The Influence of Regular Yogic Practice on Physiological Parameters in the Middle Age Group

The Influence of Regular Yogic Practice on Physiological Parameters in the Middle Age Group

By

Dr. Francis Xavier Lobo

College Director of Physical Education

Rosary College of Commerce & Arts

Navelim, Salcete, Goa 403707.

Minor Research Project

Submitted to the University Grants Commission

Western Region Office

Ganeshkhind, Pune-411007

for the Minor Research Project in Physical Education

August 2015

The Influence of Regular Yogic Practice on Physiological Parameters in the Middle Age Group

By

Dr. Francis Xavier Lobo

College Director of Physical Education

Rosary College of Commerce & Arts

Navelim, Salcete, Goa 403707.

Minor Research Project

Submitted to the University Grants Commission

Western Regional Office

Ganeshkhind, Pune-411007

for the Minor Research Project in Physical Education

August 2015

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research scholar wishes to express his sincere gratitude to the University Grants Commission, India, and the Western Regional Office, Pune for providing the opportunity and the financial aid during the course of research work.

Sincere gratitude is expressed to Rev. Dr. Simão R. Diniz, Principal of Rosary College of Commerce and Arts, Navelim for his cooperation throughout the accomplishment of this project.

Heartfelt thanks are extended to the teachers and fellow colleagues in completion of this manuscript in particular, Vice Principal - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Savio P. Falleiro, Asst. Prof. Mr. Ignatius Fernandes, Assoc. Prof. Ms. Anna Rodrigues, Asst. Prof. Ms. Venisha Coutinho, Ms. Vanisha Pimenta (Examination Clerk), Mr. Saby Crasto (Accountant), Ms. Janet Pereira (U.D.C.), Ms. Iriane Leitao (U.D.C.), Ms. Melba Fernandes (L.D.C.), Ms. Snehal Bandodkar (Yoga Instructor) and Mr. Remete Colaco (Attendant).

Sincere and affectionate thanks are extended to all the subjects from Teaching and Non Teaching staff of Rosary College of Commerce and Arts, Shree Ambika Yog Cutir, S.A.Financial Services who have been a source of encouragement and help during the present course of study.

My sincere thanks to Dr. T. S. Dey for computing the data for the Minor Research work.

(i)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES …………(iii)

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS………(iv)

Chapters:

1. INRODUCTION…………1

Statement of Problem

Delimitations

Limitations

Hypothesis

Definition and Explanation of terms

Significance of the Study

1. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE……10

1. PROCEDURE…………20

Selection of subjects

Criterion measures

Administration of Yogic Programme and conducting of the test

Yogic Programme

Collection of data initial and post test

Experimental Design

Statistical Procedure

1. ANALYSIS OF DATA AND RESULTS OF THE STUDY26

Findings

Discussion of findings

1. SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS …………34

Summary

Conclusion

APPENDICES

1. Raw scores of the control group pre test………36
2. Raw scores of the control group post test……37
3. Raw scores of the experimental group pre test……38
4. Raw scores of the experimental group post test……39

REFERENCES………40

(ii)

LIST OF TABLES

(iii)

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

(iv)

Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Yoga is now being pursued as an important part of academics in schools, colleges and universities and has also been found to be an effective tool for overall personality development. With the ushering in the 21st century, the problems of life have multiplied two fold due to cultural changes, communal problems, high rate of inflation, unemployment among the masses and poor leaders.

Yoga is a practical aid, not a religion. Yoga is an ancient art based on harmonizing system of development for the body, mind and spirit. The continued practice of Yoga will lead you to a sense of peace and well being and also a feeling of being at one with the environment.

The practice of Yoga makes the body strong and flexible. It also improves the functioning of the respiratory, circulatory, digestive and hormonal systems. Yoga brings about emotional stability and clarity of mind. To sum up, the ultimate aim of Yoga is self development and self realization.

