Anaerobic or aerobic respiration? Definitely both!

astalavista
Floating lotus for core, not for endurance. Foto by Eiko Lainjärv

In yoga, depending of course on the yoga style(s) one practices, one should be able to breathe without heavy panting. Yoga is thus happening mainly, if not invariably, in aerobic respiration. Yoga produces many positive cognitive, metabolic, physiological and emotional changes. But it does not develop and prolong short term endurance while the body is required to cope with heightened levels of lactic acid.

Muscles produce energy either from oxygen (aerobic) or from glycose (anaerobic). Our body needs to be able to handle both aerobic and anaerobic respiration for a healthy and balanced functioning. It is like two sides of one coin – the aerobic one is the heads and the anaerobic one is the tails. And when you turn the tails, lactic acid is a by-product for energy created in an anaerobic mode.

That yoga offers the lower range of cardiorespiratory fitness can have its downsides should you ever need to attempt to run fast like Usain Bolt or otherwise increase your heart rate close to your MHR (Maximum Heart Rate).  Not being able to handle anaerobic respiration well can make one more vulnerable to the consequences of a fast-paced urban life. It may be worth, for the sake of balance, like the Yin and Yang concept envisions, to teach the body to handle anaerobic respiration without the mind being blown off from its quiet course next time lactic acid swells in the muscles.

MHR= 220 – your age

At rest, our hearts beat ca 70-80 beats a minute. In most yoga styles, when your heart starts racing and breathing gets into panting, you are advised to take a resting pose and calm your breath so you can get back to the slower heart rhythm again. The body is kept at the lower endurance end of the aerobic respiration mode. Best benefit of aerobic exercise in terms of cardio fitness comes at exercising at 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate (MRH) per minute. In yoga you may not get to this level of MRH (which calculated as 220 minus your age). And this is all very good for the mind, especially for people living stressful lives with a lot of stimuli and expectations. Should you, however, only practice slow-paced yoga but live a fast-paced urban life and one day need to speed up your pulse for some reason, your body will not tolerate accumulated lactic acid so well anymore.

There are times when I do a lot of yoga and no other sport with a racing heart. When my body needs to work suddenly in an anaerobic mode after this interval, it starts to grumble. It does not like the accumulation of lactic acid, it cannot use the energy produced from breaking down glycose as efficiently anymore. Additionally, the body gets into anaerobic mode faster and muscles painfully crave for oxygen almost immediately after the supply is cut off. Like many other things in life, handling aerobic and anaerobic respiration modes efficiently means constant practicing. No train, no gain.

How does anaerobic and aerobic respiration work?

Life starts as a bunch of cells sticking together and dividing. Respiration, either aerobic or anaerobic, also begins in the cells. Even though we have bigger organs such as the lungs which take in oxygen (oxygen makes up about 30% of the gases we inhale, the rest being mainly nitrogen) and exhale carbon dioxide. But understanding anaerobic and aerobic respiration is easier on the cell level.

Cellular respiration with oxygen – Aerobic respiration

More energy in the equation: Glycose + oxygen > carbon dioxide + water;  which releases energy – adenosine triphosphate  ATP

Cellular respiration without oxygen – Anaerobic respiration

Less energy released in the equation: Glycose>lactic acid; which releases energy (but smaller amounts than in aerobic respiration)

Observe that lactic acid has to be broken down by oxygen. This means that after a short anaerobic spell one needs to switch back the oxygen supply (by stopping or slowing down the exercise)

In aerobic respiration, oxygen helps enzymes metabolize energy through the glycolysis process. In anaerobic respiration, the cells have to use fermentation to keep the metabolism going and fermentation creates a waste-like by-product called lactic acid.

Training the body to handle heightened levels of lactic acid can lead to greater performance in short duration. But lactic acid in blood plasma is significantly elevated during stressful situations. There is also a connexion between adrenaline and lactic acid – when the body starts to produce the hormone adrenaline in a flight or fight/stressful situation, adrenaline directly increases lactate release. But not to create more waste, our bodies are far too smart for this – increased lactate production seems to be an evolutionary protective mechanism which facilitates bioenergetic efficiency in muscle and other organs.

I suggest combining physical yoga with physical exercise which increases your heart rate up to 80% of your MHR on regular bases. Or in other words – make yourself pant, sweat and your heart race fast from time to time. My main complement to yoga is interval running. Whatever you prefer, do it wisely, especially if stressed by work, consult a PT or an expert who can help you design your own training practice. And if you want to deepen yourself in yoga, go beyond the physical asana (positions) and pranayama (breathing) realm. Who said that going up the mountain is easy? But before you can go down, you need to climb up the mountain, right?

Kairi

Additional links: