Yoga & Pranayama Improve Grip Strength

Sometimes it is the small things that we tend to overlook. Often what is seemingly insignificant can prove to be very valuable, and is something that we should give our attention to. One example of this is our grip strength. Though grip strength is seemingly insignificant as an indicator of good health, it is increasingly becoming a recognised biomarker for ageing (Bohannon, 2019), mostly due to how it is representative of general muscular strength (Bohannon, 2019). Additionally, it seems to be an indicator of bone mineral density, nutritional status, disease status, comorbidity load, cognition, depression, sleep quality, mortality, and more (Bohannon, 2019).

People with lower grip strength seem to have a higher prevalence of smoking and obesity (Celis-Morales et al., 2018). Lower grip strength has also been related to various comorbidities such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and hypertension (Celis-Morales et al., 2018). Though the exact causal relationship between grip strength and the above comorbidities are not well understood, it is theorized that muscular strength may be a useful biomarker for ageing throughout the course of life (Sayer & Kirkwood, 2015); meaning, testing grip strength is akin to testing how much the body as a whole, and all of its systems, have aged. This then begs the question: are there holistic methods capable of improving grip strength? Yoga and pranayama have been proven to help.

The many practices of yoga often require the use of the hands and the employment of the grip, most notably in the Adho Mukha Svanasana pose, or downward-facing dog pose, where handgrip strength is used to maintain balance. This pose is the centerpiece for many yoga practices and hands therefore undergo much strength training. Not surprisingly then, many studies have found that grip strength increases bilaterally after yoga practices (Garfinkel et al., 1998; Telles et al., 2010; Ye et al., 2020). Postural stability has been observed to improve after the practice in those suffering from obesity (Telles et al., 2010). Yoga practices have also been shown to be helpful in decreasing disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (Ye et al., 2020), and more effective than wrist splinting in treating carpal tunnel syndrome (Garfinkel et al., 1998). Evidently, yoga is an extremely powerful tool for generating healthy hands. Improving grip strength may have dramatic consequences in improving quality of life, and is a strong indicator of longevity, as previously discussed. The fact that yoga improves handgrip strength may seem obvious. Yoga is in fact a physical exercise that often employs the use of the hands and grip, and therefore would evidently improve strength. Interestingly enough, pranayama also seems to have an effect on grip strength.

Though less experimentation has been conducted regarding pranayama and grip strength compared to a yoga practice, there has been a slow increase in popularity regarding the curiosity of its effects. In 1997, a study was conducted that compared breath awareness, the hand gestures of mudras, and single nostril breathing on their effects regarding the improvement of grip strength (Raghuraj et al., 1997). The study found that single nostril breathing improved grip strength, and each nostril improved strength in both hands simultaneously (Raghuraj et al., 1997). A later study tested whether or not fast and slow breathing exercises increase grip strength, finding that slow exercises did and fast exercises did not (Mourya et al., 2009). However, an even more recent study similarly tested fast and slow pranayama techniques but chose to test for both grip strength and endurance (Thangavel et al., 2014). These researchers found that though fast pranayama showed significant improvements in both grip strength and endurance, slow pranayama improved endurance as well (Thangavel et al., 2014). They also noted that the statistical differences between the two conditions were so small, that both methods should be considered as methods to improve both strength and endurance (Thangavel et al., 2014). An important question is then: how does this work? A theory proposed by Thangavel et al. lays its roots in pranayama’s effect on the autonomic nervous system. It is fairly well noted that yogic breathing increases autonomic balance while also increasing parasympathetic tone as reflected by a state of calm (Brown & Gerbarg, 2005). Pranayama then may reduce oxygen requirements through the improvement of autonomic balance, thereby providing more energy and glucose to increase grip strength (PARKASH & MALIK, 1988; Thangavel et al., 2014). This theory is supported by the observation that yoga reduces oxygen consumption per unit of work performed by the body (Raju et al., 1994). Another possibility is that the increase in strength is mental, as grip strength has been shown to increase when one performs actions or remarks that boost confidence in one’s self (Peynircioğlu et al., 2000). It is also possible that both of these are mechanisms that contribute to the increase in grip strength after pranayama.

Though the causal mechanisms are not well understood, there is strong evidence to suggest that yogic practices improve grip strength. Given the increased attention toward grip strength and overall health and as an indicator for bodily ageing, this evidence provides strong reason to incorporate yoga into our lives as a healthy practice to improve our longevity and well-being.