Yoga literally translates into communion of mind, body and soul. Yoga is a mind-body kind of exercise that helps you stay fit and relaxed and is also beneficial for managing chronic pain, such as back pain. Yoga is also of paramount importance in the management of conditions like osteoporosis, asthma, infertility, respiratory problems, diabetes, and other life style diseases. Yoga is known to boost the immune system, cardiovascular system etc.1

Since Yoga combines movement and conscious breathing exercises, it helps to focus both on the physical body and what is occurring internally. When this union takes place it brings about immense therapeutic benefits.

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1 Sanford, Laurie, “Gentle Yoga for Back Pain”, (United States: Hatherleigh Publications, 2012).

2

Today, Yoga is used in many therapeutic ways, such as to detoxify the body, relieve anxiety, depression, realign musculature, strengthen muscles, create flexibility and manage chronic pain.

Medical science and the emerging multidisciplinary field of mind and body medicine, which fuses psychology, spirituality, contemplative science, neuroscience, genetics and biology, are teaching us the profound benefits of Yoga.

Many people turn to Yoga as a way to manage stress. Using Yoga as a way to reduce stress is a good reason to start practicing Yoga, although Yoga will help decrease stress by calming the mind, creating a sense of peace, well being and relaxation and if practiced regularly, the changes go well beyond stress relief and into all aspects of one’s life.

At a global level, we see that stress causes a chronic inflammatory response in our body, which will increase our vulnerability to and exacerbate chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, arthritis, cancer and other diseases. Stress also leads to poor sleep, increased health impairing behaviours, such as, poor diet, lack of exercise and substance abuse, mood disorders, inability to concentrate, increase negative social interactions and other deleterious consequences such as, behavioural changes in turn influences and hypnological and biological changes that cause further damage to our bodies, something profoundly critical to the health and well being of society. Mind body practices such as Yoga can help diminish stress, improve quality of life and produce a number of other beneficial outcomes.2

The recent and ever growing body of research on Yoga and mind body practices has documented the benefits of these practices. In healthy people such activities improve biological, physiological, behavioural and psychological outcomes.

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2 Andre Van, Lysebeth, “Yoga Self Taught”, (Europe: Bell Books A Division of Vikas Publishing House).

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In chronically ill people, they also help improve biological parameters, lessen the severity of symptoms and improve quality of life at the physical and psychological levels. My own research with people suggests that Yoga helps a person to adjust to the disease, decreases the side effects of treatment, improves quality of life and provides a way to regain a sense of control and purpose in their lives as they become more active in life. The practice of Yoga helps cleanse and revive the body subsequently bringing about a reawakening of ‘the self’.

Yoga practice transforms us. We eventually eat less because we assimilate more and therefore there is loss of unnecessary weight. We become more beautiful, our faces change and our walk gains elasticity. Our chest expands the muscles of abdomen start to work efficiently and the head is lighter on the neck. A different life begins and the body expresses a happiness never felt before. Mere words cannot really actualize the bountiful effects of Yoga. In this case, feeling is believing!

The way we live in today’s fast paced world wreaks havoc on our bodies. We destroy, little by little the precious gift of true contentment of body, mind and soul; a vital vessel of life we receive at birth.

It is pertinent to mention here that the spine of a baby is extremely soft and light and remains so for a long time. Whereas, the adult spine is heavy. Yoga helps in breaking bad habits and in re-educating the spine so as to bring back its original suppleness. To follow the way the spine functions, the process of breathing in Yoga is of the greatest interest. The term expansion while exhaling, originates from the spine is the basis of Yoga teaching. One often sees students holding their breath while performing a difficult pose; this is counter productive and fundamentally wrong, because it blocks the lovely expansive movement of the lungs as they are connected to the spine.3

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3Scarauelli, Vanda. “Awakening the Spine” (London: Everbest Printing Co. Ltd., 2012).

