BODY SCHEME ANALYSIS BETWEEN YOGA AND BODY COMBAT PRACTITIONERS

Abstract

Body awareness is a concept that involves subjective aspects (Body Image - BI) and perception of anatomic segments of the body and its relation to space (Body schema - BS). Physical activity may alter the perception of the body. Yoga exercise emphasizes harmony between the body segments with smooth and slow movements. On the other hand, Body Combat exercise (BC) are characterized by explosives, varied and intense movements. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the BS and BI in practitioners of Yoga and BC and to identify the presence of tender points and verify its relationship with BS. We evaluated 24 women, aged 18-45 years divided in three groups: inactive (n=8), Yoga practitioners (n=8) and BC practitioners (n=8). Regarding the BS we observed that all subjects presented hyposchematia of the head height; the inactive group presented hypershematia of the width of the body segments. The Yoga practitioners presented hyposchematia of the widths of the shoulders and hip and hypershematia of the waist dimensions. The BC practitioners presented hyposchematia of the body width. There were significant differences in the perception of the waist dimensions, the practitioners of BC perceived themselves smaller. Related to tender points the inactive group presented significantly more points than the practitioners of Yoga and BC. We conclude that the Yoga practitioners presented better body schema. Regarding tender points it was not found any relationship with the BS, but it was clear that intense or relaxing physical activity tends to reduce the muscle tension.