Social, psychological, and physiological studies have provided evidence indicating that laughter imposes an increased demand on trunk muscles. It was the aim of this study to quantify the activation of trunk muscles during laughter yoga in comparison with crunch and back lifting exercises regarding the mean trunk muscle activity. Muscular activity during laughter yoga exercises was measured by ...

Yoga, in addition to various other exercises, is increasing in popularity. The Yoga in America study (2012) reported yoga was practiced by 15.8 million Americans. Because so many people are participating in yoga, it’s important to understand the literature when it comes to its effectiveness and safety. Let’s examine some of this research so you can appreciate the health benefits of this increas...

conclusions these results suggest that treadmill training and yoga practice improved ambulatory function, fatigue and mood status in the individuals with mild to moderate ms. patients and methods thirty-one ms patients, all female with mean of age of 36.75 years and expanded disability status scale scores (edss) of 1.0 to 4.0 were recruited. subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three g...

Yoga may be effective in the reduction of PTSD symptomology. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a Kundalini Yoga (KY) treatment on PTSD symptoms and overall wellbeing. To supplement the current field of inquiry, a pilot randomized control trial (RCT) was conducted comparing an 8-session KY intervention with a waitlist control group. 80 individuals with current PTSD symptoms...

BACKGROUND Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years to improve physical and emotional well-being. Empirical research on yoga has been ongoing for several decades, including several recent studies conducted with cancer patients and survivors. METHODS This review provides a general introduction to yoga and a detailed review of yoga research in cancer. RESULTS Nine studies conducted with...

140 men (M age = 30.3 yr., SD = 5.7) from the Indian army in north India participated in the study. They were naive to yoga and were assigned to yoga and breath awareness groups randomly, with 70 in each group. 20 healthy males of comparable age (M age = 33.7 yr., SD = 7.0) formed a comparison group. Their performance in a digit-letter substitution task and a state anxiety subscale was assessed...

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 benefit...

Physical inactivity is an important risk factor for cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Exercise is considered an acceptable method for improving and maintaining physical and emotional health. Although yoga is historically a spiritual discipline, a growing body of evidence supports the belief that yoga benefits physical and mental health. The objective of this study was to evaluate heart ra...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to determine the feasibility of a relaxation-based yoga intervention for rheumatoid arthritis, designed and reported in accordance with Delphi recommendations for yoga interventions for musculoskeletal conditions. METHODS Participants were recruited from a hospital database, and randomized to either eight weekly 75-min yoga classes or a usual care co...

BACKGROUND/AIMS To assess the body, mind and spirit differences between yoga students compared with college students. MATERIALS AND METHODS Mind, body and spirit survey instruments administered to the two groups. RESULTS Five indicators to measure mental wellness were significantly different between yoga practitioners and college students. On three of these five measures, college students r...