Yoga for Persons With Severe Visual Impairment (RPY)

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18+
• Legal blindness (visual acuity worse than 20/200 but better than no/bare light perception, and/or visual field less than 20º, in the better eye)
• Any ocular disease diagnosis that is expected to remain relatively stable throughout a 3-6 month period
• Being healthy to the extent that participation yoga therapy would not exacerbate any existing disease conditions;
• Willingness to participate on a weekly basis for the 12-week intervention;
• Moderate to severe sleep disturbances, defined as ratings of 5 or greater on the PSQI

Exclusion Criteria:

• Significant changes to vision within the most recent 3-month period
• Inability to understand study procedures or communicate responses to visual stimuli in a consistent manner
• Clinically diagnosed or clinically significant sleep disorder (e.g., sleep apnea) or a medical or psychiatric condition (e.g., chronic pain) responsible for sleep complaints;
• Use of prescription sleep medication more than once a week for duration of the study;
• Use of other psychotropic medication;
• Current recipient of sleep disorder treatment;
• Consumption of more than 2-3 alcoholic beverages per day
• Smoking more than 10 cigarettes per day;