Effect of yoga on pulse rate and blood pressure among women

OBJECTIVES: Change in the past few decades in human life style, nowadays international health organizations, i.e., World Health Organization are also focusing on prevention along with treatment aspect of chronic illness. Researches focus that women of age group 30-45 years are at increased risk for hypertension and heart disease due to increased weight. Yoga is an effective method to control our physiological variables like blood pressure (BP), pulse, etc. The main aim of this study was to identify the effects of yoga on physiological variables. METHODS: The study was an experimental study with two group, pretest and posttest control group, design, which was conducted on 40 female participants. Pranayama and meditation for a period of 6 weeks was done by these women. RESULTS: Yoga therapy significantly reduced the BP (0.000*) and pulse rate (0.000*) of women, which was also statistically proved. CONCLUSIONS: Yoga therapy can be an effective method to control BP and pulse rate of patients with chronic diseases.