BACKGROUND: Practicing high-frequency yoga breathing (HFYB) induced a hypermetabolic state in a single subject during the practice but the effect has not been studied in multiple practitioners.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Healthy male volunteers (n=47, group mean age ±S.D., 23.2±4.1 years) were recruited as an experimental group and another twenty volunteers were recruited as a control group. The experimental group practiced either HFYB (Breath rate 1.0 Hz) or breath awareness (BAW) on two separate days. The sequence was reversed for alternate participants. The control group was assessed under similar conditions while sitting at ease. The breath rate (RR), tidal volume (VT), ventilation (VE), VO2, VCO2, arterial PCO2 and energy expenditure (EE Kcal/day) were assessed for 35 minutes using an open circuit oxygen consumption analyzer. The assessment period was divided into before, during and after conditions. Repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare data recorded during and after the two practices with data recorded before. Before-After comparisons in the control group were with paired t-tests.

RESULTS: The most relevant significant changes were increases in VE, VO2, VCO2 and EE during HFYB, while the same variables decreased during the control period. However after HFYB there was no change in VO2 or EE, although VE decreased as it did after the control period.

CONCLUSIONS: HFYB induces a hypermetabolic state for the duration of the practice which returns to baseline after HFYB suggesting a possible application for HFYB in hypometabolic states.

Keywords: Energy Metabolism - physiology, Case-Control Studies, Metabolism - physiology, Oxygen Consumption - physiology, Pulmonary Ventilation - physiology, Respiratory Function Tests, Respiratory Mechanics - physiology, Yoga, young adult