G.Yoga Theses PhD.
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Yoga Theses by Yoga PhD Students at SVYASA. These pages present some efforts at Scientific Validation of Yoga. You may receive full text of available yoga research papers
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Item Application of Guna-Implicit Association test to Study Social Desirability in Explicit Measures of Gunas in Yoga Students(SVYASA, 2014-01-12) Ilavarasu, Judu V.Assessment of Personality through explicit self-report measures like questionnaires always suffers from the influence of social desirability.Item Benefits of yoga education in high school curriculum for anger management: A randomized control study(Swami Vivekananda Yoga University, 2017-12) Mani T. L., AlakaAdolescent anger is one of the key contributors of adolescent mortality and many negative developmental outcomes. Research studies indicate, escalated anger issues in schools and colleges across the globe including India. Anger being multidimensional construct, assessment of anger and its management remains a significant challenge. Despite a number of studies done on anger, it is still an emotion that is very much misunderstood. While, the available adolescent anger theories and inventories provide considerable direction towards the way forward, they lack clarity in terms of providing a comprehensive approach in assessment and management of anger. Considering negative developmental outcomes and the far reaching consequences of adolescent anger, there is a growing consensus among researchers, educators and health professionals to develop effective school based anger management programs. Indian Classical texts, mainly Vedic science provides immense conceptual resources to understand the concept of anger and its dynamics. There is an increasing trend of adopting spiritual concepts and practices for promoting mental health. Yogic Science having its strong roots in spirituality as well as evidence based approaches acceptable to modern science will be able to provide holistic approach to anger assessment and anger management.Item BENEFITS OF YOGA EDUCATION IN HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM FOR ANGER MANAGEMENT; A RANDOMIZED CONTROL STUDY(S-VYASA, 2017-12) T. L., Alaka mani; Nagendra, H. R.; Omkar, S. N.; Sharma, Manoj KumarIntroduction: Adolescent anger is one of the key contributors of adolescent mortality and many negative developmental outcomes. Research studies indicate, escalated anger issues in schools and colleges across the globe including India. Anger being multidimensional construct, assessment of anger and its management remains a significant challenge. Despite a number of studies done on anger, it is still an emotion that is very much misunderstood. While, the available adolescent anger theories and inventories provide considerable direction towards the way forward, they lack clarity in terms of providing a comprehensive approach in assessment and management of anger. Considering negative developmental outcomes and the far reaching consequences of adolescent anger, there is a growing consensus among researchers, educators and health professionals to develop effective school based anger management programs. Indian Classical texts, mainly Vedic science provides immense conceptual resources to understand the concept of anger and its dynamics. There is an increasing trend of adopting spiritual concepts and practices for promoting mental health. Yogic Science having its strong roots in spirituality as well as evidence based approaches acceptable to modern science will be able to provide holistic approach to anger assessment and anger management.Item Bio-mechanics of yogasanas : A study of alignment and proficiency(SVYASA, 2022-12-22) Mohan Kishore D.; Manjunath N. K.BACKGROUND Yoga is a traditional Indian way of keeping the mind and body fit, through physical postures (asanas), voluntarily regulated breathing (pranayama), meditation and relaxation techniques. The recent pandemic has seen a huge surge in the number of yoga practitioners, many practicing without proper guidance which leads to unexpected injury. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The present study was designed to develop a technology-driven pose estimation method to assess and evaluate yoga postures to understand the level of accuracy. It will assist practitioners to perform any yoga posture with the support of a machine learning algorithm. METHODS Participants Twenty practitioners in the age group of 18 to 60 years performing different postures in real time were captured and fed separately to the proposed architectures and a comparison of the estimated accuracy was done. Design The present exploratory study included a group of 20 yoga practitioners to assess the accuracy and proficiency of yoga postures. Assessments: The image of a yoga practitioner performing an asäna is captured by a camera and fed separately to the four deep learning architectures, which then estimate the pose performed by the practitioner by comparing it with the pre-trained model. An error is shown if it does not match any of the five asanas. Intervention: The five yoga poses considered for posture estimation are (a) Ardhacandräsana (Half-moon pose) (b) Täòäsana (Mountain pose) (c) Trikoëäsana (Triangular pose) (d) Vérabhadräsana (Warrior pose-II) (e) Våkñäsana (Tree pose) Results: In this work, four distinct deep learning architectures-Epipolarpose, Openpose, Posenet, and Mediapipe-were utilized to evaluate yoga postures. The results show that, despite only utilising one camera, Mediapipe outperforms the other approaches in terms of accuracy. Five yoga postures have had their poses estimated using various suggested methods. Following the model's validation, the posture correctness of 20 real-time sample photos was estimated using the model. Conclusions: The health and fitness industry can employ human pose estimation efficiently. The huge range of poses with high degrees of freedom, the occlusions caused by the body or other objects blocking limbs as viewed from the camera, and the wide range of appearances or clothes make pose assessment for fitness applications particularly difficult. The mediapipe design offers the best estimation