Mood and Anxiety Disorders are Not Improved by Yoga Practice

December 12, 2018 psyjdc Leave a comment

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Many in the medical community have had a bias toward medication, because until recently that’s what was most well studied. But attitudes are changing. Some of my patients struggle with anxiety, but I rarely prescribe medications. I feel more comfortable prescribing holistic modalities like yoga.” – Jennifer Griffin

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults, or 18% of the population. A characterizing feature of anxiety disorders is that the suffer overly identifies with and personalizes their thoughts. The sufferer has recurring thoughts, such as impending disaster, that they may realize are unreasonable, but are unable to shake. Indeed, Mindfulness practices have been shown to be quite effective in relieving anxiety. Clinically diagnosed depression affects over 6% of the population. Depression can be difficult to treat. Fortunately, Mindfulness training is also effective for treating depression.

Anxiety disorders and clinical depression have generally been treated with drugs. But, there are considerable side effects and these drugs are often abused. There are a number of psychological therapies for anxiety. But, about 45% of the patients treated do not respond to the therapy. So, there is a need to develop alternative treatments. Recently, it has been found that mindfulness training can be effective for anxiety disorders and for depression either alone or in combination with other therapies. Yoga practice is a mindfulness training and has the added benefit of being an exercise which has been also found to be effective for anxiety and depression.

In today’s Research News article “Hatha yoga for acute, chronic and/or treatment-resistant mood and anxiety disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6166972/ ), Vollbehr and colleagues review, summarize, and perform a meta-analysis of the published research literature on the effectiveness of yoga practice for chronic clinical anxiety and depression disorders. They found 18 randomized controlled trials of yoga interventions in adult clinical samples with mood and anxiety disorders.

They looked only at carefully controlled research studies and did not find significantly greater improvements in either anxiety or depression after yoga practice in comparison to active control conditions. So, although yoga practice has been shown to have a multitude of benefits for health and ill individuals, the published research does not support the use of yoga practice over treatment as usual for chronic clinical depression and anxiety disorders.

“Multiple studies now confirm what countless yoga practitioners have found: Whether we’re dealing with acute stress like childbirth or struggling with longer-term stress and anxiety, yoga can be a powerful tool to calm our nervous systems.” – Seth Gillihan

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Vollbehr, N. K., Bartels-Velthuis, A. A., Nauta, M. H., Castelein, S., Steenhuis, L. A., Hoenders, H., & Ostafin, B. D. (2018). Hatha yoga for acute, chronic and/or treatment-resistant mood and anxiety disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS one, 13(10), e0204925. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0204925

Abstract

Background

The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the effectiveness of hatha yoga in treating acute, chronic and/or treatment-resistant mood and anxiety disorders.

Methods

Medline, Cochrane Library, Current Controlled Trials, Clinical Trials.gov, NHR Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, PsycINFO and CINAHL were searched through June 2018. Randomized controlled trials with patients with mood and anxiety disorders were included. Main outcomes were continuous measures of severity of mood and anxiety symptoms. Cohen’s d was calculated as a measure of effect size. Meta-analyses using a random effects model was applied to estimate direct comparisons between yoga and control conditions for depression and anxiety outcomes. Publication bias was visually inspected using funnel plots.

Results

Eighteen studies were found, fourteen in acute patients and four in chronic patients. Most studies were of low quality. For depression outcomes, hatha yoga did not show a significant effect when compared to treatment as usual, an overall effect size of Cohen’s d -0.64 (95% CI = -1.41, 0.13) or to all active control groups, Cohen’s d -0.13 (95% CI = -0.49, 0.22). A sub-analysis showed that yoga had a significant effect on the reduction of depression compared to psychoeducation control groups, Cohen’s d -0.52 (95% CI = -0.96, -0.08) but not to other active control groups, Cohen’s d 0.28 (95% CI = -0.07, 0.63) For studies using a follow-up of six months or more, hatha yoga had no effect on the reduction of depression compared to active control groups, Cohen’s d -0.14 (95% CI = -0.60, 0.33). Regarding anxiety, hatha yoga had no significant effect when compared to active control groups, Cohen’s d -0.09 (95% CI = -0.47, 0.30). The I2and Q-statistic revealed heterogeneity amongst comparisons. Qualitative analyses suggest some promise of hatha yoga for chronic populations.

Conclusions

The ability to draw firm conclusions is limited by the notable heterogeneity and low quality of most of the included studies. With this caveat in mind, the results of the current meta-analysis suggest that hatha yoga does not have effects on acute, chronic and/or treatment-resistant mood and anxiety disorders compared to treatment as usual or active control groups. However, when compared to psychoeducation, hatha yoga showed more reductions in depression. It is clear that more high-quality studies are needed to advance the field.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6166972/

Improve Type 2 Diabetes with Yoga

December 3, 2018 psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Type 2 Diabetes with Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“If you have type 2 diabetes, it’s likely not news that exercise should be part of your life. But that doesn’t mean you have to limit your physical activity to biking, jogging, or calisthenics. Give yoga a try, for instance. This ancient practice has been found to help lower blood pressure, improve blood glucose (sugar) levels, and more.” – Denise Mann

Diabetes is a major health issue. It is estimated that 30 million people in the United States and nearly 600 million people worldwide have diabetes and the numbers are growing. Type II Diabetes results from a resistance of tissues, especially fat tissues, to the ability of insulin to promote the uptake of glucose from the blood. As a result, blood sugar levels rise producing hyperglycemia. Diabetes is heavily associated with other diseases such as cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and circulatory problems leading to amputations. As a result, diabetes doubles the risk of death of any cause compared to individuals of the same age without diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is a common and increasingly prevalent illness that is largely preventable. One of the reasons for the increasing incidence of Type 2 Diabetes is its association with overweight and obesity which is becoming epidemic in the industrialized world. A leading cause of this is a sedentary life style. Unlike Type I Diabetes, Type II does not require insulin injections. Instead, the treatment and prevention of Type 2 Diabetes focuses on diet, exercise, and weight control. Recently, mindfulness practices have been shown to be helpful in managing diabetes. A mindfulness practice that combines mindfulness with exercise is yoga and it has been shown to be helpful in the treatment of Type II Diabetes.

