The present study used a multimethod approach-self-report symptom measures and psychophysiological testing-to assess the effects of Sudarshan Kriya yoga. Studies have shown that it improves emotion regulation in yoga practitioners (Gootjes, Franken, & Van Strien, 2011), reduces impulsive behavior in adolescents (Ghahremani, Oh, Dean, Mouzakis, Wilson, & London, 2013), curbs tobacco consumption and improves immune function in cancer patients (Kochupillai etВ al., 2005), lowers blood lactate and increases antioxidant levels in Sudarshan Kriya practitioners (Sharma etВ al., 2003), and increases rapid gene expression in a non-clinical population (Qu, Olafsrud, Meza-Zepeda, & Saatcioglu, 2013). We selected Sudarshan Kriya yoga because it has effectively reduced PTSD symptoms in tsunami survivors (Descilo etВ al., 2009), increased self-reported optimism and well-being in college students (Kjellgren, Bood, Axelsson, Norlander, & Saatcioglu, 2007), decreased self-reported anxiety in those with general anxiety disorder (Katzman etВ al., 2012), and decreased self-reported depression in those with melancholic depression (Janakiramaiah etВ al., 2000) as well as in alcohol-dependent inpatients (Vedamurthachar etВ al., 2006). Therefore, we investigated the impact of a breathing-based meditation, Sudarshan Kriya yoga, in Afghanistan or Iraq veterans with PTSD symptoms. They have also normalized parasympathetic activity in anxious populations not suffering from PTSD (Asmundson & Stein, 1994 Kaushik, Kaushik, Mahajan, & Rajesh, 2006 Salkovskis, Jones, & Clark, 1986) and in healthy populations with experimentally induced anxiety (Sakakibara & Hayano, 1996). Respiration and emotion are tightly coupled processes with bidirectional influence (Boiten, Frijda, & Wientjes, 1994 Philippot, Chapelle, & Blairy, 2002) and breathing interventions have boosted emotion regulatory processes in healthy populations (Arch & Craske, 2006). Breathing-based meditation practices may be particularly beneficial for PTSD given that it is a stress disorder characterized by hyperarousal, autonomic dysfunction, negative affect, and difficulties with emotion regulation (American Psychiatric Association, 2013 Sack, Hopper, & Lamprecht, 2004). The use of meditation, however, as an intervention for PTSD in veterans has not been sufficiently studied (Lang etВ al., 2012 U.S. Furthermore, results of pharmaceutical treatments are mixed (Alderman, McCarthy, & Marwood, 2009), whereas substantial residual symptoms remain after psychotherapy (Bradley, Greene, Russ, Dutra, & Westen, 2005), suggesting a critical need to evaluate alternative or supplementary approaches to treating PTSD.ДЄ growing body of evidence suggests meditation-based interventions have the potential to reduce symptoms and improve well-being (see Marchand, 2013 for review Mitchell etВ al., 2014). Despite promising advances in evidence-based treatments for PTSD (Cukor, Olden, Lee, & Difede, 2010), dropout rates remain as high as 54.0% in populations with PTSD (Brown, 2012 Schottenbauer, Glass, Arnkoff, Tendick, & Gray, 2008) and up to 62.4% in Afghanistan or Iraq veterans (e.g., Harpaz-Rotem & Rosenheck, 2011). Many veterans from the Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan war) or Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq war) suffer from pronounced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms that contribute to alarming suicide rates (Panagioti, Gooding, & Tarrier, 2009 Sher, Braquehais, & Casas, 2012 U.S. This longitudinal intervention study suggests there may be clinical utility for Sudarshan Kriya yoga for PTSD. Reductions in startle correlated with reductions in hyperarousal symptoms immediately postintervention ( r =. The active group showed reductions in PTSD scores, d = 1.16, 95% CI, anxiety symptoms, and respiration rate, but the control group did not. Laboratory measures of eye-blink startle and respiration rate were obtained before and after the intervention, as were self-report symptom measures the latter were also obtained 1 month and 1 year later. We randomly assigned 21 veterans to an active ( n = 11) or waitlist control ( n = 10) group. male veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan war. We examined the effects of a breathing-based meditation intervention, Sudarshan Kriya yoga, on PTSD outcome variables in U.S. Given the limited success of conventional treatments for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), investigations of alternative approaches are warranted.

Complete sudarshan kriya mp3