Meena Ramanathan

Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth University · Centre for Yoga Therapy Education and Research (CYTER)

Dr Ananda's invited presentation at the National Conclave on Yoga Research and Applications organised as part of the Yogamahotsav by Sant Hirdaram Medical College & Hospital, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 21st March, 2022.

Dr Ananda's Invited talk for International webinar on the prevention of CORONA through yoga organised by the Chhattisgarh Yoga Commission

Dr Ananda's invited talk for the Webinar on Feb-12-2022 on the theme "Yoga in Modern Life" organised by the Indian Academy of Yoga, BHU, Varanasi, India.

Objective Diabetes mellitus (DM), characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, is attributed to relative insulin deficiency or resistance, or both. Studies have shown that yoga can modulate parameters of insulin resistance. The present study explored the possible beneficial effects of integrated yoga therapy with reference to glycemic control and insuli...

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a public health threat rising globally at an alarming rate. Yoga as a therapy is becoming increasingly popular and its applications are increasing in various clinical conditions. Yoga is an integrated system of self-culturing, aimed at coordinated development of body and mind leading to enhanced physical h...

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a public health threat rising globally at an alarming rate. Yoga as a therapy is becoming increasingly popular and its applications are increasing in various clinical conditions. Yoga is an integrated system of self-culturing, aimed at coordinated development of body and mind leading to enhanced physical h...

ABSTRACT Background: Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a neglected tropical vector borne disease that affects people of low and middle income groups. The filarial lymphoedema is classified into four grades (grades I, II,III and IV) based on the severity and external manifestation of the disease. Grade I is reversible whereas grades II, III and IV are pe...

Abstract Background: Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a neglected mosquito born tropical disease that affects people of low socio-economic group. Filarial lymphoedema has been classified into 4 grades by WHO. Except Grade-1 all other grades 2,3,4 are persistent oedema. There is no pharmacological treatment to cure the disease completely. But leg hygien...

This study was done at the Centre for Yoga Therapy, Education and Research (CYTER) of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (SBV) to determine cardiovascular (CV) parameters in patients with psoriasis. Data of 20 patients (12 female, 8 male) with a mean age of 44.40 ± 15.2ywho were referred by Dept. of Dermatology and attended yoga therapy sessions at CYTER was us...

Background: The root canal treatment is one of the common dental or endodontic therapies associated with high levels of patient anxiety. Yoga therapy (YT) is reported in medical literature as an effective modality in bringing down anxiety in clinical scenarios; however, the reports of the same for dental settings are fewer. The current study aimed...

This article is based on the “Open House Discussion on Yoga Research: Strength, weakness, opportunities, and threat (SWOT) analysis” that was organized during the international seminar cum workshop conducted by the Centre for Yoga Therapy, Education and Research (CYTER), an innovative center of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (SBV), on “Wholistic Approach of...

Introduction: ADS is not a static condition, described in absolute terms, but a life-long illness. It is a phenomenon that depends on the interaction of biological, social, and cultural factors, e.g., religion and the symbolic value of alcohol in each culture, that determines how the person can relate to the substance in the individual and socia...

Introduction: Alcohol consumption is widely gaining attention owing to its potential for addiction and health implications. There is a high pervasiveness of alcoholism in Pondicherry, Union Territory, India. Alcohol misuse leads to numerous social, economic, and health problems. Besides, motor vehicle accidents, dementia, depression, homicide, a...

Autism is characterized by dysfunction in motor execution and sensory perception that are linked with neuromuscular function (fN) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This article aims to evaluate effectiveness of yoga therapy (YT) on fN and autism severity in children with ASD. Sixty children were screened (age 6 to 18) using childhoo...

Yoga is a philosophy, a science, and an art, the value of which is underrecognized. Many myths and misconceptions are prevailing among the common people as well as mental health professionals, resulting in an underutilization of this effective tool that has the potential for health promotion and disease prevention. It has been established to be an...

Introduction: There is a generalized impairment of mind–body functioning due to old age, resulting in disintegration, leading to diseases, and yoga is a boon to the elderly as it has preventive, curative, as well as rehabilitative potential. Reaction time (RT) is a simple, noninvasive index of processing ability of the central nervous system. Aim:...

Introduction: Recent studies have provided abundant evidence about benefits of yoga in various chronic disorders. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic diseases characterised by chronic hyperglycaemia and renal complications of the disease are especially notable. It is estimated that 10% to 40% cases of Type 2 DM (T2DM) eventually end up h...

