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Handbook of Research
on Evidence-Based
Perspectives on the
Psychophysiology of Yoga
and Its Applications

Shirley Telles
Patanjali Research Foundation, India

Ram Kumar Gupta

Patanjali Research Foundation, India

A volume in the Advances in Medical Diagnosis,

Treatment, and Care (AMDTC) Book Series
Published in the United States of America by
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Names: Telles, Shirley, editor. | Gupta, Ram Kumar, 1986- editor.
Title: Handbook of research on evidence-based perspectives on the
psychophysiology of yoga and its applications / Shirley Telles and Ram
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Description: Hershey PA : Medical Information Science Reference, [2020] |
Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “This book
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Identifiers: LCCN 2019049661 (print) | LCCN 2019049662 (ebook) | ISBN
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Classification: LCC RM727.Y64 E95 2020 (print) | LCC RM727.Y64 (ebook) |
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 Advances in Medical Diagnosis,
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Shirley Telles and Ram Kumar Gupta’s book, Evidence-Based Perspectives on the Psychophysiology
of Yoga and Its Applications is an inspiring guidebook that offers us a masterful collection of essays of
practical wisdom for attaining health, healing and well-being that will motivate its reader for years to
come. The rich variety of writing on the therapeutic benefits of yoga offers us a superb feast for our mind,
body, and spirit. Bravo! I offer my deep bow of gratitude for the depth of expertise Telles and Gupta offer
us through their care and loving attention in bringing forward this masterful treatise.

Richard Miller, PhD. Founder iRest Institute, developer of iRest Meditation, and author of iRest Medita-
tion: Restorative Practices for Health, Resiliency, and Well-Being.

As medicine integrates yoga practices to support optimum mental and physical health, medical and yoga
professionals need the scientific evidence that Evidence-Based Perspectives on the Psychophysiology of
Yoga and Its Applications provides. The chapters, written by senior scientists and master yoga therapists
from around the world, support the therapeutic use of yoga. If you are a healing professional, Evidence-
Based Perspectives on the Psychophysiology of Yoga and Its Applications belongs on your bookshelf.

Amy Weintraub, author of Yoga Skills for Therapists, Yoga for Depression and Temple Dancer


Editorial Advisory Board
Gerry Bodeker, Columbia University, USA & Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, USA &
Mental Wellness Initiative of the Global Wellness Institute, USA
Ann C. DeBaldo, University of South Florida, USA
Richard Miller, iRest Institute, USA
Girishwar Misra, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya, India
Terence Ryan, Oxford University, UK
William Selvamurthy, Amity Science, Technology, and Innovation Foundation, Amity University, India
Thaiyar M. Srinivasan, S-VYASA Yoga University, India



List of Contributors

Abatemarco, Atiera / Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA........................................... 144

Abraham, Shalu Elizabeth / National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru,
India.............................................................................................................................................. 361
Afonso, Rui F. / Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Brazil................................................................. 317
Aggithaya, Madhur Guruprasad / Institute of Applied Dermatology, Kasaragod, India................ 263
Arasappa, Rashmi / National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India..... 179
Bhargav, Hemant / National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India....... 361
Bhargav, Praerna H. / National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India.. 361
Brown, Richard P. / College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, USA....................... 24
Chetry, Dipak / Patanjali Research Foundation, India......................................................................... 1
Cunningham, M. Mala / University of Virginia, USA....................................................................... 242
Dada, Rima / All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.......................................... 103
Deshmukh, Vinod D. / University of Florida, USA.............................................................................. 72
Dibb, Jessica / Inspiration Consciousness School, USA.................................................................... 422
G., Inbaraj / National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India................. 179
Ganesan, Ramakrishnan Angarai / Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India............................ 49
Gautam, Surabhi / All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India................................. 103
Gerbarg, Patricia L. / New York Medical College, USA..................................................................... 24
Gulati, Kankan / National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India.......... 361
Hemant, Bhargav / National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India...... 179
Jensen, Pauline / University of Sydney, Australia............................................................................. 347
Kala, Niranjan / Patanjali Research Foundation, India....................................................................... 1
Kearney, Nicholas A. / Teen Yoga Foundation, UK........................................................................... 305
Kozasa, Elisa Harumi / Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Brazil.................................................... 317
Lafer, Eileen M. / University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, USA & Beyond
Wellness Aljezur, Portugal............................................................................................................. 159
Manivannan, M. / Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India.................................................... 451
Manuel, Jyoti Jo / Special Yoga, UK.................................................................................................. 330
Martinus, Charlotta / Teen Yoga Foundation, UK........................................................................... 305
Mason, Heather / The Minded Institute, UK....................................................................................... 24
McCuiston, Margaret / Southern California University of Health Sciences, USA & Seashore
Healing, USA................................................................................................................................. 159
Mohan, Ganesh / Svastha Yoga and Ayurveda, Singapore................................................................ 410
Moonaz, Steffany / Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA............................................... 144
Morningstar, Jim / Transformations Incorporated, USA.................................................................. 422


 

Narahari, S. R. / Institute of Applied Dermatology, Kasaragod, India.............................................. 263

Nault, Daryl / Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA....................................................... 144
Olsen, Elin-Kristin Hem / Drammen District Psychiatric Centre, Norway...................................... 199
Pal, Sushma / Patanjali Research Foundation, India........................................................................ 283
Prosko, Shelly / PhysioYoga, Canada................................................................................................ 221
Ryan, Terence J. / Department of Dermatology, Churchill Hospital, UK......................................... 263
Santaella, Danilo F. / Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Brazil........................................................ 317
Santaella, Danilo Forghieri / Sports Center, University of São Paulo, Brazil..................................... 61
Sharma, Sachin Kumar / Patanjali Research Foundation, India...................................................... 283
Sheftel, Irina / Network Yoga Therapy, The Netherlands.................................................................. 124
Sips, Anneke / Network Yoga Therapy, The Netherlands................................................................... 124
Subudhi, Debadutta / Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India.............................................. 451
Sullivan, Marlysa / Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA............................................... 391
Swanson, Ann / Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA & Kripalu School of Integrative
Yoga Therapy, USA........................................................................................................................ 159
Taylor, Matthew J. / MyRehab, LLC, USA........................................................................................ 221
Telles, Shirley / Patanjali Research Foundation, India................................................................. 1, 283
Turci, Rubens / Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...................................................... 85
Udupa, Kaviraja / National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India........ 179
Varambally, Shivarama / National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru,
India.............................................................................................................................................. 179
Table of Contents

Preface................................................................................................................................................. xxii

Acknowledgment.............................................................................................................................xxviii

Section 1
The Physiological Effects of Yoga Practice

Chapter 1
Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices.................................... 1
Niranjan Kala, Patanjali Research Foundation, India
Dipak Chetry, Patanjali Research Foundation, India
Shirley Telles, Patanjali Research Foundation, India

Chapter 2
Psychophysiology: Healing Effects of Voluntarily Regulated Breathing Practices............................... 24
Heather Mason, The Minded Institute, UK
Patricia L. Gerbarg, New York Medical College, USA
Richard P. Brown, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, USA

Chapter 3
Cardiorespiratory and Endocrine Mechanisms Behind the Effectiveness of Pranayama...................... 49
Ramakrishnan Angarai Ganesan, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

Chapter 4
Neurobiology of Meditation.................................................................................................................. 61
Danilo Forghieri Santaella, Sports Center, University of São Paulo, Brazil

Chapter 5
The Neurophilosophy of Meditation...................................................................................................... 72
Vinod D. Deshmukh, University of Florida, USA

Chapter 6
The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita: Spirituality, Meditation, and the Rise of a New Scientific
Paradigm................................................................................................................................................ 85
Rubens Turci, Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


 

Chapter 7
Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Effects of Yoga..................................................................... 103
Surabhi Gautam, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
Rima Dada, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Chapter 8
Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Yoga: Implications for Yoga Therapy............................................... 124
Irina Sheftel, Network Yoga Therapy, The Netherlands
Anneke Sips, Network Yoga Therapy, The Netherlands

Section 2
Yoga as a Therapeutic Intervention

Chapter 9
Standards in Yoga Research and Reporting......................................................................................... 144
Steffany Moonaz, Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA
Daryl Nault, Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA
Atiera Abatemarco, Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA

Chapter 10
Yoga Therapy: An Overview of Key Research and the Underlying Mechanisms............................... 159
Eileen M. Lafer, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, USA & Beyond
Wellness Aljezur, Portugal
Margaret McCuiston, Southern California University of Health Sciences, USA & Seashore
Healing, USA
Ann Swanson, Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA & Kripalu School of
Integrative Yoga Therapy, USA

Chapter 11
Yoga for Mental Health Disorders: Research and Practice.................................................................. 179
Bhargav Hemant, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India
Rashmi Arasappa, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India
Inbaraj G., National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India
Kaviraja Udupa, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India
Shivarama Varambally, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru,
India

Chapter 12
Yoga as a Healing Modality of Trauma-Related Symptoms and Disorders: From Suffering to
Thriving............................................................................................................................................... 199
Elin-Kristin Hem Olsen, Drammen District Psychiatric Centre, Norway


Chapter 13
Clinicians Applying Yoga Principles and Practices in Pain Care: An Evidence-Informed Approach.221
Shelly Prosko, PhysioYoga, Canada
Matthew J. Taylor, MyRehab, LLC, USA

Chapter 14
Yoga and Lifestyle Factors in Heart Disease....................................................................................... 242
M. Mala Cunningham, University of Virginia, USA

Chapter 15
Advances in Understanding the Use of Yoga as Therapy in Lymphedema......................................... 263
S. R. Narahari, Institute of Applied Dermatology, Kasaragod, India
Madhur Guruprasad Aggithaya, Institute of Applied Dermatology, Kasaragod, India
Terence J. Ryan, Department of Dermatology, Churchill Hospital, UK

Chapter 16
Yoga and Weight Management: A Narrative Review.......................................................................... 283
Sachin Kumar Sharma, Patanjali Research Foundation, India
Sushma Pal, Patanjali Research Foundation, India
Shirley Telles, Patanjali Research Foundation, India

Section 3
Applications and Mechanisms of Yoga

Chapter 17
Overview of Yoga for Teenagers in the UK: The Rationale, Evidence Base, and the Application..... 305
Charlotta Martinus, Teen Yoga Foundation, UK
Nicholas A. Kearney, Teen Yoga Foundation, UK

Chapter 18
Yoga and Aging: Neurobiological Benefits......................................................................................... 317
Rui F. Afonso, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Brazil
Danilo F. Santaella, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Brazil
Elisa Harumi Kozasa, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Brazil

Chapter 19
Special Yoga for Children and Young People With Special Needs..................................................... 330
Jyoti Jo Manuel, Special Yoga, UK

Chapter 20
Yoga as an Intervention for Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder........................ 347
Pauline Jensen, University of Sydney, Australia
 

Chapter 21
Yoga: A Multi-Dimensional Therapeutic Approach to Autism Spectrum Disorder........................... 361
Kankan Gulati, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India
Praerna H. Bhargav, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru,
India
Shalu Elizabeth Abraham, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences,
Bengaluru, India
Hemant Bhargav, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India

Chapter 22
Yoga and Polyvagal Theory: Effects and Applications for Well-Being............................................... 391
Marlysa Sullivan, Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA

Chapter 23
Traditional Frameworks of Well-Being and Modern Science............................................................. 410
Ganesh Mohan, Svastha Yoga and Ayurveda, Singapore

Chapter 24
The Science and Art of Contemporary Breathwork and Yoga............................................................ 422
Jim Morningstar, Transformations Incorporated, USA
Jessica Dibb, Inspiration Consciousness School, USA

Chapter 25
An Exploration of Influence of Duration on Physiological Effects of Asanas.................................... 451
Debadutta Subudhi, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
M. Manivannan, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India

Compilation of References................................................................................................................ 475

About the Contributors..................................................................................................................... 562

Index.................................................................................................................................................... 574
Detailed Table of Contents

Preface................................................................................................................................................. xxii

Acknowledgment.............................................................................................................................xxviii

Section 1
The Physiological Effects of Yoga Practice

Chapter 1
Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices.................................... 1
Niranjan Kala, Patanjali Research Foundation, India
Dipak Chetry, Patanjali Research Foundation, India
Shirley Telles, Patanjali Research Foundation, India

Yoga is an ancient practice that originated in India and aims at purifying the mind for spiritual progress.
In modern times yoga is widely practiced for general health and well-being as well as for therapeutic
reasons. Voluntary breath regulation or pranayama has been given significant importance in traditional
texts as well as by yoga masters. Research has shown beneficial effects of yoga breathing practices or
pranayamas on neurocognitive, metabolic, respiratory, and autonomic functions, which are discussed
in the chapter. The chapter also discusses the applications of these practices for the management of
various clinical conditions as well as for alleviating psychological problems associated with particular
illnesses. The beneficial effects of yoga breathing practices demonstrate the importance of these safe
and cost effective non-pharmacological interventions for general health as well as for prevention and
management of various diseases.

Chapter 2
Psychophysiology: Healing Effects of Voluntarily Regulated Breathing Practices............................... 24
Heather Mason, The Minded Institute, UK
Patricia L. Gerbarg, New York Medical College, USA
Richard P. Brown, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, USA

This chapter describes the physiological mechanisms that underpin the varying effects of different types
of breath practices inherent in the yoga tradition and ultimately the role that breathing techniques play
in person and public health. Concurrently, the script elucidates how different practices alter psycho-
physiological states clarifying why and how they may be employed with specific health populations,
how they may enhance and or maintain well-being, and clear guidance regarding precautions and
contraindications.


 

Chapter 3
Cardiorespiratory and Endocrine Mechanisms Behind the Effectiveness of Pranayama...................... 49
Ramakrishnan Angarai Ganesan, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

The benefits of pranayama for positive health are well known. Even though there are many studies
published on the effectiveness of pranayama, there are very few papers that actually have systematically
studied the physiological mechanisms involved, causing the benefits of pranayama, especially with
respect to the cardiac function. This chapter attempts to have a detailed look at the physiology behind
deep breathing. The chapter also conjectures that voluntary, deep breathing with attention may have
a role to play in faster recovery from surgeries and prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease,
Parkinson’s disease, and maybe even cancer. Extended, carefully controlled, and detailed studies are
needed to prove or disprove these conjectures.

Chapter 4
Neurobiology of Meditation.................................................................................................................. 61
Danilo Forghieri Santaella, Sports Center, University of São Paulo, Brazil

Meditation should not be considered a simple activity that is performed with focused attention; this is
concentration. When practicing concentration correctly, with a good “anchor” for attention, a specific
state of mind takes place, in which logic relaxation happens, and there is a relative freedom from self-
identification. Such states of mind are to be experienced and cannot be practiced; thus, meditation
techniques (concentrations) are the means to reach this goal. Those who achieve such a state experience
positive neurophysiological effects, which have been studied for decades, such as increased functionality
and connectivity of the brain, and also increased gray matter volume in specific cortical areas, whether in
the young or in the elderly. Meditation has, thus, a proven potential role to help one maintain a healthy
cognition and should be included in daily life routines of everybody who wishes for it.

Chapter 5
The Neurophilosophy of Meditation...................................................................................................... 72
Vinod D. Deshmukh, University of Florida, USA

Meditation is the art and science of optimal self-integration. We are naturally nested in Nature. Meditation
is being at-peace with oneself and at-home in the world. It is the art of self-observation, learning, and
developing presence of mind and selfless love. It is a unique mode of being present in the moment. It
is a natural state of health and happiness. We should let go of the vicious cycle of negative feelings
and discover the virtuous cycle of positive feelings like joy, cheerfulness, equanimity, friendliness,
compassion, and love. This is possible through meditative practices like yoga, mindfulness, flow-state,
and nature-experience. With advancement in neurobiology, we can understand how these meditative
skills are learned, developed, evolved, and mastered. These meditative skills and lifestyle are the key to
positive psychology and mental health. These secular meditative practices are being recommended in
our education and health care systems.

Chapter 6
The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita: Spirituality, Meditation, and the Rise of a New Scientific
Paradigm................................................................................................................................................ 85
Rubens Turci, Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


This chapter explores the fact that śraddhā (truth-force or heart force; love-in-action, self-reliance, faith-
in-oneself, and also enthusiasm) may be said to represent the key noticeable outcome of spirituality,
yoga, and meditation, and also that śraddhā can be seen as the main category to bridge the gap between
science and spirituality. Being itself the truth-force that is common to scientists (atheists or not) and
people of different faiths, śraddhā represents a conceptual category that helps us to explain how science
evolves shifting from one paradigm to another.

