Effect of Yogic Sukshma Vyayama on Cardiopulmonary Functions in Young Adults: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background : Due to the rise in unhealthy behaviors and overindulgent lifestyles, cardio-pulmonary health problems have the highest prevalence worldwide, warranting the need for alternative preventive measures. Therefore, this study evaluated the effect of a 12-week yogic sukshma vyayama intervention (YSVI) on cardio-pulmonary functions in undergraduate male students. Methods: This was a two-armed (experimental group: YG and control group: CG), non-randomised quasi-experimental study with a cohort of 80 healthy male students (mean ± standard deviation: 19.59 ± 0.98, range: 18-25 years) who were equally allocated to YG and CG. The participants of YG received YSVI for 12 weeks, and the CG underwent their usual routine. Selected cardiopulmonary indices were assessed at baseline and after the YSVI. A split-plot ANOVA was conducted to compute between-group, within-group, and interaction effects, along with Bonferroni-adjusted post-hoc tests for inter- and intra-group comparisons using SPSS version 28.0. Results: The effect size of 12-week YSVI was significant in improving lung age (0.51, p = 0.027), chest expansion (-1.171, p < 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (0.554, p = 0.018), heart rate (0.917, p < 0.001), mean arterial pressure (0.513, p = 0.029), rate pressure product (0.834, p = 0.001), and double product (0.953, p < 0.001) of YG participants compared to their controls but statistically insignificant for rest outcomes. Conclusions: YSVI was associated with improvements in several cardiopulmonary functions among young adults. As a low-cost, accessible, and safe practice, it may serve as a preventive and promotive add-on intervention. Further multi-site randomized studies are warranted to confirm these findings.