1 1975 185 SINGLE SESSION OF INTEGRATED "SILVER YOGA" PROGRAM IMPROVES CARDIOVASCULAR PARAMETERS IN SENIOR CITIZENS. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: THIS PILOT STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT TO DETERMINE CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS OF A SINGLE SESSION OF AN INTEGRATED "SILVER YOGA" PROGRAM IN SENIOR CITIZENS OF SERENE PELICAN TOWNSHIP, PONDICHERRY. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HEART RATE (HR) AND BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) MEASUREMENTS WERE RECORDED IN 124 SENIOR CITIZENS (75 FEMALE, 49 MALE) WITH MEAN AGE OF 67.19 +/- 10.61 YEAR WHO ATTENDED AN INTEGRATED "SILVER YOGA" PROGRAM AT CENTRE FOR YOGA THERAPY, EDUCATION AND RESEARCH FROM AUGUST TO OCTOBER 2014. PARTICIPANTS PRACTICED THE PROTOCOL THAT WAS SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR SENIOR CITIZENS, KEEPING IN MIND THEIR HEALTH STATUS AND PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS. THIS INCLUDED SIMPLE WARM-UPS (JATHIS), BREATH BODY MOVEMENT COORDINATION PRACTICES (KRIYAS), STATIC STRETCHING POSTURES (ASANAS), BREATHING TECHNIQUES (PRANAYAMAS), RELAXATION AND SIMPLE CHANTING. NON-INVASIVE BP APPARATUS WAS USED TO RECORD THE HR, SYSTOLIC (SP) AND DIASTOLIC PRESSURE (DP) BEFORE AND AFTER THE 60 MIN SESSIONS. PULSE PRESSURE (PP), MEAN PRESSURE (MP), RATE-PRESSURE PRODUCT (RPP) AND DOUBLE PRODUCT (DOP) INDICES WERE DERIVED FROM THE RECORDED PARAMETERS. STUDENT'S PAIRED T-TEST WAS USED TO COMPARE DATA THAT PASSED NORMALITY TESTING BY KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV TEST AND WILCOXON MATCHED-PAIRS SIGNED-RANKS TEST FOR THOSE THAT DID NOT. P < 0.05 WERE ACCEPTED AS INDICATING SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES FOR PRE-POST COMPARISONS. RESULTS: ALL PARAMETERS WITNESSED A REDUCTION FOLLOWING THE SINGLE SESSION. THIS WAS STATISTICALLY MORE SIGNIFICANT (P < 0. 0001) IN HR, RPP AND DOP WHILE IT WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.01 AND P < 0.05) IN SP AND PP, RESPECTIVELY. THE DECREASE IN MP JUST MISSED SIGNIFICANCE (P = 0.054) WHILE IT WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT IN DP. CONCLUSION: THERE IS A HEALTHY REDUCTION IN HR, BP AND DERIVED CARDIOVASCULAR INDICES FOLLOWING A SINGLE YOGA SESSION IN GERIATRIC SUBJECTS. THESE CHANGES MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO ENHANCED HARMONY OF CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION AS A RESULT OF COORDINATED BREATH-BODY WORK AND MIND-BODY RELAXATION DUE TO AN INTEGRATED "SILVER YOGA" PROGRAM. 2015 2 1638 47 MODULATION OF CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSE TO EXERCISE BY YOGA TRAINING. THIS STUDY REPORTS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA TRAINING ON CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSE TO EXERCISE AND THE TIME COURSE OF RECOVERY AFTER THE EXERCISE. CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSE TO EXERCISE WAS DETERMINED BY HARVARD STEP TEST USING A PLATFORM OF 45 CM HEIGHT. THE SUBJECTS WERE ASKED TO STEP UP AND DOWN THE PLATFORM AT A RATE OF 30/MIN FOR A TOTAL DURATION OF 5 MIN OR UNTIL FATIGUE, WHICHEVER WAS EARLIER. HEART RATE (HR) AND BLOOD PRESSURE RESPONSE TO EXERCISE WERE MEASURED IN SUPINE POSITION BEFORE EXERCISE AND AT 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 AND 10 MINUTES AFTER THE EXERCISE. RATE-PRESSURE PRODUCT [RPP = (HR X SP)/100] AND DOUBLE PRODUCT (DO P = HR X MP), WHICH ARE INDICES OF WORK DONE BY THE HEART WERE ALSO CALCULATED. EXERCISE PRODUCED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN HR, SYSTOLIC PRESSURE, RPP & DOP AND A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN DIASTOLIC PRESSURE. AFTER TWO MONTHS OF YOGA TRAINING, EXERCISE-INDUCED CHANGES IN THESE PARAMETERS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT AFTER YOGA TRAINING A GIVEN LEVEL OF EXERCISE LEADS TO A MILDER CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSE, SUGGESTING BETTER EXERCISE TOLERANCE. 2004 3 411 44 BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY DURING YOGA-BASED ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING PRACTICE AND BREATH AWARENESS. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS RESEARCH HAS SHOWN A REDUCTION IN BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PRACTICE OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB) IN NORMAL HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS AND IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS OF BOTH SEXES. THE BP DURING ANYB HAS NOT BEEN RECORDED. MATERIAL/METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE 26 MALE VOLUNTEERS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/-SD, 23.8+/-3.5 YEARS). WE ASSESSED (1) HEART RATE VARIABILITY, (2) NON-INVASIVE ARTERIAL BP, AND (3) RESPIRATION RATE, DURING (A) ANYB AND (B) BREATH AWARENESS (BAW) SESSIONS. EACH SESSION WAS 25 MINUTES. WE PERFORMED ASSESSMENTS AT 3 TIME POINTS: PRE (5 MINUTES), DURING (15 MINUTES; FOR ANYB OR BAW) AND POST (5 MINUTES). A NAIVE-TO-YOGA CONTROL GROUP (N=15 MALES, MEAN AGE +/-SD 26.1+/-4.0 YEARS) WERE ASSESSED WHILE SEATED QUIETLY FOR 25 MINUTES. RESULTS: DURING ANYB THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE (REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA) IN SYSTOLIC BP AND RESPIRATION RATE; WHILE RMSSD (THE SQUARE ROOT OF THE MEAN OF THE SUM OF SQUARES OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ADJACENT NN INTERVALS) AND NN50 (THE NUMBER OF INTERVAL DIFFERENCES OF SUCCESSIVE NORMAL TO NORMAL INTERVALS GREATER THAN 50 MS) SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED. DURING BAW RESPIRATION RATE DECREASED. IN CONTRAST, RESPIRATION RATE INCREASED DURING THE CONTROL STATE. ANYB AND BAW WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT (2-FACTOR ANOVA) IN RMSSD AND RESPIRATION RATE. BAW AND CONTROL WERE DIFFERENT WITH RESPECT TO RESPIRATION RATE. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT VAGAL ACTIVITY INCREASED DURING AND AFTER ANYB, WHICH COULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE DECREASE IN BP AND CHANGES IN THE HRV. 2014 4 509 62 COMPARATIVE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT YOGA ASANAS ON HEART RATE AND BLOOD PRESSURE IN HEALTHY YOUNG VOLUNTEERS. INTRODUCTION: THIS STUDY PLANNED TO COMPARE IMMEDIATE CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT YOGA ASANAS IN HEALTHY YOUNG VOLUNTEERS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HEART RATE (HR), SYSTOLIC PRESSURE (SP), AND DIASTOLIC PRESSURE (DP), BLOOD PRESSURE (BP), WERE RECORDED USING THE NON INVASIVE BLOOD PRESSURE (NIBP) APPARATUS IN 22 HEALTHY YOUNG SUBJECTS, BEFORE AND AFTER THE PERFORMANCE OF DHANURASANA (DA), VAKRASANA (VA) (BOTH SIDES), JANUSIRASASANA (JSA) (BOTH SIDES), MATSYASANA AND SHAVASANA FOR 30 S. HR AND BP WERE FURTHER RECORDED DURING SUPINE RECOVERY AT 2, 4, 6, 8, AND 10 MIN. A REPEATED MEASURE OF ANOVA WAS USED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. RESULTS: THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN HR AND BP BOTH IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ASANAS AS WELL AS DURING THE RECOVERY PERIOD. OVERALL COMPARISONS OF % CHANGES IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ASANAS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WITH REGARD TO HR THAT INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER DA. IN THE RECOVERY PHASE, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT INTERGROUP DIFFERENCES FROM 2 MIN ONWARD IN BOTH SP AND DP. THE DECREASE OF SP AFTER VA (RIGHT SIDE) (VA-R) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN SHAVASANA (4(TH), 6(TH), AND 8(TH) MIN) AND JSA (LEFT SIDE) (JSA-L) AT 6(TH) AND 8(TH) MIN. DP DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER PERFORMING JSA-L COMPARED TO VA-R AT THE 6(TH) AND 8(TH) MIN. DISCUSSION: THE CARDIOVASCULAR CHANGES IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ASANAS AND DURING THE RECOVERY PHASE REVEAL INHERENT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SELECTED POSTURES. THE RISE OF HR IN DA MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO INCREASED SYMPATHETIC RESPONSE DUE TO THE RELATIVE DIFFICULTY OF THE POSTURE AS WELL AS ABDOMINAL COMPRESSION OCCURRING IN IT. THE EFFECT OF SUPINE RELAXATION IS MORE PRONOUNCED AFTER THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ASANAS AS COMPARED TO MERE RELAXATION IN SHAVASANA. THIS MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO A NORMALIZATION AND RESULTANT HOMEOSTATIC EFFECT OCCURRING DUE TO A GREATER, HEALTHIER DE-ACTIVATION OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM OCCURRING TOWING TO THE PRESENCE OF PRIOR ACTIVATION. THERE WERE ALSO SUBTLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE RIGHT SIDED AND LEFT SIDED PERFORMANCE OF VA AND JSA THAT MAY BE OCCURRING DUE TO THE DIFFERENT INTERNAL STRUCTURES BEING EITHER COMPRESSED OR RELAXED ON EITHER SIDE. CONCLUSION: OUR STUDY PROVIDES INITIAL EVIDENCE OF DIFFERENTIAL CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS OF ASANAS AND SUBTLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RIGHT AND LEFT SIDED PERFORMANCE. FURTHER, CARDIOVASCULAR RECOVERY IS GREATER AFTER THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ASANAS AS COMPARED TO SHAVASAN; THUS, IMPLYING A BETTER RESPONSE WHEN EFFORT PRECEDES RELAXATION. 2014 5 873 42 EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY ON HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE AND CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION IN HEART FAILURE. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT A HALL MARK OF HEART FAILURE IS ADVERSE CHANGES IN AUTONOMIC FUNCTION. ELEVATED BLOOD PRESSURE IS A POWERFUL PREDICTOR OF CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE AND OTHER CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) OUTCOMES. IN THIS STUDY, WE PLANNED TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF A 12 WEEK YOGA THERAPY ON BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE, HEART RATE VARIABILITY, AND RATE PRESSURE PRODUCT (RPP). METHODS: OUT OF 130 HEART FAILURE PATIENTS RECRUITED FOR THE STUDY, 65 PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED TO RECEIVE 12 WEEK YOGA THERAPY ALONG WITH STANDARD MEDICAL THERAPY (YOGA GROUP). OTHER PATIENTS (N=65) RECEIVED ONLY STANDARD MEDICAL THERAPY (CONTROL GROUP). HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION (BY SHORT-TERM HEART-RATE VARIABILITY ANALYSIS) AND MYOCARDIAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION (BY RPP) WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS. IN THE YOGA GROUP, 44 PATIENTS AND IN THE CONTROL GROUP, 48 PATIENTS COMPLETED THE STUDY. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE AND RPP IN YOGA GROUP COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. ALSO, LFNU AND LF-HF RATIO DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AND HFNU INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN YOGA GROUP COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: TWELVE-WEEK YOGA THERAPY SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED THE PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND DECREASED THE SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY IN HEART FAILURE PATIENTS (NYHA I&II). 2014 6 1353 38 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF SPECIFIC NOSTRIL MANIPULATING YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES ON AUTONOMIC AND RESPIRATORY VARIABLES. THE EFFECT OF RIGHT, LEFT, AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (I.E., RNYB, LNYB, AND ANYB, RESPECTIVELY) WERE COMPARED WITH BREATH AWARENESS (BAW) AND NORMAL BREATHING (CTL). AUTONOMIC AND RESPIRATORY VARIABLES WERE STUDIED IN 21 MALE VOLUNTEERS WITH AGES BETWEEN 18 AND 45 YEARS AND EXPERIENCE IN THE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES BETWEEN 3 AND 48 MONTHS. SUBJECTS WERE ASSESSED IN FIVE EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS ON FIVE SEPARATE DAYS. THE SESSIONS WERE IN FIXED POSSIBLE SEQUENCES AND SUBJECTS WERE ASSIGNED TO A SEQUENCE RANDOMLY. EACH SESSION WAS FOR 40 MIN; 30 MIN FOR THE BREATHING PRACTICE, PRECEDED AND FOLLOWED BY 5 MIN OF QUIET SITTING. ASSESSMENTS INCLUDED HEART RATE VARIABILITY, SKIN CONDUCTANCE, FINGER PLETHYSMOGRAM AMPLITUDE, BREATH RATE, AND BLOOD PRESSURE. FOLLOWING RNYB THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SYSTOLIC, DIASTOLIC AND MEAN PRESSURE. IN CONTRAST, THE SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC PRESSURE DECREASED AFTER ANYB AND THE SYSTOLIC AND MEAN PRESSURE WERE LOWER AFTER LNYB. HENCE, UNILATERAL NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES APPEAR TO INFLUENCE THE BLOOD PRESSURE IN DIFFERENT WAYS. THESE EFFECTS SUGGEST POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS. 2008 7 263 51 ACUTE CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSES TO A SESSION OF BIKRAM YOGA: A PILOT UNCONTROLLED TRIAL. INTRODUCTION: MAIN CARDIOVASCULAR PARAMETERS SUCH AS HEART RATE (HR), BLOOD PRESSURE, AND MYOCARDIAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION (MOC) ARE TIGHTLY REGULATED BY A MULTIFACTORIAL, NONLINEAR CONTROL SYSTEM. INCREASED HR BECAUSE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY AN INCREASE IN BLOOD PRESSURE. POSTURAL CHANGES HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE BARORECEPTORS, AND STRETCHING EXERCISES AND ISOMETRIC CONTRACTIONS MODULATE MUSCLE MECHANORECEPTORS ELICITING INCREASES IN BLOOD PRESSURE. HOWEVER, A HOT ENVIRONMENT INCREASES THE CORE TEMPERATURE INDUCING VASODILATION AND PLASMA VOLUME CHANGES THAT MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO A DROP IN BLOOD PRESSURE. DURING THE PRACTICE OF BIKRAM YOGA, ALL THESE FACTORS CONVERGE AND LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE RESULTING CHANGES IN BLOOD PRESSURE AND MOC. METHODS: SIXTEEN APPARENTLY HEALTHY FEMALE VOLUNTEERS, REGULAR PRACTITIONERS OF BIKRAM YOGA, WERE EVALUATED DURING A 90 MIN SESSION. SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (SBP) AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (DBP) WERE MEASURED IMMEDIATELY AFTER EACH POSTURE AND HR WAS MEASURED CONTINUOUSLY DURING THE PRACTICE. RESULTS: HR AND ESTIMATED MOC INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY OVER BASELINE DURING THE EXERCISE (+62.3% AND +63.6%, RESPECTIVELY). HR MEAN VALUE ACROSS THE ENTIRE BIKRAM YOGA SESSION WAS 126.6 +/- 14.3 BPM REACHING A MAXIMUM OF 168.1 +/- 20.2 BPM. SBP WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED OVER BASELINE AT ANY TIME DURING THE PRACTICE WITH A MEAN VALUE OF 117.0 +/- 10.1 MMHG AND DBP WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED OVER BASELINE MOST OF THE TIME (-10.1%, MEAN 71.2 +/- 7.3 MMHG) WITH PARTICULAR DECLINE TOWARD THE END OF THE PRACTICE DURING THE FLOOR POSTURES. CONCLUSIONS: DBP DURING THE PRACTICE OF BIKRAM YOGA WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THAT PREVIOUSLY REPORTED FOR NONHEATED HATHA YOGA FOR NORMOTENSIVE SUBJECTS. FURTHER STUDIES EVALUATING THE SAME GROUP AT BOTH CONDITIONS ARE NEEDED TO BETTER CHARACTERIZE THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CHANGES IN