Chapter 7
Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Effects of Yoga..................................................................... 103
Surabhi Gautam, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
Rima Dada, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Complex chronic lifestyle disorders are the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Stress and
anxiety associated with today’s hectic life schedule and polluted environment have contributed a lot in
triggering and causing many chronic diseases and decreased quality of life, even with pharmacologic
treatment. Most of the chronic complex diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression,
autoimmune diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and diabetes mellitus share underlying
mechanisms like high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, oxidative stress, shorter telomeres, persistent
activation of hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis, inflammation and dysregulated immune system, and
thus need to be managed by an integrated approach that targets both mind and body. The individuals
with these conditions have been reported to benefit from yoga, but the underlying mechanism of action
of yoga remains unclear. The aim of this chapter is to summarize the mechanism of action underlying
the cumulative effect of yoga on multiple pathways at a cellular level.

Chapter 8
Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Yoga: Implications for Yoga Therapy............................................... 124
Irina Sheftel, Network Yoga Therapy, The Netherlands
Anneke Sips, Network Yoga Therapy, The Netherlands

This chapter combines insights from the neuroscientific research on yoga and meditation with the
practical application of yoga therapy. The chapter opens with an overview of neuroscientific concepts
related to the practice of yoga and meditation, such as attention, emotional regulation, body awareness,
and autonomic regulation. The authors summarise the known effects of yoga and meditation, in relation
to these concepts and common mental health disorders. The chapter continues with a case study, a
personalised yoga therapy intervention in a client experiencing psychotic symptoms. The intervention is
grounded in yoga philosophy, and in the neuroscientific concepts introduced previously. This section is
written from the perspective of a yoga therapist and includes practical tips. In the final section, the authors
suggest possible directions for future research and implementation of yoga therapy as a complementary
treatment in mental healthcare.
 

Section 2
Yoga as a Therapeutic Intervention

Chapter 9
Standards in Yoga Research and Reporting......................................................................................... 144
Steffany Moonaz, Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA
Daryl Nault, Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA
Atiera Abatemarco, Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA

Yoga research is growing rapidly in volume and rigor but varies in sample size, study design, and
reporting transparency. Yoga professionals may not be versed in the current research due to a lack of
research literacy and may not be well positioned to discern research relevance and quality. Research
literacy is necessary to apply research in yoga teaching and therapeutics. Research is part of evidence-
informed practice, along with clinical experience and client preferences, and is aligned with concepts
from yoga philosophy. Several strategies are available to improve research literacy and evidence-informed
practice for yoga professionals, which can help to expand inter-professional collaboration and inform the
trajectory of yoga research toward better alignment and application to clinical practice. Yoga research
reporting guidelines will improve transparency in research dissemination for application to practice,
policy, replication, comparison, and summarization.

Chapter 10
Yoga Therapy: An Overview of Key Research and the Underlying Mechanisms............................... 159
Eileen M. Lafer, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, USA & Beyond
Wellness Aljezur, Portugal
Margaret McCuiston, Southern California University of Health Sciences, USA & Seashore
Healing, USA
Ann Swanson, Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA & Kripalu School of
Integrative Yoga Therapy, USA

This chapter reviews the evidence supporting the efficacy of yoga therapy for wellness, and as an adjunct
to standard care for a number of chronic conditions. The underlying mechanisms are explored, including
the physiological and biochemical changes that have been observed in yoga practitioners. Yoga has been
found to activate the relaxation response—a physiological state which reduces stress on bodily systems.
Yoga leads to changes in gene expression, including decreases in the expression of genes involved in
stress and inflammation. The positive effects of yoga therapy are interpreted through the lens of the
biopsychosocial-spiritual model, which cultivates eudaimonic well-being and salutogenesis. Researchers
attribute a wide range of yoga’s therapeutic benefits largely to its whole-person approach to well-being.

Chapter 11
Yoga for Mental Health Disorders: Research and Practice.................................................................. 179
Bhargav Hemant, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India
Rashmi Arasappa, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India
Inbaraj G., National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India
Kaviraja Udupa, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India
Shivarama Varambally, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru,
India


This chapter is divided into four subsections: the first section of the chapter provides an update on current
evidence for yoga therapy in common mental health disorders, the second section provides brief overview
on neurophysiological abnormalities in psychiatric disorders and their relationship with psychological
stress, the third section deals with summary of evidence for neurophysiological effects of yoga in mental
health disorders, and the last section emphasizes on practical aspects of yoga therapy with details of
clinically useful yoga practices for common mental health disorders. The mental health disorders covered
in this chapter include depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, child and adolescent psychiatric disorders,
substance use disorders, and geriatric psychiatric disorders.

Chapter 12
Yoga as a Healing Modality of Trauma-Related Symptoms and Disorders: From Suffering to
Thriving............................................................................................................................................... 199
Elin-Kristin Hem Olsen, Drammen District Psychiatric Centre, Norway

Healing after trauma is a long-lasting process involving the body and mind. The neurobiological foundation
of trauma calls for more bodily and sensational, bottom-up regulatory approaches. Yoga has been proposed
as a possible adjunctive treatment for trauma, and for more complex forms where talk-therapy have
been proven insufficient. This chapter will give a theoretical and evidence-based summary of all (to our
knowledge) relevant empirical data on yoga as a treatment for trauma-related disorders and symptoms.

Chapter 13
Clinicians Applying Yoga Principles and Practices in Pain Care: An Evidence-Informed Approach.221
Shelly Prosko, PhysioYoga, Canada
Matthew J. Taylor, MyRehab, LLC, USA

This chapter provides a practical introduction and guidelines for clinicians and researchers to appreciate
the relationship between two enormous topics: pain and yoga. The emphasis is on practicality for both
audiences with frequent citation to recent related publications and their deeper citations. The intention
to fuel the imaginations of both clinicians and researchers occurs with a foundational understanding of
how yoga, pain, and pain care are related. The authors’ experience in the clinic using yoga for people
with pain and future areas for clinical and research inquiry are included. A list of techniques for the
clinic, their clinical rationale, and two case reports ground the material and invite additional reflection
for the psychophysiological applications of yoga in pain care.

Chapter 14
Yoga and Lifestyle Factors in Heart Disease....................................................................................... 242
M. Mala Cunningham, University of Virginia, USA

This chapter reviews cardiovascular risk factors and presents a comprehensive yoga-based intervention
for impacting on heart health. Lifestyle interventions and yoga have been shown to positively impact
on heart disease, stress levels, inflammation, vagal tone, and homeostasis. The Cardiac Medical Yoga
Lifestyle Change program along with the five-point model for heart health (BREAD) provides heart
patients with a comprehensive approach for impacting on their disease process and assists patients in
developing the necessary strategies and skills for changing their lifestyle.
 

Chapter 15
Advances in Understanding the Use of Yoga as Therapy in Lymphedema......................................... 263
S. R. Narahari, Institute of Applied Dermatology, Kasaragod, India
Madhur Guruprasad Aggithaya, Institute of Applied Dermatology, Kasaragod, India
Terence J. Ryan, Department of Dermatology, Churchill Hospital, UK

Lymphedema may be caused by dysfunction of the lymphatic system due to damage, block, hypoplasia
due to genetic causes or by lymph overload. Lymphatic Filariasis is most prevalent and among the leading
causes of disability. This chapter describes the improvements in three yoga protocols of integrative
treatment, for lower limb, upper limb, and genital lymphedema. There are two sessions of yoga in our
treatment protocol. Yoga helps to drain lymph through various mechanisms. Asanas focus on the dermal
stretch, joint movement, muscle pumps, and muscle stretch and pranayamas on lung expansion. Joint
movements and muscle contractions are designed to mimic nodal drainage. The yoga protocol also
provides knee strengthening, gait correction, shoulder joint strengthening. Yoga asanas for comorbidities
like hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and arthritis and joint surgeries with movement restrictions
are customized in the revised protocol. Yoga is an effective treatment in lymphedema and considerably
improves the patient’s quality of life.

Chapter 16
Yoga and Weight Management: A Narrative Review.......................................................................... 283
Sachin Kumar Sharma, Patanjali Research Foundation, India
Sushma Pal, Patanjali Research Foundation, India
Shirley Telles, Patanjali Research Foundation, India

A comprehensive lifestyle intervention that is effective, yet safe, for weight loss is recommended for
weight management. Yoga is one such intervention that includes (1) increased physical activity and (2)
suggestions about healthy eating and other behavioral changes. With this, there have been attempts to
assess the effectiveness of yoga for weight management. The present review aimed at (1) evaluating
studies assessing the effects of yoga on obesity and (2) grade them according to standard grading methods.
Twenty-three studies, of which nine were RCTs, were included. The rating of RCTs was between 70.6
and 94.2, which can be considered fairly good. However the present review shows that there are fewer
studies with (1) adequate sample sizes, (2) study designs, (3) long term follow up, and (4) adequate
reporting of adverse events to conclude that yoga is an effective and safe intervention for weight loss.
Hence, further studies with the points described above are required to conclude the safety and efficacy
of yoga for weight loss.

Section 3
Applications and Mechanisms of Yoga

Chapter 17
Overview of Yoga for Teenagers in the UK: The Rationale, Evidence Base, and the Application..... 305
Charlotta Martinus, Teen Yoga Foundation, UK
Nicholas A. Kearney, Teen Yoga Foundation, UK

This chapter outlines the current state of affairs of yoga provision for teenagers in the UK. It looks at the
history of yoga in the UK among young people, the research and the application in school contexts, as well
as prison and Pupil Referral Units. It outlines the results from the Hippocampus project, an EU-funded


2 year project evaluating the impact of yoga on disadvantaged youth in five countries. The chapter also
takes a look at the current financial support for yoga in schools and the possibilities of taking it forward.

Chapter 18
Yoga and Aging: Neurobiological Benefits......................................................................................... 317
Rui F. Afonso, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Brazil
Danilo F. Santaella, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Brazil
Elisa Harumi Kozasa, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Brazil

Governments and societies need to be prepared to confront population aging. Such preparation includes
policies that can improve quality of life, functional capacity, and health of the general population,
encouraging a more active and healthier lifestyle. Normal aging is associated with changes in brain
structure and function, which may cause behavioral and cognitive impairments. It is important to
understand which changes make some individuals healthier than others. Yoga has been associated with
improved quality of life, cognition, and physical health as well as brain functional and structural changes.

Chapter 19
Special Yoga for Children and Young People With Special Needs..................................................... 330
Jyoti Jo Manuel, Special Yoga, UK

Special Yoga has been a provider of therapeutic yoga practices and training since its inception. The
non-profit organization started with a yoga center in London, UK. The Special Yoga London center
offered a therapeutic and nourishing, nurturing space for families of children with special needs who
were welcomed with love, compassion, and totally nonjudgmentally with open arms. The work spread
globally through the London-based trainings and the therapeutic yoga that was offered to children at the
center and within education. This chapter will discuss my experience and understanding of the efficacy
of yoga for children and young people, specifically those with cerebral palsy and autism and/or attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The author shares some of the practices, benefits, and case studies
of two separate research studies that were undertaken by Special Yoga for each population. The author
also shares other case histories of children that they have worked with.

Chapter 20
Yoga as an Intervention for Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder........................ 347
Pauline Jensen, University of Sydney, Australia

Research conducted in both the field of yoga and the field of behavioural disorders in children and
adolescents leads to the speculation that the benefits of yoga practice demonstrated with respect to
physiological, psychological, emotional, and psychosocial functioning may be applicable to the impairments
evidenced in these areas in behavioural disorders. The intervention—20 weekly one-hour sessions of
yoga—required a large commitment for the participants, their families, and the yoga instructor. The
results suggested that yoga appears to exert its impact on stabilising the emotions (a secondary symptom)
and reducing oppositional behaviour, frequently co-morbid (40%) with attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD). Given the limitations of this study, the results do indicate some significant changes
in the behaviour of some of the boys with ADHD. In conclusion, yoga shows promise as a non-invasive,
inexpensive, adjuvant treatment for boys with ADHD.
 

Chapter 21
Yoga: A Multi-Dimensional Therapeutic Approach to Autism Spectrum Disorder........................... 361
Kankan Gulati, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India
Praerna H. Bhargav, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru,
India
Shalu Elizabeth Abraham, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences,
Bengaluru, India
Hemant Bhargav, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder, manifests as impairment in social

communication an interaction with restrictive and repetitive patterns of behaviour. Yoga therapy, a
mind-body intervention, employs a multi-dimensional approach to reduce psychological distress and
bring balance and harmony at the levels of body, breath and mind through physical postures, breathing
practices, chanting, and relaxation techniques, respectively, thus enhancing overall well-being. Various
yoga studies have shown promise in improving symptoms of ASD by improvement in sensory processing,
gross motor skills, balance and coordination, cognition, imitation skills, and the ability to connect in
relationships. This chapter aims to provide an overview of the potential role of Yoga therapy in the
management of ASDs with emphasis on future standardized yoga trials with robust methodology and
long-term follow-ups to establish the clinical utility of Yoga therapy for the same. Also, a tentative yoga
lifestyle module for ASD with necessary contra-indications and practical tips has been provided.

Chapter 22
Yoga and Polyvagal Theory: Effects and Applications for Well-Being............................................... 391
Marlysa Sullivan, Maryland University of Integrative Health, USA

This chapter explores yoga as a salutogenic intervention supportive of eudaimonic well-being with its
wide-spread health effects for various patient populations. Autonomic nervous system regulation and
resilience are considered as important meditators for the promotion of biopsychosocial health. Polyvagal
theory offers a novel perspective on how underlying neural platforms support combined physiological,
psychological, and behavioral states—inclusive of eudaimonic well-being. This chapter describes the
convergence of neurophysiological ideas of neuroception, interoception, and neural platforms with
yoga foundational concepts such as discriminative wisdom and the gunas. This translatory language of
eudaimonic well-being and polyvagal theory offers a framework for yoga to be understood and integrated
into current healthcare and research contexts while maintaining its unique perspective and foundational
wisdom.

Chapter 23
Traditional Frameworks of Well-Being and Modern Science............................................................. 410
Ganesh Mohan, Svastha Yoga and Ayurveda, Singapore

This chapter describes how to connect traditional frameworks from yoga to modern science and
systems theory in a way that is evidence-based, clinically testable, inclusive, and extensible. This way
of systematization enables leveraging the evidence for yoga from across the spectrum of well-being
modalities. The key in the presentation is the choice of an approach that is equally valid for both ancient
and modern systems. The authors begin by examining the importance of a skill-based approach and
layout how well-being systems can be built by mapping the skills and qualities of the organism. They
take a selection of domains or categories under which skills from traditional and modern sources can


be analyzed: attention, transcendence, movement, breathing, devotion, cognition, and emotion. They
conclude the chapter by presenting a larger map of well-being that includes more domains arranged
from a clinical perspective.

Chapter 24
The Science and Art of Contemporary Breathwork and Yoga............................................................ 422
Jim Morningstar, Transformations Incorporated, USA
Jessica Dibb, Inspiration Consciousness School, USA

This chapter provides evidence for the benefit of bringing yoga and its breathing practices into a working
relationship with contemporary breathwork techniques for the betterment of both in certain circumstances.
The history and developmental overlap of both are explored as well as their applications in the field of
physical heath, psychotherapy, and spiritual growth. The benefits of both faster than normal and slower
than normal breathing techniques are reviewed for the treatment of anxiety, depression, and addictions
as well as the neurological correlates for breathwork and trauma recovery. A pilot study utilizing the
combination of the two disciplines is reported.

Chapter 25
An Exploration of Influence of Duration on Physiological Effects of Asanas.................................... 451
Debadutta Subudhi, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
M. Manivannan, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India

Different body postures that can be maintained for a certain duration with awareness are called yoga-
asanas. These asanas matter flexibility, coordination, and strength, while the breathing practices and
meditation sharpens the mind for better awareness and reduce anxiety and thus adds quality into life. Other
beneficial effects might involve a reduction of stress, blood pressure, and improvements in resilience,
mood, and metabolic regulation. The asanas performed regularly for a short duration in hours is well
studied in the literature. However, when performed for a long duration continuously for several hours
(40-hour yogathon), without food and sleep has a significant effect in regulating homeostasis. The
homeostasis is accessed through cardio-respiratory and galvanic skin response changes. The study shows
the physiological changes after the yogathon and compares it with effects on physiology due to short
term yoga. It also emphasizes on the reduction of dependency on food, because of energy compensation
through yoga-asanas.

