Yoga Course Research Articles

A Mindfulness Curriculum: High School Students’ Experiences of Yoga in a Nova Scotia School

This article reports on results from a narrative inquiry into the experiences of four students who completed an elective yoga course as part of their high school program in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand the participants' stories of their yoga experiences. Overall, students were able to express and give examples of how yoga made them feel stronger, happier, kinder, and more self-confident. We suggest that Yoga 11 is a mindfulness curriculum, inherently. This research might be of particular interest to others similarly engaged in research related to mental health and mindfulness in education.

Resurgent Yoga: ‘Yoke’ that Unites Nations

Yoga has moved from recreation to therapy now [1]. There are now graduate and postgraduate level courses in India about the same. There are teacher training academies in the world now. In the USA, yoga courses are being done for diseases and medicinal purposes as well. Cultures that have traditionally promoted their own physical activities like China too have opened colleges of Yoga. There are universities based courses/classes offered in major universities of many developed nations like USA, UK, Australia, Newlands, Canada, Japan and Korea etc.

A self-directed home yoga programme for women with breast cancer during chemotherapy: A feasibility study.

Recent studies suggest yoga as a promising approach for improving the cognitive function of cancer survivors. We studied whether a self‐directed home yoga programme was feasible for patients with breast cancer who were undergoing chemotherapy. Participants' preferences for the type of yoga course and the clinical effects of the programme were also assessed.In this study, 18 women (mean age, 43.9 years) were enrolled (44.7% recruitment rate). Of the participants, 63.6% had stage II cancer and 71.4% received adjuvant chemotherapy. Favourable retention (86%), adherence (94.4%) and acceptability (96.5%) rates were determined. Most (94.4%) of the women practiced the home programme more than twice a week on average. The participants preferred to gradually increase the intensity of the exercises.We only observed improvements in the cognitive aspects of fatigue. No serious adverse events were encountered during the programme. This self‐directed home yoga programme was safe and feasible for patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

Preliminary Evidence That Yoga Practice Progressively Improves Mood and Decreases Stress in a Sample of UK Prisoners.

Objectives. In the first randomized controlled trial of yoga on UK prisoners, we previously showed that yoga practice was associated with improved mental wellbeing and cognition. Here, we aimed to assess how class attendance, self-practice, and demographic factors were related to outcome amongst prisoners enrolled in the 10-week yoga intervention. Methods. The data of 55 participants (52 male, 3 female) who completed a 10-week yoga course were analysed. Changes in pre- and postyoga measures of affect, perceived stress, and psychological symptoms were entered into linear regression analyses with bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap confidence intervals. Class attendance, self-practice, demographic variables, and baseline psychometric variables were included as regressors. Results. Participants who attended more yoga classes and those who engaged in frequent (5 times or more) self-practice reported significantly greater decreases in perceived stress. Decreases in negative affect were also significantly related to high frequency self-practice and greater class attendance at a near-significant level. Age was positively correlated with yoga class attendance, and higher levels of education were associated with greater decreases in negative affect. Conclusions. Our results suggest that there may be progressive beneficial effects of yoga within prison populations and point to subpopulations who may benefit the most from this practice.

Yoga as an alternative intervention for promoting a healthy lifestyle among college students.

Substance use and abuse continues to plague U.S. college campuses. The literature is replete with information from various disciplines on how to identify and intervene in this public health dilemma impacting college students. Identifications, treatments, and interventions are often based on Western medicine, but there is a growing movement and evidence supporting the effectiveness, value, and usefulness of Eastern therapies to combat this problem. Yoga is one Eastern intervention that has proven beneficial for promoting quality of life and wellness relationship to several acute and chronic illnesses. As a result of advocating for the inclusion of yoga in traditional college settings, two college campuses in Central Illinois introduced yoga courses for students, faculty, and staff. The courses are reviewed, and the positive results reported by students are shared. The information and evidence of yoga's benefits collected in this study warrant consideration by college campuses to initiate this practice enhancing primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention in their populations.

Implicit measure for yoga research: Yoga implicit association test.

