The Dinosaur Trust initiates a new project
The Dinosaur Trust is excited to announce that we will be jointly funding a new study into Yoga in Pulmonary Hypertension.
Thanks to our partners, The Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute (The PVRI) and a team in Mumbai, India, match funding has been made available by The Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (The CCRYN), which is an Indian government-funded organisation.
The study will be headed up by Prashant Bobhate and will be closely followed by world renowned physician and scientist, Dr Prabhakaran, Chair of the World Heart Federation Science Committee.
The CCRYN conduct scientific research in ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy.
This project, which was initiated by The Dinosaur Trust, will look into the physiology of patients and analyse whether certain biomarkers change when patients engage in regular yoga and breathing exercises.
Validation will not just be obtained from patients’ own feedback on their wellbeing, but by scientific analysis of certain key physiological processes.
We are thrilled that this study will be taking place in India, the spiritual home of yoga and look forward to understanding whether practicing yoga and yoga-based breathing techniques could complement medical treatment and improve the general health and wellbeing of patients with pulmonary hypertension around the world, particularly those patients who have no access to medical care.
Why did the Dinosaur Trust choose to fund this study?
Jamie and Julia have long appreciated and understood the benefits of meditation, yoga and breathing techniques to improve and enhance general health and well being. It has become increasingly apparent to Jamie and Julia that there is a need for further research into, what is known in the West as, alternative therapies such as Mediation and Yoga and what we can do ourselves to improve our own bioenergetic health responses.
We hope the results of this study will help PH patients with no or limited access to medical care.
The research project
The aim of this project is to systematically develop a cardiac rehabilitation program based on yoga for patients with pulmonary hypertension and test its safety and efficacy.
Yoga is a traditional Indian mind-body practice which combines gentle physical activity with breathing and meditation as well as promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Despite optimal medical management, most patients of PH continue to have significant limitation of physical activity. This is secondary to complex interplay between cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and autonomic systems.
Limitation in physical activity in turn has profound impact on the overall morbidity and mortality of patients with PH.
Exercise training and cardiac rehabilitation has been shown to improve quality of life and exercise capacity in patients with PH. Due to the increasing availability of evidence, closely supervised exercise training and respiratory muscle rehabilitation has been recommended as an add-on therapy in stable PH patients. However, its use, (defined by in the currently available models of delivery), may not necessarily be applicable to all regions of the world.
The creation of home-based delivery models, for rehabilitation and exercise, based on proven results, could help a wider range of patients.
The Yoga in Pulmonary Hypertension study has been granted one year of funding by The Dinosaur Trust and has one year of funding granted by The Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (The CCRYN), India.