Group-Based Yogic Weight Loss with Ayurveda-Inspired Components: A Pilot Investigation of Female Yoga Practitioners and Novices.

INTRODUCTION: Overweight/obesity is a pressing international health concern and conventional treatments demonstrate poor long-term efficacy. Preliminary evidence suggests yoga and Ayurveda may be promising approaches, although recent NHIS estimates indicate rare utilization of Ayurveda in the US. Group-based curricula that integrate yoga and Ayurveda-inspired principles to attenuate overweight and obesity across individuals may prove a feasible, disseminable clinical adjunct to facilitate psychosocial health and weight loss and/or maintenance. AIMS: Determine feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a ten-week yoga - based, Ayurveda-inspired weight management curriculum (YWL) piloted in female yoga practitioners (Study 1) then refined and tailored for yoga naïves (Study 2), on self-reported psychosocial process variables and % of self-reported total body weight loss (%TBWL). METHODOLOGY: Study 1 enrolled 22 yoga-experienced women (48.2 ± 14.3 years, BMI 30.8 ± 4.2 kg/m2) in a 10-week yoga-based program (YWL-YE). Study 2 enrolled 21 yoga- naïve women (49.4 ± 10.7 years, BMI 35.5 ± 6.8 kg/m2) in a revised 10-week program (YWL-YN). Self-reported weight and self-ratings of mindful eating behavior, body image disturbance, weight loss self-efficacy, body awareness, and self-compassion were collected at baseline, post-treatment (T2), and 3-month follow- up (T3). RESULTS: YWL curricula was feasible in both studies. While attrition rates for both studies favorably compared to other weight management studies, attrition was higher for YWL-YN (28.6%) than YWL-YE (18.2%). In both studies, self-reported process variables and self-reported % TBWL changed in hypothesized directions at T2 and evidenced greater improvement at T3; effect sizes across all process variables were medium (-0.4) to large (-1.8). % TBWL reached clinical significance (>5%) only at T3 for the YWL-YE group. CONCLUSIONS: The YWL curricula employed here appear to improve psychosocial health among both overweight/obese yoga-experienced and yoga- naïve women. Results must be interpreted with caution due to study design, self-report assessments, and other limitations. Nonetheless, hypotheses are generated for future investigation.

Potential self-regulatory mechanisms of yoga for psychological health.

Research suggesting the beneficial effects of yoga on myriad aspects of psychological health has proliferated in recent years, yet there is currently no overarching framework by which to understand yoga's potential beneficial effects. Here we provide a theoretical framework and systems-based network model of yoga that focuses on integration of top-down and bottom-up forms of self-regulation. We begin by contextualizing yoga in historical and contemporary settings, and then detail how specific components of yoga practice may affect cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and autonomic output under stress through an emphasis on interoception and bottom-up input, resulting in physical and psychological health. The model describes yoga practice as a comprehensive skillset of synergistic process tools that facilitate bidirectional feedback and integration between high- and low-level brain networks, and afferent and re-afferent input from interoceptive processes (somatosensory, viscerosensory, chemosensory). From a predictive coding perspective we propose a shift to perceptual inference for stress modulation and optimal self-regulation. We describe how the processes that sub-serve self-regulation become more automatized and efficient over time and practice, requiring less effort to initiate when necessary and terminate more rapidly when no longer needed. To support our proposed model, we present the available evidence for yoga affecting self-regulatory pathways, integrating existing constructs from behavior theory and cognitive neuroscience with emerging yoga and meditation research. This paper is intended to guide future basic and clinical research, specifically targeting areas of development in the treatment of stress-mediated psychological disorders.

Qualitative evaluation of a high school yoga program: feasibility and perceived benefits.