Context:The implicit association test (IAT), a new tool for yoga research is presented. Implicit measures could be used in those situations where (1) The construct is difficult to self-report, (2) there is a threat of social desirability. Clinically, we can assess cognitive dissonance by evaluating incongruence between implicit and explicit measures. Explicit preferences are self-reported. Implicit preferences are what we inherently believe, often without our conscious awareness.Aims:The primary objective of this study is to provide a bird's eye view of the field, implicit cognition, with emphasis on the IAT and the secondary objective is to illustrate through an example of our study to develop an implicit tool to assess implicit preference toward yoga.Settings and Design:A total of 5 independent samples of total 69 students undergoing short and long-term yoga courses in a Yoga University were assessed for their implicit and explicit preferences towards yoga.Materials and Methods:The yoga-IAT (Y-IAT), explicit self-rating scale was administered through computers using the Inquisit program by Millisecond Software. Experimental and scoring materials are provided.Results:A moderate preference toward yoga was detected, with a lower implicit-explicit congruence, reflecting possible confound of social desirability in the self-report of preference toward yoga.Conclusions:Implicit measures may be used in the yoga field to assess constructs, which are difficult to self-report or may have social desirability threat. Y-IAT may be used to evaluate implicit preference toward yoga.

Beliefs of yoga practitioners about yoga as a science

Context: The ancient Indian science of yoga is both an experiential science as well as a set of practices which are very suitable to be evaluated using conventional research methods. Despite the rapidly growing scientific literature on the effects of yoga and its applications, there has been no survey carried out to determine whether yoga practitioners are themselves aware of this research. Aims: The current study aimed at conducting a survey to document the beliefs about yoga as a science among its practitioners. Methods: The current survey was conducted chiefly on graduate students of Mumbai University as well as some of the staff. The study surveyed 972 respondents (with an average age of 26 years and a male-female ratio of 54.8:45.2), out of which 54.7 percent practiced yoga. Results: Among the yoga practitioners, 66.1 percent were aware of scientific research on yoga and 57.6 percent associated yoga with scientific research. Interestingly, 60.4 percent of yoga users were keen to have online yoga courses. Among those who did not practice yoga (45.3 percent), 45.0 percent had no intention of starting to practice yoga. Conclusion: The current survey, which is the first documentation of its type in India, showed interesting trends in beliefs about yoga as a scientific discipline among a predominantly young, educated, and urban Indian sample.

Participation in a 10-week course of yoga improves behavioural control and decreases psychological distress in a prison population

BackgroundYoga and meditation have been shown to be effective in alleviating symptoms of depression and anxiety in healthy volunteers and psychiatric populations. Recent work has also indicated that yoga can improve cognitive-behavioural performance and control. Although there have been no controlled studies of the effects of yoga in a prison population, we reasoned that yoga could have beneficial effects in a setting where psychosocial functioning is often low, and the frequency of impulsive behaviours is high. MethodsParticipants were recruited from 7 British prisons and randomly allocated to either a 10-week yoga programme (yoga group; 1 class per week; N = 45) or a control group (N = 55). Self-report measures of mood, stress, and psychological distress were collected before and after the intervention period. Participants completed a cognitive-behavioural task (Go/No-Go) at the end of the study, which assessed behavioural response inhibition and sustained attention. ResultsParticipants in the yoga group showed increased self-reported positive affect, and reduced stress and psychological distress, compared to participants in the control group. Participants who completed the yoga course also showed better performance in the cognitive-behavioural task, making significantly fewer errors of omission in Go trials and fewer errors of commission on No-Go trials, compared to control participants. ConclusionsYoga may be effective in improving subjective wellbeing, mental health, and executive functioning within prison populations. This is an important consideration given the consistently high rates of psychological morbidity in this group and the need for effective and economical intervention programmes.

Randomized-controlled Trial Comparing Yoga and Home-based Exercise for Chronic Neck Pain

Chronic neck pain is a significant public health problem with only very few evidence-based treatment options. There is growing evidence for the effectiveness of yoga for relieving musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Iyengar yoga compared with exercise on chronic nonspecific neck pain. Patients were randomly assigned to either yoga or exercise. The yoga group attended a 9-week yoga course and the exercise group received a self-care manual on home-based exercises for neck pain relief. The main outcome measure was the present neck pain intensity (100 mm visual analog scale). Secondary outcome measures included functional disability (Neck Disability Index), pain at motion (visual analog scale), health-related quality of life (Short Form-36 questionnaire), cervical range of motion, proprioceptive acuity, and pressure pain threshold. Fifty-one patients (mean age 47.8 y ; 82.4% female) were randomized to yoga (n=25) and exercise (n=26) intervention. After the study period, patients in the yoga group reported significantly less neck pain intensity compared with the exercise group [mean difference: -13.9 mm (95% CI, -26.4 to -1.4), P=0.03]. The yoga group reported less disability and better mental quality of life. Range of motion and proprioceptive acuity were improved and the pressure pain threshold was elevated in the yoga group. Yoga was more effective in relieving chronic nonspecific neck pain than a home-based exercise program. Yoga reduced neck pain intensity and disability and improved health-related quality of life. Moreover, yoga seems to influence the functional status of neck muscles, as indicated by improvement of physiological measures of neck pain.

Effects of Hatha Yoga on Stress in Middle-Aged Women

Stress is considered a crucial trigger for physical and mental illness. Stress reduction is a known long-term benefit of regular Hatha yoga practice. The efficacy of a single-session Hatha yoga class on stress reduction is not currently known. This study investigated the comparative effectiveness of a single 90-minute Hatha yoga class and an 8-week, 90-minute-class-per-week course. We used a quasiexperimental design and recruited 63 female community residents in New Taipei City aged 40-60 years. Participants were randomly divided into an experimental group (n = 30) and a control group (n = 33). The experimental group received the 8-week Hatha yoga course. The control group received no intervention. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and heart rate variability (HRV) assessed stress reduction effectiveness. Chi-square, independent t test, paired t test, and generalized estimating equations were used for data analysis. After a single 90-minute class of Hatha yoga, experimental group PSS scores were significantly less than those of the control group (p = .001). Although experimental group HRV (low-frequency norm and high-frequency norm) had improved, these changes were not statistically significant (p = .059). PSS scores for the single 90-minute class and 8-week course did not significantly differ (p = .157) and HRV of statistics is significant (p = .005). Generalized estimating equations analyzed changes in the effectiveness over time of stress reduction (HRV and PSS) after the Hatha yoga intervention. Results showed the postintervention HRV and PSS of the experimental group decreased significantly (p < .001) more than the control group. Our findings support the position that regular, long-term practice of Hatha yoga provides clear and significant health benefits. Participation in a single 90-minute Hatha yoga class can significantly reduce perceived stress. Doing Hatha yoga regularly can reduce perceived stress even more significantly.

A multicomponent yoga-based, breath intervention program as an adjunctive treatment in patients suffering from generalized anxiety disorder with or without comorbidities

Objectives:The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) course in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) outpatients, who after eight weeks of an appropriate dose of traditional therapy had not yet achieved remission.Subjects:The adult participants (18-65 years) were outpatients with a primary diagnosis of GAD with or without comorbidities on the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Participants had a minimum of eight weeks standard treatment with an appropriate dose of a standard prescription anxiolytic, a clinician global impression-severity (CGI-S) score of 5-7, a Hamilton anxiety scale (HAM-A) total score ≥20 including a score of >2 on the anxious mood and tension items.Materials and Methods:Forty-one patients were enrolled in an open-label trial of the SKY course as an adjunct to standard treatment of GAD at the START Clinic for Mood and Anxiety Disorders, a tertiary care mood and anxiety disorder clinic in Toronto. The SKY course was administered over five days (22 h total). Subjects were encouraged to practice the yoga breathing techniques at home for 20 min per day after the course and were offered group practice sessions for 2 h once a week led by certified yoga instructors. The primary outcome measure was the mean change from pre-treatment on the HAM-A scale. Psychological measures were obtained at baseline and four weeks after completing the intervention.Results:Thirty-one patients completed the program (mean age 42.6 ± 13.3 years). Among completers, significant reductions occurred in the pre- and post-intervention mean HAM-A total score (t=4.59; P<0.01) and psychic subscale (t=5.00; P≤0.01). The response rate was 73% and the remission rate 41% as measured on the HAM-A.Conclusion:The results of this small pilot trial suggest that the SKY course represents a potentially valuable adjunct to standard pharmacotherapy in patients with GAD or treatment-resistant GAD, and warrants further investigation. In particular, changes in worry and body symptoms showed significant improvements that may further our understanding of the mechanism of change in the tolerance of anxiety and worry.

