Yoga Adjunct for Scleroderma

This pilot research project will: * Test the feasibility of a scleroderma self-management intervention that combines Gentle Yoga postures and Yoga Breathing (GYYB) as adjunctive treatment with standard care. * Explore the effectiveness of GYYB for improving health-related quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes. * Provide information about acceptance and adoption of a GYYB intervention by scleroderma patients of African ancestry (AA) and non-Hispanic white (NHW) scleroderma patients in the United States (US). * Investigate, for the first time in scleroderma patients, the relationship between GYYB and inflammatory biomarker changes which may provide insight into biological changes associated with improved health-related QoL outcomes. The following specific aims will be examined in a Pre/Post design using a 12-week GYYB intervention as an adjunct self-management strategy along with usual care: Specific Aim 1: Conduct a feasibility trial to assess changes in self-reported QoL in a 12-week adjunct GYYB program among scleroderma patients (N=30) receiving usual care. Outcomes will be assessed in the overall study population and stratified by race/ethnicity (NHW vs. AA). Specific Aim 2: Assess changes in the expression of inflammatory biomarkers in a 12-week adjunct GYYB program in scleroderma patients receiving usual care. Outcomes will be assessed in the overall study population and stratified by race/ethnicity (NHW vs. AA). This is a pilot study and will not test a hypothesis. There are no preliminary data for making assumptions regarding effect sizes and variability between Pre/Post measures in this intervention. The main goal of this pilot study is estimation. Results will provide critical preliminary data for planning a larger study and information about differences (or lack thereof) by race/ethnicity. With N=30 patients overall (n=15 per race/ethnicity group), investigators will be able to obtain relatively precise estimates of completion rates (e.g., 95% confidence intervals extending ±14% for the entire group and extending ±20% for each race/ethnicity group). Assuming some drop-outs over the study (i.e., with n=26 completers), investigators will be able to estimate changes in expression of inflammatory biomarkers with adequate precision (e.g., 95% confidence intervals extending ±0.4 standard deviation units for the entire group and extending ±0.5 standard deviation units for each race/ethnicity group). Although hypothesis testing is secondary, note that this study will have 80% power to detect changes equivalent to 0.6 standard deviation units in the overall sample and 0.8 standard deviation units in each race/ethnicity group (NHW and AA).