Cyclic yoga improves anthropometric indices, musculoskeletal disorders, and blood pressure in middle-aged women

Abstract

Background: The new and therapeutic style of cyclic yoga, which is the art of aligning asana, pranayama, and yoga mudra techniques, can be used as a non-invasive style to improve or prevent some musculoskeletal disorders. For this purpose, this study was designed to investigate a selected course of cyclic yoga practice on some anthropometric indicators, musculoskeletal disorders, and blood pressure in middle-aged women.

Methods: ː Forty-two middle-aged women were assigned either to cyclic yoga (n = 21, 53.76 ± 4.073 years) or the control group (n = 21, 53.57 ± 4.781 years). The cyclic yoga group received yoga intervention for 10 weeks, three sessions per week, and 50-90 min per session. MANCOVA test was used for inter-group comparison, and variance with repeated measures was used for intra-group measurement.

Results: A 10-week of yoga training decreased weight, hip circumference, body mass index, percentage of body fat, waist-to-height ratio, round shoulder, thoracic kyphosis angle, lumbar lordosis angle, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure. In addition, a significant increase in the percentage muscle mass variable was reported in the cyclic yoga group. There was also a difference between the two cyclic yoga and control groups in the post-test in the waist-to-height ratio, round shoulder, thoracic kyphosis angle, lumbar lordosis angle, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure variables.

Conclusions: ː The results suggest that cyclic yoga exercises, as an effective therapeutic alternative, low-cost, and accessible lead to the improvement of the round shoulder, hyperkyphosis, hyperlordosis, some anthropometric indices, and blood pressure.

Keywords: Anthropometric indices; Blood pressure; Cyclic yoga; Musculoskeletal disorders.