An observational study for the effects of a hot yoga program in a Wood Stone Studio on SIRT6 activation

Abstract

Purpose: Hot yoga is a practice in which thermotherapy is added to ordinary yoga. A previous study reported a significant increase in SIRT6 mRNA expression following participation in a twice-weekly, 12-week program, but there was no significant difference between the regular floor (RF) and Wood Stone Studio (WSS). In the present study, female instructors who engaged in a hot yoga program for more than 6 months were evaluated and a comparative analysis between RF and WSS was conducted. Methods: Subjects were divided into two groups as instructors engaged in a hot yoga program for more than 6 months: 16 in the WSS group (29.7 ± 1.4 years, BMI: 35.7 ± 0.9) and 19 in the RF group (28.1 ± 0.8 years, BMI: 37.1 ± 0.9). The assessment items were the Anti-Aging Quality of Life Common Questionnaire (AAQOL), body composition, blood SIRT6 expression level, and natural killer (NK) cell activity, and multiple regression analysis was performed with SIRT6 expression level as the objective variable. Results: AAQOL showed that the WSS group tended to have less "muscle pain and stiffness," "anorexia," and "joint pain" than RF group (p < 0.1); SIRT6 expression and NK cell activity were not significantly different between two groups. Multiple regression analysis extracted age and BMI as factors lowering SIRT6 expression (p < 0.05) and WSS as a factor tending to activate (p < 0.1). Conclusion: The results suggest that the use of WSS may add some additional positive effects to the effect of hot yoga on SIRT6 expression. Further validation of the mechanism of action is needed.