1 438 109 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 2 758 31 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 3 757 21 EFFECT OF SLOW AND DEEP BREATHING ON BRAIN WAVES IN REGULAR YOGA PRACTITIONERS. VARIOUS YOGIC PRACTICES FOCUS ON BREATHING. BREATHING MAY AFFECT BRAIN WAVES. THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO SEE THE EFFECT SLOW AND DEEP RESPIRATION ON EEG ACTIVITY IN EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY AT AIIMS, BHOPAL, INDIA. THE DURATION OF THE STUDY WAS ABOUT ONE YEAR. EEG WAS TAKEN AND WAS ANALYZED BY DINAMIKA - ADVANCED TEST SYSTEM, MOSCOW, RUSSIA. PAIRED T-TEST USING GRAPH PAD SOFTWARE WAS USED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. THE DELTA PERCENTAGE DECREASED AND THE OTHER WAVE'S PERCENTAGES THETA, ALPHA, AND BETA INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. THE PERSON BECOMES DEEPLY RELAXED AND MORE FOCUSSED ON SLOW AND DEEP BREATHING. 2021 4 2307 32 TRAINING TO YOGA RESPIRATION SELECTIVELY INCREASES RESPIRATORY SENSATION IN HEALTHY MAN. BECAUSE YOGA PRACTITIONERS THINK THEY ARE BENEFITING FROM THEIR BREATH TRAINING WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT YOGA RESPIRATION TRAINING (YRT) COULD MODIFY THE RESPIRATORY SENSATION. YOGA RESPIRATION (YR) ("UJJAI") CONSISTED OF VERY SLOW, DEEP BREATHS (2-3 MIN(-1)) WITH SUSTAINED BREATH-HOLD AFTER EACH INSPIRATION AND EXPIRATION. AT INCLUSION IN THE STUDY AND AFTER A 2-MONTH YRT PROGRAM, WE DETERMINED IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS THEIR EUPNEIC VENTILATORY PATTERN AND THEIR CAPACITY TO DISCRIMINATE EXTERNAL INSPIRATORY RESISTIVE LOADS (RESPIRATORY SENSATION), DIGITAL TACTILE MECHANICAL PRESSURES (SOMESTHETIC SENSATION) AND SOUND-PRESSURE STIMULATIONS (AUDITORY SENSATION). DATA WERE COMPARED TO A GENDER-, AGE-, AND WEIGHT-MATCHED CONTROL GROUP OF HEALTHY SUBJECTS WHO DID NOT UNDERGO THE YRT PROGRAM BUT WERE EXPLORED AT THE SAME EPOCHS. AFTER THE 2-MONTH YRT PROGRAM, THE RESPIRATORY SENSATION INCREASED. THUS, BOTH THE EXPONENT OF THE STEVEN'S POWER LAW (PSI=KPHIN) AND THE SLOPE OF THE LINEAR-LINEAR PLOT BETWEEN PSI AND MOUTH PRESSURE (PM) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER, AND THE INTERCEPT WITH ORDINATE AXIS OF THE PSI VERSUS PM RELATIONSHIP WAS LOWER. AFTER YRT, THE PEAK PM DEVELOPED AGAINST INSPIRATORY LOADS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER, REDUCING THE LOAD-INDUCED ACTIVATION OF RESPIRATORY AFFERENTS. YRT INDUCED LONG-LASTING MODIFICATIONS OF THE VENTILATORY PATTERN WITH A SIGNIFICANT LENGTHENING OF EXPIRATORY DURATION AND A MODEST TIDAL VOLUME INCREASE. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN SOMESTHETIC AND AUDITORY SENSATIONS WERE NOTED. IN THE CONTROL GROUP, THE RESPIRATORY SENSATION WAS NOT MODIFIED DURING A 15-MIN PERIOD OF YOGA RESPIRATION, DESPITE THE PEAK PM CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO ADDED LOADS WERE THEN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED. THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT TRAINING TO YOGA RESPIRATION SELECTIVELY INCREASES THE RESPIRATORY SENSATION, PERHAPS THROUGH ITS PERSISTENT CONDITIONING OF THE BREATHING PATTERN. 2005 5 2363 33 VOLUNTARILY INDUCED VOMITING - A YOGA TECHNIQUE TO ENHANCE PULMONARY FUNCTIONS IN HEALTHY HUMANS. VOMITING IS A COMPLEX AUTONOMIC REFLEX ORCHESTRATED BY SEVERAL NEUROLOGICAL CENTRES IN THE BRAIN. VAGUS, THE CRANIAL NERVE PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN REGULATION OF VOMITING. KUNJAL KRIYA (VOLUNTARILY INDUCED VOMITING), IS A YOGIC CLEANSING TECHNIQUE WHICH INVOLVES VOLUNTARILY INDUCING VOMITING AFTER DRINKING SALINE WATER (5%) ON EMPTY STOMACH. THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED WITH AN OBJECTIVE TO UNDERSTAND THE EFFECT OF VOLUNTARY INDUCED VOMITING (VIV) ON PULMONARY FUNCTIONS IN EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS AND NOVICES AND DERIVE ITS POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS. EIGHTEEN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS VOLUNTEERED FOR THE STUDY OF WHICH NINE HAD PRIOR EXPERIENCE OF VIV WHILE NINE DID NOT. PULMONARY FUNCTION TESTS WERE PERFORMED BEFORE AND AFTER 10 MIN OF REST FOLLOWING VIV. ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE WAS PERFORMED ADJUSTED FOR GENDER AND BASELINE VALUES. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE OBSERVED ACROSS GENDERS. THE RESULTS OF THE PRESENT STUDY SUGGEST A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SLOW VITAL CAPACITY [F(1,13) = 5.699; P = 0.03] AND FORCED INSPIRATORY VOLUME IN 1ST SECOND [P = 0.02] AND REDUCTION IN EXPIRATORY RESERVE VOLUME [F(1,13) = 5.029; P = 0.04] AND RESPIRATORY RATE [F(1,13) = 3.244, P = 0.09]. THESE CHANGES SUGGEST THE POSSIBLE ROLE OF VIV IN ENHANCING THE ENDURANCE OF THE RESPIRATORY MUSCLES, DECREASED AIRWAY RESISTANCE, BETTER EMPTYING OF LUNGS AND VAGAL PREDOMINANCE RESPECTIVELY. WE CONCLUDE THAT VIV WHEN PRACTICED REGULARLY ENHANCES THE ENDURANCE OF THE RESPIRATORY MUSCLES AND DECREASES AIRWAY RESISTANCE. THESE FINDINGS ALSO INDICATE NEED FOR SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF VIV IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MOTION SICKNESS AND RESTRICTIVE PULMONARY DISORDERS LIKE BRONCHITIS AND BRONCHIAL ASTHMA. 2018 6 865 31 EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICES ON PULMONARY FUNCTION TESTS INCLUDING TRANSFER FACTOR OF LUNG FOR CARBON MONOXIDE (TLCO) IN ASTHMA PATIENTS. PRANA IS THE ENERGY, WHEN THE SELF-ENERGIZING FORCE EMBRACES THE BODY WITH EXTENSION AND EXPANSION AND CONTROL, IT IS PRANAYAMA. IT MAY AFFECT THE MILIEU AT THE BRONCHIOLES AND THE ALVEOLI PARTICULARLY AT THE ALVEOLO-CAPILLARY MEMBRANE TO FACILITATE DIFFUSION AND TRANSPORT OF GASES. IT MAY ALSO INCREASE OXYGENATION AT TISSUE LEVEL. AIM OF OUR STUDY IS TO COMPARE PULMONARY FUNCTIONS AND DIFFUSION CAPACITY IN PATIENTS OF BRONCHIAL ASTHMA BEFORE AND AFTER YOGIC INTERVENTION OF 2 MONTHS. SIXTY STABLE ASTHMATIC-PATIENTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS I.E GROUP 1 (YOGA TRAINING GROUP) AND GROUP 2 (CONTROL GROUP). EACH GROUP INCLUDED THIRTY PATIENTS. LUNG FUNCTIONS WERE RECORDED ON ALL PATIENTS AT BASELINE, AND THEN AFTER TWO MONTHS. GROUP 1 SUBJECTS SHOWED A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT (P<0.001) IN TRANSFER FACTOR OF THE LUNG FOR CARBON MONOXIDE (TLCO), FORCED VITAL CAPACITY (FVC), FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME IN 1ST SEC (FEV1), PEAK EXPIRATORY FLOW RATE (PEFR), MAXIMUM VOLUNTARY VENTILATION (MVV) AND SLOW VITAL CAPACITY (SVC) AFTER YOGA PRACTICE. QUALITY OF LIFE ALSO INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT PRANAYAMA & YOGA BREATHING AND STRETCHING POSTURES ARE USED TO INCREASE RESPIRATORY STAMINA, RELAX THE CHEST MUSCLES, EXPAND THE LUNGS, RAISE ENERGY LEVELS, AND CALM THE BODY. 2012 7 2065 43 THE CARDIOVASCULAR VARIABILITY DURING TRANSIENT 6 DEGREES HEAD DOWN TILT AND SLOW BREATHING IN YOGA EXPERIENCED HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. OBJECTIVE: THE INTERVENTION OF YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE AUTONOMIC CONDITIONING IN HUMANS AND BETTER ADAPTABILITY TO ORTHOSTATIC CHALLENGES. SIMILARLY, SLOW BREATHING AT 0.1 HZ AKIN TO PRANAYAMA ALSO INCREASES BAROREFLEX SENSITIVITY (BRS). HENCE, WE INTENDED TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAVE DIFFERENT AUTONOMIC RESPONSES AT REST,DURING SLOW DEEP BREATHINGAS WELL AS DURING 6 DEGREES HEAD DOWN TILT (HDT) COMPARED TO NAIVE GROUP INDIVIDUALS. AIM: THE AIM OF THE STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF SLOW BREATHING ON CARDIOVASCULAR VARIABILITY DURING HDT IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS COMPARED TO YOGA-NAIVE INDIVIDUALS. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: THIS WAS A COMPARATIVE STUDY WITH REPEATED MEASURES DESIGN CONDUCTED IN AUTONOMIC FUNCTION TEST LAB OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY, ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, NEW DELHI, INDIA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TIME DOMAIN AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN PARAMETERS OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY, BLOOD PRESSURE VARIABILITY (BPV), AND BRS WERE EVALUATED DURING 6 DEGREES HDT AND SLOW BREATHING AT 0.1 HZ ON FORTY YOGA-NAIVE INDIVIDUALS AND FORTY YOGA PRACTITIONERS WITH AN AVERAGE AGE OF 31.08 +/- 7.31 YEARS AND 29.93 +/- 7.57 YEARS, RESPECTIVELY. ALL OF THE PARTICIPANTS WERE HEALTHY. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: GENERAL LINEAR MIXED MODEL ANOVA WAS APPLIED WITH YOGA EXPERIENCE AS A BETWEEN-GROUP FACTOR IN REPEATED MEASURES. INDEPENDENT SAMPLE T-TEST WAS APPLIED FOR BETWEEN GROUP COMPARISON OF RESPIRATORY RATE, DEMOGRAPHIC, AND ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA. P <0.05 IS CONSIDERED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. RESULTS: BETWEEN-GROUP COMPARISON DURING HDT WITH SPONTANEOUS BREATHING HAS SHOWN A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER HEART RATE (P = 0.004) WITH HIGHER RR INTERVAL (RRI) (P = 0.002) AND PNN50% (P = 0.019) IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. THE SEQUENCE BRS (P < 0.0001) AND ALPHA LOW FREQUENCY (LF) OF SPECTRAL BRS (P = 0.035) WERE ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPARED TO THE NAIVE GROUP. SIMILARLY, DURING HDT WITH SLOW BREATHING, THE HEART RATE WAS LOWER (P = 0.01); WITH HIGHER RRI (P = 0.009); PNN50% (P = 0.048). STANDARD DEVIATION OF