1 2175 87 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON FUNCTIONALITY APPRECIATION AND ADDITIONAL FACETS OF POSITIVE BODY IMAGE. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON FUNCTIONALITY APPRECIATION, AND THE POTENTIAL MECHANISMS THAT COULD EXPLAIN THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON ADDITIONAL FACETS OF POSITIVE BODY IMAGE. YOUNG ADULT WOMEN (N=114; MAGE=22.19) WERE RANDOMISED TO A 10-WEEK HATHA YOGA PROGRAMME OR WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED MEASURES OF FUNCTIONALITY APPRECIATION, BODY APPRECIATION, BODY COMPASSION, APPEARANCE EVALUATION, SELF-OBJECTIFICATION, AND EMBODIMENT AT PRETEST, MIDTEST, POSTTEST, AND 1-MONTH FOLLOW-UP. FOLLOW-UP DATA COULD NOT BE ANALYSED DUE TO HIGH LEVELS OF ATTRITION. THE REMAINING DATA SHOWED THAT, COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP, WOMEN IN THE YOGA PROGRAMME EXPERIENCED LOWER SELF-OBJECTIFICATION AT MIDTEST AND GREATER EMBODIMENT OVER TIME. FURTHER, ALL PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCED IMPROVEMENTS IN BODY APPRECIATION, BODY COMPASSION, AND APPEARANCE EVALUATION OVER TIME, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ASSIGNED GROUP. LOWER SELF-OBJECTIFICATION CONTRIBUTED TO IMPROVEMENTS IN BODY APPRECIATION AND BODY COMPASSION. IN ADDITION, GREATER EMBODIMENT CONTRIBUTED TO IMPROVEMENTS IN BODY APPRECIATION, BODY COMPASSION, AND APPEARANCE EVALUATION. CONTRARY TO OUR EXPECTATIONS, YOGA DID NOT LEAD TO INCREASED FUNCTIONALITY APPRECIATION, NOR WAS FUNCTIONALITY APPRECIATION A MEDIATOR OF THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON POSITIVE BODY IMAGE. INSTEAD, LOWER SELF-OBJECTIFICATION, AND GREATER EMBODIMENT, DROVE IMPROVEMENTS IN POSITIVE BODY IMAGE. 2020 2 1209 25 EXPLORING CHANGES IN MINDFULNESS AND BODY APPRECIATION DURING YOGA PARTICIPATION. EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THE POSITIVE ROLE THAT YOGA PARTICIPATION CAN PLAY IN PREDICTING POSITIVE BODY IMAGE EXPERIENCES. HOWEVER, LESS IS KNOWN ABOUT THE MECHANISMS THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN THIS RELATIONSHIP. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO TEST FOR CHANGE IN STATE AND TRAIT MINDFULNESS AND BODY APPRECIATION AS WELL AS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHANGE IN TRAIT MINDFULNESS AND CHANGE IN BODY APPRECIATION ACROSS 16 WEEKS OF YOGA PARTICIPATION. PARTICIPANTS (N=376; MAGE=20.45; 87% FEMALE) WERE RECRUITED FROM FOR-CREDIT YOGA CLASSES AT A UNIVERSITY. THEY COMPLETED MEASURES OF TRAIT MINDFULNESS AND BODY APPRECIATION AT THE BEGINNING, MID-POINT, AND END OF THE 16-WEEK COURSE. THEY ALSO COMPLETED A MEASURE OF STATE MINDFULNESS OF THE BODY THAT TARGETED THEIR EXPERIENCE DURING YOGA EVERY OTHER WEEK AFTER CLASS. LATENT GROWTH CURVES WERE ESTIMATED FOR EACH VARIABLE AND DEMONSTRATED SIGNIFICANT (P<.001) POSITIVE CHANGE IN TRAIT MINDFULNESS AND BODY APPRECIATION. THE FULL STRUCTURAL MODEL SHOWED THAT THE RATE OF CHANGE IN TRAIT MINDFULNESS ASSOCIATED POSITIVELY WITH THE RATE OF CHANGE IN BODY APPRECIATION. THIS SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP SUPPORTS THE ROLE THAT MINDFULNESS MAY PLAY IN SUPPORTING GROWTH IN POSITIVE BODY IMAGE DURING YOGA PARTICIPATION. 2019 3 2435 25 YOGA AND POSITIVE BODY IMAGE: A TEST OF THE EMBODIMENT MODEL. THE STUDY AIMED TO TEST THE EMBODIMENT MODEL OF POSITIVE BODY IMAGE (MENZEL & LEVINE, 2011) WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF YOGA. PARTICIPANTS WERE 193 YOGA PRACTITIONERS (124 IYENGAR, 69 BIKRAM) AND 127 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS (NON-YOGA PARTICIPANTS) FROM ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE MEASURES OF POSITIVE BODY IMAGE, EMBODIMENT, SELF-OBJECTIFICATION, AND DESIRE FOR THINNESS. RESULTS SHOWED YOGA PRACTITIONERS SCORED HIGHER ON POSITIVE BODY IMAGE AND EMBODIMENT, AND LOWER ON SELF-OBJECTIFICATION THAN NON-YOGA PARTICIPANTS. IN SUPPORT OF THE EMBODIMENT MODEL, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA PARTICIPATION AND POSITIVE BODY IMAGE WAS SERIALLY MEDIATED BY EMBODIMENT AND REDUCED SELF-OBJECTIFICATION. ALTHOUGH BIKRAM PRACTITIONERS ENDORSED APPEARANCE-RELATED REASONS FOR PARTICIPATING IN YOGA MORE THAN IYENGAR PRACTITIONERS, THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN IYENGAR AND BIKRAM YOGA PRACTITIONERS ON BODY IMAGE VARIABLES. