Background: Yoga is a popular exercise, but the heart rate (HR) response to specific styles of yoga is unknown.\r\nPrimary Study Objective: To determine if vinyasa yoga is an aerobic physical activity based on the HR response\r\nof participants.\r\nMethods/Design: Observational study using a convenience sample\r\nSetting: Exercise room on a university campus\r\nParticipants: Forty-two adults aged 21-54 years with prior yoga experience completed the yoga session with no\r\nadverse events. Equipment malfunction precluded data analysis for 4 participants.\r\nIntervention: A 50-minute vinyasa yoga class that included 10 minutes of pre-activity rest, 35 minutes of asanas,\r\nand 5 minutes of meditation. Participant HR was recorded continuously during the class.\r\nPrimary Outcome Measures: Mean HR response and time spent at each intensity level during asanas.\r\nResults: The data of 38 participants were analyzed. Mean (SD) HR for all participants during asanas was 107\r\n(23) beats per minute (bpm), and 44% of the asana time was considered light-intensity aerobic physical activity. The\r\nmean response (expressed as a percent of maximal HR or %HRmax) was considered very light intensity (<50% of\r\nHRmax) for 6 participants, light intensity (50-63% of HRmax) for 21 participants, moderate intensity (64-76% of HRmax)\r\nfor 10 participants, and vigorous intensity (77-93% of HRmax) for 1 participant.\r\nConclusions: In the current study, vinyasa yoga was primarily a light-intensity aerobic physical activity, but\r\nindividual responses varied. This information adds to the body of literature regarding the physiological response to\r\nyoga and specifically addresses the aerobic response to vinyasa yoga.
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