scholarly journals Health and functional benefits of yoga practice in times of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Olga Ilona Smoleńska ◽  
Marta Pilarska
Keyword(s):  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2104
Author(s):  
Francesca Latino ◽  
Stefania Cataldi ◽  
Francesco Fischetti

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to investigate the efficacy of an 8-week yoga-based physical exercise program to improve mental and emotional well-being and consequently reduce burnout among teachers. We considered yoga because it is a discipline that enhances body awareness and encourages the contact with nature and the respect for every form of life, with a view to a more sustainable and greener global system. We recruited 40 professional educators (40–47 years), teachers in a public high school who reported perceiving signs of stress and emotional discomfort. We randomly assigned the 40 professional educators to either an experimental yoga practice (~60 min, twice a week) group (n = 20) or a control group (n = 20) that received a nonspecific training program (~60 min, twice a week). At baseline and after training we administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory: Educators Survey (MBI-ES) and the State Mindfulness Scale (SMS) to assess teachers’ perceived level of awareness and professional burnout. We found a significant Time × Group interaction for the MBI-ES and SMS, reflecting a meaningful experimental group improvement (p < 0.001). No significant pre–post changes were found in the control group. The results suggest that an 8-week yoga practice could aid teachers to achieve a greater body and emotional awareness and prevent professional burnout.


2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 772-800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farah Godrej

Can the theory and practice of the yogic tradition serve as a challenge to dominant cultural and political norms in the Western world? In this essay I demonstrate that modern yoga is a creature of fabrication, while arguing that yogic norms can simultaneously reinforce and challenge the norms of contemporary Western neoliberal societies. In its current and most common iteration in the West, yoga practice does stand in danger of reinforcing neoliberal constructions of selfhood. However, yoga does contain ample resources for challenging neoliberal subjectivity, but this requires reading the yogic tradition in a particular way, to emphasize certain philosophical elements over others, while directing its practice toward an inward-oriented detachment from material outcomes and desires. Contemporary claims about yoga’s counterhegemonic status often rely on exaggerated notions of its former “purity” and “authenticity,” which belie its invented and retrospectively reconstructed nature. Rather than engaging in these debates about authenticity, scholars and practitioners may productively turn their energies toward enacting a resistant, anti-neoliberal practice of yoga, while remaining self-conscious about the particularity and partiality of the interpretive position on which such a practice is founded.


2016 ◽  
Vol 121 ◽  
pp. 109-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neha P. Gothe ◽  
Rahul K. Keswani ◽  
Edward McAuley

Author(s):  
Satyajit Mohanty ◽  
Jyotiranjan Sahoo ◽  
Sandeep Kumar Panigrahi ◽  
Venkatarao Epari ◽  
Sandul Yasobant ◽  
...  

Abstract The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and predictors of yoga practice. This cross-sectional study was conducted as a part of a larger study that included yoga as a form of physical activity. Data were collected during April and August 2019 from the adult urban population of Bhubaneswar, India. This study was conducted using a cluster random sampling method. A representative sample (n = 1,203) of adults aged 18–59 years, irrespective of gender, was interviewed using a questionnaire adapted from the 2012 U.S. National Health Interview Survey, with the Epicollect5 handheld data-collection tool. Predictors of yoga practice were explored using multivariable logistic regression. The mean age of the participants was 35.19 ± 10.67 years, with 55.3% males. The majority were Hindu (93.62%) and belonged to the unre s e rved category (65.60%), people generally of higher relative socioeconomic status. The lifetime prevalence of yoga was 16.9%. Prevalence of any form of yoga (yoga, pranayama, or meditation), all forms of yoga (yoga, pranayama, and meditation), pranayama, and meditation was 17.0%, 10.7%, 14.3%, and 11.4%, respectively. After adjusting for confounders, female gender, Hindu religion, minimum of higher-secondary or graduate-level education, and having received advice from professionals for yoga practice had significantly higher odds of practicing yoga, and those of higher socioeconomic status had significantly lower odds of practicing yoga. We found a low prevalence of yoga. Sociodemographic characteristics like gender, religion, education, socioeconomic status, and other factors like learning yoga from professionals may be important predictors of continued yoga practice.


Circulation ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 133 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Satish G Patil

