Influence of intensive yoga training on physiological changes in 6 adult women: a case report

The short-term effects of 4 weeks of intensive yoga practice on physiological responses in six healthy adult female volunteers were measured using the maximal exercise treadmill test. Yoga practice involved daily morning and evening sessions of 90 minutes each. Pre- and post-yoga exercise performanc...

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Published inThe journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 3; no. 3; p. 291
Main Authors Raju, P S, Prasad, K V, Venkata, R Y, Murthy, K J, Reddy, M V
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 1997
Subjects
Adult
Exercise Test
Female
Heart Rate
Humans
Physical Fitness
Respiratory Mechanics
Statistics, Nonparametric
Yoga
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Summary:The short-term effects of 4 weeks of intensive yoga practice on physiological responses in six healthy adult female volunteers were measured using the maximal exercise treadmill test. Yoga practice involved daily morning and evening sessions of 90 minutes each. Pre- and post-yoga exercise performance was compared. Maximal work output (Wmax) for the group increased by 21%, with a significantly reduced level of oxygen consumption per unit work but without a concomitant significant change in heart rate. After intensive yoga training, at 154 Wmin(-1) (corresponding to Wmax of the pre-yoga maximal exercise test) participants could exercise more comfortably, with a significantly lower heart rate (p < 0.05), reduced minute ventilation (p < 0.05), reduced oxygen consumption per unit work (p < 0.05), and a significantly lower respiratory quotient (p < 0.05). The implications for the effect of intensive yoga on cardiorespiratory efficiency are discussed, with the suggestion that yoga has some transparently different quantifiable physiological effects to other exercises.
ISSN:1075-5535
DOI:10.1089/acm.1997.3.291