IndianKharya,

210 Gupta,Pharmacol
J Physiol Deepak, Sagar, Upadhyay,
2014; 58(3) Kochupillai
: 210220 and Anand Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2014; 58(3)

Original Article

Effect of controlled breathing exercises on the psychological status and

the cardiac autonomic tone : Sudarshan Kriya and Prana-Yoga

Chhaya Kharya 1*, Varun Gupta 1, Kishore Kumar Deepak 2, Rajesh Sagar 3,
Ashish Upadhyay4, Vinod Kochupillai 5 and Sneh Anand 1
1
Center for Biomedical Engineering,
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) & Indian Institute of Technology
New Delhi
Departments of 2Physiology, 3Psychiatry, 4Biostatistics
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi
5
Former HOD & Prof. IRCH,
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi

Abstract
Objective : The objective of the study was to observe the effect of controlled breathing exercises including
Sudarshan Kriya (SK) and Prana-Yoga (PY) on the psycho-physiological status.
Methods : The study group included 60 healthy volunteers (M:30, F:30) in the age group of 18 to 30 years
(21.33.2 yrs), randomly divided in to three groups of 20 subjects each (1) The SK group (2) the PY group
and the (3) Control group. The psycho-physiological data was collected at the following four time interventions:
Baseline, 6th, 60th and the 150th day. Psychological assessment was done using questionnaires and for
the autonomic tone quantification Heart Rate Variability (HRV) analysis was done using the standard lead
II electrocardiogram recordings.
In a post-hoc analysis each group was further sub divided in to the following two patterns, based on the
baseline values of normalized Low Frequency (LF) power (cutoff 64 ms 2) : (i) Pattern A-Subjects with low
level LF power, and (ii) Pattern B- subjects with high level LF power.
Results : The stress management skills have shown significant increase in SK group but not in PY and
Control group. Subjects of SK, PY, and control group showed significant increase in LF value and LF:HF
ratio for pattern A and significant decrease for pattern B. Plotted LF value for pattern A & B in SK and PY
practitioners showed convergence, coming to a mean value over the period of 150 days.The LF:HF ratio curve
plotted over time for pattern A & B showed convergence in SK group only. No such convergence in LF value
& LF/HF ratio for pattern A & B was seen in control group.
Conclusion : In conclusion, Sudarshan Kriya positively modifies stress coping behavior and initiates appropriate
balance in cardiac autonomic tone.

*Corresponding author : Introduction

Chhaya K harya, Researc h Of ficer, Biom edic al
Engineering Unit, All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110 029, Phone : +91-11-26594611;
Email : chhayaji@hotmail.com
(Received on January 27, 2014)
Prana yam a is an ancient Indian pr act ice t hat
optimizes psycho-physical status and improves life
style. It involves controlled breathing maneuvers that
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2014; 58(3)
help to fine tune the Autonomic Nervous System
(ANS). Prana means breathe or life and ayama
means a pause, ergo, Pranayama is a pause in the
movement of breath that is achieved by breathing
ex erc ise s ( 1) and whic h s up pos e dly hel ps in
balancing the neuro-psycho axis tilt.
Physical and mental stress results in many psycho-
physiological disorders and consequently manifest
a s d if f e r en t c a r dio v as c u la r , n e ur o lo g i ca l an d
behavioral ailments (2). Psycho-physiological health
benefits of pranayama practices have also been
p r o v e n f r o m im p r o v e m e n t t o p r e v e n t i o n a n d
management of the diseases (3).
According to the ancient yogic literature, certain
breathing practices have been known to exhibit
inhibitory as well as stimulating effects which induce
calmness and arousal that alter the autonomic status
and improve the psychological parameters. Fast
breathing (Kapal-bhatipranayama) instantly modifies
the autonomic status by increasing the sympathetic
tone accompanied with a reduced parasympathetic
tone (4, 5) while slow breathing increases the
parasympathetic tone and decreases sympathetic
activity and breathing through a particular nostril and
Om meditation alters the metabolic and autonomic
activities (6, 7, 8). Contrary results have also been
reported stating increased sympathetic tone and
withdrawal of vagal tone during Sukh Pranayama,
which involves conscious, slow and deep breathing
with equal duration for inhalation and exhalation (9).
The authors also reported increased sympathetic tone
during Om chanting (9). Studies on Pranayama
practice like Sudarshan Kriya are known to alleviated
expression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder,
stress-related medical illnesses, and rehabilitation
of criminal offenders (10). Reduction in stress in
advance stage patients of breast cancer was also
observed with practice of SK and pranayama (11).
The improvement in quality of life and sympathetic
nervous system in diabetic patients with SK and
pranayama along with standard treatment has also
been reported (12, 13).
The present study was designed to find the effects
of Sudarshan Kriya and Prana Yoga practices on
psychological status and cardiac autonomic tone.
Psycho-physiological Effects of Breathing Exercises 211
W e carried out psychological assessm ents for
depression, anger, life style management and stress
management skills along with standard short term
heart rate variability (HRV) to quantify the cardiac
autonomic tone.
Materials and Methodology
Su bjects sel ecti on
Sixty healthy volunteers (30 males and females each,
from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and the
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi) of
similar socio-economic background, in the age group
of 18 to 30 years (21.33.2 yrs), were randomly
divided in to three groups of 20 subjects each (1)
the Control group (2) the Sudarshan Kriya (SK) group,
(3) the Prana-Yoga (PY) group. A training workshop
was organized to explain the design of study to the
students. Subject Information sheet was given and
written informed consent was taken from each
volunteer.
Protocol
Baseline data (before any intervention) was collected
for volunteers. Six days of Sudarshan Kriya and
Prana-Yoga training and practice under guided
supervision was provided to respective groups. Control
group did light recreational activity (leisure walking)
for the same duration. The data acquisition was done
post 6 days, 60 days and 150 days of practices.
The subjects were asked to practice their respective
exercises five days a week, till the final intervention
at 150 days.
For psychological assessment standard scales of
Depression, Anger, Life style management and Stress
Management skills were used (14, 15). A continuous
5 minute ECG was acquired from the BIOPAC MP
150 module for the purpose of HRV.
Data acquisition and analysis
The MP-150 (Biopac Systems), a computer-based
data acquisition system with software Acknowledge
3.8.2, was used to acquire the ECG signals on
212 Kharya, Gupta, Deepak, Sagar, Upadhyay, Kochupillai and Anand
standard lead II configuration. An ECG amplifier
(ECG100C) was used to amplify the ECG signal in
the frequency pass-band of 0.05-35 Hz with a gain
of 1000. Disposable Ag-AgCl electrodes were used
to record the ECG signal. The data was recorded for
duration of f ive minutes. The ECG signal was
processed for calculating the Heart Rate Variability
(HRV) using in-house developed software namely,
HRV-Soft. The frequency domain parameters including
Low frequency (LF) and High frequency (HF) band
power and LF/HF ratio were calculated for ECG
acquired at every time point. The details of protocol,
data acquisitions and analysis are shown in Fig. 1.
The procedure for doing Sudarshan Kriya and Prana-Yoga
Sudarshan Kriya was taught and supervised by an
expert teacher from Art of Living organization as
earlier described (16) and Prana-Yoga was taught
by an expert in Pranic Practices based on ancient
Indian Vedic scriptures (17). Subjects of the each
group did their respective practices for 30 minutes
for 5 days in a week till 150 days. Control group did
30 minutes of light physical recreational activity such
as leis ure walk ing. Brief proc edur e f or do ing
Sudarshan Kriya and Prana-Yoga is attached as
Appendix 1.
Sudarshan Kriya Cardiacautonomic
n=20(19)* tone:
Electrocardiogram
Lead II ECG
Prana-Yoga n=20
(16)* Baseline
SubjectiveAssessment
Control Group :Psychological Scales
n=20 (15)*
Fig. 1 : Study Protocol for data acquisition points and analysis. *The figure in parenthesis shows the number of
subjects actually included and data analyzed after excluding dropouts and those who had noisy signal.
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2014; 58(3)
Statistical anal ysis
All psychological parameters and HRV parameters
were compared at baseline between all 3 groups using
one way-ANOVA, and the overall p-value was taken
as si gni f ic a nt at eq ua l t o o r l ess t h an 0.0 5.
Psychological, HRV parameters and mean R-R
interval were compared within the group at each time
point the using Generalized Estimating Equation
(GEE). After Bonferroni correction p value equal to
o r le s s t h a n 0 . 0 1 wa s t a k e n a s s t a t i s t ic a l l y
significant. The statistical analysis was done using
Stata 9 software.
Results
Comparisons showed that all psychological and HRV
parameters for SK, PY and control groups were
statistically non-significant (Table-I).
Ps yc ho log i cal p ara m e te rs
A statistically significant decline at 150th day was
observed in Depression (22.75.1 to 18.64.8, P-
value 0.01) and Anger (33.87.5 to 25.76.8 P-value
0.01) scales in the SK group only. Similarly, a
Sympathetic tone
Heart Rate Variability Parasympathetic
Autonomic balance
After 6 After 60 After
days days 150 days
Anger, Depression
Life, Stress Management Skills
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2014; 58(3) Psycho-physiological Effects of Breathing Exercises 213

