE YOGA THERAPY PROGRAM COMPLETED AT LEAST 90% OF THE GROUP CLASSES AND PRACTICE SESSIONS. TWO PARTICIPANTS IN EACH GROUP REPORTED ADVERSE EVENTS UNRELATED TO THE INTERVENTION. CONCLUSIONS: FINDINGS PROVIDE PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE FEASIBILITY, EFFICACY, AND SAFETY OF A GROUP-BASED YOGA THERAPY INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE URINARY INCONTINENCE IN WOMEN. 2014 4 2553 25 YOGA FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS AFTER COMPLETING CANCER TREATMENT. SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER MAY EXPERIENCE PERSISTENT SYMPTOMS, INCLUDING FATIGUE, SLEEP DISTURBANCE, AND BALANCE IMPAIRMENT. YOGA IS A COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY THAT IMPROVES FATIGUE, SLEEP, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN ADULT CANCER SURVIVORS. USING A ONE GROUP, REPEATED MEASURES DESIGN, WE EVALUATED THE FEASIBILITY OF A YOGA PROGRAM AND ASSESSED IF CANCER SURVIVOR PARTICIPANTS AGES 10 TO 17 YEARS (N = 13) HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LESS FATIGUE AND ANXIETY, AND BETTER BALANCE AND SLEEP, AFTER A 6-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION COMPARED WITH A 6-WEEK PRE-INTERVENTION WAIT PERIOD. STUDY RECRUITMENT WAS CHALLENGING WITH A 32% ENROLLMENT RATE; YOGA ATTENDANCE WAS 90%. NONE OF THE SCORES FOR ANXIETY, FATIGUE, SLEEP, AND BALANCE HAD SIGNIFICANT CHANGES DURING THE WAIT PERIOD. AFTER THE 6-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM, CHILDREN (N = 7) HAD A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN ANXIETY SCORE (P = .04) WHILE ADOLESCENT SCORES (N = 7) SHOWED A DECREASING TREND (P = .10). SCORES FOR FATIGUE, SLEEP, AND BALANCE REMAINED STABLE POST-INTERVENTION. FATIGUE AND BALANCE SCORES WERE BELOW NORMS FOR HEALTH CHILDREN/ADOLESCENTS WHILE SLEEP AND ANXIETY SCORES WERE SIMILAR TO HEALTHY PEERS. 2016 5 107 39 A PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF THE EFFECTS OF CHAIR YOGA ON PAIN AND PHYSICAL FUNCTION AMONG COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS WITH LOWER EXTREMITY OSTEOARTHRITIS. OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE EFFECTS OF SIT 'N' FIT CHAIR YOGA, COMPARED TO A HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM (HEP), ON PAIN AND PHYSICAL FUNCTION IN OLDER ADULTS WITH LOWER EXTREMITY OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) WHO COULD NOT PARTICIPATE IN STANDING EXERCISE. DESIGN: TWO-ARM RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTING: ONE HUD SENIOR HOUSING FACILITY AND ONE DAY SENIOR CENTER IN SOUTH FLORIDA. PARTICIPANTS: COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS (N = 131) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO CHAIR YOGA (N = 66) OR HEP (N = 65). THIRTEEN DROPPED AFTER ASSIGNMENT BUT PRIOR TO THE INTERVENTION; SIX DROPPED DURING THE INTERVENTION; 106 OF 112 COMPLETED AT LEAST 12 OF 16 SESSIONS (95% RETENTION RATE). INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED EITHER CHAIR YOGA OR HEP. BOTH INTERVENTIONS CONSISTED OF TWICE-WEEKLY 45-MINUTE SESSIONS FOR 8 WEEKS. MEASUREMENTS: PRIMARY: PAIN, PAIN INTERFERENCE; SECONDARY: BALANCE, GAIT SPEED, FATIGUE, FUNCTIONAL ABILITY MEASURED AT BASELINE, AFTER 4 WEEKS OF INTERVENTION, AT THE END OF THE 8-WEEK INTERVENTION, AND POST-INTERVENTION (1 AND 3 MONTHS). RESULTS: THE CHAIR YOGA GROUP SHOWED GREATER REDUCTION IN PAIN INTERFERENCE DURING THE INTERVENTION (P = .01), SUSTAINED THROUGH 3 MONTHS (P = .022). WOMAC PAIN (P = .048), GAIT SPEED (P = .024), AND FATIGUE (P = .037) WERE IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP DURING THE INTERVENTION (P = .048) BUT IMPROVEMENTS WERE NOT SUSTAINED POST INTERVENTION. CHAIR YOGA HAD NO EFFECT ON BALANCE. CONCLUSION: AN 8-WEEK CHAIR YOGA PROGRAM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCTION IN PAIN, PAIN INTERFERENCE, AND FATIGUE, AND IMPROVEMENT IN GAIT SPEED, BUT ONLY THE EFFECTS ON PAIN INTERFERENCE WERE SUSTAINED 3 MONTHS POST INTERVENTION. CHAIR YOGA SHOULD BE FURTHER EXPLORED AS A NONPHARMACOLOGIC INTERVENTION FOR OLDER PEOPLE WITH OA IN THE LOWER EXTREMITIES. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV: NCT02113410. 2017 6 2415 41 YOGA AND MEDITATION FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS-A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS HAVE ONLY VERY LIMITED TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS TRIAL WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEK TRADITIONAL HATHA YOGA AND MEDITATION INTERVENTION ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. METHODS: PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED EITHER TO A 12-WEEK YOGA AND MEDITATION INTERVENTION OR TO USUAL CARE. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE WAS TOTAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS (MENOPAUSE RATING SCALE [MRS] TOTAL SCORE). SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED MRS SUBSCALES, QUALITY OF LIFE (FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CANCER THERAPY-BREAST), FATIGUE (FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CHRONIC ILLNESS THERAPY-FATIGUE), DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY (HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE). OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED AT WEEK 12 AND WEEK 24 AFTER RANDOMIZATION. RESULTS: IN TOTAL, 40 WOMEN (MEAN AGE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION, 49.2 +/- 5.9 YEARS) WERE RANDOMIZED TO YOGA (N = 19) OR TO USUAL CARE (N = 21). WOMEN IN THE YOGA GROUP REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER TOTAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS COMPARED WITH THE USUAL CARE GROUP AT WEEK 12 (MEAN DIFFERENCE, -5.6; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, -9.2 TO -1.9; P = .004) AND AT WEEK 24 (MEAN DIFFERENCE, -4.5; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, -8.3 TO -0.7; P = .023). AT WEEK 12, THE YOGA GROUP REPORTED LESS SOMATOVEGETATIVE, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND UROGENITAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS; LESS FATIGUE; AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE (ALL P < .05). AT WEEK 24, ALL EFFECTS PERSISTED EXCEPT FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS REMAINED SIGNIFICANT WHEN ONLY WOMEN WHO WERE RECEIVING ANTIESTROGEN MEDICATION (N = 36) WERE ANALYZED. SIX MINOR ADVERSE EVENTS OCCURRED IN EACH GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA COMBINED WITH MEDITATION CAN BE CONSIDERED A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE COMPLEMENTARY INTERVENTION FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. THE EFFECTS SEEM TO PERSIST FOR AT LEAST 3 MONTHS. 2015 7 1527 37 IYENGAR YOGA FOR DISTRESSED WOMEN: A 3-ARMED RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. DISTRESS IS AN INCREASING PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM. WE AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF AN IYENGAR YOGA PROGRAM ON PERCEIVED STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL OUTCOMES IN DISTRESSED WOMEN AND EVALUATED A POTENTIAL DOSE-EFFECT RELATIONSHIP. SEVENTY-TWO FEMALE DISTRESSED SUBJECTS WERE INCLUDED INTO A 3-ARMED RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL AND ALLOCATED TO YOGA GROUP 1 (N = 24) WITH TWELVE 90 MIN SESSIONS OVER 3 MONTHS, YOGA GROUP 2 (N = 24) WITH 24 SESSIONS OVER 3 MONTHS, OR A WAITING LIST CONTROL GROUP (N = 24). THE PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS STRESS PERCEPTION, MEASURED BY COHEN STRESS SCALE; SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDED STATE TRAIT ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL), PROFILE OF MOOD STATES, WELL BEING, AND BODILY COMPLAINTS. AFTER THREE MONTHS, WOMEN IN THE YOGA GROUPS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN PERCEIVED STRESS (P = 0.003), STATE TRAIT ANXIETY (P = 0.021 AND P = 0.003), DEPRESSION (P = 0.008), PSYCHOLOGICAL QOL (P = 0.012), MOOD STATES BEING (P = 0.007), AND BODILY COMPLAINTS WELL(P = 0.012) WHEN COMPARED TO CONTROLS. BOTH YOGA PROGRAMS WERE SIMILARLY EFFECTIVE FOR THESE OUTCOMES; HOWEVER, COMPLIANCE WAS BETTER IN THE GROUP WITH FEWER SESSIONS (YOGA GROUP 1). DOSE EFFECTS WERE SEEN ONLY IN THE ANALYSIS OF GROUP-INDEPENDENT EFFECTS FOR BACK PAIN, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT IYENGAR YOGA EFFECTIVELY REDUCES DISTRESS AND IMPROVES RELATED PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL OUTCOMES. FURTHERMORE, ATTENDING TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA CLASSES WAS NOT SUPERIOR TO ONCE-WEEKLY CLASSES, AS A RESULT OF LIMITED COMPLIANCE IN THE TWICE-WEEKLY GROUP. 2012 8 884 33 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 9 1863 31 RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF YOGA AND EXERCISE IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND OF AEROBIC EXERCISE ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION, FATIGUE, MOOD, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS). METHODS: SUBJECTS WITH CLINICALLY DEFINITE MS AND EXPANDED DISABILITY STATUS SCORE LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO 6.0 WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO ONE OF THREE GROUPS LASTING 6 MONTHS: WEEKLY IYENGAR YOGA CLASS ALONG WITH HOME PRACTICE, WEEKLY EXERCISE CLASS USING A STATIONARY BICYCLE ALONG WITH HOME EXERCISE, OR A WAITING-LIST CONTROL GROUP. OUTCOME ASSESSMENTS PERFORMED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF THE 6-MONTH PERIOD INCLUDED A BATTERY OF COGNITIVE MEASURES FOCUSED ON ATTENTION, PHYSIOLOGIC MEASURES OF ALERTNESS, PROFILE OF MOOD STATES, STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY, MULTI-DIMENSIONAL FATIGUE INVENTORY (MFI), AND SHORT FORM (SF)-36 HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE. RESULTS: SIXTY-NINE SUBJECTS WERE RECRUITED AND RANDOMIZED. TWELVE SUBJECTS DID NOT FINISH THE 6-MONTH INTERVENTION. THERE WERE NO ADVERSE EVENTS RELATED TO THE INTERVENTION. THERE WERE NO EFFECTS FROM EITHER OF THE ACTIVE INTERVENTIONS ON EITHER OF THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES OF ATTENTION OR ALERTNESS. BOTH ACTIVE INTERVENTIONS PRODUCED IMPROVEMENT IN SECONDARY MEASURES OF FATIGUE COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP: ENERGY AND FATIGUE (VITALITY) ON THE SF-36 AND GENERAL FATIGUE ON THE MFI. THERE WERE NO CLEAR CHANGES IN MOOD RELATED TO YOGA OR EXERCISE. CONCLUSION: SUBJECTS WITH MS PARTICIPATING IN EITHER A 6-MONTH YOGA CLASS OR EXERCISE CLASS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN MEASURES OF FATIGUE COMPARED TO A WAITING-LIST CONTROL GROUP. THERE WAS NO RELATIVE IMPROVEMENT OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN EITHER OF THE INTERVENTION GROUPS. 2004 10 2604 34 YOGA FOR PERSISTENT FATIGUE IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE AFFLICTS UP TO 33% OF BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS, YET THERE ARE NO EMPIRICALLY VALIDATED TREATMENTS FOR THIS SYMPTOM. METHODS: THE AUTHORS CONDUCTED A 2-GROUP RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFICACY OF AN IYENGAR YOGA INTERVENTION FOR BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WITH PERSISTENT POST-TREATMENT FATIGUE. PARTICIPANTS WERE BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WHO HAD COMPLETED CANCER TREATMENTS (OTHER THAN ENDOCRINE THERAPY) AT LEAST 6 MONTHS BEFORE ENROLLMENT, REPORTED SIGNIFICANT CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE, AND HAD NO OTHER MEDICAL CONDITIONS THAT WOULD ACCOUNT FOR FATIGUE SYMPTOMS OR INTERFERE WITH YOGA PRACTICE. BLOCK RANDOMIZATION WAS USED TO ASSIGN PARTICIPANTS TO A 12-WEEK, IYENGAR-BASED YOGA INTERVENTION OR TO 12 WEEKS OF HEALTH EDUCATION (CONTROL). THE PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS CHANGE IN FATIGUE MEASURED AT BASELINE, IMMEDIATELY POST-TREATMENT, AND 3 MONTHS AFTER TREATMENT COMPLETION. ADDITIONAL OUTCOMES INCLUDED CHANGES IN VIGOR, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, SLEEP, PERCEIVED STRESS, AND PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE. INTENT-TO-TREAT ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED WITH ALL RANDOMIZED PARTICIPANTS USING LINEAR MIXED MODELS. RESULTS: THIRTY-ONE WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO YOGA (N = 16) OR HEALTH EDUCATION (N = 15). FATIGUE SEVERITY DECLINED SIGNIFICANTLY FROM BASELINE TO POST-TREATMENT AND OVER A 3-MONTH FOLLOW-UP IN THE YOGA GROUP RELATIVE TO CONTROLS (P = .032). IN ADDITION, THE YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN VIGOR RELATIVE TO CONTROLS (P = .011). BOTH GROUPS HAD POSITIVE CHANGES IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND PERCEIVED STRESS (P < .05). NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN SLEEP OR PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE WERE OBSERVED. CONCLUSIONS: A TARGETED YOGA INTERVENTION LED TO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN FATIGUE AND VIGOR AMONG BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WITH PERSISTENT FATIGUE SYMPTOMS. 