Cardiopulmonary and Metabolic Effects of Yoga in Healthy Volunteers. 2017

T Satheesh Divya, and M T Vijayalakshmi, and K Mini, and K Asish, and M Pushpalatha, and Varun Suresh
Department of Physiology, Government Medical College, Thrissur, Kerala, India.

BACKGROUND Yoga the spiritual union of mind with the divine intelligence of the universe aims to liberate a human being from conflicts of body-mind duality. Beneficial cardiovascular and pulmonary effects of yoga are in par with aerobic exercise, even amounting to replace the exercise model. We conducted an interventional study in healthy volunteers, to analyze the impact of short-term yoga training on cardiovascular, pulmonary, autonomic function tests, lipid profile, and thyroid function tests. METHODS A sample of fifty new recruits attending the district yoga center was subject to 75 min yoga practice a day for 41 days. Basal values of cardiovascular, pulmonary, autonomic function tests, lipid profile, and thyroid function tests were recorded before yoga training and were reassessed for postyoga changes after 41 days. RESULTS After yoga practice there was a significant reduction in the resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean blood pressure of the participants. Effects on autonomic function tests were variable and inconclusive. There was a significant increase in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, and peak expiratory flow rate after yoga. A significant reduction in body mass index was observed. Effects on metabolic parameters were promising with a significant reduction in fasting blood sugar level, serum total cholesterol, serum triglycerides serum low-density lipoprotein levels, and significant increase in high-density lipoprotein. There was no significant change in thyroid function tests after yoga. CONCLUSIONS Short-term yoga practice has no effect on thyroid functions. Yoga practice was found beneficial in maintaining physiological milieu pertaining to cardiovascular and other metabolic parameters.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries

Related Publications

T Satheesh Divya, and M T Vijayalakshmi, and K Mini, and K Asish, and M Pushpalatha, and Varun Suresh
December 1978, Research communications in chemical pathology and pharmacology,
T Satheesh Divya, and M T Vijayalakshmi, and K Mini, and K Asish, and M Pushpalatha, and Varun Suresh
January 1982, Acta medica Scandinavica. Supplementum,
T Satheesh Divya, and M T Vijayalakshmi, and K Mini, and K Asish, and M Pushpalatha, and Varun Suresh
August 1997, Critical care medicine,
T Satheesh Divya, and M T Vijayalakshmi, and K Mini, and K Asish, and M Pushpalatha, and Varun Suresh
December 2002, Shock (Augusta, Ga.),
T Satheesh Divya, and M T Vijayalakshmi, and K Mini, and K Asish, and M Pushpalatha, and Varun Suresh
October 2004, Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics,
T Satheesh Divya, and M T Vijayalakshmi, and K Mini, and K Asish, and M Pushpalatha, and Varun Suresh
July 1995, Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica,
T Satheesh Divya, and M T Vijayalakshmi, and K Mini, and K Asish, and M Pushpalatha, and Varun Suresh
January 1986, Indian journal of physiology and pharmacology,
T Satheesh Divya, and M T Vijayalakshmi, and K Mini, and K Asish, and M Pushpalatha, and Varun Suresh
January 2012, International journal of yoga therapy,
T Satheesh Divya, and M T Vijayalakshmi, and K Mini, and K Asish, and M Pushpalatha, and Varun Suresh
January 2012, Genome medicine,
T Satheesh Divya, and M T Vijayalakshmi, and K Mini, and K Asish, and M Pushpalatha, and Varun Suresh
October 2005, The British journal of nutrition,
Copied contents to your clipboard!