1 642 167 DOES PRACTICING HATHA YOGA SATISFY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INTENSITY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY WHICH IMPROVES AND MAINTAINS HEALTH AND CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS? BACKGROUND: LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE METABOLIC AND HEART RATE RESPONSES TO A TYPICAL HATHA YOGA SESSION. THE PURPOSES OF THIS STUDY WERE 1) TO DETERMINE WHETHER A TYPICAL YOGA PRACTICE USING VARIOUS POSTURES MEETS THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEVELS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY REQUIRED TO IMPROVE AND MAINTAIN HEALTH AND CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS; 2) TO DETERMINE THE RELIABILITY OF METABOLIC COSTS OF YOGA ACROSS SESSIONS; 3) TO COMPARE THE METABOLIC COSTS OF YOGA PRACTICE TO THOSE OF TREADMILL WALKING. METHODS: IN THIS OBSERVATIONAL STUDY, 20 INTERMEDIATE-TO-ADVANCED LEVEL YOGA PRACTITIONERS, AGE 31.4 +/- 8.3 YEARS, PERFORMED AN EXERCISE ROUTINE INSIDE A HUMAN RESPIRATORY CHAMBER (INDIRECT CALORIMETER) WHILE WEARING HEART RATE MONITORS. THE EXERCISE ROUTINE CONSISTED OF 30 MINUTES OF SITTING, 56 MINUTES OF BEGINNER-LEVEL HATHA YOGA ADMINISTERED BY VIDEO, AND 10 MINUTES OF TREADMILL WALKING AT 3.2 AND 4.8 KPH EACH. MEASURES WERE MEAN OXYGEN CONSUMPTION (VO2), HEART RATE (HR), PERCENTAGE PREDICTED MAXIMAL HEART RATE (%MHR), METABOLIC EQUIVALENTS (METS), AND ENERGY EXPENDITURE (KCAL). SEVEN SUBJECTS REPEATED THE PROTOCOL SO THAT MEASUREMENT RELIABILITY COULD BE ESTABLISHED. RESULTS: MEAN VALUES ACROSS THE ENTIRE YOGA SESSION FOR VO2, HR, %MHR, METS, AND ENERGY/MIN WERE 0.6 L/KG/MIN; 93.2 BEATS/MIN; 49.4%; 2.5; AND 3.2 KCAL/MIN; RESPECTIVELY. RESULTS OF THE ICCS (2,1) FOR MEAN VALUES ACROSS THE ENTIRE YOGA SESSION FOR KCAL, METS, AND %MHR WERE 0.979 AND 0.973, AND 0.865, RESPECTIVELY. CONCLUSION: METABOLIC COSTS OF YOGA AVERAGED ACROSS THE ENTIRE SESSION REPRESENT LOW LEVELS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, ARE SIMILAR TO WALKING ON A TREADMILL AT 3.2 KPH, AND DO NOT MEET RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEVELS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR IMPROVING OR MAINTAINING HEALTH OR CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS. YOGA PRACTICE INCORPORATING SUN SALUTATION POSTURES EXCEEDING THE MINIMUM BOUT OF 10 MINUTES MAY CONTRIBUTE SOME PORTION OF SUFFICIENTLY INTENSE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO IMPROVE CARDIO-RESPIRATORY FITNESS IN UNFIT OR SEDENTARY INDIVIDUALS. THE MEASUREMENT OF ENERGY EXPENDITURE ACROSS YOGA SESSIONS IS HIGHLY RELIABLE. 2007
2 1147 50 ENERGY EXPENDITURE DURING A VINYASA YOGA SESSION. BACKGROUND: VINYASA YOGA HAS BEEN RECENTLY PROMOTED AS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR MINDFUL EXERCISES TO IMPROVE OVERALL HEALTH, INCLUDING BODY WEIGHT MANAGEMENT. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE METABOLIC RESPONSE OF 24 MODERATELY TRAINED INDIVIDUALS DURING A 90-MIN GROUP VINYASA YOGA ROUTINE. METHODS: HEART RATE (HR) TIME COURSE OF 12 MALES AND 12 FEMALES (AGE: 39+/-7.33 YEARS) WAS RECORDED DURING TWO GROUP VINYASA YOGA SESSIONS CONSISTED OF FOUR SECTIONS (WARM-UP, HIGH-INTENSITY SURYA NAMASKAR (HSN), NO SURYA NAMASKAR POSTURES, AND COOL-DOWN). MAXIMAL OXYGEN UPTAKE (VO2PEAK) AND MAXIMUM HR HAD BEEN ESTIMATED EARLIER AFTER A MAXIMAL TREADMILL TEST. VO2 DURING VINYASA YOGA SESSIONS WAS ESTIMATED FROM INDIVIDUAL REGRESSION EQUATIONS USING THE RELATIONSHIP OF VO2 AND HR VALUES DERIVED FROM VO2PEAK TEST, WHILE THE METABOLIC RATE (KCAL/MIN) WAS CALCULATED FROM THE RELATIONSHIP OF HR AND KCAL/MIN. TOTAL SESSION ENERGY CONSUMPTION WAS THE AVERAGE VALUE OF THE TWO YOGA SESSIONS. RESULTS: THE 2 (GENDER) X 4 (SECTIONS) MIXED ANOVA REVEALED NO SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION BETWEEN THE TWO FACTORS (P=0.101) FOR THE MEAN METABOLIC RATE (7.1+/-2.6 KCAL/MIN). MEAN METABOLIC RATE THOUGHT WAS HIGHER (P=0.015) IN MALES COMPARED TO FEMALES AT EACH SECTION. ALSO, SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND AMONG THE FOUR VINYASA YOGA SECTIONS (P<0.001) IN THE RATE OF ENERGY EXPENDITURE, WITH HSN PRESENTING THE HIGHEST MEAN VALUES (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: IT SEEMS THAT SYSTEMATIC PARTICIPATION IN VINYASA YOGA MAY EFFECTIVELY IMPROVE CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS AND PROMOTE BODY WEIGHT LOSS, AS AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD TO TRADITIONAL AEROBIC EXERCISE. 2020
3 229 43 A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE ENERGY COST AND METABOLIC INTENSITY OF YOGA. PURPOSE: WITH THE INCREASING POPULARITY OF HATHA YOGA, IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE ENERGY COST AND METS OF YOGA PRACTICE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SPORTS MEDICINE (ACSM) AND THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION (AHA) PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GUIDELINES. METHODS: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW EVALUATED THE ENERGY COST AND METABOLIC INTENSITY OF YOGA PRACTICE INCLUDING YOGA ASANAS (POSES/POSTURES) AND PRANAYAMAS (BREATH EXERCISES) MEASURED BY INDIRECT CALORIMETRY. THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING LITERATURE WAS SURVEYED VIA PUBMED USING THE GENERAL TERMS "YOGA" AND "ENERGY EXPENDITURE" WITH NO DATE LIMITATIONS. RESULTS: THIRTEEN MANUSCRIPTS WERE INITIALLY IDENTIFIED WITH AN ADDITIONAL FOUR LOCATED FROM REVIEW OF MANUSCRIPT REFERENCES. OF THE 17 STUDIES, 10 EVALUATED THE ENERGY COST AND METS OF FULL YOGA SESSIONS OR FLOW THROUGH SURYA NAMASKAR (SUN SALUTATIONS), EIGHT OF INDIVIDUAL ASANAS, AND FIVE OF PRANAYAMAS. METS FOR YOGA PRACTICE AVERAGED 3.3 +/- 1.6 (RANGE = 1.83-7.4 METS) AND 2.9 +/- 0.8 METS WHEN ONE OUTLIER (I.E., 7.4 METS FOR SURYA NAMASKAR) WAS OMITTED. METS FOR INDIVIDUAL ASANAS AVERAGED 2.2 +/- 0.7 (RANGE = 1.4-4.0 METS), WHEREAS THAT OF PRANAYAMAS WAS 1.3 +/- 0.3. ON THE BASIS OF ACSM/AHA CLASSIFICATION, THE INTENSITY OF MOST ASANAS AND FULL YOGA SESSIONS RANGED FROM LIGHT (LESS THAN 3 METS) TO MODERATE AEROBIC INTENSITY (3-6 METS), WITH THE MAJORITY CLASSIFIED AS LIGHT INTENSITY. CONCLUSION: THIS REVIEW SUGGESTS THAT YOGA IS TYPICALLY CLASSIFIED AS A LIGHT-INTENSITY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. HOWEVER, A FEW SEQUENCES/POSES, INCLUDING SURYA NAMASKAR, MEET THE CRITERIA FOR MODERATE- TO VIGOROUS-INTENSITY ACTIVITY. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ACSM/AHA GUIDELINES, THE PRACTICE OF ASANA SEQUENCES WITH MET INTENSITIES HIGHER THAN THREE (I.E., >10 MIN) CAN BE ACCUMULATED THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND COUNT TOWARD DAILY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MODERATE- OR VIGOROUS-INTENSITY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. 2016
