This is not a regular Sanskrit dictionary. The meanings given are explicitly meant to help spiritual aspirants understand the texts in which these words occur.
Background Yoga is very effective in improving health especially cardio-respiratory fitness and also overall performance in adolescents. There are no large numbers of randomized controlled studies conducted on comparing yoga with physical activity for cardio-respiratory fitness in adolescent school children with large sample size. Objective Aerobic training is known to improve physical and cardio-respiratory fitness in children. Cardio-respiratory fitness is an important indicator of health in children. In this study we evaluate the effects of yoga versus physical exercise training on cardio-respiratory fitness in adolescent school children. Subjects Eight hundred two school students from 10 schools across four districts were recruited for this study. Methods In this prospective two arm RCT around 802 students were randomized to receive daily one hour yoga training (n = 411) or physical exercise (n = 391) over a period of two months. VO2 max was estimated using 20 m shuttle run test. However, yoga (n = 377) and physical exercise (n = 371) students contributed data to the analyses. Data was analysed using students t test. Results There was a significant improvement in VO2 max using 20 m Shuttle run test in both yoga (p < 0.001) and exercise (p < 0.001) group following intervention. There was no significant change in VO2 max between yoga and physical exercise group following intervention. However, in the subgroup with an above median cut-off of VO2 max; there was a significant improvement in yoga group compared to control group following intervention (p = 0.03). Conclusion The results suggest yoga can improve cardio-respiratory fitness and aerobic capacity as physical exercise intervention in adolescent school children.
BACKGROUND: Yoga is an ancient spiritual practice that originated in India and is currently accepted in the Western world as a form of relaxation and exercise. It has been of interest for people with schizophrenia to determine its efficacy as an adjunct to standard-care treatment. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of yoga versus standard care for people with schizophrenia. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group Trials Register (November 2012 and January 29, 2015), which is based on regular searches of MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, BIOSIS, AMED, PsycINFO, and registries of clinical trials. We searched the references of all included studies. There were no language, date, document type, or publication status limitations for inclusion of records in the register. SELECTION CRITERIA: All randomised controlled trials (RCTs) including people with schizophrenia comparing yoga to standard-care control. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: The review team independently selected studies, quality rated these, and extracted data. For binary outcomes, we calculated risk ratio (RR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI), on an intention-to-treat basis. For continuous data, we estimated the mean difference (MD) between groups and its 95% CI. We employed mixed-effect and fixed-effect models for analyses. We examined data for heterogeneity (I(2) technique), assessed risk of bias for included studies, and created 'Summary of findings' tables using GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation). MAIN RESULTS: We included eight studies in the review. All outcomes were short term (less than six months). There were clear differences in a number of outcomes in favour of the yoga group, although these were based on one study each, with the exception of leaving the study early. These included mental state (improvement in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, 1 RCT, n = 83, RR 0.70 CI 0.55 to 0.88, medium-quality evidence), social functioning (improvement in Social Occupational Functioning Scale, 1 RCT, n = 83, RR 0.88 CI 0.77 to 1, medium-quality evidence), quality of life (average change 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) quality-of-life subscale, 1 RCT, n = 60, MD 15.50, 95% CI 4.27 to 26.73, low-quality evidence), and leaving the study early (8 RCTs, n = 457, RR 0.91 CI 0.6 to 1.37, medium-quality evidence). For the outcome of physical health, there was not a clear difference between groups (average change SF-36 physical-health subscale, 1 RCT, n = 60, MD 6.60, 95% CI -2.44 to 15.64, low-quality evidence). Only one study reported adverse effects, finding no incidence of adverse events in either treatment group. This review was subject to a considerable number of missing outcomes, which included global state, change in cognition, costs of care, effect on standard care, service intervention, disability, and activities of daily living. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Even though we found some positive evidence in favour of yoga over standard-care control, this should be interpreted cautiously in view of outcomes largely based each on one study with limited sample sizes and short-term follow-up. Overall, many outcomes were not reported and evidence presented in this review is of low to moderate quality - -too weak to indicate that yoga is superior to standard-care control for the management of schizophrenia.
Though scholarship on diverse methods of yoga in the Indian traditions abounds, there has not been sufficient research that examines the traditions of yoga in the purāṇas. The present paper explores yoga articulated in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (fourth century CE) and argues that what seems like a unified teaching is a composite of an eight-limbed yoga embedded within an instruction on proto-Sāṃkhya. An evaluation of the key elements of yoga as developed in this text as a whole, clarifies our understanding of the emergence of yoga and its relationship to epic formulations on the one hand and to the Classical System of the Yogasūtras of Patañjali on the other.
Classical verse work expounding early Vedantic approach in Hindu philosophy.
This is the first time that an attempt to render the Yogavarttika into English has been made. Its syncretic nature and the difficulty of understanding it without the aid of the sutra and bhasya has always deserted the undertaking of this work for a study in such detail. The present work gains added importance due to the critical notes given under every varttika. The bringing together of all the three-the sutra, bhasya and varttika-will serve the scholar and layman alike and will fulfill the need long felt for such a work.
Context: Ādi Śaṅkāracārya was an exponent of Advaita Vedānta philosophy. It is well-known that he preached Jñāna Yoga or the path of knowledge for attainment of liberation. However, very few people are aware of the fact that Ādi Śaṅkāracārya has mentioned various methods or types of yoga for liberation depending on the dispositions of the aspirants. Study of his unpopular works reveal this fact.Aim: The aim of this paper is to present various types of yoga discussed in the works of Ādi Śaṅkāracārya.
Method: A descriptive method of analyzing arguments is used because of the philosophico-literary nature of the study.
Result: Ādi Śaṅkāracārya has stated various types of yoga such as Bhakti Yoga, Rāja Yoga, Haṭha Yoga, and Tantra Yoga as a means to Jñāna Yoga.
Conclusion: Study of Ādi Śaṅkāracārya's work reveals that Bhakti Yoga, Rāja Yoga Haṭha Yoga, and Tantra Yoga are a means to knowledge or Jñāna Yoga for the attainment of emancipation.
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