High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT METHODS OF YOGA PRACTICES ON BODY MASS INDEX AND STRESS AMONG MIDDLE AGED OBESE WOMEN

Dr. S. Chidambara Raja1, and Mr. J. K. Sampath2 1Professor, Department of Physical Education 2Ph.D. Research Scholar, School of Yoga Studies, Annamalai University, Chidambaram.

ABSTRACT Purpose of the study: The objective of the present study was to examine the effect of different methods of yoga practice on body mass index and stress among middle aged obese women. Materials and Methods: 45 middle aged obese women were selected with BMI > 27.5 kg/m2, and the age of the subjects was ranged from 43 to 50 years. They were divided into three equal groups, each group consisted of 15 subjects, in which experimental group - I underwent School of yoga practice, experimental group - II underwent B.K.S. Iyengar yoga practice and group - III acted as control that did not participate in any special activities or training. The period for the study was six days (Monday to Saturday) for twelve weeks. Prior and after the experimental period, the subjects were tested on BMI and stress. BMI was assessed by applying the Quetelet et al formula. Stress was tested by administering the Giordano and Everly Stress Scale. Statistical Tool: The Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was applied to find out any significant difference between the experimental and control groups on selected variables. The Scheffé S test was applied as post-hoc test whenever the ‘F’ ratio of the adjusted post-test means were found to be significant. Results: The result of the study shows that Bihar School of Yoga practice and B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga practice were decreased the BMI and stress significantly. Conclusions: It was concluded that Bihar School of Yoga practice and B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga practice has bring positive changes in BMI and stress as compare to the control group and it was also found that there was no significant difference between the two experimental groups in BMI and stress. Key words: Bihar School of Yoga and B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga, body mass index, stress, ANCOVA and Scheffé S test.

INTRODUCTION Like men in during Vedic period2, the Indian women also enjoyed their equivalent status1 in all aspects. This statement was also supported by primeval Indian grammarians such as Patanjali (father of Yoga) and Katyayana, that women were enrolled themselves in different educational institutions, like Gurukhula like men.3,4 They selected their life partners at mature age at this period, in a practice called Swyamvaram or Gandharva marriage.5 They (Dampathi – husband and wife) shared their daily duties and even women were also joined the army and rules their territories. Later the condition of Indian females during the medieval period, was deteriorated.6,7 The Jauhar and purdah system were introduced during this period by Rajputs and Muslim rulers. , and nari pooja were also introduced during the period. During British rule, the survival of woman was improved by demolishing the devadasi and sati systems. At present in India, women were participating wholly in the field of politics, education, sports, art and culture, Indian civil services, etc., and they suffered more health

