Yoga Research 101 - The Basics of Yoga Research for Therapists, Instructors, and New Investigators

Research Design Basics for Yoga Research
Lisa Conboy, MA, MS, DSc.
Instructor in General Medicine
Osher Research Institute, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Conboy will give an overview of the most commonly used types of research designs in yoga research, including the strengths and limitations of each.  Specific challenges to conducting Yoga research will be highlighted, including 1) sample selection, "What type of change are we looking for?" 2) designing appropriate control conditions, "What is the active ingredient we are studying?".

Designing Interventions for Yoga Therapy Research, Moving From the General to the Specific
Clare Collins, RN, Ph.D., F.A.A.N. 
Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University; Coordinator, Yoga Therapist Program, American Viniyoga Institute
This presentation will focus on two areas: 1. Trends in published Yoga intervention research from 2000-2010, with an emphasis on the condition/ population studied, how the Yoga intervention was designed (including the use of Yogic principles), type of Yoga intervention and the relationship between the Yoga intervention and dependent variables;  2. Implications for the design of targeted interventions for use in Yoga research.

Outcomes Measures in Yoga Research: Tools and Techniques for Quantifying Change
Susan Gould Fogerite, Ph.D.
Director of Research, Institute for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Associate Professor,

Primary Care, SHRP, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
The major categories of quantitative outcome measures that have been used in yoga research for measuring status and change at the physical, mental and spiritual levels will be presented.  Examples of validated tools in psychology, spirituality, quality of life, and physical function, as well as physiological, biochemical, and cellular assays, and their application to yoga research will be discussed.

Human Subject Research Issues Specific to Yoga
Sat Bir S. Khalsa, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Khalsa will present an overview of basic information on the institutional review board (IRB) requirements for human subjects research with yoga interventions in a variety of research designs. IRB issues specific to yoga interventions and outcome measures including informed consent, privacy, data safety monitoring and adverse events will be discussed.

NCCAM Research Priorities for Yoga Therapy
Partap S. Khalsa, DC, Ph.D., DABCO 
Program Director, Division of Extramural Research
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), NIH
NCCAM’s current Strategic Plan describes a number of scientific areas of research priority and focus, including those related to Yoga Therapy (which is categorized within Mind and Body Interventions). These will be presented along with relevant funding opportunity announcements that can be used to develop and submit research grant applications to NCCAM, and general & specific Yoga Therapy grantsmanship issues.