2012 11 165 38 A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL OF THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS IN NORMAL HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. OBJECTIVE: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS IN NORMAL HEALTHY ADULTS. METHODS: OF THE 1228 PERSONS WHO ATTENDED INTRODUCTORY LECTURES, 226 SUBJECTS OF BOTH SEXES WHO SATISFIED THE INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA AND WHO CONSENTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED INTO TWO GROUPS. THESE 226 SUBJECTS WERE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 17 AND 62 YEARS AND 173/226 COMPLETED THE EIGHT WEEKS OF INTERVENTION. THE YOGA (Y) GROUP PRACTISED AN INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE THAT INCLUDED ASANAS, PRANAYAMA, MEDITATION, NOTIONAL CORRECTION, AND DEVOTIONAL SESSIONS. THE CONTROL GROUP PRACTISED MILD TO MODERATE PHYSICAL EXERCISES (PE). BOTH GROUPS HAD SUPERVISED PRACTICES (BY TRAINED EXPERTS) FOR ONE HOUR DAILY, SIX DAYS A WEEK FOR EIGHT WEEKS. VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS WAS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER EIGHT WEEKS USING THE SELF-ADMINISTERED VERBAL AGGRESSIVE SCALE. RESULTS: THE BASELINE SCORE OF THE TWO GROUPS DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY (P = 0.66). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS IN THE YOGA GROUP (P = 0.01 PAIRED SAMPLES T-TEST) WITH A NONSIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PE GROUP. ANCOVA USING PRE- VALUES AS COVARIATES SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS (P = 0.013). RMANOVA FOR INTERACTION BETWEEN THE SEXES OR AGE GROUPS IN CHANGE SCORES WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT AN EIGHT WEEK INTERVENTION OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE DECREASED VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS IN THE YOGA GROUP (IN MALES AND THOSE BELOW 25 YEARS OF AGE), WITH A NONSIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PE GROUP. 2008 12 201 33 A RESTORATIVE YOGA INTERVENTION FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS: A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: DATA SHOW THAT YOGA IS EFFECTIVE FOR IMPROVING HEALTH-RELATED OUTCOMES IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. WHILE BREAST CANCER IS THE MOST COMMONLY DIAGNOSED CANCER AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN (AAW), AAW ARE LESS LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN YOGA COMPARED TO OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS. THE GOALS OF THE CURRENT STUDY WERE TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF AN 8-WEEK RESTORATIVE YOGA PROGRAM AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS (AA BCS). SPECIFICALLY, STUDY AIMS WERE TO (1) MEASURE CHANGES IN STUDY OUTCOMES IN A RESTORATIVE YOGA (RY) GROUP COMPARED TO A WAIT LIST CONTROL GROUP, (2) ASSESS ADHERENCE TO THE RY PROGRAM, AND (3) ASSESS PROGRAM SATISFACTION AMONG STUDY PARTICIPANTS. METHODS: THIRTY-THREE AA BCS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER THE RY INTERVENTION (N = 18) OR WAIT LIST CONTROL GROUP (N = 15). RY CLASSES MET ONCE PER WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS. PRE- AND POST-TESTING ASSESSMENTS WERE MEASURED AT 0 AND 8 WEEKS (IMMEDIATELY POST-INTERVENTION). RESULTS: DEPRESSION SCORES AT FOLLOW-UP WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN THE YOGA GROUP (M = 4.78, SD = 3.56) COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP (M = 6.91, SD = 5.86). NO SIGNIFICANT GROUP DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED FOR SLEEP QUALITY, FATIGUE, OR PERCEIVED STRESS. YOGA PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS COMPLETING BASELINE ASSESSMENTS DEMONSTRATED 61% ADHERENCE TO THE YOGA CLASSES. AVERAGE RATING OF THE YOGA PROGRAM WAS "VERY USEFUL." RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE YOGA PROGRAMS WERE PROVIDED. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY SUGGESTS THAT YOGA HAS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON DEPRESSION IN AA BCS. THERE IS, HOWEVER, A NEED TO FURTHER EXPLORE THE BENEFITS OF YOGA AMONG MINORITY BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS USING A STUDY WITH LARGER SAMPLE SIZES. 2018 13 1683 42 ONLINE YOGA TO REDUCE POST TRAUMATIC STRESS IN WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED STILLBIRTH: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL FEASIBILITY TRIAL. BACKGROUND: ABOUT 1 IN EVERY 150 PREGNANCIES END IN STILLBIRTH. CONSEQUENCES INCLUDE SYMPTOMS OF POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD), DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY. YOGA HAS BEEN USED TO TREAT PTSD IN OTHER POPULATIONS AND MAY IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR STILLBIRTH MOTHERS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE: (A) FEASIBILITY OF A 12-WEEK HOME-BASED, ONLINE YOGA INTERVENTION WITH VARYING DOSES; (B) ACCEPTABILITY OF A "STRETCH AND TONE" CONTROL GROUP; AND (C) PRELIMINARY EFFICACY OF THE INTERVENTION ON REDUCING SYMPTOMS OF PTSD, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, PERINATAL GRIEF, SELF-COMPASSION, EMOTIONAL REGULATION, MINDFULNESS, SLEEP QUALITY, AND SUBJECTIVE HEALTH. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS (N = 90) WERE RECRUITED NATIONALLY AND RANDOMIZED INTO ONE OF THREE GROUPS FOR YOGA OR EXERCISE (LOW DOSE (LD), 60 MIN PER WEEK; MODERATE DOSE (MD), 150 MIN PER WEEK; AND STRETCH-AND-TONE CONTROL GROUP (STC)). BASELINE AND POST-INTERVENTION SURVEYS MEASURED MAIN OUTCOMES (LISTED ABOVE). FREQUENCY ANALYSES WERE USED TO DETERMINE FEASIBILITY. REPEATED MEASURES ANCOVA WERE USED TO DETERMINE PRELIMINARY EFFICACY. MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSES WERE USED TO DETERMINE A DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MINUTES OF YOGA AND EACH OUTCOME VARIABLE. RESULTS: OVER HALF OF PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED THE INTERVENTION (N = 48/90). BENCHMARKS (>/=70% REPORTED > 75% SATISFACTION) WERE MET IN EACH GROUP FOR SATISFACTION AND ENJOYMENT. PARTICIPANTS MEETING BENCHMARKS (COMPLETING > 90% OF PRESCRIBED MINUTES 9/12 WEEKS) FOR LD AND MD GROUPS WERE 44% (N = 8/18) AND 6% (N = 1/16), RESPECTIVELY. LD AND MD GROUPS AVERAGED 44.0 AND 77.3 MIN PER WEEK OF YOGA, RESPECTIVELY. THE MD GROUP REPORTED THAT 150 PRESCRIBED MINUTES PER WEEK OF YOGA WAS TOO MUCH. THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN PTSD AND DEPRESSION, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-RATED HEALTH AT POST-INTERVENTION FOR BOTH INTERVENTION GROUPS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN DEPRESSION SCORES (P = .036) AND GRIEF INTENSITY (P = .009) BETWEEN THE MD AND STC GROUPS. PTSD SHOWED NON-SIGNIFICANT DECREASES OF 43% AND 56% AT POST-INTERVENTION IN LD AND MD GROUPS, RESPECTIVELY (22% DECREASE IN CONTROL). CONCLUSIONS: THIS WAS THE FIRST STUDY TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY AND PRELIMINARY EFFICACY OF AN ONLINE YOGA INTERVENTION FOR WOMEN AFTER STILLBIRTH. FUTURE RESEARCH WARRANTS A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV. NCT02925481. REGISTERED 10-04-16. 2020 14 2525 48 YOGA DURING PREGNANCY: THE EFFECTS ON LABOR PAIN AND DELIVERY OUTCOMES (A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL). OBJECTIVE: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF AN ANTENATAL YOGA PROGRAM ON PERCEIVED MATERNAL LABOR PAIN AND DELIVERY OUTCOMES. MATERIAL & METHODS: THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED WITH SIXTY PRIMIPAROUS WOMEN, AGED 18-35 YEARS OLD, WHO WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER AN ANTENATAL YOGA PROGRAM OR CONTROL GROUPS. LABOR PAIN AND DISCOMFORT LEVEL OF THE PARTICIPANTS WERE MEASURED USING A VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE AT CERVICAL DILATATION OF 3-4 C AND AT 2 AND 4 H AFTER THE INITIAL MEASUREMENT. DEMOGRAPHIC AND OBSTETRICAL INFORMATION WERE COLLECTED. THE ANTENATAL YOGA PROGRAM CONSISTED OF A 1-H SUPERVISED YOGA CLASS, THREE TIMES A WEEKLY, STARTING AT 26 WEEKS GESTATION. . RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS IN CONTROL GROUP REPORTED HIGHER PAIN INTENSITY COMPARED TO EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AT 3-4 CM OF DILATATION (P = 0.01) AND AT 2 H AFTER THE FIRST AND THE SECOND MEASUREMENTS (P = 0.000). MOTHERS IN THE ANTENATAL INTERVENTION GROUP THAT COMPLETED THE YOGA CLASS REQUIRED A DECREASED FREQUENCY OF LABOR INDUCTION IN COMPARISON WITH CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.008). IN ADDITION, MODE OF DELIVERY OF THE INTERVENTION GROUP RESULTED IN A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF CESAREAN SECTION THAN CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.002). LASTLY, THE INTERVENTION GROUP EXPERIENCED A SHORTER DURATION OF THE SECOND AND THIRD STAGES OF LABOR. INTERVAL LEVEL DATA WAS ANALYZED BY USING AN INDEPENDENT T-TEST AND CHI-SQUARE. CONCLUSION: YOGA DURING PREGNANCY MAY CONTRIBUTE TO A REDUCTION PAIN OF LABOR AND IMPROVED ADEQUACY OF CHILDBIRTH. 2017 15 1063 36 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND MOOD IN WOMEN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND MOOD IN GENERALLY HEALTHY WOMEN. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. PARTICIPANTS: FIFTY-TWO HEALTHY WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A YOGA GROUP OR A CONTROL GROUP. INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPLETED AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM, WHICH COMPRISED A 60-MINUTE SESSION TWICE A WEEK. EACH SESSION CONSISTED OF BREATHING EXERCISES, YOGA POSE PRACTICE, AND SUPINE MEDITATION/RELAXATION. THE CONTROL GROUP WAS INSTRUCTED NOT TO ENGAGE IN ANY YOGA PRACTICE AND TO MAINTAIN THEIR USUAL LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DURING THE STUDY. OUTCOME MEASURES: PARTICIPANTS' HEART RATE VARIABILITY, PERCEIVED STRESS, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, AND STATE AND TRAIT ANXIETY WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE (WEEK 0) AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION (WEEK 9). RESULTS: NO MEASURES OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY IN EITHER THE YOGA OR CONTROL GROUP AFTER INTERVENTION. STATE ANXIETY WAS REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE YOGA GROUP BUT NOT IN THE CONTROL GROUP. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE NOTED IN PERCEIVED STRESS, DEPRESSION, OR TRAIT ANXIETY IN EITHER GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO IMPROVE HEART RATE VARIABILITY. HOWEVER, SUCH A PROGRAM APPEARS TO BE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING STATE ANXIETY IN GENERALLY HEALTHY WOMEN. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD INVOLVE LONGER PERIODS OF YOGA TRAINING, INCLUDE HEART RATE VARIABILITY MEASURES BOTH AT REST AND DURING YOGA PRACTICE, AND ENROLL WOMEN WITH HIGHER LEVELS OF STRESS AND TRAIT ANXIETY. 2015 16 1862 36 RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF YOGA AMONG A MULTIETHNIC SAMPLE OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS: EFFECTS ON QUALITY OF LIFE. PURPOSE: THIS STUDY EXAMINES THE IMPACT OF YOGA, INCLUDING PHYSICAL POSES, BREATHING, AND MEDITATION EXERCISES, ON QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL), FATIGUE, DISTRESSED MOOD, AND SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING AMONG A MULTIETHNIC SAMPLE OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT PATIENTS (42% AFRICAN AMERICAN, 31% HISPANIC) RECRUITED FROM AN URBAN CANCER CENTER WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED (2:1 RATIO) TO A 12-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION (N = 84) OR A 12-WEEK WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP (N = 44). CHANGES IN QOL (EG, FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CANCER THERAPY) FROM BEFORE RANDOM ASSIGNMENT (T1) TO THE 3-MONTH FOLLOW-UP (T3) WERE EXAMINED; PREDICTORS OF ADHERENCE WERE ALSO ASSESSED. NEARLY HALF OF ALL PATIENTS WERE RECEIVING MEDICAL TREATMENT. RESULTS: REGRESSION ANALYSES INDICATED THAT THE CONTROL GROUP HAD A GREATER DECREASE IN SOCIAL WELL-BEING COMPARED WITH THE INTERVENTION GROUP AFTER CONTROLLING FOR BASELINE SOCIAL WELL-BEING AND COVARIATES (P < .0001). SECONDARY ANALYSES OF 71 PATIENTS NOT RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY DURING THE INTERVENTION PERIOD INDICATED FAVORABLE OUTCOMES FOR THE INTERVENTION GROUP COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP IN OVERALL QOL (P < .008), EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING (P < .015), SOCIAL WELL-BEING (P < .004), SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING (P < .009), AND DISTRESSED MOOD (P < .031). SIXTY-NINE PERCENT OF INTERVENTION PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED CLASSES (MEAN NUMBER OF CLASSES ATTENDED BY ACTIVE CLASS PARTICIPANTS = 7.00 +/- 3.80), WITH LOWER ADHERENCE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED FATIGUE (P < .001), RADIOTHERAPY (P < .0001), YOUNGER AGE (P < .008), AND NO ANTIESTROGEN THERAPY (P < .02). CONCLUSION: DESPITE LIMITED ADHERENCE, THIS INTENT-TO-TREAT ANALYSIS SUGGESTS THAT YOGA IS ASSOCIATED WITH BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON SOCIAL FUNCTIONING AMONG A MEDICALLY DIVERSE SAMPLE OF BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. AMONG PATIENTS NOT RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY, YOGA APPEARS TO ENHANCE EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND MOOD AND MAY SERVE TO BUFFER DETERIORATION IN BOTH OVERALL AND SPECIFIC DOMAINS OF QOL. 2007 17 790 39 EFFECT OF YOGA EXERCISE ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND UPPER EXTREMITY