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problem than men like psychological distress and medical problems, which leads to lower morale.8 Rapid growth in economic, has seen swift alteration in dietary prototype towards energy rich foods along with increased urbanization and also associated with sedentary lifestyle which leads to overweight and obesity in India.28 Indian women affects by the cardiovascular diseases more than men9 and 26.3% women in urban area were overweight than men.10 Cardio-vascular disease which leads the obesity, also a major risk factor and Indian Heart Association alarming the awareness about this issue.11 in India the research on overweight (obesity), have shown that overweight and obesity are major disease in women in urban areas.12-14 In Tamilnadu, the women stood fourth on obesity in overall India.15,16 Middle class families income is raising in this region now a days, which results in increasing average caloric intake and above income helps to buy the latest households which increases BMI.17 A study shows that there was a higher chances of arthritis, hypertension and shortness of breath among obese (with high WHR) women.18 The middle aged women, i.e. 35 years and above, were establish that five times are further probable to be fattier and they were more risky by twelve times to be obese than women of 15-24 years.19 Practice of Yoga will definitely decrease the level of obesity, but the particular yogic technique should be taught and are more effective for reducing the weight.20 Several studies supports that yoga has decreased the anxiety and depression symptoms as well as obesity without altering the diet.21,22,23 Yogic exercises are an ancient system which gives, superior body structure, personality development, spirit and mind in the world.24 It is an exercise for mental and moral cultivation which gives better and good health (arogya), helps to lengthier life (chirayu), and the internal discipline, which improves the perennial and positive peace and happiness.25 Patanjali, in his book “Yoga Sutra”, teaches how to collated, coordinated and systematized way of doing yoga and also divided it by 185 terse aphorisms.26 In olden and contemporary India, various types of yoga are practiced, such as, Bhakti Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Laya Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Integral Yoga, Sahaja Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and so on. But Hatha yoga includes practices of pranayama, asana and kriya. Hatha yoga practices which ease the mind, improved the immunity power, increases the flexibility, tones the spine, releases the tension, strengthens the body, and helps the cravings.27 The researchers in India have identified that most of the women are having high level of stress. 25% of women in United States were died due to the heart diseases,48,49,50 but in India 87% of women felt on stress at almost all the times and even 82% of stressed women did not have sufficient time to relax.51 The women homemakers are higher stress of 37% and anxiety 40% than occupational .52 The psychological benefits, like stress relief, sense of well-being, and sake of religion, like good relationship with God and spirit, or feeling of superiority and some poses in yoga will be done at anywhere and sometimes the program me may be last long for hours, according the individual’s schedule.53 The impact of diabetes, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory disorders and stress, hyper and hypotension, depression, and other various diseases were treated with yoga practice. Latest research results exhibits that the yoga practice along with pranayama and meditation on health, establish the improvement in all aspects of the functioning such as, brain, hormonal, sleep, mood and balance, etc. Many supportive researches shown that the yoga, prayanama and meditation treated the diabetes, obesity, hyperthyroidism, problems associated with respiration, oxidative and mental stress.28

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Bihar School of Yoga (Swami Satyananda Saraswati) is a kind of school of yoga which amalgamates the brain power, passion and action: the heart, head and hands. Satyananda Yoga known as Bihar Yoga (the School lies in Bihar in India), embraces have different philosophies which also encourages yogis to improve their well being and improve gradually about their awareness on health. Satyananda Yoga is considered truly holistic and suitable for everyone.29 B.K.S. Iyengar developed the Iyengar Yoga, is the concept of Hatha Yoga, that has an importance on detail, accuracy and arrangement in the recital of posture (asana) and breath control (pranayama).30 Several research studies31-33 supports significant reduction in BMI and stress after the yoga practices. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was to find out the impact of different methods of yoga practices on BMI (BMI) and stress among middle aged women. STUDY PARTICIPANTS Forty five middle aged obese women with BMI > 27.5 kg/m2, residing around Annamalainagar, Chidambaram Taluk, Cuddalore district, Tamilnadu were selected as subjects. The age of the subjects were ranged from 40 to 45 years. The selected subjects were divided into three equal groups, each group consisted of fifteen subjects, in which group - I (n = 15) underwent Bihar School of Yoga practice, experimental group - II (n = 15) underwent B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga practice and group - III (n = 15) acted as control, which did not participate in any special activities apart from their regular curricular activities. Different methods of yoga practices were conducted six days (Monday to Saturday) per week for twelve weeks. The experimental group underwent their respective programmes by 5 am to 7 am under the guidance of well-trained yoga instructors for the period of twelve weeks. The attendance of the participants was taken at each yoga practice sessions and both the yoga practice group attendance were 99% and 98% respectively. The different yoga practice schedule was given below: Table – I: Yoga Practice Schedule Bihar School of Yoga Practice Weeks Name of the Asanas (Maintaining Duration in minutes : Recovery) 1 – 4 Suryanamaskar (10 Min : 5 Min), Vajrasana (1 : 1), Pawanmuktasana (1 : 1), Gomukasana (1 : 1) - All 2 repetitions, Shavasana (2 min), Pranayama –Bhramari (1 min), Meditation – Omkar. (2 min) 5 – 8 Suryanamaskar (10 Min : 5 Min), Vajrasana (1 : 1), Pawanmuktasana (1 : 1), Gomukasana (1 : 1), Ardhamatyendrasana (30 sec : 30 sec), Paschimotsasana (30 sec : 30 sec), Bhujangasana (1 min : 1 min) - All 2 repetitions, Shavasana (2 min), Pranayama – Basthikara (1 min), Meditation – Omkar. (2 min), 9 – 12 Suryanamaskar (10 Min : 5 Min), Vajrasana (1 : 1), Pawanmuktasana (1 : 1), Gomukasana (1 : 1), Ardhamatyendrasana (30 sec : 30 sec), Paschimotsasana (30 sec : 30 sec), Bhujangasana (1 min : 1 min) - All 2 repetitions, Sarvangasana (30 sec : 30 sec), Halasana (1 min : 1 min), Matsyasana (30 sec : 30 sec) - All 3 repetitions,, Shavasana (2 min), Pranayama –Nadisodhana (1 min), Meditation – Omkar. (2 min).