Study on the Effects of Yoga on Female College Students’ Physical and Mental Health

Using such methods as questionnaire survey and experimental study, a study has been made on the effects of yoga on female college students’ body shape, the quality of physical function, mental health and so on. Methods: The study sampled 25 2009 female students in Handan College who have selected the yoga course. These students will do yoga practice for 6 months. The body shape, body function and mental health will be tested before and after the exercise. The results show that: such four indicators as body weight, waist circumference, thigh circumference and upper arm circumference; such 6 indicators as vital capacity, heart rate, VO2, sit-ups, step test, and Sit and Reach and such indicators as mental health self-assessment questionnaire (SCL--90), self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), and self-rating depression scale (SDS) have been improved significantly compared to those before practice. Conclusion: Through yoga practice, female college students can improve their physical health, balance physical and mental condition, and relieve stress, enhancing the quality of physical function and mental health.

Effect of integral yoga on psychological and health variables and their correlations

Objective:Certain psychological and health variables are commonly measured in India. This study evaluates the effects of integral yoga practices on these variables and also the consistency of correlations observed between them.Materials and Methods:The study was a pre-post intervention study. The variables were measured at the beginning and the end of a one-month yoga course. There was no control group.The study was carried out at Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA) University, in its rural campus south of Bangalore. Based on health criteria, 108 subjects were selected out of 198 volunteers to form the experimental yoga group. Ages ranged from 17 to 63 years. The yogasanas (postures), pranayama (breathing exercises), relaxation techniques, meditation, chanting and lectures were the components of yoga intervention. The variables measured were sustained attention, emotional intelligence – EQ, general health – GHQ, guna personality – sattva, rajas and tamas.Results:Significant pre-post changes were found in all variables. Significant correlations were found between the following pairs: The two sustained attention variables; emotional intelligence and general health; GHQ and tamas; sattva and tamas; and rajas and tamas.Conclusion:The study shows that there were significant changes in all variables (P< 0.001) except in sattva. It also confirms that EQ and general health variables correlate significantly with each other and negatively with tamas. EQ and tamas form positive and negative predictors of health respectively. Sattva correlates positively with EQ suggesting that a sattvic personality indicates better self-control. This suggests that, by improving guna personality, long-term yoga practice may stabilize EQ.

Physiological Effects of Power Fitness Yoga Course in Community University

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.&#x0D; The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the power fitness yoga course of Community University intervention on basic physiological parameters, anthropometric parameters as well as muscular and cardiopulmonary fitness. Fifteen females were participated this study. Subjects took a 90-minutes power fitness yoga course once a week for 12 weeks. The resting heart rate, blood pressure, body weight, body fat percentage, waist-to-hip ratio, body mass index, back strength, sit-up test as well as 3-minutes step test of subjects were tested before and after the course. Paired t-tests were used to compare the variables. The results showed that after 12 weeks of power fitness yoga course, the resting heart rate, diastolic pressure, body fat percentage and waist-to-hip ratio had significant decreased. The cardiopulmonary index of 3-minutes step test was significantly increased. There were no differences on the other variables (p&gt;.05). The results indicate that 12-week power fitness yoga course in Community University can improve the resting heart rate, diastolic pressure, waist- to-hip ratio and body fat percentage as well as promote cardiovascular fitness.&#x0D; 本研究旨在探討社區大學之強力適能瑜珈課程對基礎生理值、體位值、肌肉及心肺適能等生理值的影響。研究以15名女性學員為對象，進行為期12週的研究，研究期間受試者在老師的指導下每週從事一次90分鐘的強力適能瑜珈運動。在實驗前、後均測量受試者之安靜心跳率、血壓、體重、體脂率、腰臀比、身體質量指數、背肌力、1分鐘屈膝仰臥起坐及體力指數，並以相依樣本t考驗比較前、後測各項數值之差異。結果顯示：經過12週的課程後，受試者之安靜心跳率、舒張壓、體脂率與腰臀比均顯著下降，且體力指數有顯著之提升，其他數值則無差異。本研究結果證實社區大學所開設之強力適能瑜珈課程能有效降低安靜心跳率、舒張壓、腰臀比與體脂率，並提升心肺適能。

