Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Active, Not Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT05026827

Iyengar Yoga for Prolonged Grief Disorder

Experiencing the death of a loved one is inevitable for older adults. Before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, over 2.5 million people died annually in the United States, including 52,000 in Wisconsin alone, and COVID-19 has added to this toll. Each person who dies leaves an average of five grieving people behind. Most grieving older adults are resilient and recover their pre-loss functioning within one year. However, in about 10%, acute grief becomes protracted and debilitating, leading to the development of prolonged grief disorder (PGD), a clinically diagnosable mental health condition. PGD in older adults increases the risk for poorer medical, mental health, and cognitive outcomes; lower quality of life; disability; premature mortality; and suicide. Despite the magnitude of this problem, the neurobiology of PGD in older adults is poorly understood. By using Iyengar Yoga (IY) as a probe for PGD neurobiology, this pilot project aims to address this critical gap.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

Key information

Conditions

Prolonged Grief Disorder Mental Disorders Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders

Age range

40 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Medical College of Wisconsin

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, 53226, United States

About this study

Our goal is to conduct a pilot study to examine in PGD the modulating effects of 10-week IY on circulating endocannabinoid and emotion processing brain circuit, and the associations between biological changes and clinical response.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Male or female greater than or equal to 40 years of age
  • Bereavement >6 months
  • Score greater than or equal to 25 on the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG)
  • Presence of PGD (subsyndromal and syndromal)
  • Adequate visual and auditory acuity

Exclusion criteria

  • Delirium/unstable medical conditions
  • Lifetime history of neurological illnesses: seizures, stroke, dementia of any etiology, severe head injury, brain tumor or surgery
  • Serious back, joint or neck injuries within the past 3 months
  • Currently practicing yoga
  • Gross structural abnormalities on T1-weighted images
  • Lifetime history of the following psychiatric disorders: bipolar or psychotic disorders, including psychotic depression
  • Current alcohol/drug abuse or dependence
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contraindications
  • Acute suicidality

Treatment and study plan

Iyengar Yoga

Other

Participation in Iyengar Yoga classes

Socialization Control

Other

Participation in socialization control group sessions

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in circulating endocannabinoid concentrations

    Time frame: 10 weeks

    Change in circulating endocannabinoids from baseline to post-intervention

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in neural activity measured using Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

    Time frame: 10 weeks

    Change in neural activity from baseline to post-intervention

  2. Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG) scale score change

    Time frame: 10 weeks

    ICG score ranges from 0 to 76 (higher scores indicate worse outcome)

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Medical College of Wisconsin

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Iyengar Yoga as a Probe of Prolonged Grief Disorder Neurobiology

Acronym: Yoga

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Aug 30, 2021
Registry last updated
Jan 12, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.