TABLE I : Baseline psychological and HRV parameters.

Control group Sudarshan Kriya group Prana-Yoga Group P

Parameters (n=15) (n=19) (n-16) value
MeanSD MeanSD MeanSD

Psychological parameters
Depression (Max. score 40) 21.9 5.14 22.7 5.1 18.3 5.2 0.03*
Anger (Max. score 65) 27.7 8.2 33.8 7.5 32.4 7.9 0.08
Life style management
(Max. score 37) 39.1 3.5 38.6 6.3 40.5 7.9 0.66
Stress management (Max. score 85) 59.3 4.3 56.4 7.7 63.6 11.1 0.06
Autonomic (HRV) parameters
LF (nu, ms2) 57.1 18 55.5 22.6 56.75 23.0 0.97
HF (nu, ms2) 42.8 18 44.5 22.7 43.2 2 3 0.97
LF/HF Ratio 1.9 1.5 2 2 2.12 1.8 0.68

*Adjusted.

significant improvement in Stress management skills

(56.77.7 to 66.76.8, P-value 0.01) was also
observed in SK group only. Scores of life style
management scales revealed improvement in both
SK (38.66.3 to 45.26.5, P-value 0.01) and PY group
(40.57.8 to 455.6, P-value 0.02). During intervening
period, the improvements were visible from 6th day
onwards in SK group for all psychological parameters
and in PY group for life style management skills. In
control group no significant changes were observed
except in stress management skill only on 6th day
of the study (Table-II).

Considering that the baseline values for psychological

scores were different for different individuals, the
percent change for baseline is shown in Fig. 2. The
results clearly show significant changes as
mentioned in Table-II.

Heart rate vari ability (cardiac autonomic tone)

Mean R-R interval (RRI) within the group and in

between the group at every time point was found
statistically non-significant (Table-III).
Fig. 2 : Effect of practice of Sudarshan Kriya and Prana-Yoga
on psychological parameters (all values are expressed
Als o over all gr oup ana lys is als o d id not give a s a p e rc e n t a ge o f t h e B a s e l i n e v a lu e .
statistically significant results in LF, HF power and Depre ss i on ;
LF/HF ratio. It was observed that the normalized LF Management;

power at baseline has shown large variations;

therefore a post-hoc analysis was performed. Each
group was further classified in to the following two
patterns based on the baseline values of normalized
Low Frequency (LFnu) power (cutoff 64 ms 2): (i)
Pattern A Subjects with LF power lower than 64
as Sympathetic hypo-reactor type, and (ii) Pattern
B Subjects with LF power more than 64 value as
Sympathetic hyper-reactor type; shown in Fig. 3,
such classification have been earlier used by Okinaka
(18) using Mecholyl test response at rest.
214 Kharya, Gupta, Deepak, Sagar, Upadhyay, Kochupillai and Anand Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2014; 58(3)

TABLE II : MeanSD and p-values of psychological parameters at Baseline, post 6 days, 60 days, and 150 days of practice.

