Background: Academic performance is concerned with the quantity and quality of learning attained in a subject or group of subjects after a long period of instruction. Excessive stress hampers students' performance. Improvement in academic performance and alertness has been reported in several yogic studies. Aims and Objectives: The main objective of the study was to assess the effect of yoga on academic performance in relation to stress. Materials and Methods: The study started with 800 adolescent students; 159 high-stress students and 142 low-stress students were selected on the basis of scores obtained through Stress Battery. Experimental group and control group were given pre test in three subjects, i.e., Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. A yoga module consisting of yoga asanas, pranayama, meditation, and a value orientation program was administered on experimental group for 7 weeks. The experimental and control groups were post-tested for their performance on the three subjects mentioned above. Results: The results show that the students, who practiced yoga performed better in academics. The study further shows that low-stress students performed better than high-stress students, meaning thereby that stress affects the students' performance.

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Background/Aim: The incidence of bronchial asthma is on increase. Chemotherapy is helpful during early course of the disease, but later on morbidity and mortality increases. The efficacy of yoga therapy though appreciated is yet to be defined and modified. Aim: To study the effect of breathing exercises ( pranayama ) in patients with bronchial asthma of mild to moderate severity. Materials and Methods: Fifty cases of bronchial asthma (Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1) > 70%) were studied for 12 weeks. Patients were allocated to two groups: group A and group B (control group). Patients in group A were treated with breathing exercises (deep breathing, Brahmari , and Omkara , etc.) for 20 minutes twice daily for a period of 12 weeks. Patients were trained to perform Omkara at high pitch (forceful) with prolonged exhalation as compared to normal Omkara . Group B was treated with meditation for 20 minutes twice daily for a period of 12 weeks. Subjective assessment, FEV1%, and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) were done in each case initially and after 12 weeks. Results: After 12 weeks, group A subjects had significant improvement in symptoms, FEV1, and PEFR as compared to group B subjects. Conclusion: Breathing exercises ( pranayama ), mainly expiratory exercises, improved lung function subjectively and objectively and should be regular part of therapy.

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Background/Aims : Memory and selective attention are important skills for academic and professional performance. Techniques to improve these skills are not taught either in education or company training courses. Any system which can systematically improve these skills will be of value in schools, universities, and workplaces. Aims:To investigate possible improvements in memory and selective attention, as measured by the Digit-Letter Substitution Task (DLST), due to practice of Cyclic Meditation (CM), a yoga relaxation technique, as compared to Supine Rest (SR). Materials and Methods : Subjects consisted of 253 school students, 156 boys, 97 girls, in the age range 13-16 years, who were attending a 10-day yoga training course during summer vacation. The selected subjects had English as their medium of instruction in school and they acted as their own controls. They were allocated to two groups, and tested on the DLST, immediately before and after 22.5 minutes practice of CM on one day, and immediately before and after an equal period of SR on the other day. The first group performed CM on day 9 and SR on day 10. For the second group, the order was reversed. Results : Within each group pre-post test differences were significant for both the relaxation techniques. The magnitude of net score improvement was greater after SR (7.85%) compared to CM (3.95%). Significance levels were P < 0.4 x 10 ^-9 for SR and P < 0.1 x 10 ^-3 for CM. The number of wrong attempts also increased significantly on both interventions, even after removing two outlier data points on day 1 in the SR group. Conclusions: Both CM and SR lead to improvement in performance on the DLST. However, these relaxation techniques lead to more wrong cancellation errors.

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This article presents information on standardized paper-and-pencil measures of spiritual and transpersonal constructs that hold promise for use in yoga research. Nine instruments are discussed at length including the Assessment Schedule for Altered States of Consciousness, Ego Grasping Orientation, Expressions of Spirituality Inventory, Hindu Religious Coping Scale, Measures of Hindu Pathways, Self-Expansiveness Level Form, Spiritual Orientation Inventory, Spiritual Transcendence Scale, and the Vedic Personality Inventory. As well, a listing of an additional 14 measures, along with primary citations, is provided. In conclusion, the authors proffer recommendations for the use of psychometric tests and provide a general proposal for programmatic research.

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Background/Aims: To study the efficacy of yoga on Gunas (personality) and self esteem in normal adults through a randomized comparative study. Materials and Methods: Of the 1228 persons who attended motivational lectures, 226 subjects aged 18-71 years, of both sexes, who satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and who consented to participate in the study were randomly allocated into two groups. The Yoga (Y) group practised an integrated yoga module that included asanas, pranayama, meditation, notional correction, and devotional sessions. The comparison group practised mild to moderate physical exercises (PE). Both groups had supervised practices for one hour daily, six days a week, for eight weeks. Guna (personality) was assessed before and after eight weeks using the self-administered "The 'Gita" Inventory of Personality" (GIN) to assess Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas . Self esteem in terms of competency (COM), global self esteem (GSE), moral and self esteem (MSE), social esteem (SET), family self esteem (FSE), body and physical appearance (BPA), and the lie scale (LIS) were assessed using the self esteem questionnaire (SEQ). Results: The baseline scores for all domains for both the groups did not differ significantly ( P > 0.05 independent samples t-test). There were significant pre-post improvements in all domains in both groups ( P < 0.001 paired t-test). The number of persons who showed improvement in Sattva and decrease in Tamas was significant in the Y but not in the PE group (McNemar test). The effect size for self esteem in the Y group is greater than for the PE group in three out of seven domains. Conclusions: This randomized controlled study has shown the influence of Yoga on Gunas and self esteem in comparison to physical exercise.

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Background/Aims : A cross-sectional study was undertaken on 767 urban male volunteers performing physical activity and 469 age and socioeconomic status matched controls not doing any physical activity from the city limits of North India. Materials and Methods : Height and weight were recorded for each participant to determine their Body Mass Index (BMI). Body fat percentage and weight was measured using a body fat monitor. Results : Fifty three percent of the physical activity performers showed normal BMI compared to 49% nonphysical activity performers. Overweight was observed in 43.3% physical activity performers compared to 44.7% nonphysical activity performers. Fifty two percent of physical activity performers had normal body fat percent compared to 48.5% nonphysical activity performers. Low body fat percent was observed in 23.4% physical activity performers compared to 2.7% nonphysical activity performers. High body fat percent was observed in 48.7% nonphysical activity performers compared to 45.8% physical activity performers. Conclusions: Overall, the study suggested that physical activity alone cannot maintain BMI and body fat percent, but it can reduce the risk of overweight and high body fat percent in the population.

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Background/Aim: Sustained attention is a vital function mediated by the right frontoparietal cortex. The Six Letter Cancellation Task (SLCT) measures sustained attention. Development of sustained attention in a yoga-based education system compared to a modern one is the theme of the present study. Aim: To compare the effectiveness of the Modern Education System (MES) and the Gurukula Education System (GES) in developing sustained attention. Materials and Methods: Forty nine boys (11-13 years) were selected from two residential schools, one MES and the other GES, providing similar ambiance and daily routines. The boys were matched for age and socioeconomic status. The GES educational program is based around integrated yoga modules while the MES provides a conventional modern education program. Sustained attention was assessed using the SLCT at the start and end of an academic year. Results: Within groups, the pre-post test differences were significant for both groups. However, the between groups result showed improvement in the GES group compared to the MES group at a P < 0.001 significance level. Conclusions: The study suggests that both MES and GES improve sustained attention in school boys, but GES is more effective.

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