Yoga Nidra as a complementary treatment of anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with menstrual disorder

BACKGROUND: Emotional insecurity, stress, depressive or/and anxiety symptoms are common with variable severity among patients with menstrual disorder. Yogic relaxation therapy (Yoga Nidra) leads to conscious and subconscious recognition of these underlying psychological factors and helps releasing of suppressed conflicts. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of Yoga Nidra on anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with menstrual disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects were recruited from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, C.S.M. Medical University (erstwhile KGMU), Lucknow Uttar Pradesh, India. The subjects were randomly divided in to two groups: Intervention group (with yogic intervention) and control group (without yogic intervention). Assessments of all subjects were carried out by administering Hamilton anxiety scale (HAM-A) and Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAM-D) at baseline and after six months. RESULTS: The mean age with S.D of the intervention group was 27.67 ± 7.85 years, and for control group was 26.58 ± 6.87 years (among completed intervention group nn = 65 and control group nn = 61). There was significant reduction of scores in HAM-A (P<0.003) and HAM-D (P<0.02) respectively in subjects with mild to moderate anxiety and depressive symptoms after six months of yoga therapy (Yoga Nidra) in intervention group in comparison to control group. CONCLUSION: The patients with mild to moderate anxiety and depressive symptoms improve significantly with ‘Yoga Nidra’ intervention. There is no significant improvement in the patients with severe anxiety and depressive symptoms.