In today’s Research News article “Therapeutic Role of Yoga in Type 2 Diabetes.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6145966/ ), Raveendran and colleagues review and summarize the published research literature on the effectiveness of yoga practice for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. They report that regular yoga practice, particularly of at least 3-month duration has been routinely found to be beneficial for patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

Yoga appears to be beneficial for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes in part because of its ability to reduce the physiological and psychological responses to stress which in turn improves diabetes control. This includes reductions in sympathetic activation, fasting blood sugar, postprandial blood sugar, haemoglobin A1c, and anti-diabetic drug requirements. All of this suggests that yoga practice improves glycaemic control. It also improves the psychological well-being of the patients including reduced depression, anxiety, and worry.

Yoga practice, additionally, improves dietary practices and exercise, increasing muscle activity, strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance. Improved exercise and dietary practices produced by yoga practice is responsible for reduction in body weight, body mass index, the waist-to-hip ratio, body fat percentage, body fat mass, and skin fold thickness, thereby increasing lean body weight. This is also responsible for reduced levels of triglycerides, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and free fatty acids, and improved high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, all of which have beneficial effects on overall health and diabetic glucose control.

Hence, yoga practice appears to be a safe and effective treatment for patients either at-risk for or with active Type 2 Diabetes. It would appear to improve the physical and mental health and well-being of the patients in addition to improving the control of the disease. This all suggests that yoga practice should be routinely included in the treatment plan for Type 2 Diabetes.

So, improve Type 2 Diabetes with yoga.

“For those wondering how to prevent diabetes or even relieve the condition, a number of studies have revealed that yoga can reduce contributing factors and help patients cope with diabetic symptoms. Although regular exercise can help, yoga for diabetes provides unique benefits that can effectively restore the body to a state of natural health and proper function.” – Yoga U

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Raveendran, A. V., Deshpandae, A., & Joshi, S. R. (2018). Therapeutic Role of Yoga in Type 2 Diabetes. Endocrinology and Metabolism, 33(3), 307–317. http://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2018.33.3.307

Abstract

Yoga originated in India more than 5,000 years ago and is a means of balancing and harmonizing the body, mind, and emotions. Yoga practice is useful in the management of various lifestyle diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Psycho-neuro-endocrine and immune mechanisms are involved in the beneficial effects of yoga on diabetes. Incorporation of yoga practice in daily life helps to attain glycaemic control and reduces the risk of complications in people with diabetes. In this review, we briefly describe the role of various yoga practices in the management of diabetes based on evidence from various clinical studies.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6145966/

Improve Quality of Life with Low Back Pain with Yoga

December 1, 2018September 24, 2019 psyjdc 1 Comment

Improve Quality of Life with Low Back Pain with Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Yoga is great for working on flexibility and core stability, correcting posture, and breathing—all of which are necessary for a healthy back.” – Sasha Cyrelson

Low Back Pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide and affects between 6% to 15% of the population. It is estimated, however, that 80% of the population will experience back pain sometime during their lives. There are varied treatments for low back pain including chiropractic care, acupuncture, biofeedback, physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, massage, surgery, opiate pain killing drugs, steroid injections, and muscle relaxant drugs. These therapies are sometimes effective particularly for acute back pain. But, for chronic conditions the treatments are less effective and often require continuing treatment for years and opiate pain killers are dangerous and can lead to abuse, addiction, and fatal overdoses. Obviously, there is a need for safe and effective treatments for low back pain that are low cost and don’t have troublesome side effects.

Pain involves both physical and psychological issues. The stress, fear, and anxiety produced by pain tends to elicit responses that actually amplify the pain. So, reducing the emotional reactions to pain may be helpful in pain management. Mindfulness practices have been shown to improve emotion regulation producing more adaptive and less maladaptive responses to emotions. Indeed, mindfulness practices are effective in treating pain and have been shown to be safe and effective in the management of low back pain. Yoga practice has been shown to have a myriad of health benefits. These include relief of chronic pain. Yoga practice has also been shown to be effective for the relief of chronic low-back pain. Many forms of yoga focus on the proper alignment of the spine, which could directly address the source of back and neck pain for many individuals. So, it makes sense to further explore the effectiveness of yoga practice for chronic low back pain.

In today’s Research News article “A Randomized Trial Comparing Effect of Yoga and Exercises on Quality of Life in among nursing population with Chronic Low Back Pain.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134737/ ), Patil and colleagues recruited nurses who worked in a tertiary care hospital and who also were diagnosed with chronic low back pain. They were randomly assigned to either participate in yoga or physical exercise. In the yoga condition, the participants practiced a 1-hour Integrated Approach to Yoga Therapy module 5 times per week for 6 weeks. The physical exercise group practiced on the same schedule and performed stretching and gym exercises such as leg lifts, curls, and pull ups. Participants were measured before and after training with the “World Health Organization Quality of Life-brief questionnaire. . . The scale provides a measure of an individual’s perception of QOL on four domains: (1) physical health (seven items), (2) psychological health (six items), (3) social relationships (three items), and (4) environmental health” (Patil et al., 2018).

