Yoga has long been recognized as a therapeutic intervention for improving mindfulness and psychological well-being. Yoga represents a unique exercise activity that employs mindfulness-based practices and various balance postures to improve physical and mental health. Yoga is a gentle form of exercise that can be easily adapted to populations suffering from physical and mental limitations and has been shown to improve physical and psychological functioning in individuals with PD. Though research continues to support the positive psychological effects of yoga, it is unclear whether this is due to the unique mindfulness-rooted approach of yoga or general increases in physical activity.~Power-based resistance training has had promising results in the PD community. Improvements in balance, gait, and increases in leg muscle power and strength have been shown in PD patients after power training interventions. Although power training is a beneficial exercise modality in the treatment of motor symptoms, the effects of power training on nonmotor symptoms have yet to be established.
The investigators propose to compare the effects of a 16-week specially designed yoga program to a power-based resistance training program on affect trait mindfulness, anxiety, depression, functionality, and quality of life. As secondary measures, we propose to compare the effects of these exercise programs on measures of executive function (EF), sleep, disease stage, motor symptoms, muscle quality, rigidity, strength, power, and mobility.