International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2014
J.r. Infante, F. Perán, J.i. Rayo et al.
55 citations
Regular practitioners of transcendental meditation (TM) or the more advanced Sidhi-TM technique showed differences in certain immune cell levels compared to non-meditators. The meditation group had higher counts of CD3+CD4-CD8+ lymphocytes (cytotoxic T cells), B lymphocytes, and natural killer cells, but lower counts of CD3+CD4+CD8- lymphocytes (helper T cells). No differences were found in total leukocytes, granulocytes, monocytes, total lymphocytes, or total T cells. The findings suggest that TM practice may influence the immune system, possibly through its effects on neuroendocrine pathways.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2020
Stephany Campanelli, Adrianobretanha Lopes Tort, Bruno Lobão‐soares
41 citations
A systematic review of 14 studies published between 2008 and 2018 found that yogic breathing techniques improve emotional and cognitive performance. The review followed PRISMA guidelines and included articles from Science Direct, PubMed, and Virtual Health Library. The authors note that the physiological mechanisms by which these practices modulate the human nervous system remain unclear and call for further research into specific aspects such as breath retention, prolonged expiration, attention on fluid respiration, and abdominal or thoracic breathing.
International Journal of Yoga
September 1, 2022
Mrithunjay Rathore, Meghnath Verma, Mohit Nirwan et al.
28 citations
Meditation practices—including mindfulness, compassion, transcendental, and focused attention—improve prefrontal cortex functions such as cognition, self-awareness, attention, and memory while reducing psychological symptoms. These benefits are linked to increased functional connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions, including the default mode network, and to increased gray matter volume. Neuroimaging studies of healthy meditators compared with non-meditators show that meditation enhances neural processing, attention, working memory, cognitive control, emotion regulation, self-perception, and self-compassion, and decreases anxiety, depression, perceived stress, negative emotion, and hyperarousal. Altered prefrontal connectivity occurs in neurological and psychosocial disorders, suggesting meditation may help treat them.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2018
Jessy Abraham, Mrithunjay Rathore
22 citations
Telomeres protect chromosome ends and shorten with age; shorter telomeres are linked to lifestyle disorders. A systematic review examined whether asana, pranayama, and meditation help maintain telomere length and telomerase activity. Literature was searched in six databases. The review suggests these practices may increase oxygen flow to cells and reduce stress via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, potentially preserving genomic integrity and aiding health. The evidence is limited, and the conclusion is that such practices can help maintain telomere stability and are important for human health.
International Journal of Yoga
May 1, 2022
V. Deshmukh
8 citations
Consciousness and awareness are distinct: consciousness is a dualistic, embodied cognitive process, whereas awareness is a nondual, nonlocal, ever-present affective self-awareness that can observe both subject-object duality and conscious contents. This nonlocal awareness is the default mode state, but most people are unaware of it due to mental preoccupation and mind-wandering. Through relaxation, meditation, and letting go of preoccupations, one can return to this peaceful, silent, fulfilling, and energetic state, feeling effortlessly alive and free. The article details meditative presence, yoga meditation, and mindfulness meditation, focusing on the neurobiology of meditation, including brain stem, reticular-limbic system, forebrain circuits, and the wholeness of conscious mind as bio-psycho-social-abstract/spiritual.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2024
Massimiliano Buoli, Francesca Legnani, Monic Mastroianni et al.