accuracy, according to this study, which evaluates the estimation of five different posturesItem A Comparative Study of The Psycho physiological Effects of Cyclic Meditation and Supine Rest (Shavasana)(2009-11) Subramanya PailoorCyclic meditation combines ‘stimulating’ and ‘calming’ practices, based on a statement in ancient yoga texts suggesting that this combination may be helpful to reach mental equilibrium. Cyclic meditation consists of cycles of yoga postures interspersed with periods of supine rest. Practicing cyclic meditation reduced psychophysiological arousal based on a decrease in oxygen consumption and changes in the heart rate variability suggestive of a shift towards vagal dominance. Cyclic meditation improved the performance in a P300 event related potential task and also improved the performance in a letter cancellation task more than relaxation in the corpse posture (shavasana). Both tasks require selective attention and concentration. The benefits were ascribed to possible stress reducing effects of cyclic meditation, as the practice reduces physiological and cortical arousal.This was ascribed to reduced anxiety, though this was not assessed. The effects of cyclic meditation on MLAEPs have not been studied.Item A comparison of cognitive functions of yoga based education (gurukula) system and modern education system(2009-01-01) Rangan R.A comparison of cognitive functions of yoga based education (gurukula) system and modern education systemItem A Comparison of Psychophysiological effects of Two Yoga Relaxation Techniques(2006-01-01) Sarang S.P.A Comparison of Psychophysiological effects of Two Yoga Relaxation TechniquesItem Concept of Siddhi in yoga texts : Comparison with modern physics and transpersonal psychology(SVYASA, 2022-05-13) SONEJI RADHA TULSIDAS ASHA; Sridhar M. K.; Alex Hankeyviii ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Though well known in ancient times, materialism has meant that Siddhis are no longer generally accepted. The term ‗siddhi‘ translates as ‗perfection‘, ‗attainment‘, or ‗success‘. Siddhis result from yoga practices that train the mind to operate on subtle levels. The study sets out a list of siddhis in ancient yoga texts with their descriptions, and procedures to develop them. It also lists abilities described in Transpersonal Psychology, and provides explanations from instability physics that explain these higher functions of the mind for the academic community. Siddhis arise when, through spiritual practices, the mind‘s higher potentials are realized. As natural phenomena they should be understood as milestones on the spiritual path. The study provides academics, philosophers, and scientists, a basis for understanding the concept of siddhi and its ramifications. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The study has two aims: first, to generate a complete listing of siddhis described in yoga texts, along with the means to develop them; second, to discuss them in terms of modern science. Its overall objective is to extended the scientific paradigm to include siddhi; more precisely that they constitute advanced states of psychology, which known physics of mind can explain. The study thus purposes to link knowledge from the dateless past with today‘s empirical sciences. METHODS The study is literary research, taking as its problem: How to include siddhis in the scientific paradigm, and its body of evidence, siddhis listed in both the Sanskrit literature and modern investigations. Source texts for the study were selected after discussions with experts in the field. The two Yoga Çästra, the Bhagavada Gétä and Pataïjali Yoga Sütra, twenty Yoga ix Upaniñads, and four Yoga Tantras were studied in detail, and translated into English after transliteration. Modern science research data was taken from texts and papers published in academic journals. APPROACH The study has both practical and analytical aspects. It studies siddhi from ancient and modern perspectives, i.e. from the three angles of Yoga Texts, Modern Physics of Consciousness, and Transpersonal Psychology, which uses terms such as subtle phenomena, extraordinary capabilities of human beings, extra sensory perception / ability, consciousness and its biophysics, manifestation of potential abilities and fulfillment of mental potential. It builds a science of siddhi from the phenomenon of siddhi, using the lens of modern science to analyze procedures given in ancient texts for siddhi attainment. Siddhi is not bound by time or space. Yogis acquire them as they transcend those levels of existence. RESU./LTS A complete set of translations of the selected texts and çloka are given. Similarly a detailed comparison is made between the special abilities described in Transpersonal Psychology and those in Yoga Texts. Analysis of the physics of instabilities, such as those known in fractal physiology, shows that siddhis are compatible with known laws of physics. CONCLUSION Many parts of the Vedic literature describe siddhis; some describe means for their development. The study has elucidated them all, comparing them with those named in Transpersonal Psychology. It also considers how contemporary physics may account for siddhis on the basis of recently developed theories of conscious experience. Despite appearing supernatural, siddhis are available to all human beings through subtle aspects of mind. Most people with mobile phones have the experience of knowing the identity of a caller, especially of a close friend or relative – ‗telephone telepathy‘, scientifically x substantiated by Rupert Sheldrake. Siddhis start at this level, and, as this study describes, proceed to really extraordinary phenomena that make Mind appear more fundamental than Matter. Testing the theory as various siddhis are performed may lead to the emergence of a new empirical scientific discipline.Item CONCEPT OF WAKING STATE (JĀGRAT), DREAM (SVAPNA), DEEP-SLEEP (SUṣUPTI), TURĪYĀ STATE IN THE MĀṆḌŪKYA UPANIṣAD AND IN COMPARISON WITH MODERN PSYCHOLOGY(SVYASA, 2021-01) Durga, T. K.; Sridhar, M. K.BACKGROUND The cultural and spiritual legacy of India is vast as well as rich. There is nothing sectarian or regional about it. It is so universal in its appeal and so catholic in its approach that it