4 404 35 BIKRAM YOGA TRAINING AND PHYSICAL FITNESS IN HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS. THERE HAS BEEN RELATIVELY LITTLE LONGITUDINAL CONTROLLED INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON GENERAL PHYSICAL FITNESS, DESPITE THE WIDESPREAD PARTICIPATION IN THIS FORM OF EXERCISE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS EXPLORATORY STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECT OF SHORT-TERM BIKRAM YOGA TRAINING ON GENERAL PHYSICAL FITNESS. YOUNG HEALTHY ADULTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO YOGA TRAINING (N = 10, 29 +/- 6 YEARS, 24 SESSIONS IN 8 WEEKS) OR A CONTROL GROUP (N = 11, 26 +/- 7 YEARS). EACH YOGA TRAINING SESSION CONSISTED OF 90-MINUTE STANDARDIZED SUPERVISED POSTURES PERFORMED IN A HEATED AND HUMIDIFIED STUDIO. ISOMETRIC DEADLIFT STRENGTH, HANDGRIP STRENGTH, LOWER BACK/HAMSTRING AND SHOULDER FLEXIBILITY, RESTING HEART RATE AND BLOOD PRESSURE, MAXIMAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION (TREADMILL), AND LEAN AND FAT MASS (DUAL-ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY) WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER TRAINING. YOGA SUBJECTS EXHIBITED INCREASED DEADLIFT STRENGTH, SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED LOWER BACK/HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY, INCREASED SHOULDER FLEXIBILITY, AND MODESTLY DECREASED BODY FAT COMPARED WITH CONTROL GROUP. THERE WERE NO CHANGES IN HANDGRIP STRENGTH, CARDIOVASCULAR MEASURES, OR MAXIMAL AEROBIC FITNESS. IN SUMMARY, THIS SHORT-TERM YOGA TRAINING PROTOCOL PRODUCED BENEFICIAL CHANGES IN MUSCULOSKELETAL FITNESS THAT WERE SPECIFIC TO THE TRAINING STIMULUS. 2013
5 1759 45 POSITIVE EFFECT OF YOGA ON CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS: A PILOT STUDY. INTRODUCTION: CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. AN INTEGRAL PART OF PRIMARY PREVENTION IS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. ONE FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO BE POTENTIALLY USED IS YOGA, BUT THIS ACTIVITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER ENERGY EXPENDITURE THAN THAT RECOMMENDED FOR PREVENTION. THE STUDY AIMED AT ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF REGULAR YOGA SESSIONS ON THE AEROBIC CAPACITY OF THE PRACTITIONERS AND COMPARING IT WITH THE NORMAL POPULATION PERFORMING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY RECOMMENDED BY GUIDELINES. MATERIALS AND METHODS: FIFTY-EIGHT PERSONS (16 MALES) WITH A MEAN AGE OF 50.0 +/- 11.06 YEARS COMPRISING THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED YOGA FOR AT LEAST 1 H A DAY FOR OVER 2 YEARS. THEY UNDERWENT SPIROERGOMETRY UNDER MAXIMAL EXERCISE TESTING TO ASSESS BASIC PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS. THEIR RESULTS WERE COMPARED WITH THOSE IN 54 AGE-MATCHED CONTROLS (16 MALES MEAN AGE OF 48 +/- 11.86 YEARS PERFORMING A REGULAR AEROBIC PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR AT LEAST 7 H A WEEK. RESULTS: THE YOGA GROUP HAD STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE PER KILOGRAM (P = 0.007) AND MAXIMUM OXYGEN CONSUMPTION PER KILOGRAM PER MINUTE (P = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: DESPITE LOW ENERGY EXPENDITURE, YOGA PRACTICES ARE BETTER IN SOME CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS PARAMETERS THAN OTHER AEROBIC ACTIVITIES RECOMMENDED BY CURRENT GUIDELINES FOR CVD PREVENTION. 2015
6 436 30 CARDIORESPIRATORY AND METABOLIC CHANGES DURING YOGA SESSIONS: THE EFFECTS OF RESPIRATORY EXERCISES AND MEDITATION PRACTICES. THE NOVELTY OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE CHANGES IN CARDIORESPIRATORY AND METABOLIC INTENSITY BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE PRACTICE OF PRANAYAMAS (BREATHING EXERCISES OF YOGA) AND MEDITATION DURING THE SAME HATHA-YOGA SESSION. THE TECHNIQUE APPLIED WAS THE ONE ADVOCATED BY THE HATHA-YOGA SYSTEM. NINE YOGA INSTRUCTORS-FIVE FEMALES AND FOUR MALES, MEAN AGE OF 44+/-11, 6, WERE SUBJECTED TO ANALYSIS OF THE GASES EXPIRED DURING THREE DISTINCT PERIODS OF 30 MIN: REST, RESPIRATORY EXERCISES AND MEDITATIVE PRACTICE. A METABOLIC OPEN CIRCUIT COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM WAS APPLIED (VO2000, MEDGRAPHICS-USA). THE OXYGEN UPTAKE (VO(2)) AND THE CARBON DIOXIDE OUTPUT (VCO(2)) WERE STATISTICALLY DIFFERENT (P /=24 HRS. YOGA AND MEDITATION SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PERCEIVED STRESS VERSUS CONTROL, AND THIS EFFECT WAS MAINTAINED POSTINTERVENTION. YOGA INCREASED HEART RATE WHILE MEDITATION REDUCED HEART RATE VERSUS CONTROL (P < 0.05). RESPIRATION RATE WAS REDUCED DURING YOGA AND MEDITATION VERSUS CONTROL (P < 0.05). DOMAINS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY (E.G., SDNN AND TOTAL POWER) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED DURING CONTROL VERSUS YOGA AND MEDITATION. SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE WERE REDUCED SECONDARY TO MEDITATION VERSUS CONTROL ONLY (P < 0.05). PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS GENERALLY REGRESSED TOWARD BASELINE POSTINTERVENTION. IN CONCLUSION, YOGA POSTURES OR MEDITATION PERFORMED IN THE OFFICE CAN ACUTELY IMPROVE SEVERAL PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MARKERS OF STRESS. THESE EFFECTS MAY BE AT LEAST PARTIALLY MEDIATED BY REDUCED RESPIRATION RATE. 2012
16 2340 32 USE OF A 'POSE RATE' TO QUANTIFY YOGA. OBJECTIVE: TO DEVELOP A METHOD THAT DESCRIBES THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY COMPLETED DURING YOGA, AND TO USE THIS METHOD TO COMPARE THREE DIFFERENT YOGA VIDEO CATEGORIES: WEIGHT LOSS, BEGINNER, AND STRESS RELIEF/MEDITATION. DESIGN: THIS STUDY CONDUCTED CONTENT ANALYSIS OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE YOGA VIDEOS IN WHICH PRE-DETERMINED CHARACTERISTICS OF YOGA ROUTINES WERE RECORDED. OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED THE YOGA ROUTINE CHARACTERISTICS OF: DURATION OF EACH YOGA