Journal of Complementary and

Integrative Medicine
Volume 5, Issue 1 2008 Article 22

Heart Rate Dynamics during Shambhavi

Mahamudra- A Practice of Isha Yoga

Nandakumar Selvaraj, Centre for Biomedical Engineering,

Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, New Delhi 110 016,
India
Nandeeshwara B. Shivplara, Department of
Neurophysiology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi 110
060, India
Manvir Bhatia, Department of Neurophysiology, Sir Ganga
Ram Hospital, New Delhi 110 060, India
Jayashree Santhosh, Computer Services Centre, Indian
Institute of Technology-Delhi, New Delhi 110 016, India
Kishore Kumar Deepak, Department of Physiology, All
India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110608, India
Sneh Anand, Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Indian
Institute of Technology-Delhi, New Delhi 110 016, India

Recommended Citation:
Selvaraj, Nandakumar; Shivplara, Nandeeshwara B.; Bhatia, Manvir; Santhosh, Jayashree;
Deepak, Kishore Kumar; and Anand, Sneh (2008) "Heart Rate Dynamics during Shambhavi
Mahamudra- A Practice of Isha Yoga," Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine:
Vol. 5: Iss. 1, Article 22.
DOI: 10.2202/1553-3840.1137

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 Heart Rate Dynamics during Shambhavi
Mahamudra- A Practice of Isha Yoga
Nandakumar Selvaraj, Nandeeshwara B. Shivplara, Manvir Bhatia, Jayashree
Santhosh, Kishore Kumar Deepak, and Sneh Anand

Abstract
This study was designed to quantify and compare the instantaneous changes of heart rate
variability (HRV) during Shambhavi Mahamudra, a practice of Isha yoga. It includes major stages
viz. Sukha pranayam, 'AUM' chanting, rapid breathing, and relaxed sitting. The standard lead II
electrocardiogram (ECG) signals were acquired from eight healthy, yoga practitioners while
performing various stages of Shambhavi Mahamudra. The short-term HRV were extracted from
ECG, and analyzed using time, frequency-domain and Poincaré plot methods. The results showed
a combination of increased sympathetic tone and withdrawal of vagal tone during Sukha
pranayam, an increased sympathetic tone during `AUM' chanting, and withdrawal of vagal tone
during rapid breathing. The HRV descriptors were not significantly different during relaxed
sitting.

KEYWORDS: electrocardiogram, heart rate variability, autonomic nervous system

Author Notes: The authors acknowledge their gratitude to ISHA Yoga foundation, Coimbatore,
Tamilnadu, India; Department of Neurophysiology & World Academy of Science and Spirituality
(WASS), Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi, India, and Dr. Ashok K Jaryal,
Dept. of Physiology, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.

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 Selvaraj et al.: Heart Rate Dynamics during Shambhavi Mahamudra

1. INTRODUCTION

Yoga emphasizes the use of deep relaxation and rhythmic breathing techniques to
help balancing the sympathetic and vagal activities of autonomic nervous system
(Bernadi et al., 2001; Singh et al., 2004). The yogic practices involve a
combination of seated postures and breathing techniques that lead to
psychological (Kirkwood et al., 2005; Michalsen et al., 2005; Schell et al., 1994)
and physiological benefits (Chaya et al., 2006; Harinath et al., 2004; Khanam et
al., 1996; Sivasankaran et al., 2006). Therefore, considerable attention has been
increasingly focused to study the potential benefits of yoga and relaxation
techniques. Yoga appears to be a complementary treatment of depression (Shapiro
et al., 2007) and it can provide a comparable improvement in stress, anxiety and
health status compared to relaxation (Smith et al., 2007). The effect of various
yoga practices on heart rate has been attempted (Telles et al., 1995; Telles &
Desiraju 1993; Shannahoff-Khalsa & Kennedy 1993). However, very few studies
have explored the effect of yoga on hear rate dynamics i.e. Heart Rate Variability
(HRV) (Cysarz & Büssing 2005; Peng et al., 2004; Peng et al. 1999; Raghuraj et
al., 1998).
The HRV represents the sequences of successive heart beat intervals of
electrocardiogram (ECG). It is analyzed traditionally by time domain, frequency
domain and nonlinear methods to investigate the autonomic influence on the
cardiovascular system. The classical spectral analysis of HRV signal showcases
sympathetic activity by the low frequency (LF) band power and parasympathetic
activity by the high frequency (HF) band power. The LF/HF ratio and LF and HF
band powers are good indicators for the assessment of alterations in the
autonomic nervous system behavior (Task Force 1996).
Shambhavi Mahamudra is a unique practice being taught and internationally
patented by Isha Foundation, a non profit corporation in U.S.A, and a registered
charitable trust in India. It includes the following major stages. (1) Sukha
Pranayam: Sit comfortably and erect in a meditative posture. Keep the palms on
the knees. Breathe slowly in and out for up to six times a minute. Observe the
natural breathing and feel the abdominal movement while breathing. (2) AUM
chanting: Utter the sound loudly ‘Aah’, ‘Ooh’, and ‘Mmm’ combined as ‘AUM’
less than six times a minute. (3) Rapid breathing: Rapid inhalation and exhalation
on the surface of the nostril. It is also called as Vipareeta Swasan. (4) Relaxed
sitting with the eyes open and without any body movements.
The instantaneous changes of heart rate dynamics while performing various
stages of Shambhavi Mahamudra has not been recognized. Hence, this study is
designed to quantify and compare the alterations of short-term HRV during
sequential performance of various stages of Shambhavi Mahamudra.

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 Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Vol. 5 [2008], Iss. 1, Art. 22

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 Subjects and experimental protocol

Eight healthy trained yoga practitioners (age 26 ± 2 years, 5 male and 3 female)
were included in this study. The experimental protocol was approved by the
institutional ethical committee, Sir Gangaram Hospital, Rajinder Nagar, New
Delhi, India. An explanation of experimental protocol was provided and formal
written consent was obtained from each subject. The standard lead II ECG signals
were recorded with the rate of 200 Hz from the subjects in a normal cross legged
sitting posture i.e. Sukhasana at each stages of the experimental protocol using
Grass Telefactor (Comet) Digital Video-EEG system (Astro-Med Inc., USA). The
experiments were conducted at Dept. of Neurology, Sir Gangaram Hospital,
Rajinder nagar, New Delhi.
The experimental protocol was comprised of normal resting condition prior to
yoga practice (baseline) for 5 min followed by different stages of Shambhavi
Mahamudra for 19 min. The recommended duration of each stages of the above
yoga practice was as follows: Sukha pranayam (5 min), ‘AUM’ chanting (21
times in 5 min), rapid breathing (3 min) and relaxed sitting (6 min).

2.2 HRV analysis

The short-term ECG recordings of 2 min from each stage of experiment were
considered for HRV analysis, since the patented protocol of Shambhavi
Mahamudra recommends performing rapid breathing for 3 min. Therefore two
minute short segments of ECG were extracted uniformly from all the stages of
protocol for HRV analysis. The ECG signals were ensured free of ectopy, missing
data and interference noise. The R wave peaks of ECG signal were identified by a
second derivative based peak detection algorithm developed in Matlab® 7.0 (The
Mathworks Inc., MA, USA) to construct RR tachogram. The HRV analysis was
carried out for the tachograms in time-, frequency-domain and Poincaré plot
methods using HRV analysis Software v1.1, Finland. The statistical time domain
measures such as mean Normal-to-Normal (NN) interval, standard deviation of
NN interval (SDNN), the square root of the mean squared differences of
successive NN intervals (RMSSD), the number of interval differences of
successive NN intervals greater than 50 ms (NN50) and the percentage of NN50
(pNN50) were calculated from the RR tachogram (Task Force 1996).
As RR interval samples are not uniform, the series of RR intervals was cubic
interpolated and re-sampled at a rate of 4 Hz so as to obtain RR intervals evenly
spaced in time, before spectral analysis of HRV signal (Carvalho et al., 2003). An
advanced detrending procedure based on smoothness priors approach with

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 Selvaraj et al.: Heart Rate Dynamics during Shambhavi Mahamudra

identity matrix was used to remove the very low frequency non-stationary trend
from the HRV signal (Tarvainen et al., 2002). Then, the power spectrum was
obtained using Welch periodogram with 1024 samples, Hanning window and 50
% overlap. From the non-parametric Welch HRV periodogram, the low
frequency (0.04 to 0.15 Hz), high frequency (0.15 to 0.4 Hz) band powers and
LF/HF ratio were calculated. The standard Poincaré plot descriptors: short-term
HRV (SD1) and long-term HRV (SD2) were calculated from RR intervals
(Piskorski & Guzik, 2005).

2.3 Statistical analysis

The time-domain, frequency-domain and Poincaré plot parameters were obtained

for all the eight subjects at every stages of experimental protocol. The normality
test conducted at every stage found normal distribution of all the parameters. The
paired t-test was performed to study the statistical significance of all the
parameters at each stage of protocol with respect to baseline.

3. RESULTS

A distinct low frequency influence of heart rate intervals were observed during
Sukha pranayam and ‘AUM’ chanting. Meanwhile, the modulations of HRV
during rapid breathing were not apparent. The HRV parameters quantified for
eight subjects under the mentioned conditions were graphically represented in
figure 1(a-i). During Sukha pranayam, significant increase in heart rate
(767.8±72.9 ms vs. 730.1±65.6 ms, p<0.05), LF band power (192.9±153.1 ms2 vs.
482.8±256.8 ms2, p<0.05) and LF/HF ratio (1.93±2.26 vs. 10.88±7.13, p<0.001)
were noticed against their baseline values. In addition, significant decrease in
RMSSD (42.6±15.2 ms vs. 32.4±14.9 ms, p<0.05) and SD1 (30.43±10.88 ms vs.
23.15±10.66 ms, p<0.05) were also observed against their baseline. These
observations indicated the combination of increased sympathetic tone and
withdrawal of vagal tone during Sukha pranayam.
Meanwhile, significant increase in heart rate (767.8±72.9 ms vs. 703.3±58.5
ms, p<0.01), SDNN (48.0±9.7 ms vs. 77.4±28.4 ms, p<0.05), SD2 (72.45±20.43
ms vs. 112.7±37.43 ms, p<0.05), LF band power (192.9±153.1 ms2 vs.
1061±782.9 ms2, p<0.05) and LF/HF ratio (1.93±2.26 vs.7.07±3.93, p<0.05)
indicated an increased sympathetic tone during ‘AUM’ chanting compared to
baseline. Further, significant decrease in SDNN (48.0±9.7 ms vs.28.7±0.01 ms,
p<0.001), RMSSD (42.6±15.2 ms vs. 15.5±5.7 ms, p<0.001), pNN50 (16.38±7.82
% vs. 1.14±1.23 %, p<0.001), SD1 (30.43±10.88 ms vs. 11.1±4.11ms, p<0.001)
and HF band power (153.6±126.8 ms2 vs. 20.29±8.6 ms2, p<0.05) indicated

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 Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Vol. 5 [2008], Iss. 1, Art. 22

mainly the withdrawal of vagal tone during rapid breathing compared to baseline.
All the HRV descriptors were not significantly different during relaxed sitting.

Figure 1. The HRV parameters computed for group of subjects (n=8) during five
stages of the experiment: BL, baseline; Pran, Sukha pranayam; AUM, ‘AUM’
chanting; RB, rapid breathing; RS, relaxed sitting. († p<0.001; ‡ p<0.01; *
p<0.05; NS, not significant)

(a) (b) (c)

(d) (e) (f)

(g) (h) (i)

4. DISCUSSION

The investigation of different kinds of meditation has recently gained attention.

The most meditation techniques make use of low frequency breathing patterns
which in turn modulate the instantaneous heart rate. The present results
demonstrated the combination of increased sympathetic tone and withdrawal of
vagal tone during Sukha pranayam. Similarly, Zen and Kinhin meditations
involved with low breathing frequencies led to an increase in LF and decrease in
HF of HRV (Cysarz & Büssing, 2005). A distinct yoga practice that involves

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 Selvaraj et al.: Heart Rate Dynamics during Shambhavi Mahamudra

breathing exclusively through the right nostril called as surya anuloma viloma
pranayama was shown to have a sympathetic stimulating effect (Telles et al.,
1996).
The rosary prayer and yoga mantras which involve slow and deep breathing
have been demonstrated to synchronize cardiovascular rhythms and enhance
respiratory sinus arrhythmia (Bernadi et al., 2001). A significant increase in
sympathetic tone during ‘AUM’ chanting demonstrated in the present study
supports the above. An increase in cutaneous peripheral vascular resistance was
observed during ‘OM’ meditation, which also indicated the effect of increase in
sympathetic tone (Telles et al., 1995). The chanting of mantra ‘AUM’ is a
combination of ‘Aah’, ‘Ooh’, and ‘Mmm’ in Shambhavi Mahamudra, where as
the ‘OM’ meditation was mental chanting of ‘OM’ which may be a combination
of ‘Ooo’, ‘Hhh’ and ‘Mmm’.
A significant decrease in RMSSD, pNN50, HF band power and SD1, and a
significant increase in heart rate reflect the withdrawal of vagal activity during
rapid breathing. High-frequency fluctuations are mediated solely by the
parasympathetic system (Pomeranz et al., 1985), while sympathetic excitation
contributes markedly to low frequency regulation (Pagani et al., 1997). Penttilä et
al. (2001) have also reported that rapid breathing decreased the HF component,
but had no effects on the other measures SD1, RMSSD and pNN50. Raghuraj et
al. (1998) demonstrated that after the Kapalabhati, a distinct rapid breathing
practice, the sympathovagal balance was enhanced towards sympathetic side
accompanied by decrease in vagal tone. In the absence of stress, the practice of
rapid breathing interspersed with adequate pauses of slow breathing, may provide
tool for relaxation and vivid imagery (Deepak 2002).
As most of the yoga and meditation techniques make use of specific
procedures which basically influence the breathing frequency, the investigation of
cardio-respiratory synchronization with respiration monitoring may provide more
insight into the physiological basis of yoga practices (Cysarz & Büssing 2005;
Peng et al., 2004). The dissimilarities between studies on the physiological
correlates of yoga may be due to the variability of yoga/meditative practices as
well as the individual abilities of each practitioner. The present study has
analyzed the impact of yoga practice on HRV using short-term ECG recordings of
2 min instead of recommended 5 min duration, since Shambhavi Mahamudra
recommends performing rapid breathing for 3 min, two minute short segments of
ECG were extracted uniformly from all the stages of protocol for HRV analysis.
The very low frequency (VLF) assessed from the short-term recordings (≤ 5 min)
is a dubious measure (Task Force 1996), nevertheless the LF and HF measures are
not affected by the short-term recordings of 2 min. Moreover, RMSSD has been
included in the present HRV analysis, since it is less affected by the changes in
the respiratory pattern during uncontrolled conditions and it can be measured

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 Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Vol. 5 [2008], Iss. 1, Art. 22

from shorter segments of electrocardiogram data (Penttilä et al., 2005). However,

measurement and analysis of longer ECG segments at each stages of Shambhavi
Mahamudra may further give insight into the heart rate dynamics of its each stage.
Further, the scientific basis of their arrangement and duration of each stages of
Shambhavi Mahamudra, and the effect of its long term practice in state of health
have to be evaluated.
Thus, the current observational study showed that Sukha pranayam and ‘AUM’
chanting both induce very similar heart rate dynamics, and led to a highly
synchronized interaction between heart rate and respiration which was reflected
by the increase in sympathetic tone. Therefore, the recitation of mantra or the
prayer has a similar effect to that of slow breathing. During rapid breathing, the
autonomic control is the reduced vagal activity. In conclusion, the present study
showed a combination of increased sympathetic tone and withdrawal of vagal
tone during Sukha pranayam, increased sympathetic tone during ‘AUM’ chanting
and withdrawal of vagal tone during rapid breathing.

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