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September 18, 2026Frontiers in Human NeuroscienceOpen Access

Relaxation in action: enhanced vagal modulation during Virabhadrasana (a standing yoga-asana) despite orthostatic demand suggests efficient regulation of effort

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Why the study?

Does effort-reduced yogic Virabhadrasana improve heart rate variability compared to standard Virabhadrasana in experienced yoga practitioners?

Population

8 experienced female yoga practitioner-teachers (median age: 58 years; median yoga experience: 19 years)

Comparison

Effort-reduced 'yogic' Virabhadrasana performed… vs Virabhadrasana performed without deliberate…

Design

Cross-sectional

Key result

Effort-reduced yogic Virabhadrasana significantly increased high-frequency power (median 206.08 vs 28.84 ms2) and RR interval compared to Virabhadrasana performed without deliberate effort reduction.

Authors

LPLeena PhadkeRBReinhard BoegleSBS. N. Bhavsar

Discussion

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Overview

Effort modulation in similar yoga-āsana may engage distinct autonomic organizations; leaves open clinical relevance pending larger controlled studies.

Key Points

  • To determine whether consciously reducing effort while holding a standing yoga posture alters autonomic regulatory organization compared to holding the same posture without effort reduction.
  • Conducted a within-subject exploratory study in 8 experienced female yoga practitioner-teachers (median age: 58 years; median yoga experience: 19 years).
  • Recorded heart rate variability across three 5-minute conditions: free-standing, effort-reduced 'yogic' Virabhadrasana, and standard Virabhadrasana performed without deliberate effort reduction.
  • Evaluated physiological indices using Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with Holm–Bonferroni corrections.
  • The effort-reduced yogic posture demonstrated significantly increased RR interval, high-frequency (HF) power, and normalized HF units compared to the standard posture.
  • Effort-reduced performance resulted in significantly lower normalized low-frequency (LF) units, LF/HF ratio, and DFAα1 values, indicating preserved vagal flexibility despite continuous orthostatic demand.

Structured PICO

Does effort-reduced yogic Virabhadrasana improve heart rate variability compared to standard Virabhadrasana in experienced yoga practitioners?

P
Population
8 highly experienced, healthy female yoga practitioner-teachers (median age 58 years) participated in a within-subject exploratory study comparing autonomic dynamics during different standing postures.
I
Intervention
Effort-reduced 'yogic' Virabhadrasana (Y) performed for 5 minutes
C
Comparator
Virabhadrasana (E) performed without deliberate effort reduction for 5 minutes, and free-standing
O
Outcome
Heart rate variability (HRV) indices including RR interval, HF power, HF (nu), LF (nu), LF/HF ratio, and DFAα1surrogate

Main Result

Effect estimate: r = 0.89

Absolute Event Rate: 206.08% vs 28.84%

p-value: p=0.02

Effort-reduced yoga postures enhance vagal modulation and preserve autonomic flexibility compared to standard postural engagement, suggesting physiological cost depends on the organization of regulation.

Limitations

  • Small sample size (N=8)
  • Restricted to experienced female yoga practitioner-teachers
  • Fixed sequence of experimental conditions may introduce order effects
  • Respiratory activity was not independently monitored
  • Cortical and muscular activity were not directly measured
  • Small sample size
  • Limited to experienced female practitioners

Cite This Study

Phadke et al. (2026) studied Healthy yoga practitioner-teachers (n=8). Yogic Virabhadrasana (Y) vs. Virabhadrasana (E) was evaluated on High frequency absolute power (HF ms2) (r = 0.89, p=0.02). Effort-reduced yogic Virabhadrasana significantly increased high-frequency power (median 206.08 vs 28.84 ms2) and RR interval compared to Virabhadrasana performed without deliberate effort reduction.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aad0a69de0393d728b88e45https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2026.1887856
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