ROUTINE, NUMBER OF COMPLETED POSES, BODY POSITION OF EACH POSE, AND POSE RATE. RESULTS: TWENTY-TWO ROUTINES FROM YOGA VIDEOS WERE ANALYZED. DURATION OF ROUTINE BETWEEN THE THREE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT. THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE VIDEO CATEGORIES BASED ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF TOTAL NUMBER OF POSES AND THE POSE RATE, WITH WEIGHT LOSS ROUTINES HAVING THE HIGHEST VALUES COMPARE TO BEGINNER ROUTINES AND STRESS RELIEF/MEDITATION (TOTAL NUMBER OF POSES: 74.1, 34.3, 25.6 POSES, P < 0.05; POSE RATE: 2.5M 1.5, 1.1 POSES/MIN, P < 0.05, RESPECTIVELY). ADDITIONALLY, DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED BETWEEN BODY POSTURES IN POSES WITH WEIGHT LOSS VIDEOS INCLUDING MORE STANDING POSES (38.8, 17.0, 5.7 POSES, P < 0.05, RESPECTIVELY) AND A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF SEATED (9.9%, 15.8%, 39.0%, P < 0.05, RESPECTIVELY) AND SUPINE POSES (10.9%, 18.5%, 28.8%, P < 0.05, RESPECTIVELY) COMPARED TO THE BEGINNER AND STRESS/MEDITATION VIDEOS. CONCLUSIONS: THE CHARACTERISTICS OF TOTAL POSES, POSE RATE, AND TOTAL STANDING POSES SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIFFERENT STYLES OF YOGA. FURTHER RESEARCH SHOULD BE CONDUCTED TO VALIDATE THESE CHARACTERISTICS AS AN INTENSITY MEASURES AND TO ASSESS IF THESE CHARACTERISTICS HAVE VARIATIONS BETWEEN DIFFERENT YOGA STYLES. 2019
17 1148 47 ENERGY EXPENDITURE IN VINYASA YOGA VERSUS WALKING. BACKGROUND: WHETHER THE ENERGY COST OF VINYASA YOGA MEETS THE CRITERIA FOR MODERATE-TO-VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HAS NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED. PURPOSE: TO COMPARE ENERGY EXPENDITURE DURING ACUTE BOUTS OF VINYASA YOGA AND 2 WALKING PROTOCOLS. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS (20 MALES, 18 FEMALES) PERFORMED 60-MINUTE SESSIONS OF VINYASA YOGA (YOGA), TREADMILL WALKING AT A SELF-SELECTED BRISK PACE (SELF), AND TREADMILL WALKING AT A PACE THAT MATCHED THE HEART RATE OF THE YOGA SESSION (HR-MATCH). ENERGY EXPENDITURE WAS ASSESSED VIA INDIRECT CALORIMETRY. RESULTS: ENERGY EXPENDITURE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN YOGA COMPARED WITH HR-MATCH (DIFFERENCE = 79.5 +/- 44.3 KCAL; P < .001) AND SELF (DIFFERENCE = 51.7 +/- 62.6 KCAL; P < .001), BUT NOT IN SELF COMPARED WITH HR-MATCH (DIFFERENCE = 27.8 +/- 72.6 KCAL; P = .054). A SIMILAR PATTERN WAS OBSERVED FOR METABOLIC EQUIVALENTS (HR-MATCH = 4.7 +/- 0.8, SELF = 4.4 +/- 0.7, YOGA = 3.6 +/- 0.6; P < .001). ANALYSES USING ONLY THE INITIAL 45 MINUTES FROM EACH OF THE SESSIONS, WHICH EXCLUDED THE RESTORATIVE COMPONENT OF YOGA, SHOWED ENERGY EXPENDITURE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN YOGA COMPARED WITH HR-MATCH (DIFFERENCE = 68.0 +/- 40.1 KCAL; P < .001) BUT NOT COMPARED WITH SELF (DIFFERENCE = 15.1 +/- 48.7 KCAL; P = .189). CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MEETS THE CRITERIA FOR MODERATE-INTENSITY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. THUS, YOGA MAY BE A VIABLE FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO ACHIEVE PUBLIC HEALTH GUIDELINES AND TO ELICIT HEALTH BENEFITS. 2017
