The objective was to assess the effects of prenatal yoga on heart rate variability (HRV) and cardio-respiratory synchronization, used as proxies of autonomic nervous system activity. Sixty-nine healthy pregnant women were included; 33 in a yoga group attending at least one 90-min yoga class weekly throughout pregnancy, and 36 controls not involved in formal pregnancy exercise programs. Measurements of the time domain (SDNN, standard deviation of regular R-R intervals, and RMSSD, square root of mean squared differences of successive R-R intervals) and frequency domain (ln(LF/HF), natural logarithm of low-frequency to high-frequency power) HRV indices, as well as cardio-respiratory synchronization indexes were performed once per trimester before and after yoga or 30-min moderate-intensity walk. A statistical comparison was performed using a three-way analysis of the variance (p < 0.05 significant). Both the time domain and frequency domain HRV indices showed significant shifts towards parasympathetic dominance following yoga when compared to the controls throughout pregnancy (p = 0.002 for SDNN, p < 0.001 for RMSSD, and p = 0.006 for ln(LF/HF), respectively). There was a statistically non-significant trend towards higher synchronization between respiratory frequency and heart rate following yoga vs. controls (p = 0.057). Regular prenatal yoga was associated with enhanced parasympathetic activation persisting throughout pregnancy.

Izhodišče: Joga sodi med najbolj priporočljive oblike telesne dejavnosti nosečnic. Ni povsem jasno, ali so koristi vadbe joge v nosečnosti večje od koristi drugih oblik telesne dejavnosti. Namen članka je predstaviti sistematični pregled randomiziranih raziskav, ki so učinke vadbe joge primerjale z učinki drugih oblik telesne dejavnosti v nosečnosti. Metode: Pregledali smo zbirko Medline. Uporabili smo deskriptorja iz tezavra Medical subject headings (Mesh) joga (»yoga«) in nosečnost (»pregnancy«). Vključili smo randomizirane raziskave, objavljene med letoma 1996 in 2019, ki so vadbo joge primerjale z drugo obliko telesne dejavnosti v nosečnosti. Rezultati: Od leta 1996 je bilo objavljenih 20 randomiziranih raziskav, ki so preučevale učinke joge na perinatalne izide. Le pet raziskav je primerjalo učinke joge z učinki drugih, za nosečnice priporočenih oblik telesne dejavnosti. V primerjavi z vodeno telovadbo ali redno hojo je bila vadba joge v nosečnosti povezana z manjšim tveganjem za duševne motnje, bolezni zvišanega krvnega tlaka, nosečnostno sladkorno bolezen, zastoj plodove rasti in prezgodnji porod. Zaključek: Joga je varna oblika telesne dejavnosti v nosečnosti, ki ugodno vpliva na zdravje nosečnice in ploda. Do danes objavljeni podatki kažejo, da so koristi vadbe joge v nosečnosti lahko večje od koristi drugih oblik telesne dejavnosti.

Studies have shown that practicing yoga during pregnancy beneficially affects maternal and neonatal outcomes. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of prenatal yoga on the microvascular circulatory system via non-invasive measurements of retinal blood vessels. We included 29 women who practiced prenatal yoga in the study. There were no statistically significant differences in arteriolar and venular diameters pre- vs. post-90 min yoga practice (150.5 ± 11.4 μm pre- vs. 151.2 ± 10.2 μm post-yoga; p = 0.53 for arteriolar and 221.8 ± 16.1 μm pre- vs. 223.2 ± 15.7 μm post-yoga; p = 0.51 for venular diameters). The current study demonstrated the feasibility of the setup. More extensive studies are needed to determine the potential microvascular effects of practicing yoga throughout pregnancy.