This is the first published qualitative assessment of a yoga program applied in a high school setting. This qualitative interview study was nested in a randomized, controlled trial studying the effects of a yoga program offered in place of a semester of physical education classes at a rural public high school. Student interviews were conducted after taking part in a semester of the yoga program. A formal passive consent with information about the qualitative study was sent home to parents/guardians of all students in the parent study before the interviews. Most students enjoyed the yoga classes and felt benefits. Negative reports of yoga practice were associated with gender as most males sensed peer pressure against practicing yoga. Despite this finding, most students wanted to continue yoga and would continue if it were offered in school. Positive reports include a greater kinesthetic awareness, which some students associated with a greater respect for the body and improved self-image. Among students reporting psychological benefits, many cited stress reduction; many used yoga to manage negative emotions; and some propagated more optimism. Most thought yoga could reduce interest in the use of drugs and alcohol and increase social cohesion with family and peers. We found that a yoga program is feasible in this sample of 9th and 10th graders, especially after benefits are perceived. We also found evidence that yoga may lead to emergent positive benefits in health behaviors not directly prescribed by the program. These results suggest that school-based yoga programs may be appropriate for promoting healthy behaviors at a societal level by focusing on the prevention of negative patterns during the adolescent transition.

Benefits of yoga for psychosocial well-being in a US high school curriculum: a preliminary randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To test feasibility of yoga within a high school curriculum and evaluate preventive efficacy for psychosocial well-being. METHODS: Grade 11 or 12 students (N = 51) who registered for physical education (PE) were cluster-randomized by class 2:1 yoga:PE-as-usual. A Kripalu-based yoga program of physical postures, breathing exercises, relaxation, and meditation was taught 2 to 3 times a week for 10 weeks. Self-report questionnaires were administered to students 1 week before and after. Primary outcome measures of psychosocial well-being were Profile of Mood States-Short Form and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children. Additional measures of psychosocial well-being included Perceived Stress Scale and Inventory of Positive Psychological Attitudes. Secondary measures of self-regulatory skills included Resilience Scale, State Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2™, and Child Acceptance Mindfulness Measure. To assess feasibility, yoga students completed a program evaluation. Analyses of covariance were conducted between groups with baseline as the covariate. RESULTS: Although PE-as-usual students showed decreases in primary outcomes, yoga students maintained or improved. Total mood disturbance improved in yoga students and worsened in controls (p = .015), as did Profile of Mood States-Short Form (POMS-SF) Tension-Anxiety subscale (p = .002). Although positive affect remained unchanged in both, negative affect significantly worsened in controls while improving in yoga students (p = .006). Secondary outcomes were not significant. Students rated yoga fairly high, despite moderate attendance. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation was feasible and students generally found it beneficial. Although not causal due to small, uneven sample size, this preliminary study suggests preventive benefits in psychosocial well-being from Kripalu yoga during high school PE. These results are consistent with previously published studies of yoga in school settings.

Evaluation of potential for mercury volatilization from natural and FGD gypsum products using flux-chamber tests.

Synthetic gypsum produced by flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) in coal-fired power plants (FGD gypsum) is put to productive use in manufacturing wallboard. FGD gypsum wallboard is widely used, accounting for nearly 30% of wallboard sold in the United States. Mercury is captured in flue gas and thus is one of the trace metals present in FGD gypsum; raising questions about the potential for mercury exposure from wallboard. Mercury is also one of the trace metals present in "natural" mined gypsum used to make wall board. Data available in the literature were not adequate to assess whether mercury in wallboard from either FGD or natural gypsum could volatilize into indoor air. In this study, mercury volatilization was evaluated using small-scale (5 L) glass and Teflon flux chambers, with samples collected using both iodated carbon and gold-coated sand traps. Mercury flux measurements made using iodated carbon traps (n=6) were below the detection limit of 11.5 ng/m2-day for all natural and synthetic gypsum wallboard samples. Mercury flux measurements made using gold-coated sand traps (n=6) were 0.92 +/- 0.11 ng/m2-day for natural gypsum wallboard and 5.9 +/- 2.4 ng/m2-day for synthetic gypsum wallboard. Room air mercury concentrations between 0.028 and 0.28 ng/m3 and between 0.13 and 2.2 ng/m3 were estimated based on the flux-rate data for natural and synthetic gypsum wallboard samples, respectively, and were calculated assuming a 3 m x 4 m x 5 m room, and 10th and 90th percentile air exchange rates of 0.18/hour and 1.26/hour. The resulting concentration estimates are well below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reference concentration for indoor air elemental mercury of 300 ng/m3 and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry minimal risk level (MRL) of 200 ng/m3. Further, these estimates are below background mercury concentrations in indoor air and within or below the range of typical background mercury concentrations in outdoor air.