The Modi government’s penchant for promoting all things yoga is translating into research funding. Yoga has so far been almost entirely within the ambit of the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy). Now the Ministry of Science wants in on it too. The Department of Science and Technology has launched a new research programme it calls SATYAM, short for Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation, which allows scientists studying these matters to apply for three years of funding support from the department.
Scientists studying yoga in various institutes are asking hard science questions, conducting clinical trials, conducting molecular biology experiments to identify whether and why yoga works and what its limits are. The Department of Science and Technology already funds some of these studies. It has given more than Rs 81 lakh to the researchers at Bengaluru’s Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana to map neurophysiological, neurochemical and cerebral blood flow changes in attention processes related to yoga
"Although some people claim yoga to be a panacea, in standard yoga therapy centers they know where the limits are and they make it very clear that it won’t go beyond a certain point," said BN Gangadhar, head of the yoga center at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bengaluru, better known as NIMHANS. "My own reading is that the DST’s idea would be to unravel the biological or molecular basis of yoga effects."
NIMHANS scientists have been asking four clinical questions about yoga – how does yoga affect cognition in patients with depression, what neurochemical alterations can the practice of yoga cause, how yoga affects cognition in healthy seniors, and how it might affect dementia.
Yoga for depression and schizophrenia
NIMHANS researchers have found that impaired cognition in depression patients can become normalised after they practice yoga for a few weeks. Depression patients typically have low levels of Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor, the chemical that helps the brain repair itself. This might occur due to overproduction of the hormone cortisol. In a comparative study between depression patients who were given yoga therapy and depression patients who weren’t, it was found that the levels of cortisol in members of the former group dropped and Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor increased, thus somewhat alleviating their depression. No such progress was seen in the second group.
In another randomised trial, healthy senior citizens were given neuro-psychological tests after six months of yoga. Their cognition, it was found, was improved. “We were able to do MRI scan before and six months after yoga exposure,” Gangadhar explained. “The area of the brain called hippocampus, which is very sensitive to loss with age, actually showed an increase in grey matter following six months of yoga.” Similar progress was noted in elderly people with dementia.
NIMHANS also conducted one of the largest studies on schizophrenia, including an examination of the effects of yoga. Schizophrenia patients who had stabilised with prescribed medicines were exposed to yoga, other physical exercise and nothing at all. The three-group comparison showed that patients of schizophrenia showed an improvement in social cognition, which is the ability to recognise emotion on others faces. They also showed elevations in their levels of oxytocin, a hormone that stimulates social relations.
SN Omkar studies the stability and balance in human bodies by studying their performance of surya namaskars. The aerospace scientist at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru runs a yoga and biomechanics laboratory as well, where he uses body sensors to analyse the movements in yoga’s various asanas. The studies hold clues to neuromuscular controls, Omkar says, along with other practical applications.
“In airlines, they prescribe exercises to prevent deep vein thrombosis, which is very common in long haul fights,” Omkar said. “We evaluated the set of ten exercises and added one exercise based on our experience in yoga. We have proved that the new exercise is more effective than whatever they had.”
AYUSH vs DST
Omkar’s lab is also working on how the principles of biomechanics are useful in space applications, like extravehicular activity that astronauts do and what the implications are in microgravity situations for which he has received funding from ISRO.
“The move by DST it will help many of us further in our objectives,” Omkar said, noting that the department will be able to spend more resources than the Ministry of AYUSH. He also believes that with the wealth of yoga research coming out of the west, India needs to up its game to remain scientifically competitive in the field.
“It’s not that all yoga research should be done in India but we should be internationally competitive,” agreed Gangadhar. He welcomed the DST’s interest in yoga research because its approach is likely to be different from the Ministry of AYUSH.
“AYUSH Department will not have access to biological research,” he said. “AYUSH hospitals don’t have MRI scans, genetic laboratories or molecular biology laboratories.”
Scientists studying yoga in various institutes are asking hard science questions, conducting clinical trials, conducting molecular biology experiments to identify whether and why yoga works and what its limits are. The Department of Science and Technology already funds some of these studies. It has given more than Rs 81 lakh to the researchers at Bengaluru’s Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana to map neurophysiological, neurochemical and cerebral blood flow changes in attention processes related to yoga
"Although some people claim yoga to be a panacea, in standard yoga therapy centers they know where the limits are and they make it very clear that it won’t go beyond a certain point," said BN Gangadhar, head of the yoga center at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bengaluru, better known as NIMHANS. "My own reading is that the DST’s idea would be to unravel the biological or molecular basis of yoga effects."
NIMHANS scientists have been asking four clinical questions about yoga – how does yoga affect cognition in patients with depression, what neurochemical alterations can the practice of yoga cause, how yoga affects cognition in healthy seniors, and how it might affect dementia.
Yoga for depression and schizophrenia
NIMHANS researchers have found that impaired cognition in depression patients can become normalised after they practice yoga for a few weeks. Depression patients typically have low levels of Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor, the chemical that helps the brain repair itself. This might occur due to overproduction of the hormone cortisol. In a comparative study between depression patients who were given yoga therapy and depression patients who weren’t, it was found that the levels of cortisol in members of the former group dropped and Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor increased, thus somewhat alleviating their depression. No such progress was seen in the second group.
In another randomised trial, healthy senior citizens were given neuro-psychological tests after six months of yoga. Their cognition, it was found, was improved. “We were able to do MRI scan before and six months after yoga exposure,” Gangadhar explained. “The area of the brain called hippocampus, which is very sensitive to loss with age, actually showed an increase in grey matter following six months of yoga.” Similar progress was noted in elderly people with dementia.
NIMHANS also conducted one of the largest studies on schizophrenia, including an examination of the effects of yoga. Schizophrenia patients who had stabilised with prescribed medicines were exposed to yoga, other physical exercise and nothing at all. The three-group comparison showed that patients of schizophrenia showed an improvement in social cognition, which is the ability to recognise emotion on others faces. They also showed elevations in their levels of oxytocin, a hormone that stimulates social relations.
SN Omkar studies the stability and balance in human bodies by studying their performance of surya namaskars. The aerospace scientist at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru runs a yoga and biomechanics laboratory as well, where he uses body sensors to analyse the movements in yoga’s various asanas. The studies hold clues to neuromuscular controls, Omkar says, along with other practical applications.
“In airlines, they prescribe exercises to prevent deep vein thrombosis, which is very common in long haul fights,” Omkar said. “We evaluated the set of ten exercises and added one exercise based on our experience in yoga. We have proved that the new exercise is more effective than whatever they had.”
AYUSH vs DST
Omkar’s lab is also working on how the principles of biomechanics are useful in space applications, like extravehicular activity that astronauts do and what the implications are in microgravity situations for which he has received funding from ISRO.
“The move by DST it will help many of us further in our objectives,” Omkar said, noting that the department will be able to spend more resources than the Ministry of AYUSH. He also believes that with the wealth of yoga research coming out of the west, India needs to up its game to remain scientifically competitive in the field.
“It’s not that all yoga research should be done in India but we should be internationally competitive,” agreed Gangadhar. He welcomed the DST’s interest in yoga research because its approach is likely to be different from the Ministry of AYUSH.
“AYUSH Department will not have access to biological research,” he said. “AYUSH hospitals don’t have MRI scans, genetic laboratories or molecular biology laboratories.”
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!