Yoga and Polyvagal Theory

This chapter explores yoga as a salutogenic intervention supportive of eudaimonic well-being with its wide-spread health effects for various patient populations. Autonomic nervous system regulation and resilience are considered as important meditators for the promotion of biopsychosocial health. Polyvagal theory offers a novel perspective on how underlying neural platforms support combined physiological, psychological, and behavioral states—inclusive of eudaimonic well-being. This chapter describes the convergence of neurophysiological ideas of neuroception, interoception, and neural platforms with yoga foundational concepts such as discriminative wisdom and the gunas. This translatory language of eudaimonic well-being and polyvagal theory offers a framework for yoga to be understood and integrated into current healthcare and research contexts while maintaining its unique perspective and foundational wisdom.

Yoga and Lifestyle Factors in Heart Disease

This chapter reviews cardiovascular risk factors and presents a comprehensive yoga-based intervention for impacting on heart health. Lifestyle interventions and yoga have been shown to positively impact on heart disease, stress levels, inflammation, vagal tone, and homeostasis. The Cardiac Medical Yoga Lifestyle Change program along with the five-point model for heart health (BREAD) provides heart patients with a comprehensive approach for impacting on their disease process and assists patients in developing the necessary strategies and skills for changing their lifestyle.

Yoga as a Healing Modality of Trauma-Related Symptoms and Disorders

Healing after trauma is a long-lasting process involving the body and mind. The neurobiological foundation of trauma calls for more bodily and sensational, bottom-up regulatory approaches. Yoga has been proposed as a possible adjunctive treatment for trauma, and for more complex forms where talk-therapy have been proven insufficient. This chapter will give a theoretical and evidence-based summary of all (to our knowledge) relevant empirical data on yoga as a treatment for trauma-related disorders and symptoms.

Cardiorespiratory and Endocrine Mechanisms Behind the Effectiveness of Pranayama

The benefits of pranayama for positive health are well known. Even though there are many studies published on the effectiveness of pranayama, there are very few papers that actually have systematically studied the physiological mechanisms involved, causing the benefits of pranayama, especially with respect to the cardiac function. This chapter attempts to have a detailed look at the physiology behind deep breathing. The chapter also conjectures that voluntary, deep breathing with attention may have a role to play in faster recovery from surgeries and prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and maybe even cancer. Extended, carefully controlled, and detailed studies are needed to prove or disprove these conjectures.

Traditional Frameworks of Well-Being and Modern Science

This chapter describes how to connect traditional frameworks from yoga to modern science and systems theory in a way that is evidence-based, clinically testable, inclusive, and extensible. This way of systematization enables leveraging the evidence for yoga from across the spectrum of well-being modalities. The key in the presentation is the choice of an approach that is equally valid for both ancient and modern systems. The authors begin by examining the importance of a skill-based approach and layout how well-being systems can be built by mapping the skills and qualities of the organism. They take a selection of domains or categories under which skills from traditional and modern sources can be analyzed: attention, transcendence, movement, breathing, devotion, cognition, and emotion. They conclude the chapter by presenting a larger map of well-being that includes more domains arranged from a clinical perspective.

Yoga

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder, manifests as impairment in social communication an interaction with restrictive and repetitive patterns of behaviour. Yoga therapy, a mind-body intervention, employs a multi-dimensional approach to reduce psychological distress and bring balance and harmony at the levels of body, breath and mind through physical postures, breathing practices, chanting, and relaxation techniques, respectively, thus enhancing overall well-being. Various yoga studies have shown promise in improving symptoms of ASD by improvement in sensory processing, gross motor skills, balance and coordination, cognition, imitation skills, and the ability to connect in relationships. This chapter aims to provide an overview of the potential role of Yoga therapy in the management of ASDs with emphasis on future standardized yoga trials with robust methodology and long-term follow-ups to establish the clinical utility of Yoga therapy for the same. Also, a tentative yoga lifestyle module for ASD with necessary contra-indications and practical tips has been provided.

Yoga as an Intervention for Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Research conducted in both the field of yoga and the field of behavioural disorders in children and adolescents leads to the speculation that the benefits of yoga practice demonstrated with respect to physiological, psychological, emotional, and psychosocial functioning may be applicable to the impairments evidenced in these areas in behavioural disorders. The intervention—20 weekly one-hour sessions of yoga—required a large commitment for the participants, their families, and the yoga instructor. The results suggested that yoga appears to exert its impact on stabilising the emotions (a secondary symptom) and reducing oppositional behaviour, frequently co-morbid (40%) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Given the limitations of this study, the results do indicate some significant changes in the behaviour of some of the boys with ADHD. In conclusion, yoga shows promise as a non-invasive, inexpensive, adjuvant treatment for boys with ADHD.

Yoga and Weight Management

A comprehensive lifestyle intervention that is effective, yet safe, for weight loss is recommended for weight management. Yoga is one such intervention that includes (1) increased physical activity and (2) suggestions about healthy eating and other behavioral changes. With this, there have been attempts to assess the effectiveness of yoga for weight management. The present review aimed at (1) evaluating studies assessing the effects of yoga on obesity and (2) grade them according to standard grading methods. Twenty-three studies, of which nine were RCTs, were included. The rating of RCTs was between 70.6 and 94.2, which can be considered fairly good. However the present review shows that there are fewer studies with (1) adequate sample sizes, (2) study designs, (3) long term follow up, and (4) adequate reporting of adverse events to conclude that yoga is an effective and safe intervention for weight loss. Hence, further studies with the points described above are required to conclude the safety and efficacy of yoga for weight loss.

Yoga for Mental Health Disorders

This chapter is divided into four subsections: the first section of the chapter provides an update on current evidence for yoga therapy in common mental health disorders, the second section provides brief overview on neurophysiological abnormalities in psychiatric disorders and their relationship with psychological stress, the third section deals with summary of evidence for neurophysiological effects of yoga in mental health disorders, and the last section emphasizes on practical aspects of yoga therapy with details of clinically useful yoga practices for common mental health disorders. The mental health disorders covered in this chapter include depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, child and adolescent psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, and geriatric psychiatric disorders.

Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Yoga

This chapter combines insights from the neuroscientific research on yoga and meditation with the practical application of yoga therapy. The chapter opens with an overview of neuroscientific concepts related to the practice of yoga and meditation, such as attention, emotional regulation, body awareness, and autonomic regulation. The authors summarise the known effects of yoga and meditation, in relation to these concepts and common mental health disorders. The chapter continues with a case study, a personalised yoga therapy intervention in a client experiencing psychotic symptoms. The intervention is grounded in yoga philosophy, and in the neuroscientific concepts introduced previously. This section is written from the perspective of a yoga therapist and includes practical tips. In the final section, the authors suggest possible directions for future research and implementation of yoga therapy as a complementary treatment in mental healthcare.