Gotham

RESEARCH SLIDES

Summary of Research Studies

on Sudarshan Kriya (SKY)

70 + independent studies conducted on four continents and

published in peer-reviewed journals have demonstrated a comprehensive
range of benefits from practicing Sudarshan Kriya and accompanying
breathing techniques, collectively referred to as SKY.

The following slides highlight results from some of that research.

WWW.ARTOFLIVING.ORG
 SKY Significantly
GothamDecreases
Clinical & Non-clinical Depression
Clinical Depression Non-Clinical Depression
Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD)

31 5
Before SKY Pre-test

Hospital Anxiety Depression (HAD)

Week 2 Post-test
26 Week 4 4.5

21 4
DECREASED BY

DECREASED BY
34%
16 67% 3.5

*
11 3

6 2.5

1 2
Anti-depressant Drug SKY
Anti-Depressant Drug Control SKY
SKY
* - p value = 0.001
SKY significantly reduced major depressive SKY reduced everyday blues
disorder as effectively as anti-depressant drug (non-clinical depression) by one third
therapy, yet is free of unwanted side effects. in four weeks.
N.Janakiramaiah et al.(2000) Kjellgren et al. (2007)
 SKY Significantly
Gotham Decreases
Clinical & Non-clinical Anxiety
Clinical Anxiety Non - Clinical Anxiety

Hospital Anxiety Depression (HAD)

Percentage experiencing complete

100 8 Pre-test
Control
DECREASED BY

23%
Remission in Anxiety (%)

SKY Post-test
80 7
*
60 EXPERIENCED
REMISSION
6
41%
40 5

20 4
No increase
in remission
0 3
Control
Control SKY SKY
73% of individuals suffering from Generalized
Anxiety Disorder (GAD) despite 12 weeks of (* - p value <0.01)
standard psychiatric care (drugs and
psychotherapy) experienced significant SKY significantly decreases everyday
reductions in anxiety, and 41% achieved anxiety.
remission, 4 weeks after learning SKY.
Katzman MA et al. , (2012) Kjellgren et al. (2007)
SKY Significantly Decreases Cortisol
Gotham
Levels (Major Stress Hormone)
10 Pre-test
Post-test
9

8
Cortisol (µg/dl)

6 *

3
Standard Care
Standard care Standard
Standard Care + SKY
care+SKY
* - p value <0.05
Adding SKY to conventional treatment for individuals in recovery for substance use
was twice as effective in reducing Cortisol levels as conventional treatment alone.
A.Vedamurthachar et al.(2006)
Significantly Greater
Gotham Mental Focus
in Sky Practitioners

Mean Spectral Power in Mean Spectral Power in Various

Various Bands in Controls Bands in Sudarshan Kriya Teachers

EEG measures electrical brain activity. In this study, SKY practitioners demonstrated
significantly greater (P<0.05) EEG Beta wave activity than controls, which is indicative
of heightened alertness/ mental focus.
Bhatia et al.(2003 )
 SKY Enhances
GothamImmunity
(Lymphocyte Count)

45 Pre Test 3%
Post Test * INCREASE

40
Lymphocytes (%)

35

30

25

20

15
Control SKY
* - p value <0.001

Approximately 70% of all immune cells are lymphocytes. SKY significantly increased
lymphocyte count by more than 5 fold compared to controls, suggesting enhanced
immune function.
Subramanian, S. et al. (2012)
 SKY Significantly
Gotham
Reduces Cholesterol

185 controls
SKY
175
Cholesterol (mg/dl)

DECREASED Y

13%
165
*
155 *

145

135

125
Baseline Control 3 weeks SKY Control 6 weeks SKY
practice practice
* - p value <0.05

SKY significantly reduced cholesterol, with no change in diet in just 3 weeks, even
under stressful conditions.

Subramanian, S. et al. (2012)

 Healthier Blood Pressure
Gothamin SKY Participants:
Normal Individuals & Hypertensives
100 Before SKY
140
* Before
After SKY
130 SKY 95
120 After *
90
SKY
110 *
100 85

90
* * 80
80
75
70
60 70
Heart
Heart Rate(bpm)
Rate (bpm) Systolic
Systolic DiastolicB.P.
B.P. (mmHg) Diastolic Diastolic
Diastolic B.P
B.P.(Men)
(Men) Diastolic B.P B.P.
Diastolic (Women)
(mmHg) B.P.(mmHg) B.P.(mmHg) (Women)
* - p value <0.0001 * - p value <0.01

Systolic B.P. – Pressure in the arteries when heart muscle contracts (Normal value is 120)
Diastolic B.P. - Pressure in the arteries when heart muscle relaxes (Normal value is 80)

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in N. America. Heart rate and blood
pressure are two key indicators of heart function. People practicing SKY showed
healthier heart rate and blood pressure values.

Somwanshi S. D. et al. (2013) V.V.AGTE et al. (2011)

 SKY Gotham
Significantly Reduces PTSD

47 Control
PCL-M (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

SKY

42
Checklist-Military Version)

37

32
* *
27

22

17
11week
week before SKY
before SKY 1 1week
weekafter
after SKY
SKY 1 year
1 year after
after SKYSKY
* - p value <0.001

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who practiced SKY had significant reductions in PTSD
symptoms after just one week of SKY practice. Results persisted for one year with no
follow-up sessions, demonstrating a long term benefit.
Seppala et al. (2014)
Significantly Enhanced
Gotham Deep Sleep
in SKY Participants
35
Controls
SKY
30
Percentage of Total
Sleep Time (%)

25

20

15
§
10

0
SlowSlow Wave
Wave Sleep(SWS)
Sleep (SWS) REM (Rapid Eye Movement)
REM (Rapid Sleep
Eye Movement) Sleep
§ - p-value <0.05
SKY practitioners spent significantly more time in deeper sleep (Stages 3 & 4 sleep),
than age matched controls (~3 times more), suggesting deep sleep is restored to levels
of young adulthood. SKY practitioners spent 13% of their total sleep time in the
deeper restful SWS state, while controls spent only 4% of their sleep time in SWS state.
Sulekha et al. (2006)
 Gotham Increases
SKY Significantly
Antioxidant Production
370
318% 164%
16
Non SKY Non SKY
INCREASE INCREASE
SKY
320 SKY 14
mmoles/mg protein

12
270
Glutathione

Units/ml
10
220

SOD
8
170
6
120
4

70
2

20 0
Glutathione SOD
Antioxidants protect cells from free radical damage, which is responsible for many
diseases and the aging process. SKY practitioners exhibited significant increases in
levels of the 3 major antioxidants, Glutathione, SOD and Catalase (data not shown
here), compared to controls.
Sharma et al. (2003)
 SKY Significantly
Gotham
Enhances Optimism
26 Pre-test
Post-test
Degree of Optimism

25

24

23

22

21

20
Control SKY
Control SKY
Optimism significantly increased in SKY practitioners in 4 weeks, yet slightly
decreased in controls

Kjellgren et al. (2007)

 Significant Increases in
Gotham
Life Satisfaction with SKY
(Extremely satisfied) 35
Before SKY
1 week after SKY
33
4 weeks after SKY
*
31 #
Satisfaction With
Life Scale

29

27

25

23

21

(Dissatisfied) 19
* - p value < 0.001 # - p value < 0.001
Using standardized life satisfaction measures, participants life satisfaction scores changed
from ‘slightly satisfied’ with life to being ‘satisfied’ with life 1 week after SKY, and this
persisted 4 weeks post SKY
Goldstein, et al. (2016)