A branch of yoga called pranayama is very helpful to people in maintaining good physical and mental health. As prana is the definition of life or energy, practicing asana entails controlling the flow of prana through the body. All aspects of breathing, including inspiration, expiration, and retention, are regulated in part by pranayama. One of the yogic practices for healthy people is...
Research SquareDecember 13, 2024Richard Lawrence Blake
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Abstract Amidst the growing prevalence of anxiety disorders and the limitations of existing treatments, this research paper posits that we need to expand treatment options rather than simply to include more people in therapy or on medication. The popularity of breathwork has grown enormously but is still in the process of creating a robust body of evidence to validate its utility. This research...
Research SquareNovember 21, 2024Tiziano Canello, Alejandro Tlaie, Kamlesh Chalise et al.
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Abstract High ventilation breathwork is a breathing practice that involves deep, accelerated breathing over a prolonged duration (> 15 minutes). This basic practice underpins a wide range of traditions, from Pranayama to Holotropic and Conscious-Connected breathwork. Anecdotal reports suggest that it can benefit physical and mental health, often by evoking altered states of consciousness....
Stress is a driver of depression, and people with depression often struggle to cope with stress and anxiety. This study directly compares the mental health effects of a Wim Hof Method intervention to an active control condition (slow breathing) in women with high stress and high depressive symptoms. We randomized 84 healthy midlife women with high stress and high depressive symptoms to either:...
Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care workers (HCWs) experienced increased anxiety, depression, loneliness, and other mental health issues. HCWs need additional resources to cope with the mental health impact of their work. Yoga techniques could be helpful strategies to manage different stressors during times of uncertainty. Methods: This prospective, single-arm, trial...
Symptoms of depression and anxiety are prevalent among adults with chronic health conditions, contributing to reduced quality of life, morbidity, and mortality. Mind-body wellness interventions (i.e. psychology programming, mindful movement, breathwork, meditation) may impact mental health symptoms, with online delivery offering access and scalability. Whether online mind-body wellness...
The MindGym, a novel immersive technology utilizing a reflective chamber environment, was developed to create standardized experiential content, including anxiolytic experiences. This study examined whether therapeutic experiences originally created in the MindGym could maintain their efficacy when delivered via 360-degree recordings through virtual reality (VR) headsets. A randomized...
September 4, 2024Jade Leigh Huish, Zoe Fisher, Amy Isham et al.
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Amidst global challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and the unfolding climate crisis, there's a pressing need for strategies that improve wellbeing. This study investigates the Wim Hof Method (WHM) as a potential tool for enhancing wellbeing and its influence on related aspects including nature connectedness and health attitudes, including vaccine uptake. We conducted a mixed-methods study...
Breathwork is an understudied school of practices involving intentional respiratory modulation to induce an altered state of consciousness (ASC). We simultaneously investigate the phenomenological and neural dynamics of breathwork by combining Temporal Experience Tracing, a quantitative methodology that preserves the temporal dynamics of subjective experience, with low-density portable EEG...
The objective of this study was to find out the influence of Yogasana, Meditation and Pranayama practice on the Physiological and Psychological variables of College-level Students, Psychological fitness — or mental health — can be measured by assessing levels of anxiety, depression, stress, self-esteem, satisfaction, positive relationships, responsibility and competence. A person with high...
High ventilation breathwork with retention (HVBR) has been growing in popularity over the past decade and might be beneficial for mental and physical health. However, little research has explored the potential therapeutic effects of brief, remotely delivered HVBR and the tolerability profile of this technique. Accordingly, we investigated the effects of a fully-automated HVBR protocol, along...
Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) manages emotional disturbances, thereby making a substantive contribution to cognitive aptitude and mental health amelioration among university students. Mindfulness yoga enhances the positive connectivity between mind and emotion, thereby enhancing mental and emotional well-being. The objective of present study is to determine the effectiveness of...
Health care workers were exposed to huge stress during COVID-19 pandemic affecting their physical and mental health. Practice of anulom vilom pranayama and heartfulness meditation (AVPHFN) can improve mental and physical health and counter stress. The present study explored the effect of 8-week AVPHFN intervention on autonomic functions, emotional stress, oxidative stress, and inflammation...
Yoga is a branch of science which deals with facilitating homeostasis. Yoga has further sub divided into many branches in which pranayama is one of the branches. Pranayama played an important role as well as is a remotest favorable to human beings to balance physical and mental health. Pranayama is sub classified and within which commonest practiced is the Bhramari pranayama. It is evidenced...
This systematic review synthesises the evidence for the effectiveness of a single session of yoga or its components including meditation and breathing techniques in reducing acute stress reactivity in healthy adults. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we searched Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane, CINAHL, and PsycINFO on 30th July 2023 for randomised controlled or crossover trials of yoga components and...
Abstract High ventilation breathwork with retention (HVBR) might be beneficial for mental/physical health and has been growing in popularity over the past decade. However, little research has investigated the potential therapeutic effects of brief, remotely delivered HVBR and the tolerability profile of this technique. This study (NCT06064474) was the largest blinded randomised-controlled trial...
Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, stiffness, sleep irregularities, and tenderness of joints and muscles due to dysregulation of neurophysiological functions. It is more common in women compared to men. Till now, there is no specific treatment available for FM. The review aimed to review the literature on the effect of yogic practices on FM. The search was done in...
Introduction: Hematological cancer patients often experience anxiety, depression, and fatigue during chemotherapy. Addressing these issues can improve the quality of life and long-term well-being. This study evaluated the effects of pranayama and mindfulness meditation intervention on emotional distress and fatigue in hematological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Materials and Methods:...
CureusApril 1, 2024Dapkupar Wankhar, Archana Prabu Kumar, Venugopal Vijayakumar et al.9 citations
Elevated blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Available evidence on mind-body medicine (MBM) techniques on blood pressure is inconclusive and provides conflicting results. The objective of the current systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the effect of MBM techniques on blood pressure in patients with cardiovascular disease. Randomized...
Context: Pranayama is a method for regulating and manipulating breath and meditation. It enables individuals to achieve a state of profound relaxation while maintaining mental alertness. Recent research on the effects of yoga on the respiratory system over the long term has shown promising results. Aim: This study's primary objective was to assess pranayama's impact on breath holding time....