4

The body and mind are so intimately connected that we cannot tell the difference between the two. The body is the more visible aspect of the being and so it may speak for the mind more eloquently than mind can speak for itself. When we align the body, we also align the mind. The body is the hologram of being as Alexander Loven once said “The body does lie”.

It is also a joy to share something one likes with others. I have the experience of both the yogic exercise and general exercise, which we do while playing. But yogic exercise has more value than general exercise because it becomes a part of you.

General exercise touches your superficial path it is recreational, whereas yogic, its cleansing and revival of the body and spine.

Do not fight your body. Do not carry the world on your shoulders like others. Drop that heavy load of unnecessary baggage and you will feel better. While practicing Yoga, do not kill the instinct of the body for the glory of the pose. When some difficulty arises we can always find a different movement. The body has its own way of fighting illness, readjusting itself to harmony and willing to cooperate in finding a solution to any problem. One has only to approach problems with patience, care and attention. The body will always strive to overcome the difficulties impending its existence. To live is one of the greatest miracles. “We have to become our own teacher and our own disciple”, quote by Krishnamurti.4

People have all kinds of misconceptions about Yoga. One must not think that yogic exercises are going to give one a higher perspective in a mystical or spiritual direction. They are simply refreshing the body like a shower, cleansing us from the dirt and impurities accumulated during the day. It is like tuning an instrument before playing it. The movements are healthy and we receive physical advantages from doing them. Any form of activity is good for us. But our sports have become competitive and we spoil them through our insatiability for glory and success.5

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4Vishnudevananda, Sri Swami, “Yoga your Home Practice Companion”, (Great Britain: Sivanada Yoga Vedanta Centre, 2010).

5 B.K.S. Iyengar, “Yoga the Path to Holistic Health”, (Great Britain: Darling Kindersley Limited, 2001).

5

Yoga has nothing to do with aerobics or exhibition of the body. Even though some poses look rather like it, Yoga goes much deeper sometimes unexpected things happen that cannot be easily explained like healing, loss of weight, discharges of pressure. When tensions leave the body goes back to its original state and balance is re-established. When we work with the body, there is beauty there is harmony. Health is harmony; disease is a disturbance of harmony, as the Greek Philosopher Alcmareon, of the School of Croton maintained.

Any attempt to prove the merits of the `Art of Yoga’ would be futile. If a thousand volumes were quoted in its favour and all the rules of logic and sophistry were employed, the doubts and skepticism of modern man would still remain. Therefore, this study is not an attempt to prove the merits of Yoga or to explain its results. Instead, I have presented a report of my personal experience in learning and practicing the basic techniques of Hath Yoga.6

Origin of the Research Problem

Yoga has a complete message for humanity. It has a message for the human body. It has a message for the human mind and for the human soul. The research findings data will be of significant value to the society, educationists, Yoga lovers and participants, thereby contributing towards the knowledge of Yoga for healthy living.

Statement of the problem

To compare The Influence of Regular Yogic Practice on Physiological Parameters in the Middle Age Group

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6Bernard, Theos, “Hatha Yoga the report of a Personal Experience”, (London: Rider & Company, Stratford Place, 1955).

6

Delimitations

1) The study was delimited to those taking part in the Yoga practices between the age group of 30 years and above, both men and women.

2) The study was restricted to 6 months of yogic practice.

3) The study was further delimited to the physiological variables8 :

• Resting Pulse Rate
• Blood pressure
• Respiratory rate
• Lung capacity
• Body Mass Index
• Blood Sugar

Limitations

The subject selected for the study were within the State of Goa. But they are not within a residential camp. The factors like diet, life style, daily routine habits, etc., which may affect the result of the study should be considered as a limitation of research.

Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that there will be no significant difference on the physiological variables, but there will be definite changes in physiological variables due to 6 months of yogic practice.

Definition and explanation of terms

Yogic practice

Refers to system of asanas practiced as part of this discipline to promote and control of the body.

