Ancient science of yogic life for academic excellence in university students

Ashtanga Yoga Ethics-Based Yoga Versus General Yoga on Anthropometric Indices, Trigunas, and Quality of Life in Abdominal Obesity: A Randomized Control Trial

INTRODUCTION

The philosophical tenets of yoga such as Ashtanga yoga (AY) and Trigunas are seldom considered while designing yoga programs for chronic diseases. This randomized control trial explored the impact of AY principle-based yoga on the anthropometric indices, personality traits, and quality of life (QoL) in abdominal obesity (AO).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sixty-two participants with AO were randomized (n = 31 in each arm) into an AY arm or general yoga (GY) arm. For 12 weeks, both the AY and the GY received the same yoga protocol; however, the AY received an additional AY-based orientation session fortnightly. Changes in waist circumference, hip circumference (HC), height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio, Vedic Personality Inventory for gunas, and World Health Organization QoL-BREF were measured at baseline and at the end of 12 weeks.

RESULTS

By the end of 12 weeks, the AY arm significantly differed from the GY arm in HC (P = 0.05) and BMI scores (P = 0.03). The AY arm has shown a significant increase in the sattva guna (P < 0.001) and reduction in the rajas (P < 0.001) and tamas gunas (P = 0.03). There was a significant improvement in the physical and social QoL domain, whereas the other variables examined remained insignificant. The increase in sattva guna was negatively correlated with waist circumference (P = -0.489) and BMI (r = -0.553).

CONCLUSION

Exposing participants to progressive AY philosophy can change the personality traits which are further associated with melioration in the determiners of AO. Future yoga programs for chronic disorders may consider including AY philosophy for substantive outcomes.

Effect of yoga practices on general mental ability in urban residential school children

Introduction Mental ability of children represents functioning of brain in different aspects of competency including verbal, mathematical, logical reasoning and spatial, which is of prime importance for academic performance. Objective The objective of this study was to assess the effect of yoga on general mental ability of urban residential school children. Methods Sixty-six urban school children aged 11-15 years were selected as participants. All the selected participants were staying in a residential school in Pune District. A stratified random sampling method was used to divide the students into experimental and control groups. There were 32 students in experimental group and 29 students in control group. Both experimental and control groups were assessed for general mental ability by using standard questionnaire at the baseline and at the end of 12 weeks of yoga training. The study participants of experimental group underwent yoga training for 12 weeks, for 1 h in the morning for a period of 12 weeks. The control group did not undergo any yoga training during this time period. Results The experimental group participants showed significant improvement in general mental ability as compared to control group. Conclusion The findings of this study indicate that yoga practices could improve general mental ability of urban residential school children.

Comparison of Yoga versus Physical Exercise on Executive Function, Attention, and Working Memory in Adolescent Schoolchildren: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose:

Executive function, attention, and memory are an important indicator of cognitive health in children. In this study, we analyze the effect of yoga and physical exercise on executive functioning, attention, and memory.

Methods:

In this prospective two-armed randomized controlled trial, around 802 students from ten schools across four districts were randomized to receive daily 1 h yoga training (n = 411) or physical exercise (n = 391) for 2 months. Executive function, attention, and memory were studied using Trail Making Test (TMT). Yoga (n = 377) and physical exercise (n = 371) students contributed data to the analyses. The data were analyzed using intention-to-treat approach using Student's t-test.

Results:

There was a significant increase in numerical TMT (TMTN) values within yoga (t = −2.17; P < 0.03) and physical activity (PA) (t = −3.37; P < 0.001) groups following interventional period. However, there was no significant change in TMTN between yoga and PA groups (t = 0.44; P = 0.66). There was a significant increase in alphabetical TMT (TMTA) values within yoga (t = 6.21; P < 0.00) and PA groups (t = 1.19; P < 0.234) following interventional period. However, there was no significant change in TMTA between yoga and PA groups (t = 3.46; P = 0.001).

Conclusion:

The results suggest that yoga improves executive function, attention, and working memory as effectively as physical exercise intervention in adolescent schoolchildren.

Psychophysiological effects of yoga on stress in college students

College students are vulnerable to a critical period in developmental maturation, facing rigorous academic work, and learning how to function independently. Physical activities such as running and bicycling have been shown to improve mood and relieve stress. However, college students often have low levels of physical activity. Yoga is an ancient physical and mental activity that affects mood and stress. However, studies examining the psychophysiological effects of yoga are rare in peer-reviewed journals. The aim of this study is to establish preliminary evidence for the psychophysiological effects of yoga on stress in young-adult college students. The present study suggests that yoga has positive effects on a psychophysiological level that leads to decreased levels of stress in college student. Further research is needed to examine the extent to which different types of yogic practices address the needs of different college subpopulations (e.g., overweight, sedentary, and smokers).

Effect of integrated yoga module on personality of home guards in Bengaluru: A randomized control trial

Background

Home Guards Organization is an independent disciplined and uniformed body of volunteers. All categories of home guards (HGs), who work in the field, experience varied emotions and are required to cope with varied situations. Yoga practices may be helpful to master such emotions and should lead to improvement in personality.

Objective

To study the efficacy of integrated yoga module (IYM) on personality (Gunās) (yogic personality measure) of HGs.

Methods

Of 500 HGs who attended introductory lectures, 148 HGs of either gender, who satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria and who consented to participate in the study were randomly allocated to two groups. The yoga group (YG) practiced an IYM for 1 h daily, 6 days a week for 8 weeks along with their routine work. The control group (CG) remained on routine work. Personality was assessed before and after 8 weeks using the self-administered Vedic Personality Inventory.

Results

Baseline scores for all domains for both groups did not differ significantly (P > 0.05, Shapiro Wilk's test). Sattva score in YG significantly increased from 39.87 ± 2.02 to 47.14 ± 7.22, where as it decreased significantly from 43.66 ± 4.39 to 37.74 ± 10.26 in CG. Rajas score in YG significantly decreased from 29.15 ± 0.98 to 27.46 ± 4.38, where as it increased significantly from 28.60 ± 3.55 to 32.74 ± 5.37 in CG. Tamas score in YG significantly decreased from 30.98 ± 1.04 to 25.40 ± 5.11, where as it significantly increased from 27.74 ± 4.43 to 30.51 ± 5.50 in CG.

Conclusions

Results indicate that IYM can profitably be suggested for HGs as a cost-effective means to help them cope with stressful situations.

Influence of Yoga-Based Personality Development Program on Psychomotor Performance and Self-efficacy in School Children

Selective attention and efficacy are important components of scholastic performance in school children. While attempts are being made to introduce new methods to improve academic performance either as part of curricular or extracurricular activities in schools, the success rates are minimal. Hence, this study assessed the effect of yoga-based intervention on psychomotor performance and self-efficacy in school children. Two hundred ten school children with ages ranging from 11 to 16 years (mean age ± SD; 13.7 ± 0.8 years) satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria were recruited for the 10-day yogä program. An equal number of age-matched participants (n = 210; mean ± SD; 13.1 ± 0.8 years) were selected for the control group. Participants were assessed for attention and performance at the beginning and end of 10 days using trail making task (TMT) A and B, and self-efficacy questionnaire. The yoga group showed higher self-efficacy and improved performance after 10 days of yoga intervention. The performance in TMT-A and -B of the yoga group showed a significantly higher number of attempts with a reduction in time taken to complete the task and a number of wrong attempts compared with control group. Results suggest that yoga practice enhances self-efficacy and processing speed with fine motor coordination, visual-motor integration, visual perception, planning ability, and cognitive performance.

Efficacy of Yoga for sustained attention in university students

Sustained attention (SA) is a vital function mediated by the right frontal - parietal cortex. The digit vigilance test (DVT) measures SA. Assessment of SA in students for their academic excellence is considered to be an essential part of a neuropsychological evaluation. The objective of this study is to determine SA in students undergoing training of integrated Yoga module (IYM). A total of 66 university students aged between 18-37 years participated in this study with a single group pre-post design. The DVT data was collected before and after the IYM. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 19 was used for data analysis. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test showed that the data were not normally distributed. The Wilcoxon's signed ranks test was used to compare means of data. The data analysis showed 11.66% decrease (P < 0.001) in total time taken for DVT and 31.90% decrease (P < 0.001) in error scores for DVT. The present study suggests that IYM can result in improvement of SA among students, thus paving the way for their academic excellence. Additional well-designed studies are needed before a strong recommendation can be made.