Bhastrika Pranayama Research Articles

Immediate effect of Bhastrika Pranayama on cerebral hemodynamics in patient with depression: A case report

BackgroundDepression is a common mental disorder with increasing prevalence in India, which involves cognitive impairment as well. Pharmacological management of depression has many adverse effects, which provides symptomatic relief to the patients, with little to no improvement in cognitive impairment or cerebral hemodynamics. This necessitates the exploration of complementary and alternative treatment modalities. Yoga, in particular Bhastrika pranyama, has been utilized as a complementary practice for various conditions, but evidence of its impact on depression and cerebral hemodynamics is limited. Case detailsA 66-year-old male, previously diagnosed with depression, was admitted to our inpatient hospital for a holistic approach to his condition, combining yoga and naturopathy as part of his treatment. During his stay, he participated in a ten-minute Bhastrika pranayama intervention, conducted under supervision. To evaluate cerebral hemodynamics, a 16-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device was used and changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyHb), deoxygenated hemoglobin (deoxyHb), and total hemoglobin (Total Hb) was recorded. ResultsFollowing the practice of Bhastrika Pranayama, the results indicated a rise in bilateral oxygenated hemoglobin (OxyHb) levels during and immediately after the practice, particularly in the prefrontal cortex region. Simultaneously, a decrease in deoxygenated hemoglobin (DeoxyHb) was observed during the practice, with a slight subsequent increase after the Bhastrika Pranayama session. ConclusionThese preliminary findings indicate that Bhastrika pranayama may have an immediate positive impact on cerebral hemodynamics in patients with depression. Further research with larger sample sizes and controlled studies is needed to confirm and generalize these observations.

Effect of Bhastrika pranayama and Kapalbhati Kriya on vital capacity of junior cricket players

Effect of Bhastrika pranayama and Kapalbhati Kriya on vital capacity of junior cricket players

Physiological effect of Bhastrika Pranayama on Cardio-Pulmonary variables among healthy individuals - A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background And Objectives: Bhastrika Pranayama boosts airflow into the body, which produces heat both physically and subtly, igniting both the body's and mind's internal fires. This fast-breathing Pranayama increases energy, cleanses and regenerates the lungs, tones the diaphragm, heart, and abdominal muscles, improves circulation. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess the physiological impact of Bhastrika Pranayama on healthy individuals using cardio-pulmonary variables. Materials and Methods: 110 healthy male and female participants between the ages of 18 and 25 were enrolled, and they were randomly divided into a control group and a Pranayama group. The parameters SpO2, SBP, DBP, HR, RR, and PEFR were noted for pre and post values for both groups were recorded. The parameters were measured using a peak flow metre, cardiac monitor, and pulse oximeter. The Pranayama group received Bhastrika Pranayama for 4 weeks whereas the control group received no intervention. Result: The Pranayama group showed a significant improvement in SpO2 (p≤0.05), RR (p≤0.05) and PEFR (p≤0.05) and a small reduction in SBP, DBP and HR. Whereas, no significant changes were observed in the control group. Discussion: Following 4-week of Bhastrika Pranayama shows improvement in PEFR, RR, and SpO2 while lowers HR, SBP, and DBP somewhat. The benefits of Bhastrika Pranayama in healthy people in terms of fitness-related health conditions, both in the short and long term, may also be revealed by future research.

Effectiveness of Jacobson Relaxation Technique and Bhastrika Pranayama on Sleep Quality in Elderly Subjects

