The department focuses on research thrust areas including:

• CYTER is focusing on building research based, empirical evidence for the practice of Yoga and Yoga Therapy and to this extent has completed 22 research projects while another 10 projects are ongoing.
• Currently, the inter-disciplinary studies are focusing on psycho physiological effects in geriatrics, cardio-respiratory physiology, general medicine, pulmonology, nursing, dental applications, ENT disorders, ophthalmology, dermatology , obstetrics & gynecology as well as special interest groups including children with special needs, the aging population and the transgender community.
• CYTER is a Member School of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (USA) and Asscoiate Member of the Indian Yoga Association (New Delhi).

This has resulted in dissemination of new knowledge in the form of several noteworthy publications including:

• CYTER has published 148 papers and 48 abstracts in national and international journals as well as conference proceedings highlighting the immediate, short term as well as long term, health enhancing benefits of Yoga training as well as Yoga Therapy programs.
• 16 compilations and 8 invited chapters in books have been published.

Noteworthy publications with high impact factor include:

• Bhavanani AB and Ramanathan M. Psychophysiology of Yoga Postures: Ancient and Modern Perspectives of Asanas. In: Shirley Telles and Nilkamal Singh editors.  Research-Based Perspectives on the Psychophysiology of Yoga. IGI Global, Editors:,2017. pp.1-16
• Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M, Balaji R and Pushpa D. Immediate effect of suryanamaskar on reaction time and heart rate in female volunteers. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2013; 57 (2): 199–204.
• Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M, Balaji R, Pushpa D. Differential effects of uninostril and alternate nostril pranayamas on cardiovascular parameters and reaction time. Int J Yoga 2014; 7: 60-65.
• Bhavanani AB. Yoga. Clinical Roundup: Selected Treatment Options for Depression. Alternative and Complementary Therapies 2014; 20: 54-55.
• Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M, Balaji R, Pushpa D. Comparative immediate effect of different yoga asanas on heart rate and blood pressure in healthy young volunteers. International Journal of Yoga 2014; 7: 89-95.
• Ramanathan M, Bhavanani AB, Trakroo M. Effect of a 12-week yoga therapy program on mental health status in elderly women inmates of a hospice. Int J Yoga 2017; 10: 24-28.
• Dayanidy G, Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, Meena Ramanathan. Enhancing awareness of yoga in health professions education students through a single interactive session: A pretest-post test study. Journal of Education Technology in Health Sciences, 2018;5(1):20-24
• Balaji R, Ramanathan M, Bhavanani AB, Ranganadin P, Balachandran K. Effectiveness of adjuvant yoga therapy in diabetic lung: A randomized control trial. Int J Yoga 2019;12:96-102.
• Gupta K, Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M, Rajasekar B, Sarkar S, Dayanidy G. Effect of Adjuvant Yoga Therapy on Craving in Participants of an Alcohol De-addiction Program: A Pilot Study. J Basic Clin Appl Health Sci 2019;2(4):138–141.
• Balaji R, Ramanathan M, Bhavanani AB. Nephroprotective Impact of Adjuvant Yoga Therapy on Diabetes – A Randomised Controlled Trial. J Clin Diagn Res.2020; 14(12): KC01-KC04.
• Ramanathan M, Bhavanani AB. Yoga training enhances auditory and visual reaction time in elderly woman inmates of a hospice: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Yoga Mimamsa 2020;52:56-60.
• Artchoudane S, Ramanathan M, Bhavanani AB, Muruganandam P, Jatiya L. Effect of Yoga Therapy on Neuromuscular Function and Reduction of Autism Severity in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Health Systems and Translational Medicine (IJHSTM). 2021; 1(1): 76-85.
• Karri RR, Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M, Mopidevi VG. Yoga therapy in psychiatry: Myths and misconceptions. Arch Ment Health 2021;22:74-9.
• Dayanidy G, Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M, Srikanth S. Effect of yoga therapy on cardiovascular parameters in patients with psoriasis: A randomized control trial — pilot study. IP J Nutr Metab Health Sci 2021;4(2):61-63.
• Rajasekaran Balaji, Meena Ramanathan, Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani. Role of yoga as an adjuvant therapy in the management of metabolic syndrome – A randomized control pilot study. Yoga Mimamsa 2021; 53 (2) : 116-121.

Patents, copyrights and technology transfer:

The department has 12 copyrights to its credit.

1. Incorporation of Yoga Therapy Education in Nursing Curriculum – Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (SBV) Model
2. Choice Based Credit Courses in Yoga Therapy
3. CYTER Yoga Therapy Educational Videos
4. “SILVER YOGA”: The CYTER Model
5. Administrative policy statement and SBV Policy on salutogenesis implementation and SBV Standard Operating procedure for salutogenesis (2018/SBV POL./SALUT./002)
6. “DIVYANGA YOGA”: The CYTER Model
7. “Salutogenic Approach of Yoga for the Third Gender: The CYTER model”
8. Standard Operating Procedure for Application Of Yoga In Primary Health Care (Voyaging Of Yoga Basics To Grass Roots – VYBGR)
9. Integrating Yoga in Health Professions Education
10. MYFSC – Making Yoga Fun for Special Children
11. PURNAM : CYTER Model of Salutogenic Communication of Wholesomeness in a Clinical Setting
12. YOGA CHIKITSA ANUKRAMA : CYTER Model

