BackgroundCoal mine dust exposure causes chronic airflow limitation in coal miners resulting in dyspnea, fatigue, and eventually chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Yoga can alleviate dyspnea in COPD by improving ventilatory mechanics, reducing central neural drive, and partially restoring neuromechanical coupling of the respiratory system.ObjectivesTo evaluate the effectiveness of Integrated Approach of Yoga Therapy (IAYT) in the management of dyspnea and fatigue in coal miners with COPD.Materials and methodsRandomized, waitlist controlled, single-blind clinical trial. Eighty-one coal miners (36–60 years) with stable Stages II and III COPD were recruited. The yoga group received an IAYT module for COPD that included asanas, loosening exercises, breathing practices, pranayama, cyclic meditation, yogic counseling and lectures 90 min/day, 6 days/week for 12 weeks. Measurements of dyspnea and fatigue on the Borg scale, exercise capacity by the 6 min walk test, peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2%), and pulse rate (PR) using pulse oximetry were made before and after the intervention.ResultsStatistically significant within group reductions in dyspnea (P < 0.001), fatigue (P < 0.001) scores, PR (P < 0.001), and significant improvements in SpO2% (P < 0.001) and 6 min walk distance (P < 0.001) were observed in the yoga group; all except the last were significant compared to controls (P < 0.001).ConclusionsFindings indicate that IAYT benefits coal miners with COPD, reducing dyspnea; fatigue and PR, and improving functional performance and peripheral capillary SpO2%. Yoga can now be included as an adjunct to conventional therapy for pulmonary rehabilitation programs for COPD patients.

Context:Psychological comorbidities are prevalent in coal miners with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and contribute to the severity of the disease reducing their health status. Yoga has been shown to alleviate depression and anxiety associated with other chronic diseases but in COPD not been fully investigated.Aim:This study aimed to evaluate the role of yoga on health status, depression, and anxiety in coal miners with COPD.Materials and Methods:This was a randomized trial with two study arms (yoga and control), which enrolled 81 coal miners, ranging from 36 to 60 years with stage II and III stable COPD. Both groups were either on conventional treatment or combination of conventional care with yoga program for 12 weeks.Results:Data were collected through standardized questionnaires; COPD Assessment Test, Beck Depression Inventory and State and Trait Anxiety Inventory at the beginning and the end of the intervention. The yoga group showed statistically significant (P < 0.001) improvements on all scales within the group, all significantly different (P < 0.001) from changes observed in the controls. No significant prepost changes were observed in the control group (P > 0.05).Conclusion:Yoga program led to greater improvement in physical and mental health status than did conventional care. Yoga seems to be a safe, feasible, and effective treatment for patients with COPD. There is a need to conduct more comprehensive, high-quality, evidence-based studies to shed light on the current understanding of the efficacy of yoga in these chronic conditions and identify unanswered questions.

Context:Childhood visual deficiency impairs children's neuro-psychomotor development, considerably affecting physical, mental, social, and emotional health. Yoga's multifaceted approach may help children with visual impairment (VI) to cope with their challenges.Aim:This study aimed to develop a special protocol for teaching yoga to children with VI, and to evaluate their preferred method of learning.Methods:The study was carried out at Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind, Bengaluru, South India. Forty-one students volunteered to learn yoga practices, and classes were held weekly 5 days, 1 hr per session for 16 weeks. The study introduced a new method using a sequence of five teaching steps: verbal instructions, tactile modeling, step-by-step teaching, learning in a group, and physical guidance. A questionnaire concerning the preferred steps of learning was then given to each student, and verbal answers were obtained.Results:A total of 33 (out of 41), aged 11.97 ± 1.94, 15 girls and 18 boys responded. Twenty-six (78.79%) chose physical guidance as their most favored learning mode.Conclusions:Specially designed protocol may pave the way to impart yoga in an exciting and comfortable way to children with VI. More studies are needed to further investigate the effectiveness of this new yoga protocol in similar settings.