1 1281 89 GENTLE HATHA YOGA AND REDUCTION OF FIBROMYALGIA-RELATED SYMPTOMS: A PRELIMINARY REPORT. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: THIS STUDY EXAMINED WHETHER GENTLE HATHA YOGA REDUCED FIBROMYALGIA-RELATED SYMPTOMS FOR A CONVENIENCE SAMPLE OF 10 PARTICIPANTS RANGING IN AGE FROM 39 TO 64 YEARS WHO RECEIVED YOGA INSTRUCTION 2 TIMES PER WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS. METHODS: RESPONDENTS COMPLETED THE FIBROMYALGIA IMPACT QUESTIONNAIRE 1 TIME PER WEEK AND PROVIDED WEEKLY JOURNAL REPORTS REGARDING THEIR HEALTH STATUS. PRE- AND POST-INTERVENTION MANUAL TENDER POINT EVALUATIONS WERE ALSO CONDUCTED. RESULTS: FINDINGS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PARTICIPATING IN GENTLE HATHA YOGA CLASSES AND REDUCED FIBROMYALGIA - RELATED SYMPTOMS. CONCLUSIONS: ADDITIONAL RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WITH LARGER SAMPLE SIZES AND GREATER EMPIRICAL RIGOR ARE NEEDED TO MORE FULLY UNDERSTAND THIS RELATIONSHIP. 2012 2 2320 30 TREATMENT CREDIBILITY, EXPECTANCY, AND PREFERENCE: PREDICTION OF TREATMENT ENGAGEMENT AND OUTCOME IN A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL OF HATHA YOGA VS. HEALTH EDUCATION AS ADJUNCT TREATMENTS FOR DEPRESSION. BACKGROUND: HATHA YOGA MAY BE HELPFUL FOR ALLEVIATING DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS ANALYSIS IS TO DETERMINE WHETHER TREATMENT PROGRAM PREFERENCE, CREDIBILITY, OR EXPECTANCY PREDICT ENGAGEMENT IN DEPRESSION INTERVENTIONS (YOGA OR A CONTROL CLASS) OR DEPRESSION SYMPTOM SEVERITY OVER TIME. METHODS: THIS IS A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT) OF HATHA YOGA VS. A HEALTH EDUCATION CONTROL GROUP FOR TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION. DEPRESSED PARTICIPANTS (N=122) ATTENDED UP TO 20 CLASSES OVER A PERIOD OF 10 WEEKS, AND THEN COMPLETED ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS AFTER 3 AND 6 MONTHS. WE ASSESSED TREATMENT PREFERENCE PRIOR TO RANDOMIZATION, AND TREATMENT CREDIBILITY AND EXPECTANCY AFTER PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED THEIR FIRST CLASS. TREATMENT "CONCORDANCE" INDICATED THAT TREATMENT PREFERENCE MATCHED ASSIGNED TREATMENT. RESULTS: TREATMENT CREDIBILITY, EXPECTANCY, AND CONCORDANCE WERE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH TREATMENT ENGAGEMENT. TREATMENT EXPECTANCY MODERATED THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TREATMENT GROUP AND DEPRESSION. DEPRESSION SEVERITY OVER TIME DIFFERED BY EXPECTANCY LEVEL FOR THE YOGA GROUP BUT NOT FOR THE HEALTH EDUCATION GROUP. CONTROLLING FOR BASELINE DEPRESSION, PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA GROUP WITH AN AVERAGE OR HIGH EXPECTANCY FOR IMPROVEMENT SHOWED LOWER DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS ACROSS THE ACUTE INTERVENTION AND FOLLOW-UP PERIOD THAN THOSE WITH A LOW EXPECTANCY FOR IMPROVEMENT. THERE WAS A TREND FOR A SIMILAR PATTERN FOR CREDIBILITY. CONCORDANCE WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH TREATMENT OUTCOME. LIMITATIONS: THIS IS A SECONDARY, POST-HOC ANALYSIS AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED HYPOTHESIS-GENERATING. CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS SUGGEST THAT EXPECTANCY IMPROVES THE LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS ONLY FOR A INTERVENTION THOUGHT TO ACTIVELY TARGET DEPRESSION (YOGA) AND NOT A CONTROL INTERVENTION. 2018 3 2538 33 YOGA FOR ADULT WOMEN WITH CHRONIC PTSD: A LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP STUDY. INTRODUCTION: YOGA-THE INTEGRATIVE PRACTICE OF PHYSICAL POSTURES AND MOVEMENT, BREATH EXERCISES, AND MINDFULNESS-MAY SERVE AS A USEFUL ADJUNCTIVE COMPONENT OF TRAUMA-FOCUSED TREATMENT TO BUILD SKILLS IN TOLERATING AND MODULATING PHYSIOLOGIC AND AFFECTIVE STATES THAT HAVE BECOME DYSREGULATED BY TRAUMA EXPOSURE. A PREVIOUS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT AMONG 60 WOMEN WITH CHRONIC, TREATMENT-RESISTANT POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) AND ASSOCIATED MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS STEMMING FROM PROLONGED OR MULTIPLE TRAUMA EXPOSURES. AFTER 10 SESSIONS OF YOGA, PARTICIPANTS EXHIBITED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN PTSD SYMPTOM SEVERITY AND GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF LOSS OF PTSD DIAGNOSIS, SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN ENGAGEMENT IN NEGATIVE TENSION REDUCTION ACTIVITIES (E.G., SELF-INJURY), AND GREATER REDUCTIONS IN DISSOCIATIVE AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS WHEN COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL (A SEMINAR IN WOMEN'S HEALTH). THE CURRENT STUDY IS A LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENT OF PARTICIPANTS WHO COMPLETED THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS FROM THE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WERE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENTS APPROXIMATELY 1.5 YEARS AFTER STUDY COMPLETION TO ASSESS WHETHER THE INITIAL INTERVENTION AND/OR YOGA PRACTICE AFTER TREATMENT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH ADDITIONAL CHANGES. FORTY-NINE WOMEN COMPLETED THE LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEWS. HIERARCHICAL REGRESSION ANALYSIS WAS USED TO EXAMINE WHETHER TREATMENT GROUP STATUS IN THE ORIGINAL STUDY AND FREQUENCY OF YOGA PRACTICE AFTER THE STUDY PREDICTED GREATER CHANGES IN SYMPTOMS AND PTSD DIAGNOSIS. RESULTS: GROUP ASSIGNMENT IN THE ORIGINAL RANDOMIZED STUDY WAS NOT A SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR OF LONGER-TERM OUTCOMES. HOWEVER, FREQUENCY OF CONTINUING YOGA PRACTICE SIGNIFICANTLY PREDICTED GREATER DECREASES IN PTSD SYMPTOM SEVERITY AND DEPRESSION SYMPTOM SEVERITY, AS WELL AS A GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF A LOSS OF PTSD DIAGNOSIS. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA APPEARS TO BE A USEFUL TREATMENT MODALITY; THE GREATEST LONG-TERM BENEFITS ARE DERIVED FROM MORE FREQUENT YOGA PRACTICE. 2016 4 1787 29 PREFERENCE AND EXPECTATION FOR TREATMENT ASSIGNMENT IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF ONCE- VS TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. BACKGROUND: IN STUDIES INVOLVING NONPHARMACOLOGICAL COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE INTERVENTIONS, PARTICIPANT BLINDING IS VERY DIFFICULT. PARTICIPANT EXPECTATIONS MAY AFFECT PERCEIVED BENEFIT OF THERAPY. IN STUDIES OF YOGA AS TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PATIENT EXPECTATIONS AND PREFERENCES ON OUTCOMES. THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO IDENTIFY BASELINE PREDICTORS OF PREFERENCE AND TO DETERMINE IF EXPECTATIONS AND PREFERENCES FOR DIFFERENT DOSES OF YOGA AFFECT BACK-RELATED FUNCTION AND LOW BACK PAIN INTENSITY. METHODS: THIS WAS A SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS OF A 12-WEEK RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL COMPARING ONCE-WEEKLY VS TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA FOR TREATMENT OF CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IN 93 ADULTS FROM A PREDOMINANTLY LOW-INCOME MINORITY POPULATION. AT BASELINE, PARTICIPANTS WERE ASKED ABOUT BACK FUNCTION, BACK PAIN, TREATMENT EXPECTATIONS, AND TREATMENT PREFERENCES. WE CREATED A VARIABLE "CONCORDANCE" TO DESCRIBE THE MATCHING OF PARTICIPANT PREFERENCE TO RANDOMIZED TREATMENT. OUR OUTCOME VARIABLES WERE CHANGE IN BACK FUNCTION AND PAIN INTENSITY AFTER 12 WEEKS OF YOGA INSTRUCTION. WE PERFORMED LOGISTIC REGRESSION TO IDENTIFY PREDICTORS OF PREFERENCE FOR ONCE- OR TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA INSTRUCTION. WE CREATED LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS TO IDENTIFY INDEPENDENT ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN EXPECTATIONS, PREFERENCE, CONCORDANCE, AND OUTCOMES. RESULTS: WORSE BACK FUNCTION AT BASELINE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH 20% HIGHER ODDS OF PREFERRING TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA (OR 1.2, CI 1.1, 1.3). INDIVIDUALS WITH HIGHER EXPECTATION SCORES FOR TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA HAD 90% HIGHER ODDS OF PREFERRING TWICE-WEEKLY VS ONCE-WEEKLY YOGA (OR 1.9, CI 1.3, 2.7). INDIVIDUALS WITH HIGHER EXPECTATION SCORES FOR ONCE-WEEKLY YOGA HAD 40% LESS ODDS OF PREFERRING TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA (OR 0.6, CI 0.5, 0.9). AFTER CONTROLLING FOR BASELINE CHARACTERISTICS, WE FOUND NO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TREATMENT OUTCOMES, PREFERENCE, EXPECTATION SCORES, OR CONCORDANCE. CONCLUSION: IN A POPULATION OF PREDOMINANTLY LOW-INCOME MINORITY PARTICIPANTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN, WORSE BACK FUNCTION WAS ASSOCIATED WITH PREFERENCE FOR MORE FREQUENT YOGA CLASSES. THOSE WHO PREFERRED MORE YOGA CLASSES HAD HIGHER EXPECTATIONS FOR THOSE CLASSES. TWELVE-WEEK CHANGE IN BACK PAIN INTENSITY AND BACK FUNCTION WERE NOT AFFECTED BY DOSING PREFERENCE, EXPECTATION SCORE, OR CONCORDANCE. MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO BETTER MEASURE AND QUANTIFY PREFERENCE, EXPECTATIONS, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO OUTCOMES IN YOGA RESEARCH. 2015 5 1219 29 EXPOSURE TO ADVERSE EVENTS AND ASSOCIATIONS WITH STRESS LEVELS AND THE PRACTICE OF YOGA: SURVEY FINDINGS FROM A POPULATION-BASED STUDY OF DIVERSE EMERGING YOUNG ADULTS. OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY EXAMINES THE PREVALENCE OF EXPOSURE TO ADVERSE EVENTS AND ASSOCIATIONS WITH STRESS LEVELS AMONG A DIVERSE POPULATION-BASED SAMPLE OF YOUNG PEOPLE. THE STUDY FURTHER EXPLORES WHETHER THESE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, WHO HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT FROM THE MIND-BODY PRACTICE OF YOGA, ENGAGE IN A REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE. DESIGN: EAT 2018 (EATING AND ACTIVITY OVER TIME) IS A POPULATION-BASED STUDY IN WHICH SURVEY DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM 1568 ETHNICALLY/RACIALLY DIVERSE (81.2% NONWHITE) EMERGING YOUNG ADULTS (MEAN AGE: 22.0 +/- 2.0 YEARS). RESULTS: EXPOSURE TO ADVERSE EVENTS WAS HIGHLY PREVALENT. FOR EXAMPLE, 43.9% REPORTED AT LEAST ONE ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE (ACE) (E.G., PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, OR SEXUAL ABUSE BEFORE AGE 18), WHEREAS 40.1% REPORTED EXPERIENCING DISCRIMINATION. EXPOSURE TO ADVERSE EVENTS WAS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER STRESS LEVELS. PRACTICING YOGA AT LEAST 30 MIN/WEEK WAS REPORTED BY 12.7% OF THE POPULATION, WITH VARIATION ACROSS SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS. YOUNG ADULTS EXPOSED TO ADVERSE EVENTS WERE EITHER MORE OR SIMILARLY LIKELY TO PRACTICE YOGA THAN YOUNG ADULTS NOT REPORTING ADVERSE EVENTS. CONCLUSIONS: THE HIGH PREVALENCE OF EXPOSURE TO ADVERSE EVENTS AND ASSOCIATIONS WITH