Breathing
Because of previous evidence of the decrease in oxygen consumption and blood lactate (byproduct of anaerobic respiration) levels, and postponement of anaerobic threshold in highly trained athletes, a study was designed to assess the effects of yoga in comparison to physical training in athletes (Raju, Madhavi, Prasad, Reddy, Reddy, Sahay & Murthy, 1994). Specifically, pranayama yoga, which utilizes controlled breathing, was practiced along with physical workouts by the experimental group of Indian national athletes. Yoga sessions took place every morning for 48 minutes over two years. The control group maintained only physical workouts, and testing of a variety of physiological functions of both groups occurred throughout the two-year period. Exercise testing to measure workload was assessed by standardized exercise on a treadmill to exhaustion.
Before
the onset of the experiment, all measures were comparable between the control
and experimental groups, but by the end, the yoga participants had significantly
lower blood lactate levels and reduced oxygen consumption at rest than controls,
though control oxygen consumption also decreased. Furthermore, experimental
subjects demonstrated lower oxygen requirement per unit of work in addition
to increased workload capacity. The decrease in oxygen need was not due to earlier
shift to anaerobic respiration because blood lactate levels also decreased,
indicating the opposite was occurring or perhaps more efficient metabolism of
lactate was achieved. Therefore, it appears that yoga is capable of improving
oxygen delivery and/or increased efficiency of oxygen use even beyond that obtained
through general aerobic exercise in serious athletes.
For resources concerning yoga and athletics, see Yoga for Athletes: http://www.y4a.com/