Quantifying Physical Activity Performed During Yoga

Abstract

The intensity of yoga is challenging to assess because the asanas of yoga include aerobic and anaerobic components; both of these components are measured through different methods. PURPOSE: The purpose of this project was to explore a method of assessing the physical activity completed during yoga. This study had two objectives: 1) Quantify characteristics of yoga (number of poses, body posture of a pose), and explore the concept of a pose rate (number of poses per minute of the routine), 2) Compare characteristics between different yoga categories to assess if the measures can differentiate between different yoga practices. METHODS: A content analysis was used to assess yoga routines; these routines were categorized by their primary purpose into one of the following groups: weight loss, beginner, or meditation. Researchers recorded the following characteristics from each routine: body position of each pose, number of poses, and duration of the yoga routine. An ANOVA was used to compare routine characteristics between yoga categories. RESULTS: Fifteen yoga routines were assessed (weight loss: 4, beginner: 5, and meditation: 6). The total number of poses completed (p = 0.010), number of total standing poses (p = 0.001), and percent of time in standing poses (p = 0.018) were significantly different between the three categories, with weight loss having the highest values. Significant differences were also observed in the number of body postures completed in standing with the head up (p < 0.001), and ‘other’ body positions (any body posture not explicitly listed) (p = 0.033). The number of poses and percentage of time spent in the body postures of supine, seated, and standing with the head down were not significantly different between the routine categories. The pose rate was not significantly different between categories. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that assessing certain characteristics of routines may be one way to describe activity performed during yoga. A common method to assess the activity performed during yoga will allow for easy comparisons between studies and provide a basis to better interpret results. Further research should assess if similar results are found between different yoga styles and if the number of poses completed corresponds to larger physiological or metabolic responses.