Effect of yoga on sympathetic nervous system of human body

Introduction: Yoga is a mind and body practice with a 5,000-year history in ancient Indian philosophy. Various styles of yoga combine physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation or relaxation. Yoga is a psycho-somatic-spiritual discipline for achieving union and harmony between our mind, body and soul and the ultimate union of our individual consciousness with the universal consciousness. Aims and Objectives: 1: To evaluate the effects of yoga on sympathetic nervous system in yoga practitioners above the age group of 35 years; 2: To compare the results of sympathetic function tests in yoga practitioners with that of non yoga practitioners in the same age group. Materials and Methods: An observational cross sectional study was carried out in 50 normal yoga practitioners and 50 normal non yoga practitioners above the age group of 35 years. Yoga practitioners were selected randomly from different yoga centers in Shimoga. Non yoga practitioners were selected randomly among non teaching staff of Shimoga institute of medical sciences, Shimoga. The ethical clearance for the study was obtained from the ethical committee. Results: In our study, there is significant decrease in the BMI (p=0.013), physiological parameters such as heart rate (p=0.002), respiratory rate (p=0.001) and blood pressure and in sympathetic tests there is significant decrease in DBP in yoga practitioners compared to non yoga practitioners. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the regular practice of a set of yoga training blunted the sympathetic drive and lateralised the autonomic function towards parasympathetic control. Keywords: Yoga, Autonomic nervous system, Hand grip exercise.