Table – II: Yoga Practice Schedule B.K.S. Iyengar Practice Weeks Name of the Asanas (Maintaining Duration in minutes : Recovery) 1 – 4 Suryanamaskar (10 Min : 5 Min), Utthita trikonasana (1 : 1), Janu sirsasana (1 : 1), Marichyasana (1 : 1) - All 2 repetitions, Shavasana (2 min), Pranayama –Bhramari (1 min), Meditation – Omkar. (2 min) 5 - 8 Suryanamaskar (10 Min : 5 Min), Utthita trikonasana (1 : 1), Janu sirsasana (1 : 1), Marichyasana (1 : 1) Prasarita padottanasana (30 sec : 30 sec), Adhomukha svanasana (30 sec : 30 sec), Ustrasana (1 min : 1 min) - All 2 repetitions, Shavasana (2 min), Pranayama –

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Basthikara (1 min), Meditation – Omkar. (2 min),

9 – 12 Suryanamaskar (10 Min : 5 Min), Utthita trikonasana (1 : 1), Janu sirsasana (1 : 1), Marichyasana (1 : 1) Prasarita padottanasana (30 sec : 30 sec), Adhomukha svanasana (30 sec : 30 sec), Ustrasana (1 min : 1 min) - All 2 repetitions, Uttanasana (30 sec : 30 sec), Baddha konasana (1 min : 1 min), Setu bandha sarvangasana (30 sec : 30 sec) - All 3 repetitions, Shavasana (2 min), Pranayama –Nadisodhana (1 min), Meditation – Omkar. (2 min). PROCEDURE The researcher selected the following criterion variables: 1. BMI, and 2.stress. BMI was assessed by applying the Quetelet et al 34 formula and stress were assessed by using Giordano and Everly Stress Scale35. For the purpose of collection of data, the subjects were asked to report at early morning, one day prior and one day after experimental period. The subject of the present study were questioned about their interest in yoga exercise and confirmed that they are new to yoga practice and confirmed that there was no participation of yoga practice or any other similar activities for past several years. A self- answered questionnaire was provided to all subjects to find out any physical or physiological disabilities and found that there was none of them were affected. The subjects were hand over their written consent to participate in this study prior to enrollment. DATA ANALYSIS The paired sample ‘t’ test, Levene’s test for equality of error variances and Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was applied to find out the significant difference if any, among the experimental groups and control group on selected criterion variables separately. In all the cases, .05 level of confidence was fixed to test the significance, which was considered as appropriate. The Scheffé S test was applied as post-hoc test whenever the ‘F’ ratios of the adjusted post-test means were found to be significant. The data were compiled and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) for windows computer software (Version 16). RESULTS The data collected on BMI and stress among experimental and control groups were analyses and the results were presented in Table – III. Table – III Paired Sample T = Test of Bihar School of Yoga Practice Group B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Practice Group and Control Group on Selected Dependent Variables Bihar School of B.K.S. Iyengar Control Variable Name Group Name Yoga Practice Yoga Practice Group Group Group

