BACKGROUND The diagnosis and treatment of cancer poses severe psychologic distress that impacts functional quality of life. While cancer directed treatments are directed purely against tumor killing, interventions that reduce treatment related distress and improve quality of life are the need of the hour. Yoga is one such mind body intervention that is gaining popularity among cancer patients. ...

The use of yoga as an effective cardiac rehabilitation in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to examine the effects of yoga on exercise capacity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with CHF. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Excerpta Medica database, LILACS, Physiotherapy Ev...

background: migraine is a neurovascular disorder and any interventions improving endothelial function may contribute to its treatment and prevention of vascular complications like ischemic stroke. yoga has been shown to have several beneficial effects on cardiovascular systems. however, no randomized controlled studies to date have investigated its effects on endothelial function of migraineurs...

The Yoga Empowers Seniors Study (YESS) was an intervention development study (IDS) that used biomechanical investigation (high-speed cameras, force platforms, and musculoskeletal modeling) to quantify the physical demands of yoga performance by older adults. Secondarily, the YESS used physical-performance testing, muscle-performance testing , and flexibility and balance assessments to quantify ...

The psychological changes associated with yoga practice, allow yoga to be used in therapy and rehabilitation. In the present overview only the psychological aspects of rehabilitation have discussed. Applications have been reported in children with attention deficit hyperactive disorder as an add-on therapy, particularly towards evening when the effects of medication reduce. Another recent appli...

Lifestyle modification is a cornerstone of hypertension (HPT) treatment, yet most recommendations currently focus on diet and exercise and do not consider stress reduction strategies. Yoga is a spiritual path that may reduce blood pressure (BP) through reducing stress, increasing parasympathetic activation, and altering baroreceptor sensitivity; however, despite reviews on yoga and cardiovascul...

OBJECTIVES To explore perceived benefits, barriers, and cues to action of yoga practice among adults. METHODS Focus groups were conducted with persons who had never practiced yoga, practitioners of one year or less, and practitioners for more than one year. The Health Belief Model was the theoretical foundation of inquiry. RESULTS All participants acknowledged a variety of benefits of yoga....

The term yoga-nidra has been used in many empirical studies to refer to relaxation and guided imagery. These techniques do not represent the intention or physiological correlates of yoganidra discussed in the traditional yoga literature. We propose an operational definition of yoga-nidra that is supported by several physiologically testable hypotheses regarding its outcomes and effects. Traditi...

BACKGROUND Yoga is a mind-body exercise practiced by nearly 16 million US adults. Clinical yoga research has yielded promising findings in physical and mental health outcomes. However, research in non-patient populations is limited. The purpose of this study is to survey a non-clinical population to better understand yoga use in a real-world setting. METHODS This study used a pre-post test de...

Background/Purpose: Obesity and secondary conditions continue to disproportionally affect the health of children living in urban areas. Studies show that a lack of resources and physical activity-unfriendly communities discourage 60 minutes of daily activity, including strengthening exercises, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Using Social Ecological theory, the ...