Abstract
PURPOSE: To determine the acute effects of yoga on cardiovascular and blood metabolism parameters in a sedentary, healthy population. METHODS: A total of 9 subjects (8 females and 1 male) ages 27.6 + 7.3 years with BMIs of 25.3 + 4.6 kg/m2 participated in yoga (YA) and placebo (PL) interventions followed by blood work and an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). For each intervention baseline, resting heart rate (HR), fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood lactate (BL), and blood pressure (BP) were measured. On day 1 subjects participated in the yoga intervention immediately followed by HR, FBG, BP, BL and an OGTT. On day 2 subjects participated in the placebo intervention (watching a video) followed by measurements of HR, FBG, BP, BL and an OGTT. Statistical analysis utilized repeated measures ANOVA and Scheffe Post Hoc analysis (p< 0.05). RESULTS: There was no significant difference between PL vs YA interventions on OGTT (150 min). However, there were trends towards a greater decrease in post yoga recovery FBG levels and OGTT levels (time 90), p=0.099 and p=0.08, respectively. BL levels post yoga intervention were significantly lower than placebo, 0.89+0.40 vs 0.64+0.19, PL and YA respectively (p=0.02). Yoga did not alter cardiovascular responses (HR, BP) during recovery. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that the acute effects of yoga can decrease BL and possibly lower post exercise FBG values in a healthy, sedentary population. This indicates that yoga may have a beneficial impact on glucose metabolism and regulation.