Compilation of References................................................................................................................ 475

About the Contributors..................................................................................................................... 562

Index.................................................................................................................................................... 574
xxii

Preface

Yoga is a mind and body intervention which has its origin in ancient India. Archaeological seals depicting
a male deity seated in a posture comparable to the yoga half-lotus posture were excavated from the site
of the Indus-Valley civilization (circa 3300 – 1500 B.C.) (www.harappa.com). Ancient sages of India
who practiced yoga and followed its principles passed on their experiences to seekers and scholars. These
scholars received instruction through word of mouth (Feuerstein, 2003) and direct teachings in tradi-
tional schools of the time (gurukul, where guru = teacher, kula = home, family). The profound personal
experience of the ancient sages formed the basis for the classical texts of yoga. There are several yoga
texts. The philosophy and principles of yoga are derived from complex teachings in the Vedas (circa
1500 B.C.) and the Upanishads (the written form, circa 1500 – 135 B.C.). The sage Patanjali (circa 900
B.C.) compiled the findings in a set of 196 aphorisms. The aphorisms describe the stages of yoga prac-
tice in a logical sequence from the start to the culmination of a seeker’s journey, in a state of ultimate,
spiritual emancipation – kaivalya. The eight step path is called astanga yoga. In the beginning a yoga
practitioner is recommended to observe basic principles of correct conduct in all dealings with the Self
and with others [these are the yamas (= virtuous self-restraints) and niyamas (= virtuous observances)].
Having a clear idea and observance of the basic principles of Life, the practitioner is recommended to
undergo physical and mental training through asanas (= yoga postures) to promote physical health and
wellbeing. This training of the physical body also involves awareness of the breath and regulation of the
mental state. Training the body through asanas aims to free the practitioner of physical concerns, while
attempting to have control over the mental state. Regulation of the breath is an important part of yoga,
since the breath is the only physical function which is under both voluntary and involuntary regulation.
By voluntary breath regulation through pranayama (= voluntary regulated yoga breathing), a yoga prac-
titioner controls the vital life principle called prana in Indian thought; chi in Chinese medicine. Breath
regulation has a direct effect on controlling the mental state. Once a practitioner is able to regulate the
breath at will, their next step is to regulate the senses, directing the attention inwards and away from
the input from both external and internal sensations (pratyhara = withdrawal of the senses). These four
steps, i.e., yama, niyama, asana and pranayama constitute transactional yoga (bahiranga yoga). The next
three steps form contemplative yoga (antaranga yoga). After this, the practitioner is ready to attempt
meditation. As described in yoga, meditation is practiced as two distinct steps, dharana (= meditative
focused awareness) and dhyana (= effortless meditation). During the phase of dharana, a practitioner
directs the attention to the object of meditation, which could be a word, an object, a symbol or anything
else. This is a phase of focused attention which requires effort and commitment on the practitioner’s
part. The next stage involves effortless absorption in the object of meditation and going beyond focusing,
to expand the conscious state. This effortless, expansive and transcendent state is dhyana. This state is



Preface

the meditation state according to yoga. A practitioner who can remain in a state of effortless absorption
with expanded consciousness is ready for the ultimate spiritual emancipation (Samadhi = established
in Supreme Consciousness), which is attained in successive stages. This demonstrates that yoga is the
union of individual consciousness with Supreme consciousness, or of the individual soul (Jivatma) with
the Supreme soul (Paratma).
Yoga practice has gained in popularity the world over from the 1960s, when Transcendental Medita-
tion (TM) was introduced to the world. TM is a twenty minute practice which helped novice practitioners
reach a stage of transcendence (Rousseau, 1962). Before the 1960s, most yoga research was intended to
examine extraordinary abilities of long-term yoga practitioners. This included voluntary regulation of
physiological functions considered involuntary, such as slowing the heart rate at will or reducing the need
for oxygen to minimal (Anand & Chhina, 1961; Karambelkar et al., 1968). Research on Transcendental
Meditation showed that naïve practitioners could show benefits within days of committed practice. These
benefits included health, therapy, education and even societal transformation (Dillbeck, 1990). In the
last decade there has been an exponential increase in research on yoga the world over.
Yoga techniques (especially, asanas, pranayama and meditation) are increasingly practiced for ben-
efits such as better strength, increased flexibility, reduced stress, enhanced quality of life, enthusiasm
for physical activity and healthy food choices (Nichols, 2019). While most yoga practitioners recognize
that yoga practice does impact aspects of life other than physical function, there are some yoga studios
which remain focused on the benefits related to physical fitness, weight regulation and muscle tone.
This emphasis on physical fitness seems limited given the wide range of benefits a person can derive
from a more comprehensive practice. To understand the types of yoga with better clarity, it is neces-
sary to understand how systems of yoga are formed. There are several schools of yoga, some of them
are named after the yoga master, whereas others are named after the sage or visionary whose vision is
the basis of that branch of yoga. Styles of yoga which are named after a yoga master include Iyengar
yoga, Kripalu yoga, and Sivananda yoga. Patanjali yoga is named after the great sage Patanjali (circa
900 B.C.). Vivekananda yoga is based on the ideas of the great Indian visionary, Swami Vivekananda
(1863-1902), who described four paths of yoga, [viz. Karma yoga (the path through action), Jnana
yoga (the path through intellect), Bhakti yoga (the path of unconditional devotion) and Raja yoga (eight
steps of yoga)]. Sometimes the type of yoga is named after characteristics of the practice or based on
the emphasis of the practice, such as Hatha yoga (Hatha = force), Vinyasa yoga (Vinyasa = transitions)
or Kundalini yoga (named after the spiritual energy described at the base of the spine). There are also
yoga practices which have been given names which suggest their benefits, such as Sudarshan Kriya yoga.
Most of these types of yoga have definite positive effects on health demonstrated through experimental
research. These are some of the popular forms of yoga which are practiced all over the world. In order to
reach out to a wider population or to increase interest in yoga, there have been attempts to practice yoga
in specific locations (e.g., on a beach or in a forest) or with particular farmyard animals (e.g., goats).
These practices may seem far removed from the prescribed attitude of mental detachment, however any
practice which is safe and helps poorly motivated people to increase their level of physical activity does
have a part in the wide spectrum of health and wellness strategies. However, if yoga is to reach its full
potential in health and as a therapy, there needs to be clarity about the efficacy and safety of yoga in
accordance with guidelines for complementary and alternative medicine in health and therapy (Weiger
et al., 2002). Research on yoga helps to understand the degree to which yoga is effective and safe to
be used in the management of various conditions. The number of academicians involved in carrying
out research on yoga has increased exponentially. A search for publications on yoga in PubMed using

xxiii
 Preface

‘yoga’ as the search word for different time periods from 1970 onward showed the following trend (the
numbers are approximate as they depend on the date of the search): from 1970 to 1979, 166 publica-
tions; 1980 to 1989, 136 publications; 1990 to 1999, 225 publications; 2000 to 2009, 842 publications;
2010 to 2019, 3876 publications.
Similar to yoga research, the number of yoga practitioners has increased over the years. In keeping
with this trend, people who are trained to instruct others in yoga and to use yoga as a therapy have also
increased. There are several levels of yoga courses. There are certificate courses of various durations
which are regulated and certified by non-governmental organizations. Similarly such organizations also
offer yoga therapy courses which enable a trained yoga therapist to teach yoga in a clinical setting, in
consultation with a doctor. Universities in India and in other countries have started to offer graduate
level and post graduate level courses in yoga. In India there is also a yoga and naturopathy degree course,
which can be followed with three-year specialization in a particular area. There are also academic de-
grees in yoga, such as MPhil and Ph.D. In addition researchers in several disciplines (a few examples
are psychology, education and different branches of medicine), take up topics related to yoga for their
doctoral research. The present edited book would be useful to persons who have the different level of
yoga instruction mentioned above. These courses all require understanding about how the best known
and most widely practiced yoga techniques such as asanas, pranayamas and meditation influence physi-
ology. The effects of yoga practice on physiology include the impact on cardio-respiratory systems, the
autonomic nervous system and higher brain functions including cognition, among other functions. Most
people undergoing training in yoga are interested in the health benefits of yoga, including promoting
positive health, preventing and managing disease as a non-pharmacological, complementary treatment.
It is also important to understand how practice may be modified for different age groups, especially
children and older people. There are studies which have shown the benefits of yoga practice for children
with behavioural disorders, children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and children with special
needs due to other challenges. These topics have been covered in the present book, as detailed below.
‘Evidence-based perspectives on the psychophysiology of yoga and its applications’ is compiled
as an edited volume to give readers an opportunity to access adequately supported information about
yoga under three broad categories: (i) the physiology of yoga, (ii) applications of yoga in health and as
a therapy and (iii) yoga practice to meet specific needs of different populations. These three categories
are presented as three main sections with eight chapters in the first two sections and nine chapters in the
third section. The chapters are authored by persons who can be considered as authorities in that particular
area of knowledge about yoga based on their published research or based on their long involvement in
imparting knowledge about yoga; in some cases the authors combine both types of experience. These
authors are drawn chiefly from India, U.S.A., U.K. Europe, Brazil and Australia.
The first section covers the physiological effects of yoga practice. Yoga has several features which
make this mind and body practice different and distinct from physical exercise. One such feature is the
emphasis on the breath in yoga. A verse from Hatha Yoga Pradipika (circa 300 A.D.) states in this verse,
“when the prana (used interchangeably with breath) is irregular, the chitta (mind) is unstable, when the
prana is without movement the chitta is stable” (Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Chapter II, Verse 2) (Saraswati
& Saraswati, 1998). Hence in yoga practice, voluntary breath regulation is considered very essential to
influence and quieten the mental state. For this reason, three of the eight chapters in the first section of
the book cover different aspects of yoga voluntarily regulated breathing. The first chapter is a narrative
review of the psychophysiological effects of yoga breathing, with details of some studies which report
applications of yoga breathing. The second chapter covers detail about the neural regulation of breath-

xxiv
Preface

ing as well as other mechanisms of regulating respiration, describing the applications of these practices
in health and wellbeing. The third chapter on yoga breathing is a summary of the cardiorespiratory and
endocrine factors which regulate and are influenced by voluntary breath regulation in yoga. According
to the eight steps of yoga (the ashtanga of the sage Patanjali, circa 900 B.C.), after quietening the mental
state through breath regulation, a yoga practitioner is ready to practice meditation. There are two chapters
on meditation. The first chapter on meditation covers the neurobiology of meditation with an emphasis
on neuroimaging studies which have helped to understand the neurophysiology of meditation with spatial
and temporal accuracy. The second chapter on meditation combines concepts from the traditional yoga
texts with the neurobiology of meditation. This leads to the next chapter which covers concepts from
the profound text, the Bhagavad Gita (circa 200 B.C.), with a presentation of concepts which can bridge
science and spirituality. The first section ends with two chapters which cover mechanisms underlying
the effects of yoga. The seventh chapter describes cellular changes which could explain the effects of
yoga on different physiological pathways and systems. The eighth chapter describes the effects of yoga
practice on cognition and other brain functions relevant to health.
The second section of the book is about ‘Yoga as a therapeutic intervention’. Yoga influences the
mental state and the physical functions, the latter both directly and indirectly by changing the mental
state. This is the background for yoga being considered as a therapy for psychosomatic conditions. There
has been research to support the therapeutic use of yoga for the last seventy years, at the least. Most often
the evidence supports yoga as a safe add-on treatment for non-communicable diseases which are related
to poor lifestyle choices. Research literacy is necessary to use yoga as an effective and safe therapeutic
intervention. Yoga practiced in this way, would be better accepted and integrated in mainstream medicine
(Stephens, 2017). For this reason the first chapter in this section is about standards in yoga research.
The second chapter in this section explores the physiological and biochemical mechanisms underlying
the use of yoga as a measure to enhance wellness and as a complementary treatment for several chronic
diseases. The six remaining chapters of this section are related to using yoga as an add-on therapeutic
intervention for different conditions. The third chapter of this section provides a comprehensive overview
of the role of yoga in mental health disorders. The chapter includes the current evidence to use yoga as
a therapy in common mental health disorders, the effects of yoga on neurophysiology in mental health
disorders and practical aspects of yoga therapy with details of clinically useful yoga practices for com-
mon mental health conditions. The fourth chapter in this section is a theoretical and evidence-based
summary of the relevant empirical research related to yoga as a treatment for trauma-related disorders.
The fifth chapter in this section is about using yoga in the management of pain. The authors combine a
practical approach interspersed with relevant citations. The conditions described in the third, fourth and
fifth chapters are directly to mental health and neurology. The remaining conditions described in the
sixth, seventh and eighth chapters of this section are more closely connected to lifestyle choices. The
sixth chapter of this section reviews yoga for modifiable cardiac risk factors and presents the Cardiac
Medical Yoga Lifestyle Change program, which provides patients with a comprehensive approach to
adopt the necessary strategies to change their lifestyle. Lymphedema causes considerable physical and
psychological discomfort. The seventh chapter of this section presents the authors’ novel approach which
includes yoga to successfully manage lower limb lymphedema in cases of filariasis. The authors also
mention that a comparable treatment program can be used to manage the lymphedema which follows
surgery in many oncology cases. Finally, there is a chapter on yoga for weight management, which is
relevant in this section, since obesity can predispose a person to many of the chronic conditions covered
in the other chapters in this section.

xxv
 Preface

The third and last section of the book is ‘Applications and mechanisms of yoga’. This section has a
unique blend of research and personal experience of the authors working with specific groups of people.
The first chapter in this section examines the history of yoga in the U.K. among young people, the re-
search and the application in school contexts, in prison and Pupil Referral Units, as well as the results
of a two year project on yoga for disadvantaged youth. The second chapter in this section covers yoga
for healthy aging especially in relation to brain functional and structural changes. The next two chapters
deal with special needs of specific groups of children. This is an important area in which yoga has the
potential to bring about beneficial change, since behavioural and physiological change is most feasible in
this age group. In the third chapter in this section the author discusses the efficacy of yoga for children
with cerebral palsy, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), along with practises,
two separate research studies and case histories. The fourth chapter discusses yoga as an intervention for
children with ADHD and with conduct disorder enrolled at behavior school, presents research in this area.
The fifth chapter discusses the potential of yoga to improve cognition, social deficits and overall quality
of life of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. While yoga has wide applications in education,
across age groups and in rehabilitation, there are several theories which can further our understanding
about additional possible benefits of yoga practice. The polyvagal theory (https://www.stephenporges.
com) is increasingly quoted by experts in yoga as the mechanism for the biopsychosocial benefits as-
sociated with yoga practice. The sixth chapter in the section details the relevance of eudemonic well-
being and the polyvagal theory to yoga in health. The seventh chapter discusses and yoga and wellbeing,
connecting traditional descriptions from yoga to modern science in a way that is aimed to be clinically
testable, inclusive, and extensible. Wellbeing is an important benefit seen with yoga practice. The last
two chapters discuss the benefits of two allied and related practices. The eighth chapter of this section
is related to Breathwork. Breathwork is a general term used to describe any type of therapy that utilizes
breathing exercises to improve mental, physical, and spiritual health. This chapter provides evidence for
the benefit of bringing yoga and its breathing practices into a working relationship with contemporary
Breathwork techniques. The chapter includes several case histories which demonstrate the potential
of Breathwork in managing mental health conditions. The final chapter in this section compares the
physiological differences between a short and long duration of yogasana practice, with a brief review
of previous research on yogasanas.
Hence this evidence-based edited book is intended to provide clarity about the way yoga practice
influences functioning in healthy persons and the benefits of yoga for different age groups, for people
with special needs, as a therapy for lifestyle related diseases and in conjunction with allied mind and
body interventions.

Shirley Telles
Ram Kumar Gupta

xxvi
Preface

REFERENCES

Anand, B. K., & Chhina, G. S. (1961). Investigations on yogis claiming to stop their heart beats. The
Indian Journal of Medical Research, 49, 90–94.
Dillbeck, M. C. (1990). Test of a field theory of consciousness and social change: Time series analysis
of participation in the TM-Sidhi program and reduction of violent death in the US. Social Indicators
Research, 22(4), 399–418. doi:10.1007/BF00303834
Feuerstein, G. (2003). The deeper dimension of yoga: Theory and practice. Shambhala Publications.
Harappa.com. (n.d.). Around the Indus in 90 slides. https://www.harappa.com/indus/33.html
Karambelkar, P. V., Vinekar, S. L., & Bhole, M. V. (1968). Studies on human subjects staying on an
air-tight pit. The Indian Journal of Medical Research, 56, 1282–1288. PMID:5711607
Nichols, H. (2019). What are the health benefits of yoga? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/ar-
ticles/326414
Porges, S. W., Doussard-Roosevelt, J. A., & Maiti, A. K. (1994). Vagal tone and the physiological regu-
lation of emotion. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2-3), 167–186.
doi:10.1111/j.1540-5834.1994.tb01283.x PMID:7984159
Rousseau, D. M. (1962). Meditation: Easy system propounded by maharishi mahesh yogi. International
Meditation Centre.
Saraswati, S. M., & Saraswati, S. S. (1998). Hatha yoga pradipika. Yoga Publications Trust.
Stephens, I. (2017). Medical yoga therapy. Children (Basel, Switzerland), 4(2), 12. doi:10.3390/chil-
dren4020012 PMID:28208599
Weiger, W. A., Smith, M., Boon, H., Richardson, M. A., Kaptchuk, T. J., & Eisenberg, D. M. (2002).
Advising patients who seek complementary and alternative medical therapies for cancer. Annals of In-
ternal Medicine, 137(11), 889–903. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-137-11-200212030-00010 PMID:12458989

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xxviii

Acknowledgment

We express our deep gratitude to Swami Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, the founders of Patanjali
Research Foundation, Haridwar, India, for their support and for giving us unstinted academic freedom.
We are very grateful to the authors of individual chapters in the book for their valuable contributions.
The many reviewers are gratefully appreciated for the time they spent to send their useful and construc-
tive comments which were very essential to improve the quality of the book. We also thank the staff of
Patanjali Research Foundation, especially Dipak Chetry who has been involved in the book from the
very beginning. We are grateful to Kumar Gandharva and Deepak Pal for their assistance. We thank the
publishers, IGI Global and especially thank Jan Travers and Maria Rohde of IGI global publishers for
their support during the production of this book.

