Published Paper Details:

Although there are a number of reports on the effect of yoga training on blood pressure, very few studies have been undertaken on the effect of yoga training on respiratory pressures and handgrip endurance. Hence the present work was planned to study the effect of yoga training on hand grip strength (HGS), hand grip endurance (HGE), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). 15 male students in the age group of 15 to 16 years were given yoga training (asans and pranayams) for 4 months. 15 male students of the same age group formed the control group. Yoga training produced statistically significant (P<0.05) increase in HGS, HGE, MEP, MIP, SBP and DBP after the yoga training. In contrast, the increase in these parameters in the control group was statistically insignificant. This study shows that yoga training for 4 months improves strength of inspiratory and expiratory muscles, skeletal muscles of arm and shoulder. Positive improvement was also observed in systolic and diastolic Blood Pressure. It is suggested that yoga should be introduced at school level in order to improve physiological functions, overall health and performance of students.