The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has recently funded a clinical trial which will be conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, to evaluate whether the chanting of the religious hymn, Gayatri Mantra, will speed up the recovery of the patients suffering from the COVID-19.
The clinical trial will also look at the effect of performing the Yogic practice of Pranayama on the quality and speed of recovery from COVID-19.
One Group will be chanting Gayatri Mantra and performing Pranayama along with standard treatment
The clinical trial will aim to recruit around 20 COVID-19 positive patients displaying “moderate symptoms” and will divide them into two groups of 10 each. One of the groups will be treated with the regular standard COVID-19 procedure while the other group will be subjected to regular sessions of hymns chanting and yogic breathing exercises supervised by a certified yoga instructor, along with the standard treatment.
After a session of two weeks, both the groups will be tested and compared with each other. The comparison will look whether the group who was subjected to the chanting and breathing exercises showed any measurable improvements over the group receiving the standard treatment. The test will especially look at the improved markers for cellular inflammation or cell-injury.
The trial will also evaluate whether the recovery time between the two groups varied significantly and was there any reduction in fatigue or anxiety in the patients.
DST funded ₹3 lakh for the study to see the effect of Gayatri Mantra and pranayama
When asked if the trial had already begun, Dr. Ruchi Dua, pulmonologist and Associate Professor at AIIMS, told the media that the recruitment phase of the trial had begun. Dr. Dua was the one who applied for the funding from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and will be heading the clinical trial.
The DST gave an open call for applications to seek funding for the projects to evaluate and develop COVID-19 relevant therapies, drugs, and interventions. Dr. Dua was one of the applicants and has been funded with ₹3 lakh for the trial.
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