Indian Journal of Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy-An International Journal

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Comparative efficacy Study of Standard Group Therapy alone Versus Standard Group Therapy in Conjunction with Sudarshan Kriya (SK) and Pranayama (P) in Reducing Stress and Anxiety among Executives


Affiliations
1 Centre for Addiction Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India
2 ept of Psychology, Annamalai University Chidambaram Tamil Nadu, India
3 Centre for Addiction Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India
4 Dept of Research and Development, Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth (VVMVP), Bangalore, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Background: Interaction among workers, conditions at a work place and individual life style, all combine to produce occupational stress and anxiety. Stress alters the behavior of the person, impairs the quality of his or her life, and adversely affects the work output. Many organizations offer group therapies or other stress relieving programs to their employees with variable degree of success. In the present work, we have studied the effect of a yogic breathing in the form of Sudarshan Kriya (SK) and Pranayama (P) in conjunction with standard group therapy and have compared the results with standard group therapy alone.

Method: Sixty software executives were selected randomly for this study. Of the sixty executives, thirty were enrolled for The Art of Living (AOL) program and learnt and practiced SK and P in addition to standard group therapy. Remaining thirty, the control group underwent standard group therapy alone. With the help of Tennessee stress scale-R (TSS-R) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), assessment was made for both the groups at base line and then one month subsequently.

Results: SK and P group had significantly more reduction in anxiety and significantly more improvement in stress coping .

Conclusion: From this pilot study it would appear that reduction in stress and anxiety and improvement in stress coping skills can be achieved better among executives when breathing processes (SK&P) are added to standard group therapy. However, longer and larger studies are required to authenticate these conclusions and also to see if these effects are sustainable over longer periods.


Keywords

Sudarshan Kriya, Occupational Stress, Anxiety
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Anderzen.I, Arnetz.BB. The impact of a prospective survey-based workplace intervention program on employee health, biologic stress markers, and organizational productivity. J occup Environ Med. Jul: 47(7): 671-82, 2005

  • Hartfiel N, Havenhand J, Khalsa SB, Clarke G, Krayer A. The effectiveness of yoga for the improvement of well being and resilience to stress in the work place. Scand J Work Environ Health. 37(1):70-6, 2011

  • Cowen VS. Functional fitness improvements after a worksite-based yoga initiative. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 14(1):50-4, 2010

  • Gura ST. Yoga for stress reduction and injury prevention at work. Work. 19(1):3-7, 2002

  • Landy F, Quick JC and Kasl S. Work, stress and well being . International Journal of Stress Management. 1 (1) : 33-73, 1994

  • Spelberger CD, and Reheiser EC. Job stress in university, cprporate and military personnel. International Journal of stress management. 1 (1) : 19- 31, 1994

  • Kjellgren A, Bood SA, Axelsson K, Norlander T, Saaticioglu F. Wellness through a comprehensive yogic breathing program – a controlled pilot trial. BMC complement altern med 7 : 43 – 50, 2007

  • Sharma H, Sen S, Singh, Bhardwaj NK, Kochupillai V, Singh N. Sudarshan kriya practioners exhibit better antioxidant stress and lower blood lactate levels. Biological psychology. 47 : 157 – 163, 2003

  • Janakiramaiha N, Gangadharan BN, Naga Venkatesha murthy PJ, Harish MG, Subbakrishna DK, Vedamurthachar A. Antidepressant efficacy of sudarshan kriya yoga (SKY) in melancholia : a randomized comparison with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and imipramine. J affective disorders 57 : 255 – 9, 2000

  • Descilo T, Vedamurthachar A, Gerbarg PL, Nagaraja D, Gangadhar BN, Damodaran B , Adelson B, Braglow LH, Marcus S, Brown RP. Effects of a yoga breath intervention alone and in combination with exposure therapy for post traumatic stress disorder and depression in survivors of the 2004 south east asia psunami. Acta Psychiat Scand 121 : 289 – 300, 2009

  • Vedamurthachar A, Gangadhar BN, Janakiramaiha N. Effect of sudarshan kriya on alcohol patients . Proceedings of Science of breath . AIIMS conference , 37 – 41, 2002

  • Kochupillai V, Kumar P, Singh D, Aggarwal D, Bhardwaj N, Bhutani M, Das SN. Effect of rhythmic breathing (sudarshan kriya and pranayam) on immune functions and tobacco addiction. Ann NY Acad Sci 1056 : 242 – 252, 2005

  • Beck A.T, Ward CH, Mendelson M. An inventory for measuring depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 4; 461 – 71, 1970

  • NIOSH. Occupational Injury and Illness in New Hampshire: A Status Report. March 2009

  • Motowidlo. SJ, Packard.JS, and Manning MR, Occupational stress: Its causes and consequences for job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology. 71(4): 618-629. 1986

  • Health and Safety in executives. Health Statistic highlights 2004. HSE Books. Sudbury 2003/4.


Abstract Views: 514

PDF Views: 0




  • Comparative efficacy Study of Standard Group Therapy alone Versus Standard Group Therapy in Conjunction with Sudarshan Kriya (SK) and Pranayama (P) in Reducing Stress and Anxiety among Executives

Abstract Views: 514  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

A. Vedamurthachar
Centre for Addiction Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India
B. Damodaran
ept of Psychology, Annamalai University Chidambaram Tamil Nadu, India
S. Lakshmanan
Centre for Addiction Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India
Vinod Kochupillai
Dept of Research and Development, Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth (VVMVP), Bangalore, India

Abstract


Background: Interaction among workers, conditions at a work place and individual life style, all combine to produce occupational stress and anxiety. Stress alters the behavior of the person, impairs the quality of his or her life, and adversely affects the work output. Many organizations offer group therapies or other stress relieving programs to their employees with variable degree of success. In the present work, we have studied the effect of a yogic breathing in the form of Sudarshan Kriya (SK) and Pranayama (P) in conjunction with standard group therapy and have compared the results with standard group therapy alone.

Method: Sixty software executives were selected randomly for this study. Of the sixty executives, thirty were enrolled for The Art of Living (AOL) program and learnt and practiced SK and P in addition to standard group therapy. Remaining thirty, the control group underwent standard group therapy alone. With the help of Tennessee stress scale-R (TSS-R) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), assessment was made for both the groups at base line and then one month subsequently.

Results: SK and P group had significantly more reduction in anxiety and significantly more improvement in stress coping .

Conclusion: From this pilot study it would appear that reduction in stress and anxiety and improvement in stress coping skills can be achieved better among executives when breathing processes (SK&P) are added to standard group therapy. However, longer and larger studies are required to authenticate these conclusions and also to see if these effects are sustainable over longer periods.


Keywords


Sudarshan Kriya, Occupational Stress, Anxiety

References