Quantification of Outcome Measures for Mind-body Interventions

Exclusion Criteria

• •Practice of yoga, meditation, guided imagery or other mind body techniques that elicit the RR, once per week for 45 min total or more within the last three months or less.
• •Any current medical condition that would preclude their safe and effective practice of the yoga or meditation interventions.
• •The presence of bipolar or psychotic disorders, or history of any other DSMIV Axis I disorder with active symptoms or treatment within the last 5 years, as determined by a structured clinical interview.
• •Initiation of psychotherapy within 6 months of entering the study.
• •Serious or unstable medical illness, including serious or unstable cardiovascular, hepatic, renal, respiratory, endocrine, neurologic or hematologic disease.
• •Patient deemed unable to complete protocol due to cognitive, psychiatric or other reasons.
• •Pregnancy or planned conception over the course of the study (could confound biomarker values).
• •Current use of the following medications: systemic corticosteroids, chronic (i.e., more than 3 days per week) use of anti-inflammatories (e.g., ibuprofen; currently or within the last 3 months), immunosuppressive or cytotoxic therapies (currently or within the last 12 months), and anabolic steroids.
• •Current (within the last 6 months) psychoactive medications (e.g. antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, anxiolytics), with the exception of hypnotics, which will be permitted.