Psychophysiology of Yoga Postures

Author(s):  
Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani ◽  
Meena Ramanathan

Asana (posture) is usually defined as a body posture held with stability and ease by Patanjali. Hathayoga Pradipika emphasises that asana helps bring about stability in health and suppleness of body. As intra-thoracic, intra-abdominal pressure-volume changes affect internal organs and systems, it is plausible that asanas produce changes through mechanisms both local as well as general. This chapter takes a look at various studies that have explored human physiology in relation to asana. Some examples are glucose metabolism, changes in energy expenditure, ventilatory responses, oxygen consumption as well as respiratory, neuromuscular and cardiovascular parameters. It also explores the neuromuscular reflex arcs dynamics that position asana as an excellent system to restore psychosomatic harmony and balance. It needs to be stressed that the actual efforts being made in asana are of a somato-psychic nature while benefits that accrue are of a psychosomatic nature. It is suggested that Hathayoga helps us evolve out of our primitive sub-human tendencies thus developing human and humane qualities.

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
José J. van den Driessche ◽  
Jogchum Plat ◽  
Guy Plasqui ◽  
Ronald P. Mensink

Background and Aim. Increasing energy expenditure is an effective strategy for the prevention of obesity. In this respect, Lycium barbarum (goji berry) is of interest, as it has been shown to increase postprandial oxygen consumption. Although this suggests that energy expenditure was also increased, energy expenditure and substrate oxidation can only be assessed accurately when both oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production are measured. We therefore investigated the effects of a single dose of Lycium barbarum fruit on postprandial energy expenditure and substrate oxidation in a randomized, double-blind crossover trial. In addition, markers of lipid and glucose metabolism were measured. Methods. Seventeen healthy, overweight men received in a random order a meal containing 25 grams of dried Lycium barbarum fruit or a control meal matched for caloric content and macronutrient composition. Energy expenditure and the respiratory quotient were determined using indirect calorimetry before and up to 4 hours after meal intake. Blood was sampled before and after meal intake at regular intervals for analyses of plasma glucose, serum triacylglycerol, and free fatty acid concentrations. Results. Energy expenditure significantly increased after the Lycium barbarum and control meal, but no differences were found between the meals (p=0.217). Postprandial changes in respiratory quotient (p=0.719) and concentrations of glucose (p=0.663), triacylglycerol (p=0.391), and free fatty acids (p=0.287) were also not affected by Lycium barbarum intake. Conclusions. A single dose of Lycium barbarum does not affect postprandial energy expenditure, substrate oxidation, and markers for lipid and glucose metabolism in healthy, overweight men.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Yeram Park ◽  
Deunsol Hwang ◽  
Hun-Young Park ◽  
Jisu Kim ◽  
Kiwon Lim

Aims. Hypoxic exposure improves glucose metabolism. We investigated to validate the hypothesis that carbohydrate (CHO) oxidation could increase in mice exposed to severe hypoxic conditions. Methods. Seven-week-old male ICR mice (n=16) were randomly divided into two groups: the control group (CON) was kept in normoxic condition (fraction of inspired O2=21%) and the hypoxia group (HYP) was exposed to hypoxic condition (fraction of inspired O2=12%, ≈altitude of 4,300 m). The CON group was pair-fed with the HYP group. After 3 weeks of hypoxic exposure, we measured respiratory metabolism (energy expenditure and substrate utilization) at normoxic conditions for 24 hours using an open-circuit calorimetry system. In addition, we investigated changes in carbohydrate mechanism-related protein expression, including hexokinase 2 (HK2), pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4), and regulator of the genes involved in energy metabolism (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha, PGC1α) in soleus muscle. Results. Energy expenditure (EE) and CHO oxidation over 24 hours were higher in the HYP group by approximately 15% and 34% (p<0.001), respectively. Fat oxidation was approximately 29% lower in the HYP group than the CON group (p<0.01). Body weight gains were significantly lower in the HYP group than in the CON group (CON vs. HYP; 1.9±0.9 vs. −0.3±0.9; p<0.001). Hypoxic exposure for 3 weeks significantly reduced body fat by approximately 42% (p<0.001). PDH and PGC1α protein levels were significantly higher in the HYP group (p<0.05). Additionally, HK2 was approximately 21% higher in the HYP group. Conclusions. Hypoxic exposure might significantly enhance CHO oxidation by increasing the expression of PDH and HK2. This investigation can be useful for patients with impaired glucose metabolism, such as those with type 2 diabetes.


Parallel measurements have been made of the oxygen consumption and efflux of radioactive sodium in pairs of frog sartorius muscles. Calculation of the amount of secretory work necessary for an active extrusion of sodium at the observed rate showed that it would involve the utilization of about one-tenth of the energy available from resting metabolism.This figure may reasonably be regarded as a lower limit to the efficiency of the secretory mechanism. Some of the measurements were made in a potassium-free Ringer’s solution, and others with an external potassium concentration of 10mM. In the potassium-rich medium, both the sodium efflux and the oxygen consumption were increased, the proportion of the energy production required for sodium extrusion remaining roughly constant. The action of dinitrophenol and other metabolic inhibitors on the sodium efflux in sartorius muscles was examined, but there were no very obvious effects.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 504-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles-Mathieu Lachaume ◽  
François Trudeau ◽  
Jean Lemoyne

The purpose of this study was to investigate the energy expenditure and heart rate responses elicited in elite male midget ice hockey players during small-sided games. Nine players (aged 15.89 ± 0.33 years) participated in the study. Maximal progressive treadmill testing in the laboratory measured the relationship of oxygen consumption ([Formula: see text]) to heart rate before on-ice assessments of heart rate during six different small-sided games: 1v1, 2v2, 2v2 with support player, 3v3 with support player, 3v3 with transitions, and 4v4 with two support players. Heart rate was recorded continuously in each game. 3v3 T small-sided game was the most intense for all four intensity markers. All six small-sided games reached 89% HRmax or more with heart rate peaks in active effort repetition. These findings demonstrate that such small-sided games are considered as high intensity games and are an effective training method for ice hockey players.


