Heart Rate Response to Basic Ashtanga Practice (Part 2)

As I mentioned in the previous post, I wanted to observe how my heart rate responds to a basic ashtanga practice.  One of the many definitions of yoga is integration.  Thus, allow me to integrate what I've learned from grad school in answering my question.

Methodology

The subject was a 34 year old Asian male who had been practicing ashtanga yoga regularly for more than 5 years.  The subject has normal BMI (22.0), resting heart rate of 60 bpm, and an estimated VO2max of 37mL/kg/min.  The subject reported no other moderate-to-vigorous physical activities except for ashtanga which he performs 60-120 minutes of ashtanga yoga 3-4 times a week.  Recommended age-predicted training heart rate for the subject is 112bpm-167bpm.  Based on heart rate reserve, his recommended training heart rate is 123bpm-167bpm. 

Heart Rate Response to Basic Ashtanga Practice (Part 1)

A few years ago, I wore my Polar F4 heart rate monitor while I did my ashtanga practice just to see how my heart rate responded and how much calories I'd burn.  There was this idea that ashtanga will help you lose weight and has some cardiovascular benefits (In what I've read lately, asana practice should not be like exercise otherwise it defeats its purpose).

My knowledge about the body and how it works is based on my training in sports science.  Conventional knowledge tells us that in order for us to improve our cardiovascular endurance, we have to train the heart to beat up to a certain rate and maintain that for at least 10 minutes at a time.  Below that, the benefits are minimal.