This volume was put together during the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Individu-
ally, we express our deep gratitude to specific people. Shirley Telles is grateful to Naveen Visweswaraiah
for enduring academic and other support from 1994 onwards. Ram Kumar Gupta expresses gratitude
to his beloved parents (Shri Bhagwan Sahay Gupta and Shrimati Nirmala Devi), family, teachers and
friends for their consistent guidance and support.

This edited book is based on the wisdom of all the great masters of yoga through the ages.

We salute them.

Shirley Telles
Patanjali Research Foundation, India

Ram Kumar Gupta

Patanjali Research Foundation, India



 Section 1
The Physiological Effects of
Yoga Practice
 1

Chapter 1
Psychophysiological Effects
and the Applications of
Yoga Breathing Practices
Niranjan Kala
Patanjali Research Foundation, India

Dipak Chetry
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8117-6504
Patanjali Research Foundation, India

Shirley Telles
Patanjali Research Foundation, India

ABSTRACT
Yoga is an ancient practice that originated in India and aims at purifying the mind for spiritual progress.
In modern times yoga is widely practiced for general health and well-being as well as for therapeutic
reasons. Voluntary breath regulation or pranayama has been given significant importance in traditional
texts as well as by yoga masters. Research has shown beneficial effects of yoga breathing practices or
pranayamas on neurocognitive, metabolic, respiratory, and autonomic functions, which are discussed
in the chapter. The chapter also discusses the applications of these practices for the management of
various clinical conditions as well as for alleviating psychological problems associated with particular
illnesses. The beneficial effects of yoga breathing practices demonstrate the importance of these safe
and cost effective non-pharmacological interventions for general health as well as for prevention and
management of various diseases.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-3254-6.ch001

Copyright © 2021, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
 
Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices

INTRODUCTION

Yoga is an ancient science which originated thousands of years ago in India primarily for spiritual prog-
ress and self-enlightenment. Though the origin of yoga is difficult to trace, its presence can be found in
the Indus valley civilization, one of the world’s oldest known civilizations which dates more than nine
thousand years back (Sarkar et al., 2016; Dhyansky, 1987). Archaeological seals, such as that of a deity
sitting in a yoga-like position suggests that yoga may have been practiced at that time (Dhyansky, 1987).
The written descriptions of yoga can be found in the Vedas which are among the oldest written texts
(Bhavanani, 2012). Though the Vedas were not in the written form originally, the compilations today
date from Circa 10000 B.C. (Bhavanani, 2012). The Rigveda contains a number of verses describing
yoga as a practice to control the mind (Bhavanani, 2012). The Atharvaveda talks about prana, the vital
energy and the chakras, the energy centers in the pranic body (Bloomfield, 1897). After this the sage
Patanjali wrote the yoga-sutras in which he systematically and exclusively compiled the wisdom of yoga
in the form of aphorisms (Circa 900 B.C.) (Miller, 1996). This work remains as the most fundamental
manual for yoga scholars as well as for yoga enthusiasts in the present time. There are 196 aphorisms
in four chapters which define yoga as a means of self-enlightenment through the course of eight limbs
(Miller, 1996). This is also known as the eight-fold path or astanga yoga and consists of the ethical
precepts (yamas and niyamas), physical postures (asanas), breathing practices (pranayamas), control
of the senses (pratyahara), deep concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana) and the highest state of
consciousness (samadhi).
Out of the eight stages of yoga, voluntarily controlled breathing or pranayama, the fourth stage is the
topic of this chapter. Etymologically, the word pranayama (in Sanskrit) means voluntarily slowing down
and prolonging breathing. Ancient yoga masters realized the close connection between the breath and
the mind hence these pranayamas or voluntarily regulated yoga breathing techniques are given special
emphasis. This can be understood by a verse from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Circa 300 A.D.) which
states “when the prana (used interchangeably with breath) is irregular, the chitta (mind) is unstable,
when the prana is without movement the chitta is stable” (Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Chapter II, Verse 2)
(Muktibodhananda, 2002).
The relationship between the breath pattern and health is well established (Lieber & Mohsenin, 1992).
Apart from this, breathing has been associated with higher brain functions. Zelano and colleagues (2016)
found brain activity to be synchronized with the act of breathing during voluntary breath regulation mea-
sured through the recordings of intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) in patients with epilepsy.
In a separate study by the same authors and reported in the same article, nasal inhalation was found to
facilitate recognition of facial expressions and recall of the objects shown (Zelano et al., 2016). When
participants were instructed to breathe through the mouth these effects were not seen. Hence breathing
can influence the brain and this is modulated by several factors such as nasal versus mouth breathing,
inhalation in relation to exhalation and the nostril which is patent.
In yoga the voluntary control of breathing involves one of the following aspects: change in the rate
of breathing, change in the depth of breathing, manipulation of the nostril breathed through, including
a period of breath holding and producing a sound during breathing. These alterations to the breathing
pattern are the basis for various yoga breathing practices such as alternate nostril yoga breathing or
anulom-vilom pranayama, bellows yoga breathing or bhastrika pranayama, high frequency yoga breath-
ing or kapalabhati pranayama, as examples. The psychophysiological effects of these yoga breathing
practices were discussed earlier (Telles & Singh, 2018) and are further elaborated here.

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Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices

STUDIES ON PRANAYAMAS INVOLVING REGULATING

THE NOSTRIL WHICH IS BREATHED THROUGH

Nostril regulating breathing is performed by gentle pressure on the nose with the fingers or thumb of
the dominant hand (Niranjanananda, 2004). Inhalation through the right nostril and exhalation through
the left nostril exclusively is called suryabhedana pranayama (suryabhedana means sun-piercing
breath in Sanskrit) with a variation called surya anuloma-viloma pranayama in which inhalation as
well as exhalation is performed through the right nostril exclusively. In contrast, inhalation through the
left nostril and exhalation through the right nostril exclusively is called chandrabhedana pranayama
(chandrabhedana means moon-piercing breath in Sanskrit) with a similar variation called Chandra
anuloma-viloma pranayama in which inhalation as well as exhalation is performed through the left
nostril exclusively. Breathing through both nostrils alternately is called anuloma-viloma pranayama
(alternate nostril breathing). which involves breathing through both nostrils alternately without retention
of the breath. The practitioners use the thumb and ring finger of the right hand to manipulate the nostrils.
The breathing practice begins by exhaling through the left nostril with the right nostril occluded; then
inhaling through the left nostril; followed by exhaling through the right nostril with the left nostril oc-
cluded; then inhaling through the right nostril and exhaling through the left nostril. This is one complete
cycle. Anuloma-viloma pranayama should not be confused with nadishodhana (subtle energy cleansing
breathing) which is alternate nostril yoga breathing which involves breath holding which may follow
either inhalation or exhalation.
The effects of breathing through the right nostril, the left nostril, or through both nostrils alternately
have been described in a specific yoga text called Swara yoga (Muktibodhananda, 1999). Swara yoga
describes the effects of ida (left nostril patency), pingla (right nostril patency) and sushumna (both nos-
trils patent) on one’s body, mind and behavior. The text describes favorable acts to be performed when
breath flows through a particular swara or nostril. For example breathing through left nostril is believed
to have cooling effects and it is mentioned that one should perform acts which are not vigorous but are
spiritually inclined when the left nostril is patent. These include stationary work, construction of a temple
or well, consecration of a Deity, charity, entry into a newly constructed house and seed sowing (Shiva
Swarodaya, Chapter V, Verses 102-113). It is also mentioned that a person should carry out activities
requiring energy when the right nostril is patent because breathing through the right nostril is believed
to be heat generating. The texts mention to carry out activities such as chanting of vira mantra (mantra
for obtaining vigor and energy), journey, hunting, taming a horse, driving a chariot and holding a sword
(Shiva Swarodaya, Chapter V, Verses 114-123). When prana (breath) flows through both nostrils equally,
it is advised to remain silent, become introspective, concentrate the mind on Iswara (God) and perform
yoga practices (Shiva Swarodaya, Chapter V, Verse 130).
The effects of these breathing practices as described in Swara yoga texts have been partially stud-
ied in scientific studies. Right nostril yoga breathing has been shown to increase oxygen consumption
immediately after 45 minutes of practice as well as after a period of one month (Telles et al., 1996;
Telles et al., 1994). Along with this, right nostril breathing also caused an increase in peripheral vaso-
constriction, increased systolic blood pressure and heart rate suggesting sympathetic activation (Telles
et al., 1994; Telles et al.,1996). Similar findings were later reported when the practice of suryabhedana
pranayama increased systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure (Raghuraj & Telles, 2008). Chandra
bhedana pranayama caused a reduction in systolic and mean blood pressure while anuloma-viloma
pranayama decreased the systolic and diastolic blood pressure in twenty yoga experienced individuals

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Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices

(Bhavanani et al., 2014). These findings support the energizing and heat-generating effects of suryabhe-
dana pranayama and relaxing effects of chandrabhedana pranayama and anuloma-viloma pranayama
described in yoga texts.
It is described that the body can be purified and complete health can be achieved within three months
through the practice of nadishodhana pranayama and anuloma-viloma pranayama (Hatha Yoga Pra-
dipika, Chapter II, Verses 10, 20). The imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic divi-
sions of the autonomic nervous system indicates significant morbidity and mortality, and nadishodhana
pranayama and anuloma-viloma pranayama appear to correct the imbalance. In an earlier study where
twenty healthy males were trained to practice nadishodhana pranayama, they showed a reduction in
systolic blood pressure and heart rate after four weeks (Bhargava et al., 1988). Interestingly, these changes
remained when the volunteers were instructed to hold their breath until the breaking point. This suggests
that nadishodhana pranayama practice reduces sympathetic activation in the presence of a physical
stressor (i.e., breath holding). Various studies showed a trend of parasympathetic activation as well as
sympathetic withdrawal after alternate nostril yoga breathing (Bhagat et al., 2017; Telles et al., 2014;
Raghuraj & Telles, 2008). However, a study on non practitioners of yoga reported different results with
increased low frequency (LF) and decreased high frequency (HF) and increased LF/HF ratio after 6 and
12 minutes of alternate nostril yoga breathing (Subramanian et al., 2016).
Apart from the effects on vagal modulation, uninostril breathing practices have shown lateralized
effects on the cerebral hemispheres. Earlier studies which were based on electroencephalogram record-
ings as well as on performance in hemisphere-specific tasks suggested that forced uninostril breathing
activates the contralateral cerebral hemisphere (Shannahoff-Khalsa et al., 1991; Werntz et al., 1987). A
recent study supported this result with changes in brain hemodynamics that showed brain oxy-hemoglobin
levels increased in the left prefrontal cortex during the practice of right nostril breathing (Singh et al.,
2016). The study also reported a trend of increased oxy-hemoglobin levels in right prefrontal cortex after
practice of left nostril breathing. In another study right nostril breathing and alternate nostril breathing
but not left nostril breathing improved scores in an attention related task (Telles et al., 2007). When
yoga-based uninostril breathing practices were compared for performance in verbal and spatial memory
tasks in 108 school children, the spatial memory task scores increased after left nostril breathing, right
nostril breathing as well as alternate nostril breathing (Naveen et al., 1997). The lateralized effects of
suryabhedana pranayama were shown by the recordings of middle latency auditory evoked potentials.
There was an increase in the peak amplitudes of Na wave and Nb wave on the right cerebral hemisphere
during suryabhedana pranayama suggesting better neural allocation at the right cerebral hemisphere
(Raghuraj & Telles, 2004). The increase in peak amplitude suggested an increased recruitment of neu-
ral resources at the thalamic medial geniculate and Heschl’s gyrus on the right hemisphere during the
practice of suryabhedana (Polich, 1999).
Nostril manipulative breathing has also been shown to improve performance in several psychomotor
tasks. In fifteen yoga practitioners, alternate nostril yoga breathing reduced time taken to complete a
vigilance related task as an immediate effect along with a simultaneous reduction in systolic and mean
arterial blood pressure (Telles et al., 2017). Another study on fifty male volunteers showed improved
scores in shape and size discrimination task after alternate nostril yoga breathing and decreased state
anxiety after breath awareness and quiet sitting (Telles et al., 2019). Similarly, studies reported improved
performance in a letter cancellation task after anuloma-viloma pranayama as well as increased verbal
and spatial memory scores after anuloma-viloma pranayama, suryabhedana pranayama and chandrab-
hedana pranayama (Telles et al., 2007; Garg et al., 2016). These findings can be explained by another

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Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices

study in which the P300 task performance was improved after anuloma-viloma pranayama (Telles et
al., 2013). The P300 is an event related potential which is generated when a person pays attention to a
specific stimulus and differentiates that from the other (Polich, 1999). Hence the P300 is a objective
measure of selective attention. The P300 peak amplitudes were increased at frontal, central and parietal
scalp sites immediately after 18 minutes of anuloma-viloma pranayama (Telles et al., 2013).
Other than this, anuloma-viloma pranayama practiced for ten days improved hand grip strength in
school children (Raghuraj et al., 1997). Effect of alternate nostril breathing to reduce experimentally
induced anxiety has also been reported (Kamath et al., 2017).

STUDIES ON PRANAYAMAS INVOLVING ALTERATION

IN THE DEPTH OF BREATHING

Bhastrika pranayama (bhastrika = bellows, in Sanskrit), is a yoga breathing practice that involves
inhalation and exhalation with force and increased depth of breathing. In traditional texts bhastrika
pranayama is described to balance the three constitutional types (doshas) described in Ayurveda (i.e.,
vata, pitta and kapha) as well as to be effective in increasing the digestive fire or metabolism (Hatha
Yoga Pradipika, Chapter II, Verse 65).
Earlier studies have reported increased oxygen consumption during this practice consistently by up to
35 percent (Miles & Behanan, 1934; Miles, 1964). The effect of bhastrika pranayama on cardiopulmo-
nary functions has also been studied. In 76 adults randomized to bhastrika or stretching for four months,
bhastrika caused an increase in maximum expiratory and inspiratory pressure as well as a reduction in the
low frequency (LF) power and low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) ratio of the heart rate variability
(HRV) (Santaella et al., 2011). These components of HRV viz., LF and LF/HF ratio are suggestive of
cardiac sympathetic modulation and sympathovagal balance respectively. A report is also there which
shows that bhastrika pranayama can increase the heart rate, rate pressure product and double product
(Madanmohan et al., 2005). Another study counters this in which slow paced bhastrika pranayama
reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure (Pramanik et al., 2009). These results indicate that the
breath rate at which bhastrika pranayama is practiced has certain influences on the autonomic balance.
A recent study on 26 yoga practitioners found that yogic slow breathing does not appear to augment
cardiac vagal control (Bertisch et al., 2017). Bhastrika pranayama also has an effect on the reaction
time. Typically reaction time is the time taken by an individual to respond to a specific stimulus or event
(Jensen, 2006). In a study conducted on healthy males, 18 minutes of bhastrika pranayama decreased
the anticipatory responses suggesting improved reaction time (Telles et al., 2013). A similar study was
done on 25 females which reported no significant changes after bhastrika, however an improvement
in reaction time occurred after breath awareness and quiet sitting (Telles et al., 2018). These findings
suggest that bhastrika pranayama has gender-specific effects on reaction time.
Apart from this, pulmonary functions were studied on thirty males in a randomized controlled trial
(Budhi et al., 2019). There were significant improvements in all variables including forced vital capacity,
forced expiratory volume in the first second, peak expiratory flow rate and maximum voluntary ventila-
tion after bhastrika pranayama for one month as well as an increase in peak expiratory flow rate and
maximum voluntary ventilation after physical activity with magnitude of change lesser than bhastrika.
Similar findings were reported in another study which was conducted on swimmers in which bhastrika
pranayama along with other pranayamas improved the pulmonary parameters (Hakked et al., 2017).