Introduction: Alcohol-related disorders have disrupted the everyday life of the consumer gradually and led to a rise in alcohol-related diseases, violence, including homicide, suicide, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence. Long-term diseases, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems are also...

Background and objectives: Inclusion of yoga in the daily routine would favorably moderate glycemic control, alleviate insulin resistance (IR), besides reducing the risk of complications in people with long-standing diabetes and comorbidity. The body mass index (BMI) cut-off criteria are different as per the Asian Indian and WHO standards. Accordin...

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are birth imperfections that cause dysfunction in cognitive and sensory processes and impairment in motor function, communication and behavior. The major factors responsible for increasing incidence of NDDs are genetic, psychosocial and excessive use of drugs. Yoga alleviates neurological problems and NDDs. Asana...

This presentation details the innovative aspects of the CYTER (Centre for Yoga Therapy, Education and Research) of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth in Pondicherry, India.

Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit poor oral health due to lack of manual dexterity. Regular training methods such as visual pedagogy and video modeling (VM) for developing the skill of toothbrushing do not address the core deficits which facilitate their effective and quick learning. Hence, there arises the need of an...

Aim: To evaluate if yoga could be an adjunct to regular training methods in training brushing skill to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: Seventy-two children with ASD aged 7-15 years were selected and divided into two groups (N = 36). Children in Group I received visual pedagogy and video modeling and children in Group II re...

Introduction: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is predicted third leading cause of morbidity and mortality and it is characterized by irreversible airflow obstruction, reduced quality of life, and high rate of mortality. Yogic management includes a reduction in symptoms, complications,and exacerbations, improved exercise tolerance, impr...

Dayanidy G, Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M, Srikanth S. Overcome Disability through Yoga. Souvenir of the National Seminar and Workshop on Divyanga Yoga: A Yogic approach to children with special needs. International Day of Yoga celebrations. Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry. 13-24 June 2019. Pg 61-63.

Balaji R, Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M. Bringing Yoga into the Lives of Children with Special Needs. Souvenir of the National Seminar and Workshop on Divyanga Yoga: A Yogic approach to children with special needs. International Day of Yoga celebrations. Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry. 13-24 June 2019. Pg 71-74.

Artchoudane S, Ramanathan M, Bhavanani AB. Yogic Tools for Special Children (Divine Children) . Souvenir of the National Seminar and Workshop on Divyanga Yoga: A Yogic approach to children with special needs. International Day of Yoga celebrations. Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry. 13-24 June 2019. Pg 75-80.

Mangala Gowri VV, Srinivasan AR, Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M. Positive Eugenics: An Ancient Indian Perspective. Souvenir of the National Seminar and Workshop on Divyanga Yoga: A Yogic approach to children with special needs. International Day of Yoga celebrations. Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry. 13-24 June 2019. Pg 93-97.

Rajalakshmi B, Ramanathan M, Bhavanani AB. Paediatric Care- Siddha Perspective. Souvenir of the National Seminar and Workshop on Divyanga Yoga: A Yogic approach to children with special needs. International Day of Yoga celebrations. Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry. 13-24 June 2019. Pg 81-86.

Garima Setia, Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M. Yoga for Gastro Intestinal Problems in Children with Special Needs. Souvenir of the National Seminar and Workshop on Divyanga Yoga: A Yogic approach to children with special needs. International Day of Yoga celebrations. Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry. 13-24 June 2019. Pg 91-92.

Priya Felix Philip, Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M. Health and Wellbeing in Caregivers of Children With Special Needs Through Yoga. Souvenir of the National Seminar and Workshop on Divyanga Yoga: A Yogic approach to children with special needs. International Day of Yoga celebrations. Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry. 13-24 June 2019. Pg 87-90.

Pellissier Auriane , Ramanathan M, Bhavanani AB. Introducing Pranayama to Children with Special Needs. Souvenir of the National Seminar and Workshop on Divyanga Yoga: A Yogic approach to children with special needs. International Day of Yoga celebrations. Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry. 13-24 June 2019. Pg 105-108.

According to Indian philosophy, the three gunas are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas that representing knowledge, activity and inertia are the source of the personality respectively. Ayurved classifies 16 types of mental constitution formed at the time of conception.1-3 The verses 480 and 481 of Thirumandiram4 (a classical treatise on yoga in Tamil written...

