Yoga Mimamsa

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Yoga is a word very commonly used in the world today and carries various connotations depending on its usage. It has been defined in various manners as an art and science, as well as the process of conscious evolution. All human beings can gain a lot from the bountiful dimensions of Yoga, which enables them to manifest their inherent divinity, the universal potentiality that lies dormant unless channelized. "All souls are potentially divine," said Swami Vivekananda and, indeed, they are. This article aims to elucidate the diverse dimensions of Yoga that include the dimensions related to Indian culture as well as those associated with health, therapy, society, education, and research. Various physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits attainable through Yoga are explained in detail, highlighting the multiple sub-dimensions of these major fields. Yoga, which emphasizes the universal, is a perfect foil to those human activities which glorify the personal. In short, it may be safely said that the practice of Yoga as a unified whole helps the individual shift from an "I"-centric approach to a "we"- centric approach. The beauty of Yoga is that these abstract principles become concrete by the daily practice of the techniques available in the integrated system. Once the "seed of Yoga" finds fertile soil, these concepts grow naturally, slowly but surely taking root in all aspects of life.

Background: Mindfulness has received consistent attention from researchers in the last few decades due to its positive effects on physical and mental health, psychological well-being, as well as several therapeutic outcomes. In an attempt to discern its dispositional source, researchers have also looked at its relation with personality traits. Aims: The current study aims to carry the above effort ahead by looking at the relation of mindfulness to the big-five personality traits in the Indian context in an exploratory way to give some amount of cross-cultural validity to established relations in the Western context. Methods: The current study adopted the method of correlational research to fulfill the above aim. Results: Results of the current investigation on 60 plus Yoga students supported earlier meta-analysis by revealing highly significant moderate correlations, negative of -0.45 with neuroticism and positive of 0.49 with conscientiousness after controlling for demographics. Mindfulness also showed a positive relation to extraversion (r = 0.29), to a lesser extent though. The study, very surprisingly, showed no gender difference in neuroticism in the current sample of Yoga students, thereby creating a deviation to a widely present gender difference. Conclusions: The current paper discusses the above results in detail, and draws the personality mini-profile of a mindful individual to be that of one who is emotionally stable and/or well-disciplined in his/her approach toward life although, studies with larger, representative and cross-cultural samples are needed to further validate this claim.

Over the years, Yoga has not only contributed to holistic health and well-being but has also spread worldwide as an academic discipline. At the same time, there has been regular experimentation and adaptation in the field of yoga by people from various parts of the world since the time it gained wide popularity, some of them being quite scientific in their orientation. Among them, hot yoga is a new trend in Hatha yoga practice, which involves exposure to ambient temperature to promote the health benefits through acclimatization. However, to date, influence of hot yoga on various health-related parameters and its effect on thermoregulatory mechanism are still under controversy. This study attempted to explore the possible ill effects of hyperthermia-induced physical activity on various regulatory mechanisms of health, which may be directed toward impaired body homeostasis. This study suggests that hot yoga cannot regulate comprehensive health at cellular level and may deviate from the traditional concept of yoga.

Background: Many new systems of yoga have emerged in India in the last few centuries. Their uniqueness lies in their distinct philosophy and methods. Clear understanding of the aims and methods of any system of yoga is essential to attain its desired goal. Aim: The objective of this paper is to study Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga and to see if its aims and methods are new and differ from those of the traditional systems of yoga. Materials and Methods: The current study used the descriptive method, wherein there was comparison of content from texts. Sri Aurobindo's books on yoga and other reference works constituted the primary and secondary sources, respectively. Results: Based on analysis of the content referred to, it has been observed that the aims and methods of Integral Yoga are new. Conclusion: The study revealed the fact that even though Integral Yoga synthesizes various Indian traditional systems of yoga, due to its distinct aims and methods, we can consider it as a new yoga.

