title: Can yoga practices benefit health by improving organism regulation? Evidence from electrodermal measures of acupuncture meridians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To document and explain Yoga's effects on acupuncture meridian energies. To understand mechanisms behind Yoga's efficacy by testing links between yoga and traditional Chinese medicine.
  
  
  METHODS
  THE STUDY COMPARED TWO GROUPS OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS: Novice and experienced. Novices consisted of 33 volunteers from a Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA) yoga instructor training module and the experienced practitioners were 20 resident SVYASA students. The intervention was 3 weeks of a yoga training program, new for the novices, but the lifestyle of the experienced group, who were therefore assessed only once. Novices were assessed on day 2 and 23 of their program at SVYASA's Yoga Medicine Hospital, making their data a pre-post, self-as-control, prospective study. Main outcome measures were mean acumeridian energy levels assessed by AcuGraph3 measures of electrodermal resistance at acupoints; additionally, gender differences, standard deviations (SDs) of all measures, and comparison of post and experienced group data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Averaged energy levels significantly improved in all 24 meridians (maximum P = 0.032, 4-P < 0.01, and 19-P < 0.001). Females improved more than males (P < 0.05), both ending at similar levels to experienced practitioners, whose SDs were lower than novices on 19/24 meridians (mean F = 3.715, P = 0.0022), and 4/5 average variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AcuGraph3 electrodermal measures contain substantial information, P << 0.00001. Yoga-lifestyle practice can increase and balance acumeridian energies; long-term practice decreases group SD's. These three suggest reasons why yoga practice impacts health: One, increased prana levels are important; two and three, improved physiological regulation is the key. Further studies relating traditional Indian and Chinese medical systems are needed.
authors.affiliation: Divisions of Yoga and Life Sciences, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana University, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Bhawna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Divisions of Yoga and Physical Sciences, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana University, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hankey
authors.affiliation: Divisions of Yoga and Life Sciences, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana University, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Niharika
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nagilla
authors.affiliation: Divisions of Yoga and Life Sciences, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana University, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Kaniyamparambil Baburajan
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Meenakshy
authors.affiliation: Chancellor's Office, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana University, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Hongasandra Ramarao
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Nagendra
keywords: AcuGraph3; Jing-Well points; energy balance; energy regulation; prana; yoga