ABSTRACT
Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of regular practice of Bhramari pranayama and Yoganidra for 3 months on the basal cardiac and respiratory parameters of young healthy medical students. Background: Previous studies support the beneficial effect of Bhramari pranayama and Yoganidra individually in hypertension and other diseases. This is a study to evaluate effect of combination of pranayama and meditation on basal cardiac and respiratory parameters in young healthy individuals. Materials and Methods: Total 94 young medical students were selected who performed Bhramari Pranayama and Yoganidra for a duration of 3 months. Basal values of pulse, blood pressure and respiratory rate were recorded on each student before and after yoga. Results: In our study mean pulse rate before yoga was 76.39 ± 4.34 per min. and after yoga it reduced to 74.56 ± 3.55 per min (p <0.001) .The basal systolic blood pressure before yoga was systolic 117.12 ± 4.470 mm Hg and diastolic 74.18 ± 3.884 mm Hg .After 3 months of yoga systolic reduced to 114.18 ± 4.103 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure fell to 71.37 ± 2.570 mm Hg (p < 0.001). Before yoga the mean respiratory rate was 19.25 ± 1.756 per minute which reduced to 18.16 ± 1.37 per minute (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Bhramari Pranayama and Yoganidra significantly reduced pulse, blood pressure and respiratory rate.
ABSTRACT
Background: To survive in this competitive world, one has to go through a lot of stresses & strains which, in due course of time, reflected in altered physiology of body. One such change is the cardiovascular response to cold stress. Yoga has been reported to be beneficial as a de-stressing technique. Aims & Objective: To investigate whether regular practice of Yoga which includes Suryanamaskar, Pranayama & Meditation for 3 months could reduce the cardio-vascular hyper-reactivity induced by cold stress. Materials and Methods: In the present study, 53 young healthy medical students underwent cold pressor test. 20 turned out to be hyper reactors to this test. These hyper reactors performed Yoga (Suryanamaskar, Pranayama & Meditation) for 3 months and Cold Pressor Test was again performed at the end of this period and cardiovascular hyper-reactivity (parameters are Blood pressure, Pulse rate, and Respiratory rate) before and after yoga compared. Results: Our results showed that 14 out of original 20 hyper reactors (70 %, P<0.001) were converted to hypo reactors. Conclusion: Regular practice of Yoga reduces cardiovascular hyper-reactivity to cold pressor test. If we can spread its benefits and importance to the society we can reduce the risks of many diseases especially those related to stress.