belongs to the whole world. This legacy is derived from the Vedas. They include all schools of Indian thought except that of the Lokāyata, Buddhists and Jains. Each of them is subdivided into Samhitā (collections), Brāhmaṇa (dealing with Vedic rituals, sacrificial rites), Āraṇyaka (sacrificial rites) and Upaniṣads. Homogeneity can be found in all the Upaniṣads. They deal with the topics of supreme reality (Brahman), individual soul (Ātman), world (jagat) and their inter – relationships. These concepts are in the form of an enchanting dialogue between a teacher and a student, father and son, mother and son and so on. In the Upaniṣads, we get an intelligible body of verified and verifiable spiritual insights mixed with a mass of myths and legends, cosmological speculation relating to the nature and origin of the universe. While the former has universal validity, and has a claim on human intelligence in all ages, the latter forswears all such claims. All positivistic knowledge contained in any literature, including religious literature, is limited and conditioned by the level of contemporary scientific knowledge. Among the ten Upaniṣads, Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad is taken for an analysis here. In the brief compass of its twelve verses of the condensed thought, the Māṇḍūkya surveys the whole of experience through a study of the three states of waking, dream, dreamless sleep, and reveals the Ātman, the self of man, the Turīyā or the fourth, as it puts it, as pure consciousness, eternal and non-dual. It proclaims in its second verse, the infinite dimension of man in a pregnant utterance - one of the four mahāvākyas or “great utterances” of the Upaniṣads: Ayam ātma brahmā - this Ātman (self of man) is Brahman. The four states are analyzed here with Māṇḍūkya Kārika of Gauḍapāda. The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad speaks of mind and consciousness in various states and as comparison, modern psychological views about mind, sleep and consciousness are broadly discussed here. WESTERN VIEWS In Indian philosophy both mind and matter are placed in the same category as they become objects of knowledge. But in western philosophy both are based on a clear distinction between mind and matter. In the Indian philosophical tradition, mind helps in knowing consciousness whereas in the western paradigm, mind becomes the subject as well as the object of knowing. Knowing gives an understanding of the truth and could lead to realization. In the eastern tradition, knowing becomes a being and becoming. This knowledge of the self (ātman) helps the individual in attaining happiness (sukha) and welfare (abhyudaya) in this world, and realization of the supreme reality (Brahman) leading to liberation (mokṣa). Thus knowing and understanding about consciousness become complimentary in both the systems. AIM AND OBJECTIVES To study the concept of Waking state (jāgrat), Dream (svapnam), deep-sleep state (suṣupti) and Turīyā in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad and in comparison with modern psychology. LINES OF INVESTIGATION Initially, the ten Upaniṣads were studied with the commentary of Ādi Śankarācārya, the essence of the major ten Upaniṣads, namely Iśa, Kena, Kaṭa, Praśna, Mūṇḍa, Māṇḍūkya, Taittirīya, Aitareya, Chāndogya, and Bṛhadāraṇyaka, were given in a nutshell. The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad with the commentary of Gauḍapāda was studied elaborately and analysis was made regarding the four states of consciousness. The research method employed here was analytical in nature. Secondly, a comparison of these three states was done with modern psychology and wherever the similarities and dissimilarities were found, they were brought out objectively. The significant contributions of Indian thought were highlighted. Thirdly, Anveṣaṇa, the research department of SVYASA yoga University has done scientific research on the state of mind, fickleness of mind (cancalatā), one pointedness of mind (ekāgratā),) focused attention of mind (dhāraṇa) and deep concentration or attention (dhyāna) for the last few years. Those selected research papers were examined, analyzed and the contributions of those researchers and scholars were documented here. Thus, the study of three states of Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad was compared with Indian philosophy and modern scientific researches in an analytical way. MATERIALS AND METHODS As the PhD Thesis topic is literary and theoretical in nature, the general research methodology used in the domains of language, philosophy or arts was used which involved a broad study of the background subject, an analysis of the thesis topic, comparison with modern psychology and final assessment and conclusions. Hence the standard research methodology used in scientific researches such as experimental trials, random control trial (RCT), interventions such as pre – and post interventions, limitations, inclusion principle, exclusion principle, sample strategy, samples, empirical analysis etc., have not been employed in this pure literary research.Item Correlation of Electro Photonic Imaging parameters and Biochemical parameters in diabetes type 2(2017-02) Bhat, Romesh KumarNature has its own manner and timing of revealing itself. Yoga is one of such divine philosophy that it has revealed through the sages and Rishis of India. The second verse of Patanjali describes most of it. Yoga is to control the distractions of the mind. Once that is done it is easier to merge individual consciousness with supreme consciousness and be in a state of bliss free from the materialistic disposition and its allied pain and misery. Controlling the mind is to control the Prana which is part of consciousness. It is Shiva making effort to be Shiva. Pranayama helps to control the Prana and hence the mind. The uncontrolled fluctuations are the cause of diseases as that disturbs the homeostasis of the body. Through Yoga we can check it and that is why Yoga has become popular worldwide, namely for disease prevention and management. From the alternative medicine, Electro photonic imaging (EPI) technique is emerging as a novel technique of measurement of the bio-energy of the body. Yoga intervention for improvements in homeostasis and monitoring the changes through Electro photonic imaging (EPI) technique is a desired holistic approach for monitoring health and happiness across the world. It is necessary to correlate EPI norms with the established biochemical parameters to have wide and scientific acceptability in modern medicine. There is a need for such study. The study is in two parts. In the first part, a study of classical literature is presented wherein scriptural concepts on Prana and its relation to health is discussed. In the second part, experimental aspects of bio-energy are taken up and measurements using EPI is presented.Item Correlation of Electro Photonic Imaging parameters and Biochemical parameters in diabetes type 2(S-VYASA, 2017-02) Bhat, Romesh KumarNature has its own manner and timing of revealing itself. Yoga is one of such divine philosophy that it has revealed through the sages and Rishis of India. The second verse of Patanjali describes most of it. Yoga is to control the distractions of the mind. Once that is done it is easier to merge individual consciousness with supreme consciousness and be in a state of bliss free from the materialistic disposition and its allied pain and misery. Controlling the mind is to control the Prana which is part of consciousness. It is Shiva making effort to be Shiva. Pranayama helps to control the Prana and hence the mind. The uncontrolled fluctuations are the cause of diseases as that disturbs the homeostasis of the body. Through Yoga we can check it and that is why Yoga has become popular worldwide, namely for disease prevention and management. From the alternative medicine, Electro photonic imaging (EPI) technique is emerging as a novel technique of measurement of the bio-energy of the body. Yoga intervention for improvements in homeostasis and monitoring the changes through Electro photonic imaging (EPI) technique is a desired holistic approach for monitoring health and happiness across the world. It is necessary to correlate EPI norms with the established biochemical parameters to have wide and scientific acceptability in modern medicine. There is a need for such study. The study is in two parts. In the first part, a study of classical literature is presented wherein scriptural concepts on Prana and its relation to health is discussed. In the second part, experimental aspects of bio-energy are taken up and measurements using EPI is presented.Item Development & Standardization of Sushrutha Prakriti Inventory & Evolving Life Style based on Ayurvedic Concept of Prakriti(S-VYASA, 2015-01-12) Ramakrishna, B RattachedItem Development and psychometric validation of the music receptivity scale(SVYASA, 2022-12-22) Mahesh George; Judu IlavarasuIntroduction One of the most quoted definitions of Yoga is ‘yujyate anena iti yogaù’. Here, ‘Yuj’ in Sanskrit means ‘to Yoke’ or to unite. Here it refers to the union of the jévätmä (individual soul) with the paramätmä (the supreme soul). Music in it true sense is said to be the union of shruti and laya. The perfect union of shruti and laya renders the listeners in a meditative trance provided they submit themselves to the music. Flow experiences (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) are quite common in music practice, performances and composition. The novel construct introduced in this study focuses on an individual’s experience listening to a given piece of music; the focus is on how he internalizes a given piece of music. ‘Flow’ experiences may occur quite often when an individual internalizes a given piece of music to a great extent. In this study, we proposed and developed a construct, Music Receptivity and further constructed a psychometric instrument called Music Receptivity Scale (MRS), field-tested it and data analysis revealed good psychometric properties. Literature review Ancient scriptures were reviewed which unraveled various aspects of music and how music could be used as a tool for personal and spiritual upliftment. Further, scientific literature review revealed multiple studies that focused on musical engagement, musical aptitude etc. Multiple psychometric instruments are available which measures the trait aspects predominantly, of music listening and engagement. Hence, we clearly saw a lacunae for state measuring instruments in music listening. However, these studies gave us rich inputs while developing the Music Receptivity Scale (MRS). Aim To develop an instrument to measure music receptivity in the context of Indian music. Objectives 1. To construct an instrument to measure music receptivity by item generation and validation. iii 2. To test and validate the instrument amongst different individuals in the context of Indian music. 3. To find out the validity of the developed instrument (in a bhajan setup) amongst yoga population. Methods Participants For phase 1 of the study, with the aim of generating items for the instrument, we approached music experts from the department of music, University of Kerala and also Sree Swathi Tirunal College of Music, Trivandrum, for in-depth unstructured interviews. Data redundancy was reached by the 7th interview. Further we approached another 7 experts from the field of music for a Focus Group Discussion, from above-mentioned two colleges. For phase 2, we approached two colleges, one was Marian Engineering College, Trivandrum and the other was Immanuel College, Vazhichal. We conducted the pilot study with 63 individuals from Marian Engineering College and field-testing of the tool with 212 individuals from the same college. Additionally we conducted field-testing with 101 individuals from Immanuel College, Vazhichal. Further, we field-tested the tool with 44 musicians from the Department of Music, University of Kerala. In order to validate the MRS among the Yoga population, we selected 72 Yoga students (male -28, female – 44) from S-VYASA Yoga University, Bengaluru. Mean age among male students were 26 and that among female students were 25. Design The research design was a mixed design, employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. Phase 1 was qualitative study and phase 2 was quantitative study employing survey method. The Music Receptivity Scale (MRS) was also validated amongst a Yoga