For example, muscular strength was often solely evaluated using the hand-grip dynamometer, 3, 15 cardiorespiratory endurance was estimated from the Astrand-Rhyming 8 or Harvard step tests, 7, 9 and body composition was assessed from skinfold thickness. Furthermore, most yoga studies conducted to date have derived their results from indirect measurements and estimates. However, no research to date has addressed the effects of hatha yoga on all the health-related aspects of physical fitness, which are defined as muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, cardiorespiratory endurance, and body composition, 14 in the same subjects. 8 In addition, decreases in percent body fat 9, 10 and increases in forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1.0) 11- 13 have also been observed. Studies have shown that yoga practice can lead to improvements in hand-grip strength, 5 muscular endurance, 6 flexibility, 7 and maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2max). Like other forms of yoga, hatha yoga is purported to quiet the mind and focus the concentration however, of all the yoga traditions, the importance of physical fitness is emphasized most in hatha yoga. 2 Hatha yoga, one of the many forms or paths of yoga, focuses on overall fitness through pranayamas (breath-control exercises), asanas (yoga postures), and chanda (meditation). 1 According to the first comprehensive textual description of yoga, the Yoga Sutras, written in the third century B.C., yoga is the cessation of thought waves in the mind. Yoga is an ancient Indian practice, first described in Vedic scriptures around 2500 B.C., which utilizes mental and physical exercises to attain samadhi, or the union of the individual self with the infinite. These findings indicate that regular hatha yoga practice can elicit improvements in the health-related aspects of physical fitness. Absolute and relative maximal oxygen uptake increased by 7% and 6%, respectively (p<0.01). Isokinetic muscular strength for elbow extension, elbow flexion, and knee extension increased by 31%, 19%, and 28% (p<0.05), respectively, whereas isometric muscular endurance for knee flexion increased 57% (p<0.01). The subjects were evaluated before and after the 8-week training program. Each yoga session consisted of 10 minutes of pranayamas (breath-control exercises), 15 minutes of dynamic warm-up exercises, 50 minutes of asanas (yoga postures), and 10 minutes of supine relaxation in savasana (corpse pose). Subjects were required to attend a minimum of two yoga classes per week for a total of 8 weeks. Ten healthy, untrained volunteers (nine females and one male), ranging in age from 18–27 years, were studied to determine the effects of hatha yoga practice on the health-related aspects of physical fitness, including muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and pulmonary function.
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