This pilot study evaluated the impact of Bikram Yoga on subjective and objective sleep parameters. We compared subjective (diary) and objective (headband sleep monitor) sleep measures on yoga versus nonyoga days during a 14-day period. Subjects (n = 13) were not constrained regarding yoga-practice days, other exercise, caffeine, alcohol, or naps. These activities did not segregate by choice of ...

Yoga is an effective complementary approach to health maintenance and promotion for older adults and has been demonstrated to support many dimensions of psychological wellbeing, from everyday stress to anxiety, depression, and coping with health challenges. Yoga has the potential to be even more effective when consciously and systematically integrated into an individual's overall self-care and ...

Background. Yoga shows promise as a therapeutic intervention, but relationships between yoga practice and health are underexplored. Purpose. To examine the relationship between yoga practice and health (subjective well-being, diet, BMI, smoking, alcohol/caffeine consumption, sleep, fatigue, social support, mindfulness, and physical activity). Methods. Cross-sectional, anonymous internet surveys...

There is increasing interest in the use of yoga as way to manage or treat depression and anxiety. Yoga is afford- able, appealing, and accessible for many people, and there are plausible cognitive/affective and biologic mechanisms by which yoga could have a positive impact on depression and anxiety. There is indeed preliminary evidence that yoga may be helpful for these problems, and there are ...

Objective: Pregnancy serves as an opportune time for “teachable moments”; a time where women have an increased perception on personal risk prompting a strong emotional response leading to behavioral change. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in exercise perception, behavior and gestational weight gain in those who engaged in a one-hour yoga or educational experience. Methods:...

BACKGROUND Yoga is increasingly popular, though little data regarding its implementation in healthcare settings is available. Similarly, telehealth is being utilized more frequently to increase access to healthcare; however we know of no research on the acceptability or effectiveness of yoga delivered through telehealth. Therefore, we evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and patient-report...

OBJECTIVE To conduct an evidence-based review of yoga as an intervention for patients with cancer. Specifically, this paper reviewed the impact of yoga on psychological adjustment among cancer patients. METHODS A systematic literature search was conducted between May 2007 and April 2008. Data from each identified study were extracted by two independent raters; studies were included if they as...

field of yoga therapy is growing at a phenomenal rate. An estimated 1,000 yoga therapy studies have been published since 2000. This represents a nearly fivefold increase since the previous decade. The benefits of yoga as therapy are no secret to the millions of yoga practitioners in the East who have e mbr a c ed its ri ch tr a d iti ons for thousands of years, yet in the West yoga therapy rema...

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 ide...

OBJECTIVE This study aims to determine the efficacy of yoga in alleviating vasomotor symptoms (VMS) frequency and bother. METHODS This study was a three-by-two factorial, randomized controlled trial. Eligible women were randomized to yoga (n = 107), exercise (n = 106), or usual activity (n = 142), and were simultaneously randomized to a double-blind comparison of ω-3 fatty acid (n = 177) or p...