18 2258 51 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO BIKRAM YOGA IN NOVICE AND EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS. CONTEXT: BIKRAM YOGA HAS GAINED A LARGE FOLLOWING, POSSIBLY BECAUSE OF WIDESPREAD CLAIMS BOASTING ENERGY EXPENDITURE OF UP TO 1000 CALORIES PER SESSION. HOWEVER, THESE CLAIMS ARE UNFOUNDED BECAUSE NO SCIENTIFIC STUDY HAS INVESTIGATED THE METABOLIC RESPONSE TO A COMPLETE, STANDARDIZED BIKRAM YOGA CLASS. OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY INTENDS TO DETERMINE ENERGY EXPENDITURE, HEART RATE, AND SWEAT RATE IN NOVICE AND EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS FROM A STANDARDIZED BIKRAM YOGA CLASS. SETTING: DATA WERE COLLECTED IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMBER OF THE EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY AT SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY IN CALIFORNIA, USA. PARTICIPANTS: MALE (N = 5) AND FEMALE (N = 19) PARTICIPANTS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18 AND 57 Y WERE RECRUITED THROUGH FLYERS IN YOGA STUDIOS THROUGHOUT SAN DIEGO. PARTICIPANTS WERE CLASSIFIED AS EXPERIENCED OR NOVICE PRACTITIONERS, HAVING COMPLETED >/=20 OR <20 SESSIONS, RESPECTIVELY. INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS WERE GUIDED THROUGH A STANDARDIZED 90-MIN YOGA CLASS PERFORMED IN A HOT ENVIRONMENT USING BIKRAM'S STANDARD BEGINNING DIALOGUE, WHILE EXPIRED GAS WAS COLLECTED AND HEART RATE WAS RECORDED. OUTCOME MEASURES: ENERGY EXPENDITURE, CALCULATED VIA OXYGEN UPTAKE, AND HEART RATE WERE DETERMINED FOR EACH POSTURE AND TRANSITION PERIOD. IN ADDITION, SWEAT RATE AND CORE TEMPERATURE WERE RECORDED FOR EACH PARTICIPANT. RESULTS: MEAN (+/-SD) RELATIVE VO2 FOR THE ENTIRE 90-MIN SESSION WAS 9.5 +/- 1.9 ML X KG-1 X MIN-1, RANGING FROM 6.0 TO 12.9 ML X KG-1 X MIN-1. MEAN ABSOLUTE ENERGY EXPENDITURE WAS 286 +/- 72 KCALS, RANGING FROM 179 TO 478 KCALS. INDEPENDENT SAMPLE T TESTS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES (P < .05) IN RELATIVE ENERGY EXPENDITURE, HEART RATE, ENDING CORE TEMPERATURE, AND SWEAT RATE BETWEEN EXPERIENCE LEVELS. MEAN RELATIVE ENERGY EXPENDITURE WAS 3.7 +/- 0.5 KCAL/KG IN NOVICE PRACTITIONERS AND 4.7 +/- 0.8 KCAL/KG IN EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS. PERCENTAGE OF PREDICTED MAXIMUM HEART RATE AND SWEAT RATE WERE 72.3% +/- 10.6% AND 0.6 +/- 0.2 KG/H IN NOVICE PRACTITIONERS AND 86.4% +/- 5.2% AND 1.1 +/- 0.5 KG/H IN EXPERIENCED PARTICIPANTS. ALL POSTURES WERE CLASSIFIED AS LIGHT-TO-MODERATE INTENSITY ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SPORTS MEDICINE (ACSM) STANDARDS. CONCLUSIONS: BIKRAM YOGA MEETS REQUIREMENTS FOR EXERCISE OF LIGHT-TO-MODERATE INTENSITY AND, THEORETICALLY, COULD BE USED FOR WEIGHT MAINTENANCE OR WEIGHT LOSS IF PRACTICED SEVERAL TIMES PER WEEK. 2014
19 2736 36 YOGA POSES INCREASE SUBJECTIVE ENERGY AND STATE SELF-ESTEEM IN COMPARISON TO 'POWER POSES'. RESEARCH ON BENEFICIAL CONSEQUENCES OF YOGA FOCUSES ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGIC BREATHING AND MEDITATION. LESS IS KNOWN ABOUT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF PERFORMING YOGA POSTURES. THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA POSES ON SUBJECTIVE SENSE OF ENERGY AND SELF-ESTEEM. THE EFFECTS OF YOGA POSTURES WERE COMPARED TO THE EFFECTS OF 'POWER POSES,' WHICH ARGUABLY INCREASE THE SENSE OF POWER AND SELF-CONFIDENCE DUE TO THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH INTERPERSONAL DOMINANCE (CARNEY ET AL., 2010). THE STUDY TESTED THE NOVEL PREDICTION THAT YOGA POSES, WHICH ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH INTERPERSONAL DOMINANCE BUT INCREASE BODILY ENERGY, WOULD INCREASE THE SUBJECTIVE FEELING OF ENERGY AND THEREFORE INCREASE SELF-ESTEEM COMPARED TO 'HIGH POWER' AND 'LOW POWER' POSES. A TWO FACTORIAL, BETWEEN PARTICIPANTS DESIGN WAS EMPLOYED. PARTICIPANTS PERFORMED EITHER TWO STANDING YOGA POSES WITH OPEN FRONT OF THE BODY (N = 19), TWO STANDING YOGA POSES WITH COVERED FRONT OF THE BODY (N = 22), TWO EXPANSIVE, HIGH POWER POSES (N = 21), OR TWO CONSTRICTIVE, LOW POWER POSES (N = 20) FOR 1-MIN EACH. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT YOGA POSES IN COMPARISON TO 'POWER POSES' INCREASED SELF-ESTEEM. THIS EFFECT WAS MEDIATED BY AN INCREASED SUBJECTIVE SENSE OF ENERGY AND WAS OBSERVED WHEN BASELINE TRAIT SELF-ESTEEM WAS CONTROLLED FOR. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE EFFECTS OF PERFORMING OPEN, EXPANSIVE BODY POSTURES MAY BE DRIVEN BY PROCESSES OTHER THAN THE POSES' ASSOCIATION WITH INTERPERSONAL POWER AND DOMINANCE. THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATES THAT POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE CAN OCCUR AFTER PERFORMING YOGA POSES FOR ONLY 2 MIN. 2017
20 992 32 EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA PRACTICE ON THE HEALTH-RELATED ASPECTS OF PHYSICAL FITNESS. TEN HEALTHY, UNTRAINED VOLUNTEERS (NINE FEMALES AND ONE MALE), RANGING IN AGE FROM 18-27 YEARS, WERE STUDIED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA PRACTICE ON THE HEALTH-RELATED ASPECTS OF PHYSICAL FITNESS, INCLUDING MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE, FLEXIBILITY, CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS, BODY COMPOSITION, AND PULMONARY FUNCTION. SUBJECTS WERE REQUIRED TO ATTEND A MINIMUM OF TWO YOGA CLASSES PER WEEK FOR A TOTAL OF 8 WEEKS. EACH YOGA SESSION CONSISTED OF 10 MINUTES OF PRANAYAMAS (BREATH-CONTROL EXERCISES), 15 MINUTES OF DYNAMIC WARM-UP EXERCISES, 50 MINUTES OF ASANAS (YOGA POSTURES), AND 10 MINUTES OF SUPINE RELAXATION IN SAVASANA (CORPSE POSE). THE SUBJECTS WERE EVALUATED BEFORE AND AFTER THE 8-WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM. ISOKINETIC MUSCULAR STRENGTH FOR ELBOW EXTENSION, ELBOW FLEXION, AND KNEE EXTENSION INCREASED BY 31%, 19%, AND 28% (P<0.05), RESPECTIVELY, WHEREAS ISOMETRIC MUSCULAR ENDURANCE FOR KNEE FLEXION INCREASED 57% (P<0.01). ANKLE FLEXIBILITY, SHOULDER ELEVATION, TRUNK EXTENSION, AND TRUNK FLEXION INCREASED BY 13% (P<0.01), 155% (P<0.001), 188% (P<0.001), AND 14% (P<0.05), RESPECTIVELY. ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE MAXIMAL OXYGEN UPTAKE INCREASED BY 7% AND 6%, RESPECTIVELY (P<0.01). THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT REGULAR HATHA YOGA PRACTICE CAN ELICIT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE HEALTH-RELATED ASPECTS OF PHYSICAL FITNESS. (C)2001 CHF, INC. 2001