7 citations
Yoga appears to improve anorexia nervosa symptoms, particularly emotional dysregulation, but evidence is weak. A review of five studies found that all but one had serious methodological problems, including confounding factors like psychiatric comorbidity and small sample sizes. The authors conclude yoga is a candidate complementary treatment but call for more randomized controlled trials with larger samples and less bias to draw robust conclusions. They also suggest comparing yoga's effectiveness against psychotherapy or medication and adapting yoga practices to the specific needs of these patients.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2023
Vinod D. Deshmukh
7 citations
Mindful awareness is a spontaneous, effortless state of being associated with joy, peace, and happiness, characterized by synchronized alpha brainwave activity (8–13 Hz) across multiple brain regions, including occipital-parietal, frontal eye-field, somatosensory, mid-temporal auditory, and cingulate-precuneus areas. This alpha synchrony correlates with visual clarity without imagery, motionless eyes, bodily stillness, internal verbal silence, and freedom from autobiographical memories and ego. In contrast, effort or engagement produces faster beta (13–30 Hz) and gamma (30–150 Hz) waves, linked to dualistic conscious experience. During deep nonrapid eye movement sleep, coherent delta activity (0.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2023
Ampere A Tseng
4 citations
A quantitative review of seven online randomized controlled trials found that meditation-based interventions significantly reduce overall distress (depression, anxiety, stress) by 20.5% to 68.8% and moderately improve insomnia by 5.2% to 38.5%. For long COVID, effectiveness varied widely across 13 symptoms, from 0.0% to 71.2%. The review provides compelling evidence that meditation-based interventions can alleviate these five prevalent disorders arising from the pandemic.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2023
Kamlesh Jha, Pankaj Kumar, Yogesh Kumar et al.
3 citations
Adding Rajyoga meditation to standard treatment for panic disorder improves symptoms more than standard treatment alone. In a randomized controlled trial, 110 patients with panic disorder were assigned to either standard treatment plus Rajyoga meditation or standard treatment alone. After 8 weeks, scores on the Panic Disorder Severity Scale and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale showed significantly greater improvement in the meditation group. The composite score combining both scales also showed a significant difference between groups. Rajyoga meditation, a form of meditation without rituals or mantras, is an effective adjunct therapy for panic disorder when practiced under a trained therapist.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2024
Bichitra Nanda Patra, Kanika Khandelwal, Rajesh Sagar et al.
2 citations
Yoga therapy may help manage psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents, including symptoms of stress, inattention, hyperactivity, anxiety, and depression. A scoping review of 11 randomized controlled trials published from 2004 to 2023, conducted in the United States, Canada, Iran, India, and Australia, examined yoga therapy among participants aged 3 years or older. One study used mindfulness-based therapy with some yoga techniques. Although the reviewed studies were generally of high quality, the authors suggest that future research would benefit from careful selection of methods and reference standards, suitability of yoga therapy, and prospective cohort studies linking early childhood exposures with yoga therapy outcomes throughout childhood and adolescence.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2024
Parth Rajesh Pandya
2 citations
Yoga Nidra, a guided meditation technique, shows promise for addressing pediatric behavioral concerns such as anxiety, hyperactivity, and emotional dysregulation. This review examines potential mechanisms behind its effects and existing research on psychological impacts, including stress reduction, emotional regulation, self-awareness, and sleep quality. Parallels are drawn with hypnosis as another mind-body technique. The review advocates for further investigation of Yoga Nidra as a noninvasive intervention for promoting positive child development, noting that traditional interventions like behavioral modification or medication have varying success and side effects.
International Journal of Yoga
September 1, 2025
Violette Gibbs, William J. Hanney, Abigail W. Anderson
1 citation
Both yoga nidra and body scan sessions reduced pain intensity and pain-related anxiety in adults with chronic pain, with improvements lasting at least 24 hours. Yoga nidra, which includes intention-setting, visualization, and relaxation, led to greater improvements in well-being immediately after the session compared to body scan. Neither intervention significantly affected optimism. The findings suggest that both mind–body interventions can help manage chronic pain, and yoga nidra may offer additional benefits for well-being.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2025
Bichitra Nanda Patra, Rajesh Sagar, Gautam Sharma et al.
