BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that the practice of yoga reduces perceived stress and negative feelings and that it improves psychological symptoms. Our previous study also suggested that long-term yoga training improves stress-related psychological symptoms such as anxiety and anger. However, little is known about the beneficial effects of yoga practice on somatization, the most common...

We examined motives for adopting and maintaining yoga practice in a national survey of yoga practitioners (360 yoga students, 156 yoga teachers). Both students and teachers adopted yoga practice primarily for exercise and stress relief, but reported many other reasons, including flexibility, getting into shape, and depression/anxiety relief. Over 62 percent of students and 85 percent of teacher...

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...