They found that both groups of nurses showed significant improvements after training in physical and psychological health and social relationships. But, the yoga group had significantly greater improvements in all three quality of life dimensions.

The fact that yoga was compared to a comparable exercise is a strength of this research project. The results are potentially important and suggest that yoga practice is superior to other exercise in improving the quality of life of nursing professionals with chronic low back pain. This may be of great importance in allowing the nurses to better perform their duties and also to prevent turnover and burnout that are prevalent with nurses.

So, improve quality of life with low back pain with yoga.

“Achy back? Give yoga a go. Numerous studies have shown the power of the ancient practice, which emphasizes stretching, strength, and flexibility, to relieve back soreness and improve function. . . yoga may even help reduce the need for pain medication.” – Annie Hauser

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Patil, N. J., Nagaratna, R., Tekur, P., Manohar, P., Bhargav, H., & Patil, D. (2018). A Randomized Trial Comparing Effect of Yoga and Exercises on Quality of Life in among nursing population with Chronic Low Back Pain. International Journal of Yoga, 11(3), 208–214. http://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_2_18

Abstract

Background:

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) adversely affects quality of life (QOL) in nursing professionals. Integrated yoga has a positive impact on CLBP. Studies assessing the effects of yoga on CLBP in nursing population are lacking. Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of integrated yoga and physical exercises on QOL in nurses with CLBP.

Methods:

A total of 88 women nurses from a tertiary care hospital of South India were randomized into yoga group (n = 44; age – 31.45 ± 3.47 years) and physical exercise group (n = 44; age – 32.75 ± 3.71 years). Yoga group was intervened with integrated yoga therapy module practices, 1 h/day and 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Physical exercise group practiced a set of physical exercises for the same duration. All participants were assessed at baseline and after 6 weeks with the World Health Organization Quality of Life-brief (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire.

Results:

Data were analyzed by Paired-samples t-test and Independent-samples t-test for within- and between-group comparisons, respectively, using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Within-group analysis for QOL revealed a significant improvement in physical, psychological, and social domains (except environmental domain) in both groups. Between-group analysis showed a higher percentage of improvement in yoga as compared to exercise group except environmental domain.

Conclusions:

Integrated yoga was showed improvements in physical, psychological, and social health domains of QOL better than physical exercises among nursing professionals with CLBP. There is a need to incorporate yoga as lifestyle intervention for nursing professionals.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134737/

Decrease Cardiovascular Disease Risk with Yoga

November 20, 2018May 2, 2019 psyjdc Leave a comment

Decrease Cardiovascular Disease Risk with Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Yoga is designed to bring about increased physical, mental and emotional well-being. Hand in hand with leading a heart-healthy lifestyle, it really is possible for a yoga-based model to help prevent or reverse heart disease. It may not completely reverse it, but you will definitely see benefits.” – M. Mala Cunningham

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer, claiming more lives than all forms of cancer combined. “Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. About 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths. Every year about 735,000 Americans have a heart attack.” (Centers for Disease Control). A myriad of treatments has been developed for heart disease including a variety of surgical procedures and medications. In addition, lifestyle changes have proved to be effective including quitting smoking, weight reduction, improved diet, physical activity, and reducing stresses. Cardiac rehabilitation programs for patients recovering from a heart failure, emphasize these lifestyle changes. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, 60% of heart failure patients decline participation, making these patients at high risk for another attack.

Safe and effective alternative treatments for cardiovascular disease are contemplative practices, such as meditation, tai chi, and yoga, have also been shown to be helpful for heart health. These practices have also been shown to be helpful for producing the kinds of lifestyle changes needed to prevent heart disease such as smoking cessation, weight reduction, and stress reduction. Indeed, yoga practice is both a mindfulness training technique and a physical exercise. As such, it would seem particularly interesting to explore as a treatment to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

In today’s Research News article “Yoga as an Alternative and Complimentary Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5871178/ ), Haider and colleagues reviewed and summarized the published research literature on the effects of yoga practice on risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

They found 12 published studies, 7 of which were randomized controlled trials. There were large differences in the methodology, duration of practice, and measures employed in these studies. Nevertheless all 12 studies reported significant improvements in at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor. These included “both physical and mental factors, including body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, anxiety, depression, quality of life, weight, and pulmonary function.” Hence, the published research literature suggests that yoga practice is a safe and effective treatment that can reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

So, decrease cardiovascular disease risk with yoga.

“A large number of studies show that yoga benefits many aspects of cardiovascular health. There’s been a major shift in the last five years or so in the number of cardiologists and other professionals recognizing that these benefits are real.” – Hugh Calkins

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Haider, T., Sharma, M., & Branscum, P. (2017). Yoga as an Alternative and Complimentary Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 22(2), 310–316. http://doi.org/10.1177/2156587215627390

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of disability and death worldwide. Yoga, a mind-body exercise, utilizes breathing techniques with low-impact physical activity that may be an alternative treatment for cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine yoga interventions for patients at-risk for and/or suffering from cardiovascular disease. The inclusion criteria for interventions were (a) published in the English language between 2005 and 2015; (b) indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL, or Alt HealthWatch; (c) employed a quantitative design; and (d) applied a yoga intervention. Twelve interventions met the inclusion criteria, of which, all documented significant improvements in one or more factors associated with cardiovascular disease. Limitations to the studies in this review included a lack of studies adhering to the inclusion criteria, small sample sizes, and high attrition rates. Despite the limitations, this review demonstrates the clear potential yoga has as an alternative and complementary means to improve cardiovascular disease risk.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5871178/

