Independent Research Findings: Health and Wellness Benefits of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY)

SKY significantly decreases Clinical & Non-clinical Depression

*

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Control SKY

Pre-testPost-test

Su

bclin

ical

Dep

ress

ion

(HA

D)

(HAD) – Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale * - p value = 0.001

Kjellgren et al. (2007) N.Janakiramaiah et al. (2000)

H

amilt

on R

atin

g Sc

ale

for D

epre

ssio

n (H

RSD

) Clinical Depression Non-Clinical Depression

SKY significantly reduces major depressive disorder as effectively as anti-depressant drug therapy, yet is free of unwanted side effects.

SKY reduces everyday blues (non-clinical depression) by one third in four weeks.

1

6

11

16

21

26

31

Anti-depressant Drug SKY

Before SKY

Week 2

Week 4

SKY Significantly decreases Clinical & Non-clinical Anxiety

*

A

nxie

ty (

%)

73% of individuals suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) who were not helped by standard psychiatric care experienced reductions in anxiety, and 41% achieved full remission 4 weeks after learning SKY. (* - p value <0.01)

Katzman MA et al. , Int J Yoga 2012;5:57-65

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Control SKY

Pre-test

Post-test

Su

bclin

ical

Anx

iety

(H

AD

)

SKY significantly decreases everyday worry and anxiety

(HAD) – Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale * - p value <0.01

Kjellgren et al. , BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2007, 7:43

*

Clinical Anxiety Non - Clinical Anxiety

0

20

40

60

80

100

120Control

SKY

Independent Research Findings: Health and Wellness Benefits of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY)

PC

L-M

(Pos

ttrau

mat

ic S

tress

Dis

orde

r C

heck

list-M

ilita

ry V

ersi

on)

* §

*

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who practiced SKY had significant reductions in PTSD symptoms after just one week of SKY practice. Results persisted for one year with no follow-up sessions, demonstrating long term benefits.

* - p value <0.0001 § - p value < 0.003

Seppala et al. (2014)

SKY Significantly Reduces PTSD

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1 week before SKY 1 week after SKY 3 months after SKY 1 year after SKY

Control

SKY

R

elat

ive

Stre

ss L

evel

2,8

2,0

2,2

2,4

2,6

SKY Cont

Pre-test Post-test

P=0.003 *

*

*

Stress

25

10

20

Pre-test Post-test

R

elat

ive

Opt

imism

Lev

el

P=0.002 *

* *

Optimism

Kjellgren et al. (2007)

SKY significantly increases well-being

SKY significantly decreased stress and increased levels of optimism (a key indicator of wellbeing) in healthy adults, indicating improvement of wellness.

SKY Cont

Independent Research Findings: Health and Wellness Benefits of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY)

SKY Significantly Decreases Stress Hormone Levels (Cortisol)

C

ortis

ol (µ

g/dl

)

* - p value <0.05

A.Vedamurthachar et al. (2006)

Adding SKY to conventional treatment for individuals in recovery for substance use was twice as effective in reducing stress hormone cortisol levels as conventional treatment alone

*

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Pre-test Post-test

Standard Care

Standardcare+SKY

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7 Control

SKY

SKY Significantly Activates Genes that Protect against Stress

H.Sharma et al. (2008)

* - p value <0.05

* Hsp-70

SKY activates genes responsible for protecting the body against the damaging effect of stress

Arb

itrar

y U

nits

Independent Research Findings: Health and Wellness Benefits of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY)

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Control SKY

Pre-test

Post-test

SKY Significantly Increases the Well-being hormone Prolactin

Janakiramaiah et al. (1998)

*

Prolactin, a well-being hormone is abnormally low in depressed individuals. Depressed patients experienced 33.3% increase in their Prolactin levels after their very first SKY session.

Arb

itrar

y U

nits

* - p value < 0.05

SOD Glutathione

Glu

tath

ione

m

mol

es/m

g pr

otei

n

Sharma et al., Biol Psychol. 2003 Jul;63(3):281-91

SKY Significantly Increases Antioxidant Production

Antioxidants protect cells from free radical damage, which is responsible for many diseases and the aging process. SKY practitioners exhibited more than twice the levels of the 3 major antioxidants, Glutathione, SOD and Catalase as controls.

20

70

120

170

220

270

320

370

Non SKY

SKY

SO

D

Uni

ts/m

l

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16Non SKY

SKY

Independent Research Findings: Health and Wellness Benefits of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY)

Significantly Greater Mental Focus in Sky Practitioners

EEG measures electrical brain activity. In this study, SKY practitioners demonstrated significantly greater (P<0.05) EEG Beta wave activity than controls, which is indicative of heightened alertness/ mental focus. Bhatia et al. (2003 )

Mean Spectral Power in Various Bands in Controls

Mean Spectral Power in Various Bands in Sudarshan Kriya Teachers

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45 Controls

SKY

SKY Enhances Immunity (Lymphocyte count)

Subramanian, S. et al, 2012

Lym

phoc

ytes

(%)

* *

Approximately 70% of all immune cells are lymphocytes. SKY significantly increased lymphocyte count by more than 50% compared to controls, suggesting enhanced immune function.

Baseline Control 3 weeks SKY practice

Control 6 weeks SKY practice

* - p value <0.001

Independent Research Findings: Health and Wellness Benefits of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY)

SKY lowers Heart Rate and Blood Pressure in Healthy Individuals & Hypertensives

*

*

*

40

60

80

100

120

140

Heart Rate (bpm) SystolicB.P.(mmHg)

DiastolicB.P.(mmHg)

BeforeSKYAfterSKY

Somwanshi S. D. et al. (2013) V.V.AGTE et al. (2011)

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

Diastolic B.P (Men) Diastolic B.P (Women)

Before SKY After SKY

* *

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in N. America. Heart rate and blood pressure are two key indicators of heart function. SKY significantly decreases the heart rate & blood pressure in both healthy individuals, and in people with high blood pressure.

* - p value <0.0001 * - p value <0.01

Systolic B.P. – Pressure in the arteries when heart muscle contracts (Normal value is 120) Diastolic B.P. - Pressure in the arteries when heart muscle relaxes (Normal value is 80)

125

135

145

155

165

175

185 controls

SKY

SKY Significantly Reduces Cholesterol

* *

SKY significantly reduced cholesterol, with no change in diet in just 3 weeks, even under stressful conditions.

Cho

lest

erol

(mg/

dl)

Baseline Control 3 weeks SKY practice

Control 6 weeks SKY practice

* - p value <0.05

Subramanian, S. et al, 2012