THE EFFECT OF YOGIC EXERCISES ON FITNESS COMPONENTS

Dr. P. Ravi Kumar*

INTRODUCTION

Yoga is an Indian physical Culture, which can be practiced by anyone and which does not require any special equipment or clothing. But it requires a small amount of space and a strong desire for a healthier life.

Yoga helps in building physical and mental health of an individual. Yogasana is a scientific procedure of exercise which affects the inmost parts of the body. Now the Indian physical culture is accepted world over and around 28 countries are now enjoying the fruits of our culture.

Yoga has become a part and parcel of Physical Education and it is getting its due weightage at various levels such as Schools, Colleges, Clubs and Senior Citizens are also doing yogic practices to delay the ageing process and to avoid various medical ailments.

Studies on Padmasana, Siddhasana, Pachimottanasana, Bhujangasana, Dhanurasana, Kurmasana etc., have revealed some degree of specificity in terms of Cardio-respiratory adjustments. Various studies have shown that regular practice of asanas and pranayama can help aliments like arthritis, arteriosclerosis, chronic fatigue, astama, varicose veins, heart conditions, temperature, heart beat and blood pressure. Today there can no longer be any doubt of yoga’s effectiveness as curative and preventive medicines.

Keeping this as a back ground it is thought fit to find out how far this yogic practices will have the effect on Flexibility, Agility, Muscular Endurance and Circulo-Respiratory Endurance on girls students below 12 years. Healthy subjects who consistently oblige conducting yogic practices, which were designed for the High School level, were choosen after careful personal enquiry. The subjects of 12 years age group were selected randomly from A.P. Residential Girls Schools, Hasanparthy, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh. Less weight and over weight girl students were eliminated from testing. The body weights of girl students whose matching weight (+ or – 5 to 10 Kgs) are taken into consideration.

Purpose

The purpose of study was to investigate the effect of yogic exercises on Flexibility, Agility, Muscular Endurance and Circulo-Respiratory Endurance.

Material Methods

The present study was conducted on 50 girl students of 12 years age group. None of the student has previously done any yogic exercise. All the subjects were divided into two groups namely yogic exercise group and control group, each group consists of 25 subjects. During the training period the experimental group underwent their respective training programme i.e. yogic exercises of 45 minutes a day for 6 days a week for 12 weeks. The control group did not participate in any specialised programme.

Flexibility, Agility, Muscular Endurance and Circulo-Respiratory Endurance was measured by AAHPERD Health related Physical Fitness Tests i.e. Sit and Reach, Shuttle Run, Bent Knee Sit ups and 9 mins Run/Walk test respectively.

All the scores were recorded before and after the training. Appropriate statistical treatment was administered. The statistical derivations includes Mean, Standard Deviation and ‘T’ test.

RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS

The results are given in Tables -1 and 2. The tables displayed the data of Flexibility, Agility, Muscular Endurance and Circulo-Respiratory Endurance. The difference between pre test mean and post test means are presented in each table and ‘T’ value is also indicated. The Table-1 shows that the control group has no significant difference between the pre test and the post test means for the four parameters. The Table - 2 shows that the yogic (experimental) group shows significant difference between the pre test and the post test at 0.001 level of significance for Flexibility, Agility, Muscular Endurance and Circulo-Respiratory Endurance.

The present study establishes the fact that, the yogic training for the subjects definitely enhances the Flexibility, Agility, Muscular Endurance and Circulo-Respiratory Endurance.

TABLE – 1

VARIATION OF MEAN, STANDARD DEVIATION AND ‘T’- TEST OF CONTROL GROUP.

*Number of subjects is given in the parenthesis.

TABLE – 2

VARIATION OF MEAN STANDARD DEVIATION AND ‘T’ TEST OF EXPERIMENTAL GROUP.

*Number of subjects is given in the parenthesis.

** Significant at 0.01 level of confidence.

REFERENCES

1. Bramachari, D., Sahni, S., Vachani. V., Ran. K., and Rai. L: A comparative study of some individual yogic postures on ventilator responses in Yoga proficient subjects. J.Res. Edu. Ind. Med. 2, 1989, pp 7-17.
2. Bramachari, D., Sahni, S., Vachani. V., Ram. K., and Rai. L: Cardio-ventilatory responses to yogic practices of Muktasana, Paschimottanasana and Dhanurasana. J. Res. Edu. Ind. Med. 2, 1989, pp 198-29.
3. Harison, H. Clarke,. David H. Clarke: Application of Measurement to Physical Education, 6^th, Prentice Hall Inc., Engle Wood Cliffs, New Jersey, pp 153-159.
4. Yobu Test measurement and evaluation, Greece printers madras, pp 435-513, 1998.

* Professor of Physical Education, National Institute of Technology, Warangal (TS) India.