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There has been an increasing interest in pranayamic breathing exercises which have been known to improve the quality of life. Present study was conducted to find out the effect of Bhastrika and Anulom Vilom Pranayam and yogasana on heart rate variability, general well being, cognition and anxiety levels of the medical students. Ninety-six medical students were randomly divided into two groups. One group performed Bhastrika and Anulom Vilom Pranayam and the second Suryanamaskar for six weeks. The subjects were made to fill in PGI memory scale, Hamilton- anxiety scale and psychological general well being schedule and recording of heart rate variability parameters was done, before and after six weeks of pranayam practice. The results showed highly significant increase in high frequency (HF) components of heart rate variability and decrease in low frequency (LF) components and LF/HF inthe group practising pranayam. There was also highly significant improvement of cognition, general well being and anxiety as shown by the PGI memory scale, Hamilton- anxiety scale and psychological general well being schedule scores in this group. In the yogasana group no significant changes were observed in the heart rate variability, cognition and anxiety although psychological general well being schedule scores significantly improved after six weeks practice of yogasana. The study shows that practice of slow breathing type of pranayam for six weeks improves cognition, anxiety and general well being and Increases the parasympathetic activity. Whereas there was no effect of the yogasana on the above parameters except improvements in the general well being.

There has been an increasing interest in pranayamic breathing exercises which have been known to improve the quality of life. Present study was conducted to find out the effect of Bhastrika and Anulom Vilom Pranayam and yogasana on heart rate variability, general well being, cognition and anxiety levels of the medical students. Ninety-six medical students were randomly divided into two groups. One group performed Bhastrika and Anulom Vilom Pranayam and the second Suryanamaskar for six weeks. The subjects were made to fill in PGI memory scale, Hamilton- anxiety scale and psychological general well being schedule and recording of heart rate variability parameters was done, before and after six weeks of pranayam practice. The results showed highly significant increase in high frequency (HF) components of heart rate variability and decrease in low frequency (LF) components and LF/HF inthe group practising pranayam. There was also highly significant improvement of cognition, general well being and anxiety as shown by the PGI memory scale, Hamilton- anxiety scale and psychological general well being schedule scores in this group. In the yogasana group no significant changes were observed in the heart rate variability, cognition and anxiety although psychological general well being schedule scores significantly improved after six weeks practice of yogasana. The study shows that practice of slow breathing type of pranayam for six weeks improves cognition, anxiety and general well being and Increases the parasympathetic activity. Whereas there was no effect of the yogasana on the above parameters except improvements in the general well being.

Physical inactivity is an important risk factor for cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Exercise is considered an acceptable method for improving and maintaining physical and emotional health. Although yoga is historically a spiritual discipline, a growing body of evidence supports the belief that yoga benefits physical and mental health. The objective of this study was to evaluate heart rate variability which reflects autonomic control of heart among yoga practitioners, athletes and individuals with sedentary lifestyle. The study was carried out in the departments of physiology at MAMC Agroha, Hisar and Pt. BD Sharma PGIMS Rohtak, Haryana. The study group comprised of 1200 healthy male volunteers of 16 to 55 years of age. The study group was divided into four age groups: Group A of age 16 to 25 years; Group B of age 26 to 35 years; Group C of age 36 to 45 years and Group D of age 46 to 55 years. All age groups were further divided into three categories i.e athlete (runner), yoga (yoga practitioners) and sedentary in which individuals with sedentary life style were included. The basal recording of ECG in lead II was done for 5 minutes. The Polyrite-D ECG data was used for analysis of heart rate variability by frequency domain method. Two spectral components were recorded namely high frequency (HF) component (0.15-0.4 Hz), an indicator of vagal efferent activity and low frequency (LF) component (0.04-.15 Hz), replicator of composite sympatho-vagal interplay. HF component in normalized unit was found significantly high in age group B and C in yoga practitioners and athletes as compared to sedentary individuals and in age group D significantly high in yoga practitioners as compared to athletes and sedentary individuals. Significantly decreased LF/HF ratio was found in age group B and C in yoga and athlete subjects as compared to sedentary individuals and in age group D in yoga practitioners as compared to athletes and sedentary individuals. This indicates that parasympathetic activity is substantially greater in yoga practitioners.