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Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices

A RCT on 100 males examined the effects of slow breathing or bhastrika on perceived stress, body
mass index, waist-hip ratio, heart rate and blood pressure (Naik et al., 2018). Heart rate, systolic and
diastolic blood pressure and perceived stress decreased following 12 weeks of bhastrika with no sig-
nificant changes in body mass index and waist-hip ratio.
Bhastrika pranayama has a variation called mukhabhastrika pranayama which involves practic-
ing bhastrika with mouth-breathing (mukha = mouth and bhastrika = bellows). Mukhabhastrika also
appears to have similar trends as those of bhastrika pranayama. In twenty-two healthy school going
boys, mukhabhastrika reduced visual and auditory reaction after nine rounds of practice (Bhavanani et
al., 2003). Another study reported that mukhabhastrika can reduce sympathetic activity and increase
parasympathetic activity by reducing basal heart rate, fall of systolic blood pressure on posture variation
and increasing the Valsalva ratio (Veerabhadrappa et al., 2011).
Recently, a RCT was conducted on 30 healthy adults aged between 18 to 40 years to assess the effect
of bhastrika on fMRI, states of anxiety and positive and negative affect (Novaes et al., 2020). After 4
weeks of pranayama the states of anxiety and negative affect were significantly decreased. Also there
were changes in the activity of brain regions involved in emotional processing, particularly the amygdala,
anterior cingulate, anterior insula, and prefrontal cortex.

STUDIES ON PRANAYAMAS WITH BREATH RETENTION

Certain yoga breathing practices include a period of breath holding which could follow either inhala-
tion or exhalation or both. This is called kumbhak (kumbhak = a pot in Sanskrit). Generally, kumbhak
pranayamas are practiced along with specified physiological locks or bandhas which are three in number
i.e., Jalandhar bandha or chin lock, uddiyan bandha or abdominal lock and mula bandha or perennial
lock (Nagendra, 1998). The duration of breath holding can also differ in different pranayamas. Gener-
ally breath holding is practiced by experienced yoga masters and requires steady and careful learning
as described in this verse, “just as lions, elephants and tigers are controlled, so the prana should be
controlled through gradual practice, otherwise the sadhaka (practitioner) is destroyed.” (Hatha Yoga
Pradipika, Chapter II, Verse 15).
An earlier study examined the oxygen consumption during pranayamas with breath holding and
also compared the effects of the duration of breath holding (Telles & Desiraju, 1991). The results were
interesting including a 19 percent decrease in oxygen consumption during the practice of long episodes
of breath holding as well as a 56 percent increase in the oxygen consumption during the practice of
short episodes of breath holding.
In addition, kumbhak reduced the heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output in 39 healthy adults
following 20 minutes of practice (Saoji et al., 2018). In another study by the same authors, the practice
for the same duration improved reaction time (Saoji et al., 2018).
Pranayama in a ratio of 2:1:2:1 for inhalation:breath-hold:exhalation:breath-hold is called savitri
pranayama. A study found significant changes after a combination of pranayamas including savitri
pranayama on respiratory sinus arrhythmia suggesting cardiovascular effect of these pranayamas
(Bhavanani et al., 2016).

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Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices

STUDIES ON PRANAYAMAS INCORPORATING

ALTERATIONS IN THE BREATHING FREQUENCY

Most yoga breathing practices alter the rate of breathing by slowing down the breath frequency, kapalab-
hati pranayama however increases the breath rate by up to 60 to 120 breaths per minute. This technique
has also been described as a cleansing process, or a kriya in Sanskrit. Kapalabhati is described as a
pranayama when practiced at slower rates i.e., £ 60 breaths per minutes. The name kapalabhati consists
of two Sanskrit words, kapala which means “forehead” or “cranium” and bhati which means shining,
splendor or knowledge (Muktibodhananda, 2002) which indicates the possible benefits of kapalabhati
on brain function. This is supported by a study in which the practice of kapalabhati was reported to im-
prove the performance in a cancellation task that assesses selective attention, repetitive motor responses
and visual scanning (Telles et al., 2008). Similar results were reported in a different study in which 18
minutes of practicing kapalabhati significantly reduced the degree of optical illusion perceived (Telles
et al., 2011). Ten minutes of kapalabhati breathed at 1.0 Hz improved visual discrimination and finger
dexterity in ninety four healthy volunteers (Telles et al., 2012). Though a recent study found no signifi-
cant change after kapalabhati on performance in a Corsi-block tapping task, however an improvement
in scores was reported after breath awareness (Gupta et al., 2019). Another study on functional near
infrared spectroscopy found that kapalabhati practiced at the rate of 1.0 Hz does not cause changes in
cerebral blood flow to the prefrontal region (Telles et al., 2016).
The attention related effects were also seen in sixty one pre-teen children. Children showed improved
performance in an attention based letter cancellation task as well as decreased levels of anxiety after
kapalabhati (Telles et al., 2019). The improvements in performance in specific tasks following kapal-
abhati can be explained by the findings of a study on the P300 task (Joshi & Telles, 2009). The study
found that P300 peak latency decreased after one minute of kapalabhati practiced at 2.0 Hz. A decrease
in the P300 peak latency is suggestive of a decrease in time taken to complete the attention task hence
faster neural processing. In addition, the P300 peak amplitude was increased after one minute of breath
awareness suggesting increased neural allocation to complete the task.
Apart from this, kapalabhati is reported to have autonomic and cardiovascular effects. In an earlier
study, 24 volunteers practiced kapalabhati for 15 minutes at 2.0 Hz and their cardiovascular variables
were observed including the electrocardiogram evaluated by spectral analysis of time series (Stancák et
al., 1991a). During kapalabhati, the respiration rate was modulated by a 0.1 Hz rhythm in 82 percent of
the experiments, which was also present in R-R intervals and blood pressure. Another study was con-
ducted by the same authors in seventeen yoga experienced subjects (Stancák et al., 1991b). The effects
of kapalabhati at a breath frequency of 2.0 Hz were examined before, three times during and after the
practice for 15 minutes. During kapalabhati, the heart rate was increased by 9 beats per minute, systolic
blood pressure by 15 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 6 mmHg. Also, the frequency bands of
R-R interval variability as well as the baroreceptor-cardiac reflex sensitivity were reduced during the
practice. Similar results were reported when the practice was for shorter duration. A study in which
kapalabhati at 2.0 Hz was practiced for one minute the low frequency power and the low frequency/high
frequency power increased along with a decrease in the high frequency power (Raghuraj et al., 1998).
Findings of these studies suggest that kapalabhati can decrease the cardiac vagal modulation. Another
study reported comparable results in which kapalabhati was practiced at slower rate i.e., 60 breaths per
minutes (Telles et al., 2011). The study reported a significant decrease in the mean RR interval, NN50
and pNN50 components of heart rate variability during 15 minutes of kapalabhati.

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Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices

STUDIES ON PRANAYAMAS INVOLVING PRODUCTION

OF A SOUND WITH BREATHING

Ancient yoga texts have given emphasis on sound and associated resonance and this construct in yoga is
known as nadanushandhan (nad = sound, anusandhan = research in Sanskrit) (Hatha Yoga Pradipika).
Several yoga breathing techniques involve production of a specific sound while breathing such as bhra-
mari pranayama (bhramari = bumble bee in Sanskrit) and udgeeth pranayama or chanting of ‘OM’, a
syllable with sacred connotations.
Bhramari pranayama involves producing a vibrating sound like buzzing of a bumble bee while ex-
haling through the nostrils. A pre and post study reported that bhramari pranayama can generate high-
frequency paroxyxmal gamma waves during humming (Vialatte et al., 2008). The effects of bhramari
pranayama were also reported on the cardiovascular system. Sixty healthy adolescents were randomized
to 45 minutes of bhramari pranayama or equal duration of normal breathing (Kuppusamy et al., 2016).
A significant reduction was reported in heart rate, pulse pressure, mean arterial pressure, rate pressure
product and double product after bhramari pranayama. In addition, short durations such as 5 minutes
of the practice was also associated with a decrease in diastolic and mean blood pressure (Pramanik et
al., 2010). In contrast, a recent study reported signs of parasympathetic withdrawal including increase in
heart rate and low frequency spectrum of heart rate variability and decrease in high frequency spectrum
of heart rate variability (Nivethitha et al., 2017). The changes seen were during the practice of bhramari
pranayama which revert to normal after practice. Effects on pulmonary function were studied in ninety
adolescents in a randomized controlled trial (Kuppusamy et. al, 2017). Bhramari pranayama practice
improved all pulmonary function parameters including forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory
volume in first second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC and maximum voluntary ventilation. Apart from this, prac-
ticing bhramari pranayama for 10 minutes was also shown improve the reaction time and response
inhibition in 31 male students (Rajesh et al., 2014).

STUDIES ON PRANAYAMAS INVOLVING BREATHING THROUGH THE MOUTH

Though, breathing through the mouth is not preferred generally, certain yoga breathing practices involve
inhaling through the mouth and exhaling through the nose. Examples of such breathing techniques are
sheetali pranayama (sheetali comes from the Sanskrit root sheet, which means “cold” or “frigid) and
sitkari pranayama (in Sanskrit, sitkari means ‘sipping’ or ‘hissing’). These breathing techniques are
generally known as cooling pranayamas, possibly because these involve inspiration through the mouth
which prevents the warming effect on air when it passes through the nostrils. The benefits of sheetali
and sitkari are mentioned in Hatha Yoga Pradeepika such as control of hunger, thirst, sleep and laziness,
relieving stomach related diseases, fever, excess bile and eliminating poison from the body (Hatha Yoga
Pradipika, Chapter II, Verses 55, 58). Scientific studies have not studied the effects of these pranayamas
widely, though in experience of the yoga practitioners these practices are considered beneficial for oral
health and may help decreasing the peripheral temperature of a person with a fever (Ramdev, 2005).
However an EEG based study reported an increase in theta and alpha waves in frontal and occipital
regions and an increase in delta waves in the frontal region during the practice of sheetali and sitkari
pranayamas (Thanalakshmi et al., 2014). The study also reported reduced beta frequencies during the

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Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices

practice. There are some scientific reports which suggest the therapeutic benefits of these practices and
they are discussed further in the chapter.

STUDIES ON PRANAYAMAS INVOLVING BREATHING

WITH A PARTIALLY CLOSED GLOTTIS

There is a yoga breathing practice known as ujjayi pranayama (ujjayi = victorious in Sanskrit), which
involves voluntarily constricting the glottis along with production of a sound with breathing. It is men-
tioned that this practice removes phlegm from the throat and stimulates the digestive fire (Hatha Yoga
Pradipika, Chapter II, Verse 52). This suggests the metabolic effects of ujjayi pranayama which are shown
by earlier studies in which ujjayi pranayama increased oxygen consumption by 12 to 33 percent (Miles
et al., 1964). Another study reported that ujjayi pranayama increased the oxygen consumption by 52
percent when practiced along with short episodes of breath holding and decreased the oxygen consump-
tion by 19 percent when practiced along with long episodes of breath holding (Telles & Desiraju, 1991).
One study assessed the effects of ujjayi along with kapalabhati and bhastrika pranayama on lower limb
isokinetic and iso-inertial power and found no significant changes in power output (Wooten et al., 2018).

THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS OF YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES

Therapeutic effects of yoga have been examined with greater interest in recent years. Though the practice
of yoga breathing techniques is generally considered harmless, one should practice them with adequate
knowledge and under proper guidance. A verse from Hatha Yoga Pradipika would be worth quoting
which states “by the proper practice of pranayama, all diseases can be eradicated; and by the improper
practice, all diseases are caused” (Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Chapter II, Verse 16). While the use of com-
bined yoga interventions for the management of various diseases is studied widely, there are relatively
less studies pertaining to yoga breathing practices exclusively.
Two studies in the late 1980s by Virendra Singh and colleagues examined the effects of pranayama
on patients with bronchial asthma (Singh, 1987; Singh et al., 1990). The authors used an apparatus called
the ‘pink city lung exerciser (PCLE)’ which could control the inhalation-exhalation ratio hence at least
in this aspect, resembling pranayama breathing (Dr. Virendra Singh is from Jaipur in India, where Jaipur
is known as the Pink City, due to the dominant color scheme of its buildings. The PCLE comprised of
a cylindrical device through which the person was asked to breathe. The device had holes that were de-
signed in a way that a ratio of 1:2 for inhalation and exhalation was maintained while breathing through
it (Singh, 1987). A device which looked exactly the same but did not alter the respiration ratio was used
as a placebo. The first study reported significant increases in peak expiratory flow rate of the 12 patients
after a two week intervention (Singh, 1987). Another study was more important which showed improved
airway reactivity to histamine more with use of the PCLE than with the placebo device (Singh et al.,
1990). The study reported an increase in the histamine provocation dose causing a 20 percent decline in
FEV1 (PD20) by 1.53 (log2 units) in the PCLE group and 0.96 (log2 units) in the placebo group (Singh
et al., 1990).
Though the pink city lung exerciser had certain limitations, it was a unique method because it al-
lowed a placebo controlled intervention to be compared with yoga breathing. Another study included

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Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices

one more breath-based intervention viz., Buteyko breathing along with PCLE and PCLE based placebo
breathing to assess pulmonary functions in 69 asthmatic patients (Cooper et al., 2003). The symptoms
were reduced in the Buteyko breathing group but remained relatively stable in the PCLE and placebo
groups. Use of bronchodilator was reduced in the Buteyko breathing group by two puffs per day at six
months while there was no change in the other two groups. One important component of yoga breathing
is awareness towards breathing along with the breath alterations (Ramdev, 2005). Breathing through the
PCLE resembles yoga breathing by altering the inhalation:exhalation ratio but lacks the mental compo-
nent of breath awareness essential in yoga breathing practice. This could restrict the potential effects of
yoga breathing to be seen through the PCLE breathing. Findings of another study support this in which
120 asthmatic patients were divided into Buteyko breathing group, pranayama group and control group
(Prem et al., 2013). The outcomes were Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire, Asthma Control Ques-
tionnaire and pulmonary function test. The Buteyko breathing group showed 26.1 percent improvement
in the quality of life than the other two groups, while pranayama showed 14.3 percent improvement in
the quality of life compared to the control group.
Effects of dirgha pranayama (the three-part breathing exercise, dirgha means long in Sanskrit) were
observed in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Dirgha pranayama is a slow
rhythmic breathing in which participants are instructed to breath in slowly through their nose to fill first
the bottom of their lungs, then the middle of their lungs, and finally the top of their lungs. The exhala-
tion can be in the same sequence or opposite depending upon the comfort of the practitioner. A study
on 43 patients with COPD were randomized to dirgha pranayama or control group and their 6-minute
walk distance, pulmonary function test, markers of oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, and
measures of dyspnea and quality of life were measured (Kaminsky et al., 2017). The 6-minute walk
distance increased in the pranayama group by 9 percent along with improvements in the inspiratory
capacity and air trapping by 6.2 and 12.5 percent respectively. Effects of bhramari pranayama were
assessed in chronic sinusitis in 60 patients using the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (Abishek et al., 2019).
The scores of the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test improved by 36.7 percent after 4 weeks and continued until
12 weeks of assessment.
Apart from diseases of the respiratory system, certain yoga breathing practices were assessed in hyper-
tensive patients. In a study with 90 hypertensive patients, alternate nostril yoga breathing decreased the
systolic blood pressure by 4.2 percent and diastolic blood pressure by 1.56 percent (Telles et al., 2013).
The scores in Purdue pegboard task were also increased significantly after the practice. Effects of sheetali
and sitkari pranayama on blood pressure and cardiovascular parameters were assessed in two separate
studies containing twenty and sixty hypertensive patients respectively (Kumar et al., 2018; Shetty et al.,
2017). Kumar et al. (2018) reported 8.6 percent decrease in systolic blood pressure, 11.4 percent decrease
in diastolic blood pressure, 8.9 percent decrease in heart rate, 8.1 percent decrease in pulse pressure and
9.1 percent decrease in double product after 20 minutes of sheetali and sitkari pranayama. Shetty et al.
(2017) also reported similar findings including 10.9 percent decrease in systolic blood pressure and 22.8
percent decrease in respiratory rate along with 9.9 percent increase and 86 percent increase in NN50 and
HF-power component of heart rate variability after sheetali and sitkari pranayama. In another study,
slow and fast breathing practices were compared in 60 patients with essential hypertension (Mourya et
al., 2009). Alternate nostril breathing was chosen as the slow breathing practice and 4-5 epochs of deep
high frequency breathing for 15 minutes was chosen as the fast breathing. The blood pressure decreased
longitudinally over a period of three months with both slow and fast pranayama while there was 70.9
percent increase in standing-to-lying ratio, 13.9 percent increase in immediate heart rate response to