population. Assessment tools For the qualitative phase: In-depth interview guide (Probe questions) iv Focus group discussion guide For the quantitative phase: Music Receptivity Scale (MRS) Marlowe Crowne Social Desirability Scale (SDS) d2 test of attention Interest In Music (IIM) Scale Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-SF) Mind Wandering Scale (MWS) Data extraction and analysis Three sets of data, pilot (n=63), general population (n=313), musicians (n=44) were separately analyzed. The final sample size used to report the results is 313, which is in the ratio of 13 cases per item, more than the recommended 10 cases per item. All the analyses were done using R statistical software, version 3.4.2 (R Development Core Team, 2020) and its packages psych (Revelle, 2019). To refine the construct of music receptivity, and to get inputs for item generation, we conducted unstructured in-depth interviews and focus group discussion. Items were generated based on the inputs obtained from the in-depth interviews and the FGD. The consolidated questionnaire had 23 items designed to capture the domains of attention, interest, lyrical appraisal, emotional experience and hurdles. As the aim of this study was to evaluate the structure of music receptivity scale (MRS), we used exploratory factor analysis to determine the number and nature of underlying factors of MRS. We used parallel analysis to determine the number of factors to retain (Horn, 1965); principal axis factoring was performed to evaluate the number of underlying factors by employing oblique rotation (oblimin) as the domains were anticipated to be correlated. Maximum iterations for convergence were fixed at 1000. The analyses revealed more than one solution. v Results Data analysis yielded two solutions – a two factor solution (Affect and Attention) and a four factor solution (Emotion, interest, attention and hurdles). Validation amongst Yoga population yielded mixed results for convergent and divergent validity. Discussion We intended to develop an instrument to measure music receptivity, field test it and assess its psychometric properties and as a culmination of which, we developed a 20- item questionnaire having four domains (emotional experience, interest, attention, hurdles) and a shorter 12-item version of the same. The two-factor solution was a reduced item version, and it yielded the two most important meta-components of music receptivity, i.e., affect and attention. The affect domain included interest and emotional experience, whereas attention remained as a separate factor. We could also observe discriminant validity between musicians and non-musicians, where the musicians had significantly higher music receptivity scores compared to non musicians. Conclusion The Music Receptivity Scale was developed and it has a 20 item long form and a 12 item short form. As this tool was primarily intended for music therapy purposes, this tool needs to be field tested in music therapy settings. Further, the mode of application of this tool could be via a mobile application for the ease of use.Item Development of Human Potential through Yogic Practices assessed by Psychological and Health Variables(Saraswati Central Library, 2012-03-29) Sushil S KhemkaABSTRACT BACKGROUND: There are a large number of methods of yoga catering to the needs of different types of people in society to bring about the transformation of the individual. They are broadly classified into four streams. Swami Vivekananda puts them as Work, Worship, Philosophy and Psychic control. One can even achieve highest goal of life either one or more or all of these to get one liberated. Integral Yoga modules included all these four streams of yoga in our study.Item DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY MODEL BASED ON TRIGUNA CONCEPT OF SAMKHYA PHILOSOPHY.(S-VYASA, 2019-09) Suresh NABSTRACT BACKGROUND The term personality is derived from the Greek word ‘persona’ which means mask or outward appearance of a person. Personality is generally understood as how people influence others through their external appearances. Personality is a set of qualities that make a person distinct from another. Personality comprises of all the attributes– behavioural, temperamental, emotional and mental– that which makes him or her unique individual. Personality is totality of person’s attitudes, interests, behavioural patterns, emotional responses, social roles, and other individual traits that endure over long periods of time. Gorden Allport (1961) defines “Personality is the dynamic organisation within an individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment”. Personality is a complex, multi-dimensional construct and there is no simple definition of what personality is. Maddi (1980) defines personality as, “A stable set of characteristics and tendencies that determine those commonalities and differences in the psychological behaviour and that may not be easily understood as the sole result of the social and biological pressures of the moment". Both the definition suggests that personality is a dynamic aspect of human behaviour. With the increasing realization that many of the western psychological concepts and methods lack relevance to different cultural systems the need for developing indigenous psychologies was recognized all over the world (Kim & Berry, 1973). In India, attempts have been made for almost a century to develop indigenous models and theories from the rich source of knowledge viz., the Vedas, Upaniṣads, the Bhagavad-Gīta and other philosophical texts.In recent times more and more researchers have taken active interest in indigenizing and developing indigenous psychology (Kumar, Misra & Mohanty, 2000; Paranjpe, 1999; Srivastava, 2002). The structure, nature and evolution of human personality are elaborated in these sources with special reference to the concept Triguṇa. The theoretical expositions on Triguṇa and their manifestations in human nature have attracted the attention of Indian psychologists. From the above discussion, Personality is a very complex and multidimensional construct of a human being. There is no common definition of personality has been coined. Every individual defines personality in different ways which includes trait, genetic factors, environmental factors and physical appearance. This research focuses on development of personality model using Triguṇa concept of Sāṁkhya philosophy. Psychometric measurement tool (Questionnaire) which can answer the questions related to the objectives and hypotheses of the study were administered to the target population. This instrument had 36 questions to measure Triguṇa. 