Abstract
Yoga alters spontaneous respiratory regulation and reduces hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory responses. Since a lower ventilatory response is associated with an improved endurance capacity during whole-body exercise, we tested whether yogic subjects (YOGA) show an increased endurance capacity compared to matched non-yogic individuals (CON) with similar physical activity levels. Resting ventilation, the ventilatory response to hypercapnia, passive leg movement and exercise, as well as endurance performance were assessed. YOGA (n = 9), compared to CONTROL (n = 6), had a higher tidal volume at rest (0.7±0.2 vs. 0.5±0.1 l, p = 0.034) and a reduced ventilatory response to hypercapnia (33±15 vs. 47±15 l·min-1, p = 0.048). A YOGA subgroup (n = 6) with maximal performance similar to CONTROL showed a blunted ventilatory response to passive cycling (11±2 vs. 14±2 l·min-1, p = 0.039) and a tendency towards lower exercise ventilation (33±2 vs. 36±3 l·min-1, p = 0.094) while cycling endurance (YOGA: 17.3±3.3; CON: 19.6±8.5 min, p = 0.276) did not differ. Thus, yoga practice was not associated with improved exercise capacity nor with significant changes in exercise ventilation despite a significantly different respiratory regulation at rest and in response to hypercapnia and passive leg movement.
Highlights
The scientific interest in yoga has increased substantially in recent years and a number of physiological effects of yoga, including physical postures, controlled breathing and meditation [7], have been explored.Focusing on the respiratory aspect of yoga, Pranayama generally involves controlled breathing techniques affecting the respiratory rhythm, namely through prolongation and shortening of breaths, and sometimes breath-holding, all implying voluntary control of respiratory muscles
Between the YOGA and the CON group, no differences were found with regard to age, height, body mass, body mass index (BMI) (Table 1) and recreational exercise activities
MIP and Sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) did not differ between the 2 groups while MEP was significantly lower in the YOGA compared to the CON group
Summary
The scientific interest in yoga has increased substantially in recent years and a number of physiological effects of yoga, including physical postures (asanas; [1, 2]), controlled breathing (pranayama; [3, 4,5,6]) and meditation [7], have been explored. Focusing on the respiratory aspect of yoga, Pranayama generally involves controlled breathing techniques affecting the respiratory rhythm, namely through prolongation and shortening of breaths, and sometimes breath-holding, all implying voluntary control of respiratory muscles. These voluntary acts influence the breathing pattern, which is normally determined by the autonomic respiratory control center in the brain. Some degree of controversy exists concerning changes in lung function, as improvements following yoga training are often [2, 8,9,10,11,12] but not always [3, 13, 14] reported
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