Yogic Breathing Exercise and Meditation for People With Spinal Cord Disorders

July 22, 2026 updated by: Hon K. Yuen, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

The goal of the study is to understand how well yogic breathing exercise and meditation improves breathing, fatigue, emotional well-being and quality of life in people with spinal cord disorders.

Aim 1. Evaluate the efficacy of an 8-week, virtual, coach-guided yogic breathing and meditation (YBM) program on QoL and mental health in people with spinal cord disorders.

This study will include completing several questionnaires 3 times, 8 weeks of participating in 2 sessions per week of yogic breathing exercise and meditation via Zoom and being interviewed once at the completion of the 8-week program.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

General Information You are being asked to take part in a research study. This research study is voluntary, meaning you do not have to take part in it. The procedures, risks, and benefits are fully described further in the consent form.

Purpose The purpose of the study is to understand how well yogic breathing exercise and meditation improves breathing, fatigue, and emotional well-being in people with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Duration & Visits You will complete several questionnaires (3 different times) that will take 30 minutes to complete each time, participate in 12-30-minute yogic breathing exercise and meditation sessions (over 8 weeks), complete a 25-minute interview and that you will be in the study for 2 months.

Overview of Procedures This study will include completing several questionnaires multiple times, 8 weeks of participating in 2 sessions per week of yogic breathing exercise and meditation via Zoom and being interviewed once.

Risks The most common risks include some tiredness and frustration while learning the yogic breathing exercise and meditation techniques. Loss of confidentiality is also a risk.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
30

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Hon Yuen, PhD
  • Phone Number: 12059346301
  • Email: yuen@uab.edu

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Alabama
      • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35294
        • Recruiting
        • University of Alabama at Birmingham
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Hon Yuen, PhD
        • Contact:
          • Hon Yuen, PhD
          • Phone Number: 2059346301
          • Email: yuen@uab.edu
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • spinal cord disorders
  • community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 18 years
  • able to follow simple, three-step verbal instructions (e.g., close your eyes, open your mouth, close your mouth)
  • access to the internet and an electronic device with videoconferencing capability
  • able to set up virtual sessions with/without caregiver assistance
  • sufficient English language proficiency to provide consent for study participation and complete self-report questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria:

  • suicidal intent requiring emergency care
  • bedridden with continuous use of noninvasive ventilation
  • participating in weekly pulmonary PT, psychological therapy, or a clinical trial that could affect proposed study outcomes.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: yogic breathing and meditation
yogic breathing exercise and meditation exercise
Behavioral: yogic breathing and meditation
yogic breathing exercise and meditation exercise

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Depressive symptoms as assessed by the PHQ-9
Time Frame: change from baseline in depressive symptoms at 8 and 16 weeks
The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) consists of nine questions inquiring about symptoms experienced over the past two weeks, ranging from low energy and sleep issues to feelings of hopelessness and self-harm. Each question is scored from 0 to 3, with a maximum total score of 27. Higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptomology.
change from baseline in depressive symptoms at 8 and 16 weeks
Patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9)
Time Frame: baseline, post-program (8th week), and 16th week
The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) consists of nine questions inquiring about symptoms experienced over the past two weeks, ranging from low energy and sleep issues to feelings of hopelessness and self-harm. Each question is scored from 0 to 3, with a maximum total score of 27. Higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptomology.
baseline, post-program (8th week), and 16th week

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Hon Yuen, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 22, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 11, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 16, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 18, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 23, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 22, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB-300011535 A
  • UAB (Other Identifier: UAB)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Adhering to laws like HIPAA or GDPR, which strictly prohibit the unauthorized distribution of personally identifiable information.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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