Efficacy of Yoga therapy for the management of psychopathology of patients having chronic schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: There is a large body of literature and scientific data regarding the efficacy of pharmacological and psychosocial interventions for schizophrenia, however, studies on Yoga therapy is scanty. Yoga is a means of balancing and harmonizing the body, mind and emotion, and for enlightening the mind and upliftment of the total personality. AIMS: The present study was conducted to determine the efficacy of Yoga therapy as an adjunctive therapy and to see its effects on psychopathology on the patients suffering from chronic schizophrenia. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Pre- and post-test design with the control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It is a study using purposive sampling technique by which 30 chronic schizophrenic patients were selected and 15 patients were randomly assigned to Yoga therapy along with pharmacotherapy (experimental group), and 15 were assigned pharmacotherapy alone (control group) after the baseline assessment using Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The Yoga group attended Yoga therapy everyday for about 1½ h including motivational and feedback session. RESULTS: At the end of 1 month postassessment was done, and schizophrenic patients, who received the yogic intervention showed better rating than those in pharmacotherapy alone on PANSS variables. CONCLUSION: Yoga could be a right choice for improving psychopathology resulting in better quality of life along with other pharmacological management and psychosocial interventions.