• CELLMED
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.4.1-4.4
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• 2011

Excessive stress is harmful to academic performance in children and may lead to dropping out of school. To meet the demands of a modern life-style which is full of speed, stress and tension, an all-round child health program is crucial. The use of yoga for children has diverse applications in maintaining and developing their physical, mental, intellectual, emotional and spiritual levels. Yoga, through its physical postures (asana), breathing practices (pranayama), cleansing techniques (kriya), meditation therapies (dhyana) and relaxation training (yoga nidra) yields a positive effect in the management of stress in children. Yoga practice benefited children by improving their eye-hand coordination, attention span, levels of concentration, competitive performance and relaxation. Visually impaired children showed a significant decrease in their abnormal anxiety levels when they practiced yoga for three weeks, while a program of physical activity had no such effect. Socially disadvantaged children in a remand home showed significant improvements in sleep, appetite and general well being, as well as a decrease in physiological arousal after yoga. In one study, it is found that a 4-week program of asana and meditation lowers the aggressive behavior of children. Meditation helped to reduce problems related to maladaptive behavior, increase emotional and physical health and psychological well-being in children. Finally, the possible role of yoga in improving the mental state and general well-being of children with cancer is being explored.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.175-180
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• 2012

Yoga has been known to have stimulatory or inhibitory effects on the metabolic parameters and to be uncomplicated therapy for obesity. The purpose of the present study was to test the effect of an 8-week of yoga-asana training on body composition, lipid profile, and insulin resistance (IR) in obese adolescent boys. Twenty volunteers with body mass index (BMI) greater than the 95th percentile were randomly assigned to yoga (age $14.7{\pm}0.5$ years, n=10) and control groups (age $14.6{\pm}1.0$ years, n=10). The yoga group performed exercises three times per week at 40~60% of heart-rate reserve (HRR) for 8 weeks. IR was determined with the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). After yoga training, body weight, BMI, fat mass (FM), and body fat % (BF %) were significantly decreased, and fat-free mass and basal metabolic rate were significantly increased than baseline values. FM and BF % were significantly improved in the yoga group compared with the control group (p<0.05). Total cholesterol (TC) was significantly decreased in the yoga group (p<0.01). HDL-cholesterol was decreased in both groups (p<0.05). No significant changes were observed between or within groups for triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR. Our findings show that an 8-week of yoga training improves body composition and TC levels in obese adolescent boys, suggesting that yoga training may be effective in controlling some metabolic syndrome factors in obese adolescent boys.

• Journal of Naturopathy
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.68-78
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• 2022

Background: Integrative medical research is needed to explore the development direction of new yoga therapy. Purposes: A systematic literature review is conducted to analyze the current status of clinical research on yoga therapy into scientific categories, and to explore the content and development direction of yoga therapy. Methods: Through electronic databases such as RISS, NDSL, DBpia, e-article, and KISS, 530 domestic academic papers were selected from 2010 to 2018 and the final 28 were extracted based on PRISMA guidelines. Results: As a result of the study, in terms of quality, it remained at 3b of the CEBM level of evidence, and in terms of quantity, the number of experimental groups in the entire clinical study was 288, so domestic clinical studies of yoga therapy are insufficient. It was found that 80% of yoga therapy was exercise therapy focusing on asana movements. This seems to be due to a lot of researchers in the field of physical education. Conclusions: These results indicate that understanding and practice of the Ashtanga-yoga's training system and Pancha-kosha theory from the perspective of integrative medicine are necessary. In other words, yoga therapy is required to develop into an integrated mind-body therapy program that integrates holistic healing yoga based on individual mental and physical constitution, meditation therapy based on Ayurveda, and exercise therapy.