Effects of a Single Yoga Session on Cardiac Interoceptive Accuracy and Emotional Experience

Abstract

Background: There is an increasing body of research supporting the idea that cardiac interoceptive accuracy (IAc) can be improved by training. Findings concerning the effects of a single yoga session on IAc and the related construct emotional experience are sparse. The aim of this study was to examine if a single yoga session increases IAc and improves emotional experience. Methods: 137 students were randomly assigned to a 20-min yoga session (n = 47), an endurance session (n = 46), or an inactive control condition (n = 44). IAc and emotional experience were assessed before and after the sessions. Results: There were no significant changes in IAc, or positive and negative affect. IAc at baseline and the change in positive effect were found as predictors for IAc after the yoga session. Conclusion: A 20-min yoga session seems to be not applicable to improve IAc and emotional experience. Future studies should investigate long-term interventions and diverse healthy and clinical populations.

Acute physical-activity related increases in interoceptive ability are not enhanced with simultaneous interoceptive attention

“…Although physical activity has already been shown to influence IAcc 22 , 33 , 34 , many studies are outdated, underpowered, and did not control for intensities of activity in a standardised and individualised manner. In addition, contradictory findings were recently found, where an acute bout of sub-maximal aerobic physical activity failed to elicit significant increases in IAcc 41 . In the present study, therefore, we accounted for these issues by setting individual intensities from a baseline maximal intensity fitness test.…”

“…This intensity-dependent pattern aligns with the Dual-Mode Theory (DMT) 40 , which proposes that increasing intensities initiate a shift of dominant mechanisms from predominantly cognitive processes to strong ascending interoceptive cues, with a crossover of dominance occurring around the point of the anaerobic threshold (AT). Although most findings support physical activity-related increases in IAcc 22 , 33 , 34 , recent research disputes this, where a 20-min aerobic manipulation failed to elucidate any benefits when compared to rest 41 . Whilst such findings may raise concerns over the efficacy of physical activity to manipulate IAcc, the use of light-moderate aerobic exercises in these manipulations cannot be compared against more vigorous intensities considering the proposed intensity-dependent shifts in interoceptive processing.…”

“…Secondly, through directing attention towards the bodily signals when they are more salient, we predicted that physical activity and attentional focus would have interactive effects on IAcc. Finally, considering known inter-individual variations in IAcc, with several factors previously shown to influence IAcc both at baseline and in response to experimental stimuli (sporting background and fitness 22 , 33 , gender 48 , chronic stress 49 , and interoceptive ability 41 ), we explored potential differential effects of sporting background, physical fitness [ O 2peak ], gender, perceived chronic stress, and interoceptive ability (objective and self-reported) on manipulation response.…”

The Effects of a 3-Week Heartbeat Perception Training on Interoceptive Abilities

“…For example, Fischer et al (2017) found improvements in IAc but no changes in IS due to an 8-week body scan intervention. In contrast, short-term mindfulness-based interventions, such as a single yoga session ( Schillings et al, 2021 ) or two meditation sessions ( Fairclough and Goodwin, 2007 ), had no significant effect on IAc. Consequently, further research to investigate effective interventions aiming to improve interoceptive abilities that also include repeated intervention sessions might be necessary.…”

Mindfulness, Interoception, and the Body

“…Yoga practises are considered as a type of body-focused mindfulness practise by many practitioners and authors (e.g., see [ 32 ]), and yoga has been found to increase body awareness and responsiveness (e.g., [ 33 ]). In the current Special Issue, Schillings and colleagues [ 34 ] report a study that investigated whether a single twenty-minute yoga session would have any effects on interoceptive accuracy and emotional experience. Compared to participants assigned to an inactive control or endurance session, the yoga session participants showed no significant changes in interoception (measured via the heartbeat tracking task), nor any changes in affect.…”