Author(s):  
Andrew N. Bosch ◽  
Kirsten C. Flanagan ◽  
Maaike M. Eken ◽  
Adrian Withers ◽  
Jana Burger ◽  
...  

Elliptical trainers and steppers are proposed as useful exercise modalities in the rehabilitation of injured runners due to the reduced stress on muscles and joints when compared to running. This study compared the physiological responses to submaximal running (treadmill) with exercise on the elliptical trainer and stepper devices at three submaximal but identical workloads. Authors had 18 trained runners (male/female: N = 9/9, age: mean ± SD = 23 ± 3 years) complete randomized maximal oxygen consumption tests on all three modalities. Submaximal tests of 3 min were performed at 60%, 70%, and 80% of peak workload individually established for each modality. Breath-by-breath oxygen consumption, heart rate, fuel utilization, and energy expenditure were determined. The value of maximal oxygen consumption was not different between treadmill, elliptical, and stepper (49.3 ± 5.3, 48.0 ± 6.6, and 46.7 ± 6.2 ml·min−1·kg−1, respectively). Both physiological measures (oxygen consumption and heart rate) as well as carbohydrate and fat oxidation differed significantly between the different exercise intensities (60%, 70%, and 80%) but did not differ between the treadmill, elliptical trainer, and stepper. Therefore, the elliptical trainer and stepper are suitable substitutes for running during periods when a reduced running load is required, such as during rehabilitation from running-induced injury.


1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (4) ◽  
pp. E467-E474 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Hallgren ◽  
L. Sjostrom ◽  
H. Hedlund ◽  
L. Lundell ◽  
L. Olbe

The oxygen consumption of human adipose tissue (AT) was determined in 53 adults, lean and obese, and in nine lean boys. The oxygen consumption was positively related to fat cell weight and negatively to age and degree of obesity. Men and women did not differ with respect to oxygen consumption of AT. The positive relationship between oxygen consumption per cell and fat cell size was also demonstrated in size-separated cells from the same donors. Expressed per cell the oxygen consumption was higher in fat cells from obese than in cells from lean subjects, but expressed per gram of tissue the opposite result was found. The oxygen consumption of the total AT organ was higher in obese than in lean subjects. The energy expenditure of AT constituted approximately 4% of the estimated 24-h energy expenditure in both groups. It is concluded that obese subjects do not maintain their obesity because of a reduced energy expenditure of the total AT (or of the total body). After a partial weight reduction in five subjects, the energy metabolism tended to change in direction toward the conditions seen in lean subjects. However, it is still an open question whether the observed energy metabolic aberrations of obese human AT are only secondary to the obese state or partly primary and thus of etiological importance.


1958 ◽  
Vol 193 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth McClintock ◽  
Nathan Lifson

Measurements of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production were made by the Haldane open circuit method on hereditarily obese mice and littermate controls, and the energy expenditures were estimated. Studies were made on mice for short periods under ‘basal’ conditions, and for periods of approximately a day with the mice fasted and confined, fasted and relatively unconfined, and fed and unconfined. The total energy expenditures of fed and unconfined obese mice were found to be higher than those of nonobese littermate controls by virtue of a) increased ‘basal metabolism’, b) greater energy expenditure associated with feeding, and possibly c) larger energy output for activity despite reduced voluntary movement. The values obtained for total metabolism confirm those previously determined by an isotope method for measuring CO2 output.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Naomi Cliffe ◽  
David Michael Scantlebury ◽  
Sarah Jane Kennedy ◽  
Judy Avey-Arroyo ◽  
Daniel Mindich ◽  
...  

Poikilotherms and homeotherms have different, well-defined metabolic responses to ambient temperature (Ta), but both groups have high power costs at high temperatures. Sloths (Bradypus) are critically limited by rates of energy acquisition and it has previously been suggested that their unusual departure from homeothermy mitigates the associated costs. No studies, however, have examined how sloth body temperature and metabolic rate vary with Ta. Here we measured the oxygen consumption (VO2) of eight brown-throated sloths (B. variegatus) at variable Ta’s and found that VO2 indeed varied in an unusual manner with what appeared to be a reversal of the standard homeotherm pattern. Sloth VO2 increased with Ta, peaking in a metabolic plateau (nominal ‘thermally-active zone’ (TAZ)) before decreasing again at higher Ta values. We suggest that this pattern enables sloths to minimise energy expenditure over a wide range of conditions, which is likely to be crucial for survival in an animal that operates under severe energetic constraints. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of a mammal provisionally invoking metabolic depression in response to increasing Ta’s, without entering into a state of torpor, aestivation or hibernation.


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