Yoga perspective on personal excellence and well-being.

The discussions on conceptualization, operationalization, measures, and means of well-being (WB) and personal excellence (PE) are dynamic and debatable. Therefore, this study aims to coin a perspective of PE based on the Patanjali Yoga Sutra (PYS). For this, professional, psychological, philosophical, and yogic perspectives of WB and PE are analyzed to derive a viable yogic framework for PE. The WB and the consciousness-based constructs of PE are discussed in terms of psychic tensions (PTs) (nescience, egoism, attachment, aversion, and love for life), yogic hindrances (YHs) (illness, apathy, doubt, procrastination, laziness, over somatosensory indulgence, delusion, inability, and unstable progress), psychosomatic impairments (pain, despair, tremors, arrhythmic breath), and yogic aids (wellness, intrinsic motivation, faith, role punctuality, physical activity, sensory control, clarity, competence, and sustainable progress). The PYS operationalizes PE as the dynamic level of WB and self-awareness until one attains Dharmamegha Samadhi (super consciousness). Lastly, Ashtanga Yoga (AY) is discussed as a universal principle, process, and practice for thinning PTs, vanishing YHs, empowering holistic WB, awakening extrasensory potentials, advancing self-awareness, and PE. This study will be a pioneering base for further observational and interventional studies to develop measures and personalized protocols for PE.

Attitude of conventional and CAM physicians toward CAM in India.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to compare the attitude toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) of primary care physicians trained in conventional medicine with CAM physicians whose training was for a comparable duration. The CAM physicians included practitioners of Ayurveda, homeopathy, and naturopathy. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred and ninety five (295) physicians with aged 20-60 (group mean±standard deviation, 48.2-12.3 years, 87 females) participated. Eighty-six (86) of them were trained in Ayurveda, 90 in homeopathy, 82 in conventional medicine, and 37 in naturopathy. They were attending a 4-day residential program on Indian culture. All of them gave their signed consent to take part in the study, and the institution's ethics committee approved the study. STUDY DESIGN: The study was a cross-sectional survey. Since the participants had self-selected to join for the program on Indian culture, the sampling could be considered as convenience sampling. RESULTS: The number of conventionally trained and CAM physicians were similar in number and in their reasons for selecting CAM treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Conventionally trained and CAM physicians were comparably likely to prescribe CAM treatments for their patients. Their reasons for prescribing CAM treatments appeared to be (1) the idea that CAM treatments deal with the cause, and (2) a belief in the treatments. A limiting factor of the survey is that it did not determine whether the belief was based on evidence or on faith alone.

Effect of one week of yoga on function and severity in rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that yoga practice improved the hand grip strength in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). FINDINGS: Sixty-four participants with RA (group average age ± S.D., 46.5 ± 9.6 years; 47 females) were assessed at the beginning and end of a one week yoga program. The Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), hand grip strength, rheumatoid factor, and C-reactive protein levels were assessed on the first and last day and compared using a t-test for paired data. All participants showed reduced disability scores of the HAQ and rheumatoid factor levels, with an increase in bilateral hand grip strength in male participants alone. CONCLUSIONS: This single group study indicated that a brief intensive yoga program was beneficial in RA, with decreased disability, better functionality and changes in the rheumatoid factor levels suggesting improvement.

Effect of a yoga practice session and a yoga theory session on state anxiety.

Yoga techniques practiced for varying durations have been shown to reduce state anxiety. In this study, there were 300 naive-to-yoga persons of both sexes who were attending a yoga therapy center in north India for stress relief as day visitors and were not residing at the center. They were assigned to two groups, yoga practice and yoga theory, and their state anxiety was assessed before and after a 2-hr. yoga session. A significant reduction in scores on state anxiety was found in the yoga practice group (14.7% decrease), as well as in the yoga theory group (3.4% decrease). The difference in scores following the sessions was statistically significant. Hence, yoga practice as well as learning about theoretical aspects of yoga appear to reduce state anxiety, with a greater reduction following yoga practice.