Abstract
Background: There is a paucity of literature on the effects of isolated pranayam practice in particular savitri pranayam. Furthermore, no study depicts the pattern of change and variations in the effects produced. It needed to be found out whether long-term practice of Pranayama improves respiratory endurance and to what extent.

Aim and Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1stsecond, maximum inspiratory pressure, maximum expiratory pressure, and 40 mm Hg endurance of young healthy volunteers and to study the effect of pranayam on the same.

Materials and Methods: Sixty volunteers of age group 20–30 were recruited and were divided into pranayam group and control group. After familiarizing the subjects with lab environment, the pre training values of both the groups were recorded. The parameters recorded were FVC, Forced expiratory volume in 1st s, maximum inspiratory pressure, maximum expiratory pressure, and 40 mm Hg endurance. A spirometer and a mercury manometer were used to measure these parameters. The pranayam group was given training in savitri pranayam for 12 weeks. The parameters were recorded at 4, 8, and 12 weeks of study. Data were collected and analyzed with student-t-test. Tests of significance were calculated by Statistical package for the Social Sciences software version 21.0.

Results: There was a highly significant improvement (P < 0.001) in all the parameters among pranayam group. The control group did not showed significant improvement in any of the parameters.

Conclusion: The improvement in respiratory efficiency in this study, though highly significant is less in magnitude. Combined practice of asan and pranayam may produce a better improvement than practicing savitri pranayam alone. The pattern of improvement in respiratory variables is not uniform. Individuals respond differently to yoga. Some showed a rapid improvement followed by a plateau, whereas for others the improvement graph appeared slow and steady. Yoga training has to be individualized and yoga therapy should be customized according to individual patient’s receptivity and nature. Savitri pranayam would be an effective tool in promotion of respiratory efficiency.

Key words: Savitri Pranayam; Pranayam Training; Forced Vital Capacity; Respiratory Pressure; Respiratory Endurance