EFFECT OF PRANAYAMA ON VISUOMOTOR SPEED & ACCURACY
BASED ON A DOTTING TASK

RAJESH S.K. Post Graduate Student
Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation, Bangalore, India

The present study evaluated the influence of yoga on visuomotor speed and accuracy. A dotting task requiring repetitive movements was performed in 268 participants of a non residential seven day yoga camp. Assessments were made before and after the camp. The dotting task was performed using one of the sub-tests of the MacQuarrie test for mechanical ability. The dotting task worksheet consist of 100 little (4mm diameter) circles placed irregularly along a pathway that runs from left to right and back again in ten horizontal lines in a page. The participants must place a dot at the center of the each circle within the 30 seconds. The yoga program consists of breathing practices (e.g., kapalabhati, nadisudhi, and bhramari) and some loosening exercises for two hours per day. The data were analyzed using statistical package (SPSS Version 10.0). There was a significant increase in visuomotor speed (p < 0.001) by (20%), but there was a significant increase in the errors made. Hence the increase in speed may have been at the cost of accuracy. Hence yoga practices improve the visuomotor speed, though accuracy appears compromised.

EFFECT OF INTEGRATED APPROACH OF YOGA THERAPY ON
CLIMACTERIC - A RANDOMIZED CONTROL STUDY

RITU C., Regd. Ph.D. Scholar,
Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation, Bangalore, India

The study aimed at observing the effect of integrated approach of yoga therapy (IAYT) on the physiological, psychological and cognitive functions in menopausal women between 40-55 years. 97 Subjects were randomly divided into yoga (n=43) and control (n=54) group. Vasomotor symptoms, psychological wellbeing and cognitive functions were assessed in both groups before and after 2 months of intervention. Yoga group practiced 1 hour of IAYT module and the control group practiced set of physical exercises. Both the groups showed significant difference in cognitive tests, psychological questionnaires and vasomotor symptom checklists, but the yoga group showed a higher significance in six letter cancellation test (p<0.05), Perceived Stress Scale (p<0.05), Neuroticism score (p<0.05), 9 subtests of PGI Memory Scale (p<0.05) using Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance test. Yoga group showed significant improvement in vasomotor symptoms (p=.00), psychological (p=.00), uro-genital symptoms (p=.00) and under PGI Memory scale- mental balance (p=.00), delayed recall (p=.00) and recognition (p=.00) tests whereas the control group did not show any change. This indicates 2 months of IAYT treats the vasomotor, psychological and certain cognitive functions of the menopausal women.