HIGHER LEVELS OF STRESS POINTS TO A NEED FOR PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTIONS. THUS, IT WAS PROMISING TO FIND THAT YOUNG PEOPLE EXPOSED TO ADVERSE EVENTS, WHO MAY HAVE GREATER EMOTIONAL BURDENS, PRACTICE YOGA AT EQUAL OR GREATER PROPORTIONS TO THOSE WITHOUT THESE EXPOSURES. GIVEN THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR POPULATIONS LIVING WITH HIGH STRESS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP FURTHER OUTREACH EFFORTS AND PROVIDE ACCESSIBLE, ACCEPTABLE, AND AFFORDABLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRACTICING YOGA. 2020 6 1582 13 MEDIATORS OF YOGA AND STRETCHING FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. ALTHOUGH YOGA IS AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS BENEFITS. IN A TRIAL COMPARING YOGA TO INTENSIVE STRETCHING AND SELF-CARE, WE EXPLORED WHETHER PHYSICAL (HOURS OF BACK EXERCISE/WEEK), COGNITIVE (FEAR AVOIDANCE, BODY AWARENESS, AND SELF-EFFICACY), AFFECTIVE (PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, PERCEIVED STRESS, POSITIVE STATES OF MIND, AND SLEEP), AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS (CORTISOL, DHEA) MEDIATED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA OR STRETCHING ON BACK-RELATED DYSFUNCTION (ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY SCALE (RDQ)). FOR YOGA, 36% OF THE EFFECT ON 12-WEEK RDQ WAS MEDIATED BY INCREASED SELF-EFFICACY, 18% BY SLEEP DISTURBANCE, 9% BY HOURS OF BACK EXERCISE, AND 61% BY THE BEST COMBINATION OF ALL POSSIBLE MEDIATORS (6 MEDIATORS). FOR STRETCHING, 23% OF THE EFFECT WAS MEDIATED BY INCREASED SELF-EFFICACY, 14% BY DAYS OF BACK EXERCISE, AND 50% BY THE BEST COMBINATION OF ALL POSSIBLE MEDIATORS (7 MEDIATORS). IN OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS, >/=20% OF PARTICIPANTS NOTED THE FOLLOWING TREATMENT BENEFITS: LEARNING NEW EXERCISES (BOTH GROUPS), RELAXATION, INCREASED AWARENESS, AND THE BENEFITS OF BREATHING (YOGA), BENEFITS OF REGULAR PRACTICE (STRETCHING). ALTHOUGH BOTH SELF-EFFICACY AND HOURS OF BACK EXERCISE WERE THE STRONGEST MEDIATORS FOR EACH INTERVENTION, COMPARED TO SELF-CARE, QUALITATIVE DATA SUGGEST THAT THEY MAY EXERT THEIR BENEFITS THROUGH PARTIALLY DISTINCT MECHANISMS. 2013 7 2822 29 YOGA V. HEALTH EDUCATION FOR ATTENTIONAL PROCESSES RELEVANT TO MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER. OBJECTIVES: RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT YOGA MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR PERSISTENT DEPRESSION, THE BENEFITS OF WHICH MAY ACCUMULATE OVER TIME. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY WERE TO EVALUATE THE FOLLOWING IN A SAMPLE OF PERSISTENTLY DEPRESSED INDIVIDUALS: WHETHER YOGA INCREASES MINDFULNESS AND WHETHER YOGA ATTENUATES RUMINATION. RUMINATION AND MINDFULNESS BOTH REPRESENT ATTENTIONAL PROCESSES RELEVANT FOR ONSET AND MAINTENANCE OF DEPRESSIVE EPISODES. METHODS: ONE-HUNDRED-TEN INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE PERSISTENTLY DEPRESSED DESPITE ONGOING USE OF PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT WERE RECRUITED INTO AN RCT COMPARING YOGA WITH A HEALTH EDUCATION CLASS. MINDFULNESS AND RUMINATION WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND ACROSS 3 TIME POINTS DURING THE TEN-WEEK INTERVENTION. RESULTS: FINDINGS DEMONSTRATE THAT, COMPARED TO HEALTH EDUCATION, YOGA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER MEAN LEVELS OF THE OBSERVE FACET OF MINDFULNESS RELATIVE TO THE CONTROL GROUP DURING THE INTERVENTION PERIOD (P =.004, D =0.38), AND THAT YOGA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A FASTER RATE OF INCREASE IN LEVELS OF ACTING WITH AWARENESS OVER THE INTERVENTION PERIOD (P= .03, F(2) =0.027). THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INTERVENTION GROUPS WITH RESPECT TO RUMINATION. CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS SUGGEST A SMALL EFFECT OF YOGA ON COMPONENTS OF MINDFULNESS DURING A 10-WEEK INTERVENTION PERIOD. PREVIOUS RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT CONTINUED ASSESSMENT AFTER THE INITIAL 10 WEEKS MAY REVEAL CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT. FUTURE RESEARCH MAY ALSO EXAMINE MODERATORS OF THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON MINDFULNESS AND RUMINATION, INCLUDING CLINICAL FACTORS SUCH AS DEPRESSION SEVERITY OR DEPRESSION CHRONICITY, OR DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS SUCH AS AGE. 2021 8 445 17 CHAIR YOGA: FEASIBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY STUDY WITH OLDER COMMUNITY-DWELLING ADULTS WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS. THIS STUDY MEASURED THE FEASIBILITY OF COMPLETING A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL ON AN 8-WEEK SEATED YOGA PROGRAM FOR OLDER ADULTS WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS. PART OF THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS PROGRAM WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER PARTICIPANTS WOULD CONTINUE THE YOGA PRACTICE AT HOME USING A GUIDE BOOK AFTER THE 8-WEEK PROGRAM. FINDINGS DEMONSTRATED THAT ONCE PARTICIPANTS WERE NOT IN A GROUP SETTING FOR THE YOGA, THEY DID NOT CONTINUE WITH YOGA PRACTICE. THIS OUTCOME DEMONSTRATES THE NEED FOR GROUP PROGRAMS FOR OLDER ADULTS TO PROMOTE ADHERENCE TO MOVEMENT-BASED PROGRAMS. (TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV: NCT02113410). 