VOLUME AMONG WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER RELATED LYMPHEDEMA: A PILOT STUDY. PURPOSE: THIS PILOT STUDY AIMED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF AN 8-WEEKS-YOGA INTERVENTION ON QUALITY OF LIFE AND UPPER EXTREMITY EDEMA VOLUME IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER RELATED LYMPHEDEMA. METHODS: THIS WAS A CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH PRE-POST DESIGN. A TOTAL OF 40 WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER RELATED LYMPHEDEMA WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED INTO AN INTERVENTION OR CONTROL GROUPS. THE INTERVENTION GROUP PARTICIPATED IN A YOGA EXERCISE CLASS FOR 8 WEEKS, IN A TWICE A WEEK INSTRUCTOR-LED PRACTICE AND ONCE A WEEK HOME PRACTICE. OUTCOMES WERE EORTC QLQ_C30 TO MEASURE QUALITY OF LIFE, AND WATER DISPLACEMENT VOLUME-METER TO MEASURE UPPER EXTREMITY EDEMA VOLUME. THE OUTCOMES WERE EVALUATED AT BASELINE, 4TH AND 8TH WEEK. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING SPSS. RESULTS: FOUR WEEKS AFTER THE INTERVENTION, A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED BETWEEN THE GROUPS WITH RESPECT TO ROLE FUNCTIONING OF QUALITY OF LIFE (P=0.03). EIGHT WEEKS AFTER THE INTERVENTION, A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED BETWEEN GROUPS CONCERNING PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL FUNCTIONING OF QUALITY OF LIFE (P<0.05). THE CHANGING TREND IN PHYSICAL, ROLE, EMOTIONAL, AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING HAD INCREASED, AND IN SOME SCALES SUCH AS FATIGUE, PAIN, INSOMNIA, AND FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES THE SCORES WERE REDUCED IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP. REGARDING EDEMA VOLUME, NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS FOUND BETWEEN BOTH GROUPS ON THE 4TH AND 8TH WEEK AFTER THE INTERVENTION (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: AS YOGA EXERCISE MIGHT IMPROVE PHYSICAL, ROLE, AND EMOTIONAL FUNCTIONING OF QUALITY OF LIFE AS WELL AS REDUCE FATIGUE, PAIN, AND INSOMNIA, USING THIS INTERVENTION CAN BE SUGGESTED AMONGST WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER RELATED LYMPHEDEMA. 2019 18 990 38 EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA ON STRESS IN MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN. BACKGROUND: STRESS IS CONSIDERED A CRUCIAL TRIGGER FOR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ILLNESS. STRESS REDUCTION IS A KNOWN LONG-TERM BENEFIT OF REGULAR HATHA YOGA PRACTICE. THE EFFICACY OF A SINGLE-SESSION HATHA YOGA CLASS ON STRESS REDUCTION IS NOT CURRENTLY KNOWN. PURPOSE: THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF A SINGLE 90-MINUTE HATHA YOGA CLASS AND AN 8-WEEK, 90-MINUTE-CLASS-PER-WEEK COURSE. METHODS: WE USED A QUASIEXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND RECRUITED 63 FEMALE COMMUNITY RESIDENTS IN NEW TAIPEI CITY AGED 40-60 YEARS. PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO AN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP (N = 30) AND A CONTROL GROUP (N = 33). THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP RECEIVED THE 8-WEEK HATHA YOGA COURSE. THE CONTROL GROUP RECEIVED NO INTERVENTION. THE PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE (PSS) AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) ASSESSED STRESS REDUCTION EFFECTIVENESS. CHI-SQUARE, INDEPENDENT T TEST, PAIRED T TEST, AND GENERALIZED ESTIMATING EQUATIONS WERE USED FOR DATA ANALYSIS. RESULTS: AFTER A SINGLE 90-MINUTE CLASS OF HATHA YOGA, EXPERIMENTAL GROUP PSS SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN THOSE OF THE CONTROL GROUP (P = .001). ALTHOUGH EXPERIMENTAL GROUP HRV (LOW-FREQUENCY NORM AND HIGH-FREQUENCY NORM) HAD IMPROVED, THESE CHANGES WERE NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT (P = .059). PSS SCORES FOR THE SINGLE 90-MINUTE CLASS AND 8-WEEK COURSE DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFER (P = .157) AND HRV OF STATISTICS IS SIGNIFICANT (P = .005). GENERALIZED ESTIMATING EQUATIONS ANALYZED CHANGES IN THE EFFECTIVENESS OVER TIME OF STRESS REDUCTION (HRV AND PSS) AFTER THE HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION. RESULTS SHOWED THE POSTINTERVENTION HRV AND PSS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY (P < .001) MORE THAN THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: OUR FINDINGS SUPPORT THE POSITION THAT REGULAR, LONG-TERM PRACTICE OF HATHA YOGA PROVIDES CLEAR AND SIGNIFICANT HEALTH BENEFITS. PARTICIPATION IN A SINGLE 90-MINUTE HATHA YOGA CLASS CAN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE PERCEIVED STRESS. DOING HATHA YOGA REGULARLY CAN REDUCE PERCEIVED STRESS EVEN MORE SIGNIFICANTLY. 