Introduction: Hypertension is a major cause of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality in elderly population. Hypertension along with aging leads to left ventricular hypertrophy, systolic and diastolic dysfunction and congestive heart failure. We aimed to determine the effect of yoga program on cardiovascular indices in elderly with stage-I hypertension. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that yoga lifestyle modality may induce significant beneficial changes in cardiovascular function in elderly individuals with hypertension. Yoga program may be more beneficial than walking for cardiovascular health in elderly. Methods: A parallel arm, open label, single blind, randomized controlled study was conducted on elderly people with stage-I hypertension aged above 60 years (n=44). Yoga group (n=24) was assigned for yoga practice (includes asanas, pranayama and meditation) and control group (n=20) for brisk-walk for one hour in the morning for 6 days in a week for three months. The outcome measures were cardiovascular indices derived from pulse wave analysis such as left ventricular ejection time (ET), diastolic time (DT) pulse duration (PD), percentage of mean arterial pressure (%MAP), upstroke time (UT), ejection slope (ES), ejection duration index (ED%), pre-ejection period (PEP), and heart rate. Results: The mean within-yoga group change in PD(ms) was -50.29 (CI=-98.5, -2.07; p=0.042), DT(ms): -49.04 (CI=-88.47, -9.61; p=0.017), ED%: 2.107 (CI=0.92, 3.28; p=0.001), HR(bpm): 4.41 (CI=0.43, 8.4; p=0.031), %MAP: 2.08 (CI=0.71, 3.44; p=0.04), ES (mmHg/ms): 14.62 (CI=-3.99, 33.24; p=0.118), ET (ms): -0.66 (CI=11.89, 10.55; p=0.903), UT(ms): -2.54 (CI=14.95, 9.87; p=0.676), PEP (ms): -1.25 (CI=-4.17, 1.67; p=0.11). The mean within-control group change in PD(ms) was 11.15 (CI=-52.26, 74.56; p=0.717), DT(ms): 11.3 (CI=-50.56, 73.16; p=0.706), ED%: -0.101 (CI=-2.7, 2.5; p=0.936), HR (bpm): 0.35 (CI=-4.71, 5.41; p=0.887), %MAP: 0.65 (CI=-1.11, 2.41; p=0.451), ES(mmHg/ms): 0.75 (CI=-15.8, 17.38; p=0.926), ET(ms): 2.2 (CI=-10.5, 14.9; p=0.721), UT(ms): 4.7 (CI=-8.19, 17.59; p=455), PEP (ms): 2.1 (CI=-0.52, 4.72; p=0.11). Analysis of Covariance showed a significant change between-groups in PD (p=0.021), DT (p=0.02), UT (p=0.048), ED% (p=0.049), HR (p=0.036) while no significant difference was observed in ES (p=0.248), ET (p=0.245), PEP (p=0.102) and %MAP (p=0.262). Conclusions: These findings indicate that the yoga practice can induce beneficial changes in cardiovascular function in elderly hypertensive subjects. Further, yoga may be better than walking in improving cardiac health in older individuals.


2021 ◽  
pp. 004051752110408
Author(s):  
Jie Zhou ◽  
Jianming Chen ◽  
Newman Lau ◽  
Qian Mao ◽  
Zidan Gong ◽  
...  

In this work, the deformation of bilateral breasts was investigated with an established hybrid model to predict the nipple movement specifically for senior women during yoga exercise. A motion capture system was used to collect the displacement of 10 markers on the breasts from 11 senior women (average age of 62) during yoga practice and then the data were analyzed by integrating the absolute grey relation analysis (AGRA) and extreme learning machine (ELM). The right and left breasts had the maximum motion amplitude in the horizontal direction but they were respectively featured with contraction and extension during yoga practice. AGRA showed that the nipple motion was highly associated with the vertical region above the nipple for the left breast but the parallel region along with the nipple for the right breast. The ELM model is able to predict the nipple movement within tolerable error (∼0.0037). This study lays a foundation for a better understanding of ageing breast kinematics during yoga poses with limited practical experiments. Besides, the accurate and efficient results can be used not only for yoga pose instruction but also for ergonomic sports bra design.


Author(s):  
P. B. Rshikesan ◽  
Pailoor Subramanya ◽  
Ram Nidhi

AbstractBackgroundGlobally obesity increase is a big challenge. Obesity causes many non-communicable diseases. Options to control obesity are in search.Aim: To assess the outcome of 3 months follow-up period, after 14 weeks yoga intervention, for body composition and sleep quality parameters on obese male in urban setting.Materials and methodsDesign: Parallel group RCT (randomized controlled trial) on obese male. The two groups were yoga and control groups, with yoga (n= 37, age 40.03 ± 8.74), control (n= 35, age 42.20 ± 12.06). The IAYT (integrated approach of yoga therapy) training was given to yoga group for 14 weeks, and the unsupervised yoga practice was continued by the subjects at their home, for further 3 months. Training was 1.5 hour daily for 5 days in a week, which included the IAYT module ofSuryanamaskara Asana Pranayamaand relaxation. No yoga activity but walking etc. for the same time, was given to control group. Body composition parameters were assessed through BIA (bioelectrical impedance) method using InBody R 20 model. The sleep quality was assessed using PSQI (Pittsburgh sleep quality index). Within group and between group analysis were performed, using SPSS version 21. The correlation analysis was carried out on the difference in pre follow-up values.ResultsDuring the follow-up period within the group, the body composition parameters improved and the parameters of quality of sleep showed trends of improvement. Also some of the gain obtained during 14 weeks intervention was lost during follow-up period.ConclusionsThe changes observed may indicate the long-term benefits of yoga practice for control of obesity in urban setting for males.


2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-73
Author(s):  
Soubhagyalaxmi Mohanty ◽  
Sasipriya Venkataramanujam ◽  
Balaram Pradhan ◽  
Alex Hankey

Yoga has been found to be an effective intervention in children with visual impairment. Yoga modules used in previous studies were based on individual researcher’s experience. However, no mention was given of them being endorsed by other specialists in the field. This study aimed to develop, validate, and assess the feasibility of a yoga module exclusively for children with visual impairment. A yoga module was developed based on traditional and contemporary yoga literature and published studies with the objectives of determining needs of the participants and yoga practices that could prove efficient. Its validation was carried out with 25 experts over two rounds of iteration and feasibility of the practices evaluated on nine children with visual impairment. Tennis ball throw and standing vertical jump tests were done to evaluate success of yoga practice. A total of 30 yoga practices with content validity ratio ⩾ 0.37 were retained in the final yoga module. All experts opined that the final module is technically easy to teach, learn, and practice. All the children reported 80% of satisfaction level with the yoga practices and the procedure used to teach them at the end of the intervention. The score in tennis ball throw increased significantly ( p = .011) after the intervention, but the standing vertical jump score ( p = .585) did not. Positive exit survey responses and good participation rates support the module’s feasibility. Based on evidence from the traditional knowledge and scientific studies, the yoga module was validated for the children with visual impairment. The feasibility of the module was also assessed successfully which can be used safely and effectively as an alternative training for individuals with visual impairment.


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