Background: Insomnia continues to be one of the most prevalent sleep disorders seen in geriatric clinic population.It is typically characterized by the subjective complaints of trouble falling asleep, or experiencing nonrestorativesleep. This study was developed to determine the effectiveness of Jacobson relaxation techniques and Bhastrikapranayama on sleep quality in elderly subjects.Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of jacobson relaxation techniques and Bhastrika pranayama on sleep qualityin elderly subjects.Materials and Methods: This study is an experimental study . A total of 86 people participated in the studybased on inclusion and exclusion criteria, the participants were chosen from the old age home . The subjects whowere willing to participate were divided into two separate groups as Group A (43 subjects) received jacobsonrelaxation techniques and Group B (43 subjects) received Bhastrika pranayama. All the 86 subjects were assessedwith insomnia severity index scale. This techniques was given for 2 weeks , 5 days per week. Pre and post testvalues were calculated and tabulated.Study period: November 2022 to June 2023.Results: According to statistical analysis Jacobson relaxation techniques are effective in improving the sleepquality in elderly subjects with p value of <0.0001.Conclusion: This study finally concluded that Jacobson relaxation techniques have a higher impact “compared toBhastrika Pranayama ” in improving sleep quality in elderly subjects and also the quality of life in elderly subjects.

Effects of Bhastrika Pranayama (yoga bellows-type breathing) on pulmonary, cardiovascular, and psychological variables: A systematic review

ABSTRACT Pranayama is one of the most essential components of yoga which has been found to be effective to physiology of the mankind in many ways. Among the Pranayamas, Bhastrika Pranayama is one of the popular breathing techniques widely practiced in yoga, which is believed to improve pulmonary, cardiac, and psychological functions. This present systematic review was planned to explore the available scientific studies on Bhastrika Pranayama individually on pulmonary, cardiovascular, and psychological variables. PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were the basis for our review of the literature. The final review included 19 trials on Bhastrika Pranayama between 2005 and 2021 based on eligibility criteria, including four randomized controlled trials and another 15 clinically controlled trials. The quality assessment of each individual trial was performed using the Jadad Scale and the assessment showed ten trails as high quality studies (score 4–8) and nine trials as low quality studies (score 0–3). The results were discussed based on ten high-quality trials and the findings showed that Bhastrika Pranayama significantly improves pulmonary, cardiovascular, and psychological variables, although there were some limitations related to sample size, study quality, follow-up duration, and practice guidelines. Future studies should address those limitations to reach better conclusions.

Role of Yoga in Prehypertension and Hypertension

Background: The high prevalence of hypertension in India necessitates both pharmacological and nonpharmacological measures to control it. Here, we report the findings of a study to investigate the effectiveness of yoga therapy in lowering blood pressure (BP) in prehypertensive and hypertensive individuals. Methods: This was a single center, nonrandomized controlled clinical trial, of 200 hypertensives and 100 prehypertensives patients. The control group received the prescribed antihypertensive and lifestyle modification while the yoga group was additionally taught simple yogic exercise by a trained yoga teacher. This training included intensive supervised phase 2-h training sessions in Ujjayi breathing, Bhastrika Pranayama and chanting of “Om” for 10 lessons, followed by self-performed yogic exercise at home for 1 h till the end of study at 1 year. Results: The systolic BP (SBP) in the hypertensive yoga group was significantly lower (t = 3.04,P< 0.01) than the control group at 6 months, but not so at 1 year (SBP t = 0.53,P> 0.05). In the prehypertensive participants, at 6 months (t = 5.85,P= 0.00), and 1 year (t = 6.385,P< 0.05) a significant difference was observed between SBP of the two groups However, no significant difference was observed between the diastolic BP among hypertensives or prehypertensives at 6 months and 1 year. Conclusion: Our present study indicates that yoga therapy is a viable adjunct to pharmacological intervention to reduce SBP in the management of hypertension and prehypertension and that yoga should be incorporated in the treatment regime of such patients, specifically for individuals who have prehypertension.

A Comparison of Practice Guidelines for Yoga Breathing from the Traditional Texts and PubMed-Indexed Research