A yoga therapy module was developed and validated for children and adolescents with major depressive disorder. The module was created by reviewing traditional texts and research papers, then validated by experts, and finally tested in a pilot study with five participants. Participants showed high compliance and satisfaction, and reported reduced depression scores on child depression scales. Caregivers also showed improvements in depression, stress, and anxiety. The authors note that because this was a pilot study, conclusions about efficacy cannot be drawn, but they recommend yoga therapy for use in outpatient clinics.
International Journal of Yoga
June 25, 2026
Rupesh Kumar, Suresh Lal Barnwal, Sridip Chatterjee
A systematic review of 11 EEG studies on Om meditation found that the most consistent brain change is modulation of theta-band activity (4–7 Hz), often accompanied by alpha changes indicating a relaxed yet attentive state. Most studies involved short, single sessions of 3–30 minutes in healthy students. Spatial EEG showed engagement of orbitofrontal, limbic, attentional networks, and the Default Mode Network. Delta-band findings were inconsistent. EEG microstate analyses showed no significant changes after short-term practice. The evidence suggests short-term Om meditation is associated with reproducible theta-band modulation and distributed cortical networks linked to relaxation and internalized attention, but larger, longitudinal randomized trials are needed.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2026
Renukaradhya K Math, Palaksha Kanive Javaregowda, Satish G Patil
This systematic review of four clinical studies (one nonrandomized controlled, three observational) involving 440 healthy vegetarian or vegan participants found that yoga and meditation practice was associated with favorable changes in the composition and function of gut microbiota and their metabolites compared to nonmeditator controls. However, because all participants followed a vegetarian or vegan diet, the beneficial changes may result from the combined effects of meditation and diet rather than meditation alone.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2026
S Sadhana, S Suganthi, A Mooventhan et al.
A randomized controlled trial tested whether a single 5-minute session of Bhastrika pranayama (bellows breath) immediately improves cognitive function, measured by critical flicker fusion frequency (CFFF), in healthy individuals. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to either the breathing exercise or normal breathing for the same duration. CFFF was assessed before and right after the session. The results showed no significant difference between the groups (P = 0.32), indicating that a brief practice of Bhastrika pranayama does not enhance cognitive function compared to normal breathing in healthy people. The authors call for further research on potential short- or long-term effects in different populations.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2026
P Sreelakshmi, Neha Maheshwari, Neel Kamal Mishra et al.
A randomized controlled trial tested whether Rajayoga meditation, a form of meditation free of ritual and mantras, reduces anxiety, heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and serum cortisol levels in women undergoing modified radical mastectomy. Sixty female patients aged 30-70 were randomly assigned to a Rajayoga group or a control group with no intervention. Before surgery, anxiety levels, cortisol, and hemodynamic measures were similar between groups. On the second postoperative day, the Rajayoga group showed significantly lower anxiety, heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and serum cortisol. Rajayoga meditation may be an effective nonpharmacological intervention for stress reduction and physiological stabilization in surgical patients.
International Journal of Yoga
May 1, 2025
Ozge Karanlik, Zeynep Duru, A. Avci et al.
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic condition marked by widespread pain, sleep disturbances, fatigue, depression, and anxiety. Current management uses a multidisciplinary approach, and yoga, which integrates physical postures, mindfulness, and breathwork, is considered a complementary therapy. Yoga may help manage pain, stress, sleep disturbances, and fatigue, and improve body awareness and quality of life. However, definitive conclusions about a clear clinical effect have not yet been established. The positive effects of yoga on overall health, functional capacity, and quality of life should be considered, and people with FMS should consult a healthcare provider before trying yoga.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2025
Gabriela Campelo, Goiara Mendonça De Castilho
Long-term yoga practice, but not current weekly practice hours, was associated with facilitated attentional disengagement from fearful faces under conditions requiring top-down attentional control. Twenty long-term yoga practitioners completed emotional spatial cueing tasks measuring engagement and disengagement biases toward fearful versus neutral expressions. Greater yoga experience predicted reduced emotional bias specifically in top-down, not bottom-up, attentional processes. The findings suggest that regular yoga practice over years may modify top-down emotion regulation mechanisms.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2025
D Narayana Dutt, G R Ganesh Rao, C R Ramaswamy et al.
During about 30 minutes of meditative Samaadhi, a Yogi par excellence showed a substantial reduction in breathing amplitude to less than 5% of pre-meditation levels, along with subjectively measured decreases in heartbeat and pulse amplitude. Cardiac electrical activity remained intact, but the data suggested a possible considerable reduction in cardiac mechanical activity. Muscle contractions were consistently higher. A unique pattern of alpha and beta activity appeared in frontal EEG electrodes, and occipital electrodes showed alpha with occasional beta activity. With eyes open during meditation, occipital alpha and beta activity persisted, which is atypical because occipital alpha normally vanishes when eyes are open. These patterns were distinct from those of awake, dreaming, and sleeping states.
International Journal of Yoga
May 1, 2023
Shrivastava Anurag, B. K. Singh, D. Krishna et al.
The electrical activity of the heart and brain becomes more synchronized during heartfulness meditation, especially among long-term practitioners. In a study of 45 healthy volunteers divided into long-term meditators, short-term meditators, and nonmeditators, detrended fluctuation analysis of EEG and ECG signals showed that values declined during meditation and transmission states compared to before and after. Long-term meditators showed significant changes across all states and a positive correlation between heart and brain activity, while short-term and nonmeditators showed no significant correlations. Regular meditation practice may promote physiological synchrony between cardiac and neural behavior, supporting mental and emotional stability.
International Journal of Yoga
September 1, 2022
Senthil Subramanian, V. Sripad, Amudharaj Dharmalingam et al.
A randomized controlled trial compared four weeks of app-based heartfulness meditation with app-based relaxation in 50 patients who had completed COVID-19 treatment. Both groups showed significant decreases in stress, circulating cortisol, inflammatory markers, and oxidative stress biomarkers, along with improved sleep quality and antioxidant biomarkers. The beneficial changes were greater in the heartfulness meditation group than in the relaxation group. The authors suggest that app-based heartfulness meditation or relaxation can serve as a nonpharmacological adjuvant to hasten recovery after COVID-19 treatment.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2022
Ampere A Tseng
Mantra meditation, a simple practice suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators, provides beneficial effects on stress, anxiety, hypertension, and immunity. This review of recent studies finds evidence that mantra meditation yields various degrees of mental and physical health benefits, though the authors recommend larger, higher-quality studies to draw firm conclusions. The review covers quantitative evidence from trial outcomes without considering spiritual motivations, aiming to confirm and add scientific support for the practice's health effects.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2022
Dwivedi Krishna, Krishna Prasanna, Basavaraj Angadi et al.
Heartfulness meditation practitioners showed higher theta and alpha brainwave power and lower beta and delta power, along with greater brainwave coherence in theta, alpha, and beta bands, compared to nonmeditators. They also reported higher mindfulness and lower anxiety, both as a stable trait and in the moment. These patterns suggest that regular Heartfulness meditation may produce a state of wakeful relaxation and focused internal attention that supports cognitive and emotional well-being.
International Journal of Yoga
January 1, 2022
Ashwini S Savanth, P A Vijaya, Ajay Kumar Nair et al.
Long-term Rajayoga meditators from the Brahma Kumaris tradition show distinct brain functional connectivity patterns compared to short-term practitioners, even while performing a non-meditative task. Using task-based fMRI data, graph-theoretical measures of functional connectivity (adjacency matrices, global efficiency, local efficiency) were calculated from 132 brain regions. Machine learning classifiers—especially decision tree, random forest, and gradient boosted tree—achieved over 84% test accuracy in distinguishing long-term (mean 13,596 hours of practice) from short-term (mean 1,095 hours) meditators. These findings suggest that extensive meditation practice produces lasting changes in brain network organization that persist outside of meditation.