2017 9 2754 32 YOGA PRACTICE PREDICTS IMPROVEMENTS IN DAY-TO-DAY PAIN IN WOMEN WITH METASTATIC BREAST CANCER. CONTEXT: WOMEN WITH METASTATIC BREAST CANCER (MBC) EXPERIENCE A SIGNIFICANT SYMPTOM BURDEN, INCLUDING CANCER PAIN. YOGA IS A MIND-BODY DISCIPLINE THAT HAS SHOWN PROMISE FOR ALLEVIATING CANCER PAIN, BUT FEW STUDIES HAVE INCLUDED PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC DISEASE OR EXAMINED THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE. OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE WHETHER DAILY PAIN CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF THE MINDFUL YOGA PROGRAM AMONG WOMEN WITH MBC AND WHETHER TIME SPENT IN YOGA PRACTICE WAS RELATED TO DAILY PAIN. METHODS: ON ALTERNATE WEEKS DURING THE INTERVENTION PERIOD, WE COLLECTED DAILY MEASURES OF PAIN FROM A SUBSET OF 48 WOMEN RANDOMIZED TO EITHER YOGA (N = 30) OR A SUPPORT GROUP CONDITION (N = 18). WE ALSO ASSESSED DAILY DURATION OF YOGA PRACTICE AMONG PATIENTS RANDOMIZED TO YOGA. RESULTS: PAIN LEVELS WERE LOW FOR WOMEN IN BOTH CONDITIONS, AND NO DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT EFFECTS WERE FOUND ON DAILY PAIN. HOWEVER, AMONG WOMEN RANDOMIZED TO YOGA, A DOSE/RESPONSE RELATIONSHIP WAS FOUND BETWEEN YOGA PRACTICE DURATION AND DAILY PAIN. WHEN PATIENTS HAD SPENT RELATIVELY MORE TIME PRACTICING YOGA ACROSS TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS, THEY WERE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE LOWER PAIN ON THE NEXT DAY. THIS FINDING IS CONSISTENT WITH AN EARLIER MBC STUDY. MEDITATION PRACTICE SHOWED THE STRONGEST ASSOCIATION WITH LOWER DAILY PAIN. CONCLUSION: FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PRACTICE (MEDITATION PRACTICE IN PARTICULAR) IS ASSOCIATED WITH ACUTE IMPROVEMENTS IN CANCER PAIN, AND THAT YOGA INTERVENTIONS MAY BE MORE IMPACTFUL IF TESTED IN A SAMPLE OF PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED CANCER IN WHICH PAIN IS RELATIVELY ELEVATED. 2021 10 1243 41 FEASIBILITY OF A YOGA, AEROBIC AND STRETCHING-TONING EXERCISE PROGRAM FOR ADULT CANCER SURVIVORS: THE STAYFIT TRIAL. BACKGROUND: THE USE OF YOGA AS A MIND-BODY PRACTICE HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY POPULAR AMONG CLINICAL POPULATIONS AND OLDER ADULTS WHO USE THIS PRACTICE TO MANAGE AGE AND CHRONIC DISEASE-RELATED SYMPTOMS. ALTHOUGH YOGA CONTINUES TO GAIN POPULARITY AMONG PRACTITIONERS AND RESEARCHERS, PILOT STUDIES THAT EXAMINE ITS FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY, ESPECIALLY AMONG CANCER SURVIVORS, ARE LIMITED. FEASIBILITY STUDIES PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN DETERMINING WHETHER THE TARGET POPULATION IS LIKELY TO ENGAGE WITH LARGER SCALE EFFICACY AND EFFECTIVENESS TRIALS. IN THIS PAPER WE PRESENT FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY DATA FROM A 12-WEEK RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT) CONDUCTED WITH ADULT CANCER SURVIVORS. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS N = 78 (MEAN AGE: 55 YEARS) WERE RANDOMIZED TO ONE OF THREE GROUPS: A HATHA YOGA, AEROBIC EXERCISE, OR STRETCHING-TONING CONTROL GROUP WITH GROUP EXERCISE CLASSES HELD FOR 150 MIN/WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. HEREIN WE REPORT FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY, INCLUDING ENROLLMENT RATES, ATTENDANCE, ATTRITION AND ADVERSE EVENTS, AND PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK AND SATISFACTION DATA. RESULTS: OF THE 233 ADULTS SCREENED, 109 WERE ELIGIBLE AND 78 RANDOMIZED TO ONE OF THE THREE INTERVENTION ARMS. SESSION ATTENDANCE WAS HIGH FOR ALL GROUPS (75.5-89.5%) AND 17 PARTICIPANTS DROPPED OUT DURING THE 12-WEEK INTERVENTION. PROGRAM SATISFACTION WAS HIGH (4.8 OR HIGHER OUT OF 5) AND NO ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED. ONE COHORT (N = 15) OF THE INTERVENTION TRANSITIONED TO REMOTE INTERVENTION DELIVERY DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. FEASIBILITY DATA FROM THESE PARTICIPANTS SUGGESTED THAT SYNCHRONIZED GROUP EXERCISE CLASSES VIA ZOOM WITH A LIVE INSTRUCTOR WERE ACCEPTABLE AND ENJOYABLE. PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK REGARDING MOST AND LEAST HELPFUL ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM AS WELL AS SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE YOGA INTERVENTIONS ARE SUMMARIZED. CONCLUSIONS: OVERALL, THE YOGA INTERVENTION WAS HIGHLY FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE. THE FEASIBILITY PARAMETERS FROM THIS TRIAL CAN AID RESEARCHERS IN ESTIMATING RECRUITMENT RATES FOR DESIRED SAMPLE SIZES TO SUCCESSFULLY RANDOMIZE AND RETAIN CANCER SURVIVORS IN SHORT- AND LONG-TERM YOGA-BASED EFFICACY AND EFFECTIVENESS TRIALS. THE FINDINGS ALSO PROVIDE EVIDENCE TO CLINICIANS WHO CAN RECOMMEND UP TO 150 MIN OF A COMBINATION OF EXERCISES-AEROBIC, YOGA, OR STRETCHING-TONING TO THEIR CANCER PATIENTS IN ORDER TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND WELLBEING DURING CANCER SURVIVORSHIP. 