Baseline 6 Days 60 days 150 Days Overall Posthoc P-value

Groups MeanSD MeanSD MeanSD MeanSD P-value
0-6 Days 0-60 Days 0-150 Days

Control (n) (n=15) (n=14) (n=15) (n=13)

Depression 21.9 5.1 20.6 3.3 20.1 3.8 18.1 4.8 0.09 0.26 0.23 0.07
Anger 27.7 8.2 28.9 8.3 27.7 6.7 27.9 7.9 0.58 0.25 1.00 0.37
Life style 39.1 3.5 40.5 3.4 41.9 5.3 39.2 5.8 0.57 0.13 0.04 0.83
Stress Mgmt 59.3 4.3 56.9 4.7 58.7 6.2 61.6 7.2 0.22 0.01 0.65 0.29

Sudarshan Kriya (n) (n=19) (n=19) (n=18) (n=17)

Depression 22.7 5.1 19.3 3.0 18.8 3.9 18.6 4.8 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
Anger 33.8 7.4 30.3 6.8 29.3 6.5 25.8 6.8 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.01
Life style 38. 6.3 43.5 7.4 43.0 7.2 45.2 6.5 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
Stress Mgmt 56.7 7.7 61.5 7.1 62.7 6.9 66.7 6.8 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01

Prana-Yoga (n) (n=16) (n=15) (n=16) (n=14)

Depression 18.3 5.2 18.5 3.9 17.6 3.8 17.9 5.0 0.70 0.88 0.59 0.84
Anger 32.4 7.9 29.5 5.9 30.3 6.5 29.2 7.9 0.14 0.02 0.15 0.11
Life style 40.5 7.8 44.5 6.3 46.4 4.6 4 5 5.5 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.02
Stress Mgmt 63.6 1.0 62.5 9.5 64.9 7.5 66.7 9.9 0.14 0.14 0.44 0.23

TABLE III : The R-R interval (expressed in ms, inverse of heart rate), MeanSD
and P-values at varying time point for three groups.

Baseline 6 Days 60 days 150 Days Overall Posthoc P-value

Groups MeanSD MeanSD MeanSD MeanSD P-value
0-6 Days 0-60 Days 0-150 Days

Control (n=15) (n=12) (n=12) (n=10)

Mean RRI 788 107 757 9 4 965 9 6 744 117 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.7

Sudarshan Kriya (n=17) (n=19) (n=17) (n=16)

Mean RRI 791 104 776 103 771 107 779 9 5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.6

Prana-Yoga (n=14) (n=14) (n=14) (n=14)

Mean RRI 693 7 3 710 6 9 693 6 4 729 8 2 0.2 0.4 1.0 0.2

Overall p value between groups 0.5

LF <64 ms2 Sub Group: Pattern A

Baseline normalized
LF Power
LF >64 ms2 Sub Group: Pattern B

Fig. 3 : Sub-grouping of subjects on the basis of resting cardiac sympathetic tone (LF value represents normalized value).

The values of mean LF, HF, and LF/HF for pattern A observed, as shown in Figures (4-i and 4-ii).
& B were statistically compared between baseline
and 150 days of practices and found significant as
Discussion
shown in Table-IV.

W hen the mean values of Pattern A & B of all three M i n d - b o d y i n t e r v e n t i o n s , s u c h a s yo g a a n d

groups were plotted, the converging trends were pranayama practices are known to be useful for
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2014; 58(3) Psycho-physiological Effects of Breathing Exercises 215

TABLE IV : Statistically significant values of LF, HF & LF/HF for pattern A & B of CG, SK & PY groups.

