Breathing‐Based Meditation Decreases Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in U.S. Military Veterans: A Randomized Controlled Longitudinal Study

A breathing-based meditation called Sudarshan Kriya yoga reduced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, anxiety, and respiration rate in male U.S. veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Twenty-one veterans were randomly assigned to either the active meditation group or a waitlist control group. The active group showed large reductions in PTSD scores and anxiety symptoms, while the control group did not. Reductions in startle response correlated with reduced hyperarousal symptoms immediately after the intervention and at one-year follow-up. The findings suggest Sudarshan Kriya yoga may be a useful alternative treatment for PTSD.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Given the limited success of conventional treatments for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), investigations of alternative approaches are warranted. We examined the effects of a breathing-based meditation intervention, Sudarshan Kriya yoga, on PTSD outcome variables in U.S. male veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan war. We randomly assigned 21 veterans to an active (n = 11) or waitlist control (n = 10) group. Laboratory measures of eye-blink startle and respiration rate were obtained before and after the intervention, as were self-report symptom measures; the latter were also obtained 1 month and 1 year later. The active group showed reductions in PTSD scores, d = 1.16, 95% CI [0.20, 2.04], anxiety symptoms, and respiration rate, but the control group did not. Reductions in startle correlated with reductions in hyperarousal symptoms immediately postintervention (r = .93, p < .001) and at 1-year follow-up (r = .77, p = .025). This longitudinal intervention study suggests there may be clinical utility for Sudarshan Kriya yoga for PTSD.