Pre-test Mean 28.09 28.25 28.05 BMI (in percentage) Post-test Mean 26.51 26.67 28.55 ‘t’ – ratio 15.36* 8.51* 0.467 Pre-test Mean 26.27 26.13 27.13 Stress (Points) Post-test Mean 22.07 22.87 27.60 ‘t’ - ratio 13.475* 9.12* 1.24

Table – III shows that the paired sample ‘t’ – test on BMI and stress, the result shows that both the yoga practice groups were significantly decreased the criterion variables. A preliminary analysis was conducted to determine whether the prerequisite assumptions of ANCOVA were met before preceding

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the Univariate analysis. Thus, the assumption of equality of variance (Levene’s test homogeneity), the linear regression relationship between the covariates and the dependent variables and the homogeneity of regression slopes were examined and the result was presented in Table-IV. Table – IV Leven’s Test for Equality of Error Variances of Selected Variables among Groups Levene’s Test on BMI

‘F’ df1 df2 Sig. 0.184 2 42 0.833

Leven’s Test on Stress

‘F’ df1 df2 Sig. 0.840 2 42 0.439

Homogeneity of variances is a term that is used to indicate that groups have the similar variances. Thus, in Levene’s test of equality of the error variance table, the obtained F-values of the selected dependent variables were less than the confidence interval value of 0.05, which indicates that the variance of each group was not significantly different from one another. Therefore, the homogeneity of variance comparing the three groups regardless of the ability level for each of the dependent variables indicated that homogeneity of variance has been met for two dependent variables at significant 0.05 level of confidence. Hence it was concluded that the assumption of homogeneity of variance has been met for computing univariate ANCOVA. Table - V Analysis of Covariance on Selected Criterion Variables among Yoga Groups and Control Group Bihar School of B.K.S. Iyengar Control Variable Name Group Name Yoga Practice Yoga Practice ‘F’ Ratio Group Group Group Pre-test Mean 28.09 ± 1.62 28.25 ± 1.63 28.05 ± 1.53 0.066 ± S.D BMI Post-test 26.51 ± 1.63 26.67 ± 1.70 28.55 ± 1.60 49.71* (in percentage) Mean ± S.D. Adj. Post-test 26.553 26.550 27.629 133.55* Mean Pre-test Mean 26.27 ± 2.19 26.13 ± 1.60 27.13 ± 2.07 1.14 ± S.D Post-test Stress (Points) 22.07 ± 1.98 22.87 ± 1.96 27.60 ± 1.92 35.16* Mean ± S.D. Adj. Post-test 22.252 23.152 27.130 58.57* Mean *Significant 0.05 level of confidence. (The table values required for significance at .05 level of confidence with df 2 and 42 and 2 and 41 were 3.22 and 3.21 respectively).

Table – V shows that ‘f’- ratio of pre-test mean of Bihar School of Yoga practice group, B.K.S. Iyengar yoga practice group and control group on BMI was 0.066, which is insignificant at 0.05 level of confidence. The ‘f’ ratio value of post- and adjusted post-test mean of experimental groups and control group was 49.71 and 133.55, which is significant at 0.05 level of confidence. The ‘f’- ratio of pre-test mean of Bihar School of Yoga practice group, B.K.S. Iyengar practice group and control group on stress was 1.14, which is insignificant at 0.05 level of confidence. The ‘f’ ratio value of post- and adjusted

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post-test means of experimental groups and control group were 35.16 and 58.57, which is significant at 0.05 level of confidence. The above statistical analysis indicates that there was a significant decrease in BMI and stress after the respective yoga practicing periods. Further to determine which of the paired means has a significant difference, the Scheffé S test was applied. Table - VI Scheffĕ S Test for the Difference Between the Adjusted Post-Test Mean of Selected Criterion Variables Adjusted Post-test Mean on BMI Control Group Confidence Bihar School of Yoga B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Mean Difference interval at .05 Practice Group Practice Group level 26.553 27.629 1.076* 0.192 26.553 26.550 0.003 0.192 26.550 27.629 1.079* 0.192 Adjusted Post-test Mean on Stress Control Group Confidence Bihar School of Yoga B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Mean Difference interval at .05 Practice Group Practice Group level 22.252 27.130 4.878* 1.186 22.252 23.152 0.901 1.186 23.152 27.130 3.977* 1.186 * Significant at .05 level of confidence.

