Nonlinear measures in posturography compared to linear measures based on yoga poses performance

Yoga is known as a type of exercise that combines physical, mental and spiritual aspects. There has not been much research on the postural control in various yoga poses. The aim of this study was to examine CoP regularity in both yoga instructors and novices during the performance of four yoga poses, and to verify the sensitivity of linear and nonlinear methods for assessing postural stability. Methods: The dynamic characteristics of CoP fluctuations were examined using linear and nonlinear methods on a group of 22 yoga instructors (Y) and 18 age-matched non-practitioners of yoga (NY). The study involved maintaining a balance for 20 seconds while performing four yoga poses. Results: Conventional analysis of CoP trajectories showed that NY and Y exhibited similar control of postural sway, as indicated by similar CoP path-length and area values observed in both groups. These results suggest that the special balance yoga training received by Y may not have an impact on less challenging balance conditions, such as the poses used in this experiment. Interestingly, nonlinear dynamical analysis of CoP showed that Y exhibited less CoP regularity and more complex signal than NY, as evidenced by higher values of sample entropy and fractal dimension. Conclusions: The results shed light on the surplus values of CoP trajectories in the nonlinear dynamical analysis to gain further insight into the mechanisms involved in posture control.