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder affecting systems of the body and behavior. Its growth rate is approximately 3% in children. This review was undertaken to search and critically analyze the literature about musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and neurological function, and behavioral outcomes of yoga interventions for individuals with au...

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder affecting systems of the body and behavior. Its growth rate is approximately 3% in children. This review was undertaken to search and critically analyze the literature about musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and neurological function, and behavioral outcomes of yoga interventions for individuals with au...

Context: Recent studies provide ample evidence of the benefits of yoga in various chronic disorders. Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and Sandler coined the term “Diabetic Lung” for the abnormal pulmonary function detected in diabetic patients due underlying pulmonary dysfunction. Yoga therap...

Context Recent studies provide ample evidence of the benefits of yoga in various chronic disorders. Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and Sandler coined the term “Diabetic Lung” for the abnormal pulmonary function detected in diabetic patients due underlying pulmonary dysfunction. Yoga therapy...

Introduction: Autism is a neuro-developmental disorder leading to multiple problems including academic difficulties and impaired skills. Information processing is abnormal in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their central nervous system (CNS) is either over or under aroused and reaction time (RT) is a useful marker to study the abil...

Aim: This pilot study was done to evaluate the immediate effect of Sukha Pranayama, a slow and deep breathing technique on maternal and fetal cardiovascular parameters. Subjects and Methods: Single session pre-post comparison was done for 10 min of Sukha Pranayama in 12 pregnant women in their 3rd trimester. The study participants were guided to br...

Background and Objectives: Previous studies have suggested that yoga positively impacts lung function and quality of life (QoL). The present prospective two-arm, single-blinded and controlled study evaluated the effect of adjuvant yoga therapy on pulmonary function and QoL in patients of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Material and Me...

Introduction: “Silver Yoga” program has been devised by Centre for Yoga Therapy, Education and Research (CYTER) of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Pondicherry. Participants practiced the protocol that was specially designed for senior citizens, keeping in mind their health status and physical limitations. Aim: The present study was planned to evaluate possi...

Autism is a neuro-developmental disorder characterized by restricted, repetitive activities and impaired social interaction. Its severity varies from individual to individual. Yoga, a mind–body intervention is often used as a complementary approach to enhance mental equipoise and focus and can be performed by all including those with acute or chron...

UNDERSTANDING THE THIRD GENDER: A YOGIC PERSPECTIVE Introduction 156. Bhavanani AB. Integrating yoga and modern medical science. Souvenir of the National Seminar and CME on Introducing Yoga in Health Professions Education. SBVU, Puducherry. 19-21 June 2016. Pg 48-55.

Souvenir of the SBV-IDY2018 celebrations at Pondicherry especially highlighting the National Seminar-cum-CME on "Swastha Manas: Mental Health and Well-being through Yoga".

Yoga is an applied, practical and experiential science that establishes the lost balance in the human affairs caused by the one-sided growth of science. This grant Indian Art/Science /Philosophy helps overcome the shortcomings of both science and religion by enriching our minds, by giving rise to wisdom, and by controlling our savage animal instinc...

Aim and objective: All students enrolled in Health Professions Education (HPE) at Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Pondicherry, receive introductory yoga sessions during orientation programs conducted by their respective medical, dental and nursing colleges at the beginning of their first year of training. We conducted a pre-test-post-test study to evaluate...

Asana (posture) is usually defined as a body posture held with stability and ease by Patanjali. Hathayoga Pradipika emphasises that asana helps bring about stability in health and suppleness of body. As intra-thoracic, intra-abdominal pressure-volume changes affect internal organs and systems, it is plausible that asanas produce changes through mec...

Background: Numerous studies have reported long and short term effects of Yoga training on reaction time (RT), but few have evaluated differential effects of training in asana and pranayama. Hence the present study was done to elucidate effects of such differential training on RT in health professions students attending Yoga training. Materials: 13...

Souvenir of the International Day of Yoga 2017 organised by CYTER, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth University, Pondicherry.

Introduction: Yoga is an applied science that re-establishes the lost balance by enriching our mind. It is a classical Indian form that creates a dynamic connectivity between body, mind and soul. Yoga helps one age better and improves flexibility and strength of the body through simple practices. Mental health may include an individual's ability to...

Aim and Objectives: This study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of yoga on the mental health status of elderly women inmates residing in a hospice in Puducherry. Materials and Methods: Forty elderly women were randomly divided into yoga and wait-listed control group. A yoga therapy program of 60 min was given twice a week for 12 weeks....

The Centre for Yoga Therapy Education and Research (CYTER) has been functioning at Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute (MGMCR & RI) under the auspices of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry, for the past six years (2010-2016). More than 30,000 patients have benefited from Yoga therapy consult...

The nasal cycle is an ultradian rhythm of nasal congestion and decongestion with a quasi-periodicity of 60 to 240 minutes. Keyser made the first formal description and the use of the term nasal cycle in 1895. However the concept of the nasal cycle and an understanding of its role in our life had existed for long in Indian thought. The Vedic science...

The tree that bends doesn't break! As human beings, it is inevitable that we have our share of ups and downs. Something always pushes us down, throws us off-balance and makes us uneasy. During such moments, it is imperative that we stop, take a step back and observe ourselves objectively to understand how long it takes us to bounce back to normalcy...

Introduction: Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) is the differential change of Heart Rate (HR) in response to inspiration and expiration. This is a noninvasive sensitive index of parasympathetic cardiac control. Aim: To evaluate changes in RSA by utilizing a simple and cost-effective analysis of electrocardiographic (ECG) tracings obtained during p...

With advancing age, the body tends to slow down and becomes less efficient and elderly people are prone to a few age-related health issues. The present study was undertaken to assess the psycho-physical health status of elderly women residing in a hospice in Pondicherry and authorities and inmates of the Hospice Convent Home for the Aged, Congregat...

Aim and objective: This pilot study was done to determine effects of a single session of yogic relaxation on cardiovascular parameters in a transgender population. Methods: Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) measurements were recorded in 106 transgender participants (mean age of 23.86 ± 7.87 y) attending a yogic relaxation program at CYTER, MG...

Aim and objective: This pilot study was done to determine cardiovascular effects of a single session of an integrated ‘Silver Yoga’ program in senior citizens of Serene Pelican Township, Pondicherry. Methods: Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) measurements were recorded in 124 senior citizens (75 female, 49 male) with mean age of 67.19 ± 10.61...

Souvenir of the International Day of Yoga 2015 Celebration at SBVU, Pondicherry. Organised from 21st to 26th June 2015 by the Centre for Yoga Therapy, Education and Research (CYTER) at Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Research Institute under the auspices of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth University, Pondicherry. To celebrate the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA...

Background: Recent studies have reported the differential physiological and psychological effects of yogic uninostril breathing (UNB) and alternate nostril breathing (ANB) techniques. This study aims to determine differential effects of these techniques on reaction time (RT), heart rate (HR), and blood pressure (BP). Materials and Methods: Twenty y...

Introduction: This study planned to compare immediate cardiovascular effects of different yoga asanas in healthy young volunteers. Materials and Methods: Heart rate (HR), systolic pressure (SP), and diastolic pressure (DP), blood pressure (BP), were recorded using the non invasive blood pressure ( NIBP) apparatus in 22 healthy young subjects, befor...

60 healthy nursing students were recruited, and 60 min yoga training was given twice weekly, for 6 months. Selected biochemical and hematological parameters were recorded along with Ferrans and Powers QoL index before and after the training period. Because we were not able to establish a separate control group, we correlated changes with the subjec...

Background: This study evaluated immediate effects of 27 rounds of left nostril initiated alternate nostril breathing (ANB) technique of nadi shuddi (NS) and right nostril initiated ANB of aloma viloma (AV) pranayama on cardiovascular (CV) parameters and reaction time (RT) in a trained population. Materials and methods: 16 subjects attending regula...

Previous studies have reported differential physiological and psychological effects of exclusive right and left nostril breathing. Though potential health benefits have been postulated, further clinical research is required to prove immediate and sustained efficacy of these techniques. This study evaluated immediate effects of exclusive right (SNP)...

“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,” said Rudyard Kipling. This dichotomy however seems to have been overcome in recent times, as many eastern healing traditions have slowly and steadily percolated the health care system worldwide. This is especially true of mind–body therapies that focus on the health promotive int...

: Background: We were granted the opportunity to impart a 6 month comprehensive course of yoga training for nursing students. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of the training on the participants´ health and quality of life (QoL) Materials and Methods: 60 healthy nursing students (12 M, 48 F) aged 18.60 ± 0.67 (SD) y were recruited,...