Pranayama improves cardio-respiratory efficiency and physical endurance in young healthy volunteers

ABSTRACT

Background: Pranayama involves manipulation of the breath, which is a dynamic bridge between body and mind. The aim of the study was to compare cardio respiratory parameters before and after pranayama practice and to correlate the changes in physical endurance with the changes in cardio-respiratory parameters.Methods: A quasi experimental study was conducted among 120 healthy students in the age group 18-25 years. These students were given pranayama practice for 30 minutes a day for 3 days in a week for 12 weeks. The subjects were assessed for various cardio-respiratory parameters like respiratory rate (RR), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) , breath holding time (BHT), Heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), hand grip and rate of oxygen uptake per minute (VO2max) before and after pranayama practice. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, paired t test and Pearson correlation.Results: There was a significant decrease in RR, HR, SBP and DBP after pranayama practice. BHT, FVC, FEV1, PEFR, hand grip and vo2 max were significantly increased after pranayama practice. Physical endurance is positively correlated with hand grip and heart rate.Conclusions: The results emphasis the health benefits of pranayama. Regular pranayama improves the cardiovascular efficiency and physical endurance. In spite of yogic training being not very vigorous, cardio-respiratory efficiency was found to increase. Pranayama practice can be advocated to improve cardio-respiratory efficiency for patients as well as healthy individuals.