Yoga is an ancient way of life, which includes physical postures, breath regulation, meditation, and philosophical principles. There are different types of yoga. All of them were intended to help an aspirant attain spiritual emancipation. An Indian visionary, Swami Vivekanada (1863 – 1902) described four paths of yoga. These are (i) work done selflessly, karma yoga, (ii) book knowledge and knowledge about life, jnana yoga, (iii) devotion to the Supreme, bhakti yoga, and (iv) raja yoga or ashtanga yoga, which describes eight steps towards spiritual emancipation and includes postures, breathing, and meditation. More recently yoga techniques have been named after the proponent, particularly where the person is well known and there are many people trained in the technique (e.g., Iyengar yoga after Dr. B.K.S. Iyengar), while other recently derived yoga techniques are named after the method (e.g., Hatha yoga, where hatha means the use of persistence or force, in Sanskrit). To avoid confusion authors are requested to describe with clarity the type of yoga used in their manuscript.

Despite the ultimate goal of yoga being spiritual, it is now recognized that yoga has a wide range of physical and mental effects. Yoga practice is increasingly being used to promote positive health and manage disease. Yoga has also been used in rehabilitation as the techniques help practitioners regain their physical and psychological wellbeing.

We invite investigators to contribute original research articles (particularly randomized controlled trials) as well as review articles that evaluate the use of yoga in rehabilitation. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Yoga and cardiac rehabilitation (including after bypass rehabilitation)
• Yoga and pulmonary rehabilitation (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Yoga and neurological rehabilitation (e.g., stroke)
• Yoga and rehabilitation in oncology
• Yoga and psychiatric rehabilitation
• Yoga and after trauma exposure rehabilitation
• Yoga and rehabilitation of persons with a history of substance abuse
• Yoga and rehabilitation for musculoskeletal impairment
• Physiological effects of yoga practice which may explain the role in rehabilitation
• Mechanisms underlying the clinical benefits of yoga in rehabilitation
• Yoga and the rehabilitation of children (e.g., children who are mentally challenged)
• Yoga for the rehabilitation of people who are disadvantaged due to their circumstances (e.g., those in jails or in community homes)

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/ecam/yogar/ according to the following timetable: