Yoga and cortisol plus

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

CRON is my yoga, but I thought you might like the attached saying that yoga

has the CR-like cortisol reduction and lots of other good things. The PDF is

available also.

Cheers, Al.

Alan Pater, Ph.D.; Faculty of Medicine; Memorial University; St. 's, NF

A1B 3V6 Canada; Tel. No.: (709) 777-6488; Fax No.: (709) 777-7010; email:

apater@...

Research Article

Anti-stress effect of yoga-type breathing: modification of salivary

cortisol, heart rate and blood pressure following a step-climbing

exercise

Paola Monnazzi, Oriana Leri, Liliana Guizzardi, Domenico Mattioli, F. R.

Patacchioli

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 [image]Istity Method[image], 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.