The effect of consistent practice of yogic breathing exercises on the human cardiorespiratory system.
The purpose of this investigation was to quantify the cardiovascular, respiratory, and cerebrovascular effects of two common yogic breathing exercises (YBE): bhastrika and chaturbhuj; and to determine the effect of their consistent practice on chemosensitivity. The first study was cross-sectional and compared experienced yogic breathers (YB) with matched controls; whereas the second was a 10-week longitudinal training study. The results support four major findings. First chaturbhuj resulted in a hypoxic stimulus in experienced YB compared to control [end-tidal oxygen tension (PETO2), YB: 77.5±5.7mmHg, P<0.05; control: 94.3±12.0mmHg]. Second, performance of chaturbhuj resulted in cyclic oscillations of mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and middle cerebral artery velocity (MCAv) consistent with the phases of respiration. Third, post training, performance of bhastrika reduced PETO2 (end breath-hold: 90.8 8±12.1mmHg) compared to rest (100.1±7.4, P<0.05); it also resulted in significantly increased MAP at end breath-hold (96.7±13.0mmHg) compared to rest (83.0±6.6mmHg, P<0.05) and significantly increased mean MCAv (end breath-hold: 87.4±23.0cm/s, P<0.05; rest: 55.8±26.3cm/s). Fourth, experienced YB had lower central chemosensitivity than controls (YB: 3.4±0.4; control: 4.6±1.2L/min/mmHg; P<0.05). In conclusion, YBE significantly alter end-tidal gases, resulting in complex oscillations of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular variables, and if practiced consistently, may reduce chemosensitivity.
['McKay|Joshua A A|JA|', 'McCulloch|Cara L|CL|', 'Querido|Jordan S|JS|', 'Foster|Glen E|GE|', 'Koehle|Michael S|MS|', 'Sheel|A William|AW|']
D000328:Adult D001784:Blood Gas Analysis D001794:Blood Pressure D001945:Breathing Exercises D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005500:Follow-Up Studies D006339:Heart Rate D006801:Humans D008297:Male D010108:Oxyhemoglobins D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation D012119:Respiration D013147:Spirometry D013990:Tidal Volume D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial D014797:Vital Capacity D055815:Young Adult
Chemosensitivity Blood pressure Hypercapnia Hypoxia