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Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices

standing, 4.5 percent increase in heart rate variation with respiration ratio, 33 percent increase in the
hand grip test and 62.5 percent increase in the cold pressor test only in the slow breathing practice. This
suggests that slow breathing such as alternate nostril breathing have better effect than fast breathing.
Another study supports this statement in which sukha pranayama (sukha means happiness in Sanskrit)
was intervened to examine the heart rate and blood pressure (Bhavanani et al., 2011). Sukha pranayama
is a slow breathing practice done at the rate of six breaths per min by using a timed count of 5 for inhala-
tion and exhalation. Following sukha pranyama for 5 minutes there was a significant reduction in heart
rate, systolic pressure, pulse pressure, mean arterial pressure, rate-pressure product, and double product.
The study reported a 3.4 percent decrease in heart rate, 6.7 percent decrease in systolic blood pressure,
12.1 percent decrease in pulse pressure, 7.4 percent decrease in mean arterial pressure and 9.1 percent
decrease in double product after 5 minutes of intervention (Bhavanani et al., 2011). In another study, 60
females with premenstrual syndrome were randomized to three groups viz., anuloma-viloma pranayama,
yoga asanas and control (Sharma et al., 2013). Their blood pressure, heart rate, electromyogram, galvanic
skin response, respiratory rate and peripheral temperature were measured seven days before and after
starting of the menstruation for three consecutive menstrual cycles. The anuloma-viloma pranayama
group showed 17.7 percent decrease in heart rate, 10.7 percent and 8.4 percent decrease in systolic and
diastolic blood pressure, 44 percent decrease in electromyogram and 13.8 percent decrease in galvanic
skin resistance after the third menstrual cycle. Similar findings were also reported in yoga asana group.
Yoga based deep breathing as an add-on to Scaling and Root Planning (SRP) was administered in
30 patients with chronic periodontitis and was compared with SRP alone for a period of three months
(Mahendra et al., 2017). The pranayama group showed 52.2 percent improvement in the symptoms of
periodontitis after three months compared to SRP alone. The presence of three Red Complex Microor-
ganisms (RCM) viz., Treponemadenticola, Porphyromonasgingivalis and Tannerella forsythia was also
decreased in the pranayama group by nearly 77 percent.
Apart from this, a study showed 52.27 percent increase in the net scores of the Braille version of six-
letter cancellation test by 19 visually impaired individuals after bhramari pranayama suggesting better
attention after yoga breathing which is in line with other reports on healthy persons (Pradhan et al., 2018).
Yoga breathing appears to be effective for psychological challenges faced by patients such as anxiety
and poor emotional aspects. Anxiety was measured in 80 patients undergoing coronary angiography before
and after five minutes of sukha pranayama (Bidgoli et al., 2016). The anxiety score decreased signifi-
cantly after sukha pranayama from 53.37 to 40.75. In another study 160 patients with breast cancer who
were undergoing radiation therapy were randomized to pranayama or control group and their emotional
aspects such as impatience, tiredness, worry, anxiety and frustration were assessed (Chakrabarty et al.,
2016). Pranayama included bhramari, sheetali and nadishodhana for 20-30 minutes in morning and
evening 6 days per week for 6 weeks. Pranayama group resulted in about 70 percent reduction in these
negative emotions than the control group. Yoga breathing has also been found effective on cravings in
abstaining smokers. 96 smokers were randomized to yoga breathing or video control groups (Shahab et
al., 2013). Yoga breathing included deep breathing and alternate nostril breathing for 10 minutes while
the video control group was shown a breathing exercise video for 10 minutes. The symptoms includ-
ing strength of urges, cravings and desire to smoke were immediately alleviated after yoga breathing
compared to video control group.

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Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices

CONCLUSION

Yoga breathing practices have drawn scientific attention on discovering the various health related ben-
efits. Numerous studies have shown significant health effects of these practices which include, but are
not limited to, improvement in cognitive functions, improvement in lung functions, metabolism, better
performance in fine motor tasks and modulation of the autonomic nervous system towards a physiologi-
cally relaxed state. In addition, yoga breathing practices are found to be effective for managing symptoms
and associated psychological problems in several diseases. Though the yoga breathing practices are
easy to learn and are generally (but not completely) harmless, they are recommended to be practiced in
competent supervision only, especially when practiced for therapeutic purpose.
The body of literature is continuously growing in the field of yoga research, nevertheless, robust
trials are required to conclusively investigate and understand the effects associated with yoga breathing
practices. So far, the available literature suggests that these yoga breathing practices can be practiced
for general health and wellness, as well as an add-on therapy in many diseases.

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19
 Psychophysiological Effects and the Applications of Yoga Breathing Practices

APPENDIX 1

Table 1. Studies reporting the psychophysiological effects of pranayamas

Sl. No. Citation Name of pranayama Sample, study design and variables Results
Sample: 26 long-term yoga practitioners and
1. Yoga practitioners exhibited augmented RSA compared to controls
26 age- and sex-matched controls
Yogic slow breathing or during unpaced breathing.
1. Bertisch et al., 2017 Design: cross-sectional
bhastrika pranayama 2. RSA did not differ between groups during paced breathing at 0.25
Variables: cardiac vagal outflow as assessed
Hz.
by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA).
1. Significant increase in the standard deviation of all NN intervals,
Sample: 12 adults
low-frequency (LF) component, LF/HF (low frequency/high
Design: before and after
frequency) ratio and significant decrease in the HF component during
2. Bhagat et al., 2017 Anuloma-viloma pranayama Variables: heart rate variability (HRV), blood
anuloma-viloma pranayama.
pressure variability (BPV) and baroreflex
2. A significant increase in total power in systolic BPV, diastolic BPV
sensitivity (BRS)
and mean BPV.
Sample: 22 healthy school boys
Bhavanani et al., Decrease in visual reaction time and auditory reaction time after
3. Mukhabhastrika Design: before and after
2003 mukhabhastrika.
Variables: reaction time
Sample: 20 yoga trained volunteers
Bhavanani et al., Suryabhedana, Design: self as control Heart rate and blood pressure reduced following chandrabhedana,
4.
2014 chandrabhedana, nadishuddhi Variables: reaction time, heart rate and blood and nadisuddhi, and increased after suryabhedana.
pressure
1. Significant increase in all variables, i.e.,forced vital capacity,
Sample: 30 males maximum voluntary ventilation and peak expiratory flow rate after
5. Budhi et al., 2019 Bhastrika pranayama Design: randomized controlled trial bhastrika.
Variables: pulmonary function test 2. Significant increase in peak expiratory flow rate and maximum
voluntary ventilation after physical activity.
Sample: 51 females Increase in the recall of digit span-forward, digit-span backward,
Left, right and alternate nostril
6. Garg et al., 2016 Design: randomized comparative trial associate learning and spatial memory scores with left, right and
breathing
Variables: memory testing alternate nostril breathing.
Sample: 15 adults
Design: self as control
Backward total scores and backward Corsi span improved after breath
7. Gupta et al., 2019 Kapalabhati Variables: working memory and spatial
awareness.
memory scores using the Corsi block-tapping
task
Sample: 27 swimmers
Improvement in the pranayama group as compared to control group
Bhastrika pranayama, anulom- Design: randomized controlled trial
8. Hakked et al., 2017 in maximal voluntary ventilation, forced vital capacityand number of
vilom pranayama Variables: pulmonary function test and state
strokes per breath.
anxiety
Sample: 30 male participants
1. The P300 peak latency decreased after kapalabhati.
9. Joshi &Telles, 2009 Kapalabhati Design: before and after
2. The P300 peak amplitude increased after breath awareness.
Variables: P300 event related potential
Sample: 30 medical students A significant effect of phase was present, but group and gender did
Design: randomized controlled trial not have statistically significant influence on the mean anxiety scores.
10. Kamath et al., 2017 Anuloma-viloma pranayama
Variables: visual analog mood scale and self- The test group showed a trend towards lower mean scores for the
statements during public speaking scale anxiety factor.
Improvement in all pulmonary function parameters including forced
Sample: 90 healthy adolescents
Kuppusamy et al., vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in first second
11. Bhramari pranayama Design: randomized controlled trial
2017 (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio, maximum voluntary ventilation and peak
Variables: pulmonary function test
expiratory flow rate in the bhramari pranayama group.
Sample: 90 healthy adolescents There was a decrease in heart rate, pulse pressure, mean arterial
Kuppusamy et al.,
12. Bhramari pranayama Design: randomized controlled trial pressure, rate pressure product and double product following
2016
Variables: heart rate and blood pressure bhramari pranayama.
Sample: 30 students
Design: pre-post
1. Increase in respiratory pressures and respiratoryendurance
Variables: visual reaction time and auditory
Madanmohan et al., Savitripranayam and following Savitri pranayama.
13. reaction time, maximum expiratory pressure
2005 Bhastrika pranayama 2. Heart rate, rate pressure product and double product decreased in
and maximum inspiratory pressure, blood
savitri pranayama group and increased in bhastrikagroup.
pressure, heart rate, double product and rate-
pressure product.
Sample: single subject
Miles & Behanan, Ujjayi, kapalabhati and Increase in oxygen consumption during pranayama compared to
14. Design: before, during and after
1934 bhastrika pranayama sitting and as well as compared to reclined.
Variables: metabolic rate
Sample: single subject
Ujjayi, kapalabhati and
15. Miles, 1964 Design: before, during and after A 12-35 percent increase in the oxygen consumption.
bhastrika pranayama
Variables: metabolic rate
Sample: 100 male adults
Design: randomized controlled trial
Slow breathing or bhastrika Decrease in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood
16. Naik et al., 2018 Variables: perceived stress scale, body mass
pranayama pressure and perceived stress in the experimental group.
index, waist-hip ratio, heart rate and blood
pressure

continued on following page

20
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
Stuarts were taken for preservation. Suppressed at the Revolution, the
convent was subsequently razed to the ground by Napoléon, who planned
the erection of a palace there for his son the “Roi de Rome.” The old street
has still several old houses easily recognized: Nos. 5, 9, 19, etc. The church,
on the site of an eleventh-century chapel, dates from the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, with a nineteenth-century chapel and presbytery.
Avenue du Trocadéro, since 4th July, 1918, Avenue Wilson, was
inaugurated as Avenue de l’Empereur, (Napoléon III). The palace, now a
museum and concert-hall, was built on the crest of ancient quarries, for the
Exhibition of 1878, and the Place du Roi de Rome, in previous days Place
Ste-Marie, became Place du Trocadéro. The Musée Galliera, a museum of
industrial art, was built in 1895 by the duchess whose maiden name
Brignole is recorded in the short street opened across her property in 1879.
She had planned filling it with her magnificent collection of pictures, but
changed the destination of her legacy when France laicised her schools.
Avenue Henri-Martin began, like Avenue du Trocadéro, as Avenue de
l’Empereur (1858). The old tour we see at No. 86 Rue de le Tour is said to
have formed part of the Manor of Philippe-le-Bel. It was once a prison, then
served as a windmill tower, and the street, erewhile Chemin des Moines,
Monk’s Road, became Rue du Moulin de la Tour. Few other vestiges of the
past remain along its course. We see old houses at Nos. 1, 66, 68. Rue
Vineuse, crossing it, recalls the days when convent vineyards stretched
there. It is, like Rue Franklin, once Rue Neuve des Minimes, of eighteenth-
century date. Franklin’s statue was set up there in 1906, for his centenary.
We see an old-time house at No. 1 Rue Franklin, and at No. 8 the home of
Clemenceau, the capable Prime Minister of France of the late war. The
cemetery above the reservoir was opened in 1803.
 CHAPTER XLIV

TOWARDS THE WESTERN BOUNDARY

R UE DE PASSY, the ancient Grande Rue, the village High Street before
the district was included within the Paris boundary-line, dates from
fifteenth-century days, when it was a fief, owned by Jeanne de Paillard,
known as La Dame de Passy; it reverted to the Crown under Louis XI, and
was bestowed on successive nobles. At the carrefour—the cross roads—
where the tramcars now stop for Rue de la Tour, stood the seignorial
gallows. The seignorial habitation, a château with extensive grounds, was
built in 1678; in 1826 the whole domain was sold and cut up. The district
was known far and wide in past days on account of its mineral springs. Here
and there along the street we see an ancient house still standing. The narrow
impasse at No. 24 is ancient. The nineteenth-century poet Gustave Nadaud
died at No. 63 in 1893. No. 84, now razed, showed, until a few years ago,
an interesting Louis XV façade in the courtyard, once a dependency of the
Château de la Muette. Rue de la Pompe, named from the pump which
supplied the Château de la Muette with water, a country road in the
eighteenth century, shows few vestiges of the past. No. 53 is part of an old
Carmelite convent.
Chaussée de la Muette is a nineteenth-century prolongation of Rue de
Passy. The château from which it takes its name was originally a hunting-
lodge, stags and birds were carefully enclosed here during the time of
moulting (la mue, hence the name) in the days of Charles IX. Margaret de
Valois, the notorious Reine Margot, was its first regular inhabitant. She
gave the mansion to King Louis XIII when he came of age in 1615. It was
rebuilt by the Regent in 1716 and became the favourite abode of his
daughter the duchesse de Berri. There she died three years later. It was the
home of Louis XV during his minority. Mme de Pompadour lived there and
had the doors beautifully painted. It was again rebuilt in 1764, Marie-
Antoinette and the Dauphin, soon to be Louis XVI, spent the first months of
their married life there. It was from the Park de la Muette that the first
balloon was sent up in 1783. The property was cut up in 1791, and in 1820
bought by Sebastien Érard of pianoforte fame, and once more rebuilt. Thus
it came by the spindle-side to the comte de Franqueville; a big slice has
been cut off in recent years for the making of a new street named after its
present owner.[G]

RUE DES EAUX, PASSY

Avenue du Ranelagh records the existence, in the latter years of the

eighteenth century, of the fashionable dancing hall and grounds opened here
in imitation of the Rotonde built in London by Lord Ranelagh. Marie-
Antoinette was among the great ladies who danced there. The hall was
closed at the Revolution but was reopened and again the vogue under the
Directoire and until 1830, when it became a public dancing saloon. It was
demolished in 1858, the lawns were left to form a promenade. The statue of
La Fontaine dates from 1891. Rue du Ranelagh is wholly modern. Rue
Raynouard crossing it dates from the seventeenth century, when it was the
Grande Rue, later the Haute Rue of the quarter, to become later still Rue
Basse. Florian, the charming fable-writer, was wont to stay at No. 75. We
see a fine old hôtel at No. 69, and an old-world street, Rue Guillou, close
by. Rue des Vignes opening at No. 72 reminds us of the vineyards once on
these sunny slopes. No. 66 was the site of the hôtel Valentinois, where
Franklin lived for several years and where he put up the first lightning
conductor in France. No. 51 is ancient, and No. 47 is known as la Maison
de Balzac. In a pavilion in the garden sloping to the Seine he lived from
1842-48, lived and wrote, wrote incessantly there as elsewhere and always.
There, carefully preserved, may be seen the chair he sat in, the table he
wrote at, the pen he used, and a hundred other personal relics. Lectures
about the great novelist and subjects connected with his life and work are
given there from time to time. We see ancient houses on to the end of this
quaint street. Marie-Antoinette stayed from time to time at No. 42 to be
within easy reach of her confessor, the Vicar of Passy; so tradition says. The
second story of this house sheltered Béranger, 1833-35. The man of letters
who gave his name to the street died at No. 36, in 1836. At No. 21, the
warrior, la Tour d’Auvergne, passed the years 1776-1800. Jean Jacques
Rousseau stayed with friends here and wrote his “Devin du Village.”
Mineral waters, such as made the springs of Passy renowned in bygone
days, still bubble up in this fine park. The modern erection, No. 19, is on the
site of the ancient hôtel Lauzun, where the duc de Saint-Simon used to stay,
and where the first steps were taken for the marriage of Napoléon III. At
No. 11 we turn for an instant into the quaint old Rue des Eaux, strikingly
reminiscent of a past age, when the tonifying waters of Passy were drunk in
a pavilion on the site of No. 20. Rue de l’Annonciation began in the early
years of the eighteenth century as Rue des Moulins. Here we see the church
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, built as a chapel of ease for Auteuil by the Lord of
Passy in 1660, to become a parish church, a few years later. It was restored
and enlarged at subsequent dates. The ancient Passy cemetery lay across
Rue Lekain. Rue de Boulainvilliers stretches through what were once the
grounds of the Passy Château. Rue des Bauches, opening out of it, still
narrow and quaint, was in olden days a lane through the Bauches, a word
signifying a marshy tract or used to designate hut-like dwellings on waste,
perhaps marshy land. Passy had within its bounds the Hautes Bauches, and
the Basses Bauches. We of the 16th arrondissement know the street
nowadays more especially as that of the tax-paying office.
Rue de l’Assomption marking the boundary between Passy and Auteuil
began as Rue des Tombereaux. The convent of the Assomption is a modern
building (1858), in an ancient park. The old château there, so secluded on
its tree-surrounded site as to go by the name of l’Invisible, rebuilt in 1782,
was for a time the home of Talleyrand, later of the actress Rachel, of Thiers,
the statesman, of the comtesse de Montijo, mother of the Empress Eugénie;
the nuns came here from Rue de Chaillot in 1855. No. 88 is an old convent-
chapel used as chapel of ease for Passy.
In Avenue de Mozart we see modern structures only, but old-time streets
open out of it at intervals. It was in a house in Rue Bois-le-Vent, near the
château de la Muette, that André Chenier was arrested in 1794. Behind No.
13, of Rue Davioud we find traces of an old farmyard and a well. Rue de la
Cure refers by its name to the iron springs once there. Rue de Ribéra is the
ancient Rue de la Croix. Rue de la Source, was in old days Sente des
Vignes. Benedictine nuns from St-Maur settled there in 1899 to be banished
or laicized a few years later. Rue Raffet dates from the eighteenth century as
Rue de la Grande Fontaine. Rue du Docteur Blanche, named to memorize
the organizer of the well-known private asylum in the hôtel once the
dwelling of princesse de Lamballe, is the ancient Fontis Road. Rue Poussin,
and the short streets connected with it, all date from the middle of the
nineteenth century, opened by the railway company of the Ceinture line in
the vicinity of their station at Auteuil. Rue des Perchamps, once Pares
Campi, crosses the site of the ancient cemetery of the district. In Rue la
Fontaine, in olden days known for its fountain of pure water, we find here
and there an eighteenth-century building among the garden-surrounded
houses. In Rue Théophile Gautier, a tennis-court and tall houses let in flats
cover the ground where till 1908 stood the Château de Choiseul-Praslin, in
its latter years, till 1904, a convent of Dominican nuns. Rue de Remusat
runs along the course of the ancient Grande Rue; Rue Félicien-David was
the first street flooded in the great inundation of 1910.[H] The street became
a river three mètres deep. Rue Wilhem, of so commonplace an aspect to-
day, dates from the eighteenth century, when it was Sentier des Arches, then
Rue Ste-Geneviève. Place d’Auteuil, until 1867 Place d’Aguesseau, is on
the site of the churchyard of past days. The monument we see there was set
up to the memory of D’Aguesseau and his wife by command of Louis XV,
in 1753. This is the highest point in the district, altus locus—the origin,
maybe, of the name Auteuil, unless the name refers rather to the Druidical
altars erected on a clearing here in the days when the forest of Rouvray,
spreading over the whole of what is now the Bois de Boulogne, sheltered
the venerable pagan priests. A church was first built on the spot in the early
years of the fourteenth century. At the Revolution the church was profaned,
the tombs violated. The present edifice dates from the latter years of the
nineteenth century; its tower, in the form of a pontifical tiara, is an exact
copy of the ancient tower. Rue d’Auteuil was in fifteenth-century days the
single village street, la Grande Rue; the house at No. 2 is said to be on the
site of Molière’s country dwelling, but there is no authentic record of the
exact site of the house at Auteuil, near the church, where the great dramatist
so often went for rest and country air. Auteuil was the retreat for quiet and
recuperation of the most noted men of letters and of art of the eighteenth
century: Racine, Boileau, etc. No. 59 is on the site of the house, burnt to the
ground in 1871, wherein Victor Noir was shot dead by Prince Pierre
Napoléon. Where at the upper end of the street we see now houses of
commonplace aspect and small shops, stood until the middle of the
nineteenth century the Château du Coq, inhabited by Louis XV in his
childhood, and surrounded later by a horticulturist’s garden.
Avenue de Versailles, in the south of the arrondissement, shows us along
its line, and in the short streets leading out of it, many old-time vestiges.
The Auteuil cemetery in Rue Chardon-Lagache dates from 1800. The house
of retreat, Ste-Perine, transferred here from Chaillot in 1850, is on land
once part of the estate of the abbots of the old monastery Ste-Geneviève,
away on the high ground across the Seine at the other end of the city. Rue
Molitor has at No. 18 a group of modern houses named Villa Boileau,
property once owned by the poet. Boileau’s Auteuil house was on the site of
No. 26, in the quaint picturesque old Rue Boileau, where his gardener’s
cottage still stands. Rue de Musset, opening out of the street at No. 67,
reminds us that the friend of George Sand dwelt here with his parents in the
early years of the nineteenth century.
 CHAPTER XLV

LES TERNES
ARRONDISSEMENT XVII. (BATIGNOLLES-MONCEAU)

A NUMBER of small dwellings lying without the city bounds to the

north, in the commune of Clichy, were known in the fifteenth century
as “les Batignolles,” i.e. the little buildings. Separated from Clichy in
the nineteenth century, the district of les Batignolles was joined to
Monceau. New streets were built, old erections swept away: Avenue de
Clichy, in part the Grande Rue of the district, was first planted with trees in
1705. At intervals along its course, and in the short streets connected with
it, we find eighteenth-century houses, none of special interest. At No. 3, the
Taverne de Paris is decorated with paintings by modern artists. A famous
restaurant, dating from 1793, stood till 1906 at No. 7. At No. 52 of Rue
Balagny, opening out of the Avenue, we see the sign “Aux travailleurs,” and
on the façade, words to the effect that the house was built during the war
years 1870-71. At No. 154 of the Avenue, we find the quiet leafy Cité des
Fleurs. Rue des Dames was a road leading to the abbey “des dames de
Montmartre” in the seventeenth century. Rue de Lévis was in long-gone
ages a road leading to what was then the village of Monceaux, its name
derived perhaps from the Latin Muxcellum, a mossy place, more probably
from Monticellum, a mound, or from Mons calvas, the bald or bare mount.
The Château de Monceaux was on the site of Place Lévis. The official
palace of the Papal Nuncio was in Rue Legendre, No. 11 bis. The modern
church St-Charles we see here, built in 1907, was previously a Barnabite
chapel. Rue Léon-Cosnard dates from the seventeenth century, when it was
Rue du Bac d’Asnières. In the old Rue des Moines we find one of the few
French protestant churches of Paris.
Avenue de Villiers, leading of old to the village of Villiers, now
incorporated with Levallois-Perret, was, from its formation in 1858 to the
year 1873, Avenue de Neuilly. Puvis de Chavannes died at No. 89, in 1898.
Avenue de Wagram in its course from the Arc de Triomphe to Place des
Ternes dates from the Revolution year 1789, known then as Avenue de
l’Étoile. Avenue MacMahon began as Avenue du Prince Jerôme. Avenue
des Ternes is the ancient route de St-Germain, subsequently known as the
old Reuilly Road—Reuilly is half-way to St-Germain—later as Rue de la
Montagne du Bon-Air, to become on the eve of its début as an Avenue,
route des Ternes, the chief road of the terra externa, the territory beyond the
city bounds on that side. The village Les Ternes was taken within the Paris
boundary line in 1860. The barrière du Roule was surrounded in the past by
a circular road, now Place des Ternes. We find important vestiges of the fine
Château des Ternes in the neighbourhood of Rue Bayen, Rue Guersant and
Rue Demours. The church St-Ferdinand built in 1844-47 was named in
memory of the duc d’Orléans, killed near the spot.
 CHAPTER XLVI

ON THE BUTTE
ARRONDISSEMENT XVIII. (BUTTE MONTMARTRE)

W E are on supremely interesting ground here, ground at once sacred,

historic and characteristic of the mundane life of the city above which
it stands. At or near its summit, St-Denis and his two companions
were put to death in the early days of Christianity. On the hill-side most
memorable happenings have been lived through. In the old streets and
houses up and down its slopes poets and artists have ever dwelt, worked
and played, and in its theatres, its music-halls, cabarets, etc., Parisians of all
classes have sought amusement—good and evil. In past days Paris
depended on Montmartre for its daily bread, for the flour that made it was
ground by the innumerable windmills of the Butte. The sails of many of
those windmills worked far into the reign of Napoléon III, who did not
admire their aspect and even had a scheme for levelling the Butte! So it is
said. Reaching the arrondissement by the Rue des Martyrs, which begins, as
we know, in arrondissement IX, we come upon two buildings side by side
of very opposite uses: the Comédie Mondaine, formerly the famous
Brasserie des Martyrs and Divan Japonais, and the Asile Nationale de la
Providence, an institution founded in 1804 as a retreat for aged and fallen
gentlepeople.
The hôtel at No. 79 is on the site of the Château d’hiver, where the
Revolutionists of Montmartre had their club. No. 88 was the dancing-saloon
known as the Bossu. No. 76 that of the Marronniers. Rue Antoinette shows
us points of interest of another nature. At No. 9, in the couvent des Dames
Auxiliatrices du Purgatoire, we see the very spot on which there is reason to
believe St. Denis and his companions suffered martyrdom. An ancient crypt
is there, unearthed in the year 1611, to which we are led down rough steps,
beneath a chapel built on the site in 1887; we see a rude altar and above it
words in Latin to the effect that St-Denis had invoked the name of the Holy
Trinity on that spot. The crypt is no doubt a vestige of the chapel built on
the site by Ste-Geneviève. It was in this chapel, not as is sometimes asserted
higher up the Butte, that Ignatius Loyola and his six companions, on August
15, 1574, made the solemn vow which resulted in the institution of the
Order of the Jesuits. The chapel was under the jurisdiction of the “Dames de
Montmartre,” and after the great fire at the abbey the nuns sought refuge in
the old chapel here, made it a priory. Several persons of note were buried
there. At the Revolution it was knocked to pieces and remained a ruin until
rebuilt by the abbé Rebours in 1887.
Leaving this interesting spot and passing through Rue Tardieu, we reach
Place St-Pierre, formerly known as Place Piemontési, and go on through
Rue Foyatier to the ancient Rue St-Eleuthère, once in part of its length Rue
du Pressoire, a name recalling the abbey winepress on the site of the
reservoir we see there now. Thus we come to Rue Mont-Cenis, the ancient
Chaussée St-Denis, and in part of its course, Rue de la Procession, referring
to the religious processions of those bygone days. And here we see before
us the most ancient of Paris churches, St-Pierre de Montmartre. It dates
from the first years of the ninth century, built on the site of an earlier chapel
or several successive chapels, the first one erected over the ruins of a pagan
temple. Four black marble pillars from the ruins of that temple were used
for the Christian church: we see them there to-day, two at the west door,
two in the chancel. We see there, too, ancient tombstones, one that of
Adelaide de Savoie, foundress of the abbey, for the Choir des Dames was
the abbey chapel, and there the abbesses were buried. The old church was
threatened with destruction after the desecration of 1871, when it was used
as a munition dépôt. Happily it has been saved and in recent years restored.
The façade is eighteenth-century work, quite uninteresting as we see, but
the view of the east end from without, the apse, the old tower and the
simply severe Gothic interior, are strikingly characteristic. The cross we see
in front of the church was brought here from an old cemetery near. The
garden adjoining, with the Calvaire set up there in 1833, was in ancient
days the nun’s graveyard. The cemetery on the northern side dates from the
time of the Merovingian kings.
 ST-PIERRE DE MONTMARTRE

Leaving the most ancient of Paris churches we come to the most

remarkable among the modern churches of Paris and of France—l’Église du
Vœu National, commonly known as the Sacré-Cœur. It is an impressively
historic structure for it was built after the disasters of 1870-71, by “La
France humiliée et repentante,” a votive church erected by national
subscription. To make its foundations sure on the summit of the Butte,
chosen as being the site of the martyrdom of St-Denis, patron saint of the
city, the hill was probed to its base, almost to the level of the Seine, and a
gigantic foundation of hard rock-like stone built upwards. The huge edifice
rests upon a vast crypt, with chapels and passages throughout its entire
extent. It has taken more than forty years to build; the north tower was
finished just before the outbreak of the war, now advancing to a triumphal
end, for which grand services of thanksgiving will ere long be held in this
church built after defeat. The interior is still uncompleted. Looking at it
from close at hand, the immense Byzantine structure with its numerous
domes, seems to us æsthetically somewhat unsatisfying, but from a distance
dominating Paris, seen as it often is through a feathery haze, or with the sun
shining on it, the vast white edifice makes an imposing effect. Its great bell,
la Savoyarde, given by the diocese of Chambéry, weighs more than 26,000
kilogrammes, and its sound reaches many miles.
VIEUX MONTMARTRE, RUE ST-VINCENT
(Maison de Henri IV)

RUE MONT-CENIS
(Chapelle de la Trinité)
 Rue Chevalier de la Barre, bordering the church on the north, was
formerly in part of its length Rue des Rosiers, in part Rue de la Fontenelle,
referring to a spring in the vicinity. In a wall of the Abri St-Joseph at No.
26, we see the bullet-holes made by the Communards who shot there two
French Generals in March, 1871. Going up Rue Mont-Cenis we see
interesting old houses at every step. No. 22 was the home of the musician
Berlioz and his English wife Constance Smithson. Crossing this long street
from east to west at this point, the winding hill-side Rue St-Vincent with its
ancient walls, its trees, its grassy roadway, makes us feel very far removed
from the city lying in the plain below. At No. 40 is the little cemetery St-
Vincent. Returning to Rue Mont-Cenis we find at No. 53 a girls’ college
amid vestiges of the ancient, famous porcelaine factory, the factory of
“Monsieur” under the patronage of the comte de Provence, brother of Louis
XV. The tower we see there was that of the windmill which ground the
silex. At No. 61 we come upon a farm dating from 1782, la Vacherie de la
Tourelle. At No. 67 an old inn once the Chapelle de la Trinité (sixteenth
century).

VIEUX MONTMARTRE
(Cabaret du Lapin-Agile)

Returning to the vicinity of St-Pierre and the Sacré-Cœur, we find

numerous short streets, generally narrow and tortuous, which retain their
old-world aspect. Rue St-Eleuthère is one of the most ancient. Rue St-
Rustique formerly Rue des Dames, Rue Ravignan once Rue du Vieux-
Chemin, Rue Cortot, Rue Norvins, Rue des Saules, are all seventeenth-
century thoroughfares. Rue Norvins was Rue des Moulins in bygone days.
No. 23 was a far-famed folie, then, in 1820, the celebrated Dr. Blanche
founded there his first asylum for the insane, many of whom he cured. At
No. 9 we come to an old house and alley, the impasse Trainée, a name
recalling the days when Montmartre was, in wintry weather, a wolf-haunted
district: a trainée is a wolf-trap. The inn at No. 6 was in the past a resort of
singers in search of an engagement: the impecunious could bring food to eat
there. On the Place du Tertre two trees of liberty were planted in 1848,
felled in 1871. No. 3 is the site of the first Mairie of Montmartre. Passing
along Rue du Calvaire we come to the rustic Place du Calvaire, erewhile
Place Ste-Marie.
A very chief interest at Montmartre is the view. It is best obtained from
the Belvedere built by baron de Vaux at No. 39 Rue Gabrielle, and from the
Moulin de la Galette reached through Rue des Trois-Frères. Rue de la Mire
was in olden days Petite Rue des Moulins. The steps we see are said to have
been put there for the passage of cattle.
The cellars of the house at No. 7, Rue la Vieuville are vestiges of the
ancient abbey. Place des Abbesses was erewhile Rue de l’Abbaye. On the
ancient place we find the most modern and most modern-style church in
Paris, St-Jean l’Evangeliste, built of concrete. The Passage des Abbesses
leads by an old flight of steps to Rue des Trois-Frères, a modern street. Rue
Lepic, for some years after its formation Rue de l’Empereur (Napoléon III),
was renamed in memory of the General who defended the district in 1814.
Numerous old streets are connected with it. Avenue des Tilleuls recalls the
days when lime-trees flourished there, the lime-trees memorized in
Alphonse Karr’s novel Sous les Tilleuls. In the Square where it ends is an
eighteenth-century house where François Coppée dwelt as a boy. The
severely wall-enclosed hôtel at No. 72 was the home of the artist Ziem.
Close here is the entrance to the Moulin de la Galette. At the top of the
house No. 100 there is an astronomical observatory set up under Napoléon
III. The Rue Girardon, a rural pathway in the seventeenth century, was
known later as Rue des Brouillards, the point no doubt from which the city
lying below was to be seen fog-enveloped, as is not unfrequently the case.
The old house No. 13 goes by the name le Château des Brouillards. In the
impasse at No. 5 stood in ancient days the Fontaine St-Denis. Its waters
were of great repute, assuring, it was said, in women who drank them, the
virtue of conjugal fidelity. And here through the short street Rue des Deux-
Frères we reach the historic Moulin de la Galette. It dates from the twelfth
century and has seen tragic days. Its owners defended it with frantic
courage in 1814, whereupon one of them, taken by the attacking Cosaques,
was roped to the whirling wheel. It was again assailed in 1871. The
property was owned by the same family from the year 1640, a private
property, a farm, a country inn, where dancing often went on as a mere
private pastime till, in 1833, its landlord, an expert in the art of dancing,
decided to turn his talent to pecuniary account and opened there the famous
public dancing-hall. Rue Caulaincourt, erewhile quaint and rural, has lost of
late years almost all its old-time characteristics. Rue Lamarck has become
quite modern in its aspect. Rue Marcadet was known in the seventeenth
century as Rue des Bœufs—Ox Street. At No. 71 we find a fine
seventeenth-century hôtel, now a girls’ school, hôtel Labat, and another
good old house, also a girls’ school, at No. 75; at No. 91 yet another. The
modern structures at No. 101 are on the site of the ancient manor-house of
Clignancourt. The turret at No. 103 is probably the relic of an old windmill.
Rue de la Fontaine du But records the name of a drinking fountain,
demolished some forty years ago, said to have been set up there by the
Romans. Tradition has it the word but was once buc, and referred to the
Roman rite of the sacrifice of a buck to Mercury. According to another
legend, “but,” i.e. aim, referred to the English archers who when in France
made that spot their practising-ground. Rue du Ruisseau owes its name to
the stream of water which flowed through it on the demolition of the
ancient fountain. The seventeenth-century Rue de Maistre, bordering the
northern cemetery, is the ancient Chemin des Dames. Rue Eugène-Carrière,
opening out of it, was till quite recently Rue des Grandes Carrières,
memorizing the big quarries whence from time immemorial has been
obtained the white stone, so marked a feature of Paris buildings, and the
world-famed plaster of Paris.
 MOULIN DE LA GALETTE

Rue Damrémont is modern; in the little Rue des Cloys opening out of it
at No. 102 we see vestiges of a curious old cité of wooden dwellings. Rue
Neuve de la Chardonnière recalls the days when it was a thistle-grown road.
Rue du Poteau reminds us of the gallows of the St-Ouen road. The Avenue
de Clichy and the Avenue St-Ouen which form the boundary of the
arrondissement, both date back as important roads to the seventeenth
century. Along them we find here and there traces of ancient buildings,
none of special interest. To the east of the boulevards Ornano and Barbes,
which run through the arrondissement from north to south, we find
numerous ancient streets, mostly short. The street of chief importance is
Rue des Poissonniers, its lower end merged in boulevard Barbes. We see
several unimportant old houses along its course. The impasse du Cimetière
and the schools we see there are on the site of an old graveyard. In Rue
Affre, bearing the name of the archbishop of Paris slain on the barricades in
1848 (see p. 250), we find the modern church St-Bernard, of pure fifteenth-
century Gothic as to style, but far inferior in workmanship to the Gothic
structures of ages past. Rue de la Chapelle, known in Napoléon’s time as
Faubourg de la Gloire, began as the Calais Road, then became the Grande
Rue de la Chapelle. La Chapelle is a spot of remarkable historic memories.
It began as the Village des Roses—in days when roses, wild and cultivated,
grew in abundance in what is now a Paris slum. Then the population,
remembering that Ste-Geneviève had stopped to rest and pray in the church
on her way to St-Denis, called their village La Chapelle-Ste-Geneviève.
Later it was named la Chapelle-St-Denis. To the church at la Chapelle went
Jeanne d’Arc in the fateful year 1425. We find ancient houses all along the
course of this old thoroughfare, and at No. 96 the church dedicated to St-
Denis, built by Maurice de Sully, the chancel of that thirteenth-century
structure still intact, after going through two disastrous fires and suffering
damage in times of war. It has been enlarged in recent years. The statue of
Jeanne d’Arc there dates from the reign of Louis XVI.
A popular fair, la Foire de Lendit, instituted by Dagobert, was held
during centuries at the extreme end of the ancient thoroughfare. No. 122,
built, tradition tells us, by Henri IV and given to his minister Sully, became
in the seventeenth century the Cabaret de la Rose Blanche. At No. 1 Rue
Boucry we see an ancient chapel now used as a public hall.
 CHAPTER XLVII

AMONG THE COALYARDS AND THE MEAT-

MARKETS
ARRONDISSEMENT XIX. (BUTTES-CHAUMONT)

I N this essentially workaday district we see many houses old and quaint,
but without architectural beauty or special historic interest. Round the
park des Buttes-Chaumont, a large expanse of greenswards and shady
alleys, dull, squalid streets branch out amid coal-yards and factories.
Beneath the park are the ancient quarries which erewhile gave so much
white stone and plaster of Paris to the city builders. The name Chaumont is
derived, perhaps, from mons calvus, mont chauve, i.e. bald mountain. In
Rue de Flandres, formerly Grande Rue de la Villette, we see a Jewish
cemetery. Nos. 61 to 65 are on the site where the well-known institution
Ste-Perine, come hither from Compiègne, was first established in Paris as a
convent community in the seventeenth century, removed to Chaillot in
1742, then to Auteuil, its present site. We find ancient houses, some old
signs, along the course of this old street, and at No. 152 an interesting door,
pavilion and bas-relief.
Rue de Belleville marks the bounds of the arrondissement. Along its
course and in the adjacent streets we see many vestiges of the past. Rue des
Bois shows us some fine old gardens as yet undisturbed. In Rue de l’Orme,
Elm Road, opening out of it, we find the remains of an ancient park. Rue
Pré-St-Gervais was a country road till 1837. From the top of the steps in the
picturesque Rue des Lilas we have a fine view across the neighbouring
banlieue. In the grounds of No. 40 we come upon three benches formed of
gravestones. Rue Compans was in the eighteenth century and onwards Rue
St-Denis. The church of St-Jean-Baptiste, quite modern, is of excellent style
and workmanship. The lower end of Rue de Belleville leads us into
arrondissement XX.
 CHAPTER XLVIII

PÈRE-LACHAISE
ARRONDISSEMENT XX. (MÉNILMONTANT)

T HE lower end of the long Rue de Belleville, its odd-number side in

arrondissement XIX, went in olden days by the name Rue des Courtilles
—Inn Street. Inns, cabarets, popular places of amusement stood door by
door all along its course. Here, as in arrondissement XIX, we find on every
side old houses and vestiges of the past, but of no particular interest beyond
the quaintness of their aspect. Rue Pelleport began in the eighteenth century
as an avenue encircling the park of Ménilmontant. In the grounds
surrounding the reservoirs we come upon a tomb, a modern gravestone,
covering the remains of a municipal functionary whose dying wish was to
be buried on his own estate.
Rue Haxo, crossing Rue Belleville at No. 278 and running up into
arrondissement XIX, is of tragic memory. Opening out of it at No. 85 we
see the Villa des Otages. There the Commune sat in 1871, there the fate of
the hostages was decided; there on the 26th May, 1871, fifty-two of those
unhappy prisoners were slain. The Jesuits owned the property till its sale a
few years ago. They bought and carried away the grilles and whatever else
was transportable from the cells where the victims had been shut up.
Rue Ménilmontant, running parallel to Rue de Belleville, dates from the
seventeenth century, when it was a country road leading to the thirteenth-
century hamlet Mesnil Mantems, later Mesnil Montant. The land there
belonged in great part to the abbey St-Antoine and to the priory of Ste-
Croix de la Bretonnerie; a château de Ménilmontant was built, under Louis
XIV, where in the wide-stretching grounds we see the reservoirs. At Nos.
155 and 157 we see old pavilions surrounded by gardens. The eighteenth-
century house, No. 145, was in the nineteenth century taken by a society
calling itself the St-Simoniens—some forty men who had decided to live
together and have all things in common. They did not remain together long.
No. 119 is the school directed by the Sœurs St-Vincent de Paul. At No. 101
we look down Rue des Cascades which till the middle of last century was a
country lane: leading out of it is the old Rue de Savies, recording the
ancient name of the district—Savies, i.e. montagne sauvage—wild
mountain—a name changed later to Portronville (rather a mouthful), then to
its euphonious present name Belleville. At its summit is an ancient fountain
set there in long-past ages for the use of the monks of St-Martin of Cluny,
and for the Knights-Templar; another may be seen in the grounds of No. 17.
On the Place de Ménilmontant we see the well-built modern church
Notre-Dame-de-la-Croix, on its northern side the old Rue and passage
Eupatoria. The quaint Rue de la Mare, a country road in the seventeenth
century, and Rue des Couronnes have interesting old passages running into
them.
Passing down Rue des Pyrénées, connected on either side with short old-
time streets and passages, we come to the Square Gambetta, often called
Square Père-Lachaise, and the immense Paris cemetery, the great point of
interest of the 20th arrondissement. The site was known in long-past days as
the Champ de l’Evêque—the bishop’s field. It was presently put to a very
unecclesiastical use, for a rich grocer bought the land and built thereon a
folie, i.e. an extravagant mansion. In the seventeenth century the Jesuits
bought the property and named it Mont-Louis. Louis XIV paid a visit to the
Jesuits there and subsequently bought the estate and gave it to his confessor,
Père Lachaise. When Père Lachaise died the Jesuits regained the property,
held it till the Revolution, when it was seized by the State and became the
possession of the Municipality. Passing along the avenues and alleys of this
vast, silent city on the hill-side, we see tombs of every possible description
and style, wonderful monuments and mortuary chapels, some very
beautiful, others ...! and a huge crematorium. Men and women of many
nations and of many varying creeds are gathered there. Seen on the eve of
All Saints’ Day or the day following, when fresh flowers are on every
grave, lamps burning in almost every tombstone chapel, the relatives and
the friends of the dead crowding in reverent attitude along its paths, the
scene is singularly impressive.
On its north-east boundary we find the tragic Mur des Fédérés, the wall
against which the insurgents were shot after the Commune in 1871. Blood-
red scarves, blood-red wreaths mark the graves there, and we see the names
of many who had no graves on that spot chalked up against that tragic wall.
 LE MUR DES FÉDÉRÉS

On the south side of the cemetery, running eastward, we turn into the old
Rue de Bagnolet, the road leading to the village of the name. Old houses
line this street and the streets adjoining it, and half-way up its incline on the
little Place St-Blaise we see the ancient church St-Germain de Charonne,
dating from the eleventh century. An inscription on a wall within tells us
Germain, the busy bishop of Auxerre, first met Geneviève of Nanterre here,
and tradition says the future patron saint of Paris took her vows on the spot.
There was an oratory on the site in the fifth century or little later. The
eleventh-century edifice was rebuilt in the fifteenth century, but we still see
some of the blackened walls of the earlier structure. The chevet, i.e. the
chancel-end, was destroyed in the wars of the Fronde. We see, distinctly
traced, the space it occupied bounded by the Mur des Sœurs, against which
in long-gone days were no doubt stalls for the nuns of a neighbouring
convent. Some ancient tombstones, too, are there, once within the chancel.
Mounting the broad steps we enter the old church to find curious old pillars,
ancient inscriptions, coats of arms, and in one chapel a little good old glass.
Making our way to the little cemetery of Charonne behind, we find in its
centre a grass-grown space once the fosse commune of the pits into which
the guillotinés were flung in Revolution days. Beyond, near the boundary
wall, we see a railed-in tomb, surmounted by the figure of a man in Louis
XVIII costume—Bègue, Robespierre’s private secretary. The Revolution
over, his chief dead, the man whose hand had prepared for signature so
many tragic documents withdrew to the rural district of Charonne, beyond
the Paris bounds, led a secluded, peaceful life, cultivated his bit of land and
set about preparing for his exit from this earth by designing his own tomb.
He sat for the bronze statue we see here, and had the iron railing made to
show all the implements of Revolutionary torture with which he was
familiar, the wheel that worked the guillotine, the tenailles, etc....!
Higher up towards Bagnolet we come to a vestige of the ancient
Château, a pavilion Louis XV, forming part of the modern Hospice
Debrousse.
 CHAPTER XLIX

BOULEVARDS—QUAYS—BRIDGES
THE BOULEVARDS

T HE Paris boulevards are one of the most characteristic features of the

city. The word boulevard recalls the days when Paris was fortified,
surrounded by ramparts, and the city boulevards stretch for the most
part along the lines of ancient boundary walls, boundaries then, now lines in
many instances cutting through the very heart of the Paris we know.
The Grands Boulevards run from the Place de la Madeleine to the Place
de la Bastille—gay and smart and modern, in the first kilometres of their
course; less smart, busier, more commercial, with more abundant vestiges
of bygone days as they stretch out beyond the boulevard des Italiens.
The boulevard de la Madeleine follows the line of the ancient boundary
wall of Louis XIII, razed during the first years of the eighteenth century. Its
upper part on the even-number side was one side of an old thoroughfare
reaching as far as Rue de la Chaussée d’Antin, known in its early years as
Rue Basse du Rempart. The latter part stretching to Rue Caumartin is of
recent date. The old Rue Basse des Remparts was bordered by handsome
hôtels, the dwellings of notable persons of the day: vestiges of several of
them were until recent years still seen in boulevard des Capucines—Nos. 16
to 22 razed when the new street Rue Édouard VII was cut. In the reception-
room of a seventeenth-century house that stood at the corner of the
boulevard and the Rue des Capucines known as the Colonnade, Buonaparte
first met Joséphine.
Boulevard des Italiens gained its name from the Italian theatre there in
1783. This name was changed more than once in subsequent years. After
the Revolution, when the Royalists who had taken refuge beyond the
German Rhine returned to Paris and held meetings on this boulevard, it was
nicknamed “Le Petit Coblentz.” No. 33 (eighteenth century) is the Pavillon
de Hanovre, forming part in past times of the hôtel d’Antin, which had been
owned in its later days by Richelieu, then was divided into several
dwellings, and in the time of the Merveilleuses one of these sub-divisions of
the fine old mansion became a dancing saloon, bal Richelieu, and the
meeting-place of the Incroyables. Rue du Helder, which we see opening at
No. 36, was in those days a cul-de-sac, i.e. a blind alley. The bank there
(No. 7) was erewhile the famous cabaret “le Lion d’Or,” and at No. 2
Cavaignac was arrested when Napoléon made his coup d’état. No. 22 of the
boulevard was the far-famed “Tortoni.” No. 20, rebuilt in 1839, now a post
office, is the ancient hôtel Stainville, later Maison Dorée. No. 16, till a year
or two ago Café Riche, dating from 1791. No. 15, hôtel de Lévis, was once
the Jockey Club. On the site of No. 13 stood till recent years the famous
Café Anglais. At No. 11 was the club “Salon des Italiens” in the time of
Louis XVI, subsequently the restaurant Nicolle and Café du Grand Balcon,
its first story commonly known as Salon des Princes. At No. 9 Grétry lived
from 1795 till his death, which happened at Montmorency in 1813. No. 1
Café Cardinal founded by Dangest (eighteenth century).
Boulevard Montmartre dates from the seventeenth century, lined in
olden days on both sides by handsome private mansions; we see it now a
thoroughly commercial thoroughfare, one of the busiest in the city. A
modern journalist called its carrefour—the point where it meets the Rue du
Faubourg Montmartre—“carrefour des écrasés.” From the house, now a
newspaper office, at No. 22 an underground passage ran in past days to the
Café Cardinal opposite, leading to an orangery. On the site of No. 23 stood
the gambling-house Frascati, built on the site of the old hôtel Taillepied.
The Café Véron at No. 13 dates from 1818, opened through the gardens of
the hôtel Montmorency-Luxembourg. Passage Jouffroy at No. 10 was cut,
in 1846, across the site of an ancient building known as the Maison des
Grands Artistes. The théâtre des Variétés, at No. 7, first set up at the Palais-
Royal in 1770 by “la Montansier,” was built here in 1807 on the grounds of
the hôtel Montmorency-Luxembourg. No. 1 is the site of the Café de la
Porte Montmartre, founded by Louis XV, a meeting-place of Parisians
hailing from Orléans, nicknamed Guépins.
Boulevard Poissonnières (seventeenth century) begins where hung till
recent years an ancient sign at No. 1—“Aux limites de la Ville de Paris”—
recording the inscription once on the old wall there. Most of the houses are
those originally built along the boulevard, and many old streets run into it
on either side. At No. 9 we see Rue St-Fiacre, dating from 1630, when it
was Rue du Figuier, a street closed at each end by gates till about 1800. The
restaurant Duval at No. 10 of the boulevard was an eighteenth-century
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