Studying the Effectiveness and Implementation of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga for Canadian Veterans With PTSD

Summary

We plan to study the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of the virtually-delivered Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (v-SKY) intervention. We will study effectiveness by comparing the effects of v-SKY to a waitlist control in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with Canadian military and RCMP veterans with PTSD. Effects of the intervention on PTSD symptom severity, depression, pain, anxiety, and quality of life will be evaluated. We will evaluate the reach, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of the v-SKY intervention amongst veterans, SKY instructors, health professionals, and administrators by interviewing RCT participants, instructors, health professionals, and administrators that work with veterans. Evaluating implementation of a virtual intervention is relevant in both pandemic and post-pandemic contexts where virtual interventions may continue to be more available and possibly preferred by patients and clients.

Conditions

• PTSD
• Depressive Symptoms
• Anxiety
• Pain
• Quality of Life
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY)

This is the experimental arm of the study, where participants will be trained in a form of breathing based meditation that incorporates different breathing techniques centred around controlling arousal and attention. Participants will be encouraged to learn all of the techniques that are covered during these sessions and also utilize the techniques that are most appropriate for their personal needs. After some initial training sessions, participants will be encouraged to practice their new SKY techniques in environments and situations that they have been avoiding. They would begin with situations that are less triggering, and progress to more difficult situations. At each group session, participants will describe their experiences and discuss ways to continue to incorporate the SKY techniques into their daily lives, until it reaches a point of being natural to use these skills throughout the day, both in practice, and in application.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• St. Joseph's Health Care London

  collaborator OTHER

• Quebec City Operational Stress Injury Clinic

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Nova Scotia Health Authority

  collaborator OTHER

• Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Ross Upshur, MD · Sinai Health System

• Abhimanyu Sud, MD · Sinai Health System

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-04-25

Primary Completion

2024-01-31

Completion

2024-07-01

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations