Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder affecting systems of the body and behavior. Its growth rate is approximately 3% in children. This review was undertaken to search and critically analyze the literature about musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and neurological function, and behavioral outcomes of yoga interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This systematic review has four-stage screening process and rigorous critical appraisal, which resulted in the inclusion of 36 studies. As a result, in children with autism spectrum disorder with (i) the presence of muscle weakness: yoga may decrease sympathetic activity and autonomic arousal and thereby improve handgrip strength (HGS); (ii) lowered cardiac vagal tone and elevated sympathetic tone, resulting in autonomic abnormalities including impaired language, attention, and cognition: yoga reduces blood pressure and improves attention without sympathetic activation; (iii) slower reaction times and greater standard deviations: Pranayama practice enhances central processing ability; and (iv) sensory processing issues with behavior regulations give rise to the presence of repetitive behaviors: yoga improves sensory integration, motor imitations, communications, and their own thoughts and behaviors related to physical, social, and emotional well-being. Hence, this review of clinical studies suggests that approach built on yoga intervention is worth pursuing. Desired outcomes include reduction of autism rate and improved quality of life.

It would be impossible to comprehend the complexity of a human brain by a single cell organism; similarly, it would be impossible to understand the complexity of “Reality ”or “Ultimate Truth ”by a human brain hampered by limitations. At best, it can arrive at approximations of truth, which would vary from a person to person and a being to being. That is why, Jain philosophy while explaining Truth stresses on “Anekāntavāda” multiple aspects of Truth or Reality. Vedas too, while explaining Truth says, “Ekam sat vipraa bahudhaa vadanti” which is literally translated as “Truth is one, but the learned ones refer to it in different names. ”If a human mind is made to understand that what it claims as sole truth may be an aspect of truth or a truth distorted by its understanding, then it would be humble enough to respect and accept the opinions of other minds. This Socratic paradox (The only thing I know is that I know nothing.) may keep our mind open and flexible enough to discover the deeper truth of psychiatry, spirituality, and quantum science and may lead to their synthesis into some deeper science or truth.

Thirvalluvar was a Tamil Philosopher belonging to the pre Christian Era. The government has given his birth date as late as 31 BC. Some scholars date Thiruvalluvar and his work “Thirukural ”as early as 500 BC. Vethathiri Maharishi is a Yogi and Spiritual leader of the 21^st century. He was a Siddha, Ayurvedic, Homeopathic practitioner and Founder of the World Community Service Center. This study tries to compare the message of the 2500 year old Thirukural with the teaching of the modern day yogi Vethathiri Maharishi. Maharishi always stressed on the “Art of Living ”as a way to balance and achieve inner as well as world peace. He took this term from the message of Thirukural and in this study we will compare how successfully Maharishi has preached the essence of Thirukural to the modern world.

Introduction: Laghu sankhaprakshalana (LSP) is a type of yogic cleansing technique (Shatkarma) which is being practiced since ancient time. In this technique, set of Asanas that aid the intestinal motility are practiced along with intake of lukewarm saline water. It is an easy and effective technique to clean the gastrointestinal canal. This study aims to study the effect of LSP on bowel health. Aim and Objectives: The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of LSP practice on bowel health in normal individuals and safety of it. Materials and Methods: Sixty healthy individuals (males – 30 and females – 30) of the mean age 20.70 ± 2.89 were randomly recruited for study group (n = 30) and control group (n = 30). The study group was made to practice LSP once a week, for 4 weeks. The control group received no intervention. Constipation score (CS) was recorded by using the Cleveland Clinic CS, before and after completion of four sessions of LSP. Results: There was a significant reduction in CS, p < 0.0001 after the four sessions of LSP practice. Conclusion: The present study showed that LSP has a tendency to improve the bowel health. The practice of LSP once a week, for 4 weeks is safe and effective in a normal individual.

Context: We are passing through a period of general unrest. People are unable or incapable to adjust to the different circumstances and conditions of life. They are at the breaking point every moment. Our students are no exception to this phenomenon. Yoga incorporates a system of discipline of integrated development of all the aspects of personality. Yoga helps in various ways to balance the sedentary lifestyle. Aims: To investigate the yoga-based module technique on the mindfulness of adolescents. Settings and Design: The study follows pre–post single group design. Fifty-one adolescents were recruited, with age ranging between 11 and 14 years for yoga intervention. The attendance was 100% during the intervention. Materials and Methods: A total of 51 participants were recruited in the present study, with age ranging between 11 and 14 years. The sample size was calculated with G-Power software by fixing the alpha at 0.05, power at 0.80, and an effect size of 0.99 based on the mean and standard deviation of an earlier study. The calculated sample size was 36, but due to possible dropout, we considered 51 individuals in the study. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were found normally distributed using the Shapiro–Wilk test (P > 0.05). Within-group comparison was performed using the paired sample t-test. This was done using RStudio. Results: The normality test of data was done by the Shapiro–Wilk test, and the p value was found to be 0.26, which was >0.05 level, showing that the data were normally distributed. Therefore, the paired sample t-test was done between pre- and post-data; the outcome of the study reported that there was a significant change from pre- to postdata in mindfulness. The p value was found to be 0.012, which proved the alternative hypothesis: the mean of differences is not equal to zero. The mean of the difference is equal to 2.29, which showed that yoga has its effects on mindfulness. Conclusions: In this study, we compared 60 days of yoga-based intervention. The yoga module included some standing and balancing asanas, pranayama mudra, and short relaxation. The effect of this yoga module could be seen in the result of this study, which revealed that this yoga module improves mindfulness in adolescents.

Introduction: Yoga was originally founded in South Asia and it was practiced by various South Asian individuals. It is a spiritual practice about the mind and body, as well as the meaning of life and the nature of the universe. The intended belief was yoga assist with self-development believed to reduce stress, increase beauty, strength, and muscle flexibility. Aim and Objective: The main objective of this article is to highlight how yoga has transformed into controversial, elite, counter cultural and pop culture varieties with undertones of cultural appropriation. Argument: The case of yoga and its appropriation by the Western culture creates a paradoxical situation. In this situation, approval and adoption of yoga in the West has made the practice more trendy and popular among middle-class urban Indian consumers and helped re-brand the practice. Such re-marketing has allowed to make yoga more appealing to the modern consumer and more concerned with the aspects related to physical performance, health and scientific explanation. Conclusion: Although the notion of cultural appropriation can be discussed in the negative light, the article explores how yoga has transformed from a sacred practice to cultural appropriation by Western culture.