Sudarshan Kriya Yoga Program in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Feasibility Study

Kamini Vasudev; Emily Ionson; Samin Inam; Mark Speechley; Sumit Chaudhari; Sheena Ghodasara; Ronnie I Newman; Akshya Vasudev

doi:10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_16_20

Sudarshan Kriya Yoga Program in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Feasibility Study

Int J Yoga. 2020 Sep-Dec;13(3):239-246. doi: 10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_16_20. Epub 2020 Sep 13.

Authors

Kamini Vasudev^{1

2

3

4}, Emily Ionson^{2

3

4}, Samin Inam², Mark Speechley⁵, Sumit Chaudhari^{1

2}, Sheena Ghodasara^{1

2}, Ronnie I Newman^{6

7}, Akshya Vasudev^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
² Department of Psychiatry, London Health Sciences Centre, London, ON, Canada.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Mental Health Care, Parkwood Institute, St. Joseph's Health Care London, London, ON, Canada.
⁴ Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
⁶ Department of Research and Health Promotion, International Association of Human Values, Washington, DC, USA.
⁷ Health Professions Division, Lifelong Learning Institute, Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Florida, USA.

Abstract

Background: Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), a breath-based yoga intervention, has demonstrated safety and efficacy in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients subsequent to natural disaster or war, but has not been explored in civilians with PTSD from a wider range of trauma. We hypothesized that it would be feasible to conduct a clinical trial of SKY in PTSD resulting from a wide range of trauma.

Methods: Outcomes were feasibility measures including rates of enrollment and retention, adherence to study protocol; as well as changes in PTSD symptoms, other mood symptoms, and physiological measures. Male and female participants aged 18-75 years were enrolled in a feasibility trial. They attended a 6-day learning phase of SKY followed by 7 sessions over 11 weeks as an adjunct to their usual treatment.

Results: Forty-seven participants were screened and 32 were enrolled over 9 months. Consistent with retention rates of other PTSD trials, 13 withdrew from the study prior to week 12. Twenty-one participants met intervention attendance requirements, completed 95% of planned study assessments and were included in final analyses. Participants experienced clinically significant decrease in PTSD symptoms on the posttraumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL-5) scores at week 12 mean difference, M_diff (standard deviation [SD]) = -10.68 (14.03), P = 0.004; Cohen's d = 0.58, which was sustained at week 24 M_diff (SD) = -16.11 (15.20), P < 0.001; Cohen's d = 0.91.

Conclusions: It is possible to conduct a clinical trial of SKY in a routine psychiatry clinic serving patients with PTSD due to a wide range of trauma. Future studies should include an RCT design.

Keywords: Civilian posttraumatic stress disorder; Sudarshan Kriya Yoga; feasibility study; meditation; mind-body intervention; posttraumatic stress disorder.