Normalized LF Normalized HF LF/HF Ratio

Group n Sub- Baseline Post 150 days Baseline Post 150 days Baseline Post 150 days
group
pattern P- P- P-
MeanSD MeanSD value MeanSD MeanSD value MeanSD MeanSD value

Control 5 A 49.37 6.65 62.56 13.93 0.04 50.62 6.65 37.43 13.93 0.04 1.00 0.27 2.07 1.36 0.04
5 B 73.50 10.53 49.31 17.71 0.04 26.49 10.53 50.68 17.71 0.04 3.24 1.57 1.19 0.82 0.04
Sudarshan Kriya 10 A 45.66 23.56 60.88 18.07 0.01 45.26 23.38 39.11 18.07 0.01 1.49 1.54 2.38 2.27 0.01
6 B 69.94 12.00 61.82 9.12 0.02 30.058 12.00 38.17 9.12 0.02 3.06 2.45 1.76 0.76 0.02
Prana-Yoga 6 A 41.53 24.68 60.81 16.65 0.02 58.46 24.68 39.18 16.65 0.02 1.33 1.91 2.27 2.27 0.02
8 B 68.16 13.84 51.44 16.96 0.02 31.83 13.84 48.55 16.96 0.02 2.71 1.59 1.36 1.08 0.02

(4-i) (4-ii)

Fig. 4 : These figures show LF/HF ratio (4-i) and LF (4-ii) parameters for patterns A & B of Sudarshan Kriya, Prana yoga, and
Control groups. In Sudarshan-Kriya group the LF values converged at the 150th day, while the LF/HF ratio converged
after the 60th day itself. In Prana-Yoga group the LF values gradually converged after the 60th day but LF/HF ratio
did not show similar pattern. In Control group the no particular pattern was observed for any parameter.
216 Kharya, Gupta, Deepak, Sagar, Upadhyay, Kochupillai and Anand
preventing mental and physical disorders (19, 20).
Controlled breathing used for treatm ent of
stress, anxiety, and depression mediate response
b y b a l a n c i n g t h e a u t o n o m ic n e r v o u s s ys t e m
(21).
In the present study we saw a statistically significant
reduction in the scores for scales of depression and
anger in the SK group, which indicates improved
efficacy for emotion control while no such change
was seen in the subjects of PY and control group.
Similarly, earlier studies on the SK have demonstrated
its anti-depressant effect, (10). In the present study
we also observed a statistically significant increase
in the scores of the scales of the stress management
skills and life style management for the SK group.
These changes were observed by the 6th day of the
study and continued for further evaluations made on
the 60th and 150th day. Prana-Yoga group also
revealed a continued statistically significant increase
in the life style management skills. Similarly, other
studies have documented lowered blood lactate level,
improved anti oxidant status and increased optimism
after the practice of SK (16, 22).
Described by Gelhorn (23), the Mecholyl Test was
one of the methods for recognizing the functional
state of the autonomic nervous system at rest by
identifying the patterns of the blood pressure curve.
Using the Mecholyl test, Okinaka (20) classified the
blood pressure response curve in to the following
three types (a) S-type (Sympathetic hyper-reactor),
(b ) N- type (Nor m - reac tor ) an d th e (c ) P- type
(Sympathetic hypo-reactor). King (1958) supported
process-reactive classification based on Mecholyl
test for research in schizophrenia (24). Kawakami
(1989) carried out a study on vegetative dystonia
patients diagnosed with functional symptoms. He also
used the Mecholyl Test, as classification of subjects
based o n autonom ic re spons e. Su bjec ts were
analyzed for psychosomatic disorders. He observed
that different types of autonomic types exhibited
different relationship with disease typing (25). In
terms of psychologic classification, the subjects are
divided into Type A and Type B and the correlation
between personality type and autonomic nervous
system has been revealed by many studies. Type A
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2014; 58(3)
personality is found to be highly associated with
sympathetic hyper reactivity and it may trigger
myocardial infarction and related cardiovascular
insults (26, 27). These studies justify our
cl as si f i c a ti on o f su bj ec t s i nt o p a tt er n A & B
subgroups. Therefore, the subjects were classified
likewise Okinaka (18), but here based on baseline
normalized LF power (cutoff 64 ms 2), in to (i) Pattern
A, (subjects having low sympathetic tone) and (ii)
Pattern B, (subjects having high sympathetic tone)
for each of the 3 groups i.e. the Control, SK and the
PY groups.
The trends in the plotted LF value and LF:HF ratio
for Sudarshan Kriya and Prana-Yoga were found
different from the control group.Plotted graphs of LF
value and LF:HF ratio for Sudarshan Kriya group
showed convergence in the pattern A and B, to a
mean value over the period of 150 days, as shown
in Fig . 4 (a) & ( b ). Sim ult ane o usly sign if ic ant
improvements in anger, depression, stress and life
management skills were also found. It indicates that
Sudarshan Kriya initiates appropriate adjustment to
balance cardiac autonomic tone and which possibly
facilitates stress coping behavior and better emotion
control. Similarly Prana-Yoga practitioners also
showed convergence in the plotted LF values for
pattern A & B. In PY group LF decreased more in
pattern B subjects as compared to SK group but did
not reflect improved trend in LF:HF ratio plot. At the
same time change in anger and stress management
skills also found non-significant. Long term cyclic
fluctuations over months in LF and HF and their ratio
is a unique observation. As all the subjects were
norm al so t his s hould be consider as norm al
physiological response. With the practice of controlled
breathing it has been seen that overall HRV increases
and large increase is seen in parasympathetic
component (HF) then sympathetic component (LF).
Therefore behavioral intervention tones up overall
autonomic activity including some changes in LF
components.
Respiration can induce os cillations in var ious
autonomic drives and it has been confirmed with
many studies on different pranayama techniques (4-
9). Sudarshan Kriya is a rhythmic cyclic breathing
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2014; 58(3)
at varying rates and depths interspersed with definite
pauses. Prana-Yoga is set of breathing exercises
with focus on uni-nostril, bi-nostril breathing and
mainly low frequency breathing with varying physical
focusing. Ujjayi breath is common to both controlled
breathings and it is hypothesized that it increases
vagal modulations i.e. respiratory sinus arrhythmia
(RSA) and HRV, which are possibly necessary for
cardiovascular recovery from psychological stress
(28). Brown (2005) in his model proposed that slow
yogic breathing induces oscillations in the blood
pressure and enhanced RSA. This strong respiratory
rhythm in the vagus nerve along with inpiratory
resistance induces increase in the parasympathetic
and sym pat hetic inp ut t o the s inoa trial n ode.
Increased HRV and RSA activate hypothalamic
vigilance area and induce a clam but alert state (21)
Voluntary slow deep breathing functionally may reset
the autonomic nervous system and synchronizes
brain with the autonomic response (29, 30). Bhastrika
pranayama and high frequency breathing during
different cyclic rhythms of Sudarshan Kriya induces
sym pathet ic stim ulation c onsequently dram a tic
hemodynamic responses occurred with compensatory
adjustment in local vasculature. As hypothesized
earlier by one of the co-authors, repeated episodes
of sympathetic activation results in hypocapnic
internal milieu, and this altered sympathetic activity
develops better ability to tolerate stress. Repeated
rapid breathing interspersed with adequate pauses
of slow breathing results in episodes of sympathetic
excitation and lowering, which improves recovery of
sympathetic tone with each episode, consequently
it provides relaxation with clear thinking (31). In the
present study only in Sudarshan Kriya group, we
found improved cardiac autonomic tone along with
the improvement in the life and stress management
skills and better emotional control, which supports
the above mentioned hypothesis (31).
Thus it is apparent that elevated health benefits due
to controlled breathings are mainly supposed to
Psycho-physiological Effects of Breathing Exercises 217
mediate through improvement in autonomic balance.
The question arises that, is there more robust basis
for their psycho-physiological changes ? Sudarshan
Kriya has been shown to have gene transcription
regulation which explains its multifarious health
benefits in immunity, age, cell death and stress (32).
Similarly a recent research from Norway showed rapid
gene expression alterations in practitioners of SK
(33). These studies provide the basis for their longer
term cell biological and higher level health effects of
SK.
In summ ary, Sudarshan Kriya and Prana-Yoga
provides a kind of autonomic training that ultimately
strengthen, stabilize and enhance the flexibility of
the autonomic nervous system. More long term multi-
centric studies are required to further validate the
study findings. The study points out the fact that
autonomic controls (LF and HF) show long term
cyclic fluctuations over months. A further study with
periodical recording of autonomic nervous system
drives may help to decipher this issue.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Sudarshan Kriya practice induces
appropriate adjustments in the balance of cardiac
autonom ic tone for better psycho-physiological
f u n c t io n i n g . R e g u l a r p r a c t i c e o f S u d a r s h a n
Kriya positively modifies stress coping skills as well
as cardiac autonomic tone with better emotional
control.
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to Dr. Ved Vrata Aloke for
teaching Prana-Yoga practices and Dr. Jayashree
Santhosh, Mr. Abhinav Gupta for their continuous
invaluable support. The authors are grateful to the
Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family
W elfare for their financial assistance.
218 Kharya, Gupta, Deepak, Sagar, Upadhyay, Kochupillai and Anand Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2014; 58(3)