HR, SBP, DBP, AND MOC. 2019 8 442 37 CEREBROVASCULAR DYNAMICS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA BREATHING AND BREATH AWARENESS. AIMS: BREATH FREQUENCY CAN ALTER CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW. THE STUDY AIMED TO DETERMINE BILATERAL MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERIAL HEMODYNAMICS IN HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) AND SLOW FREQUENCY ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB) USING TRANSCRANIAL DOPPLER SONOGRAPHY. METHODS: HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS WERE ASSESSED IN TWO SEPARATE TRIALS BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER HFYB (2.0 HZ FOR 1 MIN, N = 16) AND ANYB (12 BREATHS PER MINUTE FOR 5 MIN, N = 22). HFYB AND ANYB WERE SEPARATELY COMPARED TO BREATH AWARENESS (BAW) AND TO CONTROL SESSIONS. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: THE DATA WERE ANALYZED USING REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST HOC TESTS. RESULTS: DURING HFYB THERE WAS A DECREASE IN END-DIASTOLIC VELOCITY (EDV) AND MEAN FLOW VELOCITY (MFV) (P < 0.01 FOR LEFT AND P < 0.05 FOR RIGHT MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERIES; MCA) WITH AN INCREASE IN PULSATILITY INDEX (PI) FOR THE RIGHT MCA (P < 0.05). DURING ANYB, THERE WAS A BILATERAL DECREASE IN PEAK SYSTOLIC VELOCITY (P < 0.05 FOR LEFT AND P < 0.01 FOR RIGHT MCA), EDV (P < 0.01) AND MFV (P < 0.01 FOR LEFT AND P < 0.001 FOR RIGHT MCA) AND AN INCREASE IN PI (P < 0.01). DURING BAW OF THE TWO SESSIONS THERE WAS A DECREASE IN LATERALIZED FLOW AND END-DIASTOLIC VELOCITIES (P < 0.05) AND AN INCREASE IN PI (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: CHANGES IN PEAK FLOW VELOCITIES AND PULSATILITY INDICES DURING AND AFTER HFYB, ANYB, AND BAW SUGGEST DECREASED CEREBROVASCULAR BLOOD FLOW AND INCREASED FLOW RESISTANCE BASED ON DIFFERENT MECHANISMS. 2022 9 1317 38 HEART RATE VARIABILITY CHANGES DURING HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING AND BREATH AWARENESS. BACKGROUND: PRE AND POST COMPARISON AFTER ONE MINUTE OF HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) SUGGESTED THAT THE HFYB MODIFIES THE AUTONOMIC STATUS BY INCREASING SYMPATHETIC MODULATION, BUT ITS EFFECT DURING THE PRACTICE WAS NOT ASSESSED. METHODS: THIRTY-EIGHT MALE VOLUNTEERS WITH GROUP AVERAGE AGE +/- S.D., 23.3 +/- 4.4 YEARS WERE EACH ASSESSED ON TWO SEPARATE DAYS IN TWO SESSIONS, (I) HFYB AND (II) BREATH AWARENESS. EACH SESSION WAS FOR 35 MINUTES, WITH 3 PERIODS, I.E., PRE (5 MINUTES), DURING HFYB OR BREATH AWARENESS (15 MINUTES) AND POST (5 MINUTES). RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN NN50, PNN50 AND THE MEAN RR INTERVAL DURING AND AFTER HFYB AND AFTER BREATH AWARENESS, COMPARED TO THE RESPECTIVE 'PRE' VALUES (P < 0.05) (REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA FOLLOWED BY POST-HOC ANALYSIS). THE LF POWER INCREASED AND HF POWER DECREASED DURING AND AFTER BREATH AWARENESS AND LF/HF RATIO INCREASED AFTER BREATH AWARENESS (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THERE WAS REDUCED PARASYMPATHETIC MODULATION DURING AND AFTER HFYB AND INCREASED SYMPATHETIC MODULATION WITH REDUCED PARASYMPATHETIC MODULATION DURING AND AFTER BREATH AWARENESS. 2011 10 1691 30 OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND RESPIRATION DURING AND AFTER TWO YOGA RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) IS A TECHNIQUE WHICH COMBINES "STIMULATING" AND "CALMING" PRACTICES, BASED ON A STATEMENT IN ANCIENT YOGA TEXTS SUGGESTING THAT SUCH A COMBINATION MAY BE ESPECIALLY HELPFUL TO REACH A STATE OF MENTAL EQUILIBRIUM. THE OXYGEN CONSUMPTION, BREATH RATE AND BREATH VOLUME OF 50 MALE VOLUNTEERS (GROUP MEAN AGE+/-SD, 27+/-6.3 YEARS) WERE ASSESSED BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER SESSIONS OF CM AND SESSIONS OF SUPINE REST IN THE CORPSE POSTURE (SHAVASANA, SH). THE SESSIONS WERE ONE DAY APART AND THE ORDER WAS ALTERNATED. THE OXYGEN CONSUMPTION, BREATH RATE AND BREATH VOLUME INCREASED DURING THE "STIMULATING" PRACTICES OF CM, RETURNED TO THE BASELINE DURING THE "CALMING" PRACTICES, AND THE OXYGEN CONSUMPTION DECREASED BY 19.3 PERCENT BELOW BASELINE VALUES AFTER CM. DURING THE SH SESSION THE OXYGEN CONSUMPTION, BREATH RATE AND BREATH VOLUME REDUCED; HOWEVER THE DECREASE IN OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AFTER SH WAS LESS THAN AFTER CM (I.E., 4.8 PERCENT). THE RESULTS SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT A COMBINATION OF YOGA POSTURES WITH SUPINE REST (IN CM) REDUCES THE OXYGEN CONSUMPTION MORE THAN RESTING SUPINE ALONE DOES. 2006 11 756 36 EFFECT OF SIX WEEKS YOGA TRAINING ON WEIGHT LOSS FOLLOWING STEP TEST, RESPIRATORY PRESSURES, HANDGRIP STRENGTH AND HANDGRIP ENDURANCE IN YOUNG HEALTHY SUBJECTS. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO TEST WHETHER YOGA TRAINING OF SIX WEEKS DURATION MODULATES SWEATING RESPONSE TO DYNAMIC EXERCISE AND IMPROVES RESPIRATORY PRESSURES, HANDGRIP STRENGTH AND HANDGRIP ENDURANCE. OUT OF 46 HEALTHY SUBJECTS (30 MALES AND 16 FEMALES, AGED 17-20 YR), 23 MOTIVATED SUBJECTS (15 MALE AND 8 FEMALE) WERE GIVEN YOGA TRAINING AND THE REMAINING 23 SUBJECTS SERVED AS CONTROLS. WEIGHT LOSS FOLLOWING HARVARD STEP TEST (AN INDEX OF SWEAT LOSS), MAXIMUM INSPIRATORY PRESSURE, MAXIMUM EXPIRATORY PRESSURE, 40 MM ENDURANCE, HANDGRIP STRENGTH AND HANDGRIP ENDURANCE WERE DETERMINED BEFORE AND AFTER THE SIX WEEK STUDY PERIOD. IN THE YOGA GROUP, WEIGHT LOSS IN RESPONSE TO HARVARD STEP TEST WAS 64 +/- 30 G AFTER YOGA TRAINING AS COMPARED TO 161 +/- 133 G BEFORE THE TRAINING AND THE DIFFERENCE WAS SIGNIFICANT (N = 15 MALE SUBJECTS, P < 0.0001). IN CONTRAST, WEIGHT LOSS FOLLOWING STEP TEST WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT IN THE CONTROL GROUP AT THE END OF THE STUDY PERIOD. YOGA TRAINING PRODUCED A MARKED INCREASE IN RESPIRATORY PRESSURES AND ENDURANCE IN 40 MM HG TEST IN BOTH MALE AND FEMALE SUBJECTS (P < 0.05 FOR ALL COMPARISONS). IN CONCLUSION, THE PRESENT STUDY DEMONSTRATES ATTENUATION OF THE SWEATING RESPONSE TO STEP TEST BY YOGA TRAINING. FURTHER, YOGA TRAINING FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF SIX WEEKS CAN PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN RESPIRATORY MUSCLE STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE. 2008 12 1322 32 HEMODYNAMIC AND PRESSOR RESPONSES TO COMBINATION OF YOGA AND BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION. A COMBINATION OF YOGA AND BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION, EACH OF WHICH ELICITS MARKED PRESSOR RESPONSES, MAY FURTHER INCREASE BLOOD PRESSURE AND MYOCARDIAL OXYGEN DEMAND. TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT OF A COMBINATION OF YOGA AND BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION ON HEMODYNAMIC RESPONSES, TWENTY YOUNG HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS PERFORMED 20 YOGA POSES WITH/WITHOUT BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION BANDS PLACED ON BOTH LEGS. AT BASELINE, THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN ANY OF THE VARIABLES BETWEEN THE BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION AND NON-BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION CONDITIONS. BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART RATE INCREASED IN RESPONSE TO THE VARIOUS YOGA POSES (P<0.01) BUT WERE NOT DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION AND NON-BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION CONDITIONS. RATE-PRESSURE PRODUCTS, AN INDEX OF MYOCARDIAL OXYGEN DEMAND, INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING YOGA EXERCISES WITH NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO CONDITIONS. RATING OF PERCEIVED EXERTION WAS NOT DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE CONDITIONS. BLOOD LACTATE CONCENTRATION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER AFTER PERFORMING YOGA WITH BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION BANDS (P=0.007). CARDIO-ANKLE VASCULAR INDEX, AN INDEX OF ARTERIAL STIFFNESS, DECREASED SIMILARLY AFTER YOGA EXERCISE IN BOTH CONDITIONS WHILE FLOW-MEDIATED DILATION REMAINED UNCHANGED. IN CONCLUSION, THE USE OF LOWER BODY BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION BANDS IN COMBINATION WITH YOGA DID NOT RESULT IN ADDITIVE OR SYNERGISTIC HEMODYNAMIC AND PRESSOR RESPONSES. 2020 13 985 49 EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA AND OMKAR MEDITATION ON CARDIORESPIRATORY PERFORMANCE, PSYCHOLOGIC PROFILE, AND MELATONIN SECRETION. OBJECTIVES: TO EVALUATE EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA AND OMKAR MEDITATION ON CARDIORESPIRATORY PERFORMANCE, PSYCHOLOGIC PROFILE, AND MELATONIN SECRETION. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: THIRTY HEALTHY MEN IN THE AGE GROUP OF 25-35 YEARS VOLUNTEERED FOR THE STUDY. THEY WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED IN TWO GROUPS OF 15 EACH. GROUP 1 SUBJECTS SERVED AS CONTROLS AND PERFORMED BODY FLEXIBILITY EXERCISES FOR 40 MINUTES AND SLOW RUNNING FOR 20 MINUTES DURING MORNING HOURS AND PLAYED GAMES FOR 60 MINUTES DURING EVENING HOURS DAILY FOR 3 MONTHS. GROUP 2 SUBJECTS PRACTICED SELECTED YOGIC ASANAS (POSTURES) FOR 45 MINUTES AND PRANAYAMA FOR 15 MINUTES DURING THE MORNING, WHEREAS DURING THE EVENING HOURS THESE SUBJECTS PERFORMED PREPARATORY YOGIC POSTURES FOR 15 MINUTES, PRANAYAMA FOR 15 MINUTES, AND MEDITATION FOR 30 MINUTES DAILY, FOR 3 MONTHS. ORTHOSTATIC TOLERANCE, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, RESPIRATORY RATE, DYNAMIC LUNG FUNCTION (SUCH AS FORCED VITAL CAPACITY, FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME IN 1 SECOND, FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME PERCENTAGE, PEAK EXPIRATORY FLOW RATE, AND MAXIMUM VOLUNTARY VENTILATION), AND PSYCHOLOGIC PROFILE WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER 3 MONTHS OF YOGIC PRACTICES. SERIAL BLOOD SAMPLES WERE DRAWN AT VARIOUS TIME INTERVALS TO STUDY EFFECTS OF THESE YOGIC PRACTICES AND OMKAR MEDITATION ON MELATONIN LEVELS. RESULTS: YOGIC PRACTICES FOR 3 MONTHS RESULTED IN AN IMPROVEMENT IN CARDIORESPIRATORY PERFORMANCE AND PSYCHOLOGIC PROFILE. THE PLASMA MELATONIN ALSO SHOWED AN INCREASE AFTER THREE MONTHS OF YOGIC PRACTICES. THE SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, MEAN ARTERIAL PRESSURE, AND ORTHOSTATIC TOLERANCE DID NOT SHOW ANY SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION WITH PLASMA MELATONIN. HOWEVER, THE MAXIMUM NIGHT TIME MELATONIN LEVELS IN YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION (R = 0.71, P < 0.05) WITH WELL-BEING SCORE. CONCLUSION: THESE OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST THAT YOGIC PRACTICES CAN BE USED AS PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGIC STIMULI TO INCREASE ENDOGENOUS SECRETION OF MELATONIN, WHICH, IN TURN, MIGHT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPROVED SENSE OF WELL-BEING. 2004 14 758 39 EFFECT OF SLOW BREATHING ON AUTONOMIC TONE & BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: SLOW BREATHING INCREASES PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY (BRS) IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS, ALSO SIMILARLY OBSERVED IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. PRANAYAMA WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF YOGA WHEN PRACTICED AT A SLOW PACE WAS AT A RESPIRATORY FREQUENCY OF AROUND 0.1 HZ (6 BREATHS/MIN). THEREFORE, IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT YOGA PRACTITIONERS MIGHT HAVE ADAPTED TO SLOW BREATHING. THIS STUDY WAS AIMED TO DECIPHER THE ROLE OF YOGA ON CARDIOVASCULAR VARIABILITY DURING SLOW BREATHING (0.1 HZ) IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. METHODS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN IN NAIVE-TO-YOGA INDIVIDUALS (N=40) AND YOGA PRACTITIONERS (N=40) WITH AN AVERAGE AGE OF 31.08 +/- 7.31 AND 29.93 +/- 7.57 YR, RESPECTIVELY. THE ANALYSIS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY, BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY (BPV) AND BRS DURING SPONTANEOUS AND SLOW BREATHING WAS COMPARED BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS. RESULTS: DURING SLOW BREATHING, THE HEART RATE (P<0.01) WAS LOWER, RESPIRATORY RATE INTERVAL (P<0.05) AND PNN50 PER CENT (P=0.01) WERE HIGHER, MEAN SYSTOLIC BP (SBP) (P<0.05) AND SDSD (STANDARD DEVIATION OF SUCCESSIVE BEAT TO BEAT SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE DIFFERENCES) (P<0.01) OF SBP VARIABILITY WERE LOWER WITH SEQUENCE BRS (P<0.001) AND ALPHA LOW FREQUENCY (P<0.01) AND ALPHA HIGH FREQUENCY (P<0.001) OF SPECTRAL BRS WERE HIGHER IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: THE PRESENT STUDY INDICATED HIGHER PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BRS WITH LOWER SBP VARIABILITY AT REST AND DURING SLOW BREATHING IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS COMPARED TO NAIVE GROUP. FINDINGS INDICATE THAT THE SHORT-TERM PRACTICE OF SLOW BREATHING COMPLEMENTS THE AUGMENTED PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BRS IN THE YOGA GROUP. 2020 15 369 28 AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS IN RAJA-YOGA MEDITATORS. STRESS, AN INEVITABLE AND CONSTANT FEATURE THROUGHOUT THE LIFETIME, INDUCES AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTIONS, FOR WHICH MEDITATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE AN ANTIDOTE. SO THE CASE CONTROL STUDY WAS PLANNED INCLUDING 50 RAJA-YOGA MEDITATORS PRACTICING MEDITATION FOR 5 YEARS AND 50 AGE MATCHED NON-MEDITATORS. AUTONOMIC FUNCTION TESTS WERE PERFORMED AND RESULTS WERE COMPARED USING THE STUDENT-T TEST. MEAN VALUES OF RESTING HR, SBP AND DBP WERE LESS IN MEDITATORS. GALVANIC SKIN RESPONSE IN MEDITATORS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE (P < 0.001). MEAN INCREASE BP RESPONSE TO HAND GRIP TEST AND COLD PRESSOR TEST WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS IN MEDITATORS THAN NON-MEDITATORS (P < 0.001). STANDING: LYING RATIO, VALSALVA RATIO, INSPIRATION: EXPIRATION RATIO AND 30:15 RATIOS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN MEDITATORS THAN NON-MEDITATORS. FROM THE RESULTS, THERE WAS SHIFTING OF THE AUTONOMIC BALANCE TO PARASYMPATHETIC SIDE IN RAJA-YOGA MEDITATORS, WHICH SUGGESTS ITS UTILITY TO COMBAT THE ILL EFFECTS OF STRESS. 2015 16 438 34 CARDIOVASCULAR AND RESPIRATORY EFFECT OF YOGIC SLOW BREATHING IN THE YOGA BEGINNER: WHAT IS THE BEST APPROACH? SLOW BREATHING INCREASES CARDIAC-VAGAL BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY (BRS), IMPROVES OXYGEN SATURATION, LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE, AND REDUCES ANXIETY. WITHIN THE YOGA TRADITION SLOW BREATHING IS OFTEN PAIRED WITH A CONTRACTION OF THE GLOTTIS MUSCLES. THIS RESISTANCE BREATH "UJJAYI" IS PERFORMED AT VARIOUS RATES AND RATIOS OF INSPIRATION/EXPIRATION. TO TEST WHETHER UJJAYI HAD ADDITIONAL POSITIVE EFFECTS TO SLOW BREATHING, WE COMPARED BRS AND VENTILATORY CONTROL UNDER DIFFERENT BREATHING PATTERNS (EQUAL/UNEQUAL INSPIRATION/EXPIRATION AT 6 BREATH/MIN, WITH/WITHOUT UJJAYI), IN 17 YOGA-NAIVE YOUNG HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS. BRS INCREASED WITH SLOW BREATHING TECHNIQUES WITH