2021 11 2811 29 YOGA TO PREVENT MOBILITY LIMITATIONS IN OLDER ADULTS: FEASIBILITY OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: THE LOSS OF MOBILITY DURING AGING IMPACTS INDEPENDENCE AND LEADS TO FURTHER DISABILITY, MORBIDITY, AND REDUCED LIFE EXPECTANCY. OUR OBJECTIVE WAS TO EXAMINE THE FEASIBILITY AND SAFETY OF CONDUCTING A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF YOGA FOR OLDER ADULTS AT RISK FOR MOBILITY LIMITATIONS. METHODS: SEDENTARY OLDER ADULTS (N = 46; AGE 60-89) WERE RECRUITED AND RANDOMIZED TO EITHER YOGA OR A HEALTH EDUCATION COMPARISON GROUP. YOGA SESSIONS (60-MIN) OCCURRED 2X WEEKLY, AND 90-MIN HEALTH EDUCATION SESSIONS OCCURRED WEEKLY, FOR 10 WEEKS. THE PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE RECRUITMENT RATE, INTERVENTION ATTENDANCE, AND RETENTION AT ASSESSMENTS. ADVERSE EVENT RATES AND PARTICIPANT SATISFACTION WERE ALSO MEASURED. PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES OF GAIT, BALANCE, AND STRENGTH AND SELF-REPORT OUTCOME MEASURES WERE ADMINISTERED AT BASELINE AND 10-WEEKS. RESULTS: RECRUITMENT LASTED 6 MONTHS. RETENTION OF PARTICIPANTS AT THE 10-WEEK FOLLOW-UP WAS HIGH (89% - PERFORMANCE MEASURES; 98% - SELF-REPORT QUESTIONNAIRES). ATTENDANCE WAS GOOD WITH 82% OF YOGA AND 74% OF HEALTH EDUCATION PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING AT LEAST 50% OF THE SESSIONS. NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED. PATIENT SATISFACTION WITH THE INTERVENTIONS WAS HIGH. THE MEAN EFFECT SIZE FOR THE PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES WAS 0.35 WITH SOME OVER 0.50. THE MEAN EFFECT SIZE FOR SELF-REPORT OUTCOME MEASURES WAS 0.36. CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS INDICATE THAT IT IS FEASIBLE TO CONDUCT A LARGER RCT OF YOGA FOR SEDENTARY OLDER ADULTS AT RISK FOR MOBILITY PROBLEMS. THE YOGA AND COMPARISON INTERVENTIONS WERE SAFE, WELL ACCEPTED, AND WELL ATTENDED. EFFECT SIZES SUGGEST YOGA MAY HAVE IMPORTANT BENEFITS FOR THIS POPULATION AND SHOULD BE STUDIED FURTHER. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS # NCT03544879 ; RETROSPECTIVELY REGISTERED 4 JUNE, 2018. 2018 12 2639 33 YOGA FOR VETERANS WITH CHRONIC LOW-BACK PAIN. OBJECTIVES: CHRONIC BACK PAIN AFFECTS A LARGE PROPORTION OF BOTH THE GENERAL POPULATION AND OF MILITARY VETERANS. ALTHOUGH NUMEROUS THERAPIES EXIST FOR TREATING CHRONIC BACK PAIN, THEY CAN BE COSTLY AND TEND TO HAVE LIMITED EFFECTIVENESS. THUS, DEMONSTRATING THE EFFICACY AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF ADDITIONAL TREATMENT ALTERNATIVES IS IMPORTANT. THE PURPOSE OF OUR STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE BENEFITS OF A YOGA INTERVENTION FOR VETERANS ADMINISTRATION (VA) PATIENTS. SUBJECTS/INTERVENTION: VA PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC BACK PAIN WERE REFERRED BY THEIR PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS TO A YOGA PROGRAM AS PART OF CLINICAL CARE. BEFORE STARTING YOGA, A VA PHYSICIAN TRAINED IN YOGA EVALUATED EACH PATIENT TO ENSURE THAT THEY COULD PARTICIPATE SAFELY. DESIGN: THE RESEARCH STUDY CONSISTED OF COMPLETING A SHORT BATTERY OF QUESTIONNAIRES AT BASELINE AND AGAIN 10 WEEKS LATER. OUTCOME MEASURES: QUESTIONNAIRES INCLUDED MEASURES OF PAIN, DEPRESSION, ENERGY/FATIGUE, HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, AND PROGRAM SATISFACTION. PAIRED T-TESTS WERE USED TO COMPARE BASELINE SCORES TO THOSE AT THE 10-WEEK FOLLOW-UP FOR THE SINGLE GROUP, PRE-POST DESIGN. CORRELATIONS WERE USED TO EXAMINE WHETHER YOGA ATTENDANCE AND HOME PRACTICE WERE ASSOCIATED WITH BETTER OUTCOMES. RESULTS: BASELINE AND FOLLOW-UP DATA WERE AVAILABLE FOR 33 PARTICIPANTS. PARTICIPANTS WERE VA PATIENTS WITH A MEAN AGE OF 55 YEARS. THEY WERE 21% FEMALE, 70% WHITE, 52% MARRIED, 68% COLLEGE GRADUATES, AND 44% WERE RETIRED. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE FOUND FOR PAIN, DEPRESSION, ENERGY/FATIGUE, AND THE SHORT FORM-12 MENTAL HEALTH SCALE. THE NUMBER OF YOGA SESSIONS ATTENDED AND THE FREQUENCY OF HOME PRACTICE WERE ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED OUTCOMES. PARTICIPANTS APPEARED HIGHLY SATISFIED WITH THE YOGA INSTRUCTOR AND MODERATELY SATISFIED WITH THE EASE OF PARTICIPATION AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE YOGA PROGRAM. CONCLUSIONS: PRELIMINARY DATA SUGGEST THAT A YOGA INTERVENTION FOR VA PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC BACK PAIN MAY IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF VETERANS. HOWEVER, THE LIMITATIONS OF A PRE-POST STUDY DESIGN MAKE CONCLUSIONS TENTATIVE. A LARGER RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL OF THE YOGA PROGRAM IS PLANNED. 2008 13 2537 27 YOGA EXPERIENCE AS A PREDICTOR OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLNESS IN WOMEN OVER 45 YEARS. BACKGROUND: ALTHOUGH HIGH LEVELS OF SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING (SWB) ARE COMMON IN OLD AGE, A SUBSET OF OLDER INDIVIDUALS IS DISPROPORTIONATELY VULNERABLE TO NEGATIVE AFFECT. YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE MANY SHORT-TERM BENEFITS, BUT RESEARCHERS HAVE NOT DETERMINED WHETHER A LONG-TERM OR FREQUENT YOGA PRACTICE INCREASINGLY PROTECTS OLDER WOMEN FROM LOW LEVELS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING. AIMS: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE EXTENT TO WHICH PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTITUDES, TRANSCENDENCE, MENTAL MASTERY, AND SUBJECTIVE VITALITY IN A SAMPLE OF FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS OVER 45 YEARS VARIED ACCORDING TO THE LENGTH AND FREQUENCY OF YOGA PRACTICE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: WE ADMINISTERED ONLINE SURVEYS TO A NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLE OF 211 FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS 45 TO 80. WE USED WEIGHTED LEAST SQUARES REGRESSION ANALYSES TO EVALUATE THE RELATIONSHIP OF EXTENT OF YOGA EXPERIENCE TO THE OUTCOME VARIABLES AFTER ACCOUNTING FOR AGE AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS. RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS HAD PRACTICED YOGA FOR AS LONG AS 50 YEARS AND FOR UP TO 28 H PER WEEK. THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN YOGA EXPERIENCE AND ALL OUTCOME VARIABLES. THESE SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS REMAINED AFTER ACCOUNTING FOR AGE AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS. WHEN WE COMPUTED YOGA EXPERIENCE IN TERMS OF TOTAL CALENDAR YEARS, WITHOUT ACCOUNTING FOR HOURS OF PRACTICE, SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS DID NOT REMAIN. TRANSCENDENCE OF THE ORDINARY WAS THE MOST STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH CURRENT YOGA PRACTICE FREQUENCY, AND POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTITUDES WERE THE MOST STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH TOTAL LIFETIME HOURS OF PRACTICE. CONCLUSIONS: AMONG A NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLE OF FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS BETWEEN 45 AND 80 YEARS, INCREASED YOGA EXPERIENCE PREDICTED INCREASED LEVELS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING. RESULTS SHOWED A DOSE-RESPONSE EFFECT, WITH YOGA EXPERIENCE EXERCISING AN INCREASINGLY PROTECTIVE EFFECT AGAINST LOW LEVELS OF SWB AND VITALITY. 2013 14 282 27 ADHERENCE TO YOGA AND EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS IN A 6-MONTH CLINICAL TRIAL. BACKGROUND: TO DETERMINE FACTORS THAT PREDICT ADHERENCE TO A MIND-BODY INTERVENTION IN A RANDOMIZED TRIAL. DESIGN: WE ANALYZED ADHERENCE DATA FROM A 3-ARM TRIAL INVOLVING 135 GENERALLY HEALTHY SENIORS 65-85 YEARS OF AGE RANDOMIZED TO A 6-MONTH INTERVENTION CONSISTING OF: AN IYENGAR YOGA CLASS WITH HOME PRACTICE, AN EXERCISE CLASS WITH HOME PRACTICE, OR A WAIT-LIST CONTROL GROUP. OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED COGNITIVE FUNCTION, MOOD, FATIGUE, ANXIETY, HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, AND PHYSICAL MEASURES. ADHERENCE TO THE INTERVENTION WAS OBTAINED BY CLASS ATTENDANCE AND BIWEEKLY HOME PRACTICE LOGS. RESULTS: THE DROP-OUT RATE WAS 13%. AMONG THE COMPLETERS OF THE TWO ACTIVE INTERVENTIONS, AVERAGE YOGA CLASS ATTENDANCE WAS 77% AND HOME PRACTICE OCCURRED 64% OF ALL DAYS. AVERAGE EXERCISE CLASS ATTENDANCE WAS 69% AND HOME EXERCISE OCCURRED 54% OF ALL DAYS. THERE WERE NO CLEAR EFFECTS OF ADHERENCE ON THE SIGNIFICANT STUDY OUTCOMES (QUALITY OF LIFE AND PHYSICAL MEASURES). CLASS ATTENDANCE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATED WITH BASELINE MEASURES OF DEPRESSION, FATIGUE, AND PHYSICAL COMPONENTS OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN BASELINE MEASURES WERE ALSO FOUND BETWEEN STUDY COMPLETERS AND DROP-OUTS IN THE ACTIVE INTERVENTIONS. ADHERENCE WAS NOT RELATED TO AGE, GENDER, OR EDUCATION LEVEL. CONCLUSION: HEALTHY SENIORS HAVE GOOD ATTENDANCE AT CLASSES WITH A PHYSICALLY ACTIVE INTERVENTION. HOME PRACTICE TAKES PLACE OVER HALF OF THE TIME. DECREASED ADHERENCE TO A POTENTIALLY BENEFICIAL INTERVENTION HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DECREASE THE EFFECT OF THE INTERVENTION IN A CLINICAL TRIAL BECAUSE SUBJECTS WHO MIGHT SUSTAIN THE GREATEST BENEFIT WILL RECEIVE A LOWER DOSE OF THE INTERVENTION AND SUBJECTS WITH HIGHER ADHERENCE RATES MAY BE FUNCTIONING CLOSER TO MAXIMUM ABILITY BEFORE THE INTERVENTION. STRATEGIES TO MAXIMIZE ADHERENCE AMONG SUBJECTS AT GREATER RISK FOR LOW ADHERENCE WILL BE IMPORTANT FOR FUTURE TRIALS, ESPECIALLY COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENTS REQUIRING GREATER EFFORT THAN SIMPLE PILL-TAKING. 2007 15 1997 37 STRATEGIES FOR EVALUATING SELF-EFFICACY AND OBSERVED SUCCESS IN THE PRACTICE OF YOGA POSTURES FOR THERAPEUTIC INDICATIONS: METHODS FROM A YOGA INTERVENTION FOR URINARY INCONTINENCE AMONG MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER WOMEN. BACKGROUND: MOST CLINICAL INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING YOGA LACK ADEQUATE DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC YOGA ELEMENTS, INCLUDING PHYSICAL POSTURES. FEW STUDIES HAVE MEASURED SELF-EFFICACY REGARDING THE PERFORMANCE OF YOGA POSTURES OR ASSESSED OBSERVED SUCCESS IN PERFORMING POSTURES. METHODS: WE DEVELOPED AND PILOTED SEVERAL TOOLS TO EVALUATE SELF-EFFICACY AND OBSERVED SUCCESS IN PRACTICING YOGA IN THE CONTEXT OF A RANDOMIZED FEASIBILITY TRIAL OF AN IYENGAR-BASED YOGA INTERVENTION FOR URINARY INCONTINENCE IN AMBULATORY WOMEN >/=50 YEARS. AT THE END OF THE 12-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION INVOLVING TWICE WEEKLY GROUP YOGA CLASSES AND ONCE WEEKLY HOME PRACTICE, PARTICIPANTS RATED THEIR SELF-EFFICACY IN PERFORMING EACH OF THE INCLUDED 15 YOGA POSTURES ON A 5-POINT LIKERT SCALE. DURING THE 12TH WEEK, AN EXPERT YOGA CONSULTANT OBSERVED PARTICIPANTS AND RATED THEIR COMPETENCY IN PERFORMING POSTURES ON A 5-POINT SCALE. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED A QUESTIONNAIRE ABOUT SELF-EFFICACY IN ADHERING TO HOME YOGA PRACTICE. WE EXAMINED THE DISTRIBUTION OF AND CORRELATIONS BETWEEN SCORES ON THE ABOVE MEASURES. RESULTS: AMONG 27 PARTICIPANTS (MEAN AGE 65 YEARS), THE RANGE OF MEANS FOR SELF-EFFICACY RATINGS FOR INDIVIDUAL POSTURES WAS 3.6 TO 4.5. THE RANGE OF MEANS FOR OBSERVED COMPETENCY RATINGS FOR INDIVIDUAL POSTURES WAS 3.3 TO 5.0. MEAN SELF-EFFICACY RATING FOR CONFIDENCE IN ADHERING TO THE ASSIGNED ONCE-WEEKLY HOME YOGA PRACTICE WAS 2.8 (RANGE 1 TO 5). POSTURE SELF-EFFICACY WAS INVERSELY CORRELATED WITH PARTICIPANT AGE (P = 0.01) AND POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH SELF-REPORTED PHYSICAL FUNCTION (P = 0.03) AND MOBILITY (P = 0.01). NO SIGNIFICANT CORRELATIONS WERE FOUND BETWEEN POSTURE SELF-EFFICACY SCALE SCORES AND EXPERT-OBSERVED YOGA COMPETENCY RATINGS OR PRACTICE ADHERENCE SELF-EFFICACY SCORES. CONCLUSIONS: THESE MEASURES HOLD PROMISE FOR ADVANCING YOGA RESEARCH AND PRACTICE BY DESCRIBING METHODS TO: 1) MEASURE SELF-EFFICACY IN PERFORMING SPECIFIC YOGA POSTURES; 2) USE AN EXPERT OBSERVER TO ASSESS PARTICIPANTS' COMPETENCE IN PERFORMING YOGA POSTURES; AND 3) MEASURE SELF-EFFICACY IN ADHERING TO HOME PRACTICE. THESE PROPOSED MEASURES CAN BE USED TO DESCRIBE SPECIFIC COMPONENTS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS, TO ASSESS WHETHER STUDY PARTICIPANTS ARE ABLE TO LEARN TO PRACTICE PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF YOGA AND/OR MAINTAIN THIS PRACTICE OVER TIME, AS WELL AS TO INVESTIGATE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SELF-EFFICACY AND COMPETENCY IN PERFORMING YOGA POSTURES TO ACHIEVE SPECIFIC HEALTH OUTCOMES. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV, NCT02342678, JANUARY 21, 2015. 2020 16 1684 25 OPEN TRIAL OF VINYASA YOGA FOR PERSISTENTLY DEPRESSED INDIVIDUALS: EVIDENCE OF FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE ACCEPTABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF VINYASA YOGA AS AN ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSED PATIENTS WHO WERE NOT RESPONDING ADEQUATELY TO ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION. THE AUTHORS ALSO PLANNED TO ASK PARTICIPANTS FOR QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK ON THEIR EXPERIENCE OF THE CLASS AND TO ASSESS CHANGE OVER TIME IN DEPRESSION AND IN POSSIBLE MEDIATING VARIABLES. THE AUTHORS RECRUITED 11 PARTICIPANTS IN 1 MONTH FOR AN 8-WEEK OPEN TRIAL OF YOGA CLASSES. THEY FOUND THAT 10 PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENTS, 9 OF 10 WERE POSITIVE ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE, AND ALL PROVIDED FEEDBACK ABOUT WHAT WAS AND WAS NOT HELPFUL ABOUT YOGA, AS WELL AS BARRIERS TO CLASS ATTENDANCE. OVER THE 2-MONTH PERIOD, PARTICIPANTS EXHIBITED SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN AN ASPECT OF MINDFULNESS AND IN BEHAVIOR ACTIVATION. THIS PILOT STUDY PROVIDED SUPPORT FOR CONTINUING TO INVESTIGATE VINYASA YOGA AS AN ADJUNCT TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION. THE NEXT STEP REQUIRED IS A RIGOROUS RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL. 2010 17 636 20 DISTRESS TOLERANCE AS A PREDICTOR OF ADHERENCE TO A YOGA INTERVENTION: MODERATING ROLES OF BMI AND BODY IMAGE. THIS STUDY TESTED WHETHER DISTRESS TOLERANCE, BODY IMAGE, AND BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) PREDICTED ADHERENCE TO A YOGA INTERVENTION. PARTICIPANTS WERE 27 WOMEN WHO PARTICIPATED IN A YOGA INTERVENTION AS PART OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. ATTENDANCE AND DISTRESS TOLERANCE WERE ASSESSED WEEKLY, AND BODY IMAGE AND BMI WERE MEASURED AT BASELINE. MULTILEVEL MODELING REVEALED A THREE-WAY INTERACTION OF DISTRESS TOLERANCE, BMI, AND BODY IMAGE (P < .001). FOR PARTICIPANTS WITH FEW BODY IMAGE CONCERNS, DISTRESS TOLERANCE WAS POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH ADHERENCE REGARDLESS OF BMI (P = .009). HOWEVER, FOR THOSE WITH POOR BODY IMAGE, INCREASES IN DISTRESS TOLERANCE WERE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASES IN ADHERENCE AMONG OVERWEIGHT PARTICIPANTS (P < .001) BUT LOWER ADHERENCE AMONG OBESE PARTICIPANTS (P = .007). DISTRESS TOLERANCE MAY BE IMPLICATED IN ADHERENCE TO A YOGA INTERVENTION, ALTHOUGH ITS EFFECTS MAY BE DEPENDENT ON BODY IMAGE CONCERNS, BMI, AND THEIR INTERACTION. RESEARCH AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS ARE DISCUSSED. 2016 18 1902 30 RESTORATIVE YOGA IN ADULTS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED PILOT TRIAL. BACKGROUND: METABOLIC SYNDROME INCREASES THE RISK OF DIABETES AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. YOGA IMPROVES SOME METABOLIC PARAMETERS, BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN STUDIED IN PERSONS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME. WE CONDUCTED A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT TRIAL TO DETERMINE WHETHER A RESTORATIVE YOGA INTERVENTION WAS FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE IN UNDERACTIVE, OVERWEIGHT ADULTS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME. METHODS: TWENTY SIX UNDERACTIVE, OVERWEIGHT ADULT MEN AND WOMEN WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME WERE RANDOMIZED TO ATTEND 15 YOGA SESSIONS OF 90 MINUTES EACH OVER 10 WEEKS OR TO A WAIT-LIST CONTROL GROUP. FEASIBILITY WAS MEASURED BY RECRUITMENT RATES, SUBJECT RETENTION, AND ADHERENCE. ACCEPTABILITY WAS ASSESSED BY INTERVIEW AND QUESTIONNAIRES. CHANGES IN METABOLIC OUTCOMES AND QUESTIONNAIRE MEASURES FROM BASELINE TO WEEK 10 WERE CALCULATED. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 280 PEOPLE WERE SCREENED BY PHONE, AND 93 WITH HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF METABOLIC SYNDROME WERE INVITED TO A SCREENING VISIT. OF THE 68 WHO ATTENDED SCREENING VISITS, 26 (38%) WERE RANDOMIZED, AND 24 (92%) COMPLETED THE TRIAL. ATTENDANCE AT YOGA CLASSES AND ADHERENCE TO HOME PRACTICE EXCEEDED OUR GOALS. IN THE YOGA GROUP, ALL PARTICIPANTS GAVE THE STUDY THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE SATISFACTION RATING, AND THE MAJORITY (87%) FELT THAT THE YOGA POSES WERE EASY TO PERFORM. THERE WAS TREND TO REDUCED BLOOD PRESSURE (P = 0.07), A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN ENERGY LEVEL (P < 0.009), AND TRENDS TO IMPROVEMENT IN WELL-BEING (P < 0.12) AND STRESS (P < 0.22) IN THE YOGA VERSUS CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: RESTORATIVE YOGA WAS A FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE INTERVENTION IN OVERWEIGHT ADULTS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME. THE EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR IMPROVING METABOLIC PARAMETERS IN THIS POPULATION SHOULD BE EXPLORED IN A LARGER RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. 2008 19 1440 31 INCREASED HATHA YOGA EXPERIENCE PREDICTS LOWER BODY MASS INDEX AND REDUCED MEDICATION USE IN WOMEN OVER 45 YEARS. BACKGROUND: YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE MANY SHORT-TERM HEALTH BENEFITS, BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE EXTENT TO WHICH THESE BENEFITS ACCRUE OVER A LONG TIME FRAME OR WITH FREQUENT PRACTICE. AIMS: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE EXTENT TO WHICH BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) AND MEDICATION USE IN A SAMPLE OF FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS OVER 45 YEARS VARIED ACCORDING TO THE LENGTH AND FREQUENCY OF YOGA PRACTICE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: WE ADMINISTERED ONLINE SURVEYS TO 211 FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS AGED 45 TO 80 YEARS. WE USED REGRESSION ANALYSES TO EVALUATE THE RELATIONSHIP OF EXTENT OF YOGA EXPERIENCE TO BOTH BMI AND MEDICATION USE AFTER ACCOUNTING FOR AGE AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS. WE ALSO CONDUCTED COMPARISONS WITH 182 MATCHED CONTROLS. RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS HAD PRACTICED YOGA FOR AS LONG AS 50 YEARS AND FOR UP TO 28 HOURS PER WEEK. THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT INVERSE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN YOGA EXPERIENCE AND BOTH BMI AND MEDICATION LOAD. THESE SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS REMAINED AFTER ACCOUNTING FOR AGE AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS. WHEN WE COMPUTED YOGA EXPERIENCE IN TERMS OF TOTAL CALENDAR YEARS, WITHOUT ACCOUNTING FOR HOURS OF PRACTICE, SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS DID NOT REMAIN. HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO OBESITY IN THE 49 PARTICIPANTS WITH MORE THAN 25 YEARS OF YOGA PRACTICE. YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE LESS LIKELY THAN NON-PRACTITIONERS TO USE MEDICATION FOR METABOLIC SYNDROME, MOOD DISORDERS, INFLAMMATION, AND PAIN. CONCLUSIONS: A LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH LITTLE OR NO OBESITY IN A NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLE OF WOMEN OVER 45 YEARS. RELATIONSHIPS SHOWED A DOSE-RESPONSE EFFECT, WITH INCREASED YOGA EXPERIENCE PREDICTING LOWER BMI AND REDUCED MEDICATION USE. 2011 20 1466 32 INJURY IN YOGA ASANA PRACTICE: ASSESSMENT OF THE RISKS. BACKGROUND: THE RISK OF INJURY FROM MODERN YOGA ASANA PRACTICE IS POORLY CHARACTERIZED IN THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE, BUT ANECDOTAL REPORTS IN THE LAY LITERATURE AND PRESS HAVE POSED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF FREQUENT, SEVERE INJURIES. DESIGN: WE PERFORMED A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY OF YOGA ASANA PARTICIPANTS ASSESSING THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH YOGA-RELATED INJURY, USING A VOLUNTARY CONVENIENCE SAMPLE. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 2620 PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED TO OUR SURVEY. SEVENTY-NINE PERCENT WERE BETWEEN AGES 31 AND 60 AND 84% WERE FEMALE. THE MAJORITY OF RESPONDENTS LIVED IN NORTH AMERICA OR EUROPE. FORTY-FIVE PERCENT OF PARTICIPANTS REPORTED EXPERIENCING NO INJURIES DURING THE TIME THEY HAD BEEN PRACTICING YOGA. OF THOSE WHO DID EXPERIENCE AN INJURY FROM ASANA PRACTICE, 28% WERE MILD (E.G., SPRAINS OR NONSPECIFIC PAINS NOT REQUIRING A MEDICAL PROCEDURE, WITH SYMPTOMS LASTING LESS THAN 6 MONTHS) AND 63% WERE MODERATE (E.G., SPRAINS OR NONSPECIFIC PAINS NOT REQUIRING A MEDICAL PROCEDURE, WITH SYMPTOMS LASTING FROM 6 MONTHS TO 1 YEAR). ONLY 9% OF THOSE REPORTING INJURIES (4% OF THE TOTAL SAMPLE) HAD A SEVERE INJURY. THE STRONGEST PREDICTORS FOR INCREASED PROBABILITY OF REPORTING AN INJURY OVER A LIFETIME OF YOGA PRACTICE WERE GREATER NUMBER OF YEARS OF PRACTICE (P<.0001) AND TEACHING YOGA (P=.0177). OTHER ASPECTS OF PARTICIPANT DEMOGRAPHICS OR YOGA PRACTICE HABITS WERE NOT RELATED TO LIKELIHOOD OF REPORTING A YOGA-RELATED INJURY. CONCLUSIONS: WE FOUND THE NUMBER OF INJURIES REPORTED BY YOGA PARTICIPANTS PER YEARS OF PRACTICE EXPOSURE TO BE LOW AND THE OCCURRENCE OF SERIOUS INJURIES IN YOGA TO BE INFREQUENT COMPARED TO OTHER PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES, SUGGESTING THAT YOGA IS NOT A HIGH-RISK PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. MORE WORK IS NEEDED TO CLARIFY THE CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE YOGA PARTICIPANT CHARACTERISTICS, THE ASANA PRACTICE STYLE, AND THE RISK OF SIGNIFICANT INJURY. 2019