Yoga Therapy Research

Amy has been conducting research on Yoga Therapy, including studies affiliated with a team of researchers from the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine (OCIM) at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, TN.  She has been working for several years on a NIH funded grant that is looking at the use of yoga, pranayama and meditation during kidney dialysis treatments. This research team has also been studying Metabolic Syndrome and how a functional group yoga class can help to heal these yoga students.

More specifically, some of the recent studies focus on: 1) Using Yoga Therapy to decrease diseases associated with Metabolic Syndrome such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.  2) Using Yoga Therapy as a tool to increase the effectiveness and positive experience associated with Kidney Dialysis treatments.  3) Using Yoga Therapy to lessen the negative impact of chemotherapy as it relates to treatment of Colon and Rectal, Ovarian and Uterine Cancer.  4) Using Yoga Therapy for the reduction and management of pain associated with recovery from lower back surgery, as well as decrease in repeat back surgeries.

Am is also developing a protocol for Irritable Bowel Syndrome for a team of researchers at the California School of Professional Psychology.  This study will encompass protocols for constipation, diarrhea and alternating conditions.

Additionally, Amy is working on a project that studies how yoga compares as a form of exercise and stress reduction, when compared to pilates and aerobic dance.  The data for this study will be collected in the fall of 2015.

Amy also regularly conducts research at California State University- San Bernardino. She studies the effects of a regular yoga practice on students and their ability to concentrate, reduce anxiety, become motivated, and increase flexibility and strength, among other topics. See below for current research studies that Amy has conducted.

Upcoming research events:

Yoga As Medicine  at UC San Diego Center for Integrative Medicine.  Amy will present on Friday night, July 31st.

Symposium on Yoga Research (SYR)

Research Abstracts:

• An Analysis of Personality, Yoga Preferences and the Relaxation Response
• Meeting the Students where they are: Motives for Participation in Yoga 
• The Effects of Yoga Practice on Psychological Well-Being
• A Study of the Impact of Yoga Âsana on Perceived Stress, Heart Rate, and Breathing Rate
• The Effects of University Yoga Class on Nutritional Habits of Students
• The Effects of a T. Krishnamacharya Style Yoga Class on the Perceived Body Image of Female University Students
• The Impact of Bi-weekly Yoga Classes on the Menstrual Cycle of College-Aged Females
• An Exploratory Study of the Impact of Yoga Asana on Flexibility