Background: The modern intensive treatment for cancer leaves the patients physically and mentally exhausted by the end of it. There is great potential for Yoga, the original mind-body medicine, in such a situation as it conjointly emphasizes body, mind, and spirit, which may be particularly useful for enhancing patients' social and spiritual well-being. Some studies have reported the effectiveness of Yoga, meditation, and mindfulness as a rehabilitative and palliative therapy in various types of cancer. Objectives: With the above background in mind, we created a 3-week residential program for cancer patients to empower them in their journey, "back to health." The curriculum was geared specifically for those who had undergone chemotherapy and/or radiation. Methods: The program utilized the sister life sciences of Yoga and Ayurveda with a healthy dose of self-education to assist patients in their recovery from the devastation of cancer and its modern treatment. The modes of reintegration used in this program were designed to specifically address the physical, mental, and psychic (spiritual) needs of the participants. The curriculum included various asanas, kriyas, pranayama, mudras, and bandha, as well as chanting. Ayurvedic treatment based on panchkarma science was designed and applied according to each patient's disposition. An educational component was included to inform patients of potential carcinogenic factors in their life and to change their mindset and attitudes from victimhood to self-empowerment. In order to scientifically validate the program, physiological, biochemical, psychological, and Ayurvedic assessment of tridoshas was carried out. Conclusion: Our special Cancer Rehabilitation Yoga program is expected to have several beneficial effects for those recovering from the aftermath of anti-cancer therapies even at 3-month follow-up. Subjective observations so far reveal that the program led to overall empowerment of the participants.

Background: Considering the need to unearth the knowledge of yoga hidden in various handwritten manuscripts, the Philosophico-Literary Research Department of Kaivalyadhama, Lonavala has undertaken a long-term project on unpublished manuscripts. Aims: The current research work aims to study an unpublished yoga manuscript, "Yogāsana-Jaina," by exploring the details in relation to the author as well as the content. Method: The method followed for the current study was descriptive. First, translation of the Ms. from Sanskrit to English, and then a critical analysis of the content were done. Results: The whole manuscript, Yogāsana-Jaina, is devoted to the description of āsana s related with Jaina tradition. It describes around 107 āsana s with illustration of each āsana . Out of 107 āsana s, some āsana s are variations of many popular yoga āsanas , some āsana s are presented with right and left variations, whereas some āsana s are presented in different variations as well as names. Conclusion: The current Ms. can serve to be of great interest to the yoga practitioners/scholars/researchers interested in the variations of āsana s according to tradition, religion, and/or culture.

Context: The ancient Indian science of yoga is both an experiential science as well as a set of practices which are very suitable to be evaluated using conventional research methods. Despite the rapidly growing scientific literature on the effects of yoga and its applications, there has been no survey carried out to determine whether yoga practitioners are themselves aware of this research. Aims: The current study aimed at conducting a survey to document the beliefs about yoga as a science among its practitioners. Methods: The current survey was conducted chiefly on graduate students of Mumbai University as well as some of the staff. The study surveyed 972 respondents (with an average age of 26 years and a male-female ratio of 54.8:45.2), out of which 54.7 percent practiced yoga. Results: Among the yoga practitioners, 66.1 percent were aware of scientific research on yoga and 57.6 percent associated yoga with scientific research. Interestingly, 60.4 percent of yoga users were keen to have online yoga courses. Among those who did not practice yoga (45.3 percent), 45.0 percent had no intention of starting to practice yoga. Conclusion: The current survey, which is the first documentation of its type in India, showed interesting trends in beliefs about yoga as a scientific discipline among a predominantly young, educated, and urban Indian sample.

Background: Decision-making is one of the most puzzling issues in modern neuro-cognitive dynamics. It depends on how the brain behaves at that particular instance and identifies and responds to a signal among myriads of noises that are present in the surroundings (called external noise) as well as in the neurons themselves (called internal noise). The ability to predict the outcome of future events is, arguably, the most universal and significant of all global brain functions. The ability to anticipate the outcome of a given action depends on sensory stimuli from the outside world and previously learned experience and/or inherited instincts. So, there is a need to formulate a theory of inference using prior knowledge for decision-making and judgment, as well as, new empirical evidences. Aims: The current paper aims to shed new light on decision-making and judgment with the help of states of mind like neutral mind and equanimity. The paper also aims at highlighting the scientific aspects of these states, which are conducive to proper decision making by an individual. Method: The current paper makes use of methods of mathematical modeling based on a generalized version of probability argument in the Bayesian framework, which includes prior knowledge for decision making and human judgment, as well as, quantum theory in order to model the cognitive domain. Result: The states of mind like neutral mind and equanimity may help an individual to take correct decision with unbiased judgment, and accomplish right cognition. Conclusion: The general Bayesian framework when coupled with quantum theory may help us to understand states of mind like neutral mind and equanimity, in which decision-making happens with unbiased judgment. The current paper also opens up a new dialog between modern science and Indian philosophy as the latter is likely to offer an explanation to the superposed state that has been studied by the scientific community in quantum theory.