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT YOGA IS AN EMBODYING ACTIVITY THAT CAN PROVIDE WOMEN WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO CULTIVATE A FAVOURABLE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR BODY. 2016 4 1166 28 EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF A BRIEF YOGA INTERVENTION ON PREADOLESCENTS' BODY IMAGE AND MOOD. YOGA IS AN EMBODYING ACTIVITY THAT PROMOTES BODY AWARENESS, BODY CONNECTION, BODY RESPONSIVENESS, AND APPRECIATION OF BODY FUNCTIONALITY, AND IT THEREFORE MAY BE A BENEFICIAL SCHOOL-BASED INTERVENTION FOR CHILDREN'S BODY IMAGE. THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED THE IMPACT OF A 4-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION ON PRE-ADOLESCENT GIRLS' AND BOYS' BODY IMAGE (BODY APPRECIATION, BODY ESTEEM, AND BODY SURVEILLANCE) AND MOOD (POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE AFFECT) 1-WEEK POST-INTERVENTION AND AT 6-WEEK FOLLOW-UP. BRITISH CHILDREN (N = 344; 54.4% FEMALE) AGED 9-11 YEARS WERE RECRUITED FROM FOUR SCHOOLS, TWO OF WHICH WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO THE YOGA INTERVENTION AND TWO TO A PHYSICAL EDUCATION CONTROL CONDITION. OVERALL, GIRLS REPORTED GREATER BODY IMAGE CONCERN AND NEGATIVE MOOD THAN BOYS. UNEXPECTEDLY, BOTH GROUPS REPORTED INCREASED BODY APPRECIATION, BODY ESTEEM, AND POSITIVE MOOD, AND DECREASED BODY SURVEILLANCE AND NEGATIVE AFFECT FROM BASELINE TO POST-INTERVENTION AND/OR FOLLOW-UP. BOTH GIRLS AND BOYS IN THE YOGA INTERVENTION EVALUATED THE SESSIONS VERY FAVOURABLY; THE MAJORITY DESIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN MORE LESSONS. POTENTIAL EXPLANATIONS FOR THESE FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED. 2018 5 186 29 A RANDOMIZED EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF A YOGA-BASED BODY IMAGE INTERVENTION. RECENT LITERATURE ARGUES THAT BODY IMAGE INTERVENTIONS NEED TO BECOME MORE EMBODIED. THIS PAPER EVALUATES A BRIEF YOGA-BASED BODY IMAGE INTERVENTION WHICH INCORPORATES THEMES SPECIFICALLY TAILORED TO FOCUS ON POSITIVE BODY IMAGE. YOUNG WOMEN (MAGE = 20.21, SDAGE = 2.15) WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO A FOUR-SESSION YOGA INTERVENTION (N = 22) OR A CONTROL CONDITION (N = 22). COMPARED TO CONTROLS, PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA CONDITION REPORTED SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN BODY APPRECIATION, BODY CONNECTEDNESS, BODY SATISFACTION, AND POSITIVE MOOD AT POSTTEST AND AT 4-WEEK FOLLOW-UP. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN NEGATIVE MOOD OR BODY SURVEILLANCE. THESE FINDINGS ADD TO EXISTING EVIDENCE THAT YOGA CAN IMPROVE WOMEN'S BODY IMAGE AND POSITIVE MOOD. IN ADDITION, THEY SUGGEST THAT A STRONG THEMATIC FOCUS ON POSITIVE BODY IMAGE CAN ACHIEVE BENEFITS AT RELATIVELY LOW YOGA DOSES. THESE FINDINGS ARE IMPORTANT AS INTERVENTION LENGTH IMPACTS THE POTENTIAL FOR DISSEMINATION. 