1.1 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The review of relevant literature on Triguṇa showed that even though, many studies have been undertaken in this area of personality by both eastern and western countries, few studies still exhibit gaps. Hence there is a need to develop a comprehensive model including both Eastern concept and Western concepts of personality. Thus, the broader objective of this research is to study the holistic model satisfying the fusion of both eastern and western theories.Item Effect of integrated approach of yoga in normal pregnancy- a randomized active control trial(S Vyasa, 2015-01-12) Satyapriya MaharanaRandomized prospective controlled studies have demonstrated that antenatal yoga is beneficial in many maternal outcomes including complications of pregnancy, gestational age at delivery, analgesia requirement, placental blood flow, and also in fetal outcomes with higher values on fetal intrauterine growth parameters (head circumference, femur length etc.). Apgar score at birth and birth weight, in both normal and high risk pregnancy. The present work was planned to investigate the effect of integrated yoga on labor outcome, cognitive functions and quality of life pregnant women, as this area has not been investigated before.Item Effect of integrated yoga module on leadership development of managers(S Vyasa, 2015-01-12) Padmavathi MaharanaGlobalization, technological advances, mixing of work cultures, the 2008-11 recession and subsequent changes in the nature of work, have occurred in rapid succession and are challenging to leadership practices. workplace stress is an obstacle to leadership development. the role and responsibility of leaders is vital in every industrial sector. To fulfill their responsibilities, leaders compromise their physical and mental health. that stress develops when leaders fail to address issues, and targets are not achieved, is quite evident, yet there is no search for a solution. Could yoga offer the required solution?Item Effect of add-on Yoga therapy on social cognition in schizophrenia(S-VYASA, 2017-11) Ramajayam, G.Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder affecting young adults with a lifetime prevalence of 1%. It’s characterized by three important symptom clusters namely positive, negative & cognitive symptoms. Except for the positive symptoms, there are no effective treatments available for the negative and cognitive symptoms. In addition, the existing treatments are not free of side effects; some causing extrapyramidal side effects and others causing metabolic side effects. Unavailability of effective biological treatments for negative and cognitive symptoms adds to the already existing burden of socio-occupational dysfunction associated with these symptom clusters. Psychosocial interventions are available targeting a few or most of the domains of social cognition with or without neurocognition training. But majority of them [for example, Cognitive Enhancement Therapy(CET), Social Cognition Interaction Training(SCIT)] are highly resource intensive and its feasibility in developing countries are questionable, though they might be effective. Moreover, they were developed among the western patient population and its cultural validity in eastern countries with more of religious inclination is yet to be tested. Hence, there is a need to explore the role of other complementary therapies like yoga for an integrated approach in treating patients with schizophrenia. Yoga as a mind-body therapy is useful in lifestyle related disorders, including neuropsychiatric disorders. In healthy adults and elderly, yoga is found to be efficacious in improving cognitive skills. Yoga has been shown to significantly improve negative symptoms and functioning in schizophrenia patients. In a recent study, along with improvements in functioning, yoga also increased oxytocin levels along with improvement in Facial Emotion Recognition Deficit (FERD) in patients with schizophrenia.(Jayaram et al., 2013). In this study, we hypothesized that practice of yoga for one month would improve social cognition in patients with schizophrenia.Item Effect of add-on yoga therapy to physiotherapy in the management of spinal cord injury patients.(S-VYASA, 2020-01) Madhusmita, Monali; Ebnezar, John; Srinivasan, T. M.; Singh, Deepeshwar; Mohanty, PatitapabanBACKGROUND Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a leading cause of disability. Varying injury level and severity generate a spectrum of neurological dysfunction and a reduction in long-term Quality of Life (QOL) with a decrease in mobility. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This study was aimed to evaluate the add-on effect of a Yoga program along with physiotherapy on individuals with paraplegia. METHODS Participants: A total of 124 spinal cord injury (SCI)patients of both genders with age range 18–60 years, having incomplete SCI (AIS)-C and (AIS)-D,and admitted to the rehabilitation center, India, were randomly allocated into two groups, i.e., (i) experimental group -Integrated Yoga and Physiotherapy (IYP) (n=62; age means and SD: 33.97±10.0 years), and (ii) control group - Physiotherapy (PT) (n=62; age mean and SD:32.84 ± 9.5 years). Design: Two groups pre-post randomized controlled clinical trial. Assessments: The outcome assessments consisted of primary outcomes: (i) American Spinal Injury Association Impairment (ASIA) scale, (ii) c-Reactive Protein (CRP), (iii)Spinal Cord Injury Independence Measure (SCIM), and(iv) Medically Based Emotional Distress Scale (MEDS). The secondary outcome measures were: (i) Body Mass Index (BMI), and (ii) Quality of Life Index Spinal Cord Injury - Version III were measured in both groups at the beginning and end of one month. Intervention: The experimental group underwent one-month combined practice of physiotherapy