Effect of yoga on depression and anxiety of women referred to yoga clinic

Background and Aims:Yoga has been considered a stress decreasing method in treatment of depression and anxiety disorders whose prevalence is unfortunately increasing gradually.The goal of this study is to evaluate the influence of yoga on depression and anxiety in women referred to yoga clinic.Methods:This is a clinical trial study on all persons who were referred to a yoga clinic for women, from July 2006 to July 2007. All new cases were evaluated on admission using a personal information questionnaire, Beck and Speilberger tests, and then divided into two groups of case and control randomly. The case group (n=34) participated in two weekly yoga classes of 90 min duration for two months. The control group (n=31) were assigned to a waiting list. Both groups were evaluated again after two months.Results:The average prevalence of depression in the case group before and after yoga course was 12.82 ±7.9 and 10.79 ±6.04 respectively, a statistically insignificant decrease (p=0.13).However, compared with the control group, the women who participated in yoga classes showed a significant decrease in state anxiety (p=0.03)and trait anxiety (p<0.001).Conclusions:Participation in a two month yoga class is very likely to lead to significant improvement in anxiety of women who suffer from anxiety disorders.This study suggests that yoga can be considered as a complementary therapy or an alternative method for medical therapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders.

Mood Changes Associated with Iyengar Yoga Practices: A Pilot Study

The main objectives of this study were 1) to examine changes in self-reported moods and emotional states from before to after Iyengar Yoga classes and how they are affected by the practice of different types of Yoga poses and (2) to determine whether observed changes in mood depend on one's personality traits. The participants were 11 healthy Yoga students in a nine-session Yoga course in which three different types of Yoga poses were compared: back bends, forward bends, and standing poses. Each 90-minute class focused on one of the three types of poses with three repetitions of each type of class. Self-ratings of 15 moods dealing with positive,negative, and energy-related emotional states were obtained before and after each class. Personality traits of depression, anxiety, and hostility were assessed at an initial orientation. Independently of the specific pose,positive moods increased, negative moods decreased,and energy-related moods increased from before to after classes with most changes lasting for two hours. Specific poses resulted in differences in how moods were affected,with back bends associated with greater increases in positive moods. Some mood changes were dependent on one's characteristic personality traits. The positive mood effects of back bends were greater for participants who were relatively hostile or depressed. The specific and nonspecific effects of different bodily postures and movements on psychological processes in Yoga and other forms of physical activity deserve further study. Yoga practices should be investigated for their potential clinical application in mood disorders and depression.

Some relations between respiratory and heart rate observed during yoga course

34 hypertensive patients were assigned at random either to six weeks' treatment by yoga relaxation methods with bio-feedback or to placebo therapy (general relaxation). Both groups showed a reduction in blood-pressure (from 168/100 to 141/84 mm. Hg in the treated group and from 169/101 to 160/96 mm. Hg in the control group). The difference was highly significant. The control group was then trained in yoga relaxation, and their blood-pressure fell to that of the other group (now used as controls).

Systematic Changes in Perceptual Reactance Induced by Physical Fitness Training

The effect of life-change events on perceptual augmentation-reduction was studied in 72 subjects (40 men, 32 women). In three experiments the kinesthetic figural aftereffect was measured prior to and after either a physical fitness program, a course in yoga, or training in Transcendental Meditation. Each program lasted a minimum of 8 wk. Subjects completing fitness training, all of whom were initially classified as augmenters, became reducers by the end of their program. Subjects enrolled in yoga and meditation courses remained relatively stable in their perceptual tendencies.