Appendix 1
Brief procedure for Sudarshan Kriya and Prana-yoga
Sudarshan Kriya

S.No. Name of Controlled breathing Details of procedure Total duration (min);

Breathing frequency Repetitions (cycles);
Physical posture Rest periods (sec.)
Breathing pattern

1. Vibhag pranayama 1) First stage; 1) 3 min;

3 stage Pranayama in Ujjaayi breathing Place thumb on hip bone, 8 cycles;
(Constriction of pharynx while breathing fingers towards the navel 30 sec.
through nostril) region.
Slow breathing 3 cycles per minute (0.05Hz) 2) Second stage; 2) 3 min;
Sit in thunderbolt pose (Vajrasan), eyes closed. Place thumb under the armpit, 8 cycles;
Inhale in Ujjaayi breath, hold, exhale and hold elbows parallel to the ground, 30 sec.
for the count 4;4;6;2 respectively, makes one fingers towards the chest region.
cycle. Each stage is followed by resting 3) Third stage; 3) 2-3 min;
position, palm on knees facing the ceiling. Place palm on the shoulder blades, 6 cycles;
elbows facing the ceiling, biceps 30 sec.
touching to the ears.

2. Bhastrika pranayama Place loose fist in front of the shoulders, 3-4 min;
Rapid exhalation at 20 times per minute (0.3 Hz) elbows touching to the trunk. While inhaling 3 rounds;
Sit in thunderbolt pose (Vajrasan), eyes closed. in normal breath, move hands upward and 30 sec.
Inhale in and out in normal breath open the fist, return to the initial position after every round.
20 times breath-in and breath-out makes one while exhaling.
round, Each round is followed by resting position,
palm on knees facing the ceiling.

3. "OM" chanting Take normal breath in and chant 1 min;

Three times per minute (.05 Hz) "OM" while exhaling. 3 times;
Sit in sukhasan, eyes closed. 30 sec.

4. Sudarshan-Kriya Inhale and exhale 20 times in long 7-8 min;

Rhythmic, cyclic normal breathing in normal breathe followed by 40 breaths 3 times
slow (12 breaths/min, 0.2 Hz), in medium pace and then 40 breaths
medium (30 breaths/min, 0.5 Hz) and in fast pace.
Fast cycles (60 breaths/min, (1.0 Hz).
Sit in sukhasan, eyes closed
Do three rounds of 20-40-40 breaths
in slow, medium and fast pace.