and yoga therapy, in a schedule of 75-min/day (6-days/week), whereas the control group underwent physiotherapy treatment aRESULTS: The IYP group showed a significant reduction in scores of CRP (p˂0.001), SCIM (p˂0.001), MEDS (p˂0.001), and improvement in the quality of life (SCI-QoL Index) (p˂0.001) compared to control group. CONCLUSION: One-month comprehensive Integrated Yoga and Physiotherapy program is more effective than physiotherapy intervention alone, in the management of paraplegia patients.Item Effect of Anapanasati meditation on anxiety, verbal aggression and depression - A randomized controlled trial(SVYASA, 2021-01) B. Sivaramappa; Sudheer Deshpande; Hongasandra R. NagendraBACKGROUND Modern life, beset with tensions and anxiety, continues to crush people with an increasing number of deaths and deteriorating quality of life. Despite technological growth and enhanced material standards of living, the real quality of living in terms of love, happiness and peace are nowhere in sight. As science and technology are progressing, on one hand, new types of diseases are erupting thus paving the way for deteriorating quality of life. The reason for all this is stress, which we observed in the recent past, triggers Anxiety, Depression, Verbal Aggression, etc. The best way to fight stress is Yoga. Yoga and spirituality contain secrets of the structure and laws of the entire universe. Through this wisdom, Yoga offers a unique new way of life to modern man. Yoga which comprises of yogāsanas, breathing techniques (prānāyāma) and meditation is known for its applications in physical fitness and a better quality of life. Yoga is also effective in decreasing anxiety, confusion, tension and depression (Deshpande, Nagendra & Raghuram 2008). Not only therapeutic values but also psychological, spiritual and philosophical values are accessible and achievable through Yogic practices. Many have immensely benefited from these practices. Many scientific studies were done in the recent past to investigate the effect of Yoga and mindful meditation techniques on emotional states such as anxiety and depression. But we found that very few studies in the case of Ānāpānasati Meditation, a mindful breathing technique has been done. Mindful meditation techniques such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) have shown significant improvements in psychological wellbeing. Hence, we took up scientific studies on the effect of Ānāpānasati Meditation also on improving the overall psychological well-being. We had designed the present study to test the effect of Ānāpānasati Meditation on emotions such as anxiety, anger and depression in adults. AIM The study is aimed to investigate the effect of Ānāpānasati Meditation on anxiety, verbal aggression and depression. OBJECTIVES: 1. To investigate the effect of Ānāpānasati Meditation on levels of anxiety as assessed using the scores of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) 2. To investigate the effect of Ānāpānasati Meditation on levels of verbal aggression as assessed using the scores of Verbal Aggressiveness Scale (VAS) 3. To investigate the effect of Ānāpānasati Meditation on levels of depression as assessed using the scores of Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI) METHODS Participants: The subjects were recruited from a stream of visitors to Pyramid Valley International, Bangalore, and Pyramid Spiritual Science Academy, Bengaluru. A total of 140 subjects were recruited for the study. Inclusion Criteria: Both males and females in the age group of 20 to 65 years were included in the study. Exclusion Criteria: People with diabetes, cancer and hypertension were excluded from the study on self-report by the participants. Since the study period was 6 months, only chronic diseases were excluded. Design: This is a Randomized Controlled Study (RCT) and participants were recruited from Pyramid Valley International, Bengaluru and Pyramid Spiritual Science Academy, Bengaluru. We limited the sample size to 140 participants based on previous studies that had a demonstrated effect size of 0.4; with the power set to 0.8 with a 5% level of significance. GPower was used for sample size computation. Initially, 140 participants consented to participate in the study, but at the end of the screening, 10 participants withdrew as they were not interested. Ultimately, 130 participants were considered. We divided the participants randomly into experimental and control groups consisting of 65 participants each. We assigned Identification numbers (ID) to participants and picked up the assigned IDs from the set of IDs and allocated them to both the groups in such a way that the experimental group got the first ID and the control group got the next ID. We repeated the procedure till all the IDs got over. We informed the participants about their group through a sealed envelope. We did not disclose the identities of the participants of both groups i.e., participants in the experimental group did not know the participants of the control group. Similarly, participants in the control group did not know the participants of the experimental group. We used the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), a self-report questionnaire as the scale to study the effect of the intervention on anxiety. STAI consists of two parts, state anxiety and trait anxiety, each consisting of 20 questions which take values from 1 to 4. The present endeavour considered the state anxiety part (STAI-S) of the questionnaire for a study, which indicates the current state of anxiety in a specific situation when compared to trait anxiety which is a general tendency of the individual. We used the Verbal Aggressiveness Scale developed by Infante and Wigley (A. Infante & Wigley, 1986) to study the effect of Ānāpānasati Meditation on verbal aggression. It contains 20 items scored on a 5-point linear rating format with reverse scoring in 10 out of 20 items. We used the Beck Depression Inventory-II (Beck, 1966, 1996) as the scale for measuring the effectiveness of intervention of depression. On this scale, we have 21 items for a scoring record. We ensured that the experimental group members were given instructions by experts in respect of Ānāpānasati Meditation’. They