Yoga in Medicine

A special issue of Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology (ISSN 2411-5142). This special issue belongs to the section "Sports Medicine and Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2025 | Viewed by 1957

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40125 Bologna, Italy
Interests: yoga therapy; sports medicine; posturology; ergonomics; medical sciences; biomaterials; biointeractive materials; bioactive dental materials; translational medicine
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Yoga as a system of physical/mental/spiritual practices providing holistic well-being has received increasing attention over the last few decades.

Yoga as a therapeutic science has been an object of study, with a high number of scientific publications in different medical disciplines demonstrating great therapeutic effects and benefits for both physical and mental/cognitive health. 

This Special Issue “Yoga in Medicine” intends to collect valuable articles on yoga as a medical approach for different pathologies in various medical fields, such as:

  • Yoga in cardiology for cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart disease, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, arrhythmia and vasovagal syncope;
  • Yoga in internal medicine for metabolic syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory markers and the immune system;
  • Yoga in neurology/psychology for stress, anxiety, and burnout;
  • Yoga in pneumology;
  • Yoga in orthopedics/physiatry for chronic pain, pain-associated disorders, and disc herniation;
  • Yoga in occupational and preventive medicine and public health;
  • Yoga in geriatrics;
  • Yoga for neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and dementia;
  • Yoga for insomnia;
  • Yoga for eating disorders;
  • Yoga in pregnancy;
  • Yoga for adolescent problems;
  • Yoga in school and university education.

Prof. Dr. Maria Giovanna Gandolfi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • yoga
  • yoga therapy
  • asana
  • medicine
  • embodied discipline
  • mindful movement
  • concentrative practice
  • breathing
  • cardiovascular diseases
  • inflammatory markers
  • irritable bowel
  • musculoskeletal disorders
  • discs herniation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 368 KiB  
Article
Heart Rate Variability, Blood Pressure and Peripheral Oxygen Saturation during Yoga Adham and Mahat Breathing Techniques without Retention in Adult Practitioners
by David Catela, Júlia Santos, Joana Oliveira, Susana Franco and Cristiana Mercê
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2024, 9(4), 184; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk9040184 - 3 Oct 2024
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Abstract
Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) is the change in time intervals between heart beats, reflecting the autonomic nervous system’s ability to adapt to psychological and physiological demands. Slow breathing enhances parasympathetic activity, increasing HRV. Pranayama, a yoga breathing technique, affords the conscious [...] Read more.
Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) is the change in time intervals between heart beats, reflecting the autonomic nervous system’s ability to adapt to psychological and physiological demands. Slow breathing enhances parasympathetic activity, increasing HRV. Pranayama, a yoga breathing technique, affords the conscious regulation of respiration frequency. This study aimed to characterize HRV, blood pressure and peripheral oxygen saturation of basic yoga breathing slow techniques with regular yoga practitioners. Methods: In total, 45 yoga practitioners were included in the study (including 7 males, mean age of 54.04 ± 11.97 years) with varying levels of yoga experience (minimum 3 months, maximum 37 years). Participants performed three breathing conditions: baseline (control) and two yoga techniques (abdominal (adham) and complete (mahat)) breathing, each for 10 min in the supine position (i.e., savasana). For each condition, respiratory frequency, heart rate (HR), blood pressure and peripheral oxygen levels were collected. Results: The findings revealed that both abdominal and complete yoga breathing techniques promoted a decrease in respiratory frequency (p < 0.001, r = 0.61; p < 0.001, r = 0.61, respectively), and an increase in peripheral oxygen saturation (p < 0.001, r = 0.50; p < 0.001, r = 0.46, respectively), along with blood pressure decreases in all mean values, and a significant decrease in systolic pressure, considering all conditions (p = 0.034, W = 0.08). There were significant increases in standard deviation of HR during abdominal and complete yoga breathing techniques compared with the baseline (p = 0.003, r = 0.31; p < 0.001, r = 0.47, respectively), indicating enhanced parasympathetic activity. Moreover, the complete breathing technique exhibited the greatest variability in HRV measures, with several significant differences compared with abdominal breathing (standard deviation of HR, p < 0.001, r = 0.42; SD2, standard deviation of points perpendicular to the Poincaré parallel line, p < 0.003, r = 0.31; SD1/SD2, p < 0.003, r = 0.31), suggesting a more profound impact on autonomic modulation. Conclusions: simple, inexpensive and non-intrusive abdominal and complete yoga breathing techniques can effectively and momentarily enhance HRV and oxygen saturation in adults, mature adults and the elderly. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Yoga in Medicine)
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