Yoga for the Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome

We tested the following hypotheses: 1. That a standardized yoga therapy will improve insulin sensitivity (primary outcome), and other features of the metabolic syndrome such as hypertension and dyslipidemia (secondary outcomes), we will perform a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test, fasting blood tests, and a physical examination before and after randomization of subjects to a 10-week yoga therapy intervention or wait-list control group. 2. That a yoga therapy is feasible in overweight and underactive individuals with the metabolic syndrome, that adherence to a yoga intervention is acceptable, and that yoga therapy is associated with improved quality of life, we will assess the adherence to twice-weekly yoga group sessions (for weeks1-5) and weekly yoga group sessions (for weeks 6-10), frequency of home yoga therapy practice, and self-reported quality of life before and after the intervention in both treatment groups. 3. To elucidate a potential mechanism for the effect of yoga on changes in insulin resistance by evaluating markers of inflammation from adipose tissue (adipocytokines). We hypothesize that these biochemical parameters will show modest improvement with yoga therapy and that changes in these parameters will be associated with improvements in insulin sensitivity.