Yoga Therapy Research

Independent researchers in educational psychology, neurobiology, social welfare and youth development are investigating the effects of Transformative Life Skills (TLS) on vulnerable youth. This Research Council is headed by Niroga Institute Research Director Jennifer Frank, PhD, who is a Research Scientist at the Prevention Research Center at the Pennsylvania State University. Read about Dr. Frank and her work with Niroga.

Below are recent research reports on our programs in Alameda County Juvenile Hall and a large urban high school, showing that TLS lowers stress and increases self-control.

• Transformative Life Skills Lowers Stress and Increases Self-Control in Incarcerated Youth (PDF 195kb)
• Transformative Life Skills Lowers Stress and Increases Self-Control in Urban High School Students (PDF 270kb)

These results have far-reaching prevention policy implications in education, violence prevention and behavioral health, as evidence of an inductive connection is established by related research such as that from Martin Seligman and his team at the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, showing that self-control predicts academic achievement (PDF 101kb). June Tangney and her colleagues at George Mason University and Case Western Reserve University have shown that high self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success (PDF 240kb).

Additionally, Niroga is investigating the applications of Yoga Therapy for prevention and intervention of many common chronic conditions. In conjunction with other research organizations, we would like to answer two questions:

1. Is Yoga Therapy effective for prevention and treatment of common chronic conditions?
2. If Yoga Therapy is effective, how and why is it effective?

There are several organizations currently working on Integrative Medicine generally, and Yoga Therapy in particular. The Osher Center for Integrative Medicine (OCIM) as well as the Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF, along with the Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center at Summit Hospital, are interested in studying the effects of our Healing Yoga protocol and its impact on stress as well as endocrine and immune systems of cancer patients.

Kaiser Permanente Division of Research recently completed a study of our Healing Yoga protocol on heart failure patients. Furthermore, Niroga Institute is independently engaged in single-subject studies on several common chronic conditions such as arthritis, asthma, back pain, depression, diabetes, insomnia, osteoporosis, and more.

Complementary Medicine Research Organizations

• Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UCSF (OCIM)
• Institute of Health and Healing at CPMC, SFO (IHH)
• Johns Hopkins Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM/NIH)
• International Association of Yoga Therpaists (IAYT)
• Institute of Noetic Sciences