SUCCESSIVE RR INTERVAL DIFFERENCE OF SYSTOLIC BPV WAS LOWER (P = 0.024) WITH HIGHER SEQUENCE BRS (P = 0.001) AND ALPHA LF OF SPECTRAL BRS (P = 0.002) IN YOGA GROUP THAN NAIVE GROUP. CONCLUSION: THE YOGA EXPERIENCED INDIVIDUALS EXHIBIT HIGHER RESTING PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY, LOWER SYSTOLIC BPV, AND HIGHER BRS THAN NAIVE TO YOGA INDIVIDUALS. IT IS INFERRED FROM THE FINDINGS THAT YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE BETTER ADAPTED TO TRANSIENT CEPHALAD FLUID SHIFT THAT HAPPENS DURING 6 DEGREES HDT. FURTHERMORE, ACUTE SLOW BREATHING DURING 6 DEGREES HDT REDUCED THE SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE IN ALL THE PARTICIPANTS SUGGESTING THE BENEFICIAL ROLE OF SLOW BREATHING DURING EXPOSURE TO EXTREME CONDITIONS SUCH AS MICROGRAVITY WHICH MIGHT HELP IN THE PREVENTION OF ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CEPHALAD FLUID SHIFT DURING LONG-TERM WEIGHTLESSNESS AND MAINTAIN THE ASTRONAUT HEALTH. FUTURE MECHANISTIC STUDIES WITH ACTIVE YOGA INTERVENTION ARE NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND THE ADAPTIVE MECHANISMS INVOLVING CENTRAL AND VASCULAR MODULATIONS CONTRIBUTING TO EITHER ATTENUATION OR ACCENTUATION OF THE CARDIOVAGAL BAROREFLEX DURING HDT AND SLOW BREATHING IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. 2021 8 887 26 EFFECT OF YOGA TYPE BREATHING ON HEART RATE AND CARDIAC AXIS OF NORMAL SUBJECTS. EFFECT OF INSPIRATORY AND EXPIRATORY PHASES OF NORMAL QUIET BREATHING, DEEP BREATHING AND SAVITRI PRANAYAM TYPE BREATHING ON HEART RATE AND MEAN VENTRICULAR QRS AXIS WAS INVESTIGATED IN YOUNG, HEALTHY UNTRAINED SUBJECTS. PRANAYAM TYPE BREATHING PRODUCED SIGNIFICANT CARDIOACCELERATION AND INCREASE IN QRS AXIS DURING THE INSPIRATORY PHASE AS COMPARED TO EUPNEA. ON THE OTHER HAND, EXPIRATORY EFFORT DURING PRANAYAM TYPE BREATHING DID NOT PRODUCE ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN HEART RATE OR QRS AXIS. THE CHANGES IN HEART RATE AND QRS AXIS DURING THE INSPIRATORY AND EXPIRATORY PHASES OF PRANAYAM TYPE BREATHING WERE SIMILAR TO THE CHANGES OBSERVED DURING THE CORRESPONDING PHASES OF DEEP BREATHING. 1986 9 1508 17 IS MAN ABLE TO BREATHE ONCE A MINUTE FOR AN HOUR?: THE EFFECT OF YOGA RESPIRATION ON BLOOD GASES. THE VENTILATORY RESPONSE TO HYPERCAPNIA AND ARTERIAL BLOOD GASES DURING UJJAI RESPIRATION OF ONCE PER MINUTE FOR AN HOUR WERE DETERMINED IN A PROFESSIONAL HATHA YOGI. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT LOWER CHEMOSENSITIVITY TO HYPERCAPNIA IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS MAY BE DUE TO AN ADAPTATION TO LOW ARTERIAL PH AND HIGH PACO2 FOR LONG PERIODS. 2002 10 1706 25 PATTERN OF BREATHING AND VENTILATORY RESPONSE TO CO2 IN SUBJECTS PRACTICING HATHA-YOGA. WE STUDIED EIGHT BELGIAN SUBJECTS WELL ADVANCED IN THE PRACTICE OF HATHA-YOGA AND COMPARED THEM WITH EIGHT SEX-, AGE-, AND HEIGHT-MATCHED CONTROL SUBJECTS. PRACTICE OF YOGA (RANGE 4-12 YR) INVOLVES CONTROL OF POSTURE AND MANIPULATION OF BREATHING, INCLUDING SLOW NEAR-VITAL CAPACITY MANEUVERS ACCOMPANIED BY APNEA AT END INSPIRATION AND END EXPIRATION. AVERAGE VALUES FOR THE YOGA AND THE CONTROL GROUP (IN