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TEE PHYSIOLOGY OF YOGAM
oxygen is required for digeston, which must make a considerable difference in the amount consumed.
Thirdly, the circulation during Yogam, after the first mipute or two, is very slow, so that the expenditure of e Dergy by the heart is much lessened; and the fact of the slowness of the circulation shows, that the tissues require very little oxygen brought to th:m by the blood. At the commencement the force of the heart's action is generally increased and & profuge perspiration is induced, probably for the purpose of throwing off a quantity of carbonic acid by the skin. The Yogi's body is generally most of it naked, so that the air circulates freely over the skin: heavy clothes would greatly interfere with cutaneous respiration. The Yogi generally does his Yogam in a tropical climate, where the external air is as warın as the body, so that no consumption of fuel is required in the body to keep up the temperature. This makes an enormous difference: for "the observations made by Vierordt at various tempratures between 380 F. and 750 F, show, for warm-blooded animals, that within this range, every rise equal to 100 F. causes a diminution of about 2 cubic inches in the quantity of carbonic acid exhaled per minute.” (Kirke, p. 240), The Yogi prefers a dry clear atmosphere. In this likewise he follows the 'dictates of physiology, for the experiments of Lehmann show that the amount of carbonic acid exhaled is considerably influenced by the degree of moisture of the atmosphere, much more being given off when the air is moist than when it is dry.
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