the effect of 8 weeks yoga training on respiratory function and heart rate of non-athlete females

abstract introduction: yoga as an exercise to improve the physical, psychological, social health condition, and promote the feeling of health in healthy people in the medical education community is considered. the aim of this research was to find the effect of 8 weeks yoga training on respiratory function and heart rate of non-athlete females. methods: 30 students of khorasgan azad university who were studying at this year. 1390 were selected and divide into two groups randomly: 15 in experimental and 15 in control groups. before starting a yoga training course the spirometers and resting pulse rate (pr) were recorded. variables dealing in pulmonary function were: forced vital capacity (fvc). forced expiratory volume in first second (fev1), peak expiratory flow (pef), peak inspiratory flow (pif), tidal volume (t.v), resting respiratory rate (rr). the yoga training courses were two months, three times a week and each time one and half hours, containing yoga training and pranayama. results: at the end of this training, pulmonary function and pulse rate recorded in the same situation again, and findings analyzed by (t-test) and (p<0.05) at the end following conclusion were observed: resting pr and rr. showed a significant decrease and fev1 showed a significant increase: but in other variables (fvc), (pef), (pif) and (t.v) no change was seen. conclusions: results of this study showed that 8 weeks of practicing yoga and pranayama to increase vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in the first second and decreased heart rate and respiratory rate at rest is. keywords: yoga, pranayama, spirometric indices, heart rate