Exploring the effect Of Nadishodhana Pranayama with Antar and Bahir Kumbhaka in Lung Volume & Oxygen Saturation among Healthy Individuals - A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Much of the scientific literature supports the concept that daily lifestyle habits and actions impact long-term and short-term health & quality of life. Exposure to occupational hazards also contributes to the development and promotion of COPD occurrence in India. Respiratory problems are common in athletes with an incidence rate of 4.7 per athlete per year, where breathing can have the effect of limiting performance from a physiological point of view, or on the other hand, breathing can also regulate the psychological status. The process involves a sequence of activation and deactivation of respiratory skeletal muscles and bronchial smooth muscles may lead to oxygen desaturation. A recent study indicates that aerobic exercise raises pulmonary venous pressure at high exercise loads causing interstitial fluid accumulation and reduced oxygen transport. Elevated pulmonary venous pressure is directly related to left ventricular(LV) end-diastolic pressure which increases at a a high level of exercise as ventricles fail to relax diastole causing pulmonary congestion. They should enhance their ability to withstand very high cardiac outputs during maximal exercise while having low pulmonary venous pressure. Yoga is a systematic conscious process for accelerating the growth of a human being from animal level to divinity. Our body is made up of five sheaths of existence namely Anamaya kosha, Pranamaya kosha, Manomay kosha, Vijnanamaya kosha, and Anandhamaya kosha respectively. Disturbances in the Pranamaya kosha percolate the Manomaya kosha which leads to the development of Anadhija vyadhis. Regular yoga practices improve the aerobic capacity in both males and females by regulating the autonomic nervous system. It improves lung function and better utilization of oxygen at the cellular level by increasing the VO2 max. Pranayama is a science that helps to regulate vital energies in terms of regulation of breath by gaining control over ANS. Controlled breathing can help in turn in controlling both sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. The practice of Nadishodhana pranayama enhances the voluntary regulation of rhythmic breathing and maintains homeostasis of the body. During the practice, the subject will concentrate on breathing, improving pulmonary function. The oxygen demand will be improved When practiced in a relaxed state. The practice involves slow deep inspiration(Puraka), internal breath retention(Antar Kumbhaka), near complete expiration(Rechaka), and external breath retention(Bahir Kumbhaka) Normal subjects find it easier to hold their breath at lung volume near total lung capacity (TLC), partly due to increased oxygen stored in the lungs at high lung volume which leads to substantial prolongation of breath holding time attributing to neural input from pulmonary stretch receptors. There will be an increase in end-expiratory pressure during breath holding, as expiratory muscles increase their activity while ventilatory drive improves in CO2 breathing. Various studies have reported the effect of various pranayamas on cardiovascular changes, pulmonary function, and cerebrovascular hemodynamics but only a few studies have reported on the effect of Kumbhaka. Kumbhaka is an important phase of Nadishodhana pranayama where the retention of air is done under the voluntary control of the cerebral cortex over breathing centers in the brain stem which inhibits the stretch reflex mechanism. And to the best of our knowledge there is no study reporting the lung functions of Nadishodhana pranayama with Antar and Bahir Kumbhaka practice in healthy individuals or any pathological disorders. Hence, this study aimed to explore the effect of Nadishodhana pranayama with Antar and Bahir Kumbhaka on lung volume & oxygen saturation among healthy individuals.