Some participants’ heart rates rose to
near 175 beats per minute, while others
had a peak heart rate which rose to
approximately 130 beats per minute.
suffice. Needless to say, we only made it half
way around the rock. Huge disappointment,
but the heat stress I was experiencing was
unbelievable, like nothing I had ever felt
before.
So, given this recent experience, you
can appreciate my hesitation when a friend
asked me if I wanted to join her at a hot yoga
session. I’m keen to improve my flexibility
though, so what the heck, nothing ventured,
nothing gained. Which leads us into this
Research Review.
Yoga is very popular now, with an
estimated 2 billion people practicing it
worldwide. Here in Australia, it is believed 2
million people ‘grab a mat, take a breath and
pose as a cobra, cat, child and downward-
facing dog’ (Ray Morgan research, 2016).
It’s been the fastest growing sport/physical
activity in the country over the past eight
years, and is especially popular with
younger women (aged 14 to 34) and men
(aged 25 to 34). There are many different
The 30-second article
• An estimated 2 billion people
worldwide practice some form of yoga
• Researchers examined the heart rate,
hydration and thermal responses to
45 minutes of power yoga – a
vigorous, fitness-focused yoga – in a
neutral environment
• The majority of the participants’ heart
rates were in the moderate to vigorous
heart rate zones
• Participants’ skin temperature rose by
an average 2.7°C, and they lost
around 280grams of weight, which
equates to a fluid loss of approximately
280ml.
46 | NETWORK SUMMER 2018
branches and styles, however the research
we are covering here pertains to ‘power
yoga’, which is considered to be a vigorous,
fitness-based type of yoga. The investigators
chose to examine the heart rate, hydration
and thermal responses to 45 minutes of
power yoga in a neutral environment (23.5°C
and moderate humidity of ~ 47%). The
yoga session comprised 21 poses (Table
1 in the article has the complete list/order
of movements/poses), most of which were
held for approximately six breaths, while
other poses were conducted ‘breath to
movement’, which occurs when participants
complete one pose per inhale or exhale
(approximately three seconds).
The researchers recruited 27 healthy
young men and women, inexperienced in
yoga, to complete a 45-minute power yoga
class in the neutral environment (23.5°C).
The researchers measured heart rate with