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Anti‐stress effect of yoga‐type breathing: modification of salivary cortisol, heart rate and blood pressure following a step‐climbing exercise
Author(s) -
Monnazzi Paola,
Leri Oriana,
Guizzardi Liliana,
Mattioli Domenico,
Patacchioli F. R.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
stress and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1532-2998
pISSN - 1532-3005
DOI - 10.1002/smi.938
Subject(s) - climbing , breathing , heart rate , saliva , diaphragmatic breathing , basal (medicine) , blood pressure , psychology , physical therapy , respiratory rate , medicine , anesthesia , alternative medicine , archaeology , pathology , insulin , history
Abstract This paper reports salivary cortisol levels and cardiovascular adjustments monitored after the performance of physical exercise in a subject (healthy man, 58 years old) who had practised and taught yoga techniques for a number of years. The subject performed two different step‐climbing trials which were varied according to the different breathing recovery techniques used. Immediately after the step‐climbing, the subject was asked either to get his breath back spontaneously (as reference) or by 3 min breathing using the ‘Istity Method’, based on the prolongation or amplification of the steps of the breath (breathing in–out) with short regular rest intervals. The measurements of the basal heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol concentration in the saliva were made just before starting, and 5, 15 and 30 min after the end of step‐climbing. Results suggest that the Istity breathing method can induce rapid modification of the cardiovascular function and attenuation of the cortisol level after exposure to physical stress. It might be of interest to pursue further studies of this effect, perhaps not confined to yoga experts, since the ‘Istity Method’ can be implemented by anyone after a short and simple training period. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.