Yogic Breathing and Guided Meditation for Long Covid Symptoms

NCT ID: NCT05139979

Last Updated: 2025-02-06

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

189 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-09-15

Study Completion Date

2024-02-07

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This study aims to assess the impact of brief digitally delivered breathing practice and guided meditation on post-Covid physical and mental symptoms in Long Covid Patients.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Long Covid symptoms can last weeks to months after the initial Covid infection or can appear weeks after. It can occur in those with mild disease or asymptomatic patients. Most commonly reported symptoms of Long Covid are:

* Tiredness or fatigue
* Difficulty thinking or concentrating (sometimes referred to as "brain fog")
* Headache
* Loss of smell or taste
* Dizziness on standing
* Fast-beating or pounding heart (also known as heart palpitations)
* Chest pain
* Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
* Cough
* Joint or muscle pain
* Depression or anxiety
* Fever
* Symptoms that get worse after physical or mental activities

To this date, nearly 180 million people have been infected with Covid19 and over 3 million have lost their lives worldwide. The increasing prevalence of patients with Long Covid symptoms and the lack of effective solutions to address their condition, creates an urgent need for non-pharmacological interventions that are effective and scalable and can be delivered online to accommodate for the limitations due to the Covid pandemic.

Yogic Breathing and Meditation techniques have been shown to have various health benefits including improving pulmonary function and mental health. Prominent health institutions are recommending breathing exercise to their Covid patients to assist their respiratory recovery9. Meditation and breathing is also shown to help with Covid related stress and anxiety.

This study is a waitlisted randomized controlled trial conducted in 2 phases:

Phase 1: If participants are in the intervention group, they will be asked to learn and practices two Yogic Breathing practices (Simha Kriya and Nadi Shuddhi) and a guided meditation (Isha Kriya) for 3 weeks They will be asked to complete a set of questionnaires at baseline and the end of each week. Participants in the waitlisted control group will be asked to perform their regular daily routine as they wait to be enrolled into the intervention at the end of 3 weeks. The waitlisted control group will also be recruited for semi-structured individual interviews during this time.

Phase 2: The waitlisted control group will begin the intervention at week 3 and continue until week 6. They will be asked to continue completing the questionnaires at the end of each week. The intervention group will be asked to complete a final follow-up questionnaire at the end of week 6. The intervention group will also be recruited for semi-structured individual interviews during this time.

Focus group discussions with both the intervention and control groups are conducted at the end of the study to collect general information about the participant's general experience with the current study and what matters to them as a Long COVID patients.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

COVID-19 Stress Shortness of Breath

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

Upon enrollment and randomization, the intervention group will be followed weekly for 3 weeks as well as on week 6. The waitlisted control group will be followed for 3 weeks as controls and will then learn the intervention and be followed for additional 3 weeks (total of 6 weeks).
Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Webinar-Based Intervention

Breathing and Wellness Webinar: two yogic breathing practices (Simha Kriya and Naddi Shuddi) and a guided meditation (Isha Kriya).

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Breathing and Wellness Webinar

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Simha Kriya : a 3-minute energizing breathing practice to expand lung capacity and improve immunity, to be practiced twice daily.

Nadi Shuddhi - a gentle 4-minute breathing practice for creating mental balance and relaxation, to be practiced for a minimum of 4 minutes daily.

Isha Kriya - a 15-minute guided meditation that incorporates the breath and the awareness to create mental clarity and health, to be practiced at least once (ideally twice) daily.

Control

This group will be asked to wait for 3 weeks before being introduced to the Breathing and Wellness Webinar intervention which includes two yogic breathing practices (Simha Kriya and Naddi Shuddi) and a guided meditation (Isha Kriya).

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Routine Daily Activity

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants in the control group are asked to perform routine daily activities until enrolled into the intervention arm.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Breathing and Wellness Webinar

Simha Kriya : a 3-minute energizing breathing practice to expand lung capacity and improve immunity, to be practiced twice daily.

Nadi Shuddhi - a gentle 4-minute breathing practice for creating mental balance and relaxation, to be practiced for a minimum of 4 minutes daily.

Isha Kriya - a 15-minute guided meditation that incorporates the breath and the awareness to create mental clarity and health, to be practiced at least once (ideally twice) daily.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Routine Daily Activity

Participants in the control group are asked to perform routine daily activities until enrolled into the intervention arm.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Age between 18 and 70 years
* Interested in attending the online Breathing and Wellness webinar.
* Laboratory-confirmed (PCR) history of Covid-19 infection.
* Long Covid condition diagnosis by a physician.
* Able to read and comprehend English.
* Currently residing in the United States.

Exclusion Criteria

● Any medically limiting diagnosis that prevents a patient from doing the intervention or completing the assessments as determined by the PI such as severe Major Depression (under medication), Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

70 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Balachundhar Subramaniam

Professor of Anesthesia

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Balachundar Subramaniam, MD, MPH

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Greenhalgh T, Knight M, A'Court C, Buxton M, Husain L. Management of post-acute covid-19 in primary care. BMJ. 2020 Aug 11;370:m3026. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m3026. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32784198 (View on PubMed)

Taquet M, Geddes JR, Husain M, Luciano S, Harrison PJ. 6-month neurological and psychiatric outcomes in 236 379 survivors of COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records. Lancet Psychiatry. 2021 May;8(5):416-427. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00084-5. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33836148 (View on PubMed)

Abel AN, Lloyd LK, Williams JS. The effects of regular yoga practice on pulmonary function in healthy individuals: a literature review. J Altern Complement Med. 2013 Mar;19(3):185-90. doi: 10.1089/acm.2011.0516. Epub 2012 Sep 14.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22978245 (View on PubMed)

Budhi RB, Payghan S, Deepeshwar S. Changes in Lung Function Measures Following Bhastrika Pranayama (Bellows Breath) and Running in Healthy Individuals. Int J Yoga. 2019 Sep-Dec;12(3):233-239. doi: 10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_43_18.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31543632 (View on PubMed)

Rangasamy V, Thampi Susheela A, Mueller A, F H Chang T, Sadhasivam S, Subramaniam B. The effect of a one-time 15-minute guided meditation (Isha Kriya) on stress and mood disturbances among operating room professionals: a prospective interventional pilot study. F1000Res. 2019 Mar 26;8:335. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.18446.1. eCollection 2019.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32665843 (View on PubMed)

Maric V, Mishra J, Ramanathan DS. Using Mind-Body Medicine to Reduce the Long-Term Health Impacts of COVID-Specific Chronic Stress. Front Psychiatry. 2021 Feb 22;12:585952. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.585952. eCollection 2021. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33692706 (View on PubMed)

Rain M, Subramaniam B, Avti P, Mahajan P, Anand A. Can Yogic Breathing Techniques Like Simha Kriya and Isha Kriya Regulate COVID-19-Related Stress? Front Psychol. 2021 Apr 15;12:635816. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.635816. eCollection 2021.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33935886 (View on PubMed)

Narayanan S, Tennison J, Cohen L, Urso C, Subramaniam B, Bruera E. Yoga-Based Breathing Techniques for Health Care Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic: Interests, Feasibility, and Acceptance. J Altern Complement Med. 2021 Aug;27(8):706-709. doi: 10.1089/acm.2020.0536. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33835830 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

2021P000552

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

Yoga for a Healthy Heart
NCT06155240 RECRUITING NA