ISHA YOGA PRACTICES ENHANCES IMMUNE SYSTEM

Scientists from the University of Florida and their collaborators have found an exciting discovery showing an
enhanced immune system with just eight days of intensive meditation [1]. Researchers studied participants
from the Samyama program, an advanced residential meditation retreat conducted by Isha Foundation. This
study showed that participation in this meditation program naturally increases the expression of 220 genes
directly related to immune response – including 68 genes related to interferon signaling [1]. Interferons are
proteins that trigger the immune cells to fight viruses and cancer cells in our body.

Several recent studies have shown that interferon signaling is dysregulated in severe COVID-19 patients [2].
By comparing meditation and COVID-19 datasets, researchers observed interferon signaling genes were
increased dramatically after meditation. However, in severe cases of COVID-19, the expression levels of
interferon signaling genes were significantly reduced. The authors suggest that meditation could have an
important role in treating various diseases associated with a weakened immune system.

“The positive impact of yoga and meditation on human well-being is well documented, yet its molecular
mechanisms are incompletely understood. By performing this largest meditation study, we show that the yoga
and meditative practices enhanced immune function without activating inflammatory signals. This study
demonstrates that non-pharmaceutical interventions like yoga and meditation can voluntarily influence the
immune system.” said Vijayendran Chandran, Ph.D., the lead investigator for this study.

As of May 5, 2021, more than 40 clinical studies of various formulations of interferon treatment plans have
been registered on clinicaltrials.gov for COVID-19. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that meditation
can naturally boost interferon signaling genes. Researchers characterized the gene expression profiles of
whole-blood cells from 388 specimens obtained from 106 individuals before and after the Samyama retreat at
four-time points by RNA sequencing. Using an integrative approach, they found several immune-related and
other fundamental cellular pathways to be altered after the mediation retreat [1]. This work provides a
foundation for understanding the effect of meditation and potential implications to voluntarily and non-
pharmacologically improve the immune response for many diseases, including COVID-19.

Researchers from University of Florida, Indiana University, and Harvard University were jointly involved with
sample collection and study design.

Note from authors: This paper has not yet undergone peer review and the findings are provisional.
https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.18.444668

References
1. Chandran V, Bermudez M-L, Koka M, Pawale D, Vishnubhotla R, Alankar S, Maturi R, Subramaniam B,
Sadhasivam S: Large-scale genomic study reveals robust activation of the immune system
following advanced Inner Engineering meditation retreat. bioRxiv 2021:2021.2005.2018.444668.
2. Acharya D, Liu G, Gack MU: Dysregulation of type I interferon responses in COVID-19. Nature
reviews Immunology 2020, 20(7):397-398.
 ISHA YOGA PRACTICES Immune interferon* genes
ENHANCES IMMUNE SYSTEM

Advanced Inner Engineering

meditation program (Samyama)
Meditation:
= genes After meditation versus before meditation
Z-Score
- 6 6 = genes high-expression
= genes low-expression

SARS-CoV-2
Severe
COVID-19

Severe COVID-19:
Mild COVID-19-ICU versus COVID-19-Non-ICU
COVID-19

Immune interferon genes

showing increased expression
(red) after meditation and
dramatically decreased (blue)
in severe COVID-19 patients.
Reference: Vijayendran Chandran et al., Mild COVID-19:
https://tinyurl.com/ishayoga4immunity COVID-19 versus non-COVID-19 (Non-ICU)
* Interferons are proteins that trigger the immune cells to fight viruses and cancer cells in our body.

Comparison of interferon response in meditation and COVID-19 datasets. Meditation-specific and COVID-
19-specific gene networks showing genes associated with interferon signaling, displaying upregulation in
meditation participants and dramatic downregulation in severe COVID-19 patients. Nodes correspond to genes
and edges to mutual information. Larger nodes correspond to higher expression (Z-score). Node color
represents upregulation (red) or downregulation (blue).