2019 6 128 20 A PILOT YOGA PHYSICAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM TO PROMOTE POSITIVE BODY IMAGE. WE EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF A PILOT YOGA-BASED PHYSICAL EDUCATION (PE) CURRICULUM BY TESTING FOR CHANGE IN TRAIT BODY SURVEILLANCE, PHYSICAL SELF-WORTH, AND BODY APPRECIATION. FURTHER, WE EXAMINED THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CHANGE IN BODY IMAGE VARIABLES AND THE ROLE OF STATE MINDFULNESS IN PREDICTING STATE BODY SURVEILLANCE DURING CLASSES. ADOLESCENTS PARTICIPATED IN 12 WEEKS OF YOGA-BASED (N=20; MAGE=16.45, 90% FEMALE) OR TRADITIONAL (N=23;MAGE=14.52, 57% FEMALE) PE. RESULTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT (P=.004), MODERATE DECREASES IN TRAIT BODY SURVEILLANCE AND MINIMAL NONSIGNIFICANT (P=.11) INCREASES IN PHYSICAL SELF-WORTH. CHANGE IN TRAIT BODY SURVEILLANCE WAS INVERSELY RELATED TO CHANGE IN PHYSICAL SELF-WORTH AND BODY APPRECIATION IN YOGA PARTICIPANTS. MULTI-LEVEL MODELING ANALYSES REVEALED THAT MORE MINDFUL STUDENTS ALSO SURVEYED THEIR BODY LESS DURING CLASS. INTENTIONALLY STRUCTURED YOGA PARTICIPATION MAY SUPPORT POSITIVE BODY IMAGE AMONG ADOLESCENTS. 2017 7 2278 25 THE ROLES OF SELF-COMPASSION, BODY SURVEILLANCE, AND BODY APPRECIATION IN PREDICTING INTRINSIC MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: CROSS-SECTIONAL ASSOCIATIONS, AND PROSPECTIVE CHANGES WITHIN A YOGA CONTEXT. ENGAGING IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR THE IMMEDIATE INTERNAL EXPERIENCES IT BRINGS (E.G., PLEASURE, SATISFACTION) IS CRITICAL FOR LONG-TERM EXERCISE ADHERENCE. INVESTIGATIONS OF HOW FACTORS SUCH AS BODY IMAGE CONTRIBUTE TO INTRINSIC MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ARE NEEDED. THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED BODY SURVEILLANCE AND BODY APPRECIATION AS MEDIATORS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-COMPASSION AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CROSS-SECTIONALLY AND PROSPECTIVELY. ONE SAMPLE OF COLLEGE WOMEN COMPLETED MEASURES OF STUDY VARIABLES AT ONE TIME POINT (SAMPLE 1; N = 269, MAGE = 19.96) AND A SECOND SAMPLE DID SO DURING WEEKS 1, 8, AND 16 WHILE PARTICIPATING IN A 16-WEEK YOGA COURSE (SAMPLE 2; N = 323, MAGE = 20.31). IN SAMPLE 1, LATENT VARIABLE STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING SUPPORTED BODY APPRECIATION AS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN SELF-COMPASSION AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. IN SAMPLE 2, LATENT GROWTH CURVE ANALYSES REVEALED THAT CHANGE IN SELF-COMPASSION PREDICTED CHANGES IN BODY SURVEILLANCE AND BODY APPRECIATION IN EXPECTED DIRECTIONS. FURTHER, CHANGE IN BODY APPRECIATION POSITIVELY PREDICTED CHANGE IN INTRINSIC MOTIVATION. TARGETING SELF-COMPASSION AND BODY APPRECIATION MAY HELP SUPPORT WOMEN'S INTRINSIC MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. 2019 8 2890 23 YOGA: POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR PERSONS WHO STUTTER. YOGA HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO MODULATE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY, DECREASING ANXIETY AND STRESS, AND IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE. THIS PRELIMINARY STUDY SOUGHT TO EXAMINE THE USE OF YOGIC TECHNIQUES ON PERSONS WHO STUTTER GIVEN THE INTERACTION BETWEEN PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL/ANXIETY AND STUTTERING THAT CURRENT MULTIFACTORIAL MODELS OF STUTTERING PROPOSE. FOUR PARTICIPANTS (M = 52 YR, SD = 10; 2 FEMALE, 2 MALE), RECRUITED FROM LOCAL STUTTERING SUPPORT GROUPS IN THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERED TO PARTICIPATE. STUTTERING SEVERITY, ANXIETY, AND EXPERIENCES REGARDING STUTTERING AND COMMUNICATION WERE MEASURED AT BASELINE, POST INTERVENTION, AND AT 4 MONTHS FOLLOW-UP. THE PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED GROUP YOGA SESSIONS AND ENGAGED IN HOME PRACTICE. DESCRIPTIVE RESULTS REVEALED THAT PARTICIPANTS SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS OUTCOME MEASURES, WITH THE MOST IMPROVEMENT RELATED TO ANXIETY. PARTICIPANTS ALSO REPORTED IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR PERCEPTIONS ABOUT COMMUNICATION AS PER QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF RESPONSES TO THE OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRES. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR PERSONS WHO STUTTER AND WARRANTS FURTHER STUDY USING AN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN. 2016 9 2898 17 [EFFECTS OF FITNESS TRAINING AND YOGA ON WELL-BEING STRESS, SOCIAL COMPETENCE AND BODY IMAGE]. OBJECTIVES: AIMS OF OUR STUDY WERE TO DESCRIBE AND COMPARE INFLUENCES FROM A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM AND A YOGA PROGRAM ON WELL-BEING, MOOD, STRESSCOPING, BODY-IMAGE AND SOCIAL COMPETENCE IN HEALTHY PEOPLE. METHODS: 18 PERSONS ATTENDING A GYM AND 21 TAKING PART IN A YOGA PROGRAM ANSWERED FOLLOWING QUESTIONNAIRES BEFORE ENTERING THE PROGRAM AND AFTER TAKING PART FOR 20 UNITS: BODY-IMAGE-QUESTIONNAIRE (25), SYMPTOM-CHECKLIST- 90R (8), COMPLAINT- LIST (31), ADJECTIVE MOOD-SCALE (32) AND A VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE FOR ASSESSING STRESS-LEVEL (10). RESULTS: STATISTICAL ANALYSES SHOW SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN SOCIAL COMPETENCE IN BOTH TRAINING GROUPS; THE GYM-GROUP REPORT REDUCED SEXUAL DISCOMFORT, WHEREAS PEOPLE TAKING PART IN YOGA-GROUP SHOW A REDUCTION IN SOMATIZATION AND BODY-RELATED ANXIETY AS WELL AS AN IMPROVEMENT IN PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING. CONCLUSION: OUR FINDINGS SUPPORT THE EVIDENCE THAT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN GENERAL IMPROVES PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING, HOWEVER, GYM AND YOGA SEEM TO HAVE DIFFERENT PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD FOCUS ON COMPARING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTIONS IN PREVENTION PROGRAMMES AS WELL AS EXERCISE PRESCRIPTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS. 2009 10 2392 25 YOGA AND BODY IMAGE: HOW DO YOUNG ADULTS PRACTICING YOGA DESCRIBE ITS IMPACT ON THEIR BODY IMAGE? THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE PERCEIVED IMPACT OF YOGA ON BODY IMAGE. YOUNG ADULTS (N= 34 FEMALE, 12 MALE; MAGE = 30.6 [SD = 1.6]) PRACTICING YOGA WERE INTERVIEWED AND DATA WERE ANALYZED FOR EMERGING THEMES ACROSS WEIGHT STATUS. IN GENERAL, PARTICIPANTS DISCUSSED THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF YOGA ON THEIR BODY IMAGE, BUT SOME DESCRIBED BOTH A POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE IMPACT. YOGA WAS PERCEIVED AS HAVING A POSITIVE IMPACT ON BODY IMAGE VIA PERCEIVED PHYSICAL CHANGES, GRATITUDE FOR ONE'S BODY, A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT WITHIN ONE'S YOGA PRACTICE, SELF-CONFIDENCE, AND WITNESSING DIFFERENT TYPES OF BODIES PRACTICING YOGA. YOGA WAS PERCEIVED TO HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON BODY IMAGE VIA COMPARATIVE CRITIQUE (E.G., UPWARD COMPARISONS WITH OTHERS) AND INNER CRITIQUE (E.G., NEGATIVE SELF-TALK). THEMES WERE GENERALLY SIMILAR ACROSS WEIGHT STATUS; EXCEPTIONS WERE THAT PARTICIPANTS AT HIGHER WEIGHT STATUS WERE MORE LIKELY THAN THOSE AT LOWER WEIGHT STATUS TO DISCUSS ACCOMPLISHMENT WITHIN ONE'S YOGA PRACTICE AS A POSITIVE IMPACT ON BODY IMAGE AND COMPARATIVE CRITIQUE AS A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON BODY IMAGE. YOGA STUDIOS AND INSTRUCTORS CAN TAKE STEPS TO FURTHER ENHANCE THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF YOGA AND TO PROVIDE ENVIRONMENTS THAT ARE INCLUSIVE OF PARTICIPANTS WITH DIVERSE BODY SHAPES AND SIZES. 2018 11 677 21 EFFECT OF A YOGA BASED MEDITATION TECHNIQUE ON EMOTIONAL REGULATION, SELF-COMPASSION AND MINDFULNESS IN COLLEGE STUDENTS. BACKGROUND: EMOTION REGULATION IS OFTEN A CHALLENGE FOR THE COLLEGE STUDENTS. YOGA PRACTICE HAS BEEN SHOWN TO REDUCE STRESS AND IMPROVE MINDFULNESS THAT IS RELATED TO EMOTION REGULATION. MASTERING EMOTIONS TECHNIQUE (MEMT) IS ONE OF THE YOGA-BASED MEDITATION TECHNIQUES THAT ARE DESIGNED TO CONTROL EMOTIONS AMONG PRACTITIONERS. HOWEVER, TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE, THERE IS NO KNOWN STUDY REPORTING ITS SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE-BASED