5. Rest in shavasan Take attention to different parts of 10 min;

Lying down on the back, keeping the body from toe to head. 1
hands to the side of the body and
legs one foot apart.

Prana-Yoga

S.No. Name of Controlled breathing Details of procedure Total duration (min);

Breathing frequency Repetitions (times);
Physical posture Rest periods (sec.)
Breathing pattern

1. Hams Pranayama (slow breathing) Listen to the sound so produced, 2 min;

5 breaths/min (0.08 Hz) HUM while exhaling, and 'SA' 10 times;
Sit with erect spine, eyes closed, while inhaling. 30 sec.
adopt the relaxed-Dhyan1-Mudr1,
(the index finger-tip touching the thumb-tip),
placing both the palms on the knees.

2. (a) Chandrabhedi Pranayama (a) Inhale & exhale through (a) 1 min;
5 breaths/min (0.08 Hz) left nostril. 5 times;
Sit with erect spine, eyes closed, 30 sec.
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2014; 58(3) Psycho-physiological Effects of Breathing Exercises 219

Breathing in and out through left nostril only.

(b) Suryabhedhi Pranayama (b) Inhale & exhale through (b) 1 min;
5 breaths/min (0.08 Hz) right nostril. 5 times;
Sit with erect spine, eyes closed, 30 sec.
Breathing in and out through right nostril only.

3. Anulome-Vilome Pranayama 1. Inhalethrough the left nostril. 2-3 min;

2 cycles/min (0.03Hz) 2. Exhale through the right nostril. 5 times;
Sit comfortably, spine erect, eyes closed, 3. Inhale through right nostril. 30 sec.
adopt Dhy1na-mudr1 by left hand and 4. Exhale through left nostril.
rest on the left knee.
Breathing via one nostril at a time,

4. Kapal-bhati Pranayama (i) Abdominal; Inhale and stretch up (i) 1 min;

Pranayama in 3 stages the torso and hold, then exhale 5 times;
5 breaths/min (0.08 Hz) forcefully from lower lungs. 30 sec.
Sit comfortably, spine erect, eyes closed (ii) Thoracic; Inhale deeply by expanding (ii) 1 min;
(i) Abdominal; Adopt Adi-mudra by keeping ribs under the chest, keep the navel 5 times;
the thumb inside the fist, and straighten pulled in, and then exhale forcefully. 30 sec.
the body, with stretched arms resting (iii) Clavicular; Inhale deeply; raise both (iii) 1 min;
and pressing against the knees. arms and torso up, Exhale forcefully 5 times;
(ii) Thoracic; Position as above, Place the with lowering the arms slowly to 30 sec.
fist on the knees, while elbows gently shoulder level.
touching the sides of your torso.
(iii) Clavicular Position as above,
Fold both the arms at elbow to
bring palms to shoulder level.

5. Bhramari Pranayama Inhale through the teeth, placing the 1 min;

5 breaths /min. (0.08 Hz)
Sit comfortably, spine erect, eyes closed
Place the four finger-tips of both the
palms on the temple of head. Gently try
to press the skull from above. Thumb
on the lower lid of both the ears.
tongue at the gums and producing a 3-5 times;
sizzling 'Seetkaree' sound. Keep the 15 sec.
upper and lower teeth lines apart.
While exhaling, produce a bee-humming
sound at the larynx and the vocal cord.

6. Tribhandha Kumbhaka Keep the in-held breath to the capacity. 1 min;

2 breaths/min (0.03 Hz) While exhaling release abdominal lock, 1 time;
Sit erect comfortably, eyes closed, throat locks and finally root lock. 5 min.
Inhale deeply, hold and pull in anus for
Moola bandha, the root lock, squeeze in
the navel for Uddiyana-Bandha, the abdominal
lock, and finally lower the chin for Jalandhara
Bandha, the throat lock. Together they are
known as Tribandha Kumbhak.

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