title: Effect of Sahaj Yoga on depressive disorders. A Breathing-Based Meditation Intervention for Patients With Major Depressive Disorder Following Inadequate Response to Antidepressants: A Randomized Pilot Study. A pilot randomized controlled trial comparing prenatal yoga to perinatal health education for antenatal depression A pilot study of yogic meditation for family dementia caregivers with depressive symptoms: effects on mental health, cognition, and telomerase activity. The influence of Hatha yoga as an add-on treatment in major depression on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis activity: a randomized trial. Yoga as a treatment for chronic low back pain: A systematic review of the literature Feasibility, acceptability, and effects of gentle Hatha yoga for women with major depression: findings from a randomized controlled mixed-methods study. Meditation with yoga, group therapy with hypnosis, and psychoeducation for long-term depressed mood: a randomized pilot trial.
abstract: Sahaj Yoga is a meditative technique that has been found to have beneficial effects in some psycho-somatic illnesses . The study was carried out on 30 cases ( 19 Males , 11 females , age 18 - 45 years ) of major depression diagnosed on the basis of DSM IV criteria . The patients were then r and omly divided into two groups : Group 1 : ( 10 Males & 5 Females ) Patients who were practising Sahaj Yoga and also received conventional anti-depressants . Group 2 : ( 9 Males & 6 Females ) Patients who were only receiving conventional anti-depressants .  Training in Sahaj yoga was conducted under the supervision of a trained Sahaj Yogi for 8 weeks . At start of the study , all the patients were subjected to Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression ( HAM-D ) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety ( HAM-A ) . Above scales were again assessed after two months of treatment . There was significant improvement in HAM-D as well as HAM-A scores in both Group 1 and Group 2 patients ( P<0.001 ) . However , percentage improvement in HAM-D scores and HAM-A scores in patients receiving Sahaj Yoga was significantly higher than in Group 2 patients . The number of patients who went into remission after two months of intervention were also significantly higher in Group 1 patients ( P=0.02 ) . The present study demonstrates that Sahaj Yoga has got a potential role as a component in the management of depressive disorders OBJECTIVE To evaluate feasibility , efficacy , and tolerability of Sudarshan Kriya yoga ( SKY ) as an adjunctive intervention in patients with major depressive disorder ( MDD ) with inadequate response to antidepressant treatment . METHODS Patients with MDD ( defined by DSM-IV-TR ) who were depressed despite ≥ 8 weeks of antidepressant treatment were r and omized to SKY or a waitlist control ( delayed yoga ) arm for 8 weeks . The primary efficacy end point was change in 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale ( HDRS-17 ) total score from baseline to 2 months . The key secondary efficacy end points were change in Beck Depression Inventory ( BDI ) and Beck Anxiety Inventory ( BAI ) total scores . Analyses of the intent-to-treat ( ITT ) and completer sample were performed . The study was conducted at the University of Pennsylvania between October 2014 and December 2015 . RESULTS In the ITT sample ( n = 25 ) , the SKY arm ( n = 13 ) showed a greater improvement in HDRS-17 total score compared to waitlist control ( n = 12 ) ( -9.77 vs 0.50 , P = .0032 ) . SKY also showed greater reduction in BDI total score versus waitlist control ( -17.23 vs -1.75 , P = .0101 ) . Mean changes in BAI total score from baseline were significantly greater for SKY than waitlist ( ITT mean difference : -5.19 ; 95 % CI , -0.93 to -9.34 ; P = .0097 ; completer mean difference : -6.23 ; 95 % CI , -1.39 to -11.07 ; P = .0005 ) . No adverse events were reported . CONCLUSIONS Results of this r and omized , waitlist-controlled pilot study suggest the feasibility and promise of an adjunctive SKY-based intervention for patients with MDD who have not responded to antidepressants . TRIAL REGISTRATION Clinical Trials.gov identifier : NCT02616549 We conducted a pilot r and omized controlled trial ( RCT ) comparing a prenatal yoga intervention to perinatal-focused health education in pregnant women with depression . Findings document acceptability and feasibility of the yoga intervention : no yoga-related injuries were observed , instructors showed fidelity to the yoga manual , and women rated interventions as acceptable . Although improvements in depression were not statistically different between groups , they favored yoga . This study provides support for a larger scale RCT examining prenatal yoga to improve mood during pregnancy BACKGROUND This study examined the effects of brief daily yogic meditation on mental health , cognitive functioning , and immune cell telomerase activity in family dementia caregivers with mild depressive symptoms . METHODS Thirty-nine family dementia caregivers ( mean age 60.3 years old ( SD = 10.2 ) ) were r and omized to practicing Kirtan Kriya or listening to relaxation music for 12 min per day for 8 weeks . The severity of depressive symptoms , mental and cognitive functioning were assessed at baseline and follow-up . Telomerase activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( PMBC ) was examined in peripheral P BMC pre-intervention and post-intervention . RESULTS The meditation group showed significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms and greater improvement in mental health and cognitive functioning compared with the relaxation group . In the meditation group , 65.2 % showed 50 % improvement on the Hamilton Depression Rating scale and 52 % of the participants showed 50 % improvement on the Mental Health Composite Summary score of the Short Form-36 scale compared with 31.2 % and 19 % , respectively , in the relaxation group ( p < 0.05 ) . The meditation group showed 43 % improvement in telomerase activity compared with 3.7 % in the relaxation group ( p = 0.05 ) . CONCLUSION This pilot study found that