Improve Physical and Mental Health in Obesity with Dieting and Yoga Practice

November 14, 2018 psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Physical and Mental Health in Obesity with Dieting and Yoga Practice

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“The mental component of yoga—the deep breathing, positive meditation and awareness—can boost confidence for people of all waistlines. “Yoga helps give you insight, and perhaps that insight can help you make better choices and eliminate negative self-talk.” – Abby Lentz

Obesity has become an epidemic in the industrialized world. In the U.S. the incidence of obesity, has more than doubled over the last 35 years to currently around 35% of the population, while two thirds of the population are considered overweight or obese (Body Mass Index; BMI > 25). Although the incidence rates have appeared to stabilize, the fact that over a third of the population is considered obese is very troubling. This is because of the health consequences of obesity. Obesity has been found to shorten life expectancy by eight years and extreme obesity by 14 years. This occurs because obesity is associated with cardiovascular problems such as coronary heart disease and hypertension, stroke, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and others.

Obviously, there is a need for effective treatments to prevent or treat obesity. But, despite copious research and a myriad of dietary and exercise programs, there still is no safe and effective treatment. Mindfulness is known to be associated with lower risk for obesity, alter eating behavior and improve health in obesity. This suggests that mindfulness training may be an effective treatment for overeating and obesity alone or in combination with other therapies. Yoga practice has been shown to have a myriad of physical and psychological benefits. These include significant loss in weight and body mass index (BMI), resting metabolism, and body fat in obese women with Type 2 diabetes, reduce weight and improve health in the obese. Hence it would seem reasonable to investigate the benefits of yoga in combination with a dietary plan on the weight and body composition of the obese.

In today’s Research News article “Twelve Weeks of Yoga or Nutritional Advice for Centrally Obese Adult Females.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6107686/ ), Telles and colleagues recruited overweight and obese women (BMI>25) and randomly assigned them to either practice yoga or receive nutrition education. Yoga was practiced for 75 minutes, 3 days per week for 12 weeks and consisted of postures, breathing exercises, meditation, and relaxation. Nutrition education occurred for 45 minutes, once a week for 12 weeks. Both groups also were placed on a vegetarian dietary plan consisting in 1900-2000 Kcal per day. Participants were measured before and after training for body size, food intake, physical activity, and quality of life and plasma levels of fats.

Both groups saw improvements in body size including reductions in waist circumference, sagittal abdominal diameter, hip circumference, BMI, body shape index, conicity index, abdominal volume index, and body roundness index. Hence, the diet was successful in reducing body size. The groups also showed significant decreases in plasma total cholesterol, and increases in general self-esteem, and total quality of life. The yoga group, however, had a significantly greater reduction in body shape index, and plasma total cholesterol and very low density lipoproteins (VLDL). They found that the women between the ages of 30 to 45 years who practiced yoga had the greatest benefits while there was little benefit in the nutritional education group. For the women between the ages of 46 to 59 years both groups showed comparable benefits.

These results suggest that overweight and obese women who are dieting show significant improvements in body size, blood fats, and quality of life regardless of whether they receive additional yoga practice or nutritional education, with yoga practice producing slightly better results. But, yoga practice has significantly greater effectiveness for the younger women. This suggests that yoga practice is an effective treatment in combination with dieting for the improvement of obese women’s body size, plasma characteristics, and quality of life, particularly for women between the ages of 30-45 years. This is important as the combination of yoga practice and dieting may be an effective strategy to improve the health and well-being of overweight and obese women.

So, improve physical and mental health in obesity with dieting and yoga practice.

“Yoga does not offer quick weight loss. However, it does offer long lasting effects. Initially, you may feel that you aren’t making any progress with weight loss but you’ll start feeling more active and alive inside. Eventually, the body will start responding and come back in good shape.” – Art of Living

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Telles, S., Sharma, S. K., Kala, N., Pal, S., Gupta, R. K., & Balkrishna, A. (2018). Twelve Weeks of Yoga or Nutritional Advice for Centrally Obese Adult Females. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 9, 466. http://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2018.00466

Abstract

Background: Central obesity is associated with a higher risk of disease. Previously yoga reduced the BMI and waist circumference (WC) in persons with obesity. Additional anthropometric measures and indices predict the risk of developing diseases associated with central obesity. Hence the present study aimed to assess the effects of 12 weeks of yoga or nutritional advice on these measures. The secondary aim was to determine the changes in quality of life (QoL) given the importance of psychological factors in obesity.

Material and Methods: Twenty-six adult females with central obesity in a yoga group (YOG) were compared with 26 adult females in a nutritional advice group (NAG). Yoga was practiced for 75 min/day, 3 days/week and included postures, breathing practices and guided relaxation. The NAG had one 45 min presentation/week on nutrition. Assessments were at baseline and 12 weeks. Data were analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA and post-hoc comparisons. Age-wise comparisons were with t-tests.

Results: At baseline and 12 weeks NAG had higher triglycerides and VLDL than YOG. Other comparisons are within the two groups. After 12 weeks NAG showed a significant decrease in WC, hip circumference (HC), abdominal volume index (AVI), body roundness index (BRI), a significant increase in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. YOG had a significant decrease in WC, sagittal abdominal diameter, HC, BMI, WC/HC, a body shape index, conicity index, AVI, BRI, HDL cholesterol, and improved QoL. With age-wise analyses, in the 30–45 years age range the YOG showed most of the changes mentioned above whereas NAG showed no changes. In contrast for the 46–59 years age range most of the changes in the two groups were comparable.