Volitional yoga breathing techniques influence several physiological functions depending on the changes made in depth of breathing, relative duration of exhalation to inhalation, and breath frequency. The practice guidelines for three routinely practiced and researched yoga breathing practices (bhastrika pranayama [bellows breath], bhramari pranayama [bee breath], and kapalabhati pranayama [breath of fire]) were compared between the traditional written texts (i.e., Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita) and published research indexed in PubMed (a total of 73 studies; 25 on bhastrika pranayama, 17 on bhramari pranayama, and 31 on kapalabhati pranayama). We compared the specifications for posture, time of day, location, and duration of practice; frequency, depth, and holding (kumbhaka) of the breath; speed and/or force and right or left nostril use for inhalation and exhalation; duration of inhalation relative to exhalation; thoracic or diaphragmatic breathing (or comparable terms in the traditional texts); mental state; physiological locks (bandhas) ; and hand gestures (mudras). Differences between the practice guidelines in the traditional texts and published research with respect to the depth of b reathing (bhastrika pranayama), relative breath phase duration (bhramari pranayama), and breath frequency (kapalabhati pranayama) are presented despite the findings being restricted to published studies from a single bibliographic database. Differences in the way yoga breathing is practiced could influence the physiological effects obtained, and differences between methods reported in published studies could make it difficult to summarize the effects of yoga breathing practice across studies.

The effect of Ujjayi and Bhastrika pranayama on selected respiratory variables of adulthood people

The effect of Ujjayi and Bhastrika pranayama on selected respiratory variables of adulthood people

Effect of Various Pranayama Practices in Competitive Swimmers: A Review

Pranayama (yogic breathing) an essential component of Yoga, is said to influence both physiological and psychological aspects of humans. But its effectiveness in the field of sports especially in swimmers are less explored. The online databases were searched for the citations with “Pranayama, Yogic Breathing, competitive swimmers, competitive swimming, nadishudi pranayama, bhastrika pranayama, ujjayi pranayama, Bhramari Pranayama and Kapalabhathi” as keywords from the date of inception of the databases till October 2020. Experimental papers in English, revealing the effects of yogic breathing in competitive swimmers, effects of yogic breathing in lung capacity, lung function and psychological system and also papers showing the effect of pranayama on metabolic pathway were included in the review. The studies that had used yogic breathing in combination with other Yoga practices, studies in languages other than English, and whose abstracts were unavailable were excluded from the review. From the data gathered it was evident that pranayama has positive health effect and performance enhancement in competitive swimmers. Regular practice provides physiological and psychological wellbeing. Pranayama or yogic breathing act as a physiological stimulation. It has a multi-systemic effect in the human body. The rhythmic, slow and forceful inspiration and expiration in pranayama strengthen respiratory muscles, improve the expiratory power, and decrease resistance to the airflow in the lungs and increase voluntary breath holding time. Moreover, it brings sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system into balance. This paper intends to explore the effect of a set of pranayama practice in competitive swimmers.

Effects of 6-weeks Bhastrika Pranayama Intervention on health-related components of physical fitness

Background and Study Aim. The present study investigated the effects of 6-weeks bhastrika pranayama intervention (BPI) program on health-related components of physical fitness.
 Material and Methods. We used a quasi-experimental design with fifty-two healthy girls (Mean ± SD; age, 23.6346±1.1551 yrs; body height, 158.0961±3.8616 cm; body weight, 55.6826±3.4002 kg) from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India. The subjects were divided into two groups: Group-A: Bhastrika Pranayama Intervention (BPI); (n1=26) and Group-B: Control; (n2=26). The sample size (N=52) was calculated using the G*Power 3.1.9.7 software. A power of 0.80 (1-β err prob) and significance level (α) of 0.05. Subjects from both groups (pranayama and control) were assessed at baseline and right after 6-weeks. Group-A: (n1=26) subjected to BPI and Group-B: (n2=26) with no training.
 Results. As compared BPI with the control group, the BPI group had a positive effect on selected health-related components of physical fitness (maximal oxygen consumption - VO2 max 1.3%; flexibility 1.8%; muscle strength 0.2.%). The 6-weeks Bhastrika Pranayama intervention program had no effect on the BPI group with respect to the parameter muscular endurance.
 Conclusions. Daily practice of Bhastrika pranayama helps to keep lungs more efficient. Additional research is required to completely comprehend the consequences of this breathing exercise. Bhastrika pranayama is known for oxygen-based breathing exercise which helps to fill up the lungs with more oxygen. Bhastrika pranayama interventions with short as well as long duration in future research studies could be beneficial for healthy individuals with respect to health-related fitness components.

EFFECT OF BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA ON “SHWASAN KARMA”

Pranayama is a breathing technique that produces many systemic and psychological effects in the body, specifically on the respiratory system. It is also an art to control the life force of breath. The aim and objective are to assess effect of breathing exercise i.e., Bhastrika Pranayama on ‘Shwasan Karma’, in individuals practicing regularly for continuous 12 weeks. This study was designed to study the effects of Pranayama on the pulmonary function parameters. Pranayama is one of the best lifestyle modifications which have ever been devised in the history of mankind. It is an ancient yoga technique, a spiritual and physical practice which integrates the mind and body. Pranayama is a type of yogic practice which produces many systemic psycho-physical effects in the body, besides its specific effects on the respiratory functions. The study group consisted of 32 volunteers. The participants were asked to undergo Pranayama training for 30 min daily, for 3 months. The results showed statistically significant improvement in FVC, FEV1, PEFR, MVV after pranayama. After analysing statistically results showed that, Shwasan Karma was significantly improved in individuals practicing Bhastrika Pranayama.

Effects of Yoga Respiratory Practice (Bhastrika pranayama) on Anxiety, Affect, and Brain Functional Connectivity and Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Pranayama refers to a set of yoga breathing exercises. Recent evidence suggests that the practice of pranayama has positive effects on measures of clinical stress and anxiety. This study explored the impact of a Bhastrika pranayama training program on emotion processing, anxiety, and affect. We used a randomized controlled trial design with thirty healthy young adults assessed at baseline and after 4 weeks of pranayama practices. Two functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols were used both at baseline and post-intervention: an emotion task as well as a resting-state acquisition. Our results suggest that pranayama significantly decreased states of anxiety and negative affect. The practice of pranayama also modulated the activity of brain regions involved in emotional processing, particularly the amygdala, anterior cingulate, anterior insula, and prefrontal cortex. Resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) showed significantly reduced functional connectivity involving the anterior insula and lateral portions of the prefrontal cortex. Correlation analysis revealed that changes in connectivity between the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the right anterior insula were associated with changes in anxiety. Although it should be noted that these analyses were preliminary and exploratory, it provides the first evidence that 4 weeks of B. pranayama significantly reduce the levels of anxiety and negative affect, and that these changes are associated with the modulation of activity and connectivity in brain areas involved in emotion processing, attention, and awareness. The study was registered at https://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-2gv5c2/(RBR-2gv5c2).

Management of Psycho-Physiological aspect of Bronchial Asthma through Yogic Intervention

In this study eighty bronchial asthma patients were selected through accidental sampling and sample was divided into experimental group (n=40) and control group (n=40). They underwent Yoga therapy program for 60 days with an integrated set of yogic practices, including jihvamula, karnarandhra, kapalrandhra, tadasana, tiryaka tadasana, kati chakrasana and marjariasana , nadishodhan pranayama, bhastrika pranayama and Gayatri mantra. Bronchial asthmatics practiced these exercises for 45 minutes daily for 60 days. Stress level and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were assessed on all the Bronchial asthmatics, both initially and after completion of study. The obtained data were statistically analyzed through paired t-test. Subjects of experimental group showed a statistically significant decreasing trend in average stress level and increasing trend in average forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) after 60 days Yoga practice, while control group showed no such improvement (P>0.01).

Changes in lung function measures following Bhastrika Pranayama (bellows breath) and running in healthy individuals

