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Additional Practice of Yoga Breathing With Intermittent Breath Holding Enhances Psychological Functions in Yoga
Apar Avinash Saoji1, B R Raghavendra1, Kshamashree Madle1
1Division of Yoga and Life Sciences, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, 19, Eknath Bhavan, Gavipuram Circle, KG Nagar, Bengaluru 560019, Karnataka, India.
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.
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