Table – VI shows that the Scheffĕ S Test for the difference between adjusted post-test mean on BMI of Bihar School of Yoga practice group and control group was 1.076 and B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Practice group and control group was 1.079, which were significant at .05 level of confidence. There was a significant difference on stress between Bihar School of Yoga practice group and control group was 4.878 and B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Practice group and control group was 3.977 which were significant at 0.05 level of confidence after the respective yoga practice programme. But between the experimental groups there was no significant difference was occurred on BMI and stress (0.003 & 0.901). In Table – III and Table – IV shows that there was a significant decrease in BMI and stress for both the experimental group, such as, Bihar School of Yoga Practice group and B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Practice group. DISCUSSION All the subjects were participated the yoga practice session with enthusiasm and shown their interest in learning yoga skills. Various research studies shows, by statistically, that there is a greater chance of developing various diseases when overweight occurs for human beings. If the BMI rises from 25 to 27 percent, the death rises slightly by 20 to 30 percent and if BMI rises above 27 percent, the risk of death rises by 60 percent. Researchers of Miami University found that stressful peoples consume 40 percent of more food than normal and became fatty.36 Yoga gives countless positive benefits to the human beings, both physically and mentally, it also keeps the body fit and helps us some long-term benefits such as, better posture, improve flexibility, improve bone health, increase blood flow, improve heart health, lower blood pressure, improve balance, relaxation and sleeping aid, improve lung health,

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reduce digestive problems, etc.37,38 Stretching out muscles and relieving accumulated tension, which effect to reduce the stress and relieve the daily problems and also work related stress.39 CONCLUSIONS The experimental groups such as, Bihar School of Yoga practice group and B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga practice group have achieved a significant decrease in selected criterion variables such as body mass index,40,41,42,43,44 and reduction in stress45,46,47 when compared with the control group. It was also found that there was no significant difference found between the Bihar School of Yoga practice group and B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga practice group on selected criterion variables. References: [1] Madhok; Sujatha. Women: Background & Perspective. Info Change India, Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2018. [2] Mishra R.C. Women in India: towards gender equality. New : Authorpress. ISBN 9788172733063. [3] Varttika by Katyayana, 125, 2477. [4] Comments to Ashtadhyay 3.3.21 and 4.1.14 by Patanjali. [5] Majumdar RC, and Pusalker AD. Chapter XX: Language and literature. In Majumdar, R.C. and Pusalker, A.D. The history and culture of the Indian people, Volume I, the Vedic Age. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. 1951. p. 394. [6] Women in history. nrcw.nic.in. National Resource Center for Women. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 08 December 2018. [7] Mishra, R.C. Women in India: towards gender equality. New Delhi: Authorspress. 2006. ISBN 9788172733063. [8] Women in history. nrcw.nic.in. National Resource Center for Women. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 08 December 2018. [9] Chow, Clara and Patel, Anushka. Women’s cardiovascular , (PDF). Heart. 2012. 98:456-459. [10] International Institute for Population Sciences . National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005-06: India. V. I. Mumbai: International [11] Indian Heart Association Webpage 26 April 2015. http://Indianheartassociation.org [12] India’s obesity doubled in 10-years: NFHS-4. Available from https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/health/nfhs-4-highlights-india-has-become-obese-more-than- doubled-in-one-decade-only-52527 on 22-07-2018. [13] Varadharajan, Kiruba Sankar; Thomas, Tinku; Rajaraman Divya; V. Kurpad, Anura, Vaz, Mario. Overweight and obesity among internal migrants in India. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2013. 32(3):416- 425. [14] Zakaria Siddiqui, Md, Donato, Ronald. Overweight and obesity in India: policy issues from an exploratory multi-level analysis. Health Policy and Planning. June 2016. 31(5):582-591. [15] Survey says one in five women are overweight in India. Retrieved from https://sites.ndtv.com/healthmatters/survey-says-one-in-five-women-are-overweight-in-india-675/ on 08- 12-2019. [16] National Family Health Survey, 2005-06. Mumbai: International Institute for Population Sciences. 2007. [17] Gulati S and Misra A. Abdominal obesity and type 2 diabetes in Asian Indians: Dietary strategies including edible oils, cooking practices and sugar intake. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2017. 71(7):850-857. [18] Agarwal P, Gupta K, Mishra V and Agrawal S. Women’s health in India: the role of body mass index. Health Care Women International. 2015. 36(3):320-41. [19] Jitendra, Gouda and Kumar Ranjan, Prusty. Overweight and obesity among women by economic status in urban India. Journal of Health on Popular Nutrition. 2014. 32(1):79-88. [20] Yoga & obesity – yoga for weight loss. Yoga point webpage 08-12-2018. [21] Dhananjai S, Sadashiv, Tiwari, Sunita, Dutt, Krishna and Kumar, Rajjan. Reducing psychological distress and obesity through yoga practice. International Journal of Yoga. January – June 2013. 6(1): 66-70. [22] Annapoorna K , Vasantalaxmi, K. Effects of Yoga therapy on obesity and quality of life in women: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Yoga and Allied Sciences. 2013. 2(1):18-24.

