Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) as an adjunctive treatment in mental disorders: the magic unfolds

Background: As the healthcare system is getting complex and difficult to access, a growing number of patients are getting disillusioned with it and looking for alternative, optimal and conducive solutions. People search for complementary therapies as mind/body/spirit connection is steadily becoming a desirable and logical option for most of the people. Aim: Keeping in view the growing role of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) as an adjunctive therapeutic intervention in a variety of health problems, it is relevant to study the effect of SKY as adjunct to conventional treatment in mental disorders. Material and methods: To examine this, a pre-post research design was adopted for the present study. A purposive sample of 16 inpatients (both males and females) with different mental disorders in the age range of 20-45 years was selected from the Dept of Psychiatry, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak. In the pre-session, the patients were administered Perceived Stress Scale and General Health Questionnaire-12. This was followed by a full course of Art of Living for six days and in the post session, the patients were evaluated with the same tools once again. The data was analysed with the help of t-values. Results: Highly significant and remarkable difference was observed between pre and post sessions in patients on perceived stress and general health scores. Conclusion: SKY is useful adjunct and has potential for wider and extensive application in treatment of mental disorders.