EFFECTS ON EMOTION AND ITS RELATED VARIABLES. THUS, THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF MEMT ON EMOTION REGULATION, SELF-COMPASSION, AND MINDFULNESS IN COLLEGE STUDENTS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: SEVENTY-TWO SUBJECTS WITH THE AGE VARIED FROM 18 TO 25 YEARS WERE RECRUITED FROM A RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE. ALL THE SUBJECTS UNDERWENT MEMT FOR THE DURATION OF 45 MIN A DAY FOR A PERIOD OF 2 WEEKS. ASSESSMENTS SUCH AS EMOTIONAL REGULATION QUESTIONNAIRE (ERQ), THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE AFFECT SCHEDULE (PANAS), SELF-COMPASSION SCALE (SCS), AND MINDFUL ATTENTION AWARENESS SCALE (MAAS) WERE TAKEN BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: RESULTS OF THIS STUDY SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE SCORES OF COGNITIVE REAPPRAISAL, POSITIVE AFFECT, SELF-COMPASSION, AND MAAS ALONG WITH A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THE SCORES OF NEGATIVE AFFECT, AND EXPRESSIVE SUPPRESSION AFTER THE PRACTICE OF MEMT COMPARED TO ITS RESPECTIVE BASELINE. CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS OF THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT PRACTICE OF MEMT IS EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING EMOTION REGULATION, POSITIVE AFFECTS, SELF-COMPASSION, AND MINDFULNESS WHILE IN REDUCING NEGATIVE AFFECTS AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS. 2018 12 2721 21 YOGA MEETS POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: EXAMINING THE INTEGRATION OF HEDONIC (GRATITUDE) AND EUDAIMONIC (MEANING) WELLBEING IN RELATION TO THE EXTENT OF YOGA PRACTICE. THE PRESENT STUDY AIMS TO EXPLORE THE EXISTENCE OF A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EXTENT OF YOGA PRACTICE AND TWO DIMENSIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING: MEANING IN LIFE AND GRATITUDE. BOTH OF THE VARIABLES ARE POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY CONSTRUCTS; THERE IS THEORETICAL AFFINITY AND EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE RELATED TO OVERALL PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FOUR PARTICIPANTS AGED 18 YEARS AND ABOVE, WITH YOGA EXPERIENCE RANGING FROM NONE TO OVER SIX YEARS, RESPONDED TO A NUMBER OF SCALES. THE EXTENT OF YOGA PRACTICE WAS MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF YEARS DURING WHICH INDIVIDUALS PRACTICED YOGA AT LEAST TWO TIMES A WEEK. PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED TO THE FOLLOWING SCALES: MLQ (MEANING IN LIFE QUESTIONNAIRE) AND GQ-6 (GRATITUDE QUESTIONNAIRE). THIS STUDY HYPOTHESISED THAT THE NUMBER OF YEARS PRACTICING YOGA WOULD BE POSITIVELY CORRELATED TO THE SCORE OBTAINED ON THE AFOREMENTIONED SCALES. POSITIVE CORRELATIONS WERE IDENTIFIED BETWEEN THE EXTENT OF YOGA PRACTICE AND MEANING IN LIFE AND GRATITUDE. IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS REGARDING THE CONTRIBUTION OF YOGA TO BOTH HEDONIC AND EUDAIMONIC HAPPINESS ARE DISCUSSED. 2014 13 579 20 DESIGNING A YOGA INTERVENTION PROGRAM TO IMPROVE WELL-BEING FOR PHYSICIAN TRAINEES: CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED. WELL-BEING ACTIVITIES MAY HELP TO COUNTERACT PHYSICIAN BURNOUT. YOGA IS KNOWN TO ENHANCE WELL-BEING, BUT THERE ARE FEW STUDIES OF YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICIANS IN TRAINING. THIS PROSPECTIVE METHODOLOGY-DEVELOPMENT STUDY AIMED TO EXPLORE HOW TO ESTABLISH A YOGA-BASED WELL-BEING INTERVENTION FOR PHYSICIAN TRAINEES IN A LARGE URBAN TRAINING HOSPITAL. WE AIMED TO IDENTIFY FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO TRAINEE PARTICIPATION AND EXPLORE AN INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE CHANGES IN SELF-REPORTED WELL-BEING AFTER YOGA. COHORTS INCLUDED A REQUIRED-ATTENDANCE GROUP, A VOLUNTARY-ATTENDANCE GROUP, AND AN UNASSIGNED WALK-IN YOGA