What’s This Research About?
Traditional yoga texts describe “cross-nostril breathing” as inhaling and exhaling through different nostrils, a practice distinct from uni-nostril breathing, which showed no clear differences in oxygen consumption in past research. This study is the first to examine oxygen consumption during cross-nostril breathing.
The study involved 47 healthy male participants (average age 26.3 years) in five sessions on separate days: right nostril inspiration yoga breathing (RNIYB), left nostril inspiration yoga breathing (LNIYB), alternate nostril yoga breathing (ANYB), breath awareness (BAW), and quiet rest (QR). Each session lasted 33 minutes with measurements before, during, and after, including blood pressure to indicate sympathetic activity.
Traditional yoga texts describe the left nostril (ida nadi) as the calming channel, the right nostril (surya nadi) as the energizing channel, and alternate nostril breathing as balancing these effects. Researchers hypothesized that RNIYB would increase oxygen consumption (VO2), LNIYB would decrease it, and ANYB would have a neutral effect. However, results showed increased oxygen consumption regardless of the nostril used.
TITLE: Traditional Nostril Yoga Breathing Practices and Oxygen Consumption: A Randomized, Cross-over Study
PUBLICATION: International Journal of Yoga
DATE: 2024
AUTHORS: Alok Singh, Sachin Kumar Sharma, Shirley Telles, and Acharya Balkrishna
Randomized Crossover Study: A type of research design used to compare the effects of different treatments or interventions on the same group of participants who are randomly assigned to different sequences of treatments. Each participant receives multiple treatments, one after the other, with a “washout” period in between to ensure the effects of the first treatment don’t carry over to the next. For example, if a study is testing three types of yoga breathing, each participant will practice all three types, but in a different order. This type of study aims to help researchers understand the effects of different treatments on the same participants, ensuring the results are fair and unbiased.
Respiration-locked cortical activation: Refers to the brain activity that synchronizes with breathing patterns. This phenomenon involves increased neuronal activity in specific brain regions in response to the act of breathing. When individuals are consciously aware of their breath or engage in specific breathing practices, such as yoga or meditation, this synchronization becomes more pronounced.
Register