OR WITHOUT EXPIRATORY UJJAYI (P < 0.05 OR HIGHER) EXCEPT WITH INSPIRATORY + EXPIRATORY UJJAYI. THE MAXIMAL INCREASE IN BRS AND DECREASE IN BLOOD PRESSURE WERE FOUND IN SLOW BREATHING WITH EQUAL INSPIRATION AND EXPIRATION. THIS CORRESPONDED WITH A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN OXYGEN SATURATION WITHOUT INCREASE IN HEART RATE AND VENTILATION. UJJAYI SHOWED SIMILAR INCREASE IN OXYGEN SATURATION BUT SLIGHTLY LESSER IMPROVEMENT IN BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY WITH NO CHANGE IN BLOOD PRESSURE. THE SLOW BREATHING WITH EQUAL INSPIRATION AND EXPIRATION SEEMS THE BEST TECHNIQUE FOR IMPROVING BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY IN YOGA-NAIVE SUBJECTS. THE EFFECTS OF UJJAYI SEEMS DEPENDENT ON INCREASED INTRATHORACIC PRESSURE THAT REQUIRES GREATER EFFORT THAN NORMAL SLOW BREATHING. 2013 17 1352 50 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF MIND SOUND RESONANCE TECHNIQUE (MSRT - A YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUE) ON BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE, AND STATE ANXIETY IN INDIVIDUALS WITH HYPERTENSION: A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND MIND SOUND RESONANCE TECHNIQUE (MSRT) IS A YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUE. PREVIOUS STUDIES ON MSRT DEMONSTRATED ITS POTENTIAL HEALTH-BENEFITING EFFECTS IN BOTH CLINICAL AND NONCLINICAL POPULATION. PRESENT STUDY INTENDED TO ASSESS THE ACUTE EFFECT OF MSRT INTERVENTION ON BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE (HR), AND STATE ANXIETY IN PATIENTS WITH ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION (HTN). METHODS THIRTY PARTICIPANTS (13 FEMALES) WITH HTN, WITHIN THE AGE RANGE 30-60 YEARS (WITH MEAN+/-SD: 57.23+/-11.3 YEARS), WHO VISITED SVYASA UNIVERSITY CAMPUS TO ATTEND 1-WEEK RESIDENTIAL YOGA PROGRAM FOR HTN TREATMENT, WERE CONSIDERED FOR THIS STUDY BASED ON INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA. ALL PARTICIPANTS RECEIVED A 4-DAY MSRT ORIENTATION SESSIONS PRIOR TO THE STUDY. EACH PARTICIPANT UNDERWENT 30-MIN SESSION OF BOTH MSRT AND SUPINE REST (SR) ON 2 SUCCESSIVE DAYS. SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES, PULSE RATE, AND STATE ANXIETY WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER BOTH MSRT AND SR SESSIONS. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING SPSS VERSION 16. REPEATED-MEASURE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WAS APPLIED TO ASSESS WITHIN-SUBJECTS CHANGES. RESULTS AFTER MSRT SESSION, SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (SBP), DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (DBP), HR, AND STATE ANXIETY WAS OBSERVED COMPARED TO BASELINE. SIMILARLY, AFTER SR SESSION, SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE FOUND IN HR AND STATE ANXIETY. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE WAS SEEN IN SBP AND DBP FOLLOWING SR COMPARED TO SR SESSION; MSRT SESSION SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER IMPROVEMENT IN SBP, DBP, HR, AND STATE ANXIETY. CONCLUSION PRESENT STUDY DEMONSTRATED THE USEFULNESS OF SINGLE SESSION OF MSRT IN REDUCING BLOOD PRESSURE, HR, AND STATE ANXIETY AMONG INDIVIDUALS WITH HTN AS COMPARED TO SR. THESE FINDINGS ENCOURAGE THE FURTHER STUDIES WITH LARGER SAMPLE SIZE AND LONG-TERM INTERVENTION WITH A ROBUST RESEARCH DESIGN. 2018 18 1610 43 METABOLIC AND VENTILATORY CHANGES DURING AND AFTER HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING. BACKGROUND PRACTICING HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) INDUCED A HYPERMETABOLIC STATE IN A SINGLE SUBJECT DURING THE PRACTICE BUT THE EFFECT HAS NOT BEEN STUDIED IN MULTIPLE PRACTITIONERS. MATERIAL AND METHODS HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS (N=47, GROUP MEAN AGE +/- S.D., 23.2 +/- 4.1 YEARS) WERE RECRUITED AS AN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AND ANOTHER TWENTY VOLUNTEERS WERE RECRUITED AS A CONTROL GROUP. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP PRACTICED EITHER HFYB (BREATH RATE 1.0 HZ) OR BREATH AWARENESS (BAW) ON TWO SEPARATE DAYS. THE SEQUENCE WAS REVERSED FOR ALTERNATE PARTICIPANTS. THE CONTROL GROUP WAS ASSESSED UNDER SIMILAR CONDITIONS WHILE SITTING AT EASE. THE BREATH RATE (RR), TIDAL VOLUME (VT), VENTILATION (VE), VO2, VCO2, ARTERIAL PCO2 AND ENERGY EXPENDITURE (EE KCAL/DAY) WERE ASSESSED FOR 35 MINUTES USING AN OPEN CIRCUIT OXYGEN CONSUMPTION ANALYZER. THE ASSESSMENT PERIOD WAS DIVIDED INTO BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER CONDITIONS. REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSES OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) WERE USED TO COMPARE DATA RECORDED DURING AND AFTER THE TWO PRACTICES WITH DATA RECORDED BEFORE. BEFORE-AFTER COMPARISONS IN THE CONTROL GROUP WERE WITH PAIRED T-TESTS. RESULTS THE MOST RELEVANT SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE INCREASES IN VE, VO2, VCO2 AND EE DURING HFYB, WHILE THE SAME VARIABLES DECREASED DURING THE CONTROL PERIOD. HOWEVER AFTER HFYB THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN VO2 OR EE, ALTHOUGH VE DECREASED AS IT DID AFTER THE CONTROL PERIOD. CONCLUSIONS HFYB INDUCES A HYPERMETABOLIC STATE FOR THE DURATION OF THE PRACTICE WHICH RETURNS TO BASELINE AFTER HFYB SUGGESTING A POSSIBLE APPLICATION FOR HFYB IN HYPOMETABOLIC STATES. 