Research collaborations and consultancy:

The department partners with various other Institutes/departments/industry for research activities. Collaborations have resulted in the following publications based on such activities:

With International Association of Yoga Therapists, USA:

• Bhavanani AB, Sullivan M, Taylor MJ, Wheeler A. Shared Foundations for Practice: The Language of Yoga Therapy. Yoga Therapy Today 2019. 15 (3): 44-47.
• Sovik R, Bhavanani AB. History, Philosophy, and Practice of Yoga. In: Sat Bir Khalsa, Lorenzo Cohen, Timothy McCall, and Shirley Telles editors. The Principles and Practice of Yoga in Health Care. East Lothian, UK: Handspring Pub Ltd ; 2016. pp 17-29.
• Majewski L and Bhavanani AB. Yoga Therapy as a Whole-person Approach to Health. Singing Dragon, 2020. ISBN 1787750930, 9781787750937

With JIPMER, Pondicherry:

• Jagadevan M, Mohanakrishnan B, Bhavanani AB, Shristhudhi D, Arumugam P, Subbiah B, et al. Additive effect of “Brahma Mudra” on pain, proprioception and functional abilities in non-specific mechanical neck pain. J Bodyw Mov Ther 2021; 27: 717-722.

With Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute, Lonavla, Maharastra:

• Lee Majewski, Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani. A novel rejuvenation program for cancer patients at Kaivalyadhama, India. Yoga Mimamsa 2014; 46:20-24.
• Bhavanani AB, Majewski L, Tiwari S. Effects of an Intensive 3-Week Yoga Retreat on Sense of Well Being in Cancer Survivors. J Alt Med Res 2016; 2(2): 116.

For the first time Yoga therapy and Faculty of Dentistry (IGIDS) coming together:

• Eswari R, Prathima GS, Sanguida A, Ramanathan M, Harikrishnan E, Ezhumalai G. Yoga therapy as an adjunct to traditional tooth brushing training methods in children with autism spectrum disorder. Spec Care Dentist. 2019; 1–6.
• Ramanathan M, Eswari R, Bhavanani AB, Prathima GS, Sanguida A. Yoga training enhances auditory and visual reaction time in children with autism spectrum disorder: A case – control study. J Basic Clin Appl Health Sci. 2019; 2:8-13.
• Thiruvalluvan A, Sekizhar V, Ramanathan M, Bhavanani AB, Chakravathy D, C. Reddy JR. Effect of pranayama techniques with Marmanasthanam Kriya as yogic relaxation on biopsychosocial parameters prior to endodontic therapy: A cross sectional study .Int J Yoga 2021;14:146-151.

Yoga therapy and Faculty of Medicine (MGMCRI) coming together:

• Dutta A, Green SR, Balayogi AB, Hemachandar R, Dhivya P, Mathew KT. Effect of yoga therapy on fasting lipid profile in chronic kidney disease: a comparative study. Int J Adv Med 2018;5: 294-98.
• Raghul S, Vasanthan S, Bhavanani AB, Jaiganesh K, Madanmohan T. Effects of overnight sleep deprivation on autonomic function and perceived stress in young health professionals and their reversal through yogic relaxation (Shavasana). Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol 2018;8 (Online First). Doi: 10.5455/njppp.2018.8.0415003052018
• Kumar S, Subramaniam E, Bhavanani AB, Sarkar S, Balasundaram S. Effect of adjunct yoga therapy in depressive disorders: Findings from a randomized controlled study. Indian J Psychiatry 2019; 61:592-7.
• Artchoudane S, Ranganadin P, Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M, Trakroo M. Effect of Adjuvant Yoga Therapy on Pulmonary Function and Quality of Life Among Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Randomized Control Trial. J Basic Clin Appl Health Sci. 2018; 2(3):117-22.
• Vasundhara VR, Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M, Ghose S, Dayanidy G. Immediate effect of Sukha Pranayama: A slow and deep breathing technique on maternal and fetal cardiovascular parameters. Yoga Mimamsa 2018; 50:49-52.
• Ajmera S, Sundar S, Amirtha Ganesh B, Bhavanani AB, Dayanidy G, Ezhumalai G. A comparative study on the effect of music therapy alone and a combination of music and yoga therapies on the psycho-physiological parameters of cardiac patients posted for angiography. J Basic Clin Appl Health Sci. 2018; 2:163-8.
• Abishek K, Bakshi SS, Bhavanani AB. The efficacy of yogic breathing exercise Bhramari pranayama in relieving symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis. Int J Yoga 2019;12:120-3.
• Manoharan Mangala Gowri, Jayanthi Rajendran, Abu Raghavan Srinivasan, Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, and Ramanathan Meena. Impact of an integrated yoga therapy protocol on insulin resistance and glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Rambam Maimonides Med J 2022; 13 (1) : e0005.

Yoga therapy and Faculty of Nursing (KGNC) coming together:

• Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M, Madanmohan, Srinivasan AR. Hematological, biochemical and psychological effects of a yoga training programme in nursing students. Int Res J Pharm App Sci 2013; 3(6):17-23