Different yoga positions lower, increase IOP
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Key takeaways:
- Yoga headstand, bellows breath and control of breathing technique increased IOP.
- Some asanas, including downward-facing dog and sun salutation, lowered IOP.
Yoga headstand, bellows breath and control of breathing technique transiently worsened IOP in a cohort of practicing yoga volunteers and may cause pressure-related damage to the eye, according to research published in Maedica.
“The results of this study can be extrapolated to the prevention and control of IOP in glaucoma patients,” Arvind Kumar Morya, MBBS, MS, MNAMS, from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and colleagues wrote.
To identify which yogic postures are beneficial and which should be avoided among individuals with ocular hypertension and glaucoma, Morya and colleagues conducted a prospective, observational study of 107 adult volunteers (mean age, 42.6 years; 55.1% men) at a yoga facility in Western Rajasthan in India. Individuals performed all 10 asanas for 5 minutes per day, waiting 5 to 10 minutes between each position, at least 5 days a week. Researchers measured IOP before and after each pose at 4-week intervals for 12 weeks.
According to results, skull shining breath, sun salutation, downward-facing dog, standing forward bend, legs up the wall pose, deep meditation and alternate breathing techniques reduced IOP, while yoga headstand, bellows breath and control of breath increased IOP and may cause pressure-related damage to the eye.
“It is recommended that healthy individuals practicing yoga headstand (Shirshasana), bellows breath (Bhastrika Pranayama) and control of breath technique (Pranayama) have a regular checkup of their IOP, as these asanas may worsen IOP,” Morya and colleagues wrote.
Perspective
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Current trends in health care consciousness have embraced certain eating, exercise and lifestyle habits as means of managing — and even eliminating — certain pathologies.
Plenty of studies, both official and unofficial, have suggested the numerous and fantastic benefits of certain exercises and activity levels on longevity and overall health, but this study appears to be the first to specifically assess the effects of various yoga positions and breathing routines on IOP.
In our practices, we optometrists will encounter patients who perform yoga and who also have either a family history of glaucoma, have glaucoma themselves or have suspicious IOP levels. The results of this study give us a reliable path of guidance for these patients as to which poses and breathing exercises are safe to conduct and which should be avoided.
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