Longitudinal and Immediate Effect of Kundalini Yoga on Salivary Levels of Cortisol and Activity of Alpha-Amylase and Its Effect on Perceived Stress
Stress is defined as an alteration of an organism's balance in response to a demand perceived from the environment. Diverse methods exist to evaluate physiological response. A noninvasive method is salivary measurement of cortisol and alpha-amylase. A growing body of evidence suggests that the...
Saved in:
Published in | International journal of yoga Vol. 10; no. 2; pp. 73 - 80 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
India
Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd
01.05.2017
Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Stress is defined as an alteration of an organism's balance in response to a demand perceived from the environment. Diverse methods exist to evaluate physiological response. A noninvasive method is salivary measurement of cortisol and alpha-amylase. A growing body of evidence suggests that the regular practice of Yoga would be an effective treatment for stress.
To determine the Kundalini Yoga (KY) effect, immediate and after 3 months of regular practice, on the perception of psychological stress and the salivary levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase activity.
To determine the psychological perceived stress, levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase activity in saliva, and compare between the participants to KY classes performed for 3 months and a group that does not practice any type of yoga.
The total sample consisted of 26 people between 18 and 45-year-old; 13 taking part in KY classes given at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile and 13 controls. Salivary samples were collected, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to quantify cortisol and kinetic reaction test was made to determine alpha-amylase activity. Perceived Stress Scale was applied at the beginning and at the end of the intervention.
Statistical analysis was applied using Stata v11.1 software. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to determine data distribution. The paired analysis was fulfilled by
-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
-test or Mann-Whitney's test was applied to compare longitudinal data. A statistical significance was considered when
< 0.05.
KY practice had an immediate effect on salivary cortisol. The activity of alpha-amylase did not show significant changes. A significant decrease of perceived stress in the study group was found.
KY practice shows an immediate effect on salivary cortisol levels and on perceived stress after 3 months of practice. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0973-6131 2231-2714 |
DOI: | 10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_45_16 |