Middle age

Is that point in your life when you shift from seeing the future in terms of potentials and begin to see in terms of your limitations.

7

Resting Pulse Rate

Pulse rate is a wave of distention and elongation that is felt in an artery wall due to the contradiction of the left ventricle forcing blood into the already full aorta. When the aorta is distended a wave passes along the walls of the arteries and can be felt at any point where an artery can be pressed gently against the bone7.

Pulse rate can be defined as the number of pulse waves per minute felt at the radial artery.

Blood Pressure

The pressure exerted on the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps the blood through the body.

Systolic Blood Pressure

When complete cardiac diastases occur and the heart is resting following the ejection of blood, the least pressure within the arteries is termed as the diastolic blood pressure.

Lung Capacity

The total volume of air that can be voluntarily moved in one breath, forceful inspiration to maximum expiration or vice versa.

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7I.S. Ross and K.S. Wilson, Foundation of Anatomy and Physiology (Edinburgh: The English Boos Society Churchill Living Stone, 1973), P.151.

8

Respiratory Rate

The number of inspiration or expiration in one minute is known as respiratory rate.

The distention of the arterial walls at the beginning of systolic ejection of blood is not confined to aorta but travels down the arteries as a wave followed by a wave of recoil. In the arteries that lie close to the body such as radial artery of the wrist, the arrival of the wave of distention and subsequent recoil may be felt as a distant throb pulse which offers convenient method of counting heart rate.8

Body Mass Index

The Body Mass Index is a measure of body fat based on your weight in relation to your height and that applies to adult men and women.9

Blood Sugar

The concentration of glucose in the blood.

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8David H. Clarke, “Exercise Physiology” (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall Inc., 1975), P.197.

9H. Harrison Clarke, Application of Measurement to Health and Physical Education (Philadelphia W.B. Saunders Co., 1985), P.152.

9

Significance of the study

1. The study will provide knowledge about yogic practice influencing physiological parameters.

1. The Study will critically examine the effects of various asanas on human body.

1. The result of the study will further help to reduce stress, body fats, hypertension by doing regular yogic asanas, pranayams, and kriyas.

1. It will add to the knowledge of Yoga and its contribution on various physiological variables.

Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The relevant studies of specific importance are cited below:-

Alton.J. 1 Yoga has become increasingly popular in Western cultures as a means of exercise and fitness training; however, it is still depicted as trendy as evidenced by an April 2001 Time magazine cover story on "The Power of Yoga." There is a need to have Yoga better recognized by the health care community as a complement to conventional medical care. Over the last 10 years, a growing number of research studies have shown that the practice of Hatha Yoga can improve strength and flexibility, and may help control such physiological variables as blood pressure, respiration and heart rate, and metabolic rate to improve overall exercise capacity. This review presents a summary of medically substantiated information about the health benefits of Yoga for healthy people and for people compromised by musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary disease.

Damodaran .A.2 To study effect of Yoga on the physiological, psychological well being, psychomotor parameter and modifying cardiovascular risk factors in mild to moderate hypertensive patients. METHODS: Twenty patients (16 males, 4 females) in the age group of 35 to 55 years with mild to moderate essential hypertension underwent yogic practices daily for one hour for three months. Biochemical, physiological and psychological parameters were studied prior and following period of three months of Yoga practices, biochemical parameters included, blood glucose, lipid profile, catecholmines, MDA, Vit. C cholinesterase and urinary VMA. Psychological evaluation was done by using personal orientation inventory and subjective well being. RESULTS: Results showed decrease in blood pressure and drug score modifying risk factors, i.e. blood glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides decreased overall improvement in subjective well being and quality of life. There was decrease in VMA catecholamine, and decrease MDA level suggestive decrease sympathetic activity and oxidant stress. CONCLUSION: Yoga can play an important role in risk modification for cardiovascular diseases in mild to moderate hypertension.