continued the practice of ‘Ānāpānasati’ for one hour a day for the duration of the experiment. The control group on the other hand continued their routine work with no Ānāpānasati Meditation. Assessments: We ensured the tests by examiners before and after six months of Ānāpānasati Meditation in a room devoid of any disturbance or distractions. The invigilators coded and segregated the completed questionnaire cum response sheets for scoring after the study. A person not involved in the group formation evaluated the coded response sheets. A person not involved in the present study decoded the response sheets after noting the scores prior and post-administration to the respondents and the data were later prepared. Intervention: We administered Ānāpānasati Meditation as an intervention for the experimental group for six months. In this practice, we used breathing as the object of concentration. Breathing is not a physical object that arouses a distraction in the minds. It is a quiet, natural, unfluctuating and effortless process. We administered meditation in easy steps. The practice was simply to sit comfortably in any posture convenient to them and to clasp their hands together. They are to be mindful of breathing in and breathing out for one hour in one go every day. We advised them to restart if they happened to be unmindful of breathing during the practice of this technique. Mindful breathing facilitates experiencing knowledge besides awareness and joy. Clear comprehension is the outcome. The demonstration of the meditation technique included the steps mentioned below. 1. To sit comfortably 2. To cross the legs (when we sit on a chair or a sofa) 3. To keep the hands together–one palm on another 4. To silence the mouth 5. To sit erect 6. To close both the eyes and 7. To observe breathing in and out while in this posture (This practice is a mere observation of breathing in and breathing out by the consciousness [mind] with closed eyes. This procedure is mindful breathing). Monthly Verification Program: We ensured monthly verification of the intervention practice through the well-experienced supervisors. These supervisors have been in close contact with the participants to assist in the practice. The participants attended meditation classes once a week regularly in our designated meditation center for the duration of the intervention. We appended the photographs of the meditation center in the Pyramid Valley. The details of the participants are in the appendix. Data Extraction: We employed the prescribed questionnaires for the collection of data. Experienced meditator supervisors have undertaken the assignment. We carried out the scoring of the questionnaires as per the instructions in the manual. Data Analysis: We analysed the Data using the repeated measures ANOVA test. SPSS version 10.0 was used for the data analysis. Results A total of 140 participants enrolled, 130 were considered for randomization, as 10 participants were not interested in the study. Hence, there were 130 participants for the randomization. At the end of the randomization, 65 participants each were allotted to both experimental and control groups. In the follow-up, we lost 6 participants from the experimental group and 5 participants from the control group and a total of 119 participants have completed the six-month intervention successfully consisting of 59 participants in the experimental group and 60 participants in the control group. At the end of the six-month intervention, we analyzed the final BDI, STAI and VAS scores of all 119 participants from both groups. The results of all three studies are as follows: 1. Anxiety: We have analyzed the STAI scores before and after Ānāpānasati Meditation for both the experimental and control groups, using repeated-measures ANOVA. The experimental group has shown a significant reduction in STAI (p< 0.05) score after the intervention, whereas in the control group the reduction in STAI score was not significant. A comparison of the results shows that there was a decline of anxiety in the experimental group from 47.61 ± 7.41 to 44.58 ± 5.08 whereas there is an increase in anxiety level 50.55 ± 4.25 to 52.02 ± 4.41 in the control group. 2. Verbal Aggression: We took up and analyzed the VAS scores before and after Ānāpānasati Meditation for both the experimental and control groups using repeated-measures ANOVA. The experimental group has shown a significant reduction (p< 0.05) in the VAS score (66.53 ± 6.93 to 46.97 ± 6.79) after the intervention, whereas that was not a significant decrease (p = 0.19) in the control group in VAS scores (66.73 ± 12.15 to 64.97 ± 13.16). 3. Depression: We analyzed the BDI scores collected before and after Ānāpānasati Meditation for both the experimental and control groups using repeated-measures ANOVA. The experimental group showed a significant reduction (p< 0.05) in the BDI score (25.78 ± 9.32 to 4.02 ± 5.33) whereas the BDI score (15.33 ± 11.43 to 16.60 ± 12.77) in the control group has increased. 4. Conclusion: The results of the study have shown that the practice of Ānāpānasati Meditation has brought significant improvement in reducing the levels of anxiety, depression and verbal aggressiveness. There was a decline in anxiety levels from pre-score 47.61 ± 7.41 to post-score 44.58 ± 5.08 in the experimental group. In verbal aggression, comparative figures of pre and post-intervention show a decline from 66.53 ± 6.93 & 46.97 ± 6.79. There was also a decline of depression in the experimental group from 25.78 ± 9.32 to 4.02 ± 5.33. This study has revealed that Ānāpānasati Meditation had been effective in decreasing levels of anxiety, depression and verbal aggression as per their VAS, STAI and BDI scores after six months of intervention. The subjects who practiced Ānāpānasati Meditation showed a dip when compared to the control group who did not practice Meditation. As this is simple and easy to practice, we recommend the same for regular exercise to reduce their stress, anxiety and consequent depression levels and feel more energetic and positive in one’s approach. Keywords – Ānāpānasati Meditation, Mindfulness, Verbal Aggressiveness Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Scale, Beck Depression Inventory Scale