brief daily meditation practice s by family dementia caregivers can lead to improved mental and cognitive functioning and lower levels of depressive symptoms . This improvement is accompanied by an increase in telomerase activity suggesting improvement in stress-induced cellular aging . These results need to be confirmed in a larger sample OBJECTIVES The impact of Hatha yoga as add-on treatment to quetiapine fumarate extended release ( QXR ) or escitalopram ( ESC ) in depressed patients on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal ( HPA ) axis activity was assessed . METHODS 60 in patients suffering from major depressive disorder ( MDD ) according to DSM-IV were r and omized for a 5 week treatment with Yoga or not ( control group ) and with either QXR ( 300 mg/day ) or ESC ( 10 mg/day ) . Serial dexamethasone/corticotropin releasing hormone ( DEX/CRH ) tests were performed to assess HPA axis function . The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale ( 21-HAMD ) was used weekly . RESULTS A more pronounced down regulation of the HPA axis activity due to yoga could not be detected . The stepwise long term cortisol reduction was seen in both medication groups , irrespectively of yoga add-on treatment . In addition , cortisol improvers in week 1 of therapy ( reduction in cortisol peak value within the DEX/CRH test ) reached significant greater amelioration of depressive symptoms after 5 weeks . CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that antidepressant agents down regulate HPA axis function to a greater extent than additional Hatha yoga treatment . Moreover , an early reduction of HPA system hyperactivity after one week of pharmacological treatment seems to raise the possibility of a favorable treatment response Objectives Chronic low back pain ( CLBP ) affects millions of people worldwide , and appears to be increasing in prevalence . It is associated not only with pain , but also with increased disability , psychological symptoms , and reduced quality of life . There are various treatment options for CLBP , but no single therapy st and s out as being the most effective . In the past 10 years , yoga interventions have been studied as a CLBP treatment approach . The objective of this paper is to review the current literature supporting the efficacy of yoga for CLBP . Methods A literature search through the beginning of 2015 was conducted in Pub Med for r and omized control trials addressing treatment of CLBP with yoga . Results In this review we evaluate the use of yoga as a treatment for CLBP . Specifically we evaluate how yoga impacts physical functioning and disability , pain , and associated psychological symptoms . We also evaluate possible mediators of the effect of yoga and the safety of yoga . Discussion With few exceptions , previous studies and the recent r and omized control trials ( RCTs ) indicate that yoga can reduce pain and disability , can be practice d safely , and is well received by participants . Some studies also indicate that yoga may improve psychological symptoms , but these effects are currently not as well established Major depressive disorder ( MDD ) is a common , debilitating chronic condition in the United States and worldwide . Particularly in women , depressive symptoms are often accompanied by high levels of stress and ruminations , or repetitive self-critical negative thinking . There is a research and clinical imperative to evaluate complementary therapies that are acceptable and feasible for women with depression and that target specific aspects of depression in women , such as ruminations . To begin to address this need , we conducted a r and omized , controlled , mixed- methods community-based study comparing an 8-week yoga intervention with an attention-control activity in 27 women with MDD . After controlling for baseline stress , there was a decrease in depression over time in both the yoga group and the attention-control group , with the yoga group having a unique trend in decreased ruminations . Participants in the yoga group reported experiencing increased connectedness and gaining a coping strategy through yoga . The findings provide support for future large scale research to explore the effects of yoga for depressed women and the unique role of yoga in decreasing rumination This r and omized pilot study investigated the effects of meditation with yoga ( and psychoeducation ) versus group therapy with hypnosis ( and psychoeducation ) versus psychoeducation alone on diagnostic status and symptom levels among 46 individuals with long-term depressive disorders . Results indicate that significantly more meditation group participants experienced a remission than did controls at 9-month follow-up . Eight hypnosis group participants also experienced a remission , but the difference from controls was not statistically significant . Three control participants , but no meditation or hypnosis participants , developed a new depressive episode during the study , though this difference did not reach statistical significance in any case . Although all groups reported some reduction in symptom levels , they did not differ significantly in that outcome . Overall , these results suggest that these two interventions show promise for treating low- to moderate-level depression
target: Compared to aerobic exercise , no short- or medium-term group differences in depression severity was found .
  Higher short-term depression severity was found for yoga compared to electro-convulsive therapy ;  remission rates did not differ between groups .
  No short-term group differences occurred when yoga was compared to antidepressant medication .
  Conflicting evidence was found when yoga was compared to attention-control interventions , or when yoga as an add-on to antidepressant medication was compared to medication alone .
  This review found some evidence for positive effects beyond placebo and comparable effects compared to evidence -based interventions .
background: BACKGROUND The purpose of this review was to investigate the efficacy and safety of yoga interventions in treating patients with major depressive disorder .