Oxygen consumption and respiration during and after two yoga relaxation techniques.
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Date
2006
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Applied Psychophysiology
Abstract
Cyclic meditation (CM) is a technique which combines ‘stimulating’ and ‘calming’
practices, based on a statement in ancient yoga texts suggesting that such a combination
may be especially helpful to reach a state of mental equilibrium. The oxygen consumption,
breath rate and breath volume of 50 male volunteers (group mean age±SD, 27±6.3
years) were assessed before, during, and after sessions of CM and sessions of supine
rest in the corpse posture (shavasana, SH). The sessions were one day apart and the
order was alternated. The oxygen consumption, breath rate and breath volume increased
during the ‘stimulating’ practices of CM, returned to the baseline during the ‘calming’
practices, and the oxygen consumption decreased by 19.3 percent below baseline values
after CM. During the SH session the oxygen consumption, breath rate and breath volume
reduced; however the decrease in oxygen consumption after SH was less than after CM
(i.e., 4.8 percent). The results support the idea that a combination of yoga postures with
supine rest (in CM) reduces the oxygen consumption more than resting supine alone
Description
Research Papers - Oxygen Consumption and Respiration
Keywords
yoga, postures