Effects of School-based Yoga Program on University Students

Summary

Focusing on emotions is valuable because "how a person feels, reacts, and expresses emotions can have both short-term and long-term effects on physical and mental health". This is explained by mechanisms such as reappraisal, attention regulation, self-monitoring, self-awareness, and regulation of the autonomic nervous system. Because yoga reduces negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, and depression, teens are likely to result in less conflict and stress in their lives. It is thought that it is also important for young people to accept difficult feelings and to be able to accept and approve these feelings. When negative emotions are acknowledged and witnessed, they often dissolve or transform, and the process allows the individual to learn about their limits, preferences, and needs. Processing emotions in this way allows a person to be honest with oneself and can contribute to healthier development. Therefore, yoga appears to be a useful well-being tool and practice that schools should adopt, as it can increase life skills for students such as concentration, memory, relational skills, and decision-making that are affected by emotions. Emotional well-being is important for learning in life and school. As noted earlier, research supports such a view, but more research is needed to understand how and why yoga should be offered to young people in their schools. However, it is suggested that researchers further explore the role of yoga in the management of emotions, both in terms of emotional processing and regulation of emotions. The role of yogic breathing (pranayama) as part of a holistic perspective on yoga, and specifically the role of yoga in the relationship between being with emotions, regulating emotions, and how it relates to change, should be further explored.

It has been described in the literature that care should be taken to avoid possible harm to individuals associated with the use of unhealthy weight control behaviors among young adults and women with obesity. Yoga's intent to strengthen and support a positive sense of self makes it a particularly viable strategy for healthy weight management for women and those at high risk for poor body image. Finally, it has been reported that reductions in perceived stress may mediate the effects of participation in a yoga program on negative emotional and behavioral problems. It has been suggested that future studies may also assess the extent to which exposure to stress and trauma may affect youth's participation in and benefit from mindfulness and yoga interventions.

Considering all the suggestions and research needs in the literature, this study was planned to examine the improvement in self-esteem, life satisfaction, body image, anxiety, depression and cognitive emotion regulation levels of university students after their participation in the yoga program provided to them in the school environment and to compare them with students who do not do yoga. In the study, it is planned to investigate the pre-exam anxiety levels of university youth who regularly practice yoga.

Conditions

• Yoga
• Adolescent Behavior
• Emotional Regulation
• Mental Health
• Eating Behaviors
• Well-being

Interventions

OTHER

Yoga exercise

Yoga lesson practices will be designed and implemented by instructors physiotherapists who have completed 200 hours of yoga instructor training (RYT-200). The yoga program, which will consist of one-hour sessions once a week, is planned to last 14 weeks. 4 weeks of classes will be theoretical lessons related to yoga philosophy, 10 weeks of yoga sessions will be applied every week on different concepts such as upper extremity and / or lower extremity focused strengthening and / or flexibility and breathing exercises. In addition to this training, students will be advised to repeat the practices once a week. Sessions will begin with breathing practices called pranayama, followed by yoga postures called asanas, and the sequence will be finished with savasana pose. In this pose, guided meditations will be performed on subjects such as body awareness and self-compassion.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Medipol University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

19 Years

Max Age

24 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-02-11

Primary Completion

2023-02-20

Completion

2024-02-01

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations