Research article summary (published 29 Sep 2007):

Immediate effect of two yoga-based relaxation techniques on performance in a letter-cancellation task.

Full Abstract

The performance in a six-letter cancellation task was assessed with 69 male volunteers, ages 18 to 48 years, immediately before and after two yoga-based relaxation techniques and a control session of equal duration. The techniques were Cyclic Meditation and Supine Rest. Cyclic Meditation consists of alternating cycles of yoga postures and supine rest. After both practices, the net scores were significantly higher, although the magnitude of change was more after Cyclic Meditation than after Supine Rest (24.9% versus 13.6%). There was reduction in scores for wrong cancellations after Cyclic Meditation and not after Supine Rest. The control group showed no change. The results suggest that Cyclic Meditation brings about a greater improvement in performance in this task, which requires selective attention, concentration, visual scanning abilities, and a repetitive motor response.

Author information

Author/s: Sarang, S P (SP); Telles, Shirley (S);

Affiliation: Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation, No. 19 K.G. Nagar, Bangalore 560 019, India.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Perceptual and motor skills (Percept Mot Skills), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Oct; vol 105 (issue 2) : pp 379-85

Dates: Created 2007/12/10; Completed 2008/01/31;

PMID: 18065059, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent Adult Attention Humans Male Meditation

Middle Aged Neuropsychological Tests Pattern Recognition, Visual Psychomotor Performance Rest Yoga - psychology

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