2015 19 752 49 EFFECT OF SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM BRAHMAKUMARIS RAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES. EFFECT OF SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM BRAHMAKUMARIS RAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES LIKE HEART RATE (HR), RESPIRATORY RATE (RR), SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (SBP) AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (DBP) WAS EVALUATED IN 100 SUBJECTS PRACTICING RAJA YOGA MEDITATION. ALL 100 SUBJECTS (33 MEN AND 67 WOMEN) WERE AGED 30 YEARS AND ABOVE (MEAN AGE 52.06 +/- 12.76 YEARS). SHORT-TERM MEDITATORS (STM) (N = 27) PRACTICED RAJA YOGA MEDITATION FOR DURATION OF SIX MONTHS TO FIVE YEARS (MEAN DURATION 3.37 +/- 1.67 YEARS) AND LONG-TERM MEDITATORS (LTM) (N = 73) PRACTICED RAJA YOGA MEDITATION FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS (MEAN DURATION 11.19 +/- 5.13 YEARS). THE PARTICIPANTS WERE ASKED TO MEDITATE AND THE PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES (HR, RR, SBP AND DBP) WERE RECORDED TWICE (15 MINUTES AND 30 MINUTES) AFTER BEGINNING OF MEDITATION. ALSO, THE FASTING BLOOD SUGAR WAS ESTIMATED BY GLUCOMETER. THE STUDY SUBJECTS DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY IN AGE AND VARIOUS ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS BODY WEIGHT, BODY MASS INDEX, WAIST-HIP RATIO AND FASTING BLOOD SUGAR. COMPARISON BETWEEN STM AND LTM SHOWED THAT THE CHANGES FROM BASELINE VALUES (FROM PREMEDITATION TO POST-MEDITATION AT 15 AND 30 MINUTES) IN LTM WERE NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT WITH THOSE IN STM (P > 0.05). HOWEVER, WITHIN GROUP DIFFERENCES IN LTM REVEALED THAT CHANGES IN THE PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT WHEN COMPARED BETWEEN PRE AND POST MEDITATION BOTH AT 15 AND 30 MINUTES. THE STUDY SUGGESTS THAT THE LONG-TERM PRACTICE OF RAJA YOGA MEDITATION IMPROVES BASIC CARDIO-RESPIRATORY FUNCTIONS DUE TO SHIFTING OF THE AUTONOMIC BALANCE IN FAVOR OF PARASYMPATHETIC INSTEAD OF SYMPATHETIC SYSTEM. 2012 20 2759 38 YOGA PRACTITIONERS EXHIBIT HIGHER PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY AND BETTER ADAPTABILITY TO 40 MM HG LOWER-BODY NEGATIVE PRESSURE. YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE AUTONOMIC CONDITIONING IN HUMANS, AS EVIDENCED BY THE ENHANCEMENT OF PARASYM-PATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY. THEREFORE, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE EXPERIENCE OF YOGA MAY RESULT IN ADAPTATION TO ACUTE HEMODYNAMIC CHANGES. TO DECIPHER THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CARDIOVASCULAR VARIABILITY, YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE COMPARED TO YOGA-NAIVE SUBJECTS DURING EXPOSURE TO -40 MM HG LOWER-BODY NEGATIVE PRESSURE (LBNP). A COMPARATIVE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ON 40 YOGANAIVE SUBJECTS AND 40 YOGA PRACTITIONERS WITH AN AVERAGE AGE OF 31.08 +/- 7.31 YEARS AND 29.93 +/- 7.57 YEARS, RESPECTIVELY. HEART RATE VARIABILITY, BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY, BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY, AND CORRELATION BETWEEN SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE AND RR INTERVAL WERE EVALUATED AT REST AND DURING LBNP. IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS, THE HEART RATE WAS LOWER IN SUPINE REST (P = 0.011) AND DURING LBNP (P = 0.043); THE PNN50 MEASURE OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY WAS HIGHER IN SUPINE REST (P = 0.011) AND DURING LBNP (P = 0.034). THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS' STANDARD DEVIATION OF SUCCESSIVE BEAT-TO-BEAT BLOOD PRESSURE INTERVALS OF SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY WAS LOWER IN SUPINE REST (P = 0.034) AND DURING LBNP (P = 0.007), WITH HIGHER SEQUENCE BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY (P = 0.019) AND ~ HIGH-FREQUENCY BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY. MEAN SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE AND RR INTERVAL WERE INVERSELY CORRELATED IN THE YOGA GROUP (R = -0.317, P = 0.049). THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS EXHIBITED HIGHER PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY AND BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY WITH LOWER SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY, INDICATING BETTER ADAPTABILITY TO LBNP COMPARED TO THE YOGA-NAIVE GROUP. OUR FINDINGS INDICATE THAT THE YOGA MODULE WAS HELPFUL IN CONDITIONS OF HYPOVOLEMIA IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS; IT IS PROPOSED TO BE BENEFICIAL IN CLINICAL CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH SYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE, IMPAIRED BARORE-FLEX SENSITIVITY, AND ORTHOSTATIC INTOLERANCE. 2021