Page No 159-164
Pranay Kumar Gupta Manoj Kumar
Central Institute of Psychiatry,Kanke, Ranchi. BRABihar University, Muzaffarpur.
Riti Kumari and J.M. Deo
MDDM College,Muzaffarpur. College of Commerce, Patna
Anxiety and depression are two most common mental problems facing the aged
and are often ignored. In a vast country like India, particularly the rural India where
little mental health facilities are available, these people are little taken care of with
regards to their mental health. However, our very own system of yoga holds so
much promise for these sufferers. The present study is an attempt to find out the
impact of pranayama on the anxiety and depression of the senior citizens living in
the rural community. For the study, 30 senior citizens of Madhubani town have
been selected. Their level of anxiety and depression were measured on Sinha
Anxiety Scale and Beck Depression Inventory prior to their enrolment in Yoga sivir
(camp) of 7 days duration where they were trained in anuloma-viloma technique of
pranayama. Their level of anxiety and depression were again measured after 3
months during that period the subjects regularly practiced the pranayama. The
comparison of the two scores showed significant impact of the pranayama on their
anxiety and depression.