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[23] Nisha, Shinde, Shinde, KJ. Khatri, SM and Hande, Deepali. A comparative study of yoga and aerobic exercises in obesity and its effect on pulmonary function. Journal of Diabetes & Metabolism. 2013. 4(4):1-4. [24] Joseph, Clara, A. Effect of yoga practices on selected physical fitness physiological and biochemical variables among women diabetes patients. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation. Annamalai University. 2012. [25] Raja, S. Chidambara. Effect of yogasana and physical exercise on breath holding time, high density lipoprotein and total cholesterol among female rural graduates. International Journal of Recent Research and Applied Studies, November 2014. 1:6(Suppl 11):46-49. [26] Prabakaran, T. Effect of yoga practices on systolic blood pressure in middle aged men. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development. March 2016. 3:3:476 – 478. [27] Tiffany and Carrie. 7 Health Benefits of Hatha Yoga. [Accepted 2018]. Available from . [28] Semwal, DK; Chauhan A; Mishra SP; Semwal RB. Recent development in yoga: A scientific perspective. JoAYUSH. 2016. 5:14-20. [29] Devananda, Swami Vishnu. The Sivananda Companion to Yoga. New York: Fireside Book, Simon and Schuster. 2000. p. 10. [30] Wikipedia. Free Encyclopedia. Iyengar Yoga. [Edited on 5-10-2017]. Available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyengar_Yoga on 22-7-2014. [31] Patel, Seema and Kamakhya Kumar. A study on the effect of yoga and diet control on BMI and cholesterol of the obese youth. International Journal of Science and Consciousness. March 2016. 2:1:13-17. [32] Satyanarayana P, Vijaya Benerji G, Dulala, Rekha Kumari, Babu Meka, Farid and Kumari, Ratna, N. Effect of yoga on heart rate, blood pressure, body mass index. IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences. July – August 2013. 8:2:36-39. [33] Moliver N, Mika EM, Chartrand MS, Burrus SWM, Haussmann RE and Khalsa SBS. “Increased hatha yoga experience predicts lower BMI and reduced medication use in women over 45 years”. International Journal of Yoga. July – December 2011. 4:2:77-86. [34] Khosla T and Lowe CR. Indices of obesity derived from body weight and height, British Journal of Preventive & Social Medicine. 1967. 21:122-128. [35] Krans, Brian. Nine ways stress is more dangerous than you think. [Accessed on 4-08- 2016]. Available from https://www.healthline.com/health-news/mental-eight-ways-stress-harms-your- health-082713#4. [36] Krans, Brian. Nine ways stress is more dangerous than you think. [Accessed on 4-08- 2016]. Available from https://www.healthline.com/health-news/mental-eight-ways-stress-harms-your- health-082713#4. [37] Bajaj Allianz, World yoga day. [Accessed on 20-6-2018]. Available from https://www.demystifyinsurance.com/world-yoga- day/?utm_source=content&utm_medium=search&utm_content=Yoga_Benefits&utm_campaign. [38] Mehdi, Shirin, What is yoga and what are its benefits?. [Accessed on 27-9-2018]. Available from https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/26-amazing-benefits-of-yoga-a-complete-guide/#BackToToc on 15-09-2018. [39] Huizar, Ethel, The Effects of Yoga on Mental and Physical Health: A Short Summary. [Accessed on 12-08-2016]. Available from https://blog.sivanaspirit.com/yg-yoga-mental-physical-health. [40] Moliver N, Mika EM, Chartrand MS, Burrus SWM, Haussman RE and Khalsa SBS. Increased hatha yoga experience predicts lower BMI and reduced medication use in women over 45 years. International Journal of Yoga. July – December 2011. 4:2:77 – 86. [41] Ankad RB, Herur A, Patil S, Shahikala GV and Chinagudi S. Effect of short-term pranayama and meditation on cardiovascular functions in healthy individuals. Heart Views. 2011.12:2:58-62 [42] Chauhan, Ashutosh; Semwal, Deepak Kumar; Mishra, Satyendra Prasad and Semwal, Ruchi Badoni. Yoga practice improves the BMI and blood pressure: a randomized control trial. International Journal of Yoga. May – August 2017. 10:2:103 – 106. [43] Suchetha Kumari N, Damodara Gowda KM, Sukesh M, Madhu LN and Kathyayini. Effect of yoga therapy on BMI and oxidative status. Journal of Health Science. September 2011. 1(1):10-14. [44] Parthiban V. and Vallimurugan V. Effect of variation in yoga practices on bmi and flexibility among obese college men. International Journal of Applied Research, 2016. 2:7:391-393. [45] Moliver N, Mika EM, Chartrand MS, Haussman RE and Khalsa SBS. Yoga experience as a predictor of psychological wellness in women over 45 years. International Journal of Yoga. January – June 2013. 6(1):11 – 19.

