EFFECT OF ASANAS ON MUSCLE STRENGTH - A VOLUNTEER BASED STUDY
*Dr. Vaishali Arya, Dr. Mangalagowri V. Rao and Prof. K. N. Singh
ABSTRACT
Yoga Sutra defines Asana as the stable and comfortable posture.[1] It brings about strength, lightness and health.[1] It is a dynamic position, in which the practitioner is perfectly poised between activity and non-activity, being doing and "being done by" the posture. Scientific studies on yoga demonstrate that yoga improves dexterity, strength and musculoskeletal coordination of the practitioners. Muscular strength is the ability of a muscle or muscles group to exert force to overcome the most resistance in one effort. Strength can be measured based on the amount of weight lifted. A healthy volunteer based study was conducted to know the effect of Asanas on the muscle strength. 60 volunteers were registered, and they were randomly allocated into two groups 30 volunteers each. Further, the volunteers were advocated to practice a set of selected Asanas for the period of 4 months. The assessment of muscle strength was done by means of hand grip dynamometer and Student self evaluation scale in the both groups before intervention, followed by the recording of observations at an interval of 1 month and 3 months respectively and after the period of 4 months,significant increase in the muscle strength was observed in the intervention group.
Keywords: Yoga, Muscle strength, Asana, Blood Pressure.
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