Effects of sirsasana (headstand) practice on autonomic and respiratory variables

The present study had two aims: (1) To assess heart rate variability (HRV) along with non-specific autonomic measures (used in earlier studies), before and after two minutes of the head stand. (2) To compare changes in two categories of subjects, i.e., those who practiced the headstand in a traditional way (without any support) and those who used the support of the wall (a present day adaptation). The subjects were forty male volunteers (age range 19 to 36 years), with twenty subjects under each category. The following changes were significant after the practice, compared to values at baseline. (i) Both categories had an increase in the power of the low frequency component (LF) and a decrease in the high frequency component (HF) of the HRV spectrum, increased LF/HF ratio, and decreased heart rate. (ii) Subjects who practiced the head stand with the support of a wall showed reduced finger plethysmogram amplitude suggesting increased sympathetic vasomotor tone. (iii) Practicing the headstand without support was associated with an increase in the skin conductance level, suggestive of increased sympathetic sudomotor tone. Hence, both categories showed similar changes in the HRV components though changes in sympathetic vasomotor and sudomotor activity were different. These changes suggest sympathetic activation, irrespective of the method of practice.