Yoga as a mind-body intervention being used for wellness is increasingly used as an add-on therapy in the management of several NCDs. The first RCT on Yoga on hypertension, published by Dr Chandra Patel in the Lancet in 1975, laid the foundation for vigorous research into the practice of yoga as a therapy. Yoga a wellness and fitness fad started moving from studios and home environments to hospitals in the late 90s. There has been an increasing trend for research publications in Yoga since International Day of Yoga was declared by UN in the year 2014. There has been an increase in publications on Yoga by 143% and meditation by 172% in the last 9 years. Putting together yoga and meditation keywords account for more than 18000 articles on PubMed. The US is the leading contributor, followed by India in terms of publications. Regarding clinical trials as registered on the WHO International clinical trials registry platform, we have India as a leading country in registered clinical trials in yoga. However, in comparison to the number of publications, the number of RCT publications is quite low. Very few articles are published in high-impact factor journals (Above 8.0). Most of the publications and studies have small sample sizes and are hypotheses generated. There is a need for large multicentric studies in Yoga. Though Yoga studies have found their way in some guideline documents in oncology and cardiology, a lot needs to be done to generate level 1 evidence to have Yoga incorporated as an integrative medicine in management of various clinical conditions. This presentation will highlight the journey where we stand today and what needs to be done in the future.

Workshop on Mind-Body Intervention