Background:The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of bhastrika pranayama (bellows breath) and exercise on lung function of healthy individuals.Materials and Methods:A total of thirty male participants were recruited and randomly divided into two groups, i.e., yoga breathing group (YBG, n = 15) and physical exercise group (PEG, n = 15), and the participants’ ages ranged between 18 and 30 years (group age mean ± standard deviation, 22.5 ± 1.9 years). YBG practiced bhastrika pranayama for 15 min, whereas PEG practiced running for 15 min, 6 days in a week, over a period of 1 month. The participants were assessed for (i) forced vital capacity (FVC), (ii) forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), (iii) peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), and (iv) maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) functions of lungs.Results:Repeated-measures analyses of variance with Bonferroni adjustment post hoc analyses of multiple comparisons showed that there was a significant increase in YBG for all variables, i.e., FVC, FEV1, PEFR, and MVV (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P < 0.01, and P < 0.001, respectively), whereas there was a significant increase in PEFR and MVV (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively) only, among PEG. However, the change in PEG was less of magnitude as compared to YBG.Conclusions:These findings demonstrate that incorporating pranayama in sports can enhance the efficiency of healthy individuals and athletes by enhancing the ventilatory functions of lungs, especially for those who partake in aerobic-based sports and require efficient lungs to deliver sufficient oxygen uptake.

Changes in Reaction Time after Yoga Bellows-type Breathing in Healthy Female Volunteers.

Background:Previously, yoga bellows-type breathing (bhastrika pranayama) reduced reaction time (RT) or reduced anticipatory responses in male participants or a mixed group of male and female participants.Aims:The present study as a control trial aimed to assess the effects of yoga bellows-type breathing on RT in females exclusively.Methods:The sample consisted of 25 healthy females, aged between 19 and 32 years (group mean ± standard deviation, 22.8 ± 3.5 years). All of them had prior minimum experience of yoga including yoga bellows-type breathing of 12 months. The RT was assessed in each participant before and after three randomized sessions differed in the intervention given held on three separate days. The sessions were (i) YOGA bellows-type breathing or bhastrika pranayama(BHK), (ii) Breath awareness (BAW), and (iii) Sitting quietly (CTL) as a control session. The duration of the intervention was 18 min, and the participants were assessed for RT before and after the intervention.Results:Repeated measures ANOVA, post hoc tests with Bonferroni adjusted showed that the time taken to obtain a correct response reduced significantly after 18 min of BAW (P < 0.05) and CTL (P < 0.05). However, no changes were seen in the RT after BHK.Conclusions:The results suggest that different interventions may optimize performance in tasks requiring attention in females compared to males.

Effects of Pranayama on mental health and physical fitness in healthy University students

Background: In Indian Universities, much attention is not given to the mental and physical fitness of the students during routine teaching-learning sessions except in the courses related to physical education, medicine, and yoga. Even general health-related lessons are mostly not included in the curricula of most of the courses. This fact becomes important in the context of increasing prevalence of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases among the younger population. Yogic training happens to be one of the promising and effective methods of training in developing mental and physical fitness. Objective of the Study: The objective of this study was to find out the effect of Pranayama on physical fitness and mental health in University-level healthy students. Method: A total of 108 adult volunteers of University-level healthy students of both gender, aged 17–28 years were included in the study. The selected individuals were divided into two groups, experimental- and control-with (n = 54) individuals in each group. The training period of Anuloma-viloma and Bhastrika Pranayama for experimental group was 12 weeks. Physical fitness parameters and mental health were assessed at the baseline and after completion of 12 weeks of the training intervention. Mental health was tested with a validated Mental Health Inventory Questionnaire. Control groups did not undergo Pranayama training. Results: The experimental group showed significant improvement in most of the physical fitness parameters after 12 weeks of Pranayama practice; however, the control group did not show significant improvement. The positive effect of Pranayama though was observed on mental health parameters in the experimental group, the difference was not statistically significant when compared with the control group. Conclusion: Anuloma-viloma and Bhastrika Pranayama appear to be effective in improving physical health parameters among healthy University students.

Different types of bhastrika pranayama: repeated measures trials with different treatments to study the trend of the effects on static balance ability

PurposeThe objective of the study was to find out the trend of the effects of 4 varieties of bhastrika pranayama on static balance ability.MethodsThe total of 75 male students were selected as subjects. The age of the subjects ranged 17–25 years. The participants were divided randomly into 5 groups, 15 students each. They practiced 4 varieties of bhastrika pranayama.ResultsQuadratic components for overall trends were found significant in static balance ability. A significant difference was observed between linear components of the trends for the treatment groups and the control group in static balance ability. Also, a significant difference was noted between quadratic components of the trends for the treatment groups and the control group as for static balance ability.ConclusionsThere was a significant difference among the adjusted post-test means of 4 experimental groups and the control group in static balance ability.