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[46] Huang FJ, Chien DK and Chung UL. Effects of Hatha yoga on stress in middle-aged women. Journal of Nursing Research. 2013. 21(1):59-66. [47] Patel, Nehal; Baria, Dipika and Joshi, Varsha. Effect of yoga on stress in women. Journal of Research Medical and Dental Science. July – September 2016. 4(3):224-227. [48] Varvogli L and Darviri C. Stress management techniques: evidence based procedures that reduce stress and promote health. Health Sci J. April 2011. 5:74-89. [49] Kanel RV. Psychological distress and cardiovascular risk. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008. 52:2163-5 [50] Kohli P and Gulati M. Exercise stress testing in women: going back to the basics. Circulation. 2010, 122:2570-80. [51] Goyal M. Indian women most stressed in the world: nielsen survey; 2011. Available from: http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-06-29/news/29717262_1_indian- womenstress-workplaces. [Last accessed on 2014 Mar 31]. [52] Pinal A. Patel; Prema P. Patel; Anuradha V. Khadikar; Chiplonkar SA and D. Patel, Ashish, Impact of occupation on stress and anxiety among indian women. Women Health. May 2017. 57(3):392-401. [53] Scott, Elizabeth, The benefits of yoga for stress management. Available from: https://www.verywellmind.com/the-benefits-of-yoga-for-stress-management-3145205. [Last updated on 2020, March 20].

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