2013 19 167 35 A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED BICENTER TRIAL OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH COLORECTAL CANCER. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS TRIAL WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH COLORECTAL CANCER. METHODS: PATIENTS WITH NON-METASTATIC COLORECTAL CANCER WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A 10-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION (90 MIN ONCE WEEKLY) OR A WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE WAS DISEASE-SPECIFIC QUALITY OF LIFE (FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CANCER THERAPY - COLORECTAL [FACT-C]) AT WEEK 10. SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED FACT-C SUBSCALES: SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING (FACT - SPIRITUALITY); FATIGUE (FACT - FATIGUE); SLEEP DISTURBANCES (PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INVENTORY); DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY (HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE); BODY AWARENESS (SCALE OF BODY CONNECTION); AND BODY-EFFICACY EXPECTATIONS (BODY-EFFICACY EXPECTATIONS SCALE). OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED AT WEEK 10 AND WEEK 22 AFTER RANDOMIZATION. RESULTS: FIFTY-FOUR PATIENTS (MEAN AGE 68.3 +/- 9.7 YEARS) WERE RANDOMIZED TO YOGA (N = 27; ATTRITION RATE 22.2%) AND CONTROL GROUP (N = 27; ATTRITION RATE 18.5%). PATIENTS IN THE YOGA GROUP ATTENDED A MEAN OF 5.3 +/- 4.0 YOGA CLASSES. NO SIGNIFICANT GROUP DIFFERENCES FOR THE FACT-C TOTAL SCORE WERE FOUND. GROUP DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND FOR EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AT WEEK 22 ( = 1.59; 95% CI = 0.27,2.90; P = 0.019), SLEEP DISTURBANCES AT WEEK 22 ( = -1.08; 95% CI = -2.13, -0.03; P = 0.043), ANXIETY AT WEEK 10 ( = -1.14; 95% CI = -2.20, -0.09; P = 0.043), AND DEPRESSION AT WEEK 10 ( = -1.34; 95% CI = -2.61, -0.8; P = 0.038). NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS OCCURRED IN THE YOGA GROUP, WHILE LIVER METASTASES WERE DIAGNOSED IN ONE PATIENT IN THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: THIS RANDOMIZED TRIAL FOUND NO EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH COLORECTAL CANCER. GIVEN THE HIGH ATTRITION RATE AND LOW INTERVENTION ADHERENCE, NO DEFINITE CONCLUSIONS CAN BE DRAWN FROM THIS TRIAL. 2016 20 2654 32 YOGA IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE AND BENEFIT FINDING IN WOMEN UNDERGOING RADIOTHERAPY FOR BREAST CANCER. THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER UNDERGOING RADIOTHERAPY. SIXTY-ONE WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER A YOGA OR A WAIT-LIST GROUP. YOGA CLASSES WERE TAUGHT BIWEEKLY DURING THE 6 WEEKS OF RADIOTHERAPY. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED MEASURES OF QOL, FATIGUE, BENEFIT FINDING (FINDING MEANING IN THE CANCER EXPERIENCE), INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, SLEEP DISTURBANCES, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, AND ANXIETY BEFORE RADIOTHERAPY AND THEN AGAIN 1 WEEK, 1 MONTH, AND 3 MONTHS AFTER THE END OF RADIOTHERAPY. GENERAL LINEAR MODEL ANALYSES REVEALED THAT COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP, THE YOGA GROUP REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER GENERAL HEALTH PERCEPTION (P = .005) AND PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING SCORES (P = .04) 1 WEEK POSTRADIOTHERAPY; HIGHER LEVELS OF INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS 1 MONTH POSTRADIOTHERAPY (P = .01); AND GREATER BENEFIT FINDING 3 MONTHS POSTRADIOTHERAPY (P = .01). THERE WERE NO OTHER GROUP DIFFERENCES IN OTHER QOL SUBSCALES FOR FATIGUE, DEPRESSION, OR SLEEP SCORES. EXPLORATORY ANALYSES INDICATED THAT INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS 1 MONTH AFTER RADIOTHERAPY WERE SIGNIFICANTLY POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH BENEFIT FINDING 3 MONTHS AFTER RADIOTHERAPY (R = .36, P = .011). OUR RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE YOGA PROGRAM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH STATISTICALLY AND CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN ASPECTS OF QOL. 2010