Yogic breathing practices improve lung functions of competitive young swimmers

BackgroundResistive breathing practices are known to improve endurance and performance in competitive swimmers. However, the effect of Pranayama or Yogic Breathing Practices (YBP) in improving respiratory endurance and performance of competitive swimmers remains un-investigated. ObjectivesTo study effects of yogic breathing practices on lung functions of swimmers. Material and methodsTwenty seven national and international competitive swimmers of the age range 13–20 years, with 8.29 ± 2.9 years of competitive swimming experience and practicing swimming for 9.58 ± 1.81 km everyday, were assigned randomly to either an experimental (YBP) or to wait list control group (no intervention). Outcome measures were taken on day 1 and day 30 and included (1) spirometry to measure lung function, (2) Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) to measure the antecedents and consequences of cognitive and somatic trait anxiety of sport performance and (3) number of strokes per breath to measure performance. The YBP group practiced a prescribed set of Yogic Breathing Practices – Sectional Breathing (Vibhagiya Pranayama), Yogic Bellows Breathing (Bhastrika Pranayama) and Alternate Nostril Breathing with Voluntary Internal Breath Holding (Nadi Shodhana with Anthar kumbhaka) for half an hour, five days a week for one month. ResultsThere was a significant improvement in the YBP group as compared to control group in maximal voluntary ventilation (p = 0.038), forced vital capacity (p = 0.026) and number of strokes per breath (p = 0.001). ConclusionThe findings suggest that YBP helps to enhance respiratory endurance in competitive swimmers.

Effect of Bhastrika pranayama on pulmonary functions of elderly subjects

Background: In old age, the expansion of lungs is restricted as the elastic tissue in the lungs is being replaced by fibrous tissue and a number of alveoli break down leading to emphysema, and also respiratory muscles become weak. Regular practice of pranayama should produce a positive effect on the lungs by increasing the pulmonary capacity and thereby improving the lung functions. Aims and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the pulmonary function in volunteers after 6 weeks training in Bhastrika pranayama. Material and Methods: This study was carried out on 40 healthy male volunteers in the age group between 60 and 70 years. The pulmonary function tests (PFT) were recorded with the RMS-Helios 702 spirometer. The parameters of PFT taken into account were forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, peak expiratory flow rate. The PFT were compared before starting Bhastrika pranayama and after completing 6 weeks regular practice of Bhastrika pranayama. The paired and unpaired t-test were used at appropriate places as a statistical test. The value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: A significant increase in pulmonary functions were observed after the 6 weeks practice of Bhastrika pranayama. Conclusion: Regular practice of Bhastrika pranayama may tend to improve the strength in the respiratory musculature which leads to an improvement in the lung functions in them. Moreover, hence better the lung function in old age better the quality of life.

EFFECTS OF SHORT TERM PRACTICE OF BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA ON METABOLIC FITNESS (METF) AND BONE INTEGRITY (BI)

Purpose: The present study was conducted with the objective to determine the short term practice of bhastrika pranayama on Metabolic Fitness and Bone Integrity. Material: 30 university level females between the age group of 21-26 years were selected. The subjects were randomly matched and assigned into two groups: Group-A: Experimental (n 1=15); Group-B: Control (n 2=15). The subjects from Group-A: Experimental were provided to a 4-weeks bhastrika pranayama. Statistical Analysis: Student t test for paired samples was utilized to compare the means of the pre-test and the post-test. Results &amp; Conclusions: Based on the analysis of the results obtained, we conclude that the significant differences were found in Metabolic Fitness (i.e., Maximal Oxygen Consumption (V O2max) and blood pressure of University Level Girls. Insignificant between-group differences were noted in Blood Lipid, Blood Sugar and Bone Integrity of University Level Girls.