Blood pressure and heart rate variability responses following an acute bout of vinyasa yoga and a prolonged seated control: A randomized crossover trial

Abstract

Vinyasa yoga is moderate-intensity physical activity, yet physiological responses are poorly characterized. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a vinyasa yoga session on autonomic/cardiovascular functioning in healthy adults. A randomized crossover design took place at the Physical Activity and Weight Management laboratory (Pittsburgh, PA; n = 18), and included two experimental conditions: 60 minutes of vinyasa yoga or a seated control, and measurements were taken at baseline, 5-minutes, and 65-minute post-conditions. The primary cardiovascular-related outcomes of this study included blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and HR variability (HRV) measures [natural log transformed (ln) standard deviation of normal-to-normal R-R intervals (SDNN), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), high frequency (HF), and low frequency to high frequency ratio (LF/HF ratio)]. Linear mixed effects models were used for data analyses. Systolic BP was 8.14 mmHg lower at 5 minutes post yoga (p<0.001) but was not different 65 minutes post, compared to the control. HR was higher at 5- and 65-minutes post yoga compared to the control (10.49/4.70 bpm, respectively, both p<0.01). HRV was lower (worse) at 5 and 65 minutes post for lnSDNN, lnRMSSD, and lnHF (all p<0.01). LF/HF ratio was higher (worse) at 5 minutes post yoga compared to the control (difference = +0.38, p = 0.025), but not different at 65 minutes post between conditions. Compared to prolonged sitting, vinyasa yoga had variable effects on post-session autonomic function including favorable BP responses and unfavorable HR and HRV responses, further investigation is warranted.

Fig 1. Study design.

This figure displays the enrollment and study completion process for participants.

Fig 2. Participant recruitment flow chart.

This flowchart displays participant recruitment and completion sample sizes.

Fig 3. Blood presure responses across conditions (N = 18).

This figure displays systolic and diastolic blood pressure responses in millimeters of mercury (mmHg) across the yoga and seated control condition; *indicates a statistically significant difference in the change from baseline between conditions; Abbreviations: SBP = Systolic Blood Pressure, DBP = Diastolic Blood Pressure.

Fig 4. Heart rate variability responses across the vinyasa yoga and prolonged seated control conditions (n = 17).

This figure displays heart rate variability responses across conditions; *indicates a statistically significant difference in the change from baseline between conditions; Abbreviations: SBP = Systolic Blood Pressure, DBP = Diastolic Blood Pressure, HR = Heart Rate, SDNN = Standard Deviation of Normal-to-Normal R-R Intervals, RMSSD = Root Mean Square of Successive Differences, HF = High Frequency, and LF/HF = Low Frequency to High Frequency Ratio.