earticle

영어

This research aims to investigate the effects of a 12-week yoga exercise on the exerciser’s autonomic nervous system and lung capacity, and thereby providing a basic data on the psychologically and physically stabilizing effects of yoga exercise. In order to analyze the material characteristics of the collected data through technical statistics and to verify the research purpose and research hypothesis based on the research model, the statistical program SPSS Ver. 20 was used, and as for the data treatment method, T-test was conducted, which produced the following conclusion. First, as a result of investigation of the pre-and post-experiment effects on the autonomic nervous system, it was turned out that there were significant results in terms of autonomic nervous system stability (p =.049), HF(p =.19), and parasympathetic system activity (p=.016). Second, there were no significant results in the pre- and post- experiment of lung capacity (FVC, FEV, FVC/FEV1). Third, there were significant results in the pre- and post- experiment, in terms of body weight (p=.30), BMI (p=.38), body fat ratio (p=.31), and body fat amount (p=.13). Based on these results, it was concluded that the 12 week-yoga exercise has significant influence on the autonomic nervous system and body composition. This study verified that application of a yoga program not accompanied by breath technique or meditation but only comprised of physical movement brings positive change physically, as well as in terms of the psychological and mental stability. For people approaching yoga as an exercise, it also produces psychological stabilization effects, enabling the yoga exercisers to control stress and anxiety as well as improve their health, thereby contributing to a physically and mentally balanced and healthy life of modern people.