GROUP. WEEKLY 1-HOUR YOGA SESSIONS WERE LED BY A QUALIFIED YOGA INSTRUCTOR FOR 4 WEEKS. THE SEVEN-QUESTION RESIDENT PHYSICIAN WELL-BEING INDEX (RPWBI) WAS USED TO MEASURE RESIDENT WELL-BEING BEFORE YOGA, AFTER 4 WEEKS OF YOGA, AND 6 MONTHS POST-YOGA. TRAINEES ATTENDING EACH SESSION RANGED FROM 17 FOR REQUIRED YOGA TO 0-2 FOR VOLUNTARY YOGA, 2-9 FOR LUNCHTIME WALK-IN YOGA, AND 1-7 FOR EVENING WALK-IN YOGA. IN THE REQUIRED-YOGA GROUP (N = 17), OVERALL RPWBI MEAN SCORES DID NOT CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY ACROSS THE THREE QUERY TIMES, AND PARTICIPATION IN THE SURVEY DECLINED OVER TIME. THE MEAN BASELINE RPWBI SCORE FOR THE REQUIRED GROUP BEFORE YOGA WAS IN THE NON-DISTRESSED RANGE AND ANSWERS TO THE SEVEN INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS VARIED. REQUIRING A YOGA ACTIVITY FOR MEDICAL TRAINEES MAY BE A GOOD STRATEGY FOR PROMOTING PARTICIPATION IN YOGA. THE RPWBI MAY HAVE LIMITED UTILITY FOR MEASURING CHANGES IN OVERALL GROUP WELL-BEING AFTER A YOGA INTERVENTION. 2021 14 2611 14 YOGA FOR REHABILITATION: AN OVERVIEW. THE USE OF YOGA FOR REHABILITATION HAS DIVERSE APPLICATIONS. YOGA PRACTICE BENEFITED MENTALLY HANDICAPPED SUBJECTS BY IMPROVING THEIR MENTAL ABILITY, ALSO THE MOTOR CO-ORDINATION AND SOCIAL SKILLS. PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED SUBJECTS HAD A RESTORATION OF SOME DEGREE OF FUNCTIONAL ABILITY AFTER PRACTICING YOGA. VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN CHILDREN SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THEIR ABNORMAL ANXIETY LEVELS WHEN THEY PRACTICED YOGA FOR THREE WEEKS, WHILE A PROGRAM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HAD NO SUCH EFFECT. SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED ADULTS (PRISONERS IN A JAIL) AND CHILDREN IN A REMAND HOME SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN SLEEP, APPETITE AND GENERAL WELL BEING, AS WELL AS A DECREASE IN PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL. THE PRACTICE OF MEDITATION WAS REPORTED TO DECREASE THE DEGREE OF SUBSTANCE (MARIJUANA) ABUSE, BY STRENGTHENING THE MENTAL RESOLVE AND DECREASING THE ANXIETY. ANOTHER IMPORTANT AREA IS THE APPLICATION OF YOGA (AND INDEED, LIFESTYLE CHANGE), IN THE REHABILITATION OF PATIENTS WITH CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE. FINALLY, THE POSSIBLE ROLE OF YOGA IN IMPROVING THE MENTAL STATE AND GENERAL WELL BEING OF HIV POSITIVE PERSONS AND PATIENTS WITH AIDS, IS BEING EXPLORED. 1997 15 2266 21 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS: A CLUSTER ANALYSIS. YOGA PRACTITIONERS (N = 261) COMPLETED THE REVISED EXPRESSION OF SPIRITUALITY INVENTORY (ESI) AND THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL BODY-SELF RELATIONS QUESTIONNAIRE. CLUSTER ANALYSIS REVEALED THREE CLUSTERS: CLUSTER A SCORED HIGH ON ALL FOUR SPIRITUAL CONSTRUCTS. THEY HAD HIGH POSITIVE EVALUATIONS OF THEIR APPEARANCE, BUT A LOWER ORIENTATION TOWARDS THEIR APPEARANCE. THEY TENDED TO HAVE A HIGH EVALUATION OF THEIR FITNESS AND HEALTH, AND HIGHER BODY SATISFACTION. CLUSTER B SHOWED LOWER SCORES ON THE SPIRITUAL CONSTRUCTS. LIKE CLUSTER A, MEMBERS OF CLUSTER B TENDED TO SHOW HIGH POSITIVE EVALUATIONS OF APPEARANCE AND FITNESS. THEY ALSO HAD HIGHER BODY SATISFACTION. MEMBERS OF CLUSTER B HAD A HIGHER FITNESS ORIENTATION AND A HIGHER APPEARANCE ORIENTATION THAN MEMBERS OF CLUSTER A. MEMBERS OF CLUSTER C HAD LOW SCORES FOR ALL SPIRITUAL CONSTRUCTS. THEY HAD A LOW EVALUATION OF, AND UNHAPPINESS WITH, THEIR APPEARANCE. THEY WERE UNHAPPY WITH THE SIZE AND APPEARANCE OF THEIR BODIES. THEY TENDED TO SEE THEMSELVES AS OVERWEIGHT. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN YEARS OF PRACTICE BETWEEN THE THREE GROUPS (KRUSKALL -WALLIS, P = .0041). MEMBERS OF CLUSTER A HAVE THE MOST YEARS OF YOGA EXPERIENCE AND MEMBERS OF CLUSTER B HAVE MORE YOGA EXPERIENCE THAN MEMBERS OF CLUSTER C. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THE POSSIBLE EXISTENCE OF A DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORY FOR YOGA PRACTITIONERS. SUCH A DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCE MAY HAVE IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR YOGA PRACTICE AND INSTRUCTION. 2017 16 1708 17 PEACEBUILDING THROUGH YOGA? QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF A YOGA PROGRAM IN A SOCIAL HOUSING COMPLEX IN SANTA MARTA, COLOMBIA. THE GOAL OF THE STUDY WAS TO ASSESS PERCEIVED MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF A YOGA INTERVENTION FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN CIUDAD EQUIDAD, A SOCIAL HOUSING COMPLEX IN COLOMBIA. THE STUDY PARTICIPANTS VOLUNTARILY ENROLLED TO COMPLETE TWO YOGA SESSIONS PER WEEK, EACH LASTING 1.5 HOURS, DURING A 3-MONTH PERIOD. ADDITIONALLY, THEY PARTICIPATED IN BASELINE AND POSTINTERVENTION FOCUS GROUPS. THIS QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT WAS INTENDED TO IDENTIFY PERCEIVED CHANGES IN AGGRESSIVENESS, INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, AND STRESS AFTER PARTICIPATING IN THE YOGA SESSIONS. DATA ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT PARTICIPANTS PERCEIVED CHANGES OVER TIME IN RELATION TO WHEN THEY BEGAN THE INTERVENTION. 2019 17 51 25 A COMPARATIVE RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF THE EFFECTS OF BRAIN WAVE VIBRATION TRAINING, IYENGAR YOGA, AND MINDFULNESS ON MOOD, WELL-BEING, AND SALIVARY CORTISOL. THIS RANDOMISED TRIAL COMPARED THE EFFECTS OF BRAIN WAVE VIBRATION (BWV) TRAINING, WHICH INVOLVES RHYTHMIC YOGA-LIKE MEDITATIVE EXERCISES, WITH IYENGAR YOGA AND MINDFULNESS. IYENGAR PROVIDED A CONTRAST FOR THE PHYSICAL COMPONENTS AND MINDFULNESS FOR THE "MENTAL" COMPONENTS OF BWV. 35 HEALTHY ADULTS COMPLETED 10 75-MINUTE CLASSES OF BWV, IYENGAR, OR MINDFULNESS OVER FIVE WEEKS. PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED AT PRE- AND POSTINTERVENTION FOR MOOD, SLEEP, MINDFULNESS, ABSORPTION, HEALTH, MEMORY, AND SALIVARY CORTISOL. BETTER OVERALL MOOD AND VITALITY FOLLOWED BOTH BWV AND IYENGAR TRAINING, WHILE THE BWV GROUP ALONE HAD IMPROVED DEPRESSION AND SLEEP LATENCY. MINDFULNESS PRODUCED A COMPARATIVELY GREATER INCREASE IN ABSORPTION. ALL INTERVENTIONS IMPROVED STRESS AND MINDFULNESS, WHILE NO CHANGES OCCURRED IN HEALTH, MEMORY, OR SALIVARY CORTISOL. IN CONCLUSION, INCREASED WELL-BEING FOLLOWED TRAINING IN ALL THREE PRACTICES, INCREASED ABSORPTION WAS SPECIFIC TO MINDFULNESS, WHILE BWV WAS UNIQUE IN ITS BENEFITS TO DEPRESSION AND SLEEP LATENCY, WARRANTING FURTHER RESEARCH. 2012 18 1796 19 PRENATAL YOGA IN LATE PREGNANCY AND OPTIMISM, POWER, AND WELL-BEING. THE STUDY REPORTED HERE EXPLORED CHANGES IN OPTIMISM, POWER, AND WELL-BEING OVER TIME IN WOMEN WHO PARTICIPATED IN A SIX-WEEK PRENATAL YOGA PROGRAM DURING THEIR SECOND AND THIRD TRIMESTERS OF PREGNANCY. THE STUDY WAS CONCEPTUALIZED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ROGERS' SCIENCE OF UNITARY HUMAN BEINGS. A CORRELATIONAL, ONE-GROUP, PRE-POST-ASSESSMENT SURVEY DESIGN WITH A CONVENIENCE SAMPLE WAS CONDUCTED. INCREASES IN MEAN SCORES FOR OPTIMISM, POWER, AND WELL-BEING WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT FROM BASELINE TO COMPLETION OF THE PRENATAL YOGA PROGRAM. FINDINGS FROM THIS STUDY SUGGESTED THAT YOGA AS A SELF-CARE PRACTICE THAT NURSES MIGHT RECOMMEND TO PROMOTE WELL-BEING IN PREGNANT WOMEN. 2014 19 2844 26 YOGA, DANCE, TEAM SPORTS, OR INDIVIDUAL SPORTS: DOES THE TYPE OF EXERCISE MATTER? AN ONLINE STUDY INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXERCISE, BODY IMAGE, AND WELL-BEING IN REGULAR EXERCISE PRACTITIONERS. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, SPECIFICALLY EXERCISING, HAS BEEN SUGGESTED TO IMPROVE BODY IMAGE, MENTAL HEALTH, AND WELL-BEING. WITH RESPECT TO BODY IMAGE, PREVIOUS FINDINGS HIGHLIGHT A GENERAL BENEFIT OF EXERCISE. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES WHETHER THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXERCISING AND BODY IMAGE VARIES WITH THE TYPE OF EXERCISE THAT INDIVIDUALS PREFERENTIALLY AND REGULARLY ENGAGE IN. IN ADDITION, PHYSICAL EFFICACY WAS EXPLORED AS A POTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDIATOR BETWEEN TYPE OF EXERCISE AND BODY IMAGE. USING A CROSS-SECTIONAL DESIGN, HEALTHY REGULAR EXERCISE PRACTITIONERS OF YOGA, BALLROOM DANCE, TEAM SPORTS, OR INDIVIDUAL SPORTS AS WELL AS HEALTHY ADULTS REPORTING NO REGULAR EXERCISING WERE SURVEYED. BODY IMAGE AND ITS DIFFERENT FACETS WERE ASSESSED BY A SET OF STANDARDIZED SELF-REPORT QUESTIONNAIRES, COVERING PERCEPTUAL, COGNITIVE, AND AFFECTIVE BODY IMAGE DIMENSIONS PARTICULARLY RELATED TO NEGATIVE BODY IMAGE. IN ADDITION, PARTICIPANTS WERE QUESTIONED WITH REGARD TO MENTAL HEALTH. PARTICIPANTS WERE 270 HEALTHY ADULTS. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS, MEASURES OF VARIANCE (ANOVA), AND MULTIPLE LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS WITH ORTHOGONAL CONTRASTS WERE PERFORMED TO INVESTIGATE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT EXERCISE AND NON-EXERCISE GROUPS IN THE VARIABLES OF INTEREST. IN LINE WITH THE HYPOTHESES AND PREVIOUS FINDINGS, THE STATISTIC COMPARISONS REVEALED THAT BODY DISSATISFACTION (AS ONE IMPORTANT FACTOR OF NEGATIVE BODY IMAGE) WAS MOST PRONOUNCED IN THE NON-EXERCISE GROUP COMPARED TO ALL EXERCISE GROUPS [CONTRAST: NO EXERCISE VERSUS EXERCISE (ALL GROUPS TAKEN TOGETHER)]. PHYSICAL EFFICACY, AS ASSESSED WITH A STANDARDIZED QUESTIONNAIRE, MEDIATED THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TYPE OF EXERCISE (USING CONTRASTS) AND BODY IMAGE INCLUDING PERCEPTUAL, COGNITIVE, AND AFFECTIVE BODY IMAGE DIMENSIONS. THE FINDINGS SHED LIGHT ON SO FAR LESS SYSTEMATICALLY INVESTIGATED QUESTIONS REGARDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TYPES OF EXERCISE, LIKE YOGA AND BALLROOM DANCE, AND BODY IMAGE. THE RESULTS UNDERSCORE THE RELEVANCE OF CONSIDERING POSSIBLE INFLUENCING FACTORS IN EXERCISE RESEARCH, SUCH AS THE PERCEPTION OF ONE'S PHYSICAL EFFICACY AS A MEDIATOR OF THIS RELATIONSHIP. 2021 20 277 20 ADDITIONAL PRACTICE OF YOGA BREATHING WITH INTERMITTENT BREATH HOLDING ENHANCES PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: THE PRACTICE OF YOGA IS ASSOCIATED WITH ENHANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING. THE CURRENT STUDY ASSESSED THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE DURATION OF YOGA PRACTICE WITH STATE MINDFULNESS, MIND-WANDERING AND STATE ANXIETY. ALSO, WE EXAMINED IF AN ADDITIONAL 20 MIN OF YOGA BREATHING WITH INTERMITTENT BREATH HOLDING (EXPERIMENTAL GROUP) FOR 8 WEEKS WOULD AFFECT THESE PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES MORE THAN REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE (CONTROL GROUP) ALONE. METHODS: ONE HUNDRED SIXTEEN SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EXPERIMENTAL (N = 60) AND CONTROL (N = 56) GROUPS. STATE MINDFULNESS ATTENTION AWARENESS SCALE (SMAAS), MIND-WANDERING QUESTIONNAIRE (MWQ) AND STATE ANXIETY INVENTORY WERE ADMINISTERED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF 8 WEEKS. RESULTS: BASELINE ASSESSMENT REVEALED A POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN DURATION OF YOGA PRACTICE WITH SMAAS SCORES AND NEGATIVE CORRELATION WITH MWQ AND STATE ANXIETY SCORES. AT THE END OF 8 WEEKS, BOTH GROUPS DEMONSTRATED ENHANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS, BUT THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP RECEIVING ADDITIONAL YOGA BREATHING PERFORMED BETTER THAN THE GROUP PRACTICING YOGA ALONE. CONCLUSION: AN ADDITIONAL PRACTICE OF YOGA BREATHING WITH INTERMITTENT BREATH HOLDING WAS FOUND TO ENHANCE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS IN YOUNG ADULT YOGA PRACTITIONERS. 2018