Commentary
Need for E-module-based Validated
Yoga Protocol
Padmavathi R1 , Dhamodhini K S1, Maheshkumar K2
and Santhi Silambanan4
Dear Editor,
We would like to express our appreciation to Jasti et al.1 for
taking time to engage with our article titled ‘Development
and Validation of Yoga Protocol for Patients with
Depression’2 published in the ‘Annals of Neuroscience’. It
is always valuable to receive feedback and engage in
meaningful discussions on important topics.
Regarding the concerns raised by the authors about our
methodology for developing the Yoga module, we would like
to provide some context to clarify these aspects and address
any potential misconceptions. We did not mention ‘no
published validated yoga module for depression’ anywhere in
our article. Instead, we clearly stated that ‘minimal studies
have been done on the development of a yoga module for the
specific clinical aspects of depression’.2
We firmly believe that conducting new research on the same
topic is essential for the growth of knowledge, the refinement
of methodologies, and the adaptation of research to changing
conditions. This approach ensures that our understanding of a
subject remains relevant, accurate, and up-to-date.
Our goal is not only to validate the Yoga protocol but also to
bring that protocol into an e-module platform. To achieve this,
we conducted a comprehensive literature search, selecting
Yoga practices from scientific literature, classical Yoga texts,
such as Gheranda Samhita,3 Hatha Yoga Pradeepika,4 and
Patanjali Yoga Sutras,5 along with contemporary Yoga-related
books like ‘Yoga Therapy Series: Yogic Management of
Diseases’,6 ‘Suryanamaskar’,7 ‘Yoga Darshana’,8 and ‘Light
on Yoga’,9 etc. Consequently, the protocol for mild depression
consisted of 26 yogic practices, while the protocol for moderate
depression included 35 yogic practices.
These developed Yoga protocols for mild and moderate
depression underwent a rigorous review by senior experts,
including Yoga professionals and researchers in the fields of Yoga,
Physiology, and Psychology. They recommended 13 practices out
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, Suvarna Jyothi Kantipudi3
of 26 for mild depression and 12 practices out of 35 for moderate
depression and we have clearly mentioned it in Tables 1 and 2 in
our article.2 The practices removed based on expert suggestions
were elaborately given in Supplementary Tables S1 and S2. These
tables demonstrate that we have included practices such as Surya
namaskar, Surya Nadi pranayama, Ujjayi pranayama, Bhastrika
pranayama, as well as backward-bending asanas like Ardha
chakrasana and Bhujangasana in the protocol, all of which were
selected after a thorough literature search. Since it is a validation
study, we cited the articles only on the validation aspect focussing
on the validation of e-yoga protocol for mild and moderate
depression.10–13
The final protocol was the result of this protocol
development programme; hence, we presented the results as
it is as per the advice and suggestions given by the experts.
Furthermore, we have already mentioned that the Experts
were the experienced (>10 years) medical professionals in
yoga, physiology, and psychology, who either practiced or
treated patients with yoga.2
The main purpose of this validation study is to develop a
Yoga e-module for depression. To the best of our knowledge, no
1Department of Physiology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education
and Research (SRIHER), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
2Department of Physiology, Govt Yoga and Naturopathy Medical College
& Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
3Department of Psychiatry, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education
and Research (SRIHER), Porur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
4Department of Biochemistry, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher
Education and Research (SRIHER), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Corresponding author:
Padmavathi R, Department of Physiology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of
Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), Porur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
600116, India.
E-mail: rpadmavathi@sriramachandra.edu.in
2 Annals of Neurosciences
protocol development had been undertaken for e-Yoga before,
which prompted us to create a standard e-module in the form of
a Yoga app, as clearly discussed in our article.2 As outlined in the
discussion section, our initial focus has been on creating Yoga
modules tailored for mild and moderate depression. It’s important
to highlight that this represents just the initial phase of our
project. In continuation of our efforts, we have successfully
created the DST SRIHER - AVISHADA YOGA App
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGRuFNe8B0M], which
incorporates the Yoga modules designed specifically for
individuals with mild and moderate depression. This app offers
convenient access and simplicity, making it effective. It provides
comprehensive guidance on practice do’s and don’ts. With pre-
recorded videos in three languages (Tamil, English, and Hindi),
it sparks individual interest and motivation. Additionally, it
tracks practice duration, frequency, and intervention components,
making it valuable for clinicians integrating yoga as an adjunct
therapy for depression and anxiety management, as well as
future researchers in the field.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to
the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
This project was financially supported by the Department of Science
and Technology (DST) under the SATYAM category (Reference
project title: DST/SATYAM/COVID-19/2020/25, Reference project
number: 28262).
ORCID iDs
Padmavathi R https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6698-0764
Maheshkumar K https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5377-7847
Suvarna Jyothi Kantipudi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9161-3229
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