Yogic Breathing Exercise and Meditation for People With Spinal Cord Disorders

June 16, 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

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

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

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

Phase

  • 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

  • Name: Hon Yuen, PhD
  • Phone Number: 12059346301
  • Email: yuen@uab.edu

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Alabama
      • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35294
        • 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

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
Intervention / Treatment
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

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

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Investigators

  • 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 (Estimated)

June 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 11, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 16, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 18, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 16, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID 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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