An interventional study of SKY Breath Meditation and Yoga Videos in Stress, Anxiety and Physical Activity, sponsored by University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-04-29.
Sponsored by University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
This pilot study will evaluate the feasibility and potential benefits of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) for university students. Over an eight-week period, 56 students will be randomly assigned to either a SKY breathwork group or a control group engaging in general yoga without breathwork. The SKY group will participate in a three-day in-person retreat, weekly virtual sessions, and independent home practice. The study will assess recruitment, retention, and adherence, as well as changes in physical activity, perceived stress, anxiety, resilience, social connectedness, and cognitive focus. All participants will complete validated wellness questionnaires at baseline and post-intervention. The goal is to determine whether SKY is a feasible, low-risk intervention that may enhance student well-being and inform future research.
The investigators are conducting a small pilot study to explore whether a specific type of breath-based meditation-Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY)-can support the well-being of university students. Over the course of eight weeks, 56 undergraduate and graduate students will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group will take part in the SKY program, while the other will follow a general online yoga routine that does not include breathwork.
Participants in the SKY group will begin with a three-day in-person retreat, followed by weekly virtual sessions and independent home practice. The control group will engage in self-paced online yoga and receive occasional check-ins.
The primary focus of this study is feasibility: whether investigators can successfully recruit participants, maintain engagement, and support adherence to the intervention. The study will also examine whether SKY contributes to improvements in participants' physical and mental well-being. In addition to monitoring physical activity, the study will assess changes in perceived stress, anxiety, resilience, social connectedness, and cognitive focus-key areas that commonly affect student populations.
All participants will complete validated mental health and wellness questionnaires before and after the program. Data will be analyzed using statistical methods that include all enrolled participants, regardless of program completion. The SKY practices are considered low-risk and have been used in diverse populations; all data will be handled confidentially and securely.
This research is intended to lay the foundation for a larger study and provide early insight into how SKY breathwork practices may help students navigate academic demands with increased calm, clarity, and resilience.
7,201 studies on the registry are indexed under Anxiety Disorders; 1,682 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 53 is below the median of 80 across 6,057 interventional studies indexed under Anxiety Disorders.
Browse Anxiety Disorders studies →University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa is the lead sponsor of 42 studies on the registry; 16 are open to participants now.
Compared within Anxiety Disorders, the registry's first condition term, which may not be this study's main condition. Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily. How we classify →
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Participants must:
Exclusion Criteria:
Participants will be excluded if they:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Yoga videos to practice three times per week will be distributed to control group
Other: Yoga Videos
SKY breath meditation retreat for 3-days, once weekly online meditation session, and home practice.
Other: SKY Breath Meditation
Three day in person retreat, weekly virtual sessions, home practice
Pre-recorded yoga videos will be sent to the participants to perform yoga three times per week
perceived stress scale
measured by 10 items. score ranges from 0 to 40. Score of 0-13 would be considered low stress, score of 14-26 would be considered moderate stress, score of 27-40 would be considered high perceived stress.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale
a seven item scale with score ranging from 0 to 21. score of 0-4: Minimal anxiety, score of 5-9: Mild anxiety, 10-14: Moderate anxiety, and 15-21: Severe anxiety.
Time frame: 8 weeks
International physical activity scale - short form
a seven-item scale with open ended questions for recalling physical activity.
Time frame: 8 weeks
PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.
Plan to share: No — Apart from research team, no one will have access to the raw data. The information regarding the results shared will be after the data is de-identified.
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University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa