On the use of Auto Regressive Dimensional Index for the evaluation of heart rate variability changes associated to yoga meditation

changes induced by yoga meditation upon the complexity of heart rate variability were explored via the auto-regressive dimensionality index (ardi). data were downloaded from the "physionet.org" website, and corresponded to hrv traces recorded before and during meditation with two yoga techniques. statistical support was found for the changes in ardi being inversely dependent upon the basal ardi levels before meditation (p<0.01). this suggests that yoga meditation exerts a set-point mechanism at the level of overall complexity. this is in agreement with the documented effects of yoga upon different components of the human body. at the same time, the possibility to regulate the level of complexity might be a novel mechanism of action for this ancient technique.