Comparison of cardiovascular responses to yoga and slow paced breathing

Abstract

One in twelve U.S. adults practice yoga annually. Some data suggest improvement in cardiovascular health with yoga training. Though a shift in cardiovascular control has been purported with slow yogic breathing, there are sparse data on its specific effects compared with other slow breathing patterns. We investigated whether slow yogic breathing differentially impacts the interrelations among respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure in seven long‐term yoga practitioners (>;10 yrs). To determine whether control pathways are distinctly different across breathing patterns, a Granger causality test was used to define the pathway(s) linking respiration, heart rate and blood pressure during 0.25 Hz, 0.1 Hz, and yogic breathing. Yogic breathing ranged from 0.03–0.10Hz and encompassed respiratory maneuvers including breath‐holds, segmented breathing, and ujjayi. The strongest cardiovascular control path was from respiration to heart rate to blood pressure and this was significantly stronger during 0.25 Hz breathing. However, yogic and slow paced breathing did not differentially impact this cardiovascular control path. Thus, it appears in experienced yogic breathers, breathing frequency is a key factor in respiratory‐mediated cardiovascular fluctuations.