Sudarshan Kriya

M. Bhatia
Assoc. Prof.
Clinical Neurophysiology,
Dept. of Neurology,
All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, N. Delhi, India

Introduction

Sudarshan Kriya (SK) (a rhythmic breathing process), was
devised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The word “ Sudarshan”
translated from its original sanskrit Su = right, Darshan =
vision, “Kriya” means purifying action. This is thus not a
pure meditation technique, and has been defined as a state of
relaxation by some and a state of consciousness by others.
This is practiced as a brief & practical self-help stressmanagement
strategy. Subjective reports from the participants
indicate that it reduces anxiety & depression and SK has been
found to be useful in the treatment of depression. Various tools
have been used to study the effect of relaxing techniques on
the mind. These include EEG, evoked potentials (BAER, P300,
Middle latency potentials), fMRI, SPECT. EEG has been used
to study changes during meditation, and also long-term effect
of regular practice of meditation for the past 2-3 decades.
During Transcendental Meditation(TM)an increased
regularity and amplitude of the alpha activity was noted. The
results have been contradictory as different processes produce
different changes. The changes observed have been linked to
the type of meditation and duration of meditation practice, as
subjects varied greatly in their meditation techniques,
expertise and their performance. The difference in technique
may produce a dichotomy of physiological effects. Most of
the physiological research on meditation has been carried out
on TM, it is not known whether other stylized practices create
the same physiology.
There are no reports at present on changes in EEG and SK.
The aim of the present study was to study the sequential
changes in EEG, during the SK.
Study Design and Methodology:
Five regular practitioners of SK formed the study group. They
were connected with Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth, who
regularly practiced and taught SK. They had attended the
basic course (22hrs), advanced course (4 days) and the teachers
training course. All were females, with a age range from 35-
45 years, with similar socioeconomic background and
education. None had a psychiatric illness, neurologic illness,
and none of the subjects were on chronic medications. All the
subjects were asked not to take any central nervous system
stimulants/ caffeine prior to the test.
EEG: All recording were done in similar conditions

The
subjects were asked to be comfortable, seated on a chair, with
their eyes closed. Electrodes were placed according to the 10-
20 system of electrode placement; the recording was conducted
on a 21 channel digital EEG machine, (Profile, Oxford UK),
with AD conversion of 22 bits, and sampling frequency of
256Hz. Filter settings were 0.5- 50Hz, a standard sensitivity
of 7 uV/mm and a paper speed of 30 mm/sec.was used for
recording the data.
Artifacts free epochs of 6sec. duration were selected at the rest
condition, during the Pranayam, Bhastrika and the 3 phases
of SK in the first cycle and the 6th cycle, at the end of the SK,
and every 5mts after that for 20 minutes. The pruned data was
subjected to FFT analysis using MATLAB. The EEG frequency
bands were defined as follows: Delta – 0-4 Hz, Theta – 5-7 Hz,
alpha –8-12Hz, Beta 1:13-18 Hz, Beta 2: 19- 30 Hz., and the
power calculated in each band and corresponding frequency
maps were drawn.
Results:
Coherence: An increase in coherence was observed in the 6th
cycle predominantly in the fronto-central regions in the beta
band, and posteriorly in the alpha band.
Frequency Analysis: There was an increased alpha activity
posteriorly during the SK. In addition a central midline theta
activity was observed. The resting EEG demonstrated an
increased focal beta activity. GSR- Increase was observed
during the SK.
Discussion:
The increased coherence suggests increased connectivity. This
is suggestive of more efficient information processing. The
central midline theta activity, and increase in GSR suggests
activation and the increased alpha is suggestive of relaxation.
Thus there is a combination of relaxation and activation during
the SK.
Larger no. of subjects need to be studied to define these changes
further.
References:
1. Janakiramaiah N, Gangadhar BN, Naga Venkatesha
Murthy PJ, Harish MG, Subkarishna DK, Vedamurthachar
A. Antidepressant efficacy of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY)
in melancholia: randomized comparison with
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and imipramine. Journal
of affective disorders 2000; 57: 255-259
2. Anand BK, Chhina GS,Singh B. Some aspects of
electroencephalographic studies in yogis. Electroenceph.
Clin. Neurophysiol. 1961;13: 45-56
3. Naga Venkatesh Murthy PJ, Gangadhar BN. and
Subbarkrishna DK, P300 amplitude and antidepressant
response to Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY). J Affect Disord