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. 2022 Sep 29;11(19):5777.
doi: 10.3390/jcm11195777.

Effect of Prenatal Yoga on Heart Rate Variability and Cardio-Respiratory Synchronization: A Prospective Cohort Study

Ivan Žebeljan  1 , Miha Lučovnik  2   3 , Dejan Dinevski  4 , Helmut K Lackner  5 , Manfred G Moertl  6 , Izidora Vesenjak Dinevski  7 , Faris Mujezinović  4   8
Affiliations

Effect of Prenatal Yoga on Heart Rate Variability and Cardio-Respiratory Synchronization: A Prospective Cohort Study

Ivan Žebeljan et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The objective was to assess the effects of prenatal yoga on heart rate variability (HRV) and cardio-respiratory synchronization, used as proxies of autonomic nervous system activity. Sixty-nine healthy pregnant women were included; 33 in a yoga group attending at least one 90-min yoga class weekly throughout pregnancy, and 36 controls not involved in formal pregnancy exercise programs. Measurements of the time domain (SDNN, standard deviation of regular R-R intervals, and RMSSD, square root of mean squared differences of successive R-R intervals) and frequency domain (ln(LF/HF), natural logarithm of low-frequency to high-frequency power) HRV indices, as well as cardio-respiratory synchronization indexes were performed once per trimester before and after yoga or 30-min moderate-intensity walk. A statistical comparison was performed using a three-way analysis of the variance (p < 0.05 significant). Both the time domain and frequency domain HRV indices showed significant shifts towards parasympathetic dominance following yoga when compared to the controls throughout pregnancy (p = 0.002 for SDNN, p < 0.001 for RMSSD, and p = 0.006 for ln(LF/HF), respectively). There was a statistically non-significant trend towards higher synchronization between respiratory frequency and heart rate following yoga vs. controls (p = 0.057). Regular prenatal yoga was associated with enhanced parasympathetic activation persisting throughout pregnancy.

Keywords: autonomic nervous system; cardio-respiratory synchronization; heart rate variability; pregnancy; yoga.

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Conflict of interest statement

I.V.D. is the owner of the yoga studio “Soncna vila” and was the yoga instructor leading all yoga classes in the study. She was not involved in measurements and data analysis. Other authors declare no potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Estimated marginal means (with 95% confidence intervals) of the natural logarithm of low frequency (LF) to high frequency (HF) heart rate variability power ratio (ln(LF/HF)) following yoga and walking (control group) throughout all three trimesters of pregnancy. Note a significantly decreased ln(LF/HF) following yoga suggesting a more pronounced decrease in sympathetic to parasympathetic autonomic balance in the yoga group compared to controls (F(1,67) = 8.1, p = 0.006).
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