What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Other. Population: Healthy adults (n=45). Intervention: Rajyoga meditation vs. Untrained novices. Primary outcome: Change in root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) from pre- to during-meditation (p=<0.001).

March 19, 2026Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology0 citations

Acute effects of Rajyoga meditation on heart rate variability in older trained practitioners and younger novices: A quasi-experimental repeated measures study

Q: What are the key findings of this study?

Rajyoga meditation significantly increased heart rate variability, with trained practitioners exhibiting a 154.6% greater increase in RMSSD compared to untrained novices.

Q: What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to examine the acute effects of Rajyoga meditation on heart rate variability in trained and untrained individuals.

VRVivek RanjanNational Institute of Technology Durgapur JKJan KučeraUniversity of Bern RSRaghuwansh Singh

Key Result

Rajyoga meditation significantly increased heart rate variability, with trained practitioners exhibiting a 154.6% greater increase in RMSSD compared to untrained novices.

Key Points

This study aims to examine the acute effects of Rajyoga meditation on heart rate variability in trained and untrained individuals.
Participants included 21 trained meditators and 24 untrained individuals.
Heart rate variability was assessed using electrocardiogram recordings before, during, and after meditation.
Statistical analyses were conducted using Friedman tests and Bonferroni corrections to evaluate differences among phases.
Heart rate variability significantly increased during meditation compared to pre- and post-meditation phases.
Trained practitioners showed a 154.6% greater increase in root mean square of successive differences and 54.7% greater increase in SDNN.
Responses indicated a shift towards parasympathetic dominance during meditation.

Structured PICO

Does Rajyoga meditation improve heart rate variability in healthy trained and untrained individuals?

Population

45 healthy adults (21 trained meditators, mean age 52.76; 24 untrained novices, mean age 25.92)

Intervention

10 minutes of guided Rajyoga meditation (RM)

Comparator

Pre-meditation baseline and post-meditation phases (within-group), and untrained novices (between-group)

Outcome

Acute changes in heart rate variability (HRV) markers (including SDNN, RMSSD, LF, HF, TP, SD1, SD2)surrogate

Rajyoga meditation acutely increases parasympathetic dominance and heart rate variability, with significantly greater autonomic responsiveness observed in long-term trained practitioners compared to novices.

Main Result

Absolute Event Rate: 10.57% vs 4.15%

p-value: p=<0.001

Limitations

Predominantly male participants, potentially introducing gender bias
Significant age disparity between trained and untrained groups
Did not directly assess stress levels via subjective scales or cortisol measurements

Abstract

Objectives: Engaging in meditation contributes to both mental and physical well-being. This quasi-experimental repeated measures Study aimed to investigate the impact of Rajyoga meditation (RM) on acute, reproducible changes in heart rate variability (HRV) markers, reflecting enhanced parasympathetic activity in trained and untrained individuals. Materials and Methods: This study included 45 participants, comprising 21 healthy trained meditators (10 females/11 males) and 24 healthy untrained individuals (5 females/19 males). The trained group ( n = 21), who practiced RM daily for at least 1 year (30–60 min/session, 7 days/week, with ≥90% adherence), was recruited from the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Centre in Durgapur, India, and the untrained group ( n = 24, no prior meditation experience), the electrocardiogram (ECG) was recorded for 30 min in 3 phases, 10 min before, 10 min during and 10 min after meditation for both the trained and untrained participants. Relative risk (RR) intervals were extracted from the ECG for the analysis of HRV. The Bonferroni test was employed as a post hoc analysis following a non-parametric Friedman test to assess statistical differences among the phases. Results: During meditation, a significant increase in HRV parameters, including the standard deviation of RR intervals (SDNN), low-frequency component, total power and long-term variability (SD 2 ) was observed compared to pre- and post-meditation phases in both trained and untrained individuals (Friedman test with Bonferroni correction, P 0.01), indicating a reversible effect. Conversely, a significant decrease in the inverse average length of acceleration/deceleration segments and the percentage of short segments was observed during meditation compared to before and after meditation in both groups ( P < 0.01), with values returning to baseline post-meditation. The secondary analysis, using Quade’s nonparametric analysis of covariance to control for the significant age difference between the trained and untrained groups, using age as a covariate, revealed that the magnitude of change (Δ) in HRV from pre- to during-meditation was significantly greater in the trained group across nearly all key HRV parameters. Most notably, trained practitioners exhibited a 154.6% greater increase in root mean square of successive differences (Trained: Δ = 10.57 ± 4.36 ms; Untrained: Δ = 4.15 ± 1.84 ms; P < 0.001) and a 54.7% greater increase in SDNN (Trained: Δ = 14.24 ± 2.70 ms; Untrained: Δ = 9.20 ± 2.55 ms; P < 0.001), indicating a significantly enhanced parasympathetic and overall autonomic response to meditation. This pattern of greater responsiveness among trained participants was consistent across the majority of parameters, including SD1 (154.5% greater increase) and SD2 (43.6% greater increase). Conclusion: These results suggest that RM promotes a shift in sympathovagal balance towards parasympathetic dominance, highlighting its potential benefits for autonomic regulation.

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