An assessment of a sequence of yoga exercises to patients with arterial hypertension.

Author: Mizuno J, Monteiro HL.
Affiliation: Department of Physical Education, Institute of Biosciences, Rio Claro, São Paulo State University, Av. 24A, No. 1515, Bela Vista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: julio_mizuno@ig.com.br.
Conference/Journal: J Bodyw Mov Ther.
Date published: 2013 Jan
Other: Volume ID: 17 , Issue ID: 1 , Pages: 35-41 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2012.10.007 , Word Count: 150



This quasi-experimental study describes the effects of a yoga sequence following hemodynamic and biochemical parameters in patients with hypertension. Thirty-three volunteers participated in the study (control = 16 and yoga = 17) for four months. Blood pressure measurements, cardiac and respiratory rate were collected monthly, while the biochemical profile was taken at the beginning and end of the program. To analyze the data, Student's t test and repeated measures analyses were performed. The yoga group showed a significant reduction of systolic blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate (p < 0.05). As for the biochemical profile, the yoga group showed correlation coefficients between initial values and final responses greater than the control of fasting glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides. The elaborated sequence practice promoted significant cardiovascular and metabolic benefits. The yoga exercises performed in the proposed sequence constitute complementary non-pharmacological control of blood pressure in patients with hypertension.
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PMID: 23294681