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Oxygen consumption and respiration following two yoga relaxation techniques
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
Short Title: Appl.Psychophysiol.Biofeedback
Format: Journal Article
Publication Date: Nov 30, 1999
Pages: 221 - 227
Sources ID: 30926
Notes: LR: 20061115; JID: 9712383; 2001/02/24 12:00 [pubmed]; 2001/05/05 10:01 [medline]; 2001/02/24 12:00 [entrez]; ppublish
Visibility: Public (group default)
Abstract: (Show)
The present study was conducted to evaluate a statement in ancient yoga texts that suggests that a combination of both "calming" and "stimulating" measures may be especially helpful in reaching a state of mental equilibrium. Two yoga practices, one combining "calming and stimulating" measures (cyclic meditation) and the other, a "calming" technique (shavasan), were compared. The oxygen consumption, breath rate, and breath volume of 40 male volunteers (group mean +/- SD, 27.0 +/- 5.7 years) were assessed before and after sessions of cyclic meditation (CM) and before and after sessions of shavasan (SH). The 2 sessions (CM, SH) were 1 day apart. Cyclic meditation includes the practice of yoga postures interspersed with periods of supine relaxation. During SH the subject lies in a supine position throughout the practice. There was a significant decrease in the amount of oxygen consumed and in breath rate and an increase in breath volume after both types of sessions (2-factor ANOVA, paired t test). However, the magnitude of change on all 3 measures was greater after CM: (1) Oxygen consumption decreased 32.1% after CM compared with 10.1% after SH; (2) breath rate decreased 18.0% after CM and 15.2% after SH; and (3) breath volume increased 28.8% after CM and 15.9% after SH. These results support the idea that a combination of yoga postures interspersed with relaxation reduces arousal more than relaxation alone does.