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The goal of the study is to evaluate the Changes in Microbiota Markers in Healthy Subjects Before, During and After Meditation Practices in a Controlled Environment.
This study provides a unique opportunity to test the hypotheses that (1) Arhatic Yoga practices will affect both oral and gut microbiome; (2) the oral and gut microbiome will shift dynamically in a short period; and (3) the overall shift resulting from the changes in the gut microbiome members will be associated with known benefits to health and well-being.
The present study was designed as a single-arm pilot scale to understand the temporal changes in both gut and oral microbiome of the practitioners at a meditation-cum-spiritual retreat in a controlled environment. There was open communication between all the participants before, during and after the retreat. As all the practitioners followed group practices in one location under the supervision of the senior instructors, separate assessment of the adherence of the practitioners to the protocol was not performed. Oral and fecal samples of practitioners were collected at the start (Day0: T1), middle (Day3-5: T2) and end (Day7-9:T3) of the retreat in a sterile containers. Amplicon sequencing was performed from extracted DNA to study changes in microbiome profile during retreat.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| single Arm1 | Experimental | All practitioners had undertaken formal training on Pranic Healing, Meditation on Twin Hearts, and higher meditation practices at least six months prior to the retreat. Daily retreat practices, which lasted typically for 16-18 hours with occasional short breaks. These practices included combinations of specifically designed physical and breathing exercises to improve the energetic states and stillness. Exercises were followed by Pranic Healing and self-awareness practices. Meditations included Meditation on Twin Hearts, Arhatic Yoga meditations of Kundalini meditation, Arhatic Dhyan and Meditation on the Higher Soul . |
|
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation practice | Other | physical and breathing exercises |
|
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Assessing the changes in gut and oral microbiome profile of the participants during retreat | Stool and oral samples were collected from the participants for three timepoints (T1: 1 day, T2: 3-5 days, and T3: 7-9 days) and changes in gut microbiome and oral microbiome were assessed through 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. T1 was considered as baseline data. | Timepoint1: 1 day (Baseline), Timepoint2: 3-5 days, and Timepoint3: 7-9 days |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Glenn Mendoza | Pranic Healing Research Institute,New Jersey, 07071, USA | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pranic Healing Research Institute | Lyndhurst | New Jersey | 07071 | United States |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38307809 | Background | Hammerschlag R, Sprengel ML, Baldwin AL. Biofield therapies: Guidelines for reporting clinical trials. Complement Ther Med. 2024 Jun;82:103011. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2023.103011. Epub 2024 Feb 1. | |
| 37020274 | Background | Raman M, Vishnubhotla R, Ramay HR, Goncalves MCB, Shin AS, Pawale D, Subramaniam B, Sadhasivam S. Isha yoga practices, vegan diet, and participation in Samyama meditation retreat: impact on the gut microbiome & metabolome - a non-randomized trial. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2023 Apr 5;23(1):107. doi: 10.1186/s12906-023-03935-8. |
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Share the study protocol as well as raw data generated for amplicon sequencing
After publication, raw amplicon data will be available in NCBI for a very long time
Bioproject ID from NCBI will be described in publication. Researchers can use that ID and download or see the data.
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| 29306937 | Background | Househam AM, Peterson CT, Mills PJ, Chopra D. The Effects of Stress and Meditation on the Immune System, Human Microbiota, and Epigenetics. Adv Mind Body Med. 2017 Fall;31(4):10-25. |