Vinitha Ganesan

2 papers in the library · 1 citation · publishing 2025

Papers

Effects of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) Breath Meditation on Heart Rate Variability, Sleep and Mental Health in Healthy Individuals : A Pilot and Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial

medRxiv January 5, 2025 Vinitha Ganesan, Lauren A. Fowler, Sahil Bajaj et al. 1 citation preprint

A pilot randomized controlled trial tested the feasibility of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), a breath-based meditation, in 45 healthy adults (mean age 40.9 years, 77.8% female). Participants were randomized to a three-day SKY intervention with eight-week follow-up or a waitlist control. Adherence to daily practice was high. Compared to controls, SKY participants showed significantly higher resting heart rate variability at the end of three days and at eight-week follow-up. At eight weeks, they also had improvements in resting heart rate, sleep, anxiety, and social connectedness. The results demonstrate that consistent SKY practice can impact physiology.

DOI: 10.1101/2025.01.04.25319992 Full text Meditation Anxiety Randomized controlled trial Physical therapy +7

Rhythmic Breathwork Recalibrates Stress-Induced Myeloid Immune Dysregulation: Integrated Multi-Omics Findings from a Mechanistic Randomized Controlled Trial

Vinitha Ganesan, Priyam Singh, Ritu Aneja et al.

An 8-week Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) intervention in healthy adults increased heart rate variability during practice, indicating immediate vagal activation. Improvements in sleep heart rate variability, reduced general distress, and reduced anhedonic depression at week 8 were most evident among participants with higher baseline inflammation. The intervention was associated with reductions in myeloid-associated inflammatory mediators such as M-CSF, MIP-1α, and TNF-α, and a shift toward a regulatory myeloid phenotype. Multi-omics analyses showed coordinated downregulation of NF-κB-dependent inflammatory signaling, upregulation of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, and suppression of glycolytic programs, supporting a psycho-neuro-immune model linking vagal activation to modulation of myeloid cell function and systemic inflammatory tone.

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.6885663