Conclusions: Yoga and nutritional advice with a diet plan can reduce anthropometric measures associated with diseases related to central obesity, with more changes in the YOG. This was greater for the 30–45 year age range, where the NAG showed no change; while changes were comparable for the two groups in the 46–59 year age range. Hence yoga may be especially useful for adult females with central obesity between 30 and 45 years of age.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6107686/

Improve Happiness and Meditative Experiences with Yoga

October 25, 2018 psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Happiness and Meditative Experiences with Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Happiness, not in another place but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.” – Walt Whitman

“Meditation leads to concentration, concentration leads to understanding, and understanding leads to happiness” – This wonderful quote from the modern day sage Thich Nhat Hahn is a beautiful pithy description of the benefits of mindfulness practice. Mindfulness allows us to view our experience and not put labels on it, not make assumptions about it, not relate it to past experiences, and not project it into the future. Rather mindfulness lets us experience everything around and within us exactly as it is arising and falling away from moment to moment.

A variety of forms of mindfulness training have been shown to increase psychological well-being and happiness. So, it would be expected that yoga practice would similarly increase these positive states. It is not known, however, if yoga training can produce a cross-training effects, improving the effectiveness of other mindfulness practices.

In today’s Research News article “Effects of Maharishi Yoga Asanas on Mood States, Happiness, and Experiences during Meditation. International Journal of Yoga.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5769201/ ), Gobec and colleagues recruited college students who practiced Transcendental Meditation. They were provided a 2-week course in yoga that met for 2 hours on 8 days over 2 weeks and included instruction in theory and practice of postures. The participants were measured before and after the training for mood states and resilience. They found that after training there was a significant decrease in total disturbance of their mood states.

In a second experiment the yoga training occurred for 4 weeks and a matched group of control participants was included. The participants were measured before and after the training for mood states and meditative experiences including: hindrances, relaxation, personal self, transpersonal qualities, and transpersonal self. They found that in comparison to the control participants after yoga training there were significant increases in happiness and meditative experiences, including personal self, transpersonal qualities, and transpersonal self.

The results suggest that yoga practice improves mood particularly increasing happiness as has been found to be true for contemplative practices in general. In addition, the results suggest that yoga practice alters the experiences that occur during meditation, including increased ability to transcend experiences of body and mind during meditation. This should greatly enhance the depth and effectiveness of the meditation. This is a completely new finding that yoga practice can enhance the individual’s experience during a separate mindfulness practice, meditation. This “cross-training” effect may greatly increase the effects of yoga practice on the psychological and spiritual health of the individual.

So, improve happiness and meditative experiences with yoga.

“According to yoga philosophy, santosha, which means contentment, is a form of self-discipline. In other words, happiness is a skill and practice. Happier people do not have easier lives, with less hard work, grief, divorce, or financial strain than the rest of us. They’re simply more grateful for what they have and choose to be conscious of their contentment more often.” – Rebecca Pacheco

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are a also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Gobec, S., & Travis, F. (2018). Effects of Maharishi Yoga Asanas on Mood States, Happiness, and Experiences during Meditation. International Journal of Yoga, 11(1), 66–71. http://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_66_16

Abstract

Context/Background:

Many studies showed positive effects of Yoga Asanas. There is no study on Maharishi Yoga Asanas yet. This research replicated and expanded observed improvements on the profile of mood states (POMS) as a result of 2-week Maharishi Yoga Asanas course. Thirteen college students taking part in a 4-week course on Maharishi Yoga Asanas were matched with 13 students taking other courses at the university.

Aims and Objective:

The main objective of the study was to assess the effects of Maharishi Yoga Asanas on mood states, degree of happiness, and experiences in Transcendental Meditation (TM) practice.

Methods:

All students were given two psychological tests and additional question before and after their 4-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5769201/happiness.

Results:

Repeated measure MANOVA showed the 4-week Maharishi Yoga Asanas course resulted in significant increase in happiness during the day and significant improvements in (1) sense of personal self, (2) transpersonal qualities, and (3) transpersonal self during their TM practice.

Conclusion:

This research shows that Maharishi Yoga Asanas affect more than body and mind. Rather they influence much deeper levels of one’s subjectivity including one’s transpersonal self.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5769201/

Reduce Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with Yoga

October 18, 2018 psyjdc Leave a comment

Reduce Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“The first step in yoga practice is to link the mind and body through the breath, bringing awareness to what is happening in the moment. Intense feelings and thoughts can be experienced and reduced in intensity as the mind becomes more still and calm and the body allows the sensations to pass. An experience of a deeper level of existence is possible allowing the body mind complex to feel peace and generate positive emotions and enter a transformative period. With repeated practice and guidance, a yoga practice can bring long term relief and a fresh perspective on life for PTSD sufferers.” – Art of Living

Experiencing trauma is quite common. It has been estimated that 60% of men and 50% of women will experience a significant traumatic event during their lifetime. But, only a fraction will develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). But this still results in a frightening number of people with 7%-8% of the population developing PTSD at some point in their life. For military personnel, it’s much more likely for PTSD to develop with about 11%-20% of those who have served in a war zone developing PTSD.