PARENTHESES) ARE AS FOLLOWS: VENTILATION (VE) 5.53 1 X MIN-1 (7.07); TIDAL VOLUME (VT), 1.03 LITERS (0.56); RATE OF BREATHING, 5.5 MIN-1 (13.4); END-TIDAL PCO2, 39.0 TORR (35.3). ALL DIFFERENCES ARE SIGNIFICANT (P LESS THAN 0.05). VENTILATORY RESPONSE TO CO2 (REBREATHING TECHNIQUE) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN THE YOGA GROUP (P LESS THAN 0.01). THE REGRESSION RELATING VE TO VT DURING REBREATHING OF CO2 WAS VE = 8.1 (VT - 0.23) FOR THE YOGA GROUP AND VE = 15.8 (VT - 0.16) FOR THE CONTROL GROUP (P LESS THAN 0.005). WE ATTRIBUTE THESE CHANGES TO CHRONIC MANIPULATION OF RESPIRATION. 1981 11 751 21 EFFECT OF SHORT TERM YOGA PRACTICE ON VENTILATORY FUNCTION TESTS. TWENTYFIVE NORMAL MALE VOLUNTEERS UNDERGOING A TEN WEEKS COURSE IN THE PRACTICE OF YOGA HAVE BEEN STUDIED BY SOME PARAMETERS OF VENTILATORY FUNCTIONS TESTS. THE OBSERVATIONS RECORDED AT THE END OF TEN WEEKS OF THE COURSE HAVE SHOWN IMPROVED VENTILATORY FUNCTIONS IN THE FORM OF LOWERED RESPIRATORY RATE, INCREASED FORCED VITAL CAPACITY, FEV1, MAXIMUM BREATHING CAPACITY AND BREATH HOLDING TIME, WHILE TIDAL VOLUME AND %FEV1, DID NOT REVEAL ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE. THUS, A COMBINED PRACTICE OF YOGA SEEMS TO BE BENEFICIAL ON RESPIRATORY EFFICIENCY. 1988 12 2759 28 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 13 1734 26 PERSPECTIVES ON YOGA INPUTS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC PAIN. CHRONIC PAIN IS MULTI-DIMENSIONAL. AT THE PHYSICAL LEVEL ITSELF, BEYOND THE NOCICEPTIVE PATHWAY, THERE IS HYPER AROUSAL STATE OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, WHICH NEGATIVELY INFLUENCES TENSION COMPONENT OF THE MUSCLES, PATTERNS OF BREATHING, ENERGY LEVELS AND MINDSET, ALL OF WHICH EXACERBATE THE DISTRESS AND AFFECT THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY. BEGINNING WITH THE PHYSICAL BODY, YOGA EVENTUALLY INFLUENCES ALL ASPECTS OF THE PERSON: VITAL, MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL. IT OFFERS VARIOUS LEVELS AND APPROACHES TO RELAX, ENERGIZE, REMODEL AND STRENGTHEN BODY AND PSYCHE. THE ASANAS AND PRANAYAMA HARMONIZE THE PHYSIOLOGICAL SYSTEM AND INITIATE A "RELAXATION RESPONSE" IN THE NEURO ENDOCRINAL SYSTEM. THIS CONSISTS OF DECREASED METABOLISM, QUIETER BREATHING, STABLE BLOOD PRESSURE, REDUCED MUSCLE TENSION, LOWER HEART RATE AND SLOW BRAIN WAVE PATTERN. AS THE NEURAL DISCHARGE PATTERN GETS MODULATED, HYPER AROUSAL OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND THE STATIC LOAD ON POSTURAL MUSCLE COME DOWN. THE FUNCTION OF VISCERA IMPROVES WITH THE SENSE OF RELAXATION AND SLEEP GETS DEEPER AND SUSTAINED; FATIGUE DIMINISHES. SEVERAL SUBTLE LEVEL NOTIONAL CORRECTIONS CAN HAPPEN IN CASE THE SUBJECT MEDITATES AND THAT CHANGES THE CONTEXT OF THE DISEASE, PAIN AND THE MEANING OF LIFE. MEDITATION AND PRANAYAMA, ALONG WITH RELAXING ASANAS, CAN HELP INDIVIDUALS DEAL WITH THE EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF CHRONIC PAIN, REDUCE ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION EFFECTIVELY AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE PERCEIVED. 2010 14 436 28 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