RESULTS

Results are given in Table I. We could obtain HRV data only for 20 subjects in the shavasan group and 14 subjects in the control group. HRV could not be reliably determined from ECG with excessive noise, artifacts and these were not used for analysis. At baseline, the shavasan and the control groups were comparable in terms of their resting HR, systolic pressure (SP), diastolic pressure (DP), rate-pressure product (RPP), LF power, HF power and total RR spectral power (P>0.2). Even after the six weeks training period, there were no significant differences between the shavasan and the control groups in terms of the above-mentioned parameters (P>0.05).

In the shavasan group, we noted a significant decrease in resting HR following training (P=0.01). As noted in Table I, there was a decrease in SP (P=0.05), DP (P=0.03) and RPP (P=0.012) following shavasan training. In the control group, there was an insignificant decrease in resting HR (P=0.023) and the mean SP and mean DP did not change in this group after the sixweek period. An insignificant decrease in RPP was noted in this group (P=0.035). In the shavasan as well as the control groups, changes in LF power, HF power, and total spectral powers after the six-week period were not significant (P>0.25).