PTSD involves a number of troubling symptoms including reliving the event with the same fear and horror in nightmares or with a flashback. PTSD sufferers avoid situations that remind them of the event this may include crowds, driving, movies, etc. and may avoid seeking help because it keeps them from having to think or talk about the event. They often experience negative changes in beliefs and feelings including difficulty experiencing positive or loving feelings toward other people, avoiding relationships, memory difficulties, or see the world as dangerous and no one can be trusted. Sufferers may feel hyperarousal, feeling keyed up and jittery, or always alert and on the lookout for danger. They may experience sudden anger or irritability, may have a hard time sleeping or concentrating, may be startled by a loud noise or surprise.

Obviously, these are troubling symptoms that need to be addressed. There are a number of therapies that have been developed to treat PTSD. One of which, mindfulness training has been found to be particularly effective. Yoga practice is a mindfulness practice that has been shown to be helpful for PTSD. If the practice was tailored for the patients’ specific traumas and environment perhaps it would be even more effective. In today’s Research News article “Military-Tailored Yoga for Veterans with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6086130/ ), Cushing and colleagues examine the effectiveness of a yoga practice that was tailored for military personnel and combat-related PTSD for the relief of PTSD symptoms of military veterans.

They recruited veterans of either the Iraq or Afghanistan wars who were diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They were provided a weekly 60-minute yoga training for 6 weeks. The yoga training consisted of relaxation, postures, and body scan meditation. The participants were measured before and after the 6-week training for PTSD symptoms, anxiety, sleep quality, and mindfulness.

They found that after training there was a very large significant reduction in PTSD symptoms, including hyperarousal, re-experiencing, and avoidance symptoms. There were also large significant reductions in sleep disturbance and anxiety and increases in mindfulness. Hence, there were marked improvements in the psychological well-being of the combat veterans following yoga training.

The study suffers from the fact that there wasn’t a control, comparison, condition. As a result, the results might have been influenced by participant and experimenter biases. But, the observed changes were large and robust making it unlikely that they were due to contamination. The findings were also in line with previous findings in better controlled trial that mindfulness training is an effective treatment for the symptoms of PTSD.

So, reduce symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with yoga.

“I-Rest can produce a number of important changes in PTSD sufferers, like improved sleep, moderated behavior, and better emotional regulation. It can even lead to a decreased pharmaceutical regimen for PTSD patients.” – Armin Rosen

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Cushing, R. E., Braun, K. L., Alden, S. W., & Katz, A. R. (2018). Military-Tailored Yoga for Veterans with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Military Medicine, 183(5-6), e223–e231. http://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usx071

Abstract

Introduction:

Among veterans of post-9/11 conflicts, estimates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) range from 9% shortly after returning from deployment to 31% a year after deployment. Clinical and pharmaceutically based treatments are underutilized. This could be due to concerns related to lost duty days, as well as PTSD patients’ fears of stigma of having a mental health condition. Yoga has been shown to reduce PTSD symptoms in the civilian population, but few studies have tested the impact of yoga on veterans of post-9/11 conflicts. The purpose of this study is to test the impact of yoga on post-9/11 veterans diagnosed with PTSD.

Materials and Methods:

Participants were 18 yr of age or older and veterans of post-9/11 conflicts. They had subthreshold or diagnostic-level PTSD related to their combat military service, as determined by a score of 30 or higher on the PTSD Checklist-Military version (PCL-M). Veterans participated in 60-min weekly yoga sessions for 6 wk taught by a Warriors at Ease-trained yoga instructor who is a, post-9/11 veteran. The yoga sessions incorporated Vinyasa-style yoga and a trauma-sensitive, military-culture informed approach advocated by two separate organizations: Warriors at Ease and Meghan’s Foundation. Data were collected at baseline and again after 7 wk. The primary outcome was PCL-M score. Participants also completed the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale at both time points.

Results:

Eighteen Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn veterans completed the pre- and post-intervention self-report questionnaires. Age ranged from 26 to 62 yr (median = 43 yr), length of service ranged from 2 to 34 yr (median = 18.8 yr), and 13 (72.2%) had completed college. Decreased PTSD symptomatology was demonstrated in the three-symptom clusters represented in the PCL-M (i.e., hyperarousal, re-experiencing, and avoidance). In addition, the total score on the PCL-M decreased significantly, by both statistical and clinical measures. The participants also demonstrated improved mindfulness scores and reported decreased insomnia, depression, and anxiety symptoms.

Conclusion:

This study demonstrates that a trauma-sensitive yoga intervention may be effective for veterans with PTSD symptoms, whether as stand-alone or adjunctive therapy. The impressive decrease in PTSD symptomatology may be due to the tailored military-specific nature of this intervention and the fact that it was led by a veteran of post-9/11 conflicts. More research is needed with a larger sample and a more diverse veteran population.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6086130/

Improve Teacher Mental Well-Being with Yoga

October 15, 2018 psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Teacher Mental Well-Being with Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“Yoga is a psychology—the whole practice helps us work with the nature of the mind, the nature of being a human, how emotions live in our bodies, how they affect our behavior and our minds,” – Ashley Turner

Stress is epidemic in the western workplace with almost two thirds of workers reporting high levels of stress at work. In high stress occupations, like school teaching, burnout is all too prevalent. It frequently results from emotional exhaustion. Burnout is the fatigue, cynicism, emotional exhaustion, sleep disruption, and professional inefficacy that comes with work-related stress. This exhaustion produces a loss of enthusiasm, empathy, and compassion. Regardless of the reasons for burnout or its immediate presenting consequences, it is a threat to the effectiveness and mental health of teachers. Hence, preventing burnout in teachers is important.

Mindfulness techniques, including meditation, yoga, and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) are gaining increasing attention for the treatment of the symptoms of stress and burnout. They have been demonstrated to be helpful in reducing the psychological and physiological responses to stress and for treating and preventing burnout in a number of work environments. Yoga practice has the extra benefits of not only being mindfulness training but also as an exercise. Hence, it’s important to study the effects of yoga practice on the mental health of teachers.

In today’s Research News article “Increased Mental Well-Being and Reduced State Anxiety in Teachers After Participation in a Residential Yoga Program.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6083945/ ), Telles and colleagues recruited primary school teachers and assigned them to matched groups either receiving a residential yoga practice program or no-treatment. The residential yoga program consisted of 2 2-hour yoga practice sessions per day for 15 days along with theory presentations and discussion. Yoga practice included physical postures, meditation, regulated breathing exercises, and guided relaxation training. The teachers were measured before and after training for anxiety and mental well-being.

They found that in comparison to baseline and to the no-treatment control group, the teachers who participated in the residential yoga program had significantly reduced anxiety levels and significantly improved mental well-being with moderate effect sizes. In this study there was not an active control condition, so conclusions must be tempered with the understanding that participant or experimenter bias might be responsible for the results. Nevertheless, the results are in line with previous findings from better controlled studies that yoga practice improves emotions and mental well-being. Hence, it would appear that yoga practice may be useful for lessening burnout in stressed teachers.

So, improve teacher mental well-being with yoga.

“providing educators with training in yoga- and mindfulness-based skills may have several beneficial effects for educators, including increases in calmness, mindfulness, well-being, and positive mood, improvements in classroom management, emotional reactivity, physical symptoms, blood pressure, and cortisol awakening response, and decreases in mind and body stress.” – Bethany Butzer

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Telles, S., Gupta, R. K., Bhardwaj, A. K., Singh, N., Mishra, P., Pal, D. K., & Balkrishna, A. (2018). Increased Mental Well-Being and Reduced State Anxiety in Teachers After Participation in a Residential Yoga Program. Medical Science Monitor Basic Research, 24, 105–112. http://doi.org/10.12659/MSMBR.909200

Abstract

Background

Reducing stress in the workplace improves mental health. Teaching is of social importance, but it may receive inadequate recognition and rewards. The present study compared mental well-being and state anxiety in primary school teachers who practiced 15 days of yoga in a residential setting with those who continued their usual routine.

Material/Methods

We enrolled 236 primary school teachers to participate in the study. We assigned 118 primary school teachers (group mean ±S.D., age 41.5±6.0 years, 74 females) to the experimental group; they underwent 15 days of yoga training for 6 hours/day) in a residential yoga center. The non-yoga control group (group mean ±S.D., age 42.3±6.0 years, 79 females) consisted of 118 teachers who continued with their normal teaching routine.

Results

After 15 days in the residential yoga program, there was an increase in overall mental well-being (p<.001) and lower state anxiety (p<.01) (repeated-measures ANOVA, followed by post hoc multiple comparison tests). At baseline, the non-yoga control group had higher levels of state anxiety, presumably related to their remaining in the workplace.

Conclusions

The study was a 15-day, comparative, controlled trial. The results show that after 15 days of participation in the residential yoga program, primary school teachers increased all aspects of mental well-being and had reduced state anxiety.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6083945/

Improve Emotion Regulation and Gait in Obese Adolescents with Yoga

October 6, 2018 psyjdc 1 Comment

Improve Emotion Regulation and Gait in Obese Adolescents with Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“consider how stressful it must be in this image driven media age to be an overweight or obese child or teen. The well documented stress reduction factors of yoga practice are a powerful start to transforming health for youth suffering with the debilitating disease of obesity.” – Abby Wills

Obesity has become an epidemic in the industrialized world. In the U.S. the incidence of obesity, defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above has more than doubled over the last 35 years to currently around 35% of the population, while two thirds of the population are considered overweight or obese (BMI > 25). Sadly, children and adolescents have not been spared with 1 in 5 school age children and young people (6 to 19 years) classified as obese.

Although the incidence rates have appeared to stabilize, the fact that over a third of the population is considered obese is very troubling. This is because of the health consequences of obesity. Obesity has been found to shorten life expectancy by eight years and extreme obesity by 14 years. This occurs because obesity is associated with cardiovascular problems such as coronary heart disease and hypertension, stroke, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and others.

It would seem reasonable to attack the problem early in life with the children and adolescents. Hence it would seem reasonable to investigate the benefits of yoga practice obese youths. In today’s Research News article “A Pilot Study of Iyengar Yoga for Pediatric Obesity: Effects on Gait and Emotional Functioning.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6068554/ ), Hainsworth and colleagues recruited obese adolescents (11 to 18 years of age) and provided them with an 8-week Iyengar yoga training occurring for 60 minutes twice a week. Before and after training they were measured for walking gait, health-related quality of life, pain, physical activity over 2-3 days, and acceptability of the yoga program.

They found significant improvements in gait, including improvements in hip, knee, and ankle joint movements during walking. There were also significant improvements in health-related quality of life and psychosocial and emotional functioning. No changes in weight or physical activity were noted. Hence, a brief yoga training was found to improve the gait, quality of life, and psychological health of obese adolescents.

This was a small, relatively brief trial without a control group. So, caution should be exercised in reaching conclusions. Because it involved a small number of adolescents and lasted only 8 weeks, it would have been surprising to have found changes in body weight. A longer trial would be needed. But the results are encouraging and suggest that yoga practice is a safe and effective treatment for obese adolescents. They suggest that a larger, randomized controlled clinical trial should be performed.

So, improve emotion regulation and gait in obese adolescents with yoga.

“We found that those who were practicing yoga showed an improvement in their body satisfaction over the previous five years, and that the improvement was particularly strong among those who had a low level of body satisfaction to begin with — suggesting that those in greatest need can benefit from this practice,” – Dianne Neumark-Sztainer

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Hainsworth, K. R., Liu, X. C., Simpson, P. M., Swartz, A. M., Linneman, N., Tran, S. T., … Weisman, S. J. (2018). A Pilot Study of Iyengar Yoga for Pediatric Obesity: Effects on Gait and Emotional Functioning. Children, 5(7), 92. http://doi.org/10.3390/children5070092

Abstract

Obesity negatively impacts the kinematics and kinetics of the lower extremities in children and adolescents. Although yoga has the potential to provide several distinct benefits for children with obesity, this is the first study to examine the benefits of yoga for gait (primary outcome) in youths with obesity. Secondary outcomes included health-related quality of life (HRQoL), physical activity, and pain. Feasibility and acceptability were also assessed. Nine youths (11–17 years) participated in an eight-week Iyengar yoga intervention (bi-weekly 1-h classes). Gait, HRQOL (self and parent-proxy reports), and physical activity were assessed at baseline and post-yoga. Pain was self-reported at the beginning of each class. Significant improvements were found in multiple gait parameters, including hip, knee, and ankle motion and moments. Self-reported and parent-proxy reports of emotional functioning significantly improved. Time spent in physical activity and weight did not change. This study demonstrates that a relatively brief, non-invasive Iyengar yoga intervention can result in improved malalignment of the lower extremities during ambulation, as well as in clinically meaningful improvements in emotional functioning. This study extends current evidence that supports a role for yoga in pediatric obesity.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6068554/

Improve Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with Meditation or Yoga

October 2, 2018 psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with Meditation or Yoga

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

“meditation helps bring about the kind of deep self-awareness, or mindfulness, that can create a therapeutic basis for reducing the symptoms of PTSD. We can meet difficult emotions, difficult memories, and difficult experiences through meditation,” Stephanie Lopez

Experiencing trauma is quite common. It has been estimated that 60% of men and 50% of women will experience a significant traumatic event during their lifetime. Only a fraction will develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); about 7%-8%. PTSD involves a number of troubling symptoms including reliving the event with the same fear and horror in nightmares or with a flashback. They often experience negative changes in beliefs and feelings including difficulty experiencing positive or loving feelings toward other people, avoiding relationships, avoiding situations that remind them of the event memory difficulties, or see the world as dangerous and no one can be trusted. Sufferers may feel keyed up and jittery, or always alert and on the lookout for danger. They may experience sudden anger or irritability, may have a hard time sleeping or concentrating, may be startled by a loud noise or surprise.

Obviously, these are serious and troubling symptoms that need to be addressed. There are a number of therapies that have been developed to treat PTSD. One of which, mindfulness training has been found to be particularly effective. Exercise also appears to be effective in treating the symptoms of PTSD. So, it would seem reasonable to examine the meditation and yoga training in treating PTSD.

In today’s Research News article “Meditation and Yoga for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Meta-Analytic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5939561/ ), Gallegos and colleagues reviewed, summarized and performed a meta-analysis of the 19 published randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) of the application of mindfulness training, meditation, and/or yoga for the treatment of the symptoms of PTSD. They found that the research reports that all techniques including mindfulness training, meditation, and yoga produced significant improvements in the symptoms of PTSD regardless of whether they were compared to active or inactive control conditions. They all had moderate to large effect sizes.

This summary of the research is very encouraging and suggests that mindfulness, meditation, and yoga training are safe and effective adjunctive treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It is not known exactly how these trainings improve PTSD but they are known to reduce the physiological and psychological responses to stress, improve the regulation of emotions, and reduce worry and rumination, all of which should be beneficial for PTSD sufferers.

So, improve Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with meditation or yoga.

“Veterans struggling with the growing problem of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have new hope in helping to alleviate their symptoms with Mindful Yoga Therapy (MYT), according to research that finds the specific yoga practices in its protocol can help improve their physical and psychological well-being.” – Mindful Yoga Therapy

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Study Summary

Gallegos, A. M., Crean, H. F., Pigeon, W. R., & Heffner, K. L. (2017). Meditation and Yoga for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Meta-Analytic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Clinical Psychology Review, 58, 115–124. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.10.004

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic and debilitating disorder that affects the lives of 7-8% of adults in the U.S. Although several interventions demonstrate clinical effectiveness for treating PTSD, many patients continue to have residual symptoms and ask for a variety of treatment options. Complementary health approaches, such as meditation and yoga, hold promise for treating symptoms of PTSD. This meta-analysis evaluates the effect size (ES) of yoga and meditation on PTSD outcomes in adult patients. We also examined whether the intervention type, PTSD outcome measure, study population, sample size, or control condition moderated the effects of complementary approaches on PTSD outcomes. The studies included were 19 randomized control trials with data on 1,173 participants. A random effects model yielded a statistically significant ES in the small to medium range (ES = −.39, p < .001, 95% CI [−.57, −.22]). There were no appreciable differences between intervention types, study population, outcome measures, or control condition. There was, however, a marginally significant higher ES for sample size ≤ 30 (ES = −.78, k = 5). These findings suggest that meditation and yoga are promising complementary approaches in the treatment of PTSD among adults and warrant further study.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5939561/