Functional capacity profile of elderly women who practice the iyengar yoga method.

Abstract

Significant loss in the muscle mass may generate a balance deficit. The joint capsules hardening and the loss of elastic fibers commit the functional capacity of elderly people. Yoga, an indian millenary philosophy, seems to be one of the ways of prevention for this loss. Objectives: to delineate the functional capacity profile of elderly women who practice the Iyengar Yoga method through the Self-perception Scale of Development of the activities of the daily life. Methods and Materials: 6 elderly women who only practiced the Iyengar Yoga method composed the sample. They practiced the method twice a week for at least a year. Through the Self-perception Scale of Development of the activities of the daily life, it was possible to classify functional capacity levels. Results: the volunteers were 71.5 ± 9.6 years old, BMI=27.38 ± 4.21 kg/m² and they practiced the Iyengar Yoga method for about 12.33 ± 9.28 years. The average punctuation in the questionnaire shows a VERY GOOD functional capacity. Through correlation, we could observe a weak correlation between the period of practice and punctuation in the questionnaire, r = 0.4. In the other side we can observe a higher negative correlation between BMI and punctuation r = -0.85. Discussion: There are no analyses proving the efficacy of the yoga practice in the functional capacity, nonetheless researches demonstrate the efficacy of the Yoga practice in the flexibility increase, in the balance control, in the blood pressure control as well as in the endurance, etc. Conclusions: the functional capacity of the persons was considered VERY GOOD according to the applied questionnaire.