ArticleBMJ open2011
Yoga respiratory training improves respiratory function and cardiac sympathovagal balance in elderly subjects: a randomised controlled trial.
Article in BMJ open, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 50 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of Respiratory Yoga Training (Bhastrika) on Heart Rate Variability and Baroreflex, and Quality of Life of Healthy Elderly Subjects
Effects of Yoga Respiratory Exercises on Clinical Impact, and Psychosocial Aspects in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
The Effect of Yoga on Cardiac Sympathetic Innervation Evaluated by I-123 mIBG
Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 137 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of yogic intervention on pulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength parameters: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis.Journal of biosciences · 2021Pooled it
- Active mind-body movement therapies as an adjunct to or in comparison with pulmonary rehabilitation for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Comparison groups in yoga research: a systematic review and critical evaluation of the literature.Complementary therapies in medicine · 2014Pooled it
- Characteristics of randomized controlled trials of yoga: a bibliometric analysis.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2014Pooled it
- The impact of alternate nostril breathing on the severity and frequency of migraine attacks: a randomized control trial.Primary health care research & development · 2025Trial
- Yoga-based lifestyle intervention for healthy ageing in older adults: a two-armed, waitlist randomized controlled trial with multiple primary outcomes.GeroScience · 2024Trial
- The Effects of 12 Weeks of a Combined Exercise Program on Physical Function and Hormonal Status in Elderly Korean Women.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Trial
- The application of "upper-body yoga" in elderly patients with acute hip fracture: a prospective, randomized, and single-blind study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2019Trial
- Inspiratory muscle training improves physical performance and cardiac autonomic modulation in older women.European journal of applied physiology · 2018Trial
- A yoga & exercise randomized controlled trial for vasomotor symptoms: Effects on heart rate variability.Complementary therapies in medicine · 2016Trial
- Effects of High-Intensity Hatha Yoga on Cardiovascular Fitness, Adipocytokines, and Apolipoproteins in Healthy Students: A Randomized Controlled Study.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2016Trial
- Time sequence of autonomic changes induced by daily slow-breathing sessions.Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society · 2015Trial
- Effect of an office worksite-based yoga program on heart rate variability: outcomes of a randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2013Trial
- Blood pressure and Purdue pegboard scores in individuals with hypertension after alternate nostril breathing, breath awareness, and no intervention.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2013Trial
- Comparison of yoga and walking-exercise on cardiac time intervals as a measure of cardiac function in elderly with increased pulse pressure.Indian heart journalTrial
- Pelvic Floor Yoga for Women with Overactive Bladder-Wet: A Subgroup Analysis of a Multisite Randomized Trial.International urogynecology journal · 2026Article
- Comprehensive review on the benefits and physiological basis of yoga.World journal of methodology · 2026Review
- Safety, feasibility and impact of a 12-week yoga program in adults Fontan patients: a pilot study.International journal of cardiology. Congenital heart disease · 2026Article
- Association Between Carotid Arterial Strain and Heart Rate Variability in Older Age.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2026Article
- From Smoke to Respiratory Relief: Development, Validation and Feasibility of Pranayama-based VRBT Module for Enhancing Pulmonary Function in Biomass Smoke Exposed Women.Annals of neurosciences · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesSince ageing is associated with a decline in pulmonary function, heart rate variability and spontaneous baroreflex, and recent studies suggest that yoga respiratory exercises may improve respiratory and cardiovascular function, we hypothesised that yoga respiratory training may improve respiratory function and cardiac autonomic modulation in healthy elderly subjects.
design76 healthy elderly subjects were enrolled in a randomised control trial in Brazil and 29 completed the study (age 68 ± 6 years, 34% males, body mass index 25 ± 3 kg/m²). Subjects were randomised into a 4-month training program (2 classes/week plus home exercises) of either stretching (control, n=14) or respiratory exercises (yoga, n=15). Yoga respiratory exercises (Bhastrika) consisted of rapid forced expirations followed by inspiration through the right nostril, inspiratory apnoea with generation of intrathoracic negative pressure, and expiration through the left nostril. Pulmonary function, maximum expiratory and inspiratory pressures (PE(max) and PI(max), respectively), heart rate variability and blood pressure variability for spontaneous baroreflex determination were determined at baseline and after 4 months.
resultsSubjects in both groups had similar demographic parameters. Physiological variables did not change after 4 months in the control group. However, in the yoga group, there were significant increases in PE(max) (34%, p<0.0001) and PI(max) (26%, p<0.0001) and a significant decrease in the low frequency component (a marker of cardiac sympathetic modulation) and low frequency/high frequency ratio (marker of sympathovagal balance) of heart rate variability (40%, p<0.001). Spontaneous baroreflex did not change, and quality of life only marginally increased in the yoga group.
conclusionRespiratory yoga training may be beneficial for the elderly healthy population by improving respiratory function and sympathovagal balance. Trial Registration CinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00969345; trial registry name